*PenofOneAnswer819 does not claim rights to any Sega Enterprises or Sonic Team patented characters or material presented within this work of fan-based fiction: All copyright reserved for the rightful and respective owners.*
Metal: The "Boiled Egg 'n' Oil Can"? Really?
PoA: When your sole restaurant provider is a mad robotics engineer with a fetish for unfertilized products of chicken propagation, you can't be too picky.
Metal: Sounds like a truck stop bred with an outhouse advertisement.
PoA: Close enough, but be silent for your lesson.
E-85: Complaining won't stabilize Metal any faster.
Silver: And role-playing as his spoiled chick will? EUGH! My nails are chipping! There's grease in MY HAIR! Geez, just how am I supposed to act anyway?
E-85: Don't be such a ponce. Just be your charming, ladylike self.
Silver: I, uh... okay, I guess... wait-what's a "ponce"? And WHY are there nuts on my cherry picker baldini sundae? I have an ALLERGY!
Metal?: Guuhuhh? Youu seaam differvadent, Silv...? Silvvv...?
Metal: OBVIOUSLY, YOU DAMN FOOL! Would Silvia ever whine like that? No! Of course not! Stupid, utterly moronic! You don't realize how good you have it!
PoA: You learn fast.
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Sympathy
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"Why the tight lip, Private? Don't tell me that steam chamber got you all choked up." 99 remarked, teasingly even, in what could have been his sixth attempt to get Metal to talk.
The multi-alloyed hedgehog had heard of sulking before, and he honestly didn't care if he was doing it right now. Aside from not knowing what to say − difficult as it was to figure out where E-99 actually stood with him − Metal was too concerned about getting back to business to care how he felt.
99, in a moment of masked perceptiveness, mechanically discharged a puff of steam, as he started to say "Listen, Metal, if this cream puffed pansy's silence is about my chat with that scrap yard inspector, I can-"
"General." Metal interrupted, trying very hard to pretend he didn't care what the oversized lump of steel thought "What's said is said, but you have yet to explain how I'm going to traverse the base unnoticed."
Shockingly, being hard fast bound to his objectives, E-99 almost failed to drop the subject. Somehow it bothered him that Metal had grievances with him that remained unresolved. Sadly, it then struck him how silly it was to care what another robot thought.
In the end, he nodded and changed the subject, but not without a heavy sigh "Well, an old friend of yours might be able to help with that. I'm no expert when it comes to modifications, and with your systems being such a mystery to all but Master Eggman himself, we could really use one."
Drawing from the very narrow pool of people he knew, Metal quickly understood what that meant. In all honesty, he was looking forward to seeing E-85 again. She always had a comforting aura about her, different from Silvia, but genuinely soothing to him all the same.
It almost seemed like a good opportunity to, maybe perhaps even sort of... tell her how he felt? It was strange, but with the mess around him now piling up to enormous heights, perhaps now was a good time. Not that it would make any difference, but it somehow, he felt compelled to at least try. Pride would be no object, for truly, if he ended up getting sent to the grinder, what would it matter? Who knows, perhaps this was also a good time to tell Silvia...
"Sorry, Metal." Interrupted, he found his thoughts shoved to the back of his mind, and his head to the bottom of a bucket once more "I guess I shouldn't have discarded that last one. I forgot the Medical Wing has retinal scanners too."
Groaning beneath a plate of crude tin, Metal agreed with a sulking nod of his domed visor.
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*E-85's Office*
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"What can I do for you, general?" 85 sounded very hostile; her tone crude and sarcastic enough to make Metal cringe from behind the sliding door.
"I have a soldier in need of retinal implants." 99 got right to the heart of the matter, hardly caring for their conversation either. It was clear that these two were not on the best of terms. Metal had to wonder what it took for someone to get on the ever caring 85's bad side. Then again, 99 always did have a way of aggravating the most patient of servant droids. He sort of had a gift for it, like Orbot.
"You know how to make an appointment." She replied curtly, apparently returning to writing something down if Metal heard right. He was unsure why the general had not thought to just let him in, if only to clear up this muddy mess of a discussion.
Not really in the mood to wait while he got talked about like he wasn't there − for the second time no less − Metal made like himself and beat on the door with the tip of his jagged foot. When that seemed to go relatively ignored, by way of a simple "Just a moment, E-33." the frosty teenage robot resorted to bashing his head and the object of his shame against the milk white door. If only dear stupid 99 hadn't zap-tied his wrists upon entry he could have been more polite, but then where would be the fun in that?
"One moment, general. E-33, when I'm with a client, I expect you-ah? Oof!" 85 grunted as the moody hedgehog copy smacked his head into her by accident.
Metal, on the other hand, unable to tell what he had hit this time, shyly and sadly let out a simple "Hi, 85." He actually failed to hide how ashamed he was to come by, looking like such a fool with a bucket strapped to his head and his hands tied up like a common criminal.
85 though, hearing and perhaps even sensing his distress, put her hands around the Sonic clone's head with a grateful sigh of relief. Truthfully, she was crushing him a little too much with her oddly powerful grip, but Metal made no effort to stop her. If anything, he seemed to relax, even having now realized who he had run into so carelessly.
Patting his head and back reassuringly, 85 said "Oh, Metal dear, I'm so glad to see you." She sounded very relieved, but almost frantic at the same time. Nothing like the short, robotic chat she had been having with the general, the 85 Metal knew was back and just as overly smothering as ever.
Back inside the office, 99's internal neck cogs creaked loudly, effectively 'clearing his throat' for the two to notice. 85 turned back briefly, offering a red glow of her normally gentle LED eyes; a horrifying sight enough to scare even the mighty commander back into submission.
Once the moment was gone, 85 invited Metal inside, ordering 99 to have that "disgusting mop basin" removed. He did so, but not before explaining the threat not only her office, but all the base now posed to Metal's safety. Despite her rank, it seemed that when E-85 insisted, her word was law. At least now Metal could join in, and his inclusion definitely made their conversation a more productive one.
It was difficult to condense their entire spreadsheet of facts into a fifteen minute nutshell, but the two wanted soldiers did their best. 85 of course, even having little to work with, understood the implications and agreed to O.K. the procedure. Even knowing more about the situation than she let on, 85 seemed unhesitant in taking the risk of openly defying Eggman's orders.
"You must understand, E-99." She said, cupping her hands together contemplatively "If your findings were neither simply in error nor the deliberate efforts to fake Metal Sonic's identity, then..." She stopped short, unsure if adding her speculations would only worsen matters "Let's just say, you might have bitten off more than you can chew this time."
"Sparing us those enigmatic "sayings" or whatever you call them," 99 complained, finding her use of figurative language confusing to the point of mind melting "It's enough that you'll agree to help us."
"Of course I will." 85 affirmed, dialing a single digit into her call pad "E-33, step into my office, please." Turning determinedly back to the ill-fated duo, she nevertheless shook her head "But, I hope you realize the kind of uproar this will cause."
It was at this inconvenient moment that the base's alarm suddenly started blaring; the overhead dispatcher announced a high alert status, and for the base to be on the lookout for two fugitives.
"I believe we do, 85." E-99 remarked, sealing the door to the office shut. A persistent knocking followed not too long afterwards, forcing both Metal and 99 into a battle ready stance.
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*Silvia's POV*
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Metal said "fight back" and so she had.
Her metallic captors now lay in a heap of burnt remains. To think she had ever been afraid of them; to think that anyone would be afraid of such easily broken puppets.
This victory, along with the rush of utilizing untapped quadrants of her powers, left her feeling excited. At last she was starting to understand Metal's urge for fighting. Truly, there was something just oh so satisfying about reducing a foe to an ugly black mark on the floor.
Moreover, it was this strange Doll upgrade or look-alike that had really set her off. Somehow, just coming in contact with him, she felt her powers surge; he had plucked chords of her heart and mind that left her dancing to the rhythm of battle. These feelings were certainly dark, perhaps even a bit insane, but curiosity alone left her hungry for more.
"Miss, please! We really need to leave this place, pronto!" Doll, if it was indeed Doll, insisted with a tug of her hand. Within mere milliseconds it seemed, her systems had permanently mapped his data. Again, that rush returned as several latent programs began springing to life.
Contrarily, now that she had his data, Silvia started to make a horrible revelation. Beginning to realize that this thing she was talking to was neither Doll, nor any kind of robot, she resisted in reluctance.
This resistance, in turn, had favorably snapped her out of her insanity. In her newfound clarity, she recalled what had happened prior to her capture; she began to wonder where Metal was again, worried that Eggman ordered to have him tortured, or worse. In truth, the latter thought scared her, it scared her more than any nightmare or abuse she had ever suffered before. If he was gone then, who would she have left? 85? Doll?
Yet the creature in front of her, if her scans were correct... What if this person really wasn't Doll? No matter what he did for her mechanically, he was urging her to leave, to leave without Metal. Was her curiosity really worth leaving him behind for? Somehow, it didn't feel right; in fact, it felt horrible. Whatever it was, it wasn't exactly something she could put into data. Maybe, 85 would call it "scary"; if scary meant it made her eyes sore and wet, and her chest hurt worse than if she'd been stabbed, then it was scary.
The thought of losing Metal, was scary.
Hit by these thoughts, she continued to hesitate, even as she tried to say "Doll, um, be-before we leave, we need to find Mr. Metal, okay?"
She hoped he would nod, happily and enthusiastically, agreeing with her one hundred percent. Yet, just like she had suspected, this creature gave her an odd look, like he didn't know what she was talking about; not to mention the way he said "Mr. Metal? Who-uh, no, I don't think-umm... Listen, Silvia, we need to get out of here now. We can look for your friend later, alright?"
Certainly, his programming hadn't been altered this badly. No matter how he changed, surely Doll would still remember Metal.
Snapping a little inside, she wrested her hand from his hold, glaring fiercely at him with a deranged gold glow in her eyes "You... no, you're not. You're NOT Doll!"
The frightened imposter backpedaled, skittering backwards in fear. Closing in on him, she wanted to do away with this thing, along with all the awful things he made her feel. By doing this, she might lose that that sense of power, but how important was that compared to the real Doll and Metal? She would find and unlock her own potential again, and she would do it without the help of a fake.
In all her musing and internal hesitation, sadly, she did not see the glint in the fox's eyes. Without realizing the ruse of his frightened behavior, it surprised her when he flung something yellow and round her way. Whatever it was, it triggered a debilitating jolt of pain as it encircled her body.
Tough as she was, she had not expected the creature to pull a stunt like this. Whatever he had used against her, it left her body limp, sapped of all energy. Yet as her vision began to blur, she noticed how shocked even her attacker was, apparently surprised by his own success.
This look was soon gone, once the whiskers on his puffy cheeks fell. As his whole face now sagged and his light blue eyes shimmered, Silvia noted an expression she had never seen before; not adorable like the doll, this new look was gentle, sweeter than anything any robot could hope to imitate:
What she saw was a look of innocent sympathy, as he whispered "I'm sorry." before her vision faded to black.
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End of Chapter Thirty-five
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Not much to say this chapter. Just hope whoever reads this likes it! I think I'll try to keep these a bit shorter, as per a friendly suggestion (thank you, PumpkinSpiceHedgehog!). Makes things easier on both sides. Conciseness has never been my forte, but eh, you never know XD
Until next time!
