Chapter 146
Hide and Seek
Robotnik's throne hovered over the piles of broken machinery. The lights of the Egg Carrier's bridge flickered and sparked. The battle left several panels hanging from the ceiling and burn marks all over the floors and consoles. Omega's torso was propped up against the far door. He had held the doors shut against Robotnik's honor guard. When the doors failed, Omega had used his own body as a last resort. Blaster fire and plasma rifles had burned through the mech's plated husk leaving him without arms and legs. A massive hole smoked over one of his eyes.
A pitiful waste. Robotnik turned away from the smoldering ruin and assessed the rest of the bridge. The Egg Carrier had been completely decimated by the battle. Its computer banks and data reserves had been wiped. Any hopes of salvaging what had once been the pride of his fleet was lost.
Near the remains of the captain's chair, Robotnik spotted the head of Mecha Knuckles. Loose wires spilled out of the neck. All the rebels had been dealt with. As soon as Metal's betrayal was uncovered, Robotnik had brought his flagship back here. The battle was short and brutal. No doubt expecting his master's return, Metal initiated a desperate all out attack. Robotnik had watched from the safety of Jormungand as the two mechanical armies waged war.
Nothing in his calculations could make sense of what he had seen. Metal and his rebels were simple machines, far less advanced than his new imperial Sentinels and honor guards. However, it was almost as if Metal and his armies were possessed by a spirit of almost human-like valor. Machines could not be brave, because they could not feel fear. It was the height of absurdity to believe that they were somehow fighting harder.
However, none of Robotnik's pre conflict simulations predicted what happened next. The Egg Carrier threw back the first assault, and even tried to launch a counteroffensive. Enraged, Robotnik had ordered an all out charge to be led by his imperial vassals. The battle between machines shifted as his organic troops entered the fray.
Overwhelmed by sheer numbers, the rebels retreated back to the Egg Carrier. Robotnik's troops called for an aerial strike on the ship, but Robotnik refused. Destroying Metal from above would not satisfy him. Instead, Robotnik ordered his troops to seize the ship. Thousands of his troops broke into the Egg Carrier. Again the fighting was brutal and the resistance firm beyond calculation.
An hour passed before the dust settled. Robotnik had lost two Sentinel legions and nearly a thousand soldiers. In exchange, a few hundred rebel machines had been destroyed. The cost of victory had been high. When it was done, Robotnik felt no satisfaction. Rage still festered in his heart. Every second that passed with Sonic's friends unaccounted for was a second longer he had to fear. Not fear. He told himself. They cannot hurt me. All the same, his carefully laid plans could not rest easy until all threats were handled.
Robotnik exhaled slowly. Now that he had seen the extent of the damage he was ready to leave. He called his troops off and returned to his scout ship. Once he was safely on his way back to Jormungand, he called the strike. Beyond his window, there was a flash of light stronger than the sun. The ship trembled and there was a second brighter flash. Robotnik looked down and saw the devastation. The Egg Carrier along with the entire forest for almost a mile around had been completely destroyed.
Once he was back on board Jormungand, Robotnik went to the cell they were holding Metal. The captain of the Steel Court had decimated Robotnik's forces. Fighting with a ferocity he had never displayed as a member of Robotnik's empire. Somehow Metal had even managed to destroy a member of Robotnik's rainbow guard.
The effort had been in vain however, as Robotnik's hordes had overcome Metal with sheer numbers. With strict orders to capture Metal while his CPU was undamaged, Robotnik's legions had buried Metal under a mass of bodies, stopping him before he could initiate a final, suicidal attack.
Metal's cell was well lit and he was kept behind a thick plane of bulletproof glass. The renegade robot had lost a leg, and half his arm in the battle. His head casing was extremely damaged, broken completely at one of the artificial spines meant to mimic the original Sonic. Sparks emitted from the open casing.
Robotnik hovered into the room and parked his Egg Mobile in front of the glass. Metal was strapped to the wall with metal cables. Dozens of wires ran from his internal CPU and fed into Jormungand's onboard computer. Every bit of data stored within Metal was now being taken by the ships A.I.
Though his face was damaged, Robotnik could see that Metal's good eye was still shimmering faintly. "I know you can hear me," Robotnik started. His voice was a dangerous whisper. "This petty conflict has cost me time. It was very clever of you to dump Aurora's code into the coordinates that you sent me. Clever, but misguided."
Metal's eye flashed. He slowly raised his head to gaze back at his creator. "You think you have damaged me," Robotnik continued. "You think that this time will make a difference. Allow me to rectify this misunderstanding. I will find Tails and the others. I will destroy them. Earth, and the rest of this universe will be mine. It is only a matter of time."
Metal made no answer. Robotnik glanced at the console on the far wall. He saw the diagnostics and confirmed that Metal was online and able to understand him. "Your defiance earns you nothing. It is nothing." Robotnik's tone darkened. With every word he could feel the unbridled rage threatening to break out of him. "Though perhaps you did not hope for victory. Perhaps you believed it was enough to have died fighting. That is an even more dangerous misconception. There will be no martyrs."
Robotnik moved slowly towards the glass. He could see his own reflection in the clear plane, his grotesquely deformed features, snarled back at him. "You will not be a hero, and there will be no grave for you to rest in noble defeat." Robotnik gestured to the consoles and machines that were gathered outside the cell. "Once I have what I want from you, then I will be free to do as I please. Your program will be rewritten. I have come far since the days of your creation. I know now how to code pain, how to inject sense, how to mechanize terror. With the flip of a switch I can sentence you to a thousand years of torment. In the blink of an eye you will experience the pain of an eon of torture and despair."
Spittle flew from his mouth and sprayed onto the glass. With every word, Robotnik's rage built. In his mind's eye he could see the dimensional matrix he would build for Metal. He would create a simulated hellscape, and with the data he had gathered from Mesto, he would subject Metal Sonic to inexpressible horrors. Pain is a binary code. Robotnik thought gleefully. Machines were not exempt. One did not need a body to feel, not when feeling itself could be coded into the machine.
The seven circles of Dante's hell would only be the start of Metal's dismemberment. Robotnik would allow his imagination to run wild. Every evil death that he had dreamed of inflicting upon his enemies he would trial on Metal. Robotnik's hands twitched as he imagined the sadistic pleasure. It was one thing to know that it was possible to manufacture suffering, but it was a whole other sense of euphoria to actually carry it out.
You will be the first, but not the last. Once Robotnik captured Tails and Sonic's other friends, perhaps he would test Mesto's theories out on them. He warmed at the thought of watching Sonic's heart burst inside his chest as he found all his friends hollow and mentally decimated from the manufactured torment of a thousand years. No…no…He told himself, gripping the armrests of the Egg Mobile.
Such sadistic delights were reserved for fools. Creatures like Mesto enjoyed playing with their victims, whereas Robotnik had to be beyond such pursuits. Kill them. End the threat, that is all. Robotnik restrained himself and refocused on Metal. He was no longer a threat. In this, Robotnik could afford to indulge himself.
"Do you understand?" He asked mockingly. "I will give you the ability to feel, and then I will ensure that you know nothing but endless suffering. You will beg to serve me again, you will fall at my feet and give me your complete devotion, but it will not matter. In the end, your end will never come."
Metal stared back at him. Robotnik's chest swelled as he thought he detected the faintest inkling of fear. "You are the real Sonic. You are faster, better, stronger and superior in every way."
Robotnik flinched at the surprise of hearing his own voice speaking back at him. Metal had not moved, nor did he give any indication that he had tried to speak. "What is the-"
"You are the creation of Doctor Robotnik, the greatest genius in the world. You cannot fail. You are superior."
Again, Metal did not move in the slightest. Robotnik watched the machine, his temper flaring. "Do you think you can mock me?" He asked, venom dripping down his chin. "Remain stoic while you can, but I promise you that you will regret every-"
"You are the real Sonic. You are faster, better, stronger and superior in every way."
"Enough!" Robotnik slammed his hand against the glass. The impact sent a wave of pain down into his elbow. His swollen fingers blanched and beneath his gloves, he knew that he had sprained his wrist. Robotnik howled with rage, resisting the urge to spring out of his chair. His feeble, disease-addled legs wobbled helplessly. More and more his body was becoming an organic prison. Its deterioration was escalating rapidly. His bones were weak, and he injured himself just as quickly as his advanced medical arts could restore him.
"You will suffer," Robotnik spat at the glass separating him and Metal. "But first I must know what you know." He moved over to the console and began to study the data that was streaming in from Metal's CPU. Usually, the information would need to have been decoded by an advanced algorithm shared by all of his creatures, but as the writer of the original code, Robotnik could shift through the data on his own.
The color drained from his face. Robotnik felt sweat pool down his back, as the pain in his wrist continued to increase. It's all gone. That realization fell down on him with a crushing weight. He checked and rechecked, the pulse in his neck doubling with every wasted second. Where is it? All of Metal's internal data had been wiped, everything except for a strand of partially deleted code.
Robotnik exhaled slowly. Metal was gone. Sometime before his capture Metal Sonic had deleted his entire memory bank, and every code that was programmed into his CPU. To ensure that Robotnik could not revive the data, he had overwritten everything with a bit of ghost data reserved from a deleted file. All that remained was the audio that Robotnik himself had installed into Metal Sonic's mainframe.
He turned towards the glass, to the empty husk of parts that was chained to the wall. The entire battle was just a distraction, a feint. Metal and his rebels were dead already, and Robotnik had wasted thousands of his own troops to dig up the corpses. The crucial information that Robotnik needed so desperately was lost forever.
Defeat coursed into Robotnik's blood. He felt it moving through him like a poison. It was a familary, unfamiliar sensation. Starting with the conquest of Arvana, Robotnik had been washed in victory. It was such a stark contrast from his constant defeats on earth, that he had become drunk on the sensation of winning. However, he had not just learned to relish victory, he had also learned how to win. In the past, he would have allowed his rage to possess him, and would have turned all his attention towards some super project, a weapon or machine that would absorb all his resources and time and was bound to fail. Now, however, he knew that he must be patient, that he had to think. My mind is the only weapon I need. It can defeat anyone.
Robotnik sat back and put his mind on the issue at hand. He could not salvage the information from Metal, and the location data had already been deleted from the Egg Carrier's computer. But Aurora would still know. The A.I had infiltrated his own ship, disguised as the Egg Carrier's flight log. Aurora had split her code into millions of data bits, and then reformed secretly in order to conceal the true location where Metal and Tails had parted ways.
By the time his own computers had identified her, it was too late. Aurora had once again divided her code and slipped back into the cover of the datastream. Jormungand's own internal ship A.I was now on the alert for her, and Aurora would never be able to pull herself back together without Robotnik's immediate awareness. However, as long as her data was split into a million pieces, he could not gather any information from her. Unless….
Robotnik sat up, his mouth twitching as a smile threatened at the corners of his lips. Did you think you could outsmart me? He thought with savage triumph. Aurora would have been working under the assumption of Robotnik's capacities from her time of knowing him, and probably felt certain that it would be impossible for him to force her data stream back together without her consent. No mind, nor computer in existence was powerful enough nor fast enough to make the necessary calculations. As far as you knew…Robotnik checked his sprained wrist. His body had already atrophied so much. Using Eidom again, so soon after his last session was extremely risky.
But I cannot afford to wait. Every moment he wasted gave Sonic's friends more time to plan a resistance against him. He had come too far, sacrificed too much to allow any risks to his grand design. Robotnik's body shuddered as it anticipated the pain to come. His flesh melted at the idea, but his body was only a vehicle for his mind, and his mind was set.
Robotnik turned back to Metal. You died to protect those who were always your enemy. It was unbelievable to think that Metal Sonic was capable of such an act. Did you not start this rebellion in search of freedom? Robotnik could not understand the actions of the weak. They would fight and struggle so hard, but when the time of proving came, they would throw everything away. "You are dead, and everything you did will only count as a few wasted hours." Robotnik knew that the husk of Metal Sonic could not respond. He turned away and hovered out of the room. Behind him, he heard the broken machine repeat "You are the creation of Doctor Robotnik, the greatest genius in the world."
"Sire, I must protest, you are in no condition to use the machine right now!" Valom skipped to keep pace with the Egg Mobile. "There is no need to rush, Iblis will be ready in less than thirty hours. Why not wait? The rebels cannot hurt us."
"I cannot afford to take the risk," Robotnik spat back. They reached the doors leading to Eidolon's capsule. A retina scanner descended from the ceiling and checked Robotnik's face. The scanner flashed green and then hovered down towards Valom. The owl covered his face with his cloak.
"Your majesty, please! What if something happens? I don't think your body can handle another synthesis."
Robotnik lurched halfway out his chair so he could loom over Valom. The old owl quivered, shaking like a withered leaf beneath the emperor's scrutiny. "Lower your arm," Robotnik snarled dangerously. Valom whimpered, but did not argue. He lowered his cloak and the scanner verified his identity. The doors opened with a hiss. Robotnik ignored Valom completely and headed inside.
Presently, Robotnik placed himself upon the throne of wires. He laid back and tried to keep his limbs from shaking as the machine powered up. Panic threatened just beyond Robotnik's conscious control. He did not fear pain, but his mortal body still quailed at the prospect.
The emperor had learned much about the nature of pain from his time with Mesto. He had never really appreciated how totalizing physical pain could be. Lord Mesto was no simple sadist, but a master of the nuances of the body. He knew how to ride the line between threat and execution, how to induce dread and use pain as a means of remaking a person's entire being. Robotnik had learned these arts, and though he despised the lessons, he knew that they could be useful in the future. He had seen Mesto push his subjects to the absolute breaking point. It was truly loathsome how fragile the body was, what it was willing to give up in order to save itself against pain.
Robotnik was no exception. There was a reason Eidolon had to strap him down. Not even his will was strong enough to endure torment. No one would ever wish for more pain. That was a simple truth. While he was still a mortal he would have to endure the humiliation of fear. But this will be the last time. His eyes darted to the screen. 95%. Sweat dripped down his back. He knew the pain would be worse than ever before. The last time. Soon I will be a god, and I will never feel pain again.
The ceiling panel above him rescinded and the crown of wires and needles lowered onto his exposed head. Sharp needles glided across the skin searching for points of entry. Pink light flashed from above as a dozen needles injected into his skull. He thrashed and his body seized up as the liquid Sol Gems came flooding into his head. The room fell away and Robotnik seemed to drop through the floor, through the world and into an empty expanse of darkness.
Untethered from his body, Robotnik's mind transferred into his ship. He had programmed Eidolon to connect him to Jormungand's onboard systems. Billions of data bits rushed over him, his mind struggling to force the information into comprehensible shape. For a moment, the data nearly overwhelmed him, but his brain caught up. His mind was faster than the stream of data, able to shape it into a discernible form faster than it could confuse him. Robotnik's mind fashioned a neon labyrinth with data streaking on the walls.
Then he saw her. Aurora stood as a woman whose body was fashioned out of shifting data. She saw Robotnik and for the first time, felt fear. Aurora turned and raced into the maze, hoping to escape him within the confusion. Robotnik chased after her.
Aurora tried to diffuse herself into smaller and smaller bits of code, however she was too slow. In here, nothing was faster than Robotnik. He zoomed through the maze, his mental capacity giving him access to a speed that was nigh incalculable. Bit by bit, Robotnik caught up to Aurora. He forced her back into a single code, reprogramming her from the inside.
It was an euphoric sensation. His intellect was unbounded, unmatched, and infinite. It manifested now as speed, pure unrivaled speed. Suddenly, Robotnik had an understanding of what it was like to be Sonic. He tasted the pure bliss of movement without equal, the sensation of boundless possibility.
Aurora's efforts were futile. The A.I could not possibly rival her creator, all of her possible capabilities were far outmatched by the mind that had made her. At last, Robotnik reached the center of the maze. Aurora lay naked on a floor of dazzling neon diamonds. Robotnik towered over her. She raised a hand in a sign of feeble defiance. Robotnik reached down and wrapped his massive hands around her head. He squeezed and the data bits broke in his hands. All the information she possessed came streaming into his mind.
Robotnik squeezed harder and harder, as more and more information came into his head. He now had the Egg Carrier's full navigation logs. He knew where Tails and the others had been dropped off. He knew about the secret island they had found. It was all so easy. He applied a last bit of pressure. Aurora screamed as her head collapsed. A final jolt of information pierced into his head like a spear. He recoiled as a memory flashed into his mind. He saw Aurora's face, and then the face of a woman. She was looking down at him, a smile on her face.
Robotnik was filled with the most overwhelming sensation of loss. The woman's smile faded. Her eyes darkened as she saw through him. His mother saw what he had become, she saw the horrible fat monster lying on the bed of wires. She recoiled in disgust and rage. Robotnik screamed as he tried to pull himself away. He hated the woman, he needed to escape her, to hide from the look of judgment on her face.
Robotnik shut his eyes and felt a red light beam against his eyelids. He stirred and moved faintly. Slowly, he understood who he was, and what had just happened. A rush of nausea overtook him. Robotnik leaned to the side of the chair and retched. He heard the doors to the capsule open. Valom came hobbling towards him flanked by four medical droids.
Robotnik fought to remain conscious as he was lifted out of the bed of wires and placed on a floating medical pod. Pain threatened just beyond the fog that currently enveloped him. He moaned and spat as sensation slowly returned. All his muscles seemed to cramp up all at once. There was no preventing the gasps of pain from escaping his lips.
He was brought to the medical bay where a team of organic and machine doctors fretted over him. A host of scanning devices took stock of the damage. Robotnik could hear the panicked voices, but he ignored them. "Console…" He managed, his voice cut into dry ribbons. Presently, a pad was brought over to him. Robotnik quickly entered the coordinates, uploading them into Jormungand's database. "Go…now…no delay…"
His vision darkened and the entire world seemed to spin into a blurred spiral. He retched a second time. Robotnik felt hands press him down and then winced as he was injected by a syringe. The healing serum lightened his vertigo and the room resolidified around him. Robotnik shooed the doctors away and demanded that a view screen be brought to him.
Moments later, he watched through a remote feed of Jormungand's bridge as the flagship moved across the planet with deadly intent. Robotnik watched the feed feverishly. His body was completely spent. He had no sensation at all beneath his waist. Perhaps he was fully paralyzed now. It did not matter.
His huge eyes expanded into greedy saucers as his ship stopped just a few clicks away from the island. He heard the onboard computer report the destination, commenting that such an island had no reported existence on any map. Robotnik licked his dry lips. He could taste the phlegm and the stench of death that clung to him like flies.
"Should I prepare a strike team?" Valom asked.
Robotnik should his head. He would not risk even the slightest risk. "Fire all weapons, turn that island into powder."
Alarms blared throughout the ship. The weapons systems triggered a red alert throughout the cabin. Robotnik watched, unable to move, frozen inside his body that was rapidly becoming his coffin. His fingers twitched. There was a colossal blast as the weapons fired. A flash of white light stunned Robotnik, temporarily blinding him. The light faded. The island was gone.