PoC: The second chapter is ready!

Metal: But I'm not sure I am.

PoC: Cheer up rusty. PenFullofChaos819 doesn't own Metal Sonic or any other characters from Sega.

Metal: That's right! Nobody owns Metal Sonic, Metal Sonic owns you!

PoC: After hearing that, my faith in you has been shaken.

-l-

Predicament

-l-

Despite his orders to shut down, Metal remained active all night. This was mainly due to the blurred images in his head, and the unknown project he 'met' yesterday. Not resting accomplished nothing besides drain his power reserves quite substantially, leaving him lethargic and irate. As if that wasn't bad enough, he was now being plagued by Orbot's incessant, infuriating demands to get up.

"Rise and shine! The boss has an announcement to make!" he said for what Metal counted to be the tenth time.

"Why is my presence required?" he callously asked the sphere-shaped nuisance.

"Why? Because it's mostly about you! Come along now." Orbot began tugging on the doppelganger's leg. Evidently grabbing a homicidal hedgehog built for widespread destruction wasn't smartest move. Needless to say, the obnoxious sphere was tempting a very painful outcome.

"Get off." Metal said threateningly, but he wasn't taking the hint.

"Be a good boy and listen then!" the helper replied insultingly.

"I said get off!" Metal shouted, and with a sudden kick, he sent the circular robot tumbling into a nearby wall. Leaving behind an indentation, Orbot collapsed to the floor lifelessly. As Metal examined his fallen form, a wave of foreign thoughts flooded his mind. He felt the sudden urge to rush over and check on him which he, after a short pause, did. However, by the time he reached him, Orbot was already 'dusting' himself off.

"A temper to match the boss's I see." Orbot commented offhandedly "Still, you're up and about, so I guess my job here is done!"

"You…are undamaged?" Metal sounded surprised, considering how hard the impact had been.

"Oh just a few scratches, but nothing Master Eggman hasn't done and then some." the helper answered "Anyway, I must be off. The boss should contact you soon." and with that, he rolled away.

The situation had left the metallic hedgehog with many questions. For a moment, however brief, he had felt a complete lapse in control, like he had no say over his actions. Also, he wondered why, after attacking, he felt the need to check on the measly robot.

It just didn't make any sense.

"Metal!" Eggman's unmistakable voice blasted from the intercom "Come and meet me at the assembly hall at once! Delays are not an option!" and clicked off. Metal stopped his musing and focused on reaching this 'assembly hall'. Metal knew Eggman wasn't aware of his memory problems yet, but he figured it didn't matter as long as he obeyed. The copy hedgehog left his room and skimmed his eyes over a number of doors. Unlike the second level, none of these rooms were named; they were all given useless numbers like 1-3, 1-4, and so on. Metal was more wary this time, but still had no idea which one he should check first. Choosing the nearest door seemed like a bad idea, given how much trouble that caused him last time, so he chose a much brighter tactic; like choosing the farthest door from where he was. Clever or not, that's exactly what he did. Metal stepped up to a room labeled 1-8 and the automatic doors flew open. If Metal had any idea what an assembly hall was like, he would've known the silence was out of place. The inner doors slid open as well, revealing some portable machinery along with another terminal and…a capsule. As he looked around the chamber, the truth started to dawn on him.

"This can't be the 'hall' Eggman was talking about." he soon realized "This is…"

Warning! Unauthorized personnel in Activation Cell 1-8.

"Not again…Why this of all places?" Metal's irises 'dilated' as a new 'feeling' came over him; similar to a simultaneous lightness and heaviness on his shoulders. In reality he was experiencing the effects of guilt and ironic humor, but had no way to classify them. Sadly, his inability to understand these thoughts cost him a viable chance of escape, not that Metal was prone to retreating.

"I swear…I swear to Chaos, God, or whatever else out there…" said a voice Metal knew very well "When I get my hands on whatever idiot is inside, I will personally have them torched, scrapped, and drowned in a vat of sulfuric acid! What stupid rusty-circuited fool had the audacity to cross me this time?" Eggman swung open the door, only to see none other than Metal Sonic standing before him.

Orbot saw him too, and almost immediately broke into a fit mechanical laughter "Well if it isn't your finest 'masterpiece', doctor! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" a wild swing later, Orbot was, for the second time that day, expertly smashed into the opposing wall. Metal had to admit, the good doctor had a deceptively strong arm.

Turning back to face the spiny copy, the doctor donned a strained smile "Metal…didn't I tell you to head for the assembly hall?" he said as calmly as possible, but when Metal nodded steam seemed to blow out the master's ears "THEN WHAT IN CHAOS' NAME ARE YOU DOING HERE? Didn't I also tell you to stay out of places like this?" he fumed, pointing to the same pod Metal had seen the day before. The synthetic hedgehog realized he had not only entered the wrong room, but once again walked in on the experiment! He was quite sure he would incur the doctor's wrath this time.

Orbot had pulled himself out of the 'impression' he'd made to say "It seems your prototype has caught Metal's fancy, boss." switching over to the hedgehog he said "Planning to visit he-hi-uhh...I mean 'it' again?" Eggman glared menacingly, but the whole point went over Metal's shiny head.

"What is a 'fancy' and how do you catch it?" Metal asked himself. He hadn't meant to have a run-in with the prototype…again. It was an honest mistake, but he could see there'd be no telling that to the livid doctor.

Pointing an accusing chubby finger, the doctor continued to rant "What is the matter with you? Are you trying to be disobedient? Answer me!" he demanded "How is it you can't find a single location in my small base, hmm?"

"I…don't know where anything is." Metal confessed, causing the large man to jump in surprise.

"You WHAT?" Eggman exclaimed "That's impossible! I uploaded a virtual map to your neuro-core before you were activated!" Orbot rolled up to Metal; activating his scanners to validate Metal's claim. Once he was finished, the helper-bot sighed.

"You should've done a diagnostic test done on him. I am detecting multiple errors in his neural network, ergo this may be affecting his memory, ergo your upload probably failed, ergo this base is new to him, ergo his actions are understandable, ergo you are once again to blame, ergo you should lose some weight, ergo-" but Eggman merely stomped him repeatedly to ease his own bleeding ears.

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UUUUUUP!" the doctor said, throwing his daily temper tantrum. Taking a minute to catch his breath, Eggman switched on his communicator "Get E-85 down here immediately." If Metal's ears were real, they would've 'perked up' at the sound of that name.

"This is just peachy! First my prototype starts acting up, and now my greatest invention has mental issues!" Eggman growled. Metal was strangely interested in seeing how many 'issues' the doctor himself had. Aside from that, Metal was more curious about what sort of problems the prototype was having. Unfortunately, his thoughts were halted by E-85's entrance.

"Yes Master Eggman?" she asked politely.

"Run a full diagnostic assessment on Metal over here." Eggman gestured "I have an announcement to cancel thanks to him." he said, picking up the flattened Orbot as he left "Report to me the moment you are finished."

E-85 chuckled upon seeing Metal "Quite the problem child, aren't you?" she said, getting a grunt out of the cold machine "Come on, let's get you set up." she led him out of the room and back up to the familiar medical bay. Once they arrived, she set him up on an operating table like she had previously.

"Didn't we already do this?" Metal asked her.

"Yes, but you know the master. He might think I was questioning his orders if I said something." Metal had no argument there. The doctor was more than a little volatile.

"So…Someone obviously can't leave the prototype alone. Eager to make a new friend are we?" E-85 said with an odd tone, leaving Metal to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Friend? No I-" he tried to explain, while remaining as still as possible for the test.

E-85 just gave him a playful slap "Oh…I was just teasing you!" she said kindly, but Metal cringed at the contact "Still, it will be nice to see the prototype finally activated. I love meeting new faces." showing a little hesitance, Metal suddenly had the urge to ask her something. She didn't seem likely to blab secrets like Orbot, but he still had his reservations.

Despite her back being turned and having her full attention focused on her duties, E-85 said out of the blue "Something on your mind?" how she guessed, he didn't know, but she had made it easier for him to get his thoughts out.

"I've been thinking. What does that 'ha ha ha' sound mean? And what purpose does it serve?" he had heard Orbot make that noise many times, and so had E-85 herself. It didn't seem to have any real effect, so it made no sense to him. More than that, he just didn't like it.

"That's called 'laughing' silly! You've heard of that, right?" his 'blinking' red eyes and blank stare said otherwise "I see…That's a shame. True, emotions aren't absolutely necessary, but I recommend getting to know a few at least." she set said, charting his results.

"Unless I need them to function, I don't see the point." Metal seemed ambivalent to this concept of 'emotions'. Instead of leaving as she did last time, E-85 sat down next to the table.

"Well sure you can function, but good luck living without them. Emotions are the little things that make us truly alive." her emphasis didn't make things easier for the pragmatic machine.

"Living, functioning, what's the difference?" he said shrugging "I was created for destruction, so why should I care about smaller, less practical things? Besides, I've never even felt any of these so-called 'emotions' before."At this remark, the medical robot made that annoying laughing sound again.

"Really now? So I assume you savagely kicked Orbot into a wall for 'practical' reasons, riiiight." Metal rubbed one of his spines in discomfort. News around here circulated way too fast.

"It couldn't be that he's an aggravating little pest, and that you got angry with him, like everyone else has. No of course not." her words were starting to grate Metal's nerves. For some reason, being proven wrong was rousing more of that 'anger' E-85 referred to. But ultimately, these strange compulsions, along with his lack of understanding, were starting to make the powerful machine feel vulnerable and needy. Now anger came to him along with a new, wretched emotion: fear. Specifically, fear of having to be at everyone's mercy.

Seeing his uneasiness, the mother-bot added some encouragement "Don't let it bother you. You'll find emotions aren't that bad once you learn to control them."

"I don't understand." Metal admitted "Fighting feels so natural, but these 'emotions'…" here he held his head and finished "…feel completely new."

"Maybe you never had them in your former life." she suggested "Maybe they are completely new for you. Give it time and I know you'll be fine. Remember though, if you ever need my advice or help, I'm always here." she finished and left to get his report.

The natural-born killer took an instant disliking to his new predicament. Out of all the emotions he'd seen or felt so far, only anger seemed halfway tolerable. Regardless, he made a vow to restrain these compulsions as much as possible, if not entirely.

"I don't need anyone's help, nor do I need these emotions." he spat in defiance. Using his strong will, he suppressed any further feelings from getting out, but doing so caused an immense amount of tension to build within him. The pressure was high, but as long as he kept control, Metal assumed he could forgo his emotions altogether.

It seemed well and good for now, but what Metal didn't know about 'lidding' ones emotions is…

…sooner or later, they always break free.

L

*3-3 Laboratory*

L

"Doctor, the results are in." a now-immobile Orbot said from atop Eggman's desk.

"Alright then, let me take a look." the doctor read off the chart, while sipping his fifteen-sugared coffee. Most of the report was boring and expected.

R-IvoChip A/V Sensors and Camera: Optimal

NMS-2 Self-repairing Armor Systems: Optimal

Torso-mounted EGG-Shell Artillery Cannon: Optimal

*255cc 4 Valve Organ Fusion Engine: Optimal

"This should be my new bedtime story, Orbot! I want answers, not these damn status reports!" Eggman was just a second away from tearing the paper in two, when a certain entry caught his eye.

ROBOTNIK 0100 series Neuro-Core Processor: Minimal. Incompatible with current network set-up.

Spitting his coffee all over the report, Eggman roared "WHAT!" taking the still-wet document over to Orbot he snared "How did this happen?"

Not initially noticing the coffee-soaked file the helper said "You see doctor, when a three-hundred fifty pound scientist, such as you, stomps on a mostly-aluminum plated robot-"

"No you idiot! What happened to Metal's original core? Installing it should've been an absurdly simple task, even for you, so what went wrong?" the deranged doctor, now furious at the half-crushed robot, was a hair-trigger away from finishing what he started.

"Oooh that! I believe I told you already." Orbot pulled itself to an upright position "Metal's original core was melted by your, ahem, 'stray fire' remember?" reminding the doctor about the time he 'accidently' shot Metal for failing to kill his blue nemesis "So, I had to find a replacement."

"Replacement? Where? When?" Eggman said, wiping himself dry with a rag.

"Well boss…do you recall the time we salvaged the Egg Carrier?"

-l-

End of Chapter Two

-l-

Ugh…Not the best chapter (errors took a while to correct), but if someone enjoys it, I can deal. The next chapter should be an improvement (half-written so far).

Serenity: Before I screw up on a regal level, I'd like to know: Do you have any pairings you are definitely against, or can't tolerate? Whether you do or don't, I'm hoping you'll give what I have in mind a shot :)

Blizzard Aisu: Not that you've reviewed yet, but maybe you have an idea of what I'm planning (hint: It's similar to a pairing you yourself have done).

*- Source: Sonic Wiki page entitled "Metal Sonic" under the section "Special Equipment". I was too lazy to make up an engine name, but the rest is original XD

Until next time.