Cold Equations
He felt so burned. His body, cradled in this extreme heat he's never felt before. He could still hear the after shocks of explosions, riddle the base he lay in. Pieces of metal fell around him, some of them important, as they held the infrastructure of the base up. Others were less important however, being connected to the command consoles that lay around him.
He tried to look up, but his head was still throbbing from the force of the explosions. When that occurred, his body was thrown about every which way imaginable. It was only by the grace of some god that he survived the ordeal. He wished his allies were that fortunate.
Gazing up, he peered around. His blurry eyesight took some time to readjust, but when he did, he saw hell. Fire was everywhere. On the walls, the floors, the ceilings. All of which were intermix with pieces of metal and steel, that jutted out from the individual constructs. It looked as if the building had fallen atop him, but failed to touch him. It touched everyone else though.
The bodies of the explosions' victims littered the ground. Fire dancing atop some, tons of steel lying atop others, it was horrible. The sight of it spurned him, moved him forward. He struggled to his toes, feeling his legs buckle under the intense pressure he was pressing on it. Gazing down, he saw his leg painted in a red hue. His arm moved down to touch the injured limb, only for him to find his arm also painted red. The sight of it made him growl, as he angrily slumped forward.
All they had to do, was hold Maria. That's it! Such a simple aspect. She was held one mile underground, in a heavily guarded facility that not even a ninja could sneak through. But not only did Eggman not sneak through, he actually out gunned them. G.U.N., of all people. He out shot them.
Damn Ivo. Damn Maria. Dammit all! The hidden mountain base was one of, if not the most, powerful fortress G.U.N. had in its arsenal, used to hold dangerous projects, and keep them secret forever. And yet, that bumbling madman not only figured out where it was, he attacked them when they were unguarded, and forced his way through until he took Maria back. Maybe he underestimated Ivo. For an eccentric terrorist with a passion for robots, he was really a dangerous person. And now, he had regained his most powerful asset.
So what now? G.U.N. had no idea where Ivo took Maria, or Samantha for that matter. He could be anywhere in the world, knowing that madman. This actually put him ahead of G.U.N. itself. That crazed Doctor could be anywhere he wanted, and perform any act he wanted to perform. Add that to the fact, that he had stolen much of G.U.N.'s archived files, and he had a foe who knew him better than he knew himself.
The thought of it made him growl. As G.U.N. Commander, he was supposed to be in control, not that tyrannical bastard. Then why? How, was this all happening? They were on top of everything before, masters of the world in terms of firepower. But they were being bested by a mere man with a robotic army ten times smaller than that of G.U.N.? How was this happening? Just, how?
"Get that fire down men!" a bark was given through the flames.
The Commander gazed up, seeing water douse the flames, and turn them into smoke. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. The next thing the Commander saw, were men climbing the steel wall. They strolled calmly down the steel barricade of destruction, before rushing over to the fallen Commander. One in particular pushed his way through his min, making his way to their leader first. The taller man before his leader removed his helmet, showing the auburn haired and aged face beneath.
"Chalmers...?" Samson coughed, gazing up.
"What happened here Commander?" the Supervisor turned man of action asked, as he slid his arms around Samson's shoulders, holding him up.
The commander mere coughed, as he struggled to hold himself up, even on Chalmers' grip.
"Ivo..." he whispered, "That bastard Ivo found us, and he took Maria back... He destroyed the base too."
"He's gotten Maria?" the Supervisor responded, to which Samson merely nodded.
"He's also kidnapped Samantha... We have to hurry... I'm sure he's planning something as we speak..."
The Commander attempted movement, but he fell forward before taking a step. Chalmers kept him standing, though he understood the urgency of the problems at hand. So, turning to his men, he gave them a haggard glare, that told them to get working. Then he turned toward the exit, in order to get his leader some medical attention.
…
Her silver blue eyes gazed up. His cold robotic eyes glared back down. She found her hand moving skyward, in order to touch the harsh machine's steel body. He didn't move in the least bit from her touch, keeping his eyes trained forward. Her gloved hand trekked along his body, before sliding over the part of his chest where the numbers '102' sat. She licked her lips, her tail start swooshing, and her mouth began moving.
"Can you talk...?" she asked, timidly.
Robots. Oh how she loved robots. They could designed to do anything, could be designed with limited thought processes, or massive ones. To her, they were so perfect. Immensely powerful, they easily dwarfed her and her frail body with power. And she loved that about them. Especially their willingness to do such things. When design correctly, of course. Maybe it was her antisocial nature, that made conversing with robots so easy. Or maybe she was just a bit submissive. Whatever the case may be, she was enamored by the sight of the machines before her. The E-100 series, despite being smaller than one of her many G.U.N. bots, were much stronger. She witnessed it herself, at the G.U.N. base, of course. And even though she was in a small, metallic room, with hieroglyphics around her, the situation she was in did little to alleviate her of the feelings she felt toward the machine. Even this one, who had a gun to her head.
The red robot's optical increased its eyesight. Samantha could tell it was scanning her, so she tried her hardest to hide the feelings of minute fear within. She wanted to show she was friendly, and not something to be shot.
"Affirmative..." the machine answered in this low, robotic voice.
"Do you... have a name...?" the yellow vixen asked next, causing the machine to lower its gun briefly.
"A... name...?" the red machine answered, unsure of what she said, "I have a... unit model..."
"Then what's that?" the fox asked.
"I am... E-102 Gamma..." he replied.
"Gamma... Like the Greek symbol, right? I think it's a good name for you..."
"Affirmative..." the machine answered.
Suddenly, the door opened. Samantha locked up, as she heard heavy footsteps march into the room. Whatever it was, it was heavy, because she could hear its feet bash against the metal floors of this cold room.
"Gamma!" a robotic voice matching the red robot's called, "What are you doing?"
The fox turned around in the chair she was locked to, seeing a black robot with the numbers '101' painted in white along his chest. He was similar to Gamma in every way, save for his guns. Unlike Gamma, he had two arm cannons as opposed to one.
"I am guarding the prisoner..." Gamma responded, "Why have you come, Beta?"
"You were socializing with the prisoner," Beta commented, though if he could raise the octaves of his voice, he would be yelling, "You are only supposed to watch her, not speak to her."
"She asked a question," Gamma replied, "And I answered her. I have done none of this 'socializing', that you speak of."
Funny. As Samantha watched these two robots argue, she gained such a rush of emotions from them. The robots she created at G.U.N. lacked such things as emotions, or voices for that matter. They were just simple machines, designed to do one thing, which was guard, or hunt, and destroy. But these machines, these robots, could talk, and hold conversations, it seemed. And what surprised the fox the most, was the fact that they could show emotions, and such powerful ones, such as rage.
To be honest, Samantha wanted to end the fighting. She didn't enjoy arguing, not even at G.U.N. But she was sure it wasn't wise to jump into the center of two quarreling machines, who obviously had a disliking for one another. If they started firing, she really didn't want to be there.
Then the machines stopped. All words between the two came to a cold end, as their red optics aimed directly at Samantha. She started to wilt in fear, as they approached her in such a silent and threatening way.
…
"He looks so cute..." she whispered.
The small furry hedgehog in her arms shivered briefly, surely due to the cold in the small room. The movement was so cute though, she found her free hand moving up to it, where she tapped it right on its black nose. The hedgehog moved again, its face scrunching up into an annoyed face, before melting back into that sleeping visage. All of that made the young girl giggle, as she just couldn't contain herself.
In her arms, finding safety in her, was a creature she would someday find safety in. In her arms lied her cure.
"Now now, Maria," her grandfather, a brilliant man, said as he walked up behind her, "You have to be gentle with him. He's only a little hoglet, it'll take some time for him to grow."
His heavy hand laid on her shoulder, gripping it in a touch so tender. She smiled at the touch of her grandfather, and smiled even more when the hedgehog in her arms snuggled in closer to her. Her other hand gripped the small hedgehog by the back of his head, and she pulled him closer, now cradling him like a baby.
"When do you think he'll be fully grown?" she asked, gazing up to her grandfather.
The question made him smile. Maybe it was the sight of hope, within the girl's eyes that made him do that.
"He'll age in a while," he answered, "You two are going to be the best of friends, Maria. The best of friends..."
"The best of friends..." her older voice commented, "The best of friends..."
"RISE AND SHINE, MADAME MARIA!"
The daunting flashback ended, fading away in a rippling motion. The blonde agent's eyes snapped open next, staring toward a ceiling with a diamond like shape. She dashed up, her hands gripping the blankets covering her body, as she tried to cover herself. Those blue orbs snapped back and forth for a moment or two, before she this quaking headache coursed through her head.
Hands met her shoulders next, massaging them in a way only a trained professional would know. The feeling made her groan at first, before he melted into the warm touch.
"Jeeves..." she whispered, eyes closing.
"Oh, it's so great to have you back, Madame Maria!" the spherical robot answered, "For a moment there, I thought I'd never see you again!"
She smiled at the worrying statement. Jeeves was always caring for her, even if he was a robot. It was just the way he was.
"How'd I get here, Jeeves?" she asked, glancing at him, "And..." then she looked down, "Why am I naked? Did I use Chaos Control again?"
"Well, perhaps, Madame Maria," Orbot answered, "But that is not why you are naked. Do you not remember what happened at G.U.N.'s Mountain Base?"
She shook her head.
"Not really," she answered, scratching her head, "I remember waking up in that capsule, and Samantha and Taylor telling me the were going to experiment on me..." she then gazed at Orbot, "What happened next?"
"Well, Lord Ivo and I discovered where you were, and we headed that way immediately. Using the newest Badniks, we attacked the base, stormed through, and rescued you! Aren't you pleased, Madame Maria?"
"Well, that explains why I'm not in some G.U.N. base. Doesn't explain where I'm at. Where are we, Jeeves?" she inquired.
"Why, Lord Ivo's Hidden Base, in the pyramids."
"Of course..." Maria sarcastically replied, "Ivo has, like, a million of these things. Whatever... Where's my clothes, Jeeves?"
"Well, Madame Maria..." the machine responded, dishearteningly, "Since G.U.N. attacked Scrap Brain Zone, and in such a quick time, we weren't able to get most of our things. Unfortunately, that includes your clothing..."
As Orbot floated into view, she squinted at him. That wasn't an answer she liked, and he could tell from that gaze alone.
"Then... What am I to wear, Jeeves?" she asked.
The machine suddenly clapped his hand, and if he could smile, well, smile bigger than he was already forced to, she was sure he'd be brimming with happiness.
"Lord Ivo has given you the greatest of clothing, Madame Maria!" he announced, "You'll love it!"
"I bet I would..." she murmured.
As the machine darted around the small room, grabbing various articles of clothing, the blonde agent was left thinking. She couldn't remember how she got here, though she remembered being rescued. Well, sort of. She primarily remembered gazing at Samson, while this burning rage engulfed her. A rage she hadn't felt in her life before. Everything else was just pure black, before the flashback started.
This whole memory game was really testing her nerves.
"And there we are!" Orbot announced, dropping the last of Maria's new clothing, "I pray its to your liking, Madame Maria!"
Even though she hadn't put it on yet, one look at the black, red, and yellow, clothing showed her it was more akin to Ivo, than her blue and white attire of old. And it made her groan. But what else was she to wear? It was either that, or she went naked.
"Damn you Ivo..." she grumbled, grabbing the black undershirt first.
…
Ivo sat in his chair, as he often did, while his hand dove into his bag of pork rinds. The crunchy noise of the bag, and his fingers within it, made him smile, as his fingers danced along the keyboard before him. All of these noises bounced off the metal dome-like room, entering his ears, and leaving just as fast.
All on the screen in his front, were images of space, and the floating colony that danced in Earth's gravity. To many, it appeared to be nothing but a second moon, when in reality, it was a hidden monstrosity, ready to destroy planets and stars alike.
So much power, so much strength! It made Ivo squirm from the even he could perform with the gun held within. Maybe it was wrong to hold such information from Maria. He said that an Emerald lied on the base, when in reality, no Emerald sat in the base at all. Instead, the greatest weapon in the world, nay, the universe! The Eclipse Cannon. With that, he could hold the planet ransom, and there'd be no one to stop him! All he'd have to do, is wipe G.U.N. from the globe, and he'd be free to do whatever he plaid. Sure he'd have to use his beloved cousin a little bit, but hey! He is a madman, after all, and she did know better than to trust him. But in the long run, she would enjoy it. She would rule this world alongside him, her heroic thoughts be damned.
Then the door opened. His mind was freed from his insidious thoughts, for fear he may blurt them out. Spinning around, his eyesight fell on his beloved cousin. She stood in the center of the doorway, walking in slowly. Her blonde hair, tied in pigtails, while she wore clothing that so greatly matched his own. These tall black boots were on her body, with stalkings that went the rest of the way up, only to stop beneath her red and black skirt. This red vest lied atop this black, sleeveless undershirt, which all hugged her tightly. To be honest, the thought of her cousin picking out her clothing was a creepy one, the fact that he knew her precise measurements when it came to these things, creeped her out even more. She could only pray this was Jeeves' work.
"Ah, Maria dear!" Ivo called, "It's nice to see you again!"
"It's nice to see that you aren't talking to yourself, Ivo..." she commented, walking forward with her eyes trained forward.
"Why thank you, Maria," he snickered, "It's always good to see your sense of humor is still there..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." she commented, before stopping, "And... uh... Thanks..."
"Thanks...?" Ivo repeated, his voice holding back giddiness.
"Shut up!" she barked, showing rage, "I'm trying here!... Thank you, Ivo, for saving me. If you hadn't, I'd probably be some massive guinea pig or something..."
"Not probably, will be..." he assured, before laughing wildly, "But I'd never allow such a thing to happen to family!"
"I bet..." she commented, before shifting her gaze to the screen showing Space Colony Ark, "So, how are we getting up there? Do you have a plan?"
"First," Ivo said, wagging his finger, "I want to know why you told me to save that retched G.U.N. fox!"
"Retched G.U.N. fox?" Maria answered with a confused face, "Ivo, what are you talking about?"
"Samantha Prower!" Ivo yelled, seething with rage, "That's who I'm talking about! You told me to save her! She's been in my base all day!"
"I didn't tell you to save Samantha," Maria said, raising her shoulder's, "Why did you do such a thing?"
"You did tell me! While we were escaping!"
"Obviously, I wasn't coherent!" Maria said, "You should know better than to trust me! Some genius you are..."
"Don't question me on my genius, Maria!" he yelled, slamming his hand down on his console, "If you don't want Samantha here then, I'll just kill her!" he suddenly turned to his screen, bringing up an image of Beta as he did so, "E-101 Beta! Kill the fox! We have no further need for her!"
"Ivo take that back!" Maria yelled, "Beta! Don't you dare lay a finger on Samantha!" she then turned to Eggman, "We don't have to kill her, Ivo."
"We don't have too..." he answered, "But I want to! Why do you care? Don't you remember what Samantha did to you?"
She crossed her arms and gazed away, while this hurt image came to her face. After a sight though, she returned her gaze to her cousin.
"Yes, Ivo, I do..." she answered, "But that means little to our mission now. We need Samantha, Ivo. She knows more about G.U.N. than both of us put together. If anyone can get us up to Ark, its her..."
The doctor laid his fingers on his chin, as he thought on his cousin's words. She had a point, really. Getting to Ark was a harrowing ordeal, but with G.U.N.'s head scientist on their side, they'd be able to get up there in record time, and with less trouble. The thought of it brought an insane smile to his life.
"Yeeeesssss..." he slurred, "Beta, Gamma, bring me the fox!"
"Affirmative..." the two machines answered through the screen.
…
Though the red robot felt nice before, his grip was cold and hard. On a set path, he brought the vixen, not allowing her to move in the least bit. She didn't put up a fight however, for she knew if she did, the punishment would be great. Especially with that black robot Beta at her side. Though he had no face, she was sure if she did anything stupid, he wouldn't wait to put a bullet in her head.
They continued trekking down these halls that were an odd combination of hieroglyphics, and machinery, before making their way to a pair of sliding doors. Said doors slide apart, revealing a dome shape room, where a certain madman and agent were waiting. Gamma and Beta stopped, forcing Samantha forward. She gazed up at Ivo first, and felt this spike of fear within her heart. So, she instead took solace behind Maria, huddling up behind the woman for protection. The sight of it made the agent gaze up and away with minor annoyance.
"Oh, don't be that way, Miss Prower!" Ivo snickered, his nice demeanor belying his true intentions.
"What do you want?" she asked, huddling closer to Maria.
"We need your help, Samantha." Maria answered, gazing at the vixen.
"What kind of help...?" she asked.
Ivo suddenly tapped a button on his console, causing a screen to descend upon them. On said screen, the image of Space Colony Ark.
"We need to get up there," Maria stated, "And only you can make that happen."