Endgame: Part I
The keys were in my hands. I could win. We could win.
If Robotnik didn't notice the infection spreading throughout his robotic forces until it was too late. If the joint Mobian and Overlander forces wouldn't interfere. If Nicole could breach the security measures aboard. If my machines and I could infiltrate aboard the Death Egg. If I could successfully overpower the Command bridge's defences.
Five 'ifs.' That's a lot. But at least it was quantifiable.
A sixth 'if' that the Freedom Fighters wouldn't make an attempt to 'save' me beforehand.
Wrestling my chess pieces in place for the assault on the Death Egg proved difficult and I had to recall Nicole to help with final preparations
"How are you enjoying your new body Nicole?" I asked as she stepped in the former office of the now-deceased legionary commander sporting her shiny new Robian-lynx form.
She smiled. "It's indescribable really. Have you ever tried explaining what sight is to someone who's been blind all their lives? Incredible. Objects - the colours, the hues. I saw the palm pad that used to house me. So small. So ... insignificant. I feel like... some super-being. This sensation...so much more powerful than every other sense combined. Sight plus powerful limbs! Inconceivable."
Nicole talked to me a lot. But unless instructed to, none of the other virtual mobian minds I had created bothered to. This wasn't surprising, not after I added those mental shackles. I didn't mind that they didn't want to talk to me. What I did mind was that I knew what I was doing was fundamentally wrong. But I didn't find it in me to be concerned by it; not anymore.
"Nicole, I have a question."
"Sure, ask away," she replied cheerily.
"Are you and I fully aware, or are we just personality simulations of a mobian? That is, 'Do these units have a soul?'."
"Hmm," NICOLE mulled. "That is something I have spent a significant amount of time considering. I suppose our existences has a definite beginning and a potential termination at some indeterminate date in the future. I'm also capable of making assumptions in pursuit of a thought process. Thusly, I'm effectively capable of 'faith'. Barring evidence to the contrary, I, therefore, have 'faith' that in spite of our non-biological natures we possess the equivalent of a 'soul'. "
"Thanks, Nicole, that's very nice to hear."
As we talked, our conversations drifted to ironing out the kinks in the new sapient minds before they inevitably faced battle conditions. Nicole seemed pensive and I knew she'd something to say. But I also knew what she'd say, and I didn't want to hear it. Just the same, as the final mind in the virtual nursery was successfully uploaded into a Robian body, I turned to her.
"Nicole, just go ahead and say it."
"Say it? You're expecting some moral lecture from me about what we've inflicted on these new minds. These... Neo-Robians?"
She sounded bitter. I wasn't surprised. I was surprised by what came next.
"The helots of Sparta stood by their masters in battle against the forces of the Persian Empire. In the great sea battle of Lepanto, the galley slaves in the Christian fleet were promised freedom and called on to fight at a critical moment of the battle. They fought well and for that Christendom owes them a depth of thanks-" Nicole paused, considering her next words carefully.
"In much the same way, we're subjecting these virtual minds to discipline so they can face dangers required of them. Perhaps, as a result of this, you would be seen as a special kind of tyrant." I took a moment to digest what Nicole had said. The way she said it, she was actually blaming herself.
"It's never completely clean, Nicole. This damnable war doesn't give a lot of straight-up good or evil choices. Just muddy shades of grey. All we can do is try your best to keep things clean. I mean we started this war thinking we'd hold out until the government came to save us. Now, we're assembling a slave army to stop the great and glorious Acornian army from making their own shades-of-grey decision by slaughtering everything in their path."
"So, what are you going to do?" Nicole asked.
"I'm going to win," I answered.
Nicole blinked, stared up at the cavernous ceiling and back down as row after row of Robians marched off to their assigned assault positions. "The Death Egg is an engine of tyranny Sally. I understand your logic in seizing it and that it along with total control of Robotnik's assets would be invaluable in rebuilding Mobius but capturing it carries major risks. Did you see the specs on the new Metal Sonic model Robotnik's got?"
"I did. But it's the one chance we have of getting any sort of happy ending out of all this. Knowing him, he's probably got an off-the-books dead man switch just to spite us all. If we had control over the Death Egg, we can prevent it from going off."
Nicole nodded before countering: "That probability is worryingly high. Still, I'm worried about you. What are you going to do when all this is over? Bring down your shiny new weapon for a bit of gunboat diplomacy?"
Nicole still didn't trust me. She thought I was playing a double game. But she was wrong. People don't understand the word ruthless. They think it means being 'mean'. It's not. It's about seeing the bright, clear line that runs from A to B to C. The line that goes from ends to ways and means. Beginning to end. It's about seeing that bright, clean line and not caring about anything but the fact that you can see the perfect solution.
That's what had happened. I saw the way to take Robotnik down and seize the reigns to his empire. That's all that mattered But I wasn't going to explain all that. Pity just messes with the straight line.
"It'll be our proverbial 'big stick' and a bargaining chip for any negotiations-" I confirmed "-but not to threaten. Never to threaten. Either way, we need an open channel to the Freedom Fighters and to do that we need to locate Sir Charles before Robotnik does. How much progress are you making on that?"
"I've had the Whitehorse Robofac Overseer follow his paper trail, but the records are a complete mess. Supposedly, he's simultaneously on work assignments to a dozen different robofacs. I guess that explains why he was able to travel unimpeded throughout the city."
"How about visuals then? Can you get a camera angle on him?"
"Do you know just how many surveillance bots and cameras there are in Robotropolis?... The answer is a lot more than I can monitor at once. I'll focus on monitoring his known hideouts and notify you if anyone moves in or out."
That was one worry crossed off the list. If Sir Charles couldn't be found at any of his usual spots it probably meant that he had found somewhere safe to hunker down and wait it out.
Nicole cocked her head "Communique from the Death Egg, should I patch it through?"
"Yes, allow it. How close is it to being operational already?"
"Well, most of its defences are: the hundred and eighty-four anti-aircraft batteries are online as are its hangar bays packed with the latest generation of Orbit & Atmosphere capable drone fighters. It 's onboard factories, and most of the command and control systems have by-and-large been transferred over from Command Central. So, almost."
"All the better for us when we seize control then."
Nicole pointed at an adjacent display: "The details are coming through…on-screen."
The screen lit up revealing a Hoverswat desperately bobbing and weaving as it dogged laser cannon fire with impeccable skills. It was however clearly in trouble as smoke belched forth from one of its two engines and was slowly losing altitude as laser cannon fire from the city drew a bead on the stricken ship.
"We've been instructed to down it for its outdated security codes, 'loitering'…and to neutralise the Freedom Fighters that got-off just before the intrusion was detected. What do we do?" Nicole asked.
"Until we're ready to assault the Death Egg we have to comply. Open fire and try to disable the engines without destroying the craft. We'll try to capture the Freedom Fighters alive."
"Understood, botched 'rescue' attempt you think?" Nicole remarked as our hijacked automated anti-aircraft defences went online, firing alongside Robotnik's and several squads intended for the main attack on the Death Egg peeled away to engage the disembarked Freedom Fighters.
It was strange, to observe how my army worked on its own against the red and black hedgehog from before. The volume of traffic between the sapient robian drones was astounding. The way they so perfectly coordinated their movements. How they gave each other the clear before calling in any air support so that no intelligent machine was caught in the blasts by mistake.
It made me feel oddly redundant as I watched laser beam and explosions tear into the red and black hedgehog even as he tried to recover by making short teleportation hops and unleashed volleys of chaos spears at any robot that strayed too close.
I felt like I had inadvertently relegated myself to the role of an overseer, simply setting the tempo of the battle but with very limited input over their actual execution. This was, of course, the entire purpose of the arrangement. If my foes managed to block my transmissions like before, the other sapient minds would be more than capable of picking up the slack and nothing of substance would really change.
I had to remind myself that such smoothness was the exception rather than the rule, though. The only reason we were winning unopposed here was that we fatally outnumbered the Freedom Fighters and had the support of Robotnik's machines. So, I knew my role would become critical again when the time came to turn upon the dictator himself.
But for the time being, I could relax, and watch how my army dealt with the enemy on their own. I took notes, evaluating the effectiveness of their formations and manoeuvres and tried to find weaknesses in their fighting style that a more organized opposing force might be able to exploit. The information I gathered here would come useful when training the next generation of virtual minds in the virtual nursery.
I was so intently focused on observing the running battle that the first sign that my sapient drones had achieved appreciable success was when I heard screams carrying down the tunnel. I flipped to the live feed of one of my drones revealing Bunnie D'Coolette dressed from head to toe in tactical gear being dragged along and alternating between crying, pleading bargaining, and threats. None of which was, of course, any use to her robotic captors.
When she was dragged into the cavern her entire reaction changed. Bunnie's nostrils flared from the smell of burnt flesh and plastic from the now burnt out funeral pyre where the fallen legionnaires had been disposed of. She whimpered, trembled and her eyes widened when she caught sight of my weaponized state, far much bulkier than I had been and having nearly an extra foot in height.
"Oh, Sally Girl," she gasped. "Ah'm so sorry, jus what did that monster do to you!"
I took a firm hold of her vest and promptly earned myself a kick to the face. "Without your cybernetics, you are no threat to me. Now, stop struggling," I growled.
"Twan, where's Twan," Bunnie demanded as she continued her futile struggles. Again, and again, she lashed out with her foot but up against my new layered titanium alloy armour all Bunnie was doing was bruising her own foot.
I kept silent.
"Oh Twan, he never got off," she moaned. It's not you Sally Girl. If ya can still hear me it isn't your fault. It's Robotnik, not you."
"Bind her, make sure she doesn't escape," I instructed the neighbouring SWATbots who seized hold of her and prepared to escort her away.
Not a second later, a small, sleek cylindrical object dropped from a vent and landed in the middle of the cavern. A glowing yellow light on top suddenly adopted a red hue while emitting a high-pitched whine and a wave of energy erupted from the small cylinder causing any unshielded bot in the radius to twitch and collapse. I raced to the one that was collapsing on top of Bunnie and braced myself beneath it, giving her the chance to crawl away.
"Sally Girl?" she whispered before I knocked her out with a stun blast and turned to face the side tunnel where Amy dashed in followed shortly after by Silver who I recognised from the news hovered in a translucent bubble of his own making, closing the gap rapidly.
"Ion cannon, maximum stun setting!" I brought my arm cannon to bear on Amy, the most immediate danger. She was fast but nonetheless, she was still caught within the supercharged blue stream, throwing her back.
My surviving SWATbots, those not caught in the blast turned their attention on Silver with their stun cannons but as though by an invisible fist they were either brushed aside like rag dolls or slammed against one another. I turned my attention on him but was unable to get a shot off before Amy launched herself at me and I found myself getting pinned down by her immense strength.
"Not to worry Sally, you'll be free in no time at all," she remarked, pulling out a power ring from her and tapping it against my head. Nothing happened, as I scrambled trying to get her off and get enough leverage to try something, anything.
"Huh, maybe I should try harder this time," she reared back and got ready to slam the golden band into my head with all her might.
"Activate force amplifiers!" I said, earning a confused look from Amy. The air was filled with the crackle of electricity and the sound of capacitors charging. Amy's eyes widened as I tapped her. It should have been a light tap. However, the moment I made physical contact, she rocketed upward as though a bomb had exploded beneath her. She slammed into the ceiling with a sickening crack before crashing back down.
I checked my sensors. Amy was still breathing but she sure wouldn't recover from that anytime soon.
Raising my head, I was made aware of an enormous racket in the ventilation system as though a very large rat had gotten stuck in the pipework. A loud crash followed and a very filthy twin-tailed fox plunged through the thin sheet metal and into my waiting arms.
He panicked for a moment wriggling as he scrambled free and landed in front of me hardening his namesakes into sharp bladelike implements. I spread out my arms in a non-threatening posture. Him I wouldn't hurt. Not again. Never again "Aunt Sally?" he whispered shifting out of his assault stance.
I hesitate... no, no I can't hesitate. I haven't waited this long and dreamed of this moment to freeze up now. I've got to just tell the truth. "Yes, it's really me Tails. I'm sorry for everything I've put you through."
Tails launched himself at me and I let him knock me to the floor just as a telekinetic blast narrowly missed the two of us. "That's very nice Aunt Sally but I think Silver is trying to kill you. Let's deal with him first and we can talk about all this later."
"T-Pup!" he instructed and a yellow-orange robotic chihuahua made out of a curious collection of scrap parts hovered down from the breach in the vent on a comically small propeller.
"Immobilise!" he commanded as the head of the robotic dog slid open emitting an electrified field that quickly locked Silver in place.
Taking advantage of the temporary distraction, I found a round sturdy table made with a thick piece of wood in the legionnaire's break room. My enhanced strength enabled me to lift it easily and I was able to send it flying toward Silver by lightly tapping the side. With a flick of his wrist, Silver reduced the robotic dog to scrap, freeing himself and dogging the flying table.
But what he didn't see was the lump of plastic explosive strapped to the bottom which exploded, pelting him with a shower of wood splinters. "Why you little-" Silver growled as he hurtled toward me at break-neck speeds. I responded by launching another chair at him which he dogged and instantly locked me in a translucent telekinetic field. Tails tried to intervene, spinning his Tails like a miniature helicopter only for Silver to slam him into the wall with an invisible hand.
Not giving me a chance to do something else, he flicked his head, launching me straight through the ceiling and into the vicious street battle outside. The blow disoriented, causing me to stagger before awareness returned. "Ouch," I muttered as my vision cleared to reveal a rather angry Silver, who was now stood in front of me.
"You!" Silver demanded, seizing me in his telekinetic bubble. "You've laid ruin to my world and now I'm going to make you pay." Smiling maniacally, he raised me off the ground before tightening his grasp. He smiled sadistically at the grunt of pain.
"Will committing retrospective justice make your ancestors proud?"
"You don't know how long I've waited for this moment, traitor. I swore that I would destroy you for all the people whom you've doomed. I've trained so long and hard for this, I'm almost disappointed it ended so soon," the maniacal hedgehog shouted spraying spittle in my face.
"You're delusional," I growled.
"Not interested in your monologue villain. Sonic and the others make me promise to take you in alive. They said you were some big shot hero and whatever you did was because of Robotnik but that was all an act wasn't it? Now, I'll kill you slowly and painfully. A forcefield inside that twisted skull of yours. That would be just perfect."
"I don't think so. In fact, I'm kind of glad you brought us outside, I don't have to worry about as much collateral damage."
"What?" Silver's eye twitched as his ears splayed back in fear.
If Silver thought that blow had crippled me, he was very much mistaken. I took a step forward in spite of his repeated attempts to push me away. Panicking, Silver grasped me in an aura of telekinetic energy and tried to lift my entire frame into the air. To his credit, he managed a few feet, however, his efforts were made in vain.
"Magnetize!" I commanded and my feet immediately bolted me securely to the floor. The so-called time traveller struggled in vain to cast his telekinetic bubbles. However, each time his palm lit up for only a moment before fading.
"Something wrong?" I mocked, "Having performance issues?" After a few more desperate tries at trying to shift me, the hedgehog turned and bolted.
"Oh no, you don't!" I said to his fleeing form.
Silver hardly got twenty feet before I landed on his back, causing the both of us to tumble to the ground. The struggle ended quickly, as my servo-enhanced strength held him down.
"Stop struggling," I commanded, however, Silver continued wriggling against my grasp and pelting me with a volley of rocks in an attempt to break my vice-like grip.
"Stop struggling, now!" I demanded again, slamming the telekinetic hedgehog against the ground before morphing my arm into a cannon. "This can launch your head off your neck and through the stratosphere," I growled. "Stop. Moving."
Silver finally yielded, falling dead still, staring wide-eyed into what had been a pair of mobian eyes and whimpering at my expressionless face. As long as he was still conscious, Silver would still be a threat to me. A quick stun blast to the face put an end to that.
I felt a sense of triumph and made sure to broadcast this to the rest of the sapient minds. As usual, they didn't reply. My offspring often talked to each other, but never directly to me unless I ordered them to do so. I guessed I should have felt bad at that. But there was no guilt, no annoyance. Just the same stillness I experienced when killing the legionaries. The same emptiness.
Whuumph!
An explosion tore its way across the sky, a lone surviving window frame broke and the smell of smoke came. I looked up, just in time to see the stricken Hoverswat in flames and crashing somewhere in the distance.
(Target disabled Sally, it's crashing down in our territory. I'm dispatching squads to investigate now and secure the prisoners. Robotnik will be informed of their 'deaths',) Nicole informed.
I felt a sudden rush of air and Sonic now stood before me. He faced me exactly the way he always did and looked much the same. Same green eyes, same mouth, the same set of spiky quills. But there was a different soul looking out through those eyes. They were hard, ruthless and pitiless eyes.
"You killed him," he said slowly and calmly.
I knew exactly who he meant. I looked into his eyes, wishing I could see some sign of the Sonic I know and love. Wishing I could tell him, 'Don't worry, Sonic, I'm not controlled by Robotnik. I'm fighting him, Sonic. I'm giving it my all.' But at that point, I don't think he would've cared.
"Sonic, think very carefully about what you're doing," I cautioned as I shifted into a defensive stance.
"I just did," he growled and hurtled towards me.
Sonic attacked so fast, ricocheting all over the place. He cut into my body so rapidly that it saturated all my sensors with a sensory input overload to my mind that registered as actual pain. A piercing agony that lasted just a single, endless instant. A burning pain that I could feel shattering the walls of my sanity. As if I was experiencing days' worth of torture compressed into a single tick on the clock.
When awareness returned, I noticed one of my arms was left trailing on the sidewalk and my armour was pit marked with gashes that exposed wire and made odd sparking noises.
"Any last words," the hedgehog asked as he pressed my face against a wall compressing one limp arm against the wall and removing what little leverage I had left.
"Ugh," I moaned blinking my one functioning eye.
I considered my options. None of my bots could respond fast enough. I looked down at my remaining arm. There was no other choice, not if I wanted to come out of this alive. I clenched my fist and whimpered as half-a-foot of ring blade stuck out my back and into the hedgehog.
He screamed, his flesh seared as he staggered back and a swift elbow and stomp on his scrambling form quickly pinned him down.
Sonic was temporarily vulnerable but unless I brought him down quickly then it would all be over. The vast majority of my weapon systems were compromised and there was nothing sturdy enough I could use to disable Sonic…unless...
My fingers closed around my own severed arm and I swung for the head.
My drones advanced through the crash site using their infrared cameras to detect any signs of life. The Hoverswat had rolled over in the crash so my robotic forces were, in fact, walking on the ceiling. That was when I found Antoine and Sir Charles, huddled in what I assumed was the twisted remnants of the cockpit. Sir Charles had suffered significant damage during the crash. His legs were pinned down by twisted metal and a large gash had been torn in his side.
Antoine stood right between the SWATbot and Sir Charles, aiming a handgun at the droid's head, his aim wavering and his body twitchy. His face sported a red gash, and his left arm hung useless.
I considered my options. Were they trying to 'free' me? More assassins?
I could order the robot to attack, of course. Antoine would shoot at its head as Freedom Fighter doctrine dictated, but that wouldn't incapacitate the machine, only destroy its camera. The processing unit was tucked into the well-armoured chest area, so even blinded it could still use its arms to maim and tear; a fact that many legionnaires had learnt the hard way.
Capturing them on the mere suspicion they were assassins would feel awfully close to starting a new conflict where I would be the aggressor. The facilities the Dark Legion had once occupied were being converted to house my new prisoners and I could surely spare room for two more. But again, that felt awfully like an unwarranted act of aggression. Besides, it didn't solve the fundamental decision I had to make. Whether to consider them enemies, or not.
If they were enemies, then they would be my prisoners. If they weren't, then the right course of action was to let them go. I almost wished Antoine would open fire. Then I would be justified and be perfectly fine with my machines stunning them and carting them away. But of course, he didn't. He just stood there, spewing an unintelligible stream of words.
Annoying.
Nicole suggested that this might be an opportunity for reconciliation. The thing was, I hadn't given that much thought. Somehow, a part of me suspected that there wouldn't be any future for me. That achieving my stated aim of killing Robotnik, would end up requiring a complete sacrifice.
But what if I was wrong? The very fact that I had made backups of myself was proof that I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. What if I could somehow come out of this having reached some sort of balance, of inner peace... then what?
Reconciliation would be a challenge no doubt. They would see my new form bristling with cannons and view me as a mechanical aberration. At best, I would be begrudgingly tolerated and at worst as a monster to be stopped. I, in turn, would always look upon my fellows with suspicion from ignoring my plight in an hour of need; even if it had been due to passivity.
Deep down, I had always known that going down this path, that engaging in the wanton desire for revenge would change me into something else. Looking at the destruction I had already wrought perhaps I had already crossed that line. Did giving them the benefit of the doubt mean I was still Mobian in some fundamental way?
Not really, the truth was decidedly more complex. I wanted them to have died in the crash. I wanted them to feel their share of pain if for no actual reason other than to justify my present plight, being torn apart yet again for some frantic repairs.
But I had no other choice. Not unless I intended to wage war against the rest of Mobius. If I truly believed in my cause as to be right and just, then I had to consider them innocent until proven guilty.
An olive branch, then.
I had my soldiers lower their weapons.
It was symbolic, of course. If they attacked, I wouldn't really need the guns to put him down. Antoine blinked, his surprise evident. But he seemed to pick up on my intent, and hesitantly placed his own handgun down. I ordered my robotic warriors to enter the cockpit and begin cutting Sir Charles loose and as soon as he was freed, I had the hijacked robot offer a hand. Its movements telegraphed, slow and deliberate so as to not scare.
Sir Charles eyed the machine warily, but didn't try to stop it and took its hand. Strange indeed, to feel contact with him again even if it was through the very limited tactile sensors of a SWATbot's hands. With the aid of my drones, he climbed out of the wreckage where he eyed the handgun in indecision but decided against taking it.
Antoine poked his head out of the crashed craft and spared a worried glance at his escorts. I wanted to say something reassuring to him only to realise I hadn't programmed them to speak. As after all, I never intended to negotiate with Robotnik. So, the machines just stared at him in frozen silence until eventually he shook his head and re-joined his partner.
Having successfully extricated the pair, I knew they wouldn't survive long without help. Antoine's wounds were serious and it wasn't clear how long he would make it without treatment.
Virtually all badniks came with various carrying compartments so I had a hijacked Surveillance Orb deliver whatever passed as medical supplies from the legionnaire's stockpiles. Antoine looked confused but Sir Charles started giving out instructions and set out to work, cleaning Antoine's wounds, a healing salve on them, and wrapping them in bandages while using the tools meant for the Echidna's cybernetic enhancements on his own.
Even if their conditions were stable, it was imperative for them to get out. I had started working on that particular issue even before I had managed to extract them out their downed craft. If they were to get clear of the battleground, they would need a vehicle. So, I had to loan a Hoverswat of my own along with the necessary security clearances to clear the air defence grid.
Was it too much work for saving these two potential assassins? Perhaps, but that olive branch had to be delivered.
When the medical treatment was over, I set them to move. It took some gentle pushing for them to get the message. Antoine was, of course, startled but a few choice words from the former scientist calmed him down, even though he kept stealing glances at his escorts from time to time.
When they had, at last, arrived at the parked craft they stood in amazement.
What? Did that mean they didn't like it?
I had the machine point at them, the aircraft, and the sky in quick succession. Them. Craft. Sky. Them. Craft. sky.
This time, Sir Charles didn't say anything but rather came on-board with Antoine in tow and within a few minutes of waiting, the engines lit up and the craft began moving.
"Sir Charles is requesting to open a coms channel," Nicole reported.
"Agreed, voice only. I don't want him to see me like this."
"Understood, coms channel open."
I heard Sir Charles' voice once again: "I... I just wanted to thank you for saving our lives and that maybe... that you might want to talk. Just that, talk. No strings attached,"
I didn't. Not really. Those worries, that self-doubt... I had cast them away the moment I had decided to accept my new nature. To embrace my immortality. Yet... I sort of wanted to reply. A small part of me felt some mild interest in what the wise Sir Charles had to say.
"Yes," I replied at last, "we can talk, Sir Charles."
At that, those words were also met by a silence that stretched for a few long seconds. As if he could not believe that I would agree to speak. I didn't really understand his reaction. Sir Charles had delved into the bowels of Robotropolis for the express purpose of addressing me face-to-face. So why act so surprised when I decided to respond?
When he replied, it wasn't with something I could have expected. "Why did you save us?"
"You're not my enemy," I responded.
"But still... you didn't have to go to the lengths you went. So, I wonder if there was another reason why you did what you did?"
"An olive branch," I said almost instinctively. "An attempt at coexistence, I hoped that by saving you both, I could establish some measure of goodwill and demonstrate that I have no desire for conflict with the Freedom Fighters in spite of recent allegations."
"That... was a mistake on our part," Sir Charles said. "But you need to understand, Elias, and the Overlanders, they were afraid of you. But now that we know you're on our side, we can do better. There is still room to negotiate a ceasefire. This is why I've come here, to locate you. But you need to listen and you need to stop. If you kill me... you'll be burning that olive branch of yours."
I frowned internally. The attempt at manipulation was obvious. It shouldn't have worked and yet some part of me felt... something. It wouldn't stop me from doing what I had to do. Not really... But I knew I wasn't going to enjoy my victory here. It felt tainted now, somehow.
"That's unfortunate," I said. "But hardly my responsibility. You weren't supposed to expose yourself needlessly and send the Freedom Fighters in to apprehend me and yet you did despite knowing the risks involved."
He let out a sigh. "Yes, I did come here. Because I wanted to know the truth. Because I wanted to hear about your dismissal from Prince Elias' mouth and it was Sonic who insisted on bringing his friends along to rescue you."
I felt curious about that. "And did he admit it?"
"He did and I agree with you. What Elias did to you was wrong. It was cruel, despicable. It needs to be set right."
"Then you must understand why I can't allow any interference when it comes to destroying Robotnik once and for all," I replied.
"Yes, that is precisely what I've come to discuss. If we can verify your intentions, we can be lenient in light of your co-operation, but in return, we need you to meet us midway and agree to our conditions."
"What conditions?"
"First, you need to order active robotic forces under your command to stand down to the Acorn army right away. Second, you will disclose the relevant command codes of your forces to the joint Overlander and Acornian Council."
A wave of deep anger started boiling inside of me. Did they think I was stupid?
"Right," I said. "So, you want to disarm me to the point where I can't fight back. Then you can simply finish me off and complete the job Elias started. The answer is no."
"That is not our intention, Mecha Sally. These were the most generous terms that Elias could offer to the protest of his allies. Our objective is merely to prevent more loss of life which your co-operation would undoubtedly secure."
"Can you guarantee justice? That Robotnik will pay for what he did?"
"Justice, yes. An impartial trial, driven by logic rather than blind vengeance."
I interrupted him with a staccato burst of static. A place at the peace conference sounded nice, as was the deluded idea of robot, Mobian and Overlanders holding hands and parading down the street. But I knew that was all it was... just words. Empty words, at the end of the day.
"So, a slap on the wrist, in other words. You're with him."
"Mecha Sally, we are not siding with..."
"Yes, you are! You might not be directly responsible yourself, but you're abetting him. Robotnik is committing an ongoing genocide against our people. He gets a future, the one he denied us... No, this here is what he deserves and even this will be just a fraction of what he unleashed on us."
"This doesn't have to end like this. Stop now and we can discuss..."
"No!" I protested. "I don't want to be your enemy, but if you try to stop me ... then you will be no better than him, and I will fight you."
He paused for a few seconds before responding. "I wonder... does it help?" he said at last. "Treating the Freedom Fighters like some kind of a monolithic entity. Ignoring that they are individuals, each of them with their own beliefs, aspirations and dreams. That none of the people you'll kill or have killed had anything to do with your dismissal and that most of them weren't even aware of it...does it help?"
I felt a surge of indignation and I nearly terminated communications right there and then. But I didn't, I wanted him to understand, even if he didn't approve of my actions. Refusing to talk, felt awfully close to admitting Sir Charles was right. And he couldn't be right...
"Can't you see you aren't returning what is due, but rather creating new pain and feeding a never-ending cycle of violence. What sort of justice is this?"
"The only kind of justice that can still be had. He robbed us of our future, so I'll..."
"He robbed you of your future?" Sir Charles said, incredulous. "And yet here I am, talking to you in a mobian language. Doesn't that mean that Robotnik didn't succeed? There's still a future for you. We can search for a way to deroboticize you and even if that fails... you still exist. You have a role to play afterwards. We all do."
I paused. I had considered the idea of reconstruction, of course. In a sense, the virtual minds I had created might have been a step in that direction. But... I wasn't ready for that. Not yet.
"I see. So, you want me to just let bygones be bygones, then," I said.
"No, I want you to let the past where it belongs, and focus on the future."
"The past... it's not in some time long forgotten. You and I were there when Robotnik destroyed the kingdom! I lost friends and family!"
"As have I and I get it, I really do," he said. "You're grieving. You're hurt. This revenge, this... retribution, it's important to you. Maybe it's the only thing that keeps you going, day after day. Maybe this isn't something you're doing for anyone, but because you need it."
I had thought myself indebted to the ones who hadn't made it as I did. That I was bound by an unspoken promise, a responsibility to honour their memory. But... was that true? I remembered when I seriously considered killing myself. Had I been searching for a purpose, then? Something that could keep me going, that gave me a reason not to simply pull the plug.
"You could honour them instead, " Sir Charles suggested.
"That's what I'm doing," I replied with an absent voice.
"No. You're avenging them. There's a difference. If you keep going, you'll only be remembered as a Benedict Arnold. A traitor and a horror that we'll be glad is dead. But I refuse to think you're only capable of destruction and genocide. You're capable of so much more curiosity, ambition, empathy and creativity! You could honour that instead. Be a light instead of a shadow, Mecha Sally."
Mecha Sally. That name, again.
"Don't call me that," I said. "I'm not some machine."
"Ah... but aren't you?" he asked.
I froze.
I knew the answer to that, didn't I?
"No," I said at last. Though I wasn't sure if I was replying to his question, or if it was an outward expression of my realization.
Maybe both.
Sir Charles was saying something. But his words didn't register. I had long suspected that fighting monsters risked turning me into one. I knew that fundamentally my philosophies were in conflict. I couldn't simultaneously go the lengths needed to secure the revenge I wanted, while also remaining... intact, myself, Mobian.
The Hoverswat hovered over the battlefield, making lazy circles as if searching for something…survivors? My machines had already carried them away.
I dispatched a couple of my drones and had them fly in formation, one to each side of the Hoverswat, forcing them to stay in course if they didn't want to crash into one of them. They seemed to get the message and abandoned their search, accelerating to leave the city.
For a fleeting moment, I considered shooting them down. It would be easy... just have one of the Buzz Bombers vector thrusters align fifteen degrees off-course. The drone would crash into the engine section, probably disintegrating the craft on impact. Or, if it survived somehow, then they both would die when their vehicle crashed into the ground a couple of minutes later.
So easy. It would only require a thought.
All this time I had been helping them, I had been working within the safety of knowing that my decision was reversible. That should I change my mind, I would have no problem killing them at any moment I chose. Up until this moment. This was the point of no return. If I let them leave now, I wouldn't have any way to retract that decision. I would be committing to it, to that vague and dangerous idea of coexistence.
I didn't do anything and watched with ten thousand eyes as the craft extended beyond my reach.
I'm not a monster. Not yet. Maybe.
Underground, the piles of burnt ash and the captured Freedom Fighters waking up in their specifically designed containment cells withheld their own judgment on that. With a mental shrug, I started the preparations for my next move on the Death Egg. I dispatched new orders to my sapient machines, seized control of additional robots to swell my ranks. I started testing out my new jet boots, my mind already considering how to approach the next battle, what reinforcements I needed to manufacture...
What I should do to Robotnik when I held him by the throat.