PoC: I, PenFullofChaos819, don't have the slightest clue what it takes to be a Sega executive, and I don't care because I OWN NOTHING! Back to the story! We lef-*door slams* ?
?: Tell me the truth Pen! No, DON'T talk, just sit back and tell me the truth WITHOUT commenting on my appearance! *Takes deep breath* Now…am I perfect in this dress?
PoC: ? I'm sorry, who are you?
?: GRRAGH! I said DON'T comment WITHOUT talking about how I look in a subjective way! JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION! Am…I…PERFECT?
PoC: Y-Yeesh! Yes ma'am, absolutely! Th-The very image of p-perfection! J-Just calm down!
?: *Blinks* Heh…heheh…HA! You see? YOU SEE? My PERFECTION is absolute! Moreover, an absolute that remains unmarred by the curse of make-up, powder, and pink satin!
Silver 1: No, no, no you big dummy! You're wearing it all wrong! Plus you can't threaten someone into liking how you look!
Silver 2: Nonsense 'other me'! Perfect in yet another way, Metal! Bravo I say!
PoC: M-M-M-METAL?
Silver 2: BUT! You can't 'really' call yourself perfect, until you've proven your greatness at the beach! Come on, let's get you properly suited up!
Metal?: Yeeesss! At last, PERFECTION WILL BE MINE! My Copy could never be as perfectly 'female' as I! THIS DAY I SHALL PROVE MY SUPREMACY!
PoC: O_O S-she's a-he's a-in drag-MetalscrossdressingforSilver ? Um…um…um…*sucks thumb*
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Time
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Another diagnosis, another set of stats to review, another LONG day had passed. As the head physician, the old E-85 had to wonder why the Master had chosen to treat his creations with such disregard. Though she was marked '85' under the Eggman-line, she was in fact older than most any other robot in the base. As such, she would often find herself recalling the bygone days when the fearsome Doctor Ivo Robotnik treated his works of art with more respect; back when he was the ambitious, but kindly, Julian.
"My…how time changes a person." She hummed, still overseeing her final duties "If he keeps on treating his servants in such a way, they may very well grow restless." Placing up a few 'bio' scans of a robot, her mind still wandered "For time…can even change us. We too will change and learn to want, but without a stable leader to guide us; that want will inevitably turn into destructive lust." When she removed her large hands, the flat scans revealed the picture to be of not one, but four different spiny-backed robots; each bearing a vague resemblance to Metal Sonic.
"Metal…will this time be different?" Her question hung in the air as she placed two fingers on the centermost picture.
"ACK! Hey YOU! GET BACK HERE!"
85 cringed when she heard a crash followed by distinct yelling coming from down the hall. He was at it again… She knew he meant well, but he had the most unfortunate luck when it came to accidents and interruptions. Poor E-33 was, once again, in trouble, and it fell upon her to inspect his recent 'crisis'. When she found him, he appeared to be struggling with something in his hands.
"E-33…what seems to be the problem THIS time?" The med-bot waited for the hurried fusspot to reply. In contrast to one of his gruff rants, she instead saw him face her with a huge, almost brainwashed, 'smile' on his LED lit face.
"Nothing Miss 85…" The bot groggily answered disrespectfully "Just…saying hi to myzzz new frienzzzd…?" Apart from sounding confused, 85 probably would've guess he needed a holiday, had the runner not introduced this new 'friend' of his. 85 didn't know whether to laugh or sigh when she witnessed the innocent doll she'd helped animate, neurologically holding E-33 hostage.
While his crystal shined an ominous crimson, the fox puppet's focused frown turned shy and somewhat fearful when he saw 85 looming overhead "Now dear, is this the sort of mischief your Mama would approve of?" Underneath this kindly saying was a masked threat of 'let the big scary robot go before I tell Silvia'. This worked well enough to free the weak-willed 33 of the puppets hacking prowess.
"Thank you for your assistance 33. Your shift is over." The dizzy and confused aid nodded incoherently and stumbled his way out, leaving 85 and the doll alone to talk.
Trying not to be short with him for leaving without supervision, 85 calmly asked "TD, is there something you want to tell me?" Shockingly, the stuffed fox leapt up and down excitedly while nodding. Blinking at his eagerness to confess, 85 muttered "Oh…really? Well then, let's go sit down first."
So after arriving at 85's office, the doll proceeded to tell her everything he had overheard.
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*Tails Doll POV*
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Wow, talking with older bots is really easy when you don't manipulate them. It made him curious if controlling that other guy was really necessary. Oh well, too late now, besides he'd done the right thing…right? Now that he had told E-85 about those mean machines, she'd tell Metal, and Metal would go in and ruin bad guys' plans. It'll be all over and happy soon, and then he'd get to see Metal and Mama again! Yup, everything was looking up.
Hmm…then why didn't Miss 85 seem happy? Didn't she know the super cool Metal would be able to fix all this? He was positive she'd be happy as he was…but instead…she looked…well he didn't know HOW to describe it! After pausing for, what seemed like forever, she turned her back to him and put her hand on some weird pictures, saying "It's already begun…" or something like that.
Whatever was wrong…it made him sad to see Miss 85 so upset. Not knowing what to do, he hopped off his seat and trotted over to the big doctor's side. When she took notice of his worried stares, 85 scooped the little doll up in an embrace. The Tails copy didn't know what to do besides return the hug and ask "What's wrong Miss 85? Isn't Metal going to make everything better?"
Even sadder than ever before, she forlornly replied "I don't know sweetie… I just…don't know."
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*Metal's crew POV*
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Atop a peak above the vast hills and mountains sat the team's vigilant scout. He had stood guard for the last…fifteen minutes or so since his unit had received positive reconnaissance results from commanders Metal Sonic and his partner. However, with the blue target out of the way, there was a question of where the leading duo had gotten off to. Trouble mounted when even their own long-range recon scanners did not avail them in finding their lost leaders. The scout also deduced the recent tremors and blasts to be clear signs of a battle…a battle that they were strictly ordered to NOT engage in.
"Any sign of them?" The medic asked, proving to be the only unit that shared the scout's concern for Metal Sonic and The Prototype. When he saw the spotter's grim head shake, the veteran physician commented "I see… Nevertheless, we have our orders. Come on, let's pack it up."
The scout turned back in surprise, almost acting shocked by his teammate's statement "You would leave him behind? You know our botpower shortage is severe as is! We can't afford to abandon a strong unit like Metal Sonic!" He seemed adamant on staying…too much so for the average mindless peon.
Evidently, the med-bot knew why this was, as his words followed his thoughts "Listen to me solider, you're using abnormal logic this time. I too may disagree with Master Eggman's orders, but you must have greater reason for disobeying tha-Wait! Where do you think you're going?" the field relief looked alarmed when the scout, in total violation, made his way towards Metal's last known location.
The scout geared his head back briefly to reply "My actions may not compute with you, but I don't expect them to! I'm going to render Master Metal aid!" And he hovered off into the distant hillside.
Cupping one hand over his audio-transmitting 'mouth' the archaic medic choked out "M-Master Metal? What kind of madness has taken you rookie…?" These thoughts were more directed to himself than anyone else, for the headstrong scout had already sped out of sight; in careless devotion to the metallic savior: The same one who had previously saved the green scout's life.
Though he may not know it, Metal Sonic's heroic actions had permanent effects on both those directly and indirectly involved. The old doctor-machine feared that more, much like this fresh-circuit, would be driven to deviance if the Sonic clone's reputation kept up.
"Metal Sonic: A hero, a paragon among robots…and possibly our death-sentence." He whispered while his systems alerted him of an incoming transmission from Eggman himself. No doubt...requesting a status report.
"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast."
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*Silvia's POV*
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Creeping over the hills stung her fleshy legs terribly. It was a wonder why the 'good doctor' had placed her in such a cumbersome wrap of skin, while her inner workings stayed composed of sturdy alloys. Even being fitted with advanced footwear did NOT make hoisting Metal's disabled frame any easier. His streamlined design failed to convey how heavy the Sonic copy actually was. To top all this off, her path of rough peaks sported a 'lovely' assortment of pebbles and stones, all of maximized sharpness. Mmm…yes, perfect. The mission was ending every bit as awful as she had expected, no…maybe even worse.
"So Metal…do you always sweet talk THEN kill, or am I just lucky?" Partially, this rough-edged comment came out as a joke, but the rest contained some well-disguised fear. Metal had indeed undergone some impressive cognitive cycling throughout this mission. As hard as she tried to attributing these alterations to some defect…what if it wasn't? Was possible that Metal's true persona had just now…come out…? But…what about all those things he said to her earlier? Was that part of him…not really him?
Continual doubt simmered in her systems; warning her to not let her guard down for a second. Some parts of her thinking still urged the use of deadly force against this presently-deadweight threat. It told her that he had used higher logic to deceive her, and that he had meant her harm from the very beginning. Another data stream stated that he had appealed to her weak, mobian side so as to dispatch her with greater ease. The insurmountable rise of 'anti-Metal Sonic' alerts were pushing her towards a full-scale system crash. She had an adequate enough supply of hard facts and data to rationalize his destruction. And if that was too harsh, then at least disabling his sensory features seemed fair, considering the kind of 'pain' he would experience when Eggman demolishes him.
Rocky trails thankfully kept her mind off these more painful topics. Even so, Silvia still wondered if things might have been different, perhaps if they had met under casual circumstances. Would she have thoughtlessly eliminated him then? Would she have thought nothing of their conversation under the sunset?
Again, her thoughts trailed back to Metal's former, what's the word, kindness maybe? Whatever the name, it may very well have had some lingering effect on her rational decision making. Likely because it presented doubt about Metal's intentions, serving to prove that he had not been in his right mind. That made sense…she wasn't being irrational, she was using caution. By this argument, it was for strict, practical reasons that she resisted her security programming, nothing more.
At least…that's the excuse she gave herself.
"Master Metal, Silvia!" She heard someone shout in a robotic voice.
Upon hearing her name called, she looked up. The hybrid then watched as a member of their troop jetted down to her level. The trooper had, by mechanical standards, a frantic look on his face as he asked "Good to you intact Miss, but what has happened to Metal Sonic? Is he…" She was reluctant to reveal anything to this lone unit at first, knowing she had not prepared a suitable report for herself OR Metal. Was now the time to tell the truth, and condemn the doppelganger to death?
Swallowing hard, Silvia hesitated. No intelligent speech exited her dry mouth.
Just when the cat seemed out of the bag, the scout rushed to her side and supported half of the damaged hedgehog's weight "We can discuss details later. For now, let's get the two of you back to H.Q."
One minor crisis averted, but so many more incoming. Though it could be sidestepped for now, Silvia knew the dreaded mission questionnaire could not be avoided forever.
Time, for both of them, was running out.
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*Eggman's POV*
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"Your dinner, doctor." Orbot casually informed his obese creator, as he so often did. Ridiculous as it was, Orbot had been flying back and forth between bases just to provide his services, but he nevertheless did so without complaint. The large scientist was always happier with food in his digestive tract anyway.
"No time for that now!" Eggman unexpectedly roared "Get Metal Sonic's unit on the line, IMMEDIATELY!" Orbot of course did as he was told, but what on great Mobius had brought about such change? First the doctor locks himself up in another base altogether, fiddling day in and day out with his newest creation, and now he refuses extra calories? Something was very amiss…
Having contacted the crew, Orbot had scarcely gotten them to pick up before Eggman snatched the radio for himself "Now hear this! Don't you 'Yes Master Eggman' ME you dull-witted scrap heap! I gave you explicit orders to return to base, with or without Metal Sonic! I-what do you mean 'he's been found'? Alive? ….not destroyed?" A long pause followed these comments.
Sinking back into his seat while holding his bald head, the doctor said "Very well, NOW return to base. What's that? I need to hear who's mission report? …? What in Chaos' name is a 'Silvia'? DON'T WASTE MY TIME WITH SUCH NONSENSE! Get…back…to…BASE!" In a raging fit, Dr. Eggman slammed the silly device into the bitterly cold floor below, causing the sphere-bot give him a questioning stare.
Little did that Orbot or anyone else know…his plans were getting murkier by the second. With Metal Sonic still defunct and in the picture, there would be more disorder to deal with back at base. True, he could simply disable him…but he was no fool. Eggman had taken notice of the E-bots' growing insurrection him some time ago. To avoid such added dissonance, he would have to get rid of Metal in a more…'tactful' manner.
Leaning back to relax, the heavy human consoled himself by saying "Well let's look on the bright side: The Prototype proved itself indeed powerful enough for my plans, and possessed of enough loyalty to attack Metal Sonic." Thinking back on the 'elimination' issue, he gave his helper an order "Orbot…get me the coordinates of that A.I.M. general. I say it's time we offered an 'anonymous tip'. Hmm…yes, and as for our treacherous element? I'll attend to that in good time. Ho-ho-ho, yes, all in good time…" Grinning happily at his 'perfectly hatched' schemes, the doctor took a huge bite out of…himself?
"OUCH! Why in the-where is my…?" Catching a glimpse of his empty, throbbing hand, Eggman completely boiled over "ORRRRRRRRRBOT! GIMME MY SANDWICH!"
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End of Chapter Twenty-five
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Right, so I know this took forever and didn't make much story progress, but I hope everyone will bear with me and my slowness. I'm really happy to have not lost most of you :). I honestly didn't expect as many comments as I got, so thank you all very much for the support! I'll try to make the next chap a bit longer.
Until next time!