Work Text:
-FULL SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC INITIATED
-WARNING: POWER LEVEL LOW_40%
-ESTIMATED DAMAGE SUSTAINED_87%
-EXTERNAL SENSORS_OFFLINE
-MOBILITY SENSORS_OFFLINE
-AUDIO RECEIVERS_OFFLINE
-OPTICAL FEED_OFFLINE
-ERROR_CORRUPTION DETECTED
-FULL SYSTEM RESTORE_FAILED
-BACKUP RECALL_FAILED
-ERROR_DATALOG CORRUPT
-INITIATING FAILSAFE REBOOT IN 3...2...1
-REBOOT_COMPLETED
-BASIC IDENTIFICATION:
DESIGNATION: METAL SONIC
SERIAL #: 56453-20422 v1.0
CREATOR: IVO “EGGMAN” ROBOTNIK
PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: ERROR_UNKNOWN
-BASIC FUNCTIONS RESTORED_25%
-WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED SYSTEM BREACH DETECTED
-ERROR_MOTOR FUNCTION UNAVAILABLE
-AUDIO RECEIVERS_ONLINE
“-can’t be good. It was a risk last time too.”
-BOOTING UP OPTICAL FEED IN 3...2...1
As Metal’s visual hud came online he was greeted by the sight of a rather pink room decorated in floral decor. Given he was laying on what seemed to be a bed, he could guess he was located in a bedroom. The last thing his records show is ending up in some kind of explosion. The metallic doppelgänger went to get up and found he couldn’t move at all. He let out a rather displeased mechanical sound which caught the attention of the two other occupants in the room. Stepping into view was a pink hedgehog and a tall golden two tailed fox.
“He’s awake, Tails!”
“Technically he finished rebooting. Robots don’t actually sleep, Amy.”
A recovered file popped up from Metal’s memory storage. Amy Rose, hedgehog, a resilient powerhouse, and Miles “Tails” Prower, fox, a genius on science and technology. Both are close friends with Sonic. Basic information. Unfortunately, my data is incomplete.
“Okay Metal. According to your readout you had salvaged what was stable after the massive blast. A good portion of your hardware is corrupt, the very small voice chip you did have was completely destroyed, and I’m currently trying to clean up your data logs as much as I can. Your internal memory banks will or have already started to permanently delete corrupt files. You also may be bombarded with incomplete data errors until some are patched or overridden.” Tails showed Metal a percentage list of things that were and weren’t corrupt even though he knew the robot saw something similar on his own system.
Amy leans into view with a rather odd look. “Essentially, you have amnesia. I found you in the nearby jungle and have been looking after you. I persuaded Tails into secretly fixing you. I would ask you how you feel, but you can’t really talk in this form.”
“I’ve got a solution to that! I almost forgot about it.”
Tails had moved over to a tool bag and pulled out a black circular band with gray clasp. He walked over and got closer to Metal than the robot was comfortable with. The two tailed fox wrapped the metal band around his neck to lock it in place.
“You not talking would no doubt cause misinterpretations when it comes to detailed questions, so I had created a physical vocal synthesizer. I didn’t want to install anything internally in case you decided to make a break for it once you booted up. As long as you don’t remove it or heavily damage it you should be able to talk freely.”
Metal saw the request to add the device to his system, which after a moment of consideration he accepted.
Amy spoke up with a worrisome smile. “So… how do you feel?”
Metal shifted his gaze to the pink hedgehog before speaking. “Immobile.”
Amy and Tails shared a rather pained expression.
“I had disabled your motor function as a safety precaution. You have been known to get rather... aggressive in the past.” Tails didn’t make eye contact while talking which Metal thought was rather interesting.
“A logical decision. If I have caused pain and suffering before I would not expect you to trust me at all. I’m surprised you took me in, let alone fix me to a functioning state.” Metal brightened his optics before dimming them, giving off a negative feeling.
Tails shared a questioning look with Amy before raising an eyebrow at the robot.
“Metal. What do you mean ‘If’? You have caused destruction and mayhem all for Eggman’s evil plans. You have done some really messed up things that eventually ended in your defeat.”
The metal doppelgänger shifted his eyes attempting to recall causing high levels of mass destruction. The only things to come up were errors, vague descriptions, and corrupted memory files that caused his eyes to glitch.
“You don’t remember?! Ya know what? Scratch that. Tell me what you do remember?”
Metal wanted to shift away. He didn’t have to tell them anything. Why should he? But in the same sense he was lacking vital information. They could give him an advantage on what happened, so he could use it against them. Wait. Why would he need to do that? Why does his thought process supply that kind of response? Peculiar. He then became aware of the unsettling constant eye contact, but he took it as a challenge and he does NOT back down from one. So he eventually compiled what data could be recovered.
“Listen clearly as I will not repeat myself. From what my memory banks provide I do recall working for and being created by Eggman. My main directive has something to do with Sonic, but what that exactly is I am unsure. I remember a time capturing Amy and using her as bait to lure Sonic out so I could beat him in a challenge of some kind. I have vague descriptions of people who are possibly associated with Sonic, but have no picture reference for the limited information. According to what is listed I have possibly one or more alternate forms. One of them is labeled Neo Metal Sonic, but what that is meant to represent is unknown to me. The last stable memory file says I was assisting Eggman in some sort of plan, but got caught in an explosion. Everything else is either heavily corrupted or simply nonexistent.”
Amy had crossed her arms and pouted a bit. “Why is me being captured during my childhood the ONLY thing you can solidly remember. I have done way more respectable things than playing damsel in distress.”
The metal doppelgänger chose not to entertain such a comment and kept quiet.
Tails let out an exasperated sigh. “As crazy as it sounds, I believe what Metal said. Plus my own data gives me the same output.”
Amy looked at Metal with a calculated expression before turning to Tails. “So what now? What are we gonna do?”
The young fox scratched the back of his head. “Well I’m reactivating his motor function, so within a few minutes he should be able to move. Unfortunately, a lot of Metal’s main functions are not fully repaired yet which will cause involuntary glitching and sudden drops of energy.”
Tails looked directly at Amy this time. “And since you have insisted I NOT dismantle him I guess he will just have to remain here. Given how long it’s been, I’d say Eggman isn’t going to look for him anytime soon. The other issue is Sonic. You know as much as I do that he’s gonna find out eventually.”
“I know, I know. I will deal with Sonic when the time comes. He may not like it, given he has already tried this once before, but I still think this may be the opportunity of freedom Metal deserves.”
A stretch of silence was interrupted by the immobile robot. “I was under the impression that it’s considered rude to talk about someone as if they’re not within auditory range.”
Guilty expressions formed on Amy and Tails’ faces. However, Amy put her hand on Metal’s shoulder and nodded.
“Odd way of putting that, but I get what you meant. And yes it is considered rude to talk as if you aren’t here. Sorry.”
Tails only gave a judgemental look. “Anyway… as much as I would like to stay and chat I’ve got to get back to my workshop before Sonic comes home from his evening run and trip into the city.”
“I’ll walk you out. I’ll be right back, Mets.” The pink hedgie said with a soft smile.
The pair walked down the hall to the kitchen and front room.
“Thank you Tails, really. As usual I have a pre-made dinner for you to take home.”
“You really got a big heart Amy. I just hope you know what you’re getting into. Last time Metal just broke free before running off. Not to mention Eggman even told us he designed Metal Sonic to purposely cause problems for Sonic. Built to be a mindless weapon manipulated by Eggman himself. You're my friend, so I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“You are truly Sonic’s brother. For better and worse. I’ll be okay Tails, I can handle myself. And if things get out of hand my hammer solves most problems.” Amy said smugly while leaning on the island.
“I’ll take your word for it and that delicious homemade food. You know the deal, call me if anything happens.”
“Will do. Say hi to Sonic for me when you see him.” Amy walked Tails to the front door and gave him a hug goodbye.
After closing the door Amy let out an exhausted sigh. “I can handle this. Everyone deserves the freedom of life.”
The pink hedgie walked back to her room and as she was walking in Metal had moved himself upright to sit on the edge of the bed. He was currently closing and opening his hands to test their functioning. She could clearly see his joints lock up every now and again due to the drops in energy. Eventually the robot looked up to meet Amy’s gaze.
Amy smiled, but kept her distance not really knowing what would happen next. “Well look who’s up and about. Are you doing ok?”
Metal tilted his head slightly. “Functioning within acceptable levels.”
“Good. Umm…great to hear. Haha…”
Amy internally cringed. I have no problem confronting evildoers and talking to people I just met, but I can’t even hold a decent conversation with a robot that looks like Sonic.
“Inquiry. You referred to me as ‘Mets’. Why?”
“Oh that! It’s a little nickname I gave you a while ago. I used to talk to you even though I knew you couldn’t hear nor respond to me. I guess this is the first time you’ve heard me say it to you. But if that bothers you I can go back to calling you just Metal.”
Metal Sonic looked off to the side and made a rather intrigued noise. He shook his head before looking back.
“I am… indifferent to such a nickname. Given I have never received one before, that was not meant to be insulting.”
“I guess that’s to be expected.”
“But spoken by you, I am somehow less inclined to completely disregard it. Do continue to use it.”
“As long as you’re okay with it.” Amy said with a soft smile.
Metal Sonic just tilts his head in the opposite direction.
“Well I’m gonna make some dinner. You’re more than welcome to come with me, but if you’d rather stay here and try to figure stuff out alone that’s okay too.”
After a moment of Metal Sonic not replying Amy nodded her head and walked back out to the kitchen. The atmosphere was tense and uncomfortable, but who wouldn’t feel awkward housing someone whose sole purpose was to cause problems and hurt those you care about. Amy had been looking for her next big project, but she might have gone a little beyond what she’s used to with this.
While she spaced out thinking over her decisions, Metal Sonic had made his way into the kitchen and sat down at the small table watching Amy mutter to herself. The pink hedgehog went to grab some butter from the fridge and let out a yelp, finally noticing she wasn’t alone.
“Chaos! You can’t sneak up on me like that.” She said, trying to catch her breath.
“That was not my intention, but your reaction was amusing. You should be more vigilant.”
“So glad I could be a source of entertainment for you.” Amy deadpanned.
“I detect sarcasm.”
“Really now? And what made you think that?” Amy laughed and shook her head.
She went on to give her pasta sauce one last stir before fixing herself a bowl. Amy sits down across from Metal and then pulls out her phone to play some music over the speaker system to fill the silence with background noise. The pink hedgehog then picks up her fork before a thought pops into her mind.
“Umm, Mets. Feel free to get up and leave if watching me eat food is too weird for you.”
Metal tilts his head. “Why would it? If I recall correctly, physical energy consumption is a necessary function for organics.”
“Well I just thought you would think the act of eating would be disgusting.”
“I have seen much worse things than you consuming food.”
“Yeah, I wouldn't doubt that.”
Amy smiles and begins eating. The soft instrumental music and watching the sun starting to dip below the horizon out the nearest window is calming her nerves, but the lack of conversation is a bit unsettling. The pink hedige takes notice that Metal is having a rather hard time preventing his joints from acting up. His optics flicker every time his energy levels drop too low before surging back to a more stable level. Eventually the robot lets out an irritated noise.
Amy tries to not be obvious, but she looks more closely to find Metal plugging something into the wall socket. The pink hedgie follows the cord to where it connects into a hidden panel on the upper right hand side of his chest plating. Amy then sees the holoscreen projecting from Metal’s wrist showing various energy levels. She eventually looks away to avoid the robot's eyes even though she knows Metal probably caught her staring regardless.
Did Metal just plug himself into the outlet?! I didn’t know he could do that. I mean, it makes sense that he wants to keep a more stable energy level, but still. As advanced as he is, I thought he wouldn’t need to be plugged in. Amy thought while shoving another fork full of pasta into her mouth.
Things eventually relaxed and no soon after did Amy hear a rhythmic tap on the table by one of Metal Sonic’s claws. Amy took a glance at her metallic company only to find him aimlessly looking around the room. She smiled to herself. Metal might not realize he’s enjoying the music and tapping along with it.
Amy realized that even though Metal was designed to be a copy of Sonic, the two act differently. She went on to make the connection that without a defining purpose, Metal was just a dissociative robot unsure of what to do with himself. And now that he has stopped fighting temporarily, gaining information was brought to the forefront making him as curious as a child. The pink hedgehog knew she would be answering a lot of questions in the near future.
Amy felt a little more determined if this is how things were going to start out
. Maybe this won’t be so bad.