A short figure stands over a table, wearing a lab coat too long for it's stature. "How long will the upgrades take?" A deep, almost silly voice sounds. But it's not from the figure. "I can't be sure. He's still damaged, so I have to factor that in.. Maybe a week if I have help," A female voice calls, more likely from the figure. She has an average tone, with a hint of a southern accent. "Good. I'll send help in soon. Start repairs immediately. And luck to you, Midnight," The male says. A click echoes across the room, indicating it was a call. The figure sighs. "I just hope this works," it says. She turns around and types something into a computer. It unlocks and a rush of data flows across the giant screen, casting light across the room. In the light, she appears to be a hedgehog, magenta with rounded quills. Odd style, but it seems to work on her. Her eyes don't connect, and there's a few stray, sharper quills on the sides of her face. She appears to be wearing clear rubber gloves over normal, white fabric ones. Her teal eyes scan the screen, and multiple clicks echo from the mouse and keyboard. They close and her eyelids meet her peach muzzle. She wipes her eye, ruffling her eyelashes a little, then they straighten out as she opens them again. A music player is opened, and the music for Stardust Speedway bad future plays, the one from the Japan soundtrack. She smirks as she turns back around, shaking her head as the music echoes around the large room. She stands over the table, and seems to unscrew a bolt from another, rusty and dirty metal figure. It's deactivated, and very damaged. It doesn't seem like it could ever function again, but the man seems to believe she can repair it. And she thinks she can fix it in a week? The two must be crazy. A knock on the door interrupts our monologue and a robotic voice calls. "Serenity? We were teleported to your workshop," One says. "Yeah, the Boss says you need help workin' on something," Another adds. The figure, named Serenity by the robots but as Midnight from the man, practically throws the wrench and screwdriver down on the metal table, causing an extremely loud clank. She runs to a door, revealing red shoes, bearing a diagonal white stripe from the ankle to the toe. Her lab coat unbuttons and falls loose as she opens the door, revealing a golden crop top and skirt, just a little shorter then the coat. She pulls up a pair of goggles she must have put on as she started work, and on the other side of the door are Orbot and Cubot. "Hi! May we come in?" Orbot asks, waving. Serenity nods, steps to the side so the robots can hover in, then closes and locks the door. "So what's the project today?" Cubot asks, excitedly peeking over the table. "More upgrades and repairs. I'm still not happy about it, but it's better then what I used to do," the girl says, pulling out a step facing the computer screen. "What did you do before your promotion, anyway?" Orbot asks. Serenity groans as the robots kind of hover-jump onto the step, her now facing them. The cobalt figure on the table shimmers in the light, despite all the dents and dirt. "I guess you two were still in production, huh? ..Laundry," the girl says. "Phew, what an upgrade.. Let's get to work. I need to recharge," Cubot says. Orbot and Serenity nod as they begin work.
"Soniic! Wait up," A young fox yells, running at almost full speed. His tails spin to get him moving faster. He seems to be chasing a blue hedgehog, running in a ninja style with his hands in the wind behind him. He rushes forward to the top of a hill, stopping at the peak. The fox jumps, spinning forward, then uses his tails to fly up to the peak with him. "Not a bad view, eh?" The hedgehog says, looking over a field of grass, with a lake at the end, hills behind it. Ancient totem poles dot the landscape as striped patches of grass catch the attention. "Yeah. It's so much like Emerald Hill here," The fox says. "It is kinda like it, isn't it? Well, I haven't been to the real Green Hill in a long time. I figured I'd show ya what it's like," The hedgehog says, ruffling up the fur on the fox's head. "Sonic, stop! Hehe," he giggles, smoothening it back out. "But still, after that Time Muncher fiasco, I feel like we all need a break. No more adventures for a little while, just plain old relaxation," The hedgehog says, flopping down after a hop. His feet dangle over the edge of the short cliff as the fox simply sits. Birds chirp in the distance, flying over the lake in a messy pattern. Some stop and peck at the grass, others bathe themselves in the lake. "It's so peaceful here without so many robots, huh Tails?" The blue hedgehog says, forgetting his fox friend Tails has never been here. "I guess it would be kinda hectic with robots attacking you at every turn. And spikes. Can't forget those," Tails says, shuddering, but the hedgehog has fallen asleep. "Sonic? Oh," He adds, naming the hedgehog, before looking over at him. "I suppose a nap couldn't hurt," Tails says, before lying down. He stares at the cloud shapes for a minute before he closes his eyes.
Rumbles of thunder and the sounds of rain against metal echo inside the lab, as welding work is done on the figure. The robots stand back as Serenity works. She stops and sets the can down, looking at what seems to be plating melted down into three cobalt fins at the back of the head. "Looks good. Glad we got the processor back in place," She says, high-fiving the robots, one at a time. "Well, we need to recharge, badly. Can you do some work alone?" Orbot asks. "Sure. I'm going to repair the chest next. That hyperdrive engine won't run in this state," She says, as the robots go over to color coded stations. They compact themselves and plug in, beginning their recharge. Serenity sighs, beginning to work on a thruster built into the chest of what now appears to be none other then Metal Sonic. By now the music has stopped playing, and there is loud rumbles of thunder from a passing storm. The lights flicker with every gust, threatening to go out at any moment. Rain hits the roof of the structure, with an almost vicious intent. The wind howls, and all this mixes with the low hum of the computer, and the occasional metallic clank from the metal tools against the metal table and the metal robot. Not intending to add to the already creepy atmosphere, Serenity hums a tune familiar to her. She works like this for hours on end, the storm refusing to let up.
There you have it, Chapter One. I felt the need to add proper line breaks and a note down at the bottom. Thanks to huynhd771 for the detailed review, but I need to point out "Serenity" and "Midnight" are the same hedgehog, lol. I just think Eggman would call her by her last name. It makes sense to me seeing as he tries to be professional with his workers, but I also like to think his robots could have a bond of sorts with her. Also, I couldn't find room to have smaller paragraphs, except where the speaking parts are, but I tried doing that and really didn't like the way it looked. I also tried to make my own line breaks with little hearts but i didn't notice it wouldn't let me use those arrows, xD. Seriously, reviews are appreciated greatly! I'll try to make this bit shorter next chapter.