Silver 2: These are totally fried. Other me! Be a pal and toss the wire-cutters will ya?
Silver 1: Boooring! I want Metal to come back now! *Pouts and lugs tool carelessly*
Eggman: Ouch! Why you little- *Attempts to strangle Silver 1*
PoC: *Groans* I don't think I can take this much longer…PenFullofChaos819 owns nothing except for the semi-original story and a slew of OCs. Characters Metal, Tails Doll, Tails, Orbot, and Eggman, as well as any Sonic Heroes, Adventure, or Colors references are the property of Sega and the Sonic Team.
Silver 2: Finished! Over-easy, reattach these pronto!
Eggman: *Growls* NEVER presume that YOU can order ME around, hedgehog! Besides, I prefer my eggs hard-boiled.
Silver 2: Okay, now if I just plug this back in…
?: Whazzz toozzzz zzo zzzong? I'zzz goinzzzz tozzz zzzill youzzz zzzzzilver. Yozzz heazz -*reboots*-me? Kill you I say! I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU A NEW-oof! *hugged by Silver 1*
Silver 1: Yay! Metal's back! Don't you ever leave us like that again!
PoC: Heartwarming and deadly move at the same time. Good show Silver's 1 & 2!
Eggman: Ahem! And what about my genius that made this operation a success?
PoC: *Ignoring him* And will you look at the time? Let's get this overdue chapter finished!
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Threat
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Big, huge, ginormous! The last time the robotic doll had wandered around, he was too fixated on following Metal to see how massive and intricate the base really was. Of course this may've been a perception error, on account of him possessing rather…meager stature. Being as excited as he was, however, the picky details mattered less. He was going to enjoy this outing as much as possible, until the inevitable takes place and he gets his fun ruined by being caught. Technically speaking, this would depend on WHO he gets caught by. He was sure that his 'Mama' would never let those white-suited robots take him away…well not if he begged hard enough at any rate. Metal on the other hand…who knows? From what the childish puppet could remember, the spiny blue guy had a short temper, so he had to be careful not to make him mad. Even so, the doll knew if he found Metal, he'd probably be with Mama, and Mama wouldn't allow Metal to be mean and send him back, or at least he hoped not. Tentative though this plan was, it sure beat being stuck in that boring room of his. And thanks to 85's specialized map upload, he practically knew where everything was.
Now only a microscopic problem remained: Where would he go first?
Turning his nose up to the Medical Wing made perfect sense, as did avoiding any of the more populated regions such as the Training Facility and Capsule Quarters. Additionally, the Sky-port was also an unwise destination, given how those deadly, hovering, jet-equipped monstrosities could easily suck up a lightweight doll such as him. On the other set of floors, there were other places such as the Experiment Holding Cells, the now out-dated and underappreciated Library, and the Refueling Station. Though the doll had no idea what any of those names meant, they all sounded tiresome and/or dangerous. Adventure he wanted, but he had no wish to get himself hurt or do anything that might scare his Mama. Restraints like this left the doll almost feeling as trapped as when he was locked in that milk-white room.
"What the…heck is that?" a sudden voice filled his audio-sensors, which of course put the poor child on edge. Unsure of whether he should run or stay perfectly silent and still, the puppet found the choice wrested from him when the same grim voice rang out again "Ugh! It's hideous! Don't tell me THAT small yellow fox-like thing is OUR victim?"
That was all he needed to hear. With his little synthetic heart pounding like a drum, the doll scurried off into the shadows, hoping against hope that he had somehow eluded his pursuers. Helplessly, he huddled up in the darkened corner, his innocent mind not seeing the futility in hiding from well-equipped sentries. However, as luck would have it, the kit saw the scary robots were turned away from him, instead staring at some sort of holographic screen. As relieving as this event was, the doll could hardly stifle his newly triggered curiosity. And so, leaning further in, he listened carefully.
"Somebody ought to tie 38 down with his/her own coolant pipes. The master's gonna hate our lot a WHOLE lot more when he finds out about this screw-up." a skinny yellow and black-striped robot whined, seemingly irking his larger companion something fierce. Even from his distant vantage point, the doll's stuffed tails twitched at the striped one's infuriating tone.
"You must have bow-tied circuits saying that. If anything, the master will respect him for bringing back a higher-priority target, instead of some mere rabbit child. This mobian is the Enemy's closest ally, and will serve as a far more precious commodity." The large one clarified as calmly as possible, though he was visibly struggling to not snap the slender robot's scrawny neck in two "Need I remind you that we must curry all the favor we can before the plan is finished? The greater in ranks we ascend, the closer we get the master's side."
"Gah! Heard it once, heard it a thousand times! C'mon, what do you take me for?" the striped machine had to ask, even though it was unlikely to get it's meaningless question answered. It wasn't until his more sensible partner shot him an agitated glare that the honey-bee colored machine spoke with more respect "I know, alright? I know we need to get in the master's good graces before Rambo goes viral on his Eggliness. Speaking of which, didn't he fail to kill the master's new spiky-headed toy in that wreck?"
The Tails doll risked pushing his stitched ear closer, wondering if the 'spiky-head' they were talking about was in fact Metal Sonic. And if they were, what was this 'kill' thing that someone had tried to do to him? A few of his desired answers came in the large robot's reply "For one thing, I think you mean postal not viral. And for another, you had better show our leader some respect. He's been sending our potential 'replacements' to the junk-pile long before that arrogant Metal Sonic's time. Does the E-100 series sabotage ring a bell?"
At this the striped one abruptly started stomping on the grated flooring, an act that rightly caused the nervous kit-puppet to yelp in surprise "You idiot! Did YOU also forget that Metal Sonic is technically older than all of us? To say nothing of the fact our big-shot leader's uploads totally FAILED to bug E-102's system. Not exactly an encouraging reminder eh, professor?"
Truth be said, the conversation had gotten a little too scary for him. Despite this, the doll forced his quivering legs to not retreat. While he may not have understood all of what these mean robots were saying, he didn't like the way they mentioned Metal's name. If they were going to try something naughty, or so E-85 called it, then he figured he'd better tell a tougher robot about their little plan…
…maybe even Metal himself, assuming he could find out where he'd gone off to.
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*With Metal and Silvia*
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It was making even less sense, this mission he meant. The equipment wasn't strenuous or befuddling to step up, but unless they were tracking some G.U.N. next generation, cutting edge jet prototype, he still thought operation's preparations were overkill. Could expensive gear that would be better suited to tracking a space shuttle on atmospheric reentry instead be getting wasted on an extremely low-flying ship or ships? He factored in the 'low-flying' aspect because of the sharp angles he and Silvia were asked to adjust the scanner to. Once they were finished, each and every tracking device would be aimed more at the ground than the air, a fact that brewed another suspicion in Metal's head: Was it possible that they were scouting out a land-based unit instead? No, that couldn't be right. It would take a design of such dexterity and durability that it would have to be up to his own specs, if not higher. The sheer innovation of such a creation's design would be staggering; especially given the poor quality stock of reverse-engineered garbage that G.U.N. was well known for producing. Looking at the route closer, Metal wasn't ever sure HE was advanced enough to make such tight turns in these tedious switchback patterns.
It would almost take a living being to perform such fluid maneuvers…but that was a silly notion. No creature alive could reach, much less withstand such speed.
"You're thinking too much…" the voice of reason informed him. It was right of course, he WAS prone to over-analyzing, even by robotic standards. Peculiar though…when had his inner voice become so high pitched? Didn't it make better sense that when you mentally talk to yourself, you still sound like you, so to speak? Things started making less sense when he heard the other 'him' giggling at…himself? Was it some kind of programming error, or had he fried a wire or two thinking too much…WAIT! He…giggled…? To date, Metal knew of two things he certainly would never do: Touch anything in nature without attempting to incinerate it, and/or allow himself any kind of un-masculine (he was oddly rather proud of his orientation) expression of happiness, much less permit the detestable 'happiness' emotion at all if he could help it.
It was around this time that the other 'him' let out an exasperated grunt "You are one short fused can of bolts, you know that? I kind of agree on the nature part, but trying to shut out that 'happy' feeling? Honestly, Metal…" Okay that did it; self-termination might be the only fix now. The voice in his head was starting to have mind of it's own! Was it a virus, a bug, or some other form of malicious software? It certainly sounded too nice to be originating from his systems so…what could it be?
Soon after thinking this, Metal's external sensors detected physical contact. This 'contact' resulted in the heartless hedgehog getting his optical regions implanted into a damp patch of soft, accursed earth. Recovering from his assisted face-plant, Metal checked out the only possible offender in the vicinity, which of course turned out to be a very annoyed Silvia.
Trying to control his infamous temper, the hedgehog spoke in a 'gritted teeth' tone "And what…exactly…possessed you to attack me?" he was taken by surprise when the hybrid had the gall to poke him rudely while offering stabbing glare.
"Oh I don't know, maybe because you called me an infection! You're lucky I didn't make a cinder out you, just like that flower!" her revelation may've been unexpected and mildly relaxing, but it didn't manage to cool his rising irritation.
"So that was YOU probing my thoughts?" he tried to appear intimidating, but his following speech sounded more like the words of a territorial teenager rather than an imposing destroyer "What gives you the right to go around invading MY personal space? At least give me some warning before you literally push your thoughts off on to me!" Metal grinned internally when he thought he saw her back down, thinking that he'd made HIS point clear. This short-lived victory blew up in his face when his partner only handed the heat right back at him.
"Oooh exuuuuse me! I can't help it if your network is easy as pie to hack. Really, for being the 'Great Metal Sonic' your firewalls are an embarrassment." Oh no she didn't…she did NOT just mock his doubtlessly perfect design! Anyone else would've known to be silent after making Metal even half this mad, but for some reason Silvia didn't shy away. If anything she was getting bolder as she continued "Besides, if you were just more honest, I wouldn't have to virtually 'plug in' to that twitchy motherboard of yours just to know what you're thinking! Not that there's much to see there anyway, 'cause each time I check it's says the same thing: Grouch, grouch, grouch."
"W-WHAT? You mean…this isn't the first time you've…" Thank goodness Eggman hadn't created Metal with heating/cooling issues, otherwise he would've more than warped his grids by now with his foul mood-swings." Arrgh! AND HOW DARE YOU! I AM NOT A GROUCH! I simply get in a bad mood when people talk to me!"
Rolling her eyes, the half-robot patted his metallic cheek and grinned mockingly "Like I said Metal dear, you're a grouch. Even 85 and her crew agree, so you might as well accept it, or convert it to hard drive data if you will." Her gestures and words couldn't have harbored less respect for his authority. Granted, she started out being quiet and gentle, but who knew she would eventually find the guts snap back at him like this. Metal, for one, was stunned by her behavior…
But not…exactly in a bad way…
This wouldn't be the first time he'd been stunned by her behavior, her appearance, and overall just by her being herself. He might even be bold enough to say that she was a very…'stunning' individual, and that was at least something he could admire. So, instead of getting his dander up again, Metal wittingly chose to take an irregular tact with her attitude when he said "I take it you have a certain fondness for us grouches, then? You're obviously quite enamored of me and my nasty temper, just admit it!"
For one of his earliest attempts at kidding, Metal delivered his quip quite well, so well in fact that his shiny furred companion had initially taken his words too seriously. Thankfully, being not 'alive' enough to produce a noticeable blush, the girl only had to shut her eyes to prevent any facial indication of her embarrassment. Given a little time though, she was able to restore her composure and fire back "I don't know Metal, you and that 99 really have something special going. Far be it from me to even dream of coming between the spark you two have!" Smiling victoriously, the hybrid internally counted down "3…2…1…"
"W-w-w-w-w-WHAT? Why would you even… How could you say… What does THAT MEAN? You don't honestly think that I-" Laughing openly, Silvia shushed the flustered hedgehog, admitting then that she had only been teasing him. Forgetting to counter her cruel joke, the normally cold-as-ice doppelganger joined in her long laugh, something that was technically not allowed on any recon mission. But neither cared much for the rules as this point, and so kept on being noisy.
Once their shared laughter finally died down, the mouth-less Metal would've still been smiling as he said "Silvia…" She looked up at him, wearing the same expression he would be as he started to say "You know…I really-" But he wasn't able to finish his thought, as a sudden alarm from the enlarged scanner indicated that their target was close by.
Giving each other a nod, both machines got to work pinpointing the inbound craft's position. It didn't take long to verify some curious aspects of this 'craft' they were tracking. For starters it was, compared to their expectations, extremely diminutive in size, being only about the same height and width of Metal himself. More astounding than that, it was moving at an incredible speed, with the lowest measurements reading beyond 343.2 meters per second, the sound barrier. As the anomaly approached the winding mountainous region, Metal figured it would be forced to slow down to compensate, thus allow them to get a clearer visual. However, much to both his and Silvia's awe and dismay, the target darted…no, practically danced around the road twists in almost a leisurely fashion. It was sickening to see something take such a treacherous road in such stride. Now it came even to Metal's prideful mind that they could be dealing with something of truly significant threat.
"Target is slowing down! I've almost got a lock now!" the hybrid informed him, urging Metal to take advantage of this unlikely opportunity. It seemed that the…whatever it was, had voluntarily chosen to slow it's pace. Not that it mattered, for once Eggman gets confirmation of the new target's specs and weaknesses, all the speed in the world won't save it from future sabotage operations.
"The scanner should have a visual…now! Metal, you should be able to get a readout!" she informed her superior, allowing him the first glance at their enemy. Metal grabbed the manual controls for the device, ready to study their new foe from afar.
However…once the scanner revealed a close up of the said target, Metal blinked…and went unresponsive.
His partner seemed to notice that though he had indeed initiated the scheduled scan, the light blue killer was dead silent and his red eyes nonexistent. Checking on him was useless, as Metal remained offline for some reason.
"Metal…?" She asked hesitantly "What's the matter?"
The hedgehog didn't reply for, unbeknownst to her, his was overcome by…what a living being might call, memories. At first it appeared to him as junk data, not related to anything in particular. But slowly, in little bits at a time, the data took on a more lively shape. He could see images of a lit-up city, and then scenes of him racing along a track with someone…or something with royal blue quills. He then heard a voice replaying in his head; the voice of a mocking, cocky male criticizing his speed and enticing him to attack. He soon remembered being sealed behind a door and then…pain, or whatever a robot could describe as 'pain', engulfing him as he was bathed in a searing light. The last image in his mind was that of a smug face looking down at him insultingly, as Metal fell to his doom. All these memories that had been buried were now coming alive, as the face he had just seen…was the same as the one from his nightmares.
Without warning, his eyes shot open, now sporting a burning blood-red shade of pure hatred as he spoke "Prime directive verified, initiating program…initiation complete. Target: Sonic the Hedgehog. My orders…my mission…is to…ELIMINATE HIM."
Turning around more robotically than ever, Metal prepared to carry out his 'prime directive', until something silver-colored obstructed his path. Narrowing his eyes, he crudely told the intruder "Remove yourself from my sight, mobian, unless you want to be the first to die."
Silvia was not feeling tough right now. Metal's insane shift in personality and his deep rage had her very much afraid for her safety.
Nevertheless, the silver girl proceeded to him an order "Metal Sonic, you are acting outside mission parameters and thus are violating orders direct from Master Eggman. As such, I order you to stand down at once! If you do not comply, I am hereby permitted to disarm and escort you back to base for immediate examination! Your voluntary cooperation is NOT a priority." She sincerely hoped he would understand how off he was acting, but her heart sank when her ears picked up his distorted chuckle.
"Is that so? I don't recall caring what you or the doctor wishes, I'm going to eliminate my copy, MYSELF!" In a flare of wrath, Metal had sent an orb of kinetic energy in Silvia's direction.
Though she had indeed dodged the attack, the hybrid girl returned his empty gaze with her own eyes, which were now shining a bright gold "Very well…then I am prepared to disable you, by any means necessary." Though she spoke emotionlessly as possible, two stray tears trickled down her cheeks.
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End of Chapter Twenty-three
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I believe I remember saying that I WASN'T going to take a month to update! I remember correctly, yes? Well then WHY THE HELL DID THIS TAKE ME SO LONG! Arrrrgh! Lord, I am so pissed it's not even remotely funny! And I'll bet some of you guys are too, and for good reason! I swear, the next time I say I'm going to update something at a certain time, I'm going to shoot myself in the foot, hand, AND eye for unintentionally lying!
Grrrrr! As angry as I am, I hope you guys like the chapter. Once again, no commentary so as to avoid making this chap any later than it already is.
Until next time.
