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"Both of you, take extreme caution. The ship you are on is carrying extremely valuable cargo; Chaos Drives, Robot Data, Choco Tacos... It is integral that not a single item is lost, do you understand, Sage?"
Sage nodded her head, as she replied to her father on the ship's computer.
"Of course, Father. We'll make sure this cargo will arrive on schedule. I guarantee it."
Dr. Eggman nodded, giving her a smile. "Very good. That'll be all."
With that the transmission ended, and Sage was left alone with her 'partner' for the mission: Metal Sonic. Neo Metal Sonic, specifically, as she had made a very compelling argument for upgrading him once more. She had all of her Father's records, including his victories (as little as they may have been), his defeats, and all of his inventions. In an interesting sense; Neo Metal Sonic was a unique case of all three.
This was their mission: administer the transfer of cargo to her father's newest base from his former one (which had been destroyed; Sonic, go figure). They weren't sure what kind of unwanted attention might spew, so it was smart to have some trusted individuals to guard the plane if anything were to happen.
She was an obvious choice, being her father's second-in-command, and so was Metal Sonic, being her father's greatest badnik. Simply put, she was their brains and Metal Sonic was their brawns. A perfect team-up, if she said so herself.
Despite that, there was another reason she recommended Metal Sonic. It was so that she had a chance to spend time with him. Unlike herself, Metal Sonic was distant and independent; she rarely was able to hold a conversation longer than 'Good morning' in the mornings, or 'Sonic?' upon seeing him damaged. A part of her wondered if he simply didn't like her. She didn't like to dwell on that thought.
That said, she also had a question she had for him; one that she had already asked his... 'organic counterpart'.
"Metal Sonic?"
Metal Sonic's head quickly whipped to face her, making Sage nearly jump.
"May I ask you a question?"
"Ask away."
Sage paused for a moment, starting to feel slightly unsure if this was a smart idea. She took a moment to rephrase the question in her head, before deciding to go for it.
"What is your end goal?"
Metal Sonic took a few seconds to reply, before responding.
"Defeat Sonic, ensure Lord Eggman's rule over the Earth."
Sage brought a finger to her chin, before shaking her head slightly.
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"Those are father's goals."
"Yes, and it's my duty to further those goals."
"I see... But I'm asking about your goals... Surely you have your own reason to defeat Sonic, don't you?"
"My goal is to prove myself. Prove that I am the one, true Sonic."
Sage opened her mouth to speak again, before hesitating. She knew that was about to say was risky, but the truth was, this was something she had been wondering about for a while. Being the 'true Sonic'... That was something that Metal Sonic had always claimed to be, in every record she had looked through, in every battle he had with Sonic, that was Metal Sonic's motto. But... he couldn't be serious, could he?
To legitimately believe that he was created first, and that Sonic was somehow the counterfeit? It was preposterous. Her father had built him, and he had done so specifically to be a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sage swallowed hard, before voicing her thoughts.
"Surely you don't truly believe that, do you..? That you are somehow the true Sonic?"
For a few seconds, Metal Sonic did or said nothing, seconds that felt like minutes to Sage; and when he did respond it was by his eyes glaring red, with a light hum filling the room. Sage began to take a step back in fear, half-starting to regret asking her father to upgrade Metal Sonic. She had never realized how intimidating the robot truly was.
After a moment, the hum faded out, and Metal Sonic's eyes returned to normal.
"Yes, I do..." he stated, sounding almost defensively, before his voice returned to normal, as if he was leveling with her.
"At least, I did... at first. I was created not just to battle Sonic, I was created to be him, to surpass him. Each movement I make is preconceived: they are calculated in order to guarantee victory. And yet, he, he doesn't think, he doesn't calculate anything. He's careless, sloppy, uncoordinated..."
"And yet, always victorious." Sage finished the thought.
"Precisely. And, even after transforming my own body, rebelling against my creator, and breaking past my own programming; going against everything that I am... he was able to defeat me..."
Metal Sonic turned away, not facing Sage.
"He's always able to defeat me... He does it without fail, without planning. I won't believe it. I can't. It can't be anything short of luck. I refuse to believe otherwise."
Metal Sonic turned back to Sage, clenching his fist and holding it upwards determinedly.
"And one day that luck will run out. And I will be there. And I'll prove that victory isn't about 'luck', it's about carefully planning every step, knowing your enemy, taking every precaution to ensure your victory... That's how victory is won... I'll wipe that smug look off his face, and then... then, I'll be the one, true Sonic."
Sage perked up, understanding Metal Sonic's perspective, and yet, something still bothered her.
"And then what?" she asked.
Metal Sonic rose his arms, in a half-shrug. "Whatever I please..."
Sage perked up at the simple response, growing intrigued at Metal Sonic's own interests; in fact, she was surprised to learn he had any at all.
"Is there anything in particular you have in mind?"
"No."
Sage tilted her head curiously.
"It's pointless to dwell on the matter, while my loathsome copy's still out there." Metal Sonic explained. "Every minute I waste, I give him the opportunity to grow stronger. Therefore, I too, must continue to grow. Stronger every minute, every second. So that when we face each other again, I will be ready. And that when the day comes, I will have my victory."
Metal Sonic turned away, now looking out the window.
"Only then will I be able to rest."
Sage nodded her head, finally understanding Metal Sonic's point of view. It was interesting. It differed from Sonic's own greatly, as well as her Father's. And yet, it was remarkably similar, as well. Both Metal and her Father felt the need to keep improving, in order to eventually overcome their adversary, and prove themselves to be the most powerful. However, her father's goal wasn't simply to defeat Sonic, it was to rule the world as well; something that didn't seem to interest Metal, save for the aforementioned 'Metal Overlord' incident, but that was neither here nor there.
Meanwhile, both Metal and Sonic wished to live their lives freely, and would stop at nothing in order to continue that; but that was also how they differed... Sonic already lived his life freely, and fought in order to protect that freedom, Metal Sonic, on the other hand, was trapped, trapped in his own head, and could only be let out once he accomplished his goal. Essentially, Sonic fought in order to protect his freedom, Metal Sonic fought in order to gain his own; something that, as an Artificial Intelligence, she probably understood better than anyone else.
Despite this, something had been bothering Sage. In fact, this was something that had been bothering her for a while now, and it had only gotten worse after she asked Sonic about his own goal, when she asked Prower, Knuckles, and Amy Rose.
It was an odd sensation. Almost a mixture of emptiness, and jealousy, of all things. However, it was only here and now, after hearing Metal's perspective, did her feelings of frustration start to make a little more sense.
All of her father's creations had clear goals in mind; The EggRobo: act as her father's understudy, The Shadow Androids: imitate Shadow the Hedgehog, Metal Sonic: become the true Sonic...
Yet, she... she wasn't made for any particular purpose. It wasn't just 'destroy Sonic', it wasn't just 'track Chaos Emeralds', she simply... existed. It made her feel uneasy, as if she had nothing to do with her new life.
It finally made sense. The reason why she had been so obsessed about the inner workings of her enemies and allies, alike, was to learn from them. Learn how end goals were formed, how drives to live were created.
In all honesty, she still didn't have a clear goal, much less plans for what to do once she accomplished said goal. But... that unsureness... That fear of the unknown, and what was to come... Maybe that was simply a part of 'life'. Maybe to feel that uncertainty was less of a fault on her behalf, and more of driving force. A driving force to do better, to be better... to grow stronger every minute, every second...
And maybe... Maybe that was alright.
Sage walked over to Metal Sonic, looking over the horizon next to him, and giving him a smile.
Her end goal...
She didn't know what it was yet... but, she knew she could at least focus on improving herself. Becoming more efficient. More effective. So that when she would find her end goal... she'd be ready, too.