Please read the Author's Note at the end for further details on this books update.
Third Person
"How many times have I told you Metal, you can't go attacking him whenever and however you'd like. He will always leave you like a broken toy."
"But Master if I may-"
"No Metal. Just be glad I was able to make an excuse or he will have my head." Robotnik was in his workshop where he made all his robots for his 'Master' . Right now, he was repairing a certain Metal Sonic that didn't know what the words 'do not attack' meant and that clearly had a mind of its own. "I know that you still register him as your number one enemy Sonic the blasted Hedgehog but you have to remember that this... thing isn't that rodent anymore. This is a monster." after tightening the last bolt of the robot's arm back into place, Robotnik got up from his kneeling position to a standing one while stretching out his back to get the kinks out of it. "You understand Metal?"
"I understand Master." the robot replied as he turned to face his creator. Robotnik began to pick up his tools that were lying all over the place while scowling. He knew what happened the last time when his workshop wasn't clean and orderly - his 'Master' coming and beating him for it- and decided to listen to his warning. After all, with that hedgehog being so unpredictable, who would actually want to stand up against him? No one in their right mind.
"Oh why did things have to turn out this way?" the human began his rant with a bitter tone filled with venom. "I thought that making that age machine I would finally be able to outbest my enemy once and for all but noooo things never go my way or the way I want them to. Out of all the insane things that could ever happen, he just had to be a demon. A demon! You know, maybe this is life's way of telling me that I can never win. Being commanded like a puppet, forced to work 24/7 with barely anything to eat and chained to this room only... look at me, if I wasn't immortal then I would've died a long time ago." he walked over to his bench with the chain on his ankle rattling with each step while also looking down at his thick jacket that had extra padding from all of the attacks that should've killed him in the past. Only he actually knows what he looked like under all the padding -slim figure but not a lot of muscle, an almost exact replica of his deceased grandfather Gerald Robotnik. But now with the human as he is now, he looked like nothing but skin and bones.
"Master, your sulking." the robot stated the obvious making the human deadpan.
"Yes I know Metal. Let me sulk in peace." just as he said that, a whizzing noise came out of nowhere and he sighed when he heard it. "Or not."
"Doctor Eggman!" the childish robot -Bokkun- cried out when he came close enough to see the human.
"How many times do I have to tell you Bokkun?" Robotnik hissed while placing his tools in their proper place then turning towards said robot with a glare. "I don't go by that name anymore. My name is Robotnik, get it into your systems!" but his glare faltered when he saw or didn't see that the childish robot had only one arm. The unattached arm was hanging out of his hand and from the looks of it, it had seen better days. "And what happened to you?" at those words, the robot sniffled.
"Sonic used me as target practice." what sounded like a huff came out of Metal as said robot crossed his arms over his chest.
"Of course he did that. You probably annoyed him so much that he got bored with you and decided to use you like a play toy."
"I didn't annoy him!" Bokkun protested then looked sheepish. "I just asked him a lot of questions." And with that Metal just simply stared at the childish robot.
"That's called annoying him you little brat." Metal, Bokkun and Robotnik all looked up to where the voice was coming from to see the miniature orange robot made out of cloth that resembled the two-tailed fox -Tails Doll- sitting on the ledge of an open air vent.
"Hello, Doll." Robotnik clenched his teeth when he saw said orange robot making the doll's crystal on the string flash for a second. And in that second, the doll had moved from the vent to hovering in front of his creator's face with the doll's eyes being the red and black colour scheme topped off with sharp claws and razor sharp fangs in his now movable mouth.
"It's Tails Doll to you, Robotnik." the doll spit out the humans name with as much venom as a robot could muster before flying backwards, his appearance changing back into its innocent look. "And I presume that you have barely made any progress from my Master's last command." the doll nodded towards the hedgehog robot making Robotnik sneer.
"For your information doll, Metal Sonic is processing any and all new data that I've feed through his systems." the doll stared at Robotnik before making a scoffing noise and starting to fly towards the vent.
"Yeah right. All your feeding him is complete nonsense you primitive buffoon." before the human could send a single word at the orange robot, said robot had already slipped into the vent. Robotnik growled as he slammed his fist onto the work bench.
"I hate that doll!" it was quiet except for the human's breathing - that is until Metal decided to speak up.
"Master, if I may ask, wasn't Tails Doll supposed to be a spy bot with the sole purpose to collect data and report back to you?" Robotnik gave a curt nod.
"Yes but that was before he got his hands on that doll and somehow changed it to be how it is now."
"Well... I would like to be friends with this Tails Doll if it were nicer..." Bokkun muttered to no one in particular before glaring at Robotnik while waving his detached arm around. "And you still haven't fixed my arm yet!" the human gave a tired sigh as he rubbed his head.
"I really am lonely if I have to make robots with personalities."
"How can you be lonely when I come to visit every now and again?" the two robots and human all looked towards the entrance as Sally Acorn came walking in with a small smile.
"Queen Sally Acorn Approaches." Metal stated making Robotnik's frown deepened. Why did all his robots have to state the obvious?
"Your Majesty." Robotnik gave a mock salute making the chipmunk grimace.
"Please Robotnik, no formalities. I don't even feel like a queen not with me standing beside him as he sits on a throne." she sighed as she looked down at her feet. "Day in and day out I'm forced to watch as he rips living being after living being. You know, just by watching what he does can make one go insane just by thinking about it. And don't even get me started on how many times I had to act like I was okay-"
"Okay, alright, I get it!" the human yelled out making the chipmunk stop her rant. Sally chuckled while rubbing her neck nervously.
"Yeah, sorry about that Robotnik. I was never the talkative type before... I guess everyone changes in times like these days of war."
"Quite so Sally." the two organics froze as their bodies turned rigid and a cold chill seeped through their skin and down their spines. The two robots both got worried -well, as worried as a robot could be- for they both knew that voice, and both of them surely don't want to be anywhere near that voice. All of them turned to the entrance a little hesitant to see come straight out the shadows. Bokkun yipped as the robot saw him and hid behind Robotnik. The hedgehog sauntered in with the orange robot at his side -with the same claws, fangs, and red and black eyes like before- his expression was one of sheer boredom.
"Do you seriously follow me everywhere?" Sally glared as she asked herself that but that only made the hedgehog chuckle once he stopped beside her.
"No, in fact, I don't follow you everywhere Sal. I only came when I heard from my doll that Robotnik was trying to mock him and wasn't doing his work." he then looked towards the human giving a suspicious glare at him. "Tell the truth Robotnik. Did you or did you not do any of those things?" Robotnik was about to answer that is until Metal stepped in front of the human.
"You shall not harm my Master." he stated while standing tall but that only made blink then giggle while slowly smiling until it turned into a full blown distorted laugh with his head thrown back.
"You actually think you could ever stop me you pathetic metal copy?" said once he stopped laughing. "I can tear you apart before you have had any time to register anything happening." to demonstrate, he lifted up his hand where black energy was rolling of it in waves to point it at Metal covering his limbs in a black aura. Once the organic hedgehog's hand clenched into a fist, the robotic hedgehog's limbs came flying out of his sockets. let the limb-less robot body fall to the ground with his limbs following suit. "Told you." his arms crossed over his chest before turning his gaze back towards Robotnik. "Well? I'm waiting."
"Bokkun!" the human was yet again interrupted as four robots came running -although two of them would be considered floating- in. The two that was actually running was Decoe and Bocoe the long, skinny golden loud-mouth and the short, skimpy silver scaredy-cat. The other two were Orbot the red, circular smartass and Cubot the yellow square idiot. "Bokkun, there you are! We thought we lost you!" it was Decoe that shouted out while the other three robots followed closely behind.
"Man, it sure was hard following you." Cubot stated while wiping his brow then gave an animated chuckle "I thought my legs were going to give out!" that made the circular robot look at his square brother.
"Cubot, you don't have legs." that made Cubot stop and stare at him.
"WHAT!?" as all the ruckus was going on, Robotnik rubbed his forehead then looked at Sally with a deadpan face and gesturing towards the robots.
"I really am lonely." Sally gave a nervous chuckle.
"AHEM!" that made all organic and robotic beings in the room jolt as they looked towards a heaving who had a black fire aura surrounding him, his fur a midnight black and his eyes glowing brighter than before. "Do I nEeD tO ShUt YoU aLl DoWn If It MeAnS tHaT i CaN tAlK iN pEaCe?" and by the snap of anyone's fingers, all robots -that could move- hid behind Robotnik who deadpanned.
"What am I? A human shield?" but a low feral growl from the black hedgehog made Robotnik cower a bit.
"AnSwEr ThE dAmN qUeStIoN roBoTnIk." the human's mouth opened and closed multiple times before he could clear his throat.
"W-Well..." he had to stop to clear his throat again because it was too pitchy for his liking and stood up tall to show his dominance. "For you information, that doll of yours was mocking my work that I was clearly doing to fix Metal Sonic that you so happened to damage again!" gave a distorted laugh that was lower then usual while giving a demented smile.
"ThAt Is BeCaUsE eVeRyOnE iS iNfErIoR tO mE." he spoke just above a whisper then let out another laugh, his voice rising in volume. "I nEeD aLl Of My UnDeRlInGs To LiStEn To Me. EsPeCiAlLy WiTh ThE uPcOmInG iNvAsViOn Of AtHeNs HaPpEniNg SoOn."
"Invading Athens?" it was Sally's meak voice that got everyone's attention on her. "Why so soon? That is technically suicide."
"Oh SaLlY, tHe OnE tO aLwAyS dOuBt Me, I hAvE a PlAn." he then smirked. His fur turned back to normal, the aura dissipating and voice going back to normal. "If anyone decides to fight me, I'll demonize them. Hehe. If anyone tries to fight me while they are demonized, I'll take their free will away. Hehehehe." even with his voice back to normal, both Sally and Robotnik heard the demented playfulness in it. "If they still manage to fight me after that... haha... I'll roboticize them! Hahahahahaha!" it was now that the chipmunk and human looked at eachother. Both of them were worried of what the insane hedgehog has become. "Hahahehe... and if they STILL manage to fight me after that, permanent dismantling so they will never be a pain to me anymore! Just look at Bunnie Rab-BOT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" while was laughing his ass off with his hand on his forehead, Sally and Robotnik both looked over to a dismantled robotic rabbit with tired, sad eyes. Because of her robotic limbs, Bunnie was still able to keep her free will through both demonizations and a full robotization that no one to this day could figure out. So, fed up with her fighting him, dismantled her -taking away all vital wires and parts that she would need to be active again but just leaving her metal husk to just collect dust. All the robots that were eerily quiet up till now could barely move a muscle from what they just heard. Even Tails Doll was seriously thinking that hiding behind the human wasn't such a bad idea.
"Why?" Sally whispered causing to stop his fit of laughter. "Why are you doing this to them, to all of us? What have we ever done to you, Sonic?"
"Torture." the hedgehog blankly said without missing a heartbeat. "I'm doing this because of all the torture you'd put me through, all the constant teasing that I was forced to grow up with in Athens, saying how I'm only half demon and half mortal, the feeling that I could never fit in anywhere -especially with my friends. After finding out what Athenians true purpose was meant to be after being kept in the dark for so long - to kill anyone without any remorse - I decided to use that to my advantage. When The Council banned me from Athens and took my friends away from me, it hurt. I was angry at what they had done to me, so, I decided to do the exact same thing, only more demented. I don't care who gets in my way, gets killed or decides to become a 'hero', all I want is to show the pain that I have felt and increase it tenfold. So by becoming the one true god that will stand above everyone, my ideals will be perfected." he chuckled for the thousandth time and smirked. "Athens won't know what hit it."
"I still can't believe he wants to go through with this." Sally whispered to Robotnik making sure that the hedgehog didn't hear them, unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side. As was basking in his glorious plan, he had heard the chipmunk but decided to stay quiet to get any information in case he might need it.
"I'm more worried about what he might make us do." the two jolted as they heard the hedgehog make a distorted laugh again.
"You two are so simple minded." stated making the two start to fidget. "All I care about is my objective and if you have to work until your fingers fall off, then so be it." he was about to walk away when he looked over at Robotnik with his hands behind his back. "You sure got a lot on your hands Robotnik, firing up you old copies, fixing Metal Sonic, making your robots sturdier, taking away their loyalty to make them loyal to me and only me, oh and don't forget to take away their pathetic personality. If your not careful, I might take yours away instead Robotnik." He then looked over at Sally. "And Sally, if you want to try and kill me with poison, why not try cyanide? I bet that I may like the taste of almonds." Robotnik gave her an incredulous look.
"You actually went along with that!?"
Sally simply shrugged. "I had to do something but I realized it wasn't working soon after."
"And you need to be careful what you do Sal." Sally gave a wry smile at the glare she was given the hedgehog. "I may just turn the tides on you." turned away from the both of them and walked away. "Come along doll." after a look back at Robotnik, Tails Doll raced after his Master. Once he was out of sight, the two organics in the room let out a simultaneous sigh.
"Well... that was eventful." Robotnik said as he looked towards his workbench then down towards the side where all his other robots from over the years were laying. He sighed then looked towards the chipmunk. "Sally..." he forced himself to say her name rather than being rude and calling her by a title that didn't really exist. "Do you think that this will ever end?" Sally sighed while running a hand through her hair.
"I don't know Robotnik... but someone wise once told me that everything must come to an end." she then looked up into his eyes. "But even if that is true, how will anyone know for real how any of this will end? We could all end up as slaves forever!" she gestured outwards with wide eyes then shook her head. She let her head and arms fall while sighing again. "Or all of us could just simply die..."
"How could you think like that?" the two turned to look at Orbot as he spoke once he finally came out of hiding knowing it was safe. "It's not healthy to think so negatively."
"I agree!" Cubot shouted as his voice came from under one of the deactivate robots named Mecha Sonic.
"Umm... Cubot, why are you under there?" Decoe asked
"It's warm."
"That doesn't make sense..." Bocoe stated while tilting his head. "You don't have any nerves."
"... It's a metaphor!" the cube shaped robot yelled out and Robotnik sighed for the thousandth time. Or what felt like the thousandth time.
"Morons." he muttered then looked at the chipmunk. "I have work to do."
"Oh... alright, I'll see you later then." she turned to leave then looked over her shoulder once last time to giggle at how the four robots were fighting over what type of ice cream would be better.
"Chocolate is the best!"
"No, strawberry is!"
"I think you're both wrong because vanilla is clearly a better choice."
"I just like yelling!"
"Shut up!" Bokkun was the one who made them silent but then they started up again with their voices mixed.
"Personally Robotnik," Sally started with a smile playing on her lips. "I think you should keep their personalities. It sure would get boring without them." Robotnik hummed while rubbing his chin.
"I'll see what I can do. Maybe I could get them to fake the whole 'no personality' thing..." his words fell quiet as he went back to work and Sally's smile softened. She missed the little things like this. As she walked away, she could only wonder what the future had in store for all of them.
Hey everyone. Now I know what I said in my previous Author's Note but with all the info that I have, I don't think it's the best if I do end up restarting. I thought about rewriting this story because of how fast-paced it was and the overload of characters. But now that I thought it over, if I do end up rewriting Killer's To The Core and Nightmare Ending then I'll do it when the book is over. I have something big planned and if the updates go as planned then I can achieve that goal. I don't know when the next update will be but please be patient with me. I really am trying. Well, I don't have anything else to say right now.
Faith, out!