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Darkness was a pair of strong protective arms, holding it close until the promised morning. So, at two weeks old, Metal Sonic felt safest in shields of black duvet. It scaled the metal racking against the wall with ease, having learned the quickest route yesterday. Once it reached the top shelf, it sat hunched over much like a small cat, claws decidedly gripping the bars as it took rest.
Looking down in the low light, Metal took a proud mental note of how high up it was now. Any large Badnik or other machine incapable of flight would struggle to reach it here. Good. Some time away from the rabble might quell its frustrations.
There was one little detail it failed to seriously take into account - the approach of another hedgehog-series. Its signal appeared as a blip on the small robot's HUD. Metal looked up with a start. And as soon as the first crack of light invaded the small storage room, Metal let out a hiss and immediately bolted to the light on the ceiling, where it hung on for dear life, upside-down.
To an ordinary person, the sight of bright red eyes glaring right into your soul from the ceiling would be enough to make them think twice about coming any closer. However, Mecha Sonic was not conventionally ordinary, and her sibling's unusual behaviors did not deter her. Nothing really did.
So, Mecha Sonic gingerly stepped in and closed the door behind her. "Greetings, Metal Sonic."
Metal stared down at her with bright crimson optics, silently warning Mecha to stay away. Its claws gripped the light tighter, cracking the plastic casing under the force. And when Mecha failed to leave, Metal let out a low warning growl from its engine.
Mecha met its sibling's angry gaze with calm. "I mean you no harm. I detected a signal in this location and it is protocol to investigate. There is very little traffic through this room, so it flagged as abnormal."
The pair were silent for a short while, Metal keeping its optics trained squarely on Mecha, while Mecha stood quietly. The gentle hum of her older engine was a soft, familiar backdrop for the angry machine above her, and Mecha watched patiently as its optics slowly dimmed.
"You are at a substantial risk of scuffing your paint if you fall from that height. I recommend returning to ground level as soon as possible."
Metal shook its head, no. There was no logical reason to say no. It just felt right, considering that it was angry and frightened. Something about being high above ground, away from people. Something about having control over a situation. Something about, Metal was too young to understand why it was feeling this way.
"You appear to be in a state of heightened emotion. I cannot understand which emotion is currently causing you distress. However, I would… like, to understand. Will you speak with me?"
Again, no.
"Would you prefer it if I left this space. I do not wish to cause any undue distress."
No. Please, no.
Mecha took pause. There had to be a solution, there always was, and she always found it. A creature of logic and order as she was, she methodically scanned over the various shelves and boxes until her sights came to rest on a specific item. She slowly moved, as she had learned was best in her sibling's company, towards a box containing something potentially useful.
"Organic hedgehogs are burrowing creatures. And, as you were created with the hedgehog's data in your root code, I may have formulated a temporary solution."
Mecha held up a large, thick blanket - most likely once belonging to the doctor - and tilted her head expectantly. What she did not expect was for the smaller robot above her to suddenly let go of the ceiling fixture and drop straight into the blanket. Mecha's reaction was quick, and she captured the little creature in both arms before wrapping it tightly in the material.
"That was most unwise of you…" Mecha told it quietly, almost scoldingly. "There was a significant possibility of sustaining damage to your frame." Even so, she sat down, and then set the smaller creature down beside her. To her surprise, Metal, hidden under the blanket, moved closer to rest against her side.
The warmth of Mecha's engine had become soothing to Metal, and Metal clung to that sometimes, as much as it would absolutely much rather deactivate than admit that to anybot. Its needs overruled its thoughts though, and it stayed close. And its needs grew more overpowering. And its frustration slipped away. And it felt safe.
And it wanted to tell its older sibling - I'm tired. I'm scared of the world. I don't understand. I hate and I don't know why. I want to sleep but my mind won't let me. Creator keeps me up for training. I feel safe with you. Stay with me.
"I cannot understand what is troubling you, which I apologize for. However, I do wish to see you operating in a better state. What do you need me to-"
A quick scan over the smaller robot by her side told her that it had put itself into sleep mode. Taken aback, Mecha carefully lifted the blanket to check.
"Metal Sonic?"
Mecha fell quiet, consulting with the data from her scan. She came to a sudden and sobering realization that Metal had not entered into a full sleep mode cycle in three days, instead utilizing all of its power on training programs. Mecha also noted that Metal had been responding to many, many commands from their creator. Its RAM hadn't been flushed for some time, handling several short-term tasks and program values all at once. In short, the young robot was exhausted. It had a lot to learn in such a short time.
So, Mecha relaxed into a more comfortable position. She was going to be there for a while. As carefully as she could manage with her tremors, scooped her little sibling into her arms and held them, allowing the warmth of her engine to transfer to its smaller frame. Mecha, too, recalled needing to learn the complexities of language, facial recognition, protocols, and hedgehog-murdering skills, and it had been difficult to comprehend it all with a backdrop of conflicting ideas, commands, and the stresses of being a target, let alone the uncertainty of being so new to the world.
"I understand."
The next night, Metal would return to the storage room to find a neatly set pile of blankets ready for them. It chose the purple one, the same colour as its sibling's armour. At two weeks and one day old, Metal Sonic felt safest in shields of purple.