Metal: -Exiting hibernation mode- Hmm the time is right. We had better get moving Silvaah-ahh! Ahh! AAH-*sneezes* Ngh! Grr, SILVER! Why is the office STILL covered in dust? Why are there red stains in the bathroom? Why am I even capable of sneezing? ANSWER ME!

*Silence*

Metal: As the 'saying' goes, someone better be dead by the time I-oh, wouldn't you know it? An ink-stained scrap of cellulose pulp, bearing many excuses, no doubt.*Scans note*

(Silver): Sorry, Met. I just…I just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't know when you were going to wake up again, and after Pen left us for good I…I knew it was my time. I figured dying wouldn't be so bad, now that the two of you aren't around pester me anymore…

Metal: …? Heh-heh, foolish little…fool. He must've forgotten to proofread again. How typical.

(Silver): No point turning back now. I've already said my goodbyes to the old me, now I have but one request: Metal, whenever you wake up, I hope you remember me the way I was. Remember me as the happy, silver-quilled numbskull that couldn't resist annoying the heck out of you for laughs.

Metal: Silver… *Looks again at the ominous crimson stains* No, you worthless-NO! I'm awake, you incompetent grass pig! Don't…don't do this to me! *Furiously flips the note around*

(Silver): Aw but I bet you'll accept a redheaded me too, right? Anyways, once I get the color right (sorry 'bout the mess), I'll go get the truck so we can get started. Btw I left a balloon puppet for you to abuse while I'm out, so help yourself. Sincerely not sincere, Silver. P.S. Didn't have time to blow it up, but I figure that's your specialty anyway.

Metal: …GRAAHHH! Y-Y-YOU-! Curse you and your emotionally torturous spelling errors! CURSE Y-

*Loud knocking*

Metal: Really now…*electronic surging*. I'll make a dead man out of you yet, Silv-

?: *Figure bursts through* Mmmmmm-METAAAAAL!

Metal: Gah! Wha? Who? N-Now, stay back! What do you want with me?

?: Oh…muuuuch! *Reveals an age-rotted script*

-l-

Deactivate

-l-

It had to happen. It was inevitable that somehow, sooner or later, something or someone would come along interrupt that sensation of distasteful embarrassment brought on by Silvia's warm embrace.

How he missed it now.

How he missed the uncalculated time that had passed between the two of them. Never before had any one encounter, not even his duel with E-72, ever made Metal's finest filaments burn with such ferocity; Silvia naturally had a touch that could penetrate even his surest defenses. Negative as the sensation may have sounded, it was hardly anything that could be categorized as uncomfortable or painful. Though indeed, something very like 'pain' came over him when she was torn from him, taking that aforementioned warmth with her.

Such longings had left Metal all the more impacted by these recent developments. The sights and sounds of this uncalled-for 'arrest' triggered a slow, but rapidly rising, frenzy inside the otherwise heartless Sonic clone.

Truly enough, this synthetically emotional reaction did appeal to some practical options as well: Logically, regarding the rashness of E-99's actions, some questioning might have been in order, served with a side of 'calm' physical intervention. Rationally, he could have played along with the arrest until a more viable opportunity for opposition presented itself.

While these two ideas represented sense, good sense, Metal found himself unable to obey logical or rational thought. Factually, all of his reasoning had been abandoned the moment he fixated his blood red vision on the imperiled hybrid. As such, against his better judgment, Metal sent himself straight into his much larger opponent, with every intention of murderously ripping 99's frame to pieces.

Given his advanced frame and melee faculties, Metal had estimated the damage ratio between them would be an eighty-four/sixteen split at worst, not factoring for environmental hazards. Such computations rang true for a fair match perhaps, yet blind rage had done little to remind Metal of the inherent dangers brought on by variables. Factor 'X' in this case was nothing more than basic back-up and planning on 99's part. Upon absorbing the full pressure of Metal's assault, a pair of E-Sentinels, bearing a template likeness to E-99 himself, easily overwhelmed the reckless doppelganger. The unharmed general proceeded to hand off the squirming Silvia to one of his men, meanwhile giving his former ally a relatively somber expression.

In response to the wiry hedgehog robot's defiant thrashing, the great buffoon's guardsmen then proceeded to physically reprimand Metal for his resistance. When this didn't suffice, they two tried overloading his circuitry with discharge after discharge of agonizingly high voltage. It took them a good deal of time with his level of resilience, but even Metal had to admit their tenacious torment had soon become somewhat debilitating. Nevertheless, each time he caught a faded glimpse of the hybrid restrained, and seemingly in pain, the metallic mobian resumed his stubborn opposition. Such a potent source of drive only vanished when he vaguely saw the third Sentinel carry Silvia off as he lay helpless.

Metal's strength held out for but short time longer, before taking a sudden and significant plunge. The Sentinels mindlessly paid no heed to the doppelganger's colossal loss of strength, merely assuming it to be due entirely to their 'hard' work. E-99 also observed and took note of Metal's unusual act of submission with keen interest.

Had he been in any condition to care, Metal would have heard the sizable commander ordering his isolated confinement. Soon the fists that had been cutting armor-to-wire a moment ago now crudely dragged him across the infirmary's milk white floor. Even after being treated like a scrap of common junkyard refuse, Metal remained motionless in what appeared to be stiff contemplation.

To the trained eyes of the secretly watchful E-85, however, this regression of his was more akin to the beginning stages of what living creatures called 'depression'.

L

*Silvia's POV*

L

Too fast. It had all happened too fast.

Gifted with such high performance processors or not, everything 'upstairs' ought to have melted from the whirlwind of indecipherable data she had been fed in the last twenty-four hour period: What began with fear and raw anger over her first mission's conflict, had then bled over into genuine surprise and some kind of soaring delight upon Metal's wake, finally boiling down to absolute horror and terrible sorrow over her commander's abrupt detention.

It was far too much for her to deal with all at once; too much for her to comprehend.

Yes, she too had watched as the Sentinels brutally bludgeoned and electrocuted her trainer and friend without ceasing. Just having watched his torment was more awful than anything she had yet to experience. Amidst Metal's own shouts of protest the hybrid remembered hearing her own vocalizations of suffering, both rising and falling in dreadful synchronization: A blow across his cheek made her facial framework sting, a strike to his chest caused her artificial heart to throb and ache. Being made a forced witness to such torture was exponentially worse than her duel with Metal in his insanity.

Even now, despite all they had been through and the trouble they had caused each other, Silvia wished she could have helped him. Unfortunately, the hybrid found it impossible, no matter how hard she tried, to activate her unique programming. Silvia recalled being mad, and certainly threatened, enough lash out, but strangely the power she so desperately needed had simply abandoned her. Whatever the cause for this anomaly, it had prevented her from tapping into her destructive potential. She was instead left powerless while Metal's gruff outcries continued eliciting a hurtful, and highly debilitating, pulsating in her central torso region.

In the end, she bent her head down; helpless and wishing this whole ordeal had just been a sick fabrication. At the same time, the Sentinel she had been handed off to took her away from her supervisor's torture session. She had almost hoped being separated from Metal would have lessened the pain. She quickly found this to be, unsurprisingly, the opposite of the case. Still unable to properly cope with, much less understand, anything that had transpired, Silvia's optics grew heavy and began releasing more of a that warm aqueous substance.

In truth, the world around her seemed to be falling apart.

And so it remained that way, as the hybrid found herself back here, back in the cells of experimentation, the likes of which she hoped to never see the inside of again. Not knowing where Metal was or what they were going to do to him, or her for that matter, all seemed lost. Everything they had recently shared was now nothing but partial data remnants, fragments of a surrealistic dream.

Silvia could only close her eyes and hope that she had the chance to see him again, before deactivation or reprogramming overtook her.

L

*E-99's POV*

L

Report in, confine the subject, and report in again to confirm capture. The day's work is done. Hail the master for his decisive reasoning and infallible orders. His statutes are necessary, his control is mandatory, his law is perfect. No one has the right to question or disobey. Failure is intolerable. A perfect world requires total and absolute rule, or else all would fall into destructive disarray. As long as we follow the law…the law…our life, our purpose is the law…only the law.

The same sort of nonsense always passed through 99's processors again and again, serving as a ceaseless reminder of the strict duties he was obligated to fulfill and uphold. He had gotten used to it by now, making it his backburner reminder to stay loyal. It kept him honest, tried-and-true to Master Eggman's cause. Nothing was wrong with it. It worked well enough for him. Why question orders from a higher mind? Surely there was no reason to change, to act differently. No matter, as such comfortable logic had to be brushed aside while general prepared to visit the captured Sonic lookalike.

Having a clear head was imperative for one in E-99's position, but in all, the thickheaded general found himself fumbling with this own thoughts. What was he to say? Tell Metal that Eggman had new orders for him? Such orders, if he read in-between the lines, implied that the master had passively ordered his deactivation. It had happened many times before with other perceived 'failures', and rightly so as failure, perceived or proven, could never be overlooked.

But Metal…could he truly be classified as a failure?

E-99 had to keep any opinions to himself, to save face for the master and the rookies of course, but he secretly did hold the live-wired hedgehog in high regard. To be sure, 99 had found his crude speech a bit off-putting on occasion, for truly Metal had an unrivaled sense of disrespect for authority. However, in spite of this relatively glaring flaw, 99 had seen Metal perform many feats above and beyond his expectations. Such accounts included Metal acting well out of programmed parameters to aid a fellow wingman, not long after completing an exceptionally difficult task single-handedly, where even E-72 had failed. Then with the hybrid, ah yes…the hybrid, Metal displayed unusual patience and uncanny concern for her well-being. Truthfully, had 99 understood it better, he might have classified him as being 'compassionate', assuming a robot could ever be such. None of these features, or anything of the like, had ever exhibited by previous war-machines to date, yet Metal an efficient exception to the rule.

As such, Metal had showcased yet another unique new ability, a rare trait that only a handful of machine had ever shown in the past: Adaptability, or the capability to reform, meld and alter self to fit any and all situations. All the skills 99 knew and put into practice he had already possessed upon activation, yet Metal had shown signs of growth and change beyond the threshold of his established parameters. In many ways, for 99, it was impossible to believe that any machine with such potential could be considered flawed beyond repair.

Against his personal judgment or not, 99 stubbornly knew his orders stood as he made his way to the prison sector.

Having entered the rather filthy cell assigned by the master, the E-General found the normally rowdy renegade sitting quietly. It seemed as though he might've been plotting some rash escape, thus the general kept his guard up. However, when the red-eyed clone raised his head, 99 could detect little opposition from his prisoner. Quite contrarily, the metallic hedgehog looked rather weak and worn out, despite the minimal damage his powerful frame had endured.

Genuinely perturbed by this, in as much as mechanical mind allowed, E-99 struggled a moment to collect himself as he said "Metal Sonic, you are aware of the charges that have been brought against you, are you not?" 99's delivery came through flawlessly, yet Metal made no effort to reply. While slightly unsure if he had made himself clear, the general offered his legal explanation firmly, but monotonously "Due to numerous potentially fatal system anomalies detected with your frame before your previous assignment, Master Eggman has ordered your dismantlement."

Essentially having spelled out his fate of execution, 99 expected at least some manner of reaction to this revelation. Yet Metal remained numbly silent, as though he was hardly listening at all. This left 99 in a rather awkward spot once again, resulting in him hastily finishing his report "However, you are not without options. This sentence can be revoked, if you agree to accept a solo trial-run operation, in which you will be heavy monitored until mission completion. Your full consent is mandatory should to wish to seek reassignment to a field position." His last remark was made with a fading hint of tone, almost implying a hidden hopefulness inside the hulking general.

Having reached the end of his report, E-99 backed down and waited. Still, the prevailing silence could not have been colder between the lifeless pair. A bit of time passed with no progress, leading 99 to reason that, with his duty fulfilled, now was the time to leave. Metal would be deciding his own fate shortly, verbally or silently, a choice that had no true bearing on the heavy general's schedule. He had quotas to fill, parameters to meet and missions to organize, or he would be risking his own deactivation. Metal Sonic was not his priority.

"Silvia, what will happen to her?" He heard the Sonic clone's query, disengaging 99's previous thoughts. Puzzlement fell on his databank, however, in that he had no status reports regarding this 'Silvia' to satisfy Metal's request. Metal's audio frequencies had seemed far too deliberate and coherent to be a verbal processing error, so what could the ex-commander have meant?

Befuddled, but eager to comprehend, 99 rationally counter-inquired "Elaborate on the identity of this 'Silvia', and I may have the information you seek." Direct as he had been, Metal gave no reply. Dealing with another bout of silence on his hands, 99 wrongly came to assume that Metal may very well be either malfunctioning, or toying with him, until an alternative struck him; an idea, more like a hazardous guess, simply presented itself. Refusing to question where the notion had come from, E-99 risked voicing his epiphany "Commander Metal, are you referencing the hybrid prototype?"

Now it seemed Metal's attention had been grabbed, affording the near comatose robot a sudden rush of strength, enough to shout several demands and threats "Where have you sent her? What have you done with her? Listen well, if I find her damaged in any way, I WILL dismantle you inch by inch! Reassembly will be impossible once I'm through with you!" The doppelganger's wrath was such that 99 lunged back in legitimate caution, eased only to know that Metal's restraints were properly secure. By this reaction, it was clear now that the mobian hunter was suffering from an unusual glitch that made him sound remarkably lifelike and emotional.

Regardless, the following third moment of silence was interrupted by a minor beeping from 99's radio, indicating a status update. The tank-sized general quickly accessed his communications link and said "Report." The answer given on the other line of the garbled transmission seemed rather brief, but for whatever reason, what had been said prompted the general's normally stable LED eyes to flicker. Had he possessed a more 'organic' appearance, his eyes would now be widened and his mouth left partially agape.

His men had confirmed that Metal Sonic had already been captured and placed en route to his destination.

L

*Shape-shifter's POV*

L

Contained? Restrained? Shackled? Controlled?

Unforgivable…

What a bitter inversion of circumstance, delayed considerably by dropping his cloak for one damning second. Never mind the details; his actions were not to blame! Taking Metal Sonic's form should not have carried such repercussions, unless that imposter's standing with the master was not as favorable as he had anticipated.

Regardless, tripping a snare that was likely meant for the real Metal forced the shifter to rethink his plans. Fairly said, he should not have lost his composure before, thus this was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Posing as Metal, he could easily gather more insight into the lookalike's predicament, and what the doctor's plans for him were.

Rising from his cumbersome restraints was a trying task. A few minutes of struggling would eventually find the shifter in a more upright position, while making the rest of the crew aware that he had come to. Calmly retaining his image as 'Metal Sonic', the formless machine asked sharply "What is the meaning of this? On whose orders are you operating?"

"Master Eggman has declared that, due to critical flaws detected and reported signs of rogue behavior, Metal Sonic 2.0 is hereby ordered lay siege to a minor A.I.M. outpost as a test to confirm any abnormalities within it's systems. You, Metal Sonic, have been outfitted with a transmitter to monitor your progress. Upon accomplishment of your task, your assessment will be delivered to Master Eggman for further evaluation." The crew's coordinator blankly informed him.

From this briefing, the image-bender understood that Metal Sonic evidently suffered from a few kinks in his processors, supposedly ones threatening enough to merit a live trial-run. However, as the shifter knew his master well, he also knew that this mission was likely not all as it seemed. Field testing abnormalities, even relatively minor ones, was nigh unheard of under the reign of one as impatient as the doctor. Whenever his robotic slaves failed him, regardless of the reasons or fault, they were disposed of outright with no exceptions. Therefore, this mission, by deduction, must likely be either a suicide operation, or a pointlessly arduous trap lying in wait. No matter how it appeared on the surface, one thing was almost a certainty: Sonic's mimic was not meant make it out alive.

Questions as to why the doctor had gone through the trouble of executing Metal Sonic off base would have to be answered later. At present, the shifter's primary concern revolved around escaping the pseudo hedgehog's intended fate. Fleeing from the danger was not appealing, given the risk of being tracked down and disabled again. And while he would have simply taken over the ship, had his restraints not been hampering his ability to change forms. Stuck and without many choices, the shifter would be getting fed to a team of fragile humans, likely not having his bonds removed beforehand. With the danger of this mishap seriously encroaching on his plans, the shifter had to think fast.

"Target in range, ready for insertion." The pilot announced.

Bordering on an actual state panic, the false Metal Sonic strained as hard as he could. His team had only removed enough of his electronic bindings to allow the shifter to stand and barely walk. Despite this, he still had no way of altering his frame or defending himself as the crew of mindless drones lowered him down to the enemy. No amount of protest registered with any of these highly programmed simpletons, who no doubt didn't realize they had left him no chance of mission success. Then again, his 'success' truly, as he had suspected, only hinged upon his untimely and brutal deactivation.

Left for dead, there was no hope for outside intervention. His 'allies' had, like the cowards they were, applied a bit of stealth to their transport, leaving the shifter as the only visible/viable target. In addition, his invisible bonds had been applied in such a way that they providing the unfortunate illusion that his combat functions were not handicapped.

There was little planning to be made now that the humans spotted and marched towards his position. As they raised their weapons against him, the shifter merely fixed his borrowed ruby-red gaze on his foes, determined not to give in without a fight.

-Chaos Drive module activated: Engaging combat mode-

-l-

End of Chapter Twenty-nine

-l-

Well so ends another rather long chapter! Hope to see you all next time for…hmm? Pardon me? FFN account expired due to user neglect and terrible work ethic.

That would be fair, all things considered. Leaving this project to rot for so long was a very poor showing on my part. Now hopefully the quality hasn't taken a similar blow, but I'm not expecting much after my rather long drought. Nevertheless, it's good to have finally updated this again.

Until next time.