Chapter Text
He began to sense each of his systems being activated, one by one, by an external force. He had been put on standby for approximately one month, the only operations left online being the ones implemented to grant him management of his creator’s empire in any case of his absence. These processes were all automatic and required a substantial amount of energy, therefore his awareness, as well as the rest of his functionality that was unnecessary at the time, remained inactive. He had been entered into this state by his creator before he departed on an excursion to the Starfall Islands. It can only be assumed he has now returned.
It wasn’t long before an image appeared in his awareness — his optical system must have just been reactivated — of the surrounding control room he was stored in. Computer screens lined the walls, and the floor was filled wall to wall with rows of cabinets holding the Eggnet’s servers. This was the primary computer room of the Eggman Empire, where Metal Sonic was stationed by Dr. Eggman himself to manage the empire while he was absent from it, doing whatever business needed to be done. The business this time involved the current subject of Metal Sonic’s attention.
Hovering off to the side of the room was what appeared to be a young humanoid girl donning white hair and a black dress. She was clearly not human though, evidenced not only by the fact that she was quite literally hovering in mid air, but also by the portions of her body that glowed and appeared holographic, outlined solely by lines of code. Upon first registering her presence, Metal had already searched for any profiles saved in the Eggnet with a description that matched her appearance in any capacity, but nothing seemed to result from this. Odd.
All of a sudden, Metal could hear the whirring of fans inside all the nearby computers of the room, as well as distant banging and clanging of metal from nearby rooms. In other words, he heard the usual ambient noises one could expect to hear in any Eggman factory. That means his auditory systems must have just been reactivated. This was further proven true by the familiar gruff voice that sounded from Metal’s side.
“Metal, if you can hear this, beep twice for me. I just turned your auditory input and output systems on, so you should be able to do this.”
Metal promptly did as the doctor asked.
“Excellent. I’m just finishing up bringing all your systems back online now, so you’ll be able to move and disconnect yourself from the Eggnet servers any minute. You did a fine job keeping things going while I was gone! Good work.”
Metal beeped twice in response once again as if to say “thank you”, though he didn’t exactly understand the need for the compliment in the first place, considering everything was fully automatic and he was not actually aware of the job he was doing while it was being done.
The doctor began again, “Speaking of while I was gone, I’m going to need to update you on the results of my expedition. It was certainly… more eventful than anticipated, that’s for sure. But, I did gain some very useful information, so it was nowhere near what I’d consider a failure. Before getting into all that thought, I need to properly introduce you to a certain someone.”
Of course, he meant the figure hovering on the edge of the room, no doubt. Metal went to give the girl a glance once again, only for his head to fully turn and allow him to face her directly. The motors in his joints must be operational again. He further tested this by raising his arms and clenching and unclenching his fists.
“There we are!” Metal could now face the doctor standing by the control panel at his side. “You can unplug yourself from the servers now and step out of your chamber.”
Metal did just that before turning to face the doctor directly, while also keeping that humanoid girl in his periphery. The doctor also stepped away from the control panel and faced Metal as well.
“Now…” The doctor peeked over his shoulder and raised his arm to beckon the girl toward them. She quickly hovered over and lowered herself to a standing position beside the doctor. “I presume you’re curious as to who this might be. I haven’t gotten the chance to update her profile until now so her appearance hasn’t been registered in the Eggnet yet. However, you do know who this is already.”
Oh?
The doctor looked toward the girl and ushered her toward Metal. “Go on and introduce yourself,” he said with a grin.
The girl took a few steps toward Metal. “Hello, I am Sage. It is a pleasure to properly meet you, Metal Sonic,” she said as she bowed her head slightly.
Sage. That name, Metal recognizes. Although, when he was originally introduced to it, it was just an artificial intelligence program that existed solely within the confines of the doctor’s computers. If this is that same program, then some very interesting events must have unfolded during the doctor’s expedition.
When he was still preparing for his trip to the Starfall Islands, the doctor introduced Metal to Sage, though the introduction was quite one-sided. It was an advanced artificial intelligence programmed to assist the doctor in retrieving the data stored in the technology of the Ancients who lived on the islands tens of thousands of years ago. It was to integrate itself into the Ancients’ relics, break through their cyber security, and take control of their technology, all while protecting the doctor in the process. The difference between then and now, however, is that Sage most definitely did not have the form that she is appearing before them in today.
At the time she was just a fully logical, unopinionated program with no sense of self awareness, and it seems that may have changed as well… What could have happened between now and then to lead to this? Well, there is no use for Metal to wonder right now, considering this explanation is presumably what the doctor is about to give.
But first, Sage finished her introduction, “I am looking forward to assisting father alongside you.”
………Father?-
“Excellent! Yes Metal, this is Sage, the program I showed you before leaving, though she’s far more than just a program now! When she first tried interfacing with the ancients’ technology, she managed to become completely integrated into the cyberspace created by the ancients. This led to her gaining her semi-holographic form, as well as other changes to the functioning of her AI. But other than that, she’s still the same program I showed you one month ago. And she’s still just as marvelous!”
Sage grew a smile at that.
Hmm. This is an interesting development.
“We can go into more detail about Sage’s connection to the Ancients’ technology soon. But before that, it’s about time I updated you on my findings on the Starfall Islands, as well as the… mishap that occurred during my research. And, as much as I hate to say it, I must also inform you about the involvement of that damn hedgehog .”
Ah, of course he was involved. This is bound to be interesting…