Chaos: Good, good, nobody hates me for what I did last chapter. Oh, by the way, it only gets worse...eheh. Oh, go ahead and flame if you want to...I'll just get traumatized and stop updating.

Flower: Mmm...trauma...

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It was two hours later that Sonic stood before Robotnik again, Mecha's red eyes flashing by the door. The doctor folded his arms. "Tell me who you are."

Sonic replied monotonely, "I live to serve Dr. Robotnik's command." For once he was glad that his face could show no expression. Robotnik rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"It worked!" he crowed. In the doorway, Metal Sonic was fixing his eyes on the two non-metal spines on Sonic's back. He wasn't so sure.

Robotnik twirled his moustache thoughtfully. "From now on you will be known as Cinos, and will serve only me, nobody else. Do you understand?" The doctor grinned at his own intelligence in reversing Sonic's name.

"Yes, Master."

"Now, your first task is to bring me the fox from the cell you were in earlier. Did you harm him?"

"Not much, Master."

"Good. Go, now. Mecha, follow him."

Sonic, or Cinos, left the room with Metal Sonic close behind, the robot still glaring suspiciously at him.

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Tails shut his eyes in preparation, and thumped himself hard on the arm. He bit his lip to keep from crying out, and looked down to where a bruise was starting to form. He looked over the other self-inflicted cuts and bruises on himself, and nodded in satisfaction.

That should be enough.

A moment later the door unlocked, and the vulpine huddled into the corner, knuckling his eyelids to make the tears come. Two hedgehog shapes were framed in the doorway, one with glowing green eyes, and one with red.

"You will come with me." Sonic's new voice said as he stepped into the room and grabbed Tails by one arm. One of his glowing eyes flicked on and off in a wink as he dragged Tails into the corridor.

Tails saw Mecha and snivelled pathetically as he was dragged down the corridors towards the room. But the robot was ignoring him, staring fixatedly at Cinos' back.

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What followed for Tails was not pleasant, but even worse for Cinos, who was forced to watch by one side, and even participate in the torture sometimes. When, finally, Tails was thrown back in his cell at the end of each day, Cinos wanted to run and run and run, and get away from everything.

He wanted to stop calling Robotnik 'Master'. He wanted Mecha to stop following him everywhere, so that he couldn't visit Tails to cheer him up. He wanted to stop hurting his friend. He wanted to go home.

But, most of all, he wanted the metal off.

It was affecting his head. He was finding it hard to remember his name...his friend's faces were fading in his mind. He had forgotten how to smile or frown. And he had only been there for two weeks.

It felt like his entire life.

He had to get OUT.

Then finally, his chance came, three weeks later, along with a new radio chip that was inserted into his metal ear. Robotnik's voice buzzed through, startling him.

"Cinos, now's your chance to shine. We have intruders in the base, and Mecha needs back up. Section 3B."

He replied with a, "Yes, Master." and hurried towards it. When he rounded the last corner, he almost ran smack into a pink hedgehog. Her name came floating to him, though he couldn't remember her from anywhere.

"...Amy."

"Mecha!"

"I am not Mecha." She was backing away suspiciously, already pulling out her large hammer.

"Who are you, then? Another hedgehog robot?"

"I have been robotized. I am..." he had forgotten his real name. In sudden panic, he thumped at his forehead. What was it? What was it?! "I am...Cinos." he said finally, accepting the name.