PoC: Pen as to ink, ink as to paper, paper as to story, story as lawsuit, lawsuit as to homeless, homeless as to no computer, no computer as to no story, no story as to…um… Yeah you get the point.
Silver 2: Is this really justifiable or necessary? Barricading us in a telekinesis-inhibiting factory surrounded by barbed wire over a chain-link fence?
Silver 1: Animal cruelty and oppression to all things fuzzy! It's not like we meant to kill Metal!
PoC: Yes, yes, and you bet it is. I've also hired additional assistance to ensure his remanufacturing goes smoothly.
Silver 1: Huh? Who would want to help rebuild Met?
Silver 2: You don't mean…
PoC: *Exhales* Alright, you remember our agreement, yes?
Eggman: Of course I do! No scheming, no prison egg making, and… Ah yes! No establishing a base of purest evil for my own selfish purposes.
PoC: Right, good man err…egg.
Silver 1 & 2: W-We're working for HIM?
PoC: Sorry guys. You said you'd do anything to bring Metal back so…
Eggman: Enough talk! We both have labor to begin!
PoC: *Sigh* Point taken. Chapter start!
-l-
Challenge
-l-
This was supposed to be a rigorous mission for aspiring soldiers, not a pampered first-class flight for cowards. Was this what all the top numbers were taking credit for these days? What happened to the age when countless E-soldiers would be dispatched to their assigned locations without help and without contact? In the past you either did your job well, or you were left behind as a pile of smoking scrap. No exceptions and no second chances. It was like the army had gone as soft and soggy as the master's waist-line.
38 hoped to enjoy showing off it's skills after years of disuse and abandonment. He/she was hoping also to be dazzled by a new and preferably improved system of warfare. As stated earlier though, this wishful thinking died on the backs of these tenderfoots that call themselves veterans.
"Maybe I should bow down to big boy E-99 and his crew of unblemished shiny gears. At least then I'd fit in nicely." 38 thought this and let out a sarcastic cackle, drawing heavy attention from his/her crewmen "I thought I could appreciate one so buff and rugged, until I saw what a yellow-wire he really is." He/she despised how the massive E-general sent off Eggman's underlings to do his job for him, whilst telling everyone and everything in sight about the 'mystery' traitor. No wonder he fell so far out of favor with the base; he barks orders he couldn't be bothered to carry out himself.
"And the look of his armor, just ugh! Whatever happened to the old 'polish and oil at least every other day' rule?" it took a valiant effort for 38 to not shudder at the squalor some robots were content to living in. He/she had but two policies for living: 1. Have fun doing and being the best at everything, whether it be murdering or kidnapping. 2. Look nice for any occasion, as nobody can drool over or even admire an ill-bathed killer.
"Sir Ma'am, Mr. 38 um…miss!" the operator failed miserably with the kidnapper's formal title yet again, earning a few childish laughs out of an immature team engineer "I've received word that we have nearly arrived at our target's residence. Do you wish to be re-briefed before departing?"
E-38 patted the radio-bot on the head mockingly. The cute (in 38's description) duty-bound man was trying so hard to be a good little tool for his esteemed boss 99. To think that the numberless live for such small things like currying favor was just precious in 38's eyes. They could never know the joy of seeking out their own victories; they could only live in the long shadows cast by their superiors.
Thinking in this manner probably had some involvement in E-38's next move, as he/she absolutely loved to show off his/her freedom and willfulness to the little people. Like how nothing, in his/her mind, can buy the sweetness of self-made success, so can nothing compare with hilarity of these law-abiding stiffs. Being so used to routine and order, 38 presumed not a one of them would remain calm when he/she leapt out of craft's open shaft.
"What are you doing, stop!" the operator called out preventatively, but it was far too delayed to stop 38 from taking the sudden dive. Knowing as if by instinct what measures to take, the relatively cool-headed robot said into his communicator "Pilot! Turn this ship around, we've got a problem." Expectedly, the pilot asked for a quick explanation, leading the operator to sigh and reply "E-38 abandoned ship early. I think he misunderstood the update. Think you can get a fix on her location?"
With another possible mission blunder on their hands, not a one of the men dared to move until the response came back. None were more nervous than the advisor who knew he would be taking extreme heat for misplacing one of Eggman's prized E-bots and their still un-kidnapped cargo.
A beeping finally came in, narrowly avoiding any unit's loss of composure, but the answer did not seem to leave the operator very pleased. With a short 'good work' as his reply, he ended the tense chat and headed right for the case of extra trans-pins. Before he could leave, however, the team surrounded him as though silently demanding an answer or three. Weighing out the severity of the situation, the numberless soldier knew it was best not leave the rest of the unit in the dark.
"E-38 has diverted off the original course by several miles." He confessed in a masked-worrisome tone "Last visual contact we had showed him/her heading into the nearest residence in the Mystic Ruins." At this, he pulled up a simulated layout of the location. It was easy to distinguish this place from their original target, as this 'home', if it could be recognized as such, was outfitted with a variety of machines jutting out of it's every nook and cranny. More peculiar than that was the long smoothed, tree-lined dirt road that ran from the house's garage all the way out to the open sea, giving it almost the appearance of a runway. For certain, this was not the simple little dwelling with a picket-fence and other normal exterior amenities they had been expecting. This meant that the hair-trigger E-38 was about to kidnap the wrong person, possibly someone with no relation to Sonic's gang.
Though many questions abounded, the troops could collectively agree on one point: This once pretty straightforward task, was about to turn ugly and crooked.
L
*With Metal*
L
Non-sequential operations had become the norm of late. Once convinced that he was disrespected and underappreciated, Metal now concluded that all was owed to Eggman's lack of linear thinking. How else could he have gone from watch duty, to data stealing, then finally reconnaissance in a week's worth of time? The hedgehog did confess that he had somewhat been self-demoted when he offered to participate as the prototype's overseer. Anything was better than waiting to be called in for collaboration, assuming one could call taking orders and cleaning up another idiot's mess 'collaboration'. Though recon was nigh unbearably beneath his elite station, Metal did find being the one in charge to be a pleasurable perk. Who better to hold the reigns of command than the greatest machine ever created? How perilous could it be for the peerless master to play teacher for a day?
In his duration of these pampering thoughts, Metal lent no ounce of thought to his busy surroundings. Had he been paying attention he would've noted how packed the ship was with a conspicuous amount of sensors and scanners. The quality of this equipment looked capable of tracking a fighter jet traveling beyond the speed of sound. Curious indeed, but in any case the load was rather much for the size of craft they had been provided.
"Silvia ma'am we're rather short on space." Mildly informed their supplied operator "I'm afraid you'll have to take a seat further down." In no way was the soldier attempting to be rude, for the vessel provided was indeed relatively meager in size. Still, had he showed such un-soldierly weakness before any other E-series member he would've met with considerable, if not intentional, resistance. Silvia of course, being her soft-hearted self, complied with no complaint at all. Ironically, in her quick impulse to avoid being in everyone's way, the girl had unintentionally invaded someone else's personal space upon claiming her new seat.
"Oh gosh! I'm very sorry sir…?" her mouth shut while her eyes widened when she noticed who she had imposed upon. The lethal hedgehog, who had been forcefully dragged out of his self-praising fantasy, shot his ruby eyes up to glare at his 'offender'. By the time both pseudo-mobians had made eye contact, the two had dropped their facial pretences, and instead opted for unanimous stares of genuine surprise. This shock increased greatly when a careless assistant rammed the unsuspecting hybrid off her feet, thus sending her tumbling straight towards the last place she expected to be…
Metal had spread his arms out instinctually allowing something soft and fuzzy to collide against his chest plate. As per his typical aggressive behavior, Metal snarled at the loading crew for their stupidity, and, frighteningly, almost tossed back whatever they had ignorantly 'dropped' on him.
His boiling temper only evened out a little when he recalled just 'what' was now clinging to him. Strands of strikingly shiny silver fur that impeded his right lens was soon exchanged for the hybrid's uncomfortably close pair of eyes. Their proximity was such that Metal could feel the moist tip of Silvia's black nose bushing against his own, thereby sparking the copy's eagerness to backpedal. Unluckily enough the cramped cab allowed no such reaction from the now-cornered hedgehog.
Silvia had the more generous amount of room to jump back, but clearly felt less of an inclination to do so, as the entirety of her body remained motionless, unless one counted the odd shade of electric violet her irises had become. Knowing he was indeed deadlocked in his position begged inquiry for the hybrid's apparent refusal to move. Above that, Metal did find her gaze remarkably distracting; to such a degree that afterwards he could not recall how long they stayed stationary.
Indefinite amount of time passed until Metal snapped back to his better senses and said "Silvia…" just loud enough to grasp her attention. Not wanting inflict any accidental harm on his newly christened pupil, Metal conjured up the perfect/worst possible words to remedy this 'close encounter' "Get off."
No sooner had he spoken than did the harsh realization hit the girl, causing her to leap over into her own seat with astounding speed, granting the powerful hedgehog his freedom. Contrary to her formerly frozen position, Silvia had now seeming, in Metal's analysis, lost control over her body, resulting much involuntary shifting and shuffling; something that the hedgehog, had he possessed a larger vocabulary, should've categorized as 'fidgeting'.
Whatever the word for it, the sight triggered a different side of Metal's ever-broadening personality. His grasp on emotional terminology was once again too loose to accurately describe what he was experiencing. Eggman was partially to blame for this as he oft classified emotions as 'dangerous' or 'frivolous', thus leaving Metal generally behind the curve. Regardless, the new sensation influenced the blue warrior to rest his clawed hand on the prototype's shoulder. Though his action was minuet her nervous shuddering slowed considerably from the gentle contact, and then soon subsided altogether. Even after her shivers were gone, Metal could somehow sense her lingering…nervousness or embarrassment.
"Uh…sorry I snapped like that." Such were painful words for one so vain; still he went on to say "It's not you really… I just seriously dislike being touched, that's all." Why he felt compelled to explain himself to her, he didn't know. All he knew at present was that he didn't like seeing her upset.
How shameful to be caught up in a trivial matter leading to a huge waste of time. She no doubt didn't need/want to hear him sounding like such a wimp, or so he sourly put it. Metal's crude criticism directed towards himself was, however, greatly contested when Silvia turned around to expose a sweet, if slightly apologetic, smile. A smile that proved effective in silencing his pouting over lost pride. So quieting and calming, her simple expression seemed make the whole ship fall silent.
This was no poetry, as the crew had indeed ceased working to rudely spy on the pair's interactions.
Carelessly, the lazy loading bots drew a certain hero copy's ire when Metal had finally caught them in the act. A quick glare and a shout of "WHAT ARE YOU FOOLS STARING AT?" sent the inquisitive crowd scurrying off to find more productive ways to pass the time. Restored was the Sonic clone's grumpy demeanor, doubled with a dose of humiliation when he heard the hybrid giggling at his 'fearsome' outburst.
Predictably agitated, Metal sought peace by resigning to his inner musings, only to find the voice of 85 waiting plague him further "Methinks the almighty Metal Sonic just got his tough-guy act foiled by a pretty face...twice." it taunted, prompting the doppelganger to smack his head repeatedly against the vessel's hull.
-l-
End of Chapter Twenty-one
-l-
Inspiration failed me halfway through this chapter's rewrite. As long as that fact isn't too obvious, I can learn to live with these results. The romance here may seem out of place, though I rather think it's time it became more central to the plot.
Serenity: I know you're busy so whenever you have time. Obviously we all have a lot do lately (given how extensive these delays of mine are becoming).
DanceDream: Perhaps you know where I roughly got that from (hint: Black Doom: No! NO! A PARADOX! *Explodes* XD). Eggman is an evil scientist, what'd you expect? *Wags finger* This isn't a game (okay that was direct steal. Now I KNOW I'm going to get sued! DXX). I had to justify him with more than just the whole "he's Sonic's copy, so OF COURSE he'd have emotions" excuse. Besides, it sets everything up for my surprise ending (wait oh crap! You heard nothing!). Sorry TD wasn't here. However, I have a personal adventure for him at Eggman's base (it involves that creepy traitor guy). Yeah ruining old stuff sucks, but at least you can enjoy something for what it was, in case id-gits try to wreck it with their warped imagination. Thank you! :D
Super Shadix 520: I'm slow to reveal anything, but I have something planned alright. Hmm…now WHO could that moron 38 be attempting to wrongly kidnap (hint: Makes an appearance in all my stories, cuz he's bada** XD)? Harder question: Who was the original target in mind? Half of those questions will be answered next chap (though I know I made at least one obvious :) ).
Mewone: I wanted a twist that would ALMOST make sense, otherwise I'd have trouble believing Metal could have emotions (though I guess it COULD come with Sonic's life-data). Eggman has something more sinister in mind, but all will be revealed soon (Ink: So Pen, what do mean by soon? Pen: I CALL ALL TIMES SOON! XD). That's some cold hard crash for you sir (SHHHHIIIITE I punned as wellz!). Late as it is, hope this works.
Until next week, two weeks, two decades, or whatever!
