Chapter 10 - Ulterior Motive
'...here we are...' Ivo said in his mind. Leaning forward, he prompted his elbows on the computer counter. Putting one hand on top of the other, he positioned them to be under his nose.
'...experimentation on enhanced speed...entries...' he continued then saw an exhausting amount of date from the file. Even for him, it was a surprising amount.
'Hmm...I shouldn't be that surprised...there are my entries in here as well.'
'But then again...so of the brethren were fascinated to achieve enhanced speeds given that many conducted tests.'
"So...let's pick...oh, I remember that scientist. He was actually one that I sought as a friendly competitor," Robotnik mentioned with a small smile. It slowly turned crude as he narrowed his eyes.
"And someone that shared my distaste for the scientific communities evolutionary advancement on the primitive animals...for social well-being," he finished. Upon accessing the first file and beginning to speed read through it, a notification appeared on his computer screen. Squinting his eyes and opening the pop-up window, he read what information it had. Blinking and confused at first, he re-read the text again.
"Diagnostic activated for the 3rd base level factory line...due from manual overrides," he muttered to himself. Looking at the time, he felt something fishy was going on. Exiting out files and programs he was in, he accessed his surveillance program. Once loaded to the main menu, he leaned back in his chair.
"Computer."
[Yes doctor?]
"Bring up the surveillance of factory line, 3rd base level."
[One moment doctor] the robotic voice stated.
Commencing the request, it brought up the camera feeds for the large warehouse space. It showed the heavy security robots were inside the massive chamber. Suddenly, they began to move forward. Not sure what was going on, something caught his eye on the above catwalk. Given that the room was dark given the time schedule, it made him tense up a little from what he was seeing.
'...what...the heck is that?' Ivo thought.
A crimson ring light was moving from the left to the right side of the pathway. Never breaking the height of the other LEDs, it was moving like ghost or a robot with wheels. When it got to the right portion of the catwalk and reached relatively to the door, it turned around like a mechanical being. Seeing its dark silhouette do something and open a panel, it caused all the heavy S.W.A.T. androids to stop and turn. When their aiming lasers reached where the figure was at, it vanished before his eyes.
"...!?" Robotnik reacted with veering his head back slowly.
Waiting for several seconds to see if anything would move or return, nothing did. Seeing movement, the machines lowered their arms. As if their scouting program got triggered, the five of them began to spread out and search the floor. Blinking and becoming less tense, the scientist crossed his arms over his chest. Thinking for a moment, he went to the computer and typed in a name from memory. Another pop-up window occurred and showed a hidden camera to the secret observation room that oversees the same warehouse space.
'Hmm...there is no one there,' he said in his mind. However, he did notice that the control panel under the window was open. An impulse of thinking that someone was tampering with it came to mind. On the other hand, there had been no alarms of a break-in or entry to that space.
'If there was an intruder...then they would need to have access to keycards...which only I have.'
'Based on that logic, I can safely assume that no one opened that room and messed with controls,' the man thought feeling himself ease a little.
'Which still leaves that...thing moving in the other room.'
"That has to be a robot of some sorts...maybe an older model that I put there and forgot about?" Ivo pondered out loud. "It wouldn't have been a ghost...that is preposterous."
"I, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, one of the greatest scientific minds of this planet am no fool. The superstition of life and death by religious means is poppycock," he stated giving a dismissive swing of his left arm swing to nobody. "Just another defect mech I forgot to put in the trash heap."
"Now," he continued. Closing out all the windows of the camera feeds and going back to researching, he was able to bring up the file he was previously looking at.
"...let us continue."
Reaching the other end of the duct work without deviating from going straight, there was another vent cover. Lying still and scanning through the small slits, the coast on the other side looked clear. Looking at the small monitor, nothing was stated from it. Placing it to the side and moving his hands to the bottom of the grate, Sonic pushed it. Not budging an inch, he switched to the top portion. Feeling a little give, he got up into a crouch. Using his feet to lean and push forward, the cover began to bend then snapped forward.
"...!" the boy reacted with a start.
Falling forward and catching himself, he remained still. Perking his ears up and moving them a little in all directions, nothing sounded. Curling his lips inward and remaining on his hands and knees, he quickly looked to the right. Showing a corridor, there were many doors to on either side of the walls. At the end of the hallway, it appeared to be a gate of some kind. Feeling only half relief, the kid turned his head to look behind him.
"...!?" the hedgehog spoke inhaling sharply.
Feeling as if his blood ran cold, a dark silhouette was standing within his personal space. A single crimson ring was staring down at him. Holding his breathing and getting the shakes, he dared not move from his vulnerable position. Seeing the figure move, it knelt down and got closer to him. The dull illumination in the corridor did not give a detail look of who or what the being was.
Getting what seemed to be a face to face confrontation, Sonic did not blink and just watched. Seeing something slowly come from the figure, it was a hand. Feeling it being placed on his head, it rubbed his head softly. Blinking from the non-threatening gesture, the hollow red circle moved to something behind him. Crawling out of the way and turning around, the person retrieved an object that was in the air duct. Letting himself breath, the boy slowly got his bearings and realized who the silhouette was.
"..." the child said watching the man hand the thin black box back to him. Grabbing it, there was red text on it.
[...you...made...it...good...work...]
"..." the blue boy responded with a couple of blinks.
Looking up and feeling less fear, his eyes widen. Looking around in front of him, the one-arm hedgehog was nowhere to be seen. Turning his head back, he saw the cloaked individual walking down the right side of the passageway. Choosing not to call out, the orphan got up and quickly walked to catch up. Once reaching behind him, he followed while glancing around.
'...man,' Sonic thought regripping the small monitor in his hands. Feeling more excited again than scared from the stranger's actions, he started thinking about what abilities the unknown individual had shown.
'Silent as a ghost...faster than any jet I have seen...vanishes in thin air at superspeed...stronger than any of the village warriors by far...can take down predator animals with...ease,' he continued in his mind. The last part back a small remembrance of how the man took down the predators. It made him shiver hard. Focusing back on following, he started to see red text being displayed on his handheld.
[...I...have...not...gone...this...far...in...the...base...]
[...from...data...maps...rooms...ahead...are...offices...] he continued while scanning around them.
[...space...passed...center...door...warehouses...medical...facility...cryo...chambers...and...supplies...]
"Cryo...chambers? What's that?" Sonic asked quietly. Moving to be beside the stranger, they were halfway down the corridor.
[...objects...held...in...stasis...deep...freeze...to...preserve...] he messaged looking behind them. The boy glanced up and saw where the adult hedgehog was looking. Given that he did not react or speed forward, the child assumed nothing was behind or following them.
"You mean like...insects or animals trapped in ice?"
[...that...is...an...example...]
"...is the thing you are looking for in there?"
[...we...shall...see...] the man messaged. Reaching the large gate door, both stopped. Looking side to side, there was a key panel to the right wall. Seeing that it was a combination of a card reader and code entry, the stranger turned to the boy.
[...you...have...blue...key...card...still...?]
"...?" Sonic reacted with a blink. Thinking quickly, he shook his head slowly and cautiously.
"...I...I think I left it in the window control room...I don't remember picking it up."
[...that...is...fine...] the hedgehog texted then turned to the panel.
Reaching in and pulling something out from his cloak, it seemed to be a flathead. Watching him wedge it in the corners of the protruding box, small pops were heard. Seeing the cover become loose, the boy got next to him and grabbed it. Pulling it down, it showed wires and internal components. Both the card reader and keypad remained in their placements.
Sonic watched him lean his face closer to panel. Seeing his crimson ring eye suddenly have red pupil, it emitted a dimmed red illumination on the mechanical box's inside. It was as if it acted like a small flashlight that was scanning the objects and intricates of the terminal. Blinking and staring, a few electrical parts began to flash yellow. Slowly one by one, they began to change to green. When all of small segments became the same color, all of them stopped flashing and became solid.
[Laboratory access...granted] a robotic voice came on from the panel.
"...!?" the child reacted with a start.
Heavy gears could be heard engaging which began to lift the solid metal door. Blinking from feeling the panel being grabbed a little, he turned to see that the trader was putting the cover back on. Assisting with the lower end, both reattached the panel and gently pushed it to snap secured. Putting the tool away in his pouch, he could feel staring eyes from the kid. Turning his head a little to look, his expression appeared to be of fascination and wonder.
"How did you do that?" Sonic asked in a quiet voice.
[...learned...by...accident...] he messaged. Turning toward the opening gate door, he began walking to it. Small quick feet came next to him.
"Is your eye like...a robot itself?"
[...I...believe...so...]
"I heard one time from my village's trader that you can by robotic parts for your body and have them installed if you lost yours. Is that what you did?"
[...no...] the man answered.
Passing the large door, it finished going up and made a dull clank. Upon entering, it was another corridor; however, there was a directory on the left wall. Scanning for any security or surveillance, there was none seen down that hallway. While the cloaked man moved toward the direction placard and looked at it, the orphan tried processing what the man's answer meant.
"...you mean...you got...robotized?" Sonic asked carefully.
[...I...assume...I...don't...remember...]
"Don't remember?"
[...no...]
"Why?"
[...] the stranger answered. Finding where he thought he needed to go, he proceeded down the hallway. Hearing the boy follow and get beside him, he replied.
[...recalling...when...where...mind...becomes...foggy...]
[...have...tried...to...remember...but...unable...to...]
[...save...questions...for...later...focus...on...here...and...now...]
"Okay. Gotcha," the child agreed with a head nod. "Which room are we heading?"
[...supply...and...storage...3rd...door...right...wall...]
Upon reaching the door, both stood in front of it. Seeing that there was no keypad or card reader, the stranger tried the door. Seeing it unlock, he did not fully open it. Moving to be on the left side of the frame, Sonic mimicked him on the other side. Once in position, he pushed the door open. Waiting for several seconds, nothing happened.
Peering inside, both saw that the lights were not turned on. Slowly walking in, he put a left hand on the boy's left shoulder. Motioning him to go along the wall to his right, he nodded and proceeded. The two continued to scan until a faint click was heard. Freezing in place and waiting, the ceiling lights turned on. Seeing the size of the space, it appeared to be how a stockroom would be set up.
However, half of the sizable chamber had refrigeration. Looking like reach in coolers and freezers with doors, periodically there would be a release of cold air from their vents. A small white fog would appear coming out before evaporating from the room's ambient temperature. The other half of the stockroom had what appeared to be numerous boxes large and small. The height of the organization structure reached for the ceiling that seemed as high as a two-story building.
"...whoa...look at all this stuff..." Sonic whispered in marvel. He had never seen so many items packed in one location before. The comparison amount that his former village had to what he was seeing now was stark.
"What's in all of those boxes?" he wondered.
[...] the adult hedgehog replied with narrowing his eyes. Taking his hand off the kid's shoulder, he began walking to a non-refrigerant aisle that seemed to be around the middle of the warehouse. Following him and stay close to him, the child looked around in curiosity while viewing everything in caution.
[...medical instruments...chemicals...electrical equipment...ammunition...Mobius materials...] he answered from reading the labels.
"Is that how the robots get build in here?"
[...most...likely...]
Going through the space and getting to the end of the aisle, both heard something. Perking their ears up and moving them individually to identify and locate the sound, it seemed heavy metallic footsteps were at the other end of the warehouse. Moving to be out of sight of passageway, both crouched behind large metallic containers. Sonic peered down it to see which kind of metal head came in. The cloaked hedgehog kneeled behind him and scanned side to side to see if something would spring out at them. Hearing the robot moving to the left wall of the room, it started going along the wall to the back.
Sonic was about to head through the aisle when a hand was placed on his right shoulder. Looking back and seeing the man shake his head, he pulled him back gently. Doing so and getting beside him, the child saw he was staring down the pathway purposefully. Looking at the same area and focusing forward, something reflective moved at the other end of the aisle. It caused Sonic's quills to straighten out from both surprise and apprehension.
'W-What is that thing!? I didn't even see it moving!' the orphan thought. Feeling a small shake of the hand on his shoulder, he blinked then saw red text on the small monitor he was gripping harder.
[...camouflaged...scout...bot...]
[do...not...speak...follow...quietly...]
Nodding and seeing the trader turn around, he seemed to glide on the floor without making a sound. Not sure how to even do that, the child stuck his tongue out from the left side of his mouth. Holding it there and scrunching his eyebrow inward to concentrate, he walked carefully to follow. Moving towards the wall that did not have the mechanical patroller going down, they were getting closer to the corner. Against the gray-blue wall was large cylinders that were three times as big and as wide as them.
Getting closer to the objects, heat was radiating from them. Watching what the cloaked man was doing, he maneuvered to get behind the mechanisms. Not sure why he was, he did not question and proceeded to him. Immediately feeling a temperature difference, hot air was constantly being pushed out from the cylinders. It felt like being surrounded by campfire on a warm day.
Starting to sweat, the child looked at the stranger. He kept the cloak on and was boring at the other side of the warehouse. Turning his head toward the same direction, a heavy-duty patroller rounded the last aisle. Not only was it doing sweeps with its arm cannon, but something was also illuminating from its head. A red fanned light was scanning around.
At the same time, the invisible figure from the pathway the two went through slowly came out. Tensing up, the boy could see a shape that was reflective of what was around it. Any detail it gave as to what it looked like was difficult to see and determined. The being maneuvering around did not produce the same heavy thumbs as the massive android coming from further away. Seeing the cloaked bot turned toward its brethren of metal, it seemed to crawl away like a primal lion or bear.
Watching in tense silence and sweating, the bigger patroller was half the distance of where the two hedgehogs were. Each placed footstep now started to cause a mild rumble. Sonic looked back and saw the covered man moved backwards more. Going to his location and getting beside him, they were now behind the closest heat cylinder to the corner. Seeing something appearing on the black screen he was still holding, it was red words.
[...climb...and...sit...on...my...shoulders...]
[...narrower...profile...than...with...us...side...by...side...]
"..." the orphan responded with a nod.
Going behind him and climbing, he put his legs over his shoulders. Holding onto the sides of his head, both waited. As the bulky and towering inorganic being got closer, small tremors would go through the floor. Sweeping its arm blaster to the radiating heat round columns, the scanner light panned over that area. Doing a full left to right, both hedgehogs saw an engulfing red light pass by.
Though it didn't feel like anything physically happened to them, the blue boy tensed up from the suspension. Staring at the android's faceless features and its sweeping with the end of the cannon barrel, only gears and hydraulic noises were heard. Seeing its head turn to the left, it proceeded forward to the nearby corner. Reaching it and turning 90 degrees left, it started moving down the last aisle while continuing to scan around.
When the patroller was more than a third down the corridor, Sonic let the air he was holding. Relaxing and wiping the sweat from his face, he suddenly was moving around the cylinder they were behind. Blinking and looking down, the stranger was silently going to the 2nd to last pathway from the nearest wall. About to open his mouth, the child noticed that he didn't glide on the floor. He was actually tip-toeing, but seemed to do the movement smoothly enough to make it look as if he was not walking at all.
Shaking his head a little and focusing, he saw that they were in a freezer section. Looking side to side, there appeared to numerous boxes on shelves. Some were big and some were small. Getting to the halfway point, they stopped. Glancing down at the hood, he felt the man move his head up and to the right. Moving to the same direction, there was one reach in freezer with a horde number of micro boxes.
'That's a lot of tiny ones,' the orphan thought. Not seeing anything to indicate what was inside, he flinched a little from feeling a hand tap lightly on his right leg. Looking at the handheld screen in his hand, he received a message.
[...5th...shelf...reddish...box...find...label...O...negative...]
"..." Sonic said repeating the message in his head.
Looking up and seeing their reflection in the glass door, his crimson ring eye was staring at him. Nodding his head, the boy copied his movement. Feeling them get in front of the door, the cloaked individual opened the door. Feeling a rush of freezing air come out at them, a small shiver came over the child. Giving a small fast shake of his head, the blue boy began to search for what was being asked.
Counting up 5 shelves, he looked for the colored container. Finding them to the right of the middle shelf, there were a handful of them. Strangely, the labels only stated A, B, AB, and O. From what was seen, those letters either had a plus or minus sign after them. Going back to the reddish boxes, he searched for the one called for. His eyebrows went up a little from finding it.
Reaching in and grabbing it, the adult hedgehog closed the door. Feeling better not having artic air being blown at them, everything started to get lowered to the ground. Seeing him kneeling low to the ground, the child swung one leg out to get it free. Getting the foot on the ground, he got the other one off his shoulders. Seeing him turn around, he offered his hand toward the red box.
Handing it to him, he did not immediately stand up or put it away. It seemed he was reading the label on it. Turning the container over and around, there was no other decal on it to indicate anything else in it. Retracting his left hand back into the cloak, he looked back at the child. Seeing him staring at him, he gave a small nod to the boy and turned around. Walking forward quietly, the orphan followed.
'Wonder what is in the small box that he wanted?' Sonic thought walking side by side with the cloaked hedgehog. From time to time, he looked back to see if anyone appeared or was following them. So far, they were in the clear.
'On it...it said something...lin...lin-gu-a I think it said?' he continued. Looking back forward, the trader had not vanished and was still walking quietly beside him.
'Then it had another word below it...Prim...ate...something like that...is that even a word?'
Seeing the man stop, they had a third of the aisle left to get out of it. The heavy patrol android had reached the wall that the entrance door was at. Hearing gears sound and it make several steps to turn, it began walking away into the neighboring room. With the rumbling steps getting quieter, the two moved again. Reaching the end of the pathway, they peered around the corner. Looking in both directions, the coast was clear.
Moving quickly to the entrance doors, the stranger turned around and walked backwards. He was looked cautiously side to side to see if any of the two robot watchers would move toward their direction. Getting to the door and opening it, nothing seemed to alert them. Exiting back into the corridor, the boy let out a sigh of relief. Looking up to say something, the cloaked individual had already begun heading to another chamber entrance.
"H-Hey!" the child whispered harshly and hurried to where he was. The man did not glare at him or anything once he got in front of the door. Seeing what the theme of the room was, it confused the kid.
"Operation Room?" the orphan questioned then looked up.
[...] he replied on the monitor. [...if...equipment...is...here...then...the...box...is...useful...]
"Equipment?" he spoke softly curious.
Watching him get his back to the wall alongside the door, he copied him. Opening up the door, both slowly peered in. Seeing another massive room inside, it did not have the high ceiling like the warehouse storage. Despite the lights not being on and it was dark for a majority of the room, the illumination from the corridor spilled inside enough to see. Seeing the man creep in, the child followed in the same fashion.
Closing the door, the only thing that was illuminating in the room where the neon green night lights. Taking that as something to help see, they continued. Like they did in the previous room, they immediately hugged the wall and walked along it to survey the space. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary or alarming in their immediate space, passed the cabinet counters seemed spacious. Continuing their path and slowly getting toward where the fixtures were, they could make out details of what was in the expansive chamber.
Stopping and staring at a counter, the two scanned around. From here, the chamber seemed to be an array of hospital beds and recliner chairs. Near to those, there were terminals to which all were on standby mode. About to wonder out loud, he saw his black silhouette figure move quickly to a cabinet. Doing the same and getting next to him, he looked at the black handheld.
[...there...are...security...cameras...]
[...located...in...corners...of...main...space...]
"Do we need to get to the other side of the room?" the boy whispered.
[...no...I...need...you...to...activate...terminal...]
"You mean the ones next to the bed...chairs?" he said quietly with eyebrows raised.
[...yes...the...one...on...other...side...of...this...cabinet...] he messaged. Pulling something out from within his cloak, it was the reddish box. Feeling it get placed in his hand, it was still cold.
"...how do I activate it?"
[...] he texted then turned to a terminal that was diagonally across from them. Enough small lights were on it to get a general shape and seeing a number of buttons and switches on it.
[...press...blue...button...nearest...top...right...corner...]
[...open...box...place...contents...in...ejected...tray...]
[...press...button...right...of...display...screen...four...times...]
[...pull...only...lever...down...fully...]
[...press...large...red...button...come...back...here...] he messaged then turned back to the child.
[...wait...here...do...not...move...understand...or...repeat...?]
"..." Sonic reacted with concentrating. Whispering everything that was texted to him, he did a dry run on the floor. Looking back at the stranger, he gave a small nod; however, he was not sure what would happen.
"...I understand...what is going to happen?"
[...if...successful...I...will...tell...you...ready?]
"...okay..." the boy replied still feeling unsure. Seeing him peer into the main space, he waited for his signal. After a few moments passed, he raised his right hand then pointed forward.
Moving from his spot while staying low and quiet, he rounded the cabinet counter they were behind. Getting in front of the terminal, the child mentally repeated the instructions again. Seeing the blue button, he jumped a little then pressed it. The lights on the panel came to life which made him feel very alert. Wondering if that would trigger the lights or alarms, nothing of the sort occurred. Seeing the small digital screen turn on, something small began to eject outward with a small whirl noise.
Getting the box and opening it up from one end, he carefully reached his hand up. Seeing the contents not come out, he shook it a little then felt a solid object dump out. Hearing it make a small clank on the tray, it gave the shape and size of something like a small one-handle shovel. However, it was frozen and appeared reddish like the box. Seeing the little pan retract back into the panel, it made a soft tone. The small viewing display now had words on it. Seeing the next thing to push, he did four presses.
'Transplant?' the hedgehog thought confused from the word. 'What's a transplant? Is it a type of bush or something?'
Ignoring his wondering, he saw the only lever on the terminal. Getting on his tippy toes, he could barely reach it. Jumping a little, he grabbed the handle and yanked it down. Getting the arm to come all the way down, it couldn't go any further. Letting go and watching the terminal, a humming noise began to emit on the other side of the panel.
Becoming more anxious, the boy saw the big red button. Clicking it, a loud buzzing noise sounded. As if triggering something, metallic crawling and moving were heard from above. Backing up while keeping a watchful eye at the ceiling, the orphan noticed that there was empty space above the main area of the room. Getting to the corner of the cabinet counter, he saw large lengthy arm silhouettes descend down from the center. Hurrying back to where the stranger was, he saw him still in the same position.
"H-Hey!" Sonic whispered getting closer to him. "W-What's going to happen?"
"..." the cloaked figure responded. The boy felt his anxiety increase quickly from watching the mechanical segments converge toward the hospital recliner. Looking back and about to reach out to him, he saw something red on the ground. Looking down and picking it up, red text was messaged.
[...do...not...move...from...this...spot...]
"But-but-but...the machine noise. That will-!?" the child began to protest then closed his mouth.
Feeling a rumbling begin, a whirling wind up was heard behind him. When it reached its peak, a soft noise of a laser was being heard. It followed with making contact with something that sounded like it was sizzling. About to turn around and look, a scream of agony burst out loud from the room.