PoC: Whew I guess it's a lot to take in a third project, but this is a special request.
Metal: So you finally went and did it, didn't you?
PoC: Ease up. You might actually like it.
Metal: We will see.
PoC: Alright, here we go.
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Rebirth
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Capacitor operating at 125% output. Internal energy levels at 76% and rising.
Blackness all around.
Internal energy levels now 81% and static.
"Why is this taking so long? Increase capacitor output!"
"But boss, if we do that we run the risk of overloading his circuits."
Internal energy levels now 79% and falling.
I can't move my arms or legs.
"We're losing him idiot! Raise those values NOW!"
*Sigh* "Yes boss."
Capacitor operating at 150% output. Internal energy levels now 84% and rising.
"More more!"
"Boss please! It'll be dangerous if we-"
"Do I look like I care? All systems…FULL POWER!"
DANGER. Capacitor operating at 250% output.
I see a small light.
"Stop! The generator is about to explode!"
Internal energy levels now 97%. Subject is now stable for release.
"Hohohoho! Perfect! This is going swimmingly!"
"Watch out boss!"
With a massive blast, an overweight man and a small sphere-shaped robot were thrown on their backsides. Smoke and sparks flew as the various systems suffered a meltdown. Rolling out casually, the orb-like machine sat on the floor with an 'I told you so' look on its face.
"Well that went smoothly, considering you didn't blow up the whole base." the robot said in a snarky tone.
"Oh shut up. Just check and see if he's activated yet." the rotund man ordered the little machine. Before either could get up, the sound of metal striking the floor caused the two to look at the smoking capsule. The shine of a metallic blue and silver figure came into view, with a pair of black voids for eyes. Soon the empty black orbs were filled with the glow of two red irises. Standing up at last, the large man gave an equally large smile of success.
"Welcome back my finest creation." the robot didn't reply. His optic sensors scanned the entire room without giving much attention to the doctor.
"What are you looking at? Come Metal, it's time for training." the man said, walking away.
"Metal…" the machine spoke what felt like his first word. His mind couldn't recall anything clearly, except for a few fuzzy images of a lit up road and a blue creature. He seemed to remember chasing that creature, but didn't know when or why.
"Metal! What are you doing? Get over to the training center now!" the man's voice shouted over the intercom. 'Blinking' a couple of times, Metal made his way outside. The large room was unfamiliar to him. Not really caring which way he went, he chose the nearest passage. Walking past a couple of small tread-bound service bots, he spotted the egg-shaped man waiting in a wide open arena.
"Good. I was thinking you might've gotten lost. Now I assume you know how this works." he waved his hand over a large line up of dolls. Their shapes seemed to spark a small memory or two in Metal's glitch-y mind, but nothing very important he assumed.
"You may begin." the doctor pressed a small button, causing the dolls to move back and forth in a predictable manner. Metal charged his built-in thrusters, and in a blast of speed, caught up with each target. A couple of punches and kicks later, the room was covered in dismembered and/or decapitated dolls. Checking his timer, the fat man nodded in approval. Pressing a second button, the area was cleared of all broken toys, which were replaced by a single container in the center of the room. As the door opened, Metal's eyes fell on a blue metallic looking object. Figuring it was another doll, the killing machine aimed a powerful punch at its head. Shockingly, the strange robot caught his fist just before it landed. With a swift turn, Metal felt his body swung over his enemy's shoulder, and pulled towards the floor. Thinking quickly, Metal sprawled to avoid the impact. Grabbing his opponent, Metal repaid his target by pulling them into a crushing knee. Obviously not as graceful as Metal, the robot flew backwards, fish-flopping on the cold surface of the arena. Its upper face plate was now cracked open, exposing some free wires. Given no chance to recover, Metal's opponent was, not struck, but impaled by a ferocious fist to its chest. Noticing its face for the first time, Metal was rather stunned. Knowing his own body configuration well, he knew it looked exactly like him. Its red eyes looked back in a mindless rage, seemingly unable to register Metal as anything but a threat. Gripping a hand-full of internal wiring, the superior fighter ripped them out effortlessly. The victim's eyes seemed to malfunction while numerous flashes of energy escaped its body. Glaring at him one last time, his opponent's red irises faded to black. Stepping away from the lifeless target, Metal's sensors picked up the faint sound of clapping.
"Excellent Metal! It seems giving you a new body wasn't a waste of time after all!" the obese doctor stepped up to his side. Wrapping his large hands around the broken robot's head, he gestured for Metal.
"This…was your old body. Pathetic isn't it?" he said, whilst dropping it once again to the floor "Anyway, I am very impressed. Seeing how this is your first day, I have no assignment for you. I only expect that you familiarize yourself with any part of the base you don't recognize." a strange beeping cut the doctor off mid-sentence "Oh what now? Well never mind. I have work to do, so for now, you are dismissed."
Metal watched him exit the room. He then turned to see his 'older self' get swept up and thrown into the junk pile; like all the other dolls had been. Leaving a few minutes later, Metal found himself lost again. 'Familiarize yourself' he says. What the obese man didn't realize was that Metal didn't know where anything was. Had Metal been thinking, he probably wouldn't have gone once again searching the next nearest room he could find. The white corridor and cross symbol should've told him something, but he remained none the wiser. Ignoring the shouting and numerous machines running back and forth turned out to be a mistake, as he crashed right into a small robot. The robot in question seemed to have been holding tools for welding, soldering, and other repairs. Frantically picking up his load, the smaller robot shot a glare at the blue metal hedgehog in front of him.
"Watch where you're going!" he yelled, shoving a finger in Metal's face "Can't you see I'm working here?"
"Uhh…" was all Metal had to say in reply.
"E-33! What seems to be the problem?" another robot spoke with authority.
"This klutz knocked right to me! I've got a schedule to keep here!" E-33 growled while hurrying around the corner.
"Don't mind him. The master made him that way to make sure his job gets done faster." Metal faced the strange robot with curiosity. Its design was large, almost as rotund as the doctor himself. The voice it used also sounded markedly different from the others. It was much higher in pitch, but somehow not offensive. In fact, it was rather comforting, although Metal didn't have a word to describe it.
"You must be Metal Sonic. Pleased to meet you, I'm E-85. I'm in charge of the medical wing."
"Medical…wing." Metal said monotonously "This is the medical wing?"
"You sound a little confused, didn't you know that when you came in?" Metal didn't have much of an answer, so E-85 spoke again "Hmm…you know it couldn't hurt to give you a little check-up. After all, you were just activated. Come over here." Guiding Metal into a room, the medical-bot had him lie down on a small operating table.
"Alright, let me get started." Metal felt several jolts of energy surge through him. A moment or so later, he saw several tiny scopes scan him head to foot. E-85 left the room, only to return about ten minutes later with his results.
"Well it looks like you're in top shape, but I did detect some anomalies in your neuro-core." the patient wasn't quite getting the point, but E-85 just continued "It looks like your memory bank has sustained substantial damage."
"My…memory?" Metal looked off into space as he spoke.
"Yes. And that means you'll have to be very careful about what you say and do around the master. He's not exactly the patient type." it warned.
Metal Sonic didn't seem to take its advice. Instead, he asked a question "Why do you sound different from the others?"
"Why, that's because I'm the caretaker of all Master Eggman's robots. I guess he figured giving me a female voice chip would make communication easier." she answered.
"Female?" Metal sounded confused.
"Yep, I'm sort of like a Mom to all the machines around here, so don't be afraid to ask me if you're having any trouble." she said politely.
"I see…" Metal said, now with disinterest. Although much of his memory was gone, the thought of being helped by others somehow made him sick.
"Well, I've got to get back to work." she said "Do you need help finding your way out?"
Metal stared at the door before saying "No." getting up he walked past the medical-bot without another word.
Upon exiting the medical wing, Metal was still not sure where to go. Only the training center was mapped in his mind, but he did vaguely remember his personal cell/pod. Choosing to go back to his cell (apparently forgetting that it was destroyed when he woke up), Metal stepped over to another door, and this time, made sure to read the sign above.
2-7: Experiment Holding Cells
Metal figured this must have upcoming projects stored here. Whether it was boredom or curiosity, the metallic doppelganger chose to check it out.
The place was very much the medical wing's opposite. The noiseless, if ominous environment suited Metal much better. Skimming his eyes over a number of pods revealed a host of E-1000 series designs. Going deeper in, he encountered several unoccupied capsules. Each one was licensed to the older E-100 series that were now deactivated. The pods had written on them as follows:
E-100α (Alpha/Zero): RIA (Retired in action)
E-101β (Beta): RIA
E-102γ (Gamma) Rogue status identified. Later confirmed to be RIA.
E-103δ-
"Rogue status?" Metal stopped on E-102γ's pod. He tried to access more information from the capsule's terminal, but a code-lock had already been put in place. His interest wouldn't have lasted long anyway, as a sudden hissing drew his attention towards another pod. This one was much smaller than the others; actually it was about his size. Checking the terminal, Metal saw the subject's internal systems were failing to hold a stable power level. Not sure what to do, Metal skipped through a few screens of charts, before coming to the master control for the subject's external generator.
Why did he bother? He didn't really know. In any case, he clicked the option to raise the power output. But as soon as he did, the overhead lamps went out and were replaced by a flashing red light followed by a warning:
Unauthorized access in 2-7 Experiment Holding Cells. Lockdown commencing. Warning. Unauthorized access in-
Metal didn't honestly care; he simply checked the computer again. Unfortunately, the keys were all locked, so there was nothing to do but wait. A number of voices could soon be heard outside the door.
"What idiot decided to get into the cells? Didn't you lock them after I left?"
"As you just stated boss," but the voice underwent a sudden change "You were the last one to leave, ergo the task of locking up would fall on you, ergo you indirectly aided the intruder, ergo the disaster is also your problem."
*Sigh* "I must get around to fixing your voice chip."
Metal, moments later, was face to face with the huffing and puffing Doctor Eggman himself, followed by the strange orb-like robot he'd seen before.
"Metal? What…are you doing here?" Eggman said with half-hearted fury, mainly because he was still catching his breath.
"This experiment's power levels were critical so I attempted to raise them." Metal answered.
"What?" the doctor said checking the levels for himself. Groaning in frustration, he unlocked the computer and raised the output. Having reset the alarm, Eggman turned back to his creation.
"It seems I owe you my thanks Metal. But then, you were created by the greatest genius in the world!" he said pompously "Still, you must learn to stay out of places like this. I have a lot on my hands, and I don't need another troublemaker mucking up my works of art."
"…Yes Master." Metal replied hollowly.
"Very good, now back to the bigger picture. Orbot! This experiment must be transported to the Activation Cells; we need to start applying the finishing touches." Eggman told his small, spherical helper.
"Good thinking boss. Except you forgot that the cells have been destroyed, ergo they are currently useless, ergo we will require a maintenance crew, ergo your plans will be delayed." he answered in his ever-changing voice.
"Ohhh…" Eggman held his head "I don't know what's worse: These endless delays, my own creations talking back, or the word 'ergo'." he muttered "Alright, get E-57 and E-69 on it right away. Metal, you are confined to your first floor quarters until further notice. Orbot will show you the way."
Rolling up to the metal hedgehog, Orbot gestured for him to follow "I'm really surprised. The boss would've normally scrapped anyone else caught doing what you did."
Metal didn't bother listening to the little ball. His attention was fully taken by the mysterious experiment he unwittingly helped save. Tapping on his leg, Orbot barely got the Sonic-copy to listen to him. Once they exited the room, the two headed down a long ramp leading the first floor.
"Who was in there?" Metal asked out of the blue.
"Hmm? Oh you mean that cell back there?" Metal nodded "Nobody knows. Master Eggman has been working on the project all by himself, and he never leaves without cloaking it first." Orbot told him "Some say it's the 'secret weapon' everyone's been talking about. Speaking of the latest talk, have you heard about how E-…"
Metal tuned out the helper robot's gossip. The only thing on his mind was the 'secret weapon' Eggman was making. Why was the doctor making it in secret? Would it be better than him? How long would it be until it gets activated?
These questions swirled around him as he was led to his new cell.
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End of Chapter One
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Okay just a few things to clarify:
One: The time-line may not be one-hundred percent accurate, but, as stated in the summary, this story takes place roughly before the start of Sonic Heroes. Still, expect references to the other games.
Two: I know Orbot shouldn't exist yet, but I needed some characters that weren't OC's (this story has quite a few). I consider this was when he was first made and very bugged up (especially his voice chip, much like Cubot later).
Three: Yes Eggman's base is loosely based (no pun intended) on the one from Sonic Adventure.
Serenity: Be patient with me if you can (Romance isn't my strongest suit), and thank you for motivating me to write this. I hope you enjoy it!
Until next time.