51. Sport
The mechanical figure before the hedgehog didn't smile when he grinned his signature smirk, and she most certainly did not laugh when he cracked his usual poorly-crafted jokes. She didn't chuckle he tripped over his words, didn't even giggle at them. Instead, she simply did what she had been so used to doing in her current state—slap him across the face until his cheek was so bruised that he couldn't feel it anymore.
"You're an idiot," She would tell him as stars dance across his vision, "And you're going to die alone."
He'd merely laugh, "I know."
And then she would beat him into unconsciousness.
Such was the routine that Dr. Eggman had programmed into the roboticized Sally's head. Every day at noon precisely, she'd come in for questioning, he'd refuse to participate through a series of sarcastic and somewhat rude comments, and she'd promptly beat him to a pulp. And as to be expected, a few weeks of that took quite the toll on Sonic's body.
He had earned a black eye, two concussions, a dislocated shoulder, a broken leg (seriously, it was always the leg they went for), a smile that was missing the front top-left tooth, and quite a few other cuts and bruises that any other normal Mobian would have never been able to handle. It was all quite brutal, but as Eggman had expected, Sonic wore them like a medal he had proudly earned. Every time Mecha Sally walked in, Sonic would happily ask her, "What today princess? Maybe some cuts across my shoulders? That would look pretty cool."
Of course, his asking always ended with receiving, and Eggman had to admit it; he had cringed a few times when watching the video feed. Ouch.
It was always the same thing they went through, every single day at the exact same time. Always, always, always. Never any different, never any kinder. Always brutal, always cruel, always cold and unforgiving… always. Except for the one day when Eggman left.
He had explained to the roboticized princess to simply go on about with her usual work. There were a couple of "errands," that he needed to run, and he was trusting her to watch the place. Prevent any intruders from getting in, make sure no one other than the worker bots get out, and go on with your usual questioning. Those were the orders he had given her, and being what she had become, there was nothing that could ever been done to make her do otherwise.
Well, almost nothing.
The hedgehog was particularly quiet when she walked in that day. He didn't crack any jokes, he didn't smile, he didn't even look at her from where he was chained to the wall. He simply sat there, waiting until she was right in from of him to let him grace her with his attention.
The look in his eye was odd for some reason, though. There was a far-off gleam in them; some thought that was hanging on the edge, just about ready to pop. It was almost as if he was sad, but… there was far too much storming in his gaze for sadness to have been the answer.
For a long time, silence ruled. Then, after a few moments, the hedgehog broke it in half.
"It's kind of weird, Sal." He said, his voice soft as she released the lock on his wrists, causing him to slide down from the wall and land on his feet. "You know? That you always come and visit me every day in here."
She ignored his words as she pulled him away into the center of the room. Though she usually smacked him for his first remark, she decided that since he was behaving a little bit, he deserved at least a few moments of steady-minded talking. The fact that he hadn't said anything stupid so far was actually quite impressive in the mind of the roboticized princess.
"It reminds a bit of home. Knothole, I mean." He continued, nearly cringing when he brought up the old village. "I'm not sure if you remember right now, but… we always made sure to visit each other at least once a day."
Sally was silent as she he spoke. For once, her interest had been piqued by the hedgehog, and she couldn't keep herself from listening as she continued to drag him down the hall, grasping both of wrists with her metallic grasp.
"And it's kinda funny—well, ironic—when you think about it. After all these years, even when you've been roboticized, nothing really changes. I'm still the big-mouthed hero who gets the crap beaten out of him, and you're still the princess that always knows more than I do. Right?"
Even in her roboticized form, Sally couldn't stop herself from mentally agreeing with that comment.
"And since not much has changed over the years…" He said, pausing, as if he was contemplating something, as if he was tasting the words on his tongue before letting them pass his lips. "I'm still kind of crazy about…" But he suddenly stopped, perhaps because they had arrived at their destination, or perhaps he had realized that he was going to say something stupid.
Of course that had never stopped him before, and it was going to stop him now. As she pushed him into the room, a ghost of a smile took over the hedgehog. "You know one thing that has changed, Sal? It all used to be for sport. Just for fun. All my goofing off… I did it just because I could. But now there's a reason for it. Heck, there's been a reason for it for years. Did you know that?"
She didn't respond. Instead, she simply turned him around, shoving him back against the slightly angled table where he was always placed during interrogation. The hedgehog was simply rambling at this point in time. It was best to finish up quickly before—
Surprise had been something the Robian had rarely—if ever—felt. It had been taken from her, ripped from her basic programming upon receiving her upgrade. She shouldn't have felt any shock from seeing the hero before her. But as she looked into the burning eyes of the hedgehog that was suddenly standing up straight, nearly towering over her in his banged up form, she couldn't deny that some sort of spark had jumped across her circuits.
"You do know why I do it, Sal. I know you do. You always have."
She never even had the chance to ask him what that had meant, much less smack him for being so annoyingly cryptic. Before she could even form the question in her mind, the hedgehog had—within the blink of an eye—placed his hands on her metal cheeks and bestowed a kiss to her metallic muzzle.
And boy did her systems go buggy.
She felt a jolt of electricity pass through her chest, and for an entire moment, she froze in her place. What—what was he—how—when did—why was—but—excuse me? What was he doing? Was Sonic the Hedgehog being serious with her, or was he playing with her? Everything that was running through her metallic body and her mind was making her head spin, but in-between the confusion, she was able to do three things.
First and foremost, she was able to push him away and end the kiss.
Second, she found herself capable of slapping him across the face so hard that he was sent flying across the room and into the wall with a loud thud.
And finally, she discovered an amazing reserve of energy that was perfectly compatible with a scolding.
"Sonic the Hedgehog, what on Mobius are you thinking?" She exclaimed, her programming suddenly making her cheeks burn with an artificial blush as Sonic held his check, staring at her with wide eyes. "Are you—is this some sort of a game to you? Because that's not funny! Didn't your uncle ever teach you not to play with a girl's—?"
She stopped the moment Sonic started laughing out loud.
"Why on Mobius are you laughing?"
It took a moment to find the right words, but when Sally heard them, she couldn't have been more shocked in all her life.
"Who knew a kiss of all things would restore Sally Acorn's free will?"
It has been WAY too long since I have updated. XP I've tried and tried to get to a computer, but it has been rough lately. But hey, here it is! Number 51!
I hope I'll be able to update tomorrow. If not, I'll do my best to update soon.
But hey, true love's kiss! Ha ha!
Thanks to flying star, brave kid, ShadowEmpress76, Sesshomarusama3, and Candace for all the reviews. Thanks to you guys, this is now my most reviewed story! :D Sweet! You guys rock! XD
Until next time!
