CHAPTER XXIV
Metal Sonic waited patiently for his counterpart's laughter to subside. When it finally had, he spoke again.
"I do not see the humor in this scenario," he stated, flatly, "You have someone who cares about you – and I, in a sense, am you. Therefore, I should be entitled to the same chances as you."
This made Sonic do something he rarely did – he became very quiet. Amy, on the other hand, stepped forward. "Metal?"
Sonic's robotic counterpart looked at her with his lifeless eyes. Apparently, several of the LEDs that powered the red rings that made up his optical sensors had died out over the years. His eyes had a haggard look to them.
"What is it?"
Amy pulled several strands of hair from beneath her red headband and handed them to him. "Just do me one favor, okay?"
Metal looked quizzically from the strands of pink hair to their owner; "What?"
"Next time, don't use me as the bait."
Metal accepted the strands of hair and bowed as low as he could. "Organism: Amy Rose, I thank you."
Without another word, he was gone. It seemed as though he had just vanished, but both Sonic and Amy knew he was, in fact, running at high speed back to wherever he had come from.
"So Ames," said Sonic, looking at her, "Why'd you cave?"
Amy smiled sweetly at him, and Sonic felt color rise slightly into his face. He fought to keep it down. "Oh Sonic," she said, "Metal just wants to be like you."
For the second time that day, Sonic didn't say a word. He just stared straight ahead at one of the Chao that pranced happily around the garden.
"Want to adopt one?" he asked suddenly, and Amy looked at him nonplussed.
"One what?"
Sonic rolled his eyes, "Robot. What do you think? A Chao!"
Amy jumped up and down on the spot before tackling Sonic to the ground. "I'd love to!"
Sonic peeled the exuberant girl from his body and stood up. "Let's go, then."
He took her arm in his and walked over to the Adoption Center.
In the meantime, Metal Sonic was standing at a computer and placing the long pink strands of hair into one of the slots. The speakers which served as his voice-box were currently playing a happy little song he had found on the Internet called Waltz for the Moon.
Finally, with a whirr and a click, the robotic eyes of his creation flickered to life. They scanned left and right, ingraining the place of their owner's birth into the memory banks. Metal, had he been able to, would have cried. He now understood why the Doctor loved building robots so much. The satisfaction of seeing it come to 'life' was unsurpassed – it was like being a God.
The creature in the tube, an artificial Amy Rose, raised one of its arms and began to tap on the glass. Metal immediately recognized this action. He himself had done it before. Metal Amy was testing the glass to see how much force would be required to break through it. In his haste to release his creation, Metal's foot caught in a cable, which brought one of his CCTV systems crashing to the floor. The commotion attracted Metal Amy's attention, and the LED sensors in her eyes transformed from two ovals to a pair of hearts. Metal was both appalled and pleased. He was appalled because he hadn't expected this kind of manifestation, and pleased because he now had someone who cared about him.
Before he could say another word, the pink robot lunged through the glass, catching him in an inescapable embrace and crooning phrases that would have made Metal's stomach churn, if he had been endowed with one.
Oh crap… he thought …what have I created?