In the meantime, the strange device had stumped Tails. As far as he could tell, all it did was go 'beep' every fifteen minutes. Just as he was about to give up on it, a familiar voice behind him said, "There you are, Tails!"
Tails glanced behind, and saw Sonic, Omega, and Bane approaching. "Oh, hey, guys. I didn't realize you'd left. I was just trying to find out what this thing does…" he said, gesturing to the odd machine.
It went 'beep'. Sonic, Omega, and Bane looked at it with mild interest. "Oh, that thing…" Bane said. "Not a clue as to what it's supposed to be, I'm afraid."
Omega prodded it with one of his new claw protectors. It didn't respond. So, he prodded it again. Nothing. He gave it one last prod. Again, nothing happened. He turned to Tails and shrugged. "No idea here, I'm afraid…"
"I say, could you please stop poking me like that?"
Everyone turned slowly to the device. Omega raised one eyebrow incredulously, and asked, "Um… did you just say something?"
Two slits on the surface of the device slid open to reveal a pair of camera lenses. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," it replied.
"Might I ask why you didn't say anything before now?" the technician asked.
"You might. I might not answer, but you might."
"Um. Why didn't you say anything before now?"
"No reason to say anything. Nothing you did was hurting me, just annoying. That little claw there kind of stung a bit…"
"Okay…" Omega said, turning to Tails. "Now you know what it is. It's an advanced AI with visual and physical sensory capabilities. Now we need to equip you for the journey ahead!"
"What journey?"
Omega blinked. "Good question…" he replied, and turned to Bane. "Where are we going, precisely?"
Bane blinked at this. It wasn't like the people he usually worked with to ask such questions. Adventurers didn't need to know where they were going. They just needed to know that they were going! "Um. I'll tell you in a bit. Right now, I'm not entirely sure, myself."
"Well, I'm not much good with manual weapons like swords and knives… got any battle-mechs?"
Again, Bane blinked. "I'm not sure you've fully absorbed the entirety of your situation," he said slowly. "You are in the legendary city of Atlantis, with technology centuries ahead of your own, and you want to know if we have battle-mechs?"
"Oh, well then, if that's the case-" Tails began in a disappointed tone.
"Of course we have battle-mechs!" Bane interrupted. "There's an entire other section of the city totally devoted to the things!"
"Oh?" Tails replied, brightening up instantly.
"Yeah, it's just across the hall, really."
"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!"
Tails started for the exit, with everyone behind him. "That fox is way too eager to pilot a weapon of mass destruction…" Omega muttered.
Back in the hallway, Tails gave up the leading position to Bane, who led them to another door. This one said, quite simply, 'Battle-Mech R&D, Training'. Bane opened the door, which opened to another hallway, terminating in a huge chamber. On the doors were letters and numbers, which seemed to be totally random and without order. "All right then…" Bane said. "What kind of mech would you like? There are 4 different sizes, and a variety of interfaces."
"What are the sizes and interfaces?"
"Well, interfaces are manual, mental with a direct link, mental with body suit, and mental with physical component. The sizes are as follows; B-A, or Body Armor, which only is available in the mental (DL) and mental (BS); T-V, or Transforming Vehicle, which is available with all interfaces, as are the rest of the sizes above B-A; G-S, or Godzilla Size; and finally, there is the C-R size, or Combining Robot, but I doubt you'd want something like that, as it requires a team."
"I think that the T-V class is probably best. The last time I used a mech, it was the Tornado II."
"Which interface?"
"Manual."
"Right, then. The right door is… this one," Bane replied, choosing a door, apparently at random.
However, when it opened, there was an array of mechs, ranging in size and shape from a helicopter to a Yugo. Omega blinked. "Okay…" he said slowly. "I get the helicopter and the tank, and I think I can figure out the sailboat… but what the hell is an economy car doing here? I mean, what kind of robot could it possibly be?"
"That's not a robot," said a new voice, behind them. "That's my car."
