PoC: We're experiencing some technical difficulties, not including the exhausted reminder that I own none of the Sega characters used in this story. I assure you we are doing all that we can to- *Crash* … Alright you guys, what happened now?
Silver 1: It's not our fault! It's Beardy McGirthy over here that dropped the ball this time!
Silver 2: For once I agree with my dumber self; the blame lies solely with Dr. Eggland's Worst.
Eggman: It would've worked fine if you two were even half as sharp as the keratinized hairs protruding from your thick skulls!
Silver 1: HEY! Who are you calling a carrot-head, you walking jelly roll!
PoC: KNOCK IT OFF! If I hear one more slur or derogatory remark out of anyone, so help me I'll have you erased from my commentary! Look at it this way: The sooner you guys get Metal fixed, the sooner you all can go your separate ways in peace. You with me on this?
Silver 1 & 2: Walking Crisco-ball!
Eggman: Levitating grub-suckers!
PoC: …
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Sun
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The wall-hanging time-keeper, or what Miss 85 called a cluck, possibly clock, had made that ticking sound approximately thirty-six hundred times in a row now, almost driving the toy child out of his stuffing-filled mind. What sane robot could stand listening to that incessant noise all day without suffering permanent neurological trauma? He knew his Mama had told him listen to whatever Miss 85 said, but that really didn't make sense as he technically had to listen to anyone that spoke to him. Moreover, where had she gone? And why wasn't he allowed to come with her and the big cool guy called Metal? Instead he was stuck here in a room of milk-white accompanied by a faint chemical smell. Nothing about this place could be called bad, save for those icky sharp pokers 85 called MVIs or 'shots', though this was equally matched by the lack of anything good or enjoyable to do.
"Miss 85 says Mama's busy, so why can't I be busy too?" his antennae dropped over his eye as he spoke. With a smack, he sent the angler-like wire flying back, only for it to rebound its way back into his vision. The kit puppet resented the silly thing so much, and would've cut it off had it not been so useful for doing stuff; like opening doors he couldn't reach.
"Like when I followed Mr. Metal…" he recalled happily, subsequently showing the dangling jewel some due respect, for he did have this mysterious appendage to thank for his unique abilities. With its aid, operating most anything with an electronic interface was a cinch, even with his limited processing power, plus it doubled as a source of fun when used to manipulate low-level machines, as in recently when he tried controlling a remote-controlled…
Wait…opening things? Like the very door he was trapped behind?
The doll peered over the tall threshold, letting his imagination spur on his hope. Why should an uncomplicated door stand between him and whatever excitement lay on the other side? Taking the back of his wrist he rapped on door's base. It was fairly thin too, meaning he could try some other 'methods' of breaking out should his hacking abilities fall flat. Also beneficial to his plot, the window, which had been placed conveniently within his reach, by his scans wasn't sturdy enough to keep even one of those weak humans, that 85 had told him about a few times, securely captive for long. The abundance of opportunities had the pint-sized robot practically bouncing with excitement. What could, or should, stop him from busting out and claiming all the fun freedom could bring?
"Let's do it!" the mischievous puppet dangled his wired crystal higher and higher until it was within range of the semi-secure lock. Beams from the tiny gem spread out over the mechanism, manipulating its inner workings with the most gracious ease. A slide and click later, the passage was wide open with not a person in sight to catch him in the act. How could this be so easy? He had expected Miss 85 to be more careful. Then again he WAS, at least in his own mind, too tricky for others to handle. Sneaking his way out to the open world, the doll skittered away to find his Mama, Metal, and maaaaybe just a bit of trouble along the way.
Little did he know his antics were being watched very closely…
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*On the Sunset Hills*
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So here they were, stuck on top of a geographically decaying hill that overlooked a disgusting sea of crystal clear water (which, to a machine, was a sea of painful death). Metal was fortunate enough to be well-proofed against the vile liquid, but that didn't change how much the stuff soiled his mood. In fact, this whole disgustingly beautiful sunset had an adverse effect on his oily nerves. Whoever they were tracking must be some kind of masochist to enjoy being surrounded by countless displays of infectious beauty. Knowing his creator though, Metal presumed these negative opinions might be stemming from his programmed hatred for anything delicate, lovely, or natural.
"So this is the place?" Silvia expected no answer as she took in the same scenery Metal had "Wow…so different from the base huh?" she asked, this time directing her wistful question towards her grumpy hedgehog partner. Without her noticing he rolled his eyes, figuring her tone meant that she actually liked this place. Well doesn't that figure? How typical of the slightly natural one to be lured in by these non-mechanical abominations.
Just as he was thinking this, Silvia moved forward to pick one of the more colorful flowers of on the ground. Raising the thin object up, still pinched gently between her fingers, Silvia stared at intently and said "So pretty, so colorful…" her sighing seemed expected, until her eyes turned a frightening shade of reddish-orange "So…alive. Ugh, it makes me sick." Metal, stunned to a degree by her words, turned to see her now holding small pile of ashes in her palm. Tilting her hand to a vertical position, the hybrid let the burnt remains scatter on the wind. Metal then saw her face, which was now showing a level of disgust even he would be proud of.
"Give me an ocean of fresh oil near a field of newly polished floral-steel over this any day." She wiped her hands clean of the burnt remains with an almost obsessed sense of hygiene, possibly from her traumatizing work under the brothers, while Metal speculated the abrupt change he'd witnessed. From a logical standpoint he hadn't yet really gotten to know what she was like, consequently leaving him in no position to judge, but nevertheless felt his initial impression of her to be now somewhat challenged. It was odd to think that her being half-organic, with multiple natural components, didn't grant her any false sympathy for nature itself.
Unbeknownst to the distracted composite hedgehog, he hadn't noticed how intently he'd been staring at her, and thus inadvertently drew the interest of the slacker bots he called a crew. Silvia remarkably didn't catch the red eyes locked on her, but simply continued to gaze over the horizon "But you know…as icky as that nature stuff is, I sort of like the big photon-generator in the sky. That orange light…it's kind of relaxing don't you think?"
Metal broke his focus, now realizing how foolish he must've looked. Trying to forget his lapse, he shifted his attention over to her observation "That's not a generator…at least not like the ones we have back at base. It's called the sun, and it's what provides light to our entire planet." Metal would've scowled next as he added "But we don't really need it as much as organic creatures do. It helps plants to grow and gives the flesh-bags seasons to live by, so I don't really like it."
"Hmm…I guess it's bad for us then…" She sighed with trace disappointment. The hybrid then curled her tail in and sat down on the only grassless object, a rock, and spoke again "Metal…when the world gets all dark, where does this 'sun' go? Why doesn't it just stay up all the time?"
If this was anyone else talking, or merely a bad day for the copy, he would've grunted and ordered the asker to stop wasting time and get back to the mission. Though the thought did cross his mind, Metal didn't feel so inclined to put his partner down for such a…word bank memory fail again. If he had the right phrase, he would've said 'innocent'; he wouldn't put her down for such an 'innocent' question. Regardless, Metal stepped up to her side and leaned against a larger stone "That's because every night the sun falls out of the sky. I'm not exactly sure why it happens, but I do know that when it does, it makes life a little harder on humans, mobians, and any robots that lack night-vision and/or are solar-powered."
Silvia pondered this carefully while cupping her face with both hands "So I guess that means, just like our power cells, nothing good lasts forever." Metal hadn't seen it like that before, but he had to admit that she made a good point. Just when he'd wrapped his head around that concept, Silvia had another question "But wait, then how does the sun come back? Does another one appear to take it's place?"
Suddenly Metal felt his vocal sensors overload with multiple grunts or gasps that sounded similar to that 'laughing' sound "Not at all. You see after each time the sun falls, it always rises again the next morning. It's a process that's been going for an…indeterminate amount of time, depending on which scientists' studies you research." Unexpectedly, the half-machine girl started clapping her hands excitedly.
"That's so neat! So we don't have to worry about the sun falling because we know it'll rise again the next day! And maybe…just maybe it means that even when a good thing ends, something equally good will come to take it's place! How cool is that?" Once again her ability to optimize logic left the doppelganger at a loss for words. But the youthful girl didn't stop until she said "You really know a lot of interesting stuff. Thanks for telling me about it." And so there she was; beaming happily over some trivial details the Sonic-clone had randomly found lying in one of his memory caches.
Metal couldn't understand what he had done to earn her 'thanks', but he was nevertheless very pleased with the results. Something about making her lips curve upward or 'smile' gave him an instant feeling of gratification, even if he didn't know what that word meant. In addition, it started to make him stare stupidly again. Strangely enough, knowing he was staring at her didn't feel odd or unnatural this time, probably because she was now returning his gaze. Only when he remembered something 85 had told him about 'good manners' did Metal drop their eye contact to say "You're…welcome I suppose. Just promise not to tell 99, 85, or…pretty much anyone about this conversation. It'll be uh…our secret I guess."
Clunky and poorly delivered as his words were, Silvia's ever-changing irises very briefly flashed a rainbow of colors before returning to their normal, diamond-glass clearness "Sure thing…Metal. Plus, I think it's time we got back to our mission anyway."
She was right of course. They had spent too much time chit-chatting about nothing in particular, not mention how late they already were from their departure. Thankfully, though not the most efficient workers, the crew had already set up the trackers and equipment for their recon/stakeout as the two were talking. For once, Metal could honestly say he was mildly pleased with someone else's efforts.
"Commander Metal Sonic sir! We've set up the perimeter with mach-level speed traps, but we'll need more time to set up the opposite hill for our mission." The soldier sounded a bit worried that Metal would snap and lose his patience for his 'pointless update'. But before Metal could blow a fuse, Silvia asked for his help while coming down from her rocky perch. After offering her a helping hand, the steeled-killer turned back only to find that his anger, which was initially likened to an active volcano, had suddenly vanished altogether. Confused by this, Metal could only shrug as he followed his next, even more uncharacteristic, impulse.
"You've done a fine job here. I now order you to maintain this post while Silvia and I arm the second target. That is all, dismissed." Without argument, the soldier watched as Metal and his partner gathered up the gear they needed and sped off for the next location. Still…he very much wondered who the commander had been referring to when he said 'Silvia'
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*Mechanical Residence*
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It was absolutely gorgeous outside. Sure, tinkering with new inventions and tuning up an airplane were great ways to pass the time, but nothing could beat the grandness of the great outdoors. Now he was wishing he'd taken his friend up on that sprinting trip offer, or at least hung outside with him for a few sun-bathing minutes. However, if he knew is best friend at all, and he did, the guy could be on the other side of the planet right now for all he knew. This may've seemed a ridiculous assumption considering he had spoke with his friend not three hours ago, but then also had to consider that his 'friend' was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog, and he himself was indeed his ever-faithful brother Miles 'Tails' Prower. True, the two were clearly from different species, him being a fox while Sonic was obviously a hedgehog, but they had been friends for so long that both picked up and shared traits with each other just like close blood-brothers would. The vulpine took it upon himself to be the brains of the duo, or trio if one counted the hot-headed muscle of the group, Knuckles the Echidna. As such, he often spent most of his time in his workshop, coming up with all kinds different gadgets that were, unlike the nefarious Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik, more nature-friendly and generally non-lethal to even his enemies.
On this now almost-ending day, Tails decided to get his mind off regret by cleaning his beloved airplane, the Tornado. It had been a gift from Sonic a long time ago, which made it one of his most treasured possessions. Going out to check on it, the fox made sure to lock up his house before taking the short stroll down to his private hanger. Pressing the hidden switch to open it, Tails stepped back as his masterpiece rolled it's way out automatically.
"I hope Sonic gets back from his trip soon." The kit sighed, now missing his best buddy again "I think I'll surprise him by outfitting our plane with that new design I've been stalling to finish. I'm sure he'll love it, especially since it's every bit as powerful as the Tornado 2, but doesn't need a Chaos Emerald to run on." And so with renewed inspiration, Tails got to work by pulling out all the tools needed for making the last few adjustments. Just then he snapped his fingers, realizing that he had left some crucial parts in his workshop.
Heading back to the front door, Tails' pointy ears detected something odd on the wind. It sounded like…the throaty droning of a plane's engine, more specifically a heavy aircraft-carrier. Concerned, the kit checked the skies in every possible direction but found nothing, not even heat-waves from it's engines, yet the noise was getting louder every second. A little nervous now, Tails raced back to his bolted door as quickly as his legs could carry him.
But once he reached his doorstep, Tails could hear a hissing voice fill his ears, even above the whirring aircraft "Target acquired. Preparing to capture the subject mostly unharmed."
Tails gulped and started to shiver "A-an Eggman robot? Here?" Upon hearing a clanking sound, the fox knew the cloaked machine was ready to pounce.
"S-Sonic…"
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End of Chapter Twenty-two
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This is an outrageous and completely unacceptable delay. I'm so angry with myself for putting this off over and over, even if it was for school. It's not fair that you guys (if any of you still read this) should have to wait this long. I won't be shocked if none of you return for this update. Lord knows it was ungodly slow.
Future self note: And loaded with errors! Dang it, I know I haven't caught them all. Sorry for this chapter's messy quality :\
Until next time.
