Ch. 14: Well Adjusted
Scuff wakes with a start.
He lurches forward, but some chains that were propping him up stop him from falling. Scuff looks around, and he notices that he is in a dark workshop. Immediately crossing his mind is the idea that Eggman might be scrapping him. But he quickly finds evidence to contradict that. First, he's not actually chained to anything, the chains are just there for support, two, every available surface is painted blue and orange, and three… it's very cluttered, Eggman wouldn't allow something like this. As Scuff carefully extricated himself from the chains, the door at the front of the workshop slid open, filling the room with light. Scuff looks about for a moment as the whole room comes to life, from the fluorescent ceiling light to the gentle pale blue glow of the computer monitors booting up. Tails notices Scuff standing by himself on the repair platform.
"Hey, you're finally awake," Tails speaks in a friendly manner, walking into the room.
With the lights on, Scuff notices something he didn't before. He can see perfectly clearly, his usually bad eye isn't half-lidded and there is no crack across his vision. Suddenly Scuff's face contorts in panic and he immediately begins moving about the room looking for something.
Tails grows concerned, "Are you ok?". He starts walking closer carefully.
Finally, Scuff stops in front of a reflective worktable. Scuff leans down, catching his reflection in the metal.
"Y-You fixed my eye?" Scuff says without looking up.
"Yeah! Do you like it?" Tails says in a friendly manner.
Scuff swipes a screwdriver off of a worktable, holds it for a moment, and then attempts to jam it into his own eye.
"Wgah!" Tails yelps in horror, frozen in place.
But just before the screwdriver hits Scuff's eye, a large hand comes out of nowhere, getting in the screwdriver's path. The screwdriver is driven straight into the hand, and with a metallic screech, comes to a stop. Scuff is frozen for a moment, he looks over to see a large, cube-shaped robot leaning over a worktable.
"Please, don't injure yourself," Broast looks at Scuff, binocular eyes adjusting, seeming less focused on the screwdriver embedded in his hand, and more on Scuff.
Scuff is so awestruck, that he doesn't notice Tails running up behind him. Tails tackles the turbulent automaton to the tiles. Just as Scuff crashes against the floor, Sonic appears in the doorway.
"What happened? Did he turn evil?" Sonic says, assessing the situation.
"No! He's just trying to screwdriver himself!" Tails says as he struggles. "Plus I removed his obedience programming!"
At this Scuff freezes, "You… You did?"
Tails catches his breath, "Yes, yes I did".
Tails stands and dusts himself off, as Scuff just lays there, staring at the ceiling. Sonic walks over, he and Tails work together to lift Scuff to his feet.
"T-Thanks…" Scuff says quietly.
"What's wrong with your eye?" Tails asks.
As Broast walks around from the far side of a worktable, a few objects clatter to the ground in Broast's clumsiness.
Scuff glances at the sound and back at Tails, "The eye, it's me. I'm not him, I am scuffed. I can't look like him because I am not him". Scuff says almost feverishly,
"Him?" Tails stares at Scuff for a moment, "you mean Shadow?"
Scuff rapidly nods at Tails, looking at him with desperation.
Tails tilts his head curiously for a moment, but he nods.
"Just step back onto the platform…" Tails points to the chained platform they Scuff just came from.
With a nod, Tails and Sonic release Scuff's arms. Scuff wobbles for a moment, before padding back toward the platform. As Scuff pulls himself up onto the raised platform, Tails comes over, holding the cracked eye. By this time, Broast has walked around the table, holding up his skewered hand like it has a splinter. Sonic pulls the screwdriver out quite smoothly, and Broast lets out a sigh of relief. Sonic tosses the screwdriver to Tails, who tucks it under his arm. Scuff glances over at Tails nervously, before leaning back into the chains, wrapping one around either arm. Tails spins his tails, floating up to be level with Scuff, holding a long chord. Tails pugs the cord into the back of Scuff's neck. Scuff's vision goes black.
–
In a quiet house, with faded light red shingles, CYBER awakens on an uncomfortable bare spot on the floor. She boots up as she hears a loud crash somewhere in the house. She reaches back and pulls the plug out of her neck, luckily, the plug on advanced Eggman robots is adaptable. CYBER pushes herself off the cold floor, stretching her arms as she runs a basic diagnostic. When the diagnostic comes back clean, CYBER makes her way over to the door that connects the garage to the house. As she opens the door she comes to the view of Amy, struggling with one end of a bed frame next to the doorway of the guest room.
"Oh, hi CYBER!" Amy says cheerily, twisting the bedframe back and forth.
"Do you… need help with that?" CYBER points at the bedframe.
"Yeah," Amy sets down her end of the bed frame. "I probably should have taken it apart first."
"Would you like me to help you with that?" CYBER offers, holding up a hand.
"Yes please," Amy, moves into the room, scooting past the bed, she grabs it from the other side.
CYBER lifts her side of the bed, twisting back and forth slowly. With the two of them, they pivot the bed into the room, setting it standing up against the back wall. For a moment CYBER stands silently, marveling at the simplicity of the room, a wood floor, walls painted a plain white, and a window that gives her one of her first glances of natural sunlight. Amy smiles as she looks at the peaceful expression of CYBER's face.
"I'll go get your mattress," Amy says, exiting the room to leave CYBER alone with her thoughts.
CYBER looks back, but after Amy leaves, CYBER turns and walks to the window. CYBER leans her elbows on the windowsill. The part of the city that Amy lives in is a little more suburban, so CYBER sees waves of grass on the lawn, and a small blue car drives by.
"Sonic…" CYBER mumbles watching the blue car go by.
CYBER raises the blinds to get a better look, but when she does, she notices a bright glare on the wall next to her. She puts her hand into the reflected light, tracking its angle to a round mirror mounted on the wall. CYBER's eyes twitched with curiosity, and she quickly walked over. As CYBER stands before the mirror, the sight elicits a gasp. CYBER reaches out a hand, she looks at the scratches from last night's battle, her eyes drift upward, and she immediately lays her hands over her face. CYBER scratches at the point where a nose should be, never really caring about her lack of one until now. That's when she notices her sharp teeth, she brings a finger down and scrapes it against one of the points. The motion causes her to turn a little, revealing the Eggman symbol plastered on the side of her head. All of this combined hits CYBER, she turns left and right, doesn't see anything that helps, and collapses to her knees. CYBER starts weeping but doesn't actually shed any tears. Amy, who is dragging her spare mattress down the hallway, immediately drops it, leaving it to plunk against the wall. Amy squeezes past the mattress and runs to the door of the room. Amy sees CYBER on the ground, and Amy's eyes get watery. Amy kneels down next to CYBER, Amy doesn't say a word, she just puts her hand on CYBER's shoulder. CYBER doesn't react to the touch, as she keeps sobbing. For about a minute or two, CYBER keeps crying, and Amy has to keep wiping tears away from her own eyes. Eventually, CYBER's cry settles to more of a sustained whimper, and she looks over at Amy.
"What's wrong, CYBER?" Amy asks gently, patting CYBER's shoulder gently.
CYBER tries to sniffle, but she wasn't programmed with the ability to make a sniffle noise since she doesn't have a nose, so it comes out as more of a speaker crackle.
"I'm horrifying…" CYBER says, not glancing at Amy, keeping one hand over where her nose should be, while the other scratches at the paint of the Eggman symbol.
"Oh…" Amy shifts to face CYBER, gently grabbing CYBER's wrists.
Amy gently pulls CYBER's hands away. CYBER looks up at Amy, examining her face.
"I actually think you're quite adorable," Amy says with a kind smile.
CYBER's eyes gleam for a second, "You do?"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Amy says, slowly releasing CYBER's wrists.
"..."
"Thanks," CYBER says, standing up from her knees, shaking off her nerves.
Amy stands as well.
CYBER looks at Amy, making eye contact, "Do you think everyone else will love me?"
"I'm certain of it," Amy says, moving awkwardly for a second because she wants to give a comforting hug, but CYBER's body language is still very closed off.
Suddenly Amy perks up.
"Oh! I have something to give you." Amy says, running from the room.
CYBER stares at the empty doorway, not daring to turn back to the mirror.
Then Amy runs back into the room, clutching something in her hands.
"Here, this is for saving me!" Amy pushes a set of wooden letters into CYBER's hands.
CYBER looks down at the wooden y and the wooden c.
"I didn't have very many letters left after doing everyone else's names, but I still have a c and y, you know, for CYBER!" Amy smiles.
"Cy…" CYBER says quietly. "I like it"
"I'll finish bringing your mattress in," Amy says, quickly stepping back out of the room.
CYBER looks down at the letters in her hands, "Finally, the recognition I deserve…"
CYBER pulls up the schematics for Silver Sonic. She reaches up and plucks two of the spikes from her head, which instantly regrows. Using the spikes, she pins the cy to her wall.
"She's right, I am beautiful," CYBER says, setting her hands on her hips. "And they'll all love me"
Then Amy's at the doorway with the mattress. CYBER rushes over to help.
"We're going to visit Sonic today!" Amy says as she sets the mattress flat on the bed.
"Really?" CYBER's mouth instantly curls in a smile.
"Yep! Tails is gonna do a scan of your system, we'll fix your scratches, and we can even paint over the Eggman symbol if you want," Amy says, looking away from the mattress and to CYBER.
CYBER looks down at her body, one of her hands fussing with the scratches on her torso.
Amy notices and gives CYBER a reassuring smile.
"We've all got a few scratches," Amy turns around, showing through the v on the back of her dress that her whole torso is wrapped in bandages.
"Yeah, I got a little burned," Amy says, turning back around. "And I'm sure that Tails will fix you right up!"
"Thanks, Amy," CYBER says with a smile. "So, when do we leave?"
—
Metal Sonic marches toward Dr. Eggman's office. If he hadn't been summoned there, then he would have probably stormed in of his own volition, if his obedience programming allowed it, that is.
"One day there, the next day…" Metal Sonic mumbles to himself.
The doors to Eggman's office slide open with the same amount of intense energy that is condensed into Dr. Eggman's jovial smile.
"Ooh, have a nice sleep, Metal?" Dr. Eggman smirks, lounging in his chair.
"I'm not in a jocose mood, Doctor," Metal Sonic growls, crossing his arms as he comes to a stop in front of Eggman.
"Nice vocabulary," Dr. Eggman chuckles to himself. "I know what's got you in a mood"
Metal Sonic goes quiet, tilting his head down and away from Dr. Eggman's gaze.
"Aww," Eggman says, curling his lips into a mock pout. "Are you mad that you barely got to talk to her?"
"I know about your little game of Peeping Tom on the cameras," Dr. Eggman says, twirling his mustache.
"But there is no need for you to sit and stew," Dr. Eggman stands, towering over his creation.
"I have detected the dimensional energy that usually corresponds with the coming and going of my distant descendent Eggman Nega," Eggman looks up at the ceiling, completely switching the subject.
"Come to think of it… I don't have any children, other than my darling Sage, so how would he… No matter" Dr. Eggman looks back down at Metal Sonic, Eggman's blue glasses reflecting a glint of silver from Metal Sonic's face.
"Take your team, and go to the coordinates that I am uploading," Eggman says, lifting a touchpad and tapping on it rapidly and skillfully.
"Maybe it'll take your mind off her," Eggman teases, glancing at Metal Sonic.
"Doctor… I-" Metal Sonic starts.
"No time to waste, chop, chop," Eggman shoo shoo's Metal Sonic away, not looking away from his touchpad.
Metal Sonic tightens his shoulders, and then lets them down.
"As you wish…" Metal Sonic slowly pads out of the room, all of the words that he wants to say left swirling inside of him.
"Bye, bye," Dr. Eggman says cheerily as the door closes behind Metal Sonic.
Dr. Eggman, now alone, turns back towards his large computer monitor. When suddenly, he is caught up in a violent coughing fit. Dr. Eggman raises his fist to his mouth to block the violent cough. His other hand goes out to steady himself against his chair. When the coughing dies down, and Eggman pulls his hand away from his mouth, his white glove is stained with blood.
"Computer," Dr. Eggman says, stifling one last cough. "Fetch me Sage,"
"Certainly," The computer says as Eggman pulls off his stained glove and stores it in his pocket.
In a flash of red, Sage appears behind Eggman.
"You called, father?" Sage says, floating calmly in the air.
"Give me a status report on Project: Full Head," Eggman says, turning around and tucking his ungloved hand behind him.
"The samples that Mecha Knuckles acquired have been successfully scanned, preparations are mostly complete," Sage says, examining Eggman's expression closely.
"Great," Eggman looks back at Sage, seeing how she's looking at him. "Don't worry Sage, I'm fine,"
"Alright…" Sage looks down at the ground.
"Oh, and Sage…" Eggman says, deep in thought for a moment. "Can you get me some more orange hair dye?" He says, twisting his mustache slightly.
Sage perks up, "Right away".
Sage disappears in a collection of red particles. Dr. Eggman sits back in his chair, letting out a little wheeze. Then, Eggman smiles, looking over at his computer.
"Why, how rude of me," Eggman says, tapping on his keyboard.
"I forgot to send CYBER a housewarming gift,"
