Metal: I'm giving you ten seconds to explain, before I melt the soft flesh off your bones! 10…9…5…1!
PoC: Hm? Explain what?
Metal: DON'T YOU DARE ACT INNOCENT! I know you plan on giving me a relationship with that creepy E-85! I dare you to deny it!
PoC: *facepalm* You are aware that not all relationships are romantic, right?
Metal: Ha! What a joke! Then…Wait, what do you mean?
PoC: When I said that, I meant that you do have something of a bond with her, but more like a mother-and-son type thing.
Metal: …I'll believe you for now, but then WHERE THE HECK IS MY PARTNER?
PoC: All in good time my dear kettle head, all in good time.
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Obedience
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"Master Eggman sir." the hulking military robot spoke into the radio "Mission accomplished. We have the package in hand, and are returning to base." the doctor replied indistinctly and the robot concluded "Yes sir. I will inform him, sir!" he hung up and stepped over to Metal's side.
"Metal, you have new orders from the doctor. This mission you must commence as soon as we return to base." the cold-blooded hedgehog offered a disgruntled sigh at the news.
"I haven't even finished this 'mission' yet, and he already signs me up for another?" Metal said edgily "What could be so crucial?"
The commanding E-bot broke into a 'stand to attention' pose and said "Eggman's word is law to us! And we must not let weariness, fear, or foe sway us from doing our duty!"
"Sounds like a lame excuse to me, or is that really the best reason you could give?" Metal remarked snidely, causing the senior officer to get a little defensive.
"Why should we question him, he who gave us life and enlisted us into his noble army?" E-99 preached "Eggman will one day rule over the entire world, soldier. And we were made to help him reach that ideal!"
Metal would've rolled his eyes if he could've. E-99's speech was so painfully rehearsed that it actually caused Metal's system damage just by listening to it. The doppelganger was sure the silly E-bot didn't think outside the box; much less actually try to think at all. Still, he couldn't deny how 'fun' it was to rile him up. At least it did give him something to do on the flight back.
"I wonder how much I can say before he short-circuits?" he wondered with malicious joy "Only one way to find out!"
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*Egg Base: Activation Cells 1-8.
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Excess steam glided over the hard laboratory floor like a mist or fog. This, and the soft hum of mechanical instruments, made the room very foreboding. Certainly the heavy master of the base and his spherical assistant thought so.
"You say there was activity from outside the capsule?" Eggman asked in a shocked tone "How can that be? I didn't even register it a power supply yet! I wonder…can this thing switch itself on and off at will?"
Orbot clasped his hands together and offered and short bow "I congratulate you doctor."
The madman blinked quizzically from behind his spectacles "You what?"
"For giving birth to your first child of course!" Orbot leaned in and clung to the doctor.
"GET OFF ME YOU IDIOT!" the large man yelled while trying to pry off the clingy service bot.
"Oh and for you to be expecting in such short time." here Orbot patted Eggman's profound belly "I was almost worried you were premature in the coming. Not that that's an issue now dearie, for you have successfully delivered your first beautiful, delightful, and healthy baby g-" his sentence was left as broken as his jaw, once Eggman had had enough.
"Sure, spare parts we have, but can I get a single normal voice system around here? No, that would be too reasonable!" he grumbled while checking the nearby computer "Now let me see…what have you been doing my dear prototype?" as he typed, several screens with security code came up "I'll soon find the root of your error."
After a tedious minute, the doctor had worked his way past security. From there he checked the general settings and performance, only to find everything a-okay. Scanning the subject's body revealed no damage either superficial or deep. His next thought was to check its energy holding systems. Finally, the large red letters on the screen gave him his much needed answers.
Error. Experimental Pseudo-Solar Egg-Tank unstable. Failure of synchronization with mobian sleep cycle.
"What's that mean, boss?" Orbot asked as he straightened his slightly crooked chin.
More concerned with his new invention, the doctor said "If you plan on irritating me with your mid-wife interpretations, then switch off, I've got more important problems right now!"
The ball-bot paid him no mind. Instead, he did his own scan on the prototype "Do I detect synthetic melatonin within the test subject?"
"Indeed you do." Eggman nodded "I wanted this machine to draw energy from the sun in a sort of solar operating system. More than that, I gave it a couple of replacements to give it a normal sleep cycle, just like a real mobian."
Orbot just stared dumbly "Sounds…lovely, but you can't just give it chemical compounds without receptors and all that good stuff."
"You see my little servant." Eggman brought a visual read-out of the prototypes entire body layout "I made this 'machine' as close to the real thing as possible. Naturally I had to cut a few corners, for live tissue isn't my specialty, but as you can see, it's quite close to a real mobian."
"The twisted incorporation of living flesh and cold machinery, forced into a single body. Such an abomination of nature; you've really outdone yourself, doctor!" the sphere robot cheered and clapped.
"Thank you thank you, but there is a problem." the scientist said tiredly "The stupid generator is having a hard time matching pace with rest of its body. This off timing might be the cause of these mysterious self-activations."
"Is that what caused its little…outing last time?" Orbot hopped up to the pod and gave it a tap "How was it able to get loose?"
Eggman stared hard at the concealed project "I have no idea. Its ability to bypass any security grid is not fully developed, so it should've been impossible."
The helper kicked back lazily "And you want to put you-know-who in charge of it? I know he completed his mission with ease, but battle tactics and babysitting aren't exactly in the same category."
For once, the greedy man agreed with his voice-scrambled assistant "Hmm…and having his Core doesn't help matters. However, this will be good test. After all, I can't have anymore defects working for me." stepping towards the door, Eggman motioned "Come along, we best make sure Metal knows his assignment vividly, right, navigator?"
Orbot moaned grudgingly "Yes doctor."
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*Egg base: Landing Zone
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Picking up the last few remains of charcoaled scrap, clean-up crewman E-69 saw the large vessel readying its landing gear. The ambivalent robot shrugged it off at first until he heard a distinct shout.
"Hear that?" another E-bot asked "Sounds like our puffed up military savvy's all fired up about something."
"That's a bunch of insulation and stuffing, 57." E-69 shook his head "That old oil bin's got too cool a head to let anyone fray his wires." a second loud shout broke up the friendly chat.
"FOR THE LAST TIME! I am the dignified general of Master Eggman's forces! My time of activation has no bearing on that at all!" the 'cool-headed' machine said.
"But you still haven't answered the question." a smug voice shot back "How much longer do you think you'll be around? After all, he only puts archaic bots like you in charge of the, ahem, consumer models."
The insult was causing the proud robot to overheat "C-consumer…? Archaic? How dare YOU! You soldier, happen to be older than any of us!"
"Then take this memo from your elder." the other voice countered "You can, and will, be replaced by greater designs before long. In fact, the plans I hold might as well be your obituary."
"T-that's nonsense! The master values me! What would he do without my experience?" E-99 strived to keep his arrogant exterior.
"Face it, you're inferior. Your tactics and battle protocol are obsolete. It's only a matter of time before the master takes measures to remove you." the faceless antagonist continued.
One of the waste robots was now neglecting his duties in favor of the excitement. Compared to their normally lonely shift, this argument was quite the entertainment.
"Hmm…who do you think'll win?" E-69 jabbed his partner.
"Whoever's got the general's goat is pretty impressive. I'd bet my left arm that he'll have the old gun storming off in no time." E-57 said with certainty.
"I've never seen such an impudent little private in all my functioning days! You just watch that tongue of yours soldier because one of these days I'll be ripping you a new one!" the well angered E-99 threatened emptily.
"Well two things: One, I don't have a military rank so calling me 'private' makes no sense. Secondly, if you so wish to fight me, all you had to do was ask." the speaker had now come into full view for his audience.
"Wait a sec, isn't that the guy who's a replica of the master's nemesis?' E-69 squinted to get a better look.
"Heck if I know. All I know is that kid has a lot of attitude. Sadly poor old E-99 has a bad reputation for literally blowing a fuse when he gets mad." E-57 talked and worked at the same time "Come on let's get this mess cleaned up already."
"But this is just getting good!" E-69 said in a semi-whining voice "You want to see the outcome too, right?"
"It's not that I don't; however, you know what bosses tend to do when you're having fun on the job?" E-57 riddled.
"No, what?"
"They always show up to ruin the moment." E-57 pointed towards the red and black suited man they all knew and feared "See?"
"What's going on here?" the master himself questioned unhappily "Picking a fight with your superior Metal? I expected better."
"MY superior?" Metal asked emphatically.
"I hadn't gotten a chance to announce it thanks to a few…technical difficulties you are well aware of." Eggman cast a knowing glare at the metal hedgehog "However that doesn't change the facts. E-99 has been given greater than equal authority to you for the time being, for unless you learn how to follow his orders, I can't have you serving directly under me."
"Follow orders, so I can serve under you?" Metal grumbled. His whole objective was to learn how to work under someone lesser, just so he could become the master's slave? He couldn't help noticing how satisfied the chunky E-99 looked. The copy would've liked nothing more than to show Eggman how superior he was to that brittle E-robot right here, right now. Thankfully, these thoughts didn't surface. Containing his dangerous emotions once again, Metal said "Yes master, I understand."
"See that you do. For now though, I have a new assignment you should've heard about by now." seeing the uneasy mannerisms of the two machines, the doctor sighed "In case you haven't, your new mission will be to guard and monitor the prototype until it is ready for activation."
If Metal had a jaw, it would've hit the floor with a loud clank. First he has to take orders from a has-been relic, and now he was getting demoted to a sitter for an inactive drone? This was, Metal's mind, time wasting at its finest.
"Well now that you're all excited about your new duty," the doppelganger was sure he heard snickers from behind him "Why don't I have your navigator show you the way?"
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*Inner Egg Base*
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Metal opted for a down-paced stride, as the abnormally quite Orbot guided them onwards. Just the thought of being stuck in a sealed off room with no one to fight or irritate was absurd. There must be hundreds of common throw-away bots that could easily do his job.
"Thinking about how much this stinks?" Orbot spoke at last "Well get used to it. These are the kind of things we all have to do."
"And that would be what?" Metal sulked.
"Anything we're asked, no matter how ridiculous the task may seem." the helper said miserably "If you want to make it big around here, obedience is the best trait to possess."
"Absurd…" Metal griped in voice to low for the assistant to detect. A very familiar steel door flew open, display an ever-so recognizable cell.
"Orbot, I have a question." the helper perked up and faced him "Why is the master leaving me with the prototype? Doesn't he suspect I might try something?"
Orbot lowered his disproportionate head "The truth is Metal…" he resisted speaking for a second "Uh…well…The boss is trying to keep you two away from the others."
"What? Why?" Metal said worriedly, something that felt new for him.
"I can't say anything else. As long as you do your job, you'll be fine. Just don't cross the master again, okay?" as he rolled up to the threshold, Orbot added "Stay out of trouble Metal."
Metal sighed and leaned against the glass tube. Confined, not as a job, but as a punishment perhaps? No something was off. Why else would Orbot say what he did? Was it because of his power level that Eggman was worried? Metal had a strange sensation; it told him there was more to it than that.
This thinking led him to stare at the test subject. Still obscured by the device of concealment it wore, Metal simply kept gazing as he conjured another small thought.
"What makes the two of us so unique?"
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End of Chapter Four
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Late again, I guess this time it makes sense since I'm really down right now :(. No big deal though, as long as it stops affecting my work.
Serenity: I won't even bother apologizing, since it'll probably sound pretty fake. So instead, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others. It was written at 2:00 am, so I'm assuming it'll have errors (hopefully not too many). Anyway that's all from me right now.
DanceDream: Glad you liked last chapter. I really hope I get out of this rut I'm in, so I can at least keep my promise of consistent updates to you guys :(. Alright I'll stop whining now as I've got many more things to worry about, and I'm sure you do too. Thank you for your support as always :).
Until next time.
