PoC: Owning this story is no easy task, especially when it's full of Sega's characters! So, Silver my man, how's repairing Metal coming?

Silver 1 and Silver 2: Working on it!

PoC: Oh right. There're still two of you. Remind me again, how much are you guys screwing up the future just by being here?

Silver 1 and 2: Screwing it up? We always…FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE!

PoC: -_- Should've seen that one coming…

Silver 1: Okay I think that did it, try him out!

Metal: All liver springs! Peel before your plaster!

Silver 2: Voice is kind of sucky, use another chip.

PoC: This is taking too long. Can't you go a little faster? I kind of need his comments on the plot.

Silver 1 and 2: Welp, then I guess we'll just have to…*Grins*

PoC: *Facepalm* Please God, don't let them sing. Especially not a duet…

Silver 1 and 2: Whistle while we work! It won't take long when there's song to help us set the pace!

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Child

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New developments with more complicated variables seemed to be rearing their ugly head quite often these days. Eggman had been feeling almost good over his latest plans for both E-38 and the prototype, but now plans would have two be changed…AGAIN. His ever-so useless scouts had, go figure, failed him at a most crucial time, like everything else he generally banked on.

Being the genius he was, however, the width-heavy mastermind had readied himself a set of more capable spies, and a more elaborate plan for his soon-to-be hostage. Elaborate usually translated to 'error-prone', but that was true of any plan he devised.

Thinking about premature loss put the doctor in a fouler mood than his 'tropical' base, so instead, he charged himself with finding his latest scout members.

"I must give that creature a field test before I lose contact with it in the more important mission." He thought this whilst grudgingly pulling his computer up in safe-mode thanks to a virus he'd 'picked up' "I need it to prove it's willing to obey my orders no matter wha-WAIT! THAT'S IT!" the doctor shouted in triumph and sticking his large hand right through his expensive computer monitor "I'll just have to give it a reason to disobey me! Orbot, fool that he may be, has been telling me some veeeery interesting things about her behavior. All I have to do is put a little this with a little that, and throw a few sparks, then see if she can contain it, and who knows? Maybe she'll even do away with him…" the master had then gone off into his maniacal world of ninety-second planning, a thing he often did when worked up. Regardless, he had indeed come up with another half-cocked, but nonetheless vile, scheme fitting of his reputation.

"Hee-hee! This is almost too perfect!" he snickered, only briefly congratulating himself, for now it was time to put the plan into action.

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*Hours later. With Silvia*

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With every step she took, the chilly halls seemed more and more vacant than they ever had in the past. She thought it odd that she would feel this way, considering how many robots of all shapes and sizes she'd passed by. It was hard to place it, but she most certainly felt empty right now; due to boredom perhaps? No, she had admitted how grateful she was that no one had yet ordered her to get back to work. It was definitely something else, but what? What could possibly make a bustling base of fellow machines so lonely?

"Lack of a friendly face, maybe?" a voice in her head seemed to say. True, she didn't recognize anyone here, but so what? Any one of them was bound to be more polite than that…that stubborn hedgehog.

"Ah so that's it…" the voice returned, still representing her innermost thoughts "You're mad at the way he dismissed you." She grunted indignantly, hoping her deeper feelings would mind their own business. Who cares about Metal? She had been concerned about him, but then he goes and treats her like she's a walking infection, evading her like a germ! Even if he hadn't, he's always so self-righteous and rude anyway! Why should HE care that she was worried about him?

"Like 85 said, Metal has a hard time expressing himself." her nagging inner-self insisted "Besides; you know you wouldn't be this upset if it had been anyone else." Well, that might be true, but that still didn't make what he did any better! Would it honestly kill him to show an ounce of genuine emotions, besides anger and rage? She was worried about him all that time, and for what? So he could coldly dismiss her? She was better off not thinking about him again.

"So then why are you?" the voice pestered "You haven't known him very long and don't owe him anything, yet you're getting all riled up over this one little detail. Does that really make sense?" Good question, but she didn't have a great answer. Just something about his attitude really…bothered her this time. No, it didn't make logical sense, but it still grated her synthetic nerves.

"The prototype I take it?" Oh, not again… Of all the people she did not want to talk to right now. Was he going to rat her out for ditching work, or was he here to question her about her feigned 'illness'? Whatever he wanted, Silvia was certain he'd be reporting anything she said to the big mustache around here. Well, matters could've been worse…or not, but she would still try to keep cool in front of the snitch. She had begun to realize why this ebony orb had earned such 'notoriety' around the base. Just the sound of his voice was like acid on her eardrums.

"Yes Orbot, how can I help you?" she responded promptly and politely. She was hoping to get this exchange over and done with so she could return to sulking about…things that didn't concern the likes of him. But though he thankfully didn't immediately start interrogating her, Orbot did take the hybrid by surprise when he fell to the ground, groveling like a complete dolt.

"Um…are you okay?" She asked, feeling a little creeped out by the sudden act of subservience.

"Finally!" he wailed melodramatically "A robot that actually listens without kicking me or making a death-threat! Can I worship you now, or would that be too awkward?" his random comment was an unhealthy cocktail of disturbing and amusing. The prototype had very few ways to reply to such an obviously exaggerated speech. Surely no one treats anyone that nastily. Then she recalled the way she had been picked on her first day, and it was clear that this guy, annoying as he was, might've suffered similar problems. It was moving enough that Silvia did bend down to pat the distressed helper's head comfortingly.

Given some time and a bit of wordless coaxing on the girl's part, Orbot did finally stop his performance to say "Oh really now, I-I must get a hold of myself!" He then wiped some invisible dust off his lower-half portion and made eye contact with his company "Ahem! Yes well, now to business! I've been ordered to have you, the mobian prototype, and one other battle-ready soldier assemble in the briefing room for your mission."

His words nearly caused Silvia to jump. She was actually getting a mission of her own now? Did this mean that the doctor accepted her or at least considered her competent enough to handle one? Either way, she was reservedly elated about it; reservedly, only because the prototype was not without a few concerns. The main one being how well would she do? And if she messed up, how badly would it count against her? As a side, but rather hidden, worry; what would happen to the secret project she had going with E-85? Who would take care of him while she was gone? Lots of questions, not enough answers. Was that some kind of ironic theme in life?

"I should note that the boss wants your partner to be someone you trust." Orbot hadn't stopped rambling while the prototype remained lost in thought, but she did manage to catch this last part "This means you have a personal choice to make, ergo you can choose someone you prefer, ergo I suggest Metal Sonic, ergo that person will be your partner, ergo I recommend Metal Sonic, ergo you might end up bonding with your chosen ally, ergo Metal Sonic is the only valid choice, ergo choose Metal Sonic, ergo…"

Biting her lip as hard as she could without tearing it wide open, Silvia gently placed a hand on his shoulder and said "Orbot dear? Don't you have other errands to run before Eggman gets really mad at you?" she then added out of his hearing range "Or before I do…" Heaven had to have been ringing with praises when the foot-in-mouth aid decided that he had indeed overstayed his welcome, though he remained blissfully unaware of why that was.

Once he had gone far out of sight, Silvia puffed up her chest and let loose an agitated sigh. Why did everyone have to bring up that joker every time she wanted a moments peace? Alright, maaaybe he wasn't the big bad guy she made him out to be, but still what was with everyone bringing up Metal around her? Notable examples were E-85 and her staff, the grime brothers, E-99 occasionally, and now Orbot! Was this some kind of elaborate game she wasn't in on? Well if it was, she certainly didn't find it fun or funny. In fact it was downright sad that everyone had nothing better to do with their time than tease her. Was it because Metal and she were different, the odd ducks of the lot? That didn't explain their peculiar tone changes whenever they say Metal's name to her.

"Weird just weird." She concluded, knowing how pointless the whole thing was. To clear her head, she vowed that now was the perfect time to find a partner for her first mission. After some careful thought, she was inclined to NOT choose Metal, seeing how so many were expecting that. And anyway, she would have to learn to work with different bots sooner or later, so why not start now? Thinking this had solidified it for her. She was ready to choose someone other than Metal to team up with. Who knows? Perhaps she'd get along with whoever it was better than him…

…though she secretly knew it was her spite talking.

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*With Metal*

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That was some terrible nap. Checking the clock showed he had been in long enough to get a decent power-charge in, yet he still felt weak and tired. He wanted to blame the capsule for being so darned uncomfortable, but that wasn't entirely the issue. He'd been thinking too much again, even in his sleep. No rest could quell his need for more understanding about what it meant to be 'unique'. Somehow, it still had him wondering why he was made and for what purpose he existed. Obedience hadn't been his thing since day one, and now he was even surer that he wanted no part of it. But if he didn't obey, if he did abandon his duty, then where would he go? Was there anything out in the world for him? Any goal he could call his own?

"Grrr! Must…stop…THINKING!" he demanded for what may've been the fifth time in his 'rest' mode. A useless rest like that had only worsened his cloudy head. This, followed by a blinding light from the overhead blubs of Capsule Q. soured his naturally rotten mood. He wasn't as upset as he normally would be, that was some good news. The bad news was that only he knew this, while others still saw him as the same grouch he always was. Stress and anger alike seemed to come out the same way for Metal, making him that much harder to approach.

His cranky musings were conveniently jarred when something caused the proud hedgehog to stumble over a small step.

"Argh! Now what?" He snarled as he noticed his right leg seemed to be dragging behind his left "I don't have blood flow, so my leg couldn't be 'asleep', could it?" For a robot, it was uncommon to feel your joints go sluggish on you for no apparent reason. However, this did a lot to explain why he had gotten a goodly amount of puzzled looks from several bystanders.

"They must be wondering why I'm limping." He grumbled "I bet they think I'm a weakling, or infirm even. Hmph! I'll show them who's weak!" Grabbing his leg with great force, the copy shook and bashed it in a brutish effort to knock some 'feeling' back into it. After five seconds of no success (with Metal's 'patience', this was comparable to nearly five minutes), the now-enraged machine glared down at his malfunctioning appendage.

But when he did, his gaze met with the most unexpected sight. There, clutching his metallic calf was a pair of small white-gloved hands, with a fuzzy yellow head and ears to match. Amazingly, the little thing appeared to be sleeping, despite the unrelenting punishment Metal had dished-out not inches above it. At least he NOW knew why those bots were giving him such strange stares.

There was a fox-doll clinging to his leg!

Biggest dilemma right now: How and when did the pipsqueak get a grip on him? He hadn't been there when Metal went to sleep. In that case, did he latch on sometime afterwards? Metal hadn't the slightest clue, which troubled him decently. So much that he forgot to get mad at tiny the bugger for his unwelcome contact. Instead, the copy scanned the puppet for a way to smoothly 'detach' him. Remarkably, the steel-hog pried and tugged but he couldn't remove the doll's tough hold. If nothing else though, his cold claws had caused enough discomfort to rouse the sleeping kit from his state of rest.

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*Tails Doll's POV*

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The puppet stretched his arms and rubbed his eyes, satisfied by his short nap. His calm sadly did partly crumble when his all-black eyes locked on a pair thoroughly not-amused red optics. Hopping down from his 'perch', the doll got a better gander at the red eye's owner. It was the scariest, but somehow the coolest person he'd seen since his awakening. The hedgehog's sharp edges and shiny armor made the kid, who had been implanted with very little pre-installed data, think he was some kind of superhero (something E-85 had uploaded info on, to make him more 'childlike'). He didn't know exactly what he did to make the cool guy mad at him, since he didn't remember much before his nap.

"Alright kid what's the idea? Why'd you follow me?" The larger robot's red irises brightened for a split second, striking even more awe and fear into the stuffed kit. This robot was pretty intimidating, so he figured he should be careful about what he says back. Careful? So what should he say?

Gulping abruptly, the stitched-up fox settled on the most truthful answer he could think of "I-I um… I don't know… Miss 85 said either Mama or someone called Mr. Metal Sonic would take care of me or something…" those scary red eyes of his flared up again, causing the boy to spill out more, probably useless, words "T-Then this lady told me to go with you a-and I…uhh…well… I thought you looked really cool, so I um…wanted to go with you anyway." That sounded bad, at least in the kit's mind. Now this super-cool robot was going to get all mad and yell at him. He cringed and gave the floor his full attention, a little afraid to show his face. After few seconds or so, no yelling or shouting came out. However, there was an odd 'ha-ha' sound that started out really quiet only to get very loud a moment later. The doll stared at the spiny-machine to find it was moving really funny while also being the source of those 'ha-ha' noises.

When he had stopped making that sound, the big robot knelt down to his level, just like he had when they first met "You 'thought I was cool' so you followed me? Heh, that's not something I've heard before. Hmm… What's your name kid?" Wow, the awesome blue guy not only didn't get mad, but he actually talked to him! The boy was nearly giddy with excitement. Maybe this guy wasn't so scary after all-Hold it, hadn't he asked a question? The puppet snapped out of his trance quick enough to save the conversation.

"Oh! Uh…my name? Well I don't really have one… I think I heard E-85 calling me something like 'Tails' doll' or 'doll of Tails'. Mister, what's a 'Tails' anyway?" His question seemed innocent enough, but the blue robot didn't look very happy afterwards.

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*Metal's POV*

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Tails? He swore that word rang a few bells, all bad ones. Blurred images of a yellowish orange creature came to him once the word was said, but they left rather suddenly. Metal's short lapse in relaxation had unfortunately frightened the kit…again, so he stopped his musing for fear of chasing the shrimp away. Most times this wouldn't have bothered him; however, Metal didn't really want the guy to wander around aimlessly, and anyways the runt did say he was cool. To try and make up for the startle, the alloyed speedster placed his clawed hand on the kit's shoulder as unthreateningly as possible.

"Don't worry about it. We better find you a new name soon, but for now…uhh…let's see. I'm called Metal not Sonic, so that means we'll call you…Doll?" both males blinked twice at the name, and then comically gagged at how poor it felt on their tongues "Okay bad call on my part, but it'll do for now, right?"

"I guess…" the fox moaned while his crystal changed to a light red, almost signifying his embarrassment. With another blink and a flash, the kit's gem then shifted over to a more excited yellow color "So your name is Metal? YOU'RE Mr. Metal Sonic? Wow!"

Metal shook his head several times and wagged his index finger "No 'mister' or 'Sonic' belongs in my name kid. Just call me Metal." The hedgehog walked off in a rather cocky stride, stopping only when a small hand snagged his fingers mid-step.

"Okay…Metal." the kid beamed at the hardened hedgehog. At first the copy considered pulling out of the kit's grasp, but seeing that hopeful face was a little tough for even Metal to ignore, so he tolerated the motion without complaint. To see a famed killing machine sharing a kindly gesture with that childish doll was an impressively touching sight to behold.

"Um… Metal Son-Oh! I uh…mean Metal. Would you mind taking me to see Mama?" the doll asked mildly with those same big, innocent eyes.

The doppelganger did eventually sag his head in defeat and reply "Sure, why not? What does she look like?" He supposed there was no harm in helping. This kid wasn't really so bad, as Metal originally figured he would be. But even so, he promised to not enjoy the kid's company too much, just in case the shrimp started holding him back, and/or messing up his tough-guy style.

Despite these cynical thoughts, Metal still kept the puppet's hand nestled securely in the palm of his own.

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End of Chapter Eighteen

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So the chap is now here! Yeah it could've been better, but I'm really happy I didn't get this out any later! Tell me if it's still worth the effort!

DanceDream: Interesting correlation there. I never thought of him/her like that, but it sort of makes sense. Yeah Orbot gets no love XD. Meh, I figure it has to do with them hating Sonic so much, that they refuse to call anyone by his name. Indeed, he's no small character, I assure you… Metal is Metal, but he is still Sonic's copy. As you can see, Tails Doll is almost more of a foil for Metal than even Silvia is. How could even Metal hate a helpless little guy like that? This is the start of their relationship, so it'll get more developed. That last guy you initially thought was Metal is baaaaad news. Side-note: It's sort of a guy thing :)

Serenity: That's a shame, but I hope you'll come back sometime and read the rest of the story. I'm very happy you requested this, and I still write this mostly for you. Nah, I'm not trying to pressure ya. As long as I know you'll be back someday, it's all good.

Infamousplot: I await you as always!

Super Shadix 520: Hope you have time to review this one!

Mewone: TD WAS following him around! XD Metal is like a Sonic without the 'heroic' attributes, thus making him cold and arrogant at times (but not always). Silvia gets her scene at last! I made it big enough to compensate for any slack last chapter might've left. P.S. Madness to which there is no method: A PoC life-story. XD

Until next time!