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Ivo felt too rattled so soon after the events of Metal Sonic's rebellion to do much of anything with him save for putting him away. He felt quite hopeless, leaving what he'd always thought of as his magnum opus with all the rest of his shelved projects.
The doctor rubbed his glasses with his sleeve, his eyes falling to the robot's claws, the silhouette lit by the green light of the stasis tube. He still had bruises around his throat that he absentmindedly rubbed with his fingers when even his badniks left him alone. Metal Sonic's body didn't resemble as much the tall figure that had attacked him days prior, but it was still the same robot, the rebellious mind left untouched, the evolved code undisturbed. Until now.
Eggman's fingers trailed down the dusty glass of the tube before falling down onto the control panel, tentatively feeling the buttons.
What had once been his greatest creation was also his greatest failure. An AI made up of bio-data of his strongest foe, combined with code, seamlessly put into a machine that would serve him and only him, with a body so powerful it could travel faster than the speed of sound, slice and dice any enemy Eggman put in its way, problem-solve, and make decisions for itself...
It hadn't been like this when he'd first deployed it. It was intelligent, fast-thinking, and determined, aggressive and ruthless, but it was obedient. It was supposed to be obedient, that was the whole point of it. What good was a robot that didn't obey him, that trapped him and usurped him and grew an ego and delusions of grandeur?
When did this happen? How did this happen - Eggman corrected himself. Metal Sonic was no organic being that could develop some kind of grudge against its maker, that could change its mind, untangle itself from the Empire's embrace, and learn to want to set itself free. Robots didn't do that. Except for Metal and... that E-123 model. What was this all about? Was he about to lose even more robots to insubordination?
Not this one. Not Metal Sonic. His strongest soldier, his greatest failure, his favorite creation that he oh so hated at the same time. Had this been the cause of all those failures? Had it been a sign of this strange virus developing? This evolution of his own code, as if it were a living thing?
Eggman turned on the console, ready to perform a complete wipe, but hesitated. This was perhaps the most extraordinary thing to ever happen. Not just a learning AI, but the fundamentals of it, the code itself growing and evolving on its own. Not just logic form observation, not imitation of life but synthetic evolution in a jar, and he had it. His finger hovered above the trigger button. But of what use would it be to him? Metal Sonic had proven unpredictable, erratic, and disobedient. Eggman still didn't know why the robot hadn't just killed him, but... Hand wandered up to his bruises... It could've.
Was he about to erase his own scientific breakthrough or save himself from this, repeating?
To almost be killed by the thing he'd made to serve him was one thing, but to give it another chance was insanity.
The doctor tapped his finger three times right next to the switch and sighed. He shook his head.
The code would be inspected, monitored for changes, and subjected to tests. Yes... He should at the very least collect the data from it first, see how it started, if it was replicable, then see if he's able to prevent the changes from happening in other units. This stunt of Neo Metal Sonic was something he couldn't let happen again with any other of his creations. Their code would be prepared for anomalies, preventative measures would be patched in.
Eggman hid his tired eyes behind his glasses, eyes rising again to meet Metal Sonic's black screen. Head pulled up straight, shoulders pulled to the back by the rack it was stationed against. The doctor huffed in wonder at the sight. Now the difference was clear as day, but he'd never noticed the way Metal always hunched.
The robot wouldn't stay as is. After the tests were done and after the doctor experimented with its code a bit... It would have to either have its data wiped completely and start anew or be disassembled and... Well... It probably wouldn't come to that. Anyway, before that, justice would have to be served. Eggman would have to teach that bot a lesson before taking any further steps! Betraying its maker like that should have grave consequences, and Metal should know that. Only then, maybe a bit of that code, safe, isolated, and taught a lesson, still could be salvaged. Eggman would figure something out to keep this little piece of Sonic he owned on a leash.
Doctor Eggman switched off the console and stepped away from the chamber that would hold Metal Sonic for the next few weeks. He slowly walked down the corridor, feeling in a much better mood. There was much to be done, but in the end he would put things right, put all the rebellious pieces back into their places and get back onto his feet, striving for the best possible world, right under the thumb of the Eggman Empire.