Chapter four.
Rekindling the flames...
Dr. Robotnik stood gazing up at a huge computer screen affixed to the wall before him, his face illuminated in pale green light, making him look older, sick even. But it was a trick of the light. The only thing sick about the Doctor was his lust for power and disregard for innocent life. The man looked tired. Smears of ash and dirt stained his once vibrant red coat, the ends ragged and frayed. His moustache, once sleek and well groomed now wild and untamed, like the bristles of a wild animal. The gears turned slowly in the man's head, going over his plan for maybe the hundredth time as he waited. Displayed on the screen was a map of his curent base of operations, now almost totally decimated. Well over eighty percent of the holographic screen was outlined in red, indicating severe damage. Robotnik frowned as he recalled the flames rising from his artificial city of steel and concrete.
Gone.
All the man's hard work had gone up in smoke and flame when the Hedgehog charged into the city's power plant, sabotaging it. That was when he'd dispatched Metal Sonic. It was a desperate plan, he knew his creation was no match for the speedy blue animal infiltrating his maze-like city. Metal was merely meant to be a diversion, a distraction as the mad doctor escaped into his underground safe room. Still, Robotnik was surprised at how effective his machine had been, going toe-to-toe with his rival for several minutes until he had been caught up in the blast and nearly destroyed. His programming was slow and outdated, the technology used to make him, crude compared to his current abilities. Robotnik had advanced his technological skills considerably since he'd put the Metal clone into storage nearly a decade ago, and now it was time to rebuild, to improve.
As if on cue, a small hatch opened behind the doctor. A conveyor belt running the length of the room carried the remains of Metal Sonic and deposited him onto a platform in the center of the chamber. His body landed with a crash, looking like a broken toy, discarded by a child after it was tired of him. Several more parts landed atop the Doctor's creation, scraps of metal, loose wires, and discarded servo motors were piled upon the damaged Metal Sonic. It wan't much, but..,
It was all the Doctor had left to give him!
Robotnik blew out a long sigh and placed his hands upon the holographic display, tapping the screen once, then again listening absently as the plexiglass tube slid into place with a soft hiss around the discarded pile of robotic equipment. 'No.' He thought bitterly, it was less than that, it was Junk. Anger flared in the Doctor's mind, blinding him in a sea of red hate. His fists clenched atop the display, then opened slowly, the doctor once more in control of his thoughts.
There was no time for emotions, he had to be careful, Metal Sonic was his last option! The Doctor slipped his hands into a pair of gloves connected to the monitor. Robotnik then turned to look into the pelxiglass chamber and flexed his hands slowly as two robotic arms descended from the ceiling, moving carefully toward the floor. Gingerly the man manipulated the robotic hands and lifted the bulk of his creation into the air suspending the machine by what remained of his arms.
"Let us Begin!"
Noone replied to the doctors words as he slipped the gloves off and placed them back onto the console. The man waved away the map and brought up the controls for the Nanobot Chamber, the complex machine setting in the center of the room. He watched as a line of text appeared and scrolled down the monitor as the machine powered on. A low hum filled the chamber, increasing in pitch slowly as the diagnostics and preliminary subroutines were completed.
All was in place, everything was ready.
Robotnik slowly brought his hand up to the monitor, his finger hovering over the amber button, the one labeled, 'Initiate.' The doctor hesitated, turning to look at the machine suspended inside the chamber. The man pulled away from the holographic monitor and strode over to the machine, his nose nearly touching the smooth plexiglass. Metal was the Doctor's finest creation, fast, determined, intellgent. It was odd, but Robotnik felt a sense of loss at the thought of losing this particular machine. Some emotion tied the him to his creation. That was partly why he had kept Metal Sonic in storage for all these years instead of recycling him.
Robotnik didn't keep failures.
And yet, Metal Sonic wasn't a failure, he was more like a trophy, displaying all of the Doctors' greatest technological accomplishments. At the time of his birth, he had been the pinnacle of Robotnik's creations. Somehow he was different from the other robots. It was something the Doctor couldn't put his finger on. He just hoped whatever made Metal Sonic special carried over into whatever stepped out of the Nanobot Chamber. Robotnik took a deep breath and turned away, absenly fishing a hand into his pocket to pet the marvelous crystal nestled within. The man slid the Chaos emerald from it's resting place and gazed longingly into it's azure depths. The Emerald was his trump card, he knew But Metal Sonic had to be at his best. The Doctor was well aware of the fact, bit it was so rare for the doctor to acquire even a single one of the emeralds, he just wanted to hold onto it a little longer. Finally the moment passed, the Doctor moving over to a second, smaller tube. The man romoved the lid and dropped the emerald inside, the glistening crystal falling to rest in a pile of greyish sand. With the lid closed, Robotnik turned once more to the remains of his creation.
"Initiate!" His words were harsh, bitter, his mind reflecting upon all the grief the blue hegehog had caused him in the last several years. The button on the console depressed, sending ripples of amber across the glowing surface of the display. Robotnik watched as two magnetic rods slid down from the ceiling, one on either side of the plexiglass tube. The refuse littering the bottom of the small chamber rattled and slithered towards the rods, as if they had a life of their own, then the rods began to rotate around the chamber, slowly, dragging the scrap around the bottom of the chamber in sluggish circles. The rods sped up, now moving faster, bringing the discarded machinery into the air to hover around Metal Sonic in a storm of colliding steel and rusted metal. By now the rods were a blur, spinning madly around the tube. Metal Sonic's head moved side to side, as if being struck as bits of scrap collided with his face.
"Phase two ready Doctor." A monotone, slightly feminine voice called out.
Doctor Robotnik nodded his head, his face tight in anticipation. "Initiate Phase two Computer." The man watched as the sand in the smaller tube was siphoned into the larger plexiglass chamber, the Chaos emerald rattling stubbornly before being drug along behind. The grey particles flowed into the chamber, rising and swirling as it was caught up in the tornado of magnetic debris. The doctor watched as the storm swirled and devoured his creation.
"This is my only chance, I have to get this right." The doctor whispered harshly, his face tensely watching the swirling chaos in the chamber. His city had been broken, the assembly lines destroyed. Everything was gone, everything but this one room, and the beast in the bowels of the city, gorging itself on the remains of his once mighty army. The thing was buried too deep to be affected by the blast. As precious scraps of power was being drawn from the auxilliary systems of the facitily he gazed into the storm, his nerves raw with anticipation as his experimental Nanomachines crowded over his last hope.
The storm inside was chaotic, bits of discarded materials emerged in brief flashes of rust and colored plastic as the storm inside raged on. The doctor watched the emerald finally emerge into the chamber, dropping into the tornado of steel like a tear from heaven. Suddenly electricity arced through the storm, igniting it in a flash of power. The sand began to glow, turning from dull grey particles into a soft blue light. More artificial lightning struck the chamber, each one lighting the room in a maddening display of pure light as the Emerald flashed, it's power radiating throughout the chaotic hurricane of creation. Slowly, the pieces in the storm began to dissappear as the glowing particles, the nanomachines, did their work. In mere moments everything in the storm would be broken down and reassembled, the refuse serving as raw materials used to reconstruct his newest Machine.
The rods disengaged and slowed, the magnets turned off. For a moment the nanomachines remained suspended in the air, as if floating of their own accord. 'Beautiful' The doctor thought. The glowing particles slowly descended, following the lingering trails of magnetic energy as the rods came to a complete stop and rose into the ceiling. Robotnik gasped in amazement, watching as his newest creation emerged from the gently swirling storm of light.
A jolt shot through his shattered body, a pillar of lighting so powerful he thought he would be blasted apart and carried along in the wake of the storm. Light poured into his mind, slamming into the back of his skull and filling him faster than he could absorb it, spilling out in glowing rivers that trailed down his face like fiery tears to be absorbed into his skin.
It was too much!
He felt his body twitch and convulse of it's own accord, felt pieces of himself tearing away to join in the storm barreling straight into his mind. He tried to scream, tried to get away from the light burning throughout his body. Finally it stopped, the overpowering force becoming a narrow trickle dripping down his empty sockets to land on his tongue, the droplets tasting sweeter than anything he could imagine.
He jerked as images began to form in his mind. A streak of color, he remembered vaguely somehow. The images repeated in his mind, over and over, each time slowing down, revealing more and more details about what he was seeing. Finally he remembered, the flash of blue, the force of the creature as it barreled into him, knocking him away like a toy.
"SONIC"
The word was a roar clenched behind metallic fangs that gnashed uncontrollably.
He remembered everything now!
Fire raced up his arms, his legs, burning him and boring into his chest, cascading into his very core and filling him entirely. It was strange, unfamiliar, he wasn't use to feeling things, both physically or emotionally, yet here it was, carrying him in it's fiery embrace. He knew what this feeling was, not a literal fire burning at his body, but one eating at his insides, devouring his mind until nothing remained but glowing ash, yes, he knew this feeling well. It was something he had discovered a long time ago...
HATE!
Suddenly Static filled his ears, pounding inside his head like a caged beast trying to get out. He threw back his head and grimaced as sight came back, digital snow filling his eyes as his body shuddered, the last bits of himself being reconstructed.
'He was coming back!'
Something let him go, and he felt himself falling...
But this time he landed on his feet.
Metal's eyes burned, twin lamps of hate peering though a plexiglass wall at a vague shape. He recognized the human, Doctor Robotnik, his creator. Images of the doctor kicking him into the black pit rose in his mind as his functions returned to full operation, replaying his last moments before his 'death'. Yes, he remembered everything.
The plexiglass tube withdrew into the floor, the Doctor studying his creation in tense silence. "Metal Sonic, run a diagnostic scan on your systems."
Metal Sonic stood silently, numbers sliding past his eyes. "Diagnostic complete, Metal Sonic is fully operational." The robot was silent for a moment, then contiued. "Scans show new hardware detected."
Robotnik smiled, his teeth flashing in the low light of the room. "Excellent."
"Warning, six terabytes of unknown data have been downloaded, estimated processing time,... twelve hours."
Robotnik suddenly frowned. 'Six terabytes? The new programming was supposed to be only half that size.'
The machine reached his hands up to clutch a the sides of his head, his eyes sliding closed, as if he were in pain. Things he had never felt before crowded inside his mind, numbing it like a heavy drug. His robotic brain was still trying to proccess and categorize the Enormous amount of new information. He would need to devote much time to this chore, but not right now, first he had questions for his creator. His limbs felt heavy, sluggish, his feet like lead weights as he stepped over to stand before his Creator. "Doctor, I am,... Different." The machine looked down at his new body, his cold eyes scanning his smooth, streamlined chassis. His eyes closed again as the numbness in his mind returned. Metal groaned softly, his hands returning to his temples.
"I have remade you. My prototype Nanomachines worked flawlessly, it seems." The doctor leaned down, inspecting the machine closely. "You seem to be having,... difficulties. Are you sure you're fully operational?"
Metal growled irritably, his mind overloading for a moment as he registered the doctor's words. "Operating systems are working at full potential. My internal processors are overheating from the strain of organizing new data." The robot opened his eyes to look up at his creator, a look of confusion etched into his steely features. "My mind is,... weary, Doctor. I am,... tired."
Robotnik eyed the robot suspiciously, his eyes narrowing until they were little more than slits behind his glasses. One gloved hand rose to stroke at his bristling moustache. "Preposterous, Machines do not get tired, Run a diagnostic scan again."
"No." The word hissed from between the machines teeth menacingly.
The Mad Doctors' jaw clenched, his eyes suddenly hard, the hand tugging at his moustache stopped. "No?" Robotnik attempted to control his rapid breathing, sweat beading on his bald head as his only hope seemingly turned against him. Something was wrong, his creation had refused a command. The doctors' hand slipped carefully into his pocket to rest on the small remote he carried, one long digit tracing the large button near the bottom. "I have remade you, a hundred times more powerful than before. I've given you one final chance, Metal, and this is how you repay me?" His voice was a venomous hiss, his panic bleeding over into his words. "If you will not heed my commands, then what use are you?"
The machine followed the doctors moevments with emotionless eyes, his sensors detecthing the small device hidden in his creators pocket. The robot knew what it would do to him. Metal gazed up, his cold eyes boring into the Doctors cracked lenses, the mans eyes nervous behind the nearly shattered blue glass. "Your command was redundant, I have already run a diagnostic scan of my programming. All systems are running at full potential, but my processors are still trying to categorize the six terabytes of new data slowing down my systems. I become more intelligent with every passing moment Doctor Robotnik. Already I have become self aware, my programming expanding even as we speak." The robot turned to study the room, eying the destruction evident even this deep in the guts of the city. "I am all you have left Doctor, it would be unwise to destroy me." The machine studied the mad Doctor, fear evident on his bristled face. Metal knew he was right.
The Man licked his lips, his finger tracing the button in his pocket. A single question burned in his mind, a question he needed answered immediately. "Metal Sonic,.."
"I think just Metal will do, doctor."
Robotnik frowned, worried at the machines increased intelligence. 'I didn't plan on this happening.' The mad doctor inhaled a deep breath, then lt it out slowly. "Am I your master, or your enemy?"
The cold voice of the machine cut into his soul, uttering a reply even he couldn't have guessed.
"Neither doctor."
Hot anger filled the doctor's mind, his face turning a dark shade of purple as he leaned down, his nose nearly touching his creation. "THEN WHAT AM I?"
Metal Sonic remained silent for a long moment, his eyes downcast as he sought an answer. Only one word in his entire library of knowledge rose in his mind to settle before his internal question. Metal looked up at his creator, a strange expression spreading across his normally cold features. He was smiling.
"You are my Father."
"Tails!"
The sound of a door slamming brought the young woman back from the warm embrace of sleep. For a moment she wondered where she was, then the previous nights events came rushing back in a flood of realization. She had fallen asleep, slumped over on the kitchen table. The young woman rubbed her eyes as footsteps approached.
"Tails, buddy! Where are 'ya?"
Amy felt her heart stop, she knew that voice. Sonic was here! The young woman glanced around nervously, her nerves on the edge of panic as she ran her fingers through her hair and adjusted her jacket. 'Oh god, I haven't seen him in eight years. What's he going to think of me, sitting here like this, I'm probably a mess.' Amy nearly leapt out of her skin as her blue hero marched into the kitchen, completely oblivious to her presence. Her eyes followed him, fastened to the man she loved like he was all she could see. She watched him in dumb silence as he stood, one hand thrust into his pocket and glaring at the ceiling grumbling softly to himself.
"Tails, c'mon buddy, we gotta to get started while it's still early!"
His voice shattered the spell. Amy took a deep breath, held it in, let it out.
"Hello, Sonic."
The blue hedgehog froze, the musical tone of the voice stopping him dead in his tracks. Sonic turned, the sack slung over his shoulder sliding slowly to the floor, forgotten as his hands went numb.
There she was!
His knees felt weak, as if his bones had somehow been replaced with rubber. His entire body felt hot, his nerves suddenly ragged. The blue hedgehog stared, his mind numbed from shock. Sonic used to think about this moment, wondering what he would say to her, if she ever came back. For the first few years, she was all he could think about.
At first his thoughts had been bitter, his imagined words filled with venom, to push his hurt back onto the young woman who left him. His anger faded in time though when he realized how much he really missed her. His words becoming much gentler, his tone, pleading for her to stay. He had often thought about the things he did say, the things he wished he could take back.
After the third year of waiting, he had finally given up hope, realizing she wouldn't be coming back. The Blue Hedgehog accepted it with a sad heart and turned his eyes towards what remained of his friends, they needed him, and he couldn't afford to be distracted from his battles with the Mad Doctor. Sonic pushed the young woman out of his mind and faked a smile for his friends, throwing himself head on into the oncoming battles.
Now he turned his eyes back, staring into the young woman's emerald gaze. Sonic felt his mouth hanging open and quickly shut it. An uncomfortable silence stretched on, neither quite knowing what to say.
Amy broke her eyes away to look sheepishly down at the table, her hands nervously tracing circles in the polished wood. "So,.. uh,.." The young woman began weakly. Her foot began fidgeting nervously, sliding back and forth across the smooth tile in Tails' kitchen. A confusing blend of emotions filled her head. 'Dammit Amy, say something! You've been waiting for this for eight years.' The young woman lifted her head and smiled warmly at the man she had crushed on when she was a younger woman, every thought in her head telling her too keep looking at her hands.
Sonic didn't smile back, his face taking on an edge she had never seen before. Still she pushed on.
"H-how have things been?" She asked, trying desperately to keep her smile from slipping as she looked into the face of her old flame.
Sonic leaned back against the counter, his shock having long since passed. The blue hedgehog closed his eyes, his arms coming up to cross over his chest. "I thought you weren't coming back." His voice was low, nearly a whisper.
The young woman's smile faltered, becoming a disappointed frown. She glanced down at her hands nervously. 'What? Were you expecting him to hold you in his arms, professing his undying love for you, and promise that everything was going to be alright?' Amy shook her head and sighed. "I didn't think I would either."
"Then why did you?"
Amy looked up, surprised. Her eyes met Sonic's hard gaze and inwardly she screamed at herself for coming back. The young woman stood, her eyes growing wet as she strode over to the Blue Hedgehog. He looked like he was about to say something, but she stopped him. Before she could even think, her hand raced up to slap him across his face, turning his cold edged look into one of complete surprise.
"I don't know anymore, Sonic."
Sonic watched, stunned as she turned and headed for the front door.
Amy reached for the knob but stopped, feeling Sonic's strong hand wrap around her wrist. She turned, scowling at the man. "Let me go!"
Sonic shook his head. "No."
Amy reached back to slap him once more, but he was too quick, his hand blurring to catch hers mid-strike. The next thing she knew her face was buried in Sonic's chest, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her. She struggled for a moment, her anger building up, wanting to lash out at the blue Hedgehog.
"Please, Amy, I didn't,.."
"Let me GO"
Sonic sighed, tickling her cheek with his warm breath, her hands pounding uselessly against his chest.
"I'm Sorry, Amy."
The man's arms pulled her tighter against him and she lowered her head, her anger defeated. Long moments passed, the silence broken only by the thundering heartbeat in her ear. It was a comforting sound, something she'd missed. She listened to it for a long time, her own heart fluttering madly as a deep blush warmed her face. Suddenly the strong arms were gone. Amy took a step back, looking up into the face of her former love. Gone was the hard edge that had been living there, replaced by a smile that made her heart jump into her throat.
Sonic ran his hands through his hair and blew out a long sigh. "Sorry, things have been getting pretty heavy around here, Amy." Her name sounded sweet, like a happy memory long forgotten. It had been so long since he'd even said her name out loud. "So, uh how have things been for you? You must've seen some crazy stuff out there."
The young woman looked away and rubbed her arm nervously. "Yeah, I've done a lot of traveling actually."
*Creak*
The two hedgehogs turned, startled to see Tails trudging down the stairs, rubbing his eyes and yawning loudly. "Mornin Sonic, Mornin Amy." The young fox walked into the kitchen, turning immediately for the coffee pot. He yawned sleepily as he poured the coffee into three mugs, then turned and slipped into a seat at the small table, breathing in the rich aroma steaming form his mug. Sonic glanced at Amy for a moment before joining his friend. "Mornin buddy, sleep well?"
Tails grunted and sipped his coffee. "Not really."
Amy plopped down and gripped her own mug, taking an experimental taste. "No offense Tails, but you kinda remind me of those zombies in old tv shows right now."
The young fox dipped his fingers in his coffe and flicked the warm droplets at the young woman. "Peh, it's your fault y'know, calling me at three in the morning." Tails finished with an enormous yawn.
Amy noted Sonics' confused look. "Well, it's not my fault the train broke down and stranded me out in the cold." The young woman busied herself with stirring sugar into her coffee, hoping the young fox would play along.
Tails merely nodded and sipped his coffee, much to the young woman's relief.
The blue blur lifted his own mug and swallowed the bitter brew in a single gulp, heedless to the scalding burn as it slammed down into his stomach. Sonic set down his mug and stood. "C'mon guys, we gotta get started, I can taste the wind already!"
Tails watched his friend dissappear in a streak of blue color. The young fox groaned. "I shouldn't have given him coffee."