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Bird song pulled Mecha from recharge. Flickies often sang early in the morning, he had been told– and he had prepared for them. He had set out birdbaths and feeders once the weather had stopped being icy, excited to attract life to his garden.
Hopping out of bed and moving the curtain aside to peek out the window, Mecha spotted a flock of Flickies perched around a birdbath, splashing and preening their feathers.
He turned from the window and exited the room– leaving Sigma to continue his recharge cycle– and made his way outside. While he meant to keep his distance and observe the birds from afar, one Flicky seemed to take an interest in him. It was pink, with red eyes and blue facial markings– and, curiously, it sported a worn-looking tag around its left foot.
The Flicky flitted around Mecha a few times before he held out his hand tentatively, and it settled upon it with a chirp. It tilted its head at him and regarded him with its big red eyes.
It was cute.
Mecha carefully scratched at its head with the tip of his claw. Were all Flickies this friendly? Or was this one accustomed to the company of Mobians and robots?
“Good morning, dear. You’ve made a friend, I see!”
Mecha turned around to see Sigma, who was neither stealthy nor quiet. The flock of Flickies at the birdbath startled and flew away, though the pink Flicky remained.
It seemed to take a keen interest in Sigma as he approached, and it flew from Mecha’s hand to perch on the top of Sigma’s head.
“Oh my! A curious fellow, is it?”
The Flicky pecked at him.
“I wonder why it isn't frightened of us. It has a tag…a research subject, perhaps?” Mecha said. “I didn't get the chance to look at it.”
Mecha held out a hand for the bird, and it flew back to him, though it never took its gaze off of Sigma. Mecha gently rotated the tag around, and Sigma saw his eye’s pupil become visible from his sudden distress.
“What’s the matter?”
Mecha did not respond at first, closing the tip of his claw around the tag and snipping it from the Flicky’s leg.
“The Doctor used it as a power source.”
Sigma crouched down and picked up the tiny tag. On one side was the faded emblem of Eggman’s face– cut cleanly in two– and on the other side was the number 102.
Sigma suddenly understood the Flicky’s interest in them– in him .
“Gamma,” Sigma said, and the bird sang a sad note. “It was the animal inside Gamma.”
“Oh Gaia .”
“It…must want to know if there's an animal powering me, too.” Sigma’s voice was quiet, his optics downturned sadly.
Animal power had always been a sensitive subject. It was no secret a handful of the Scrapniks still ran on it– something everyone looked the other way towards while an alternative power solution was worked on. Sigma had tried his hardest to keep the animals cared for, but to what extent you could call an animal trapped inside a robot cared for was debatable. It was one of the things that caused him the most distress– how to preserve the robot, but free the creature.
“Here, my friend,” Mecha said, drawing the bird’s attention so his partner could collect himself. He removed his cape, shifting his head back and allowing his eye to descend into his body. The front of his torso folded down, revealing his internal machinery.
“My central power core and processor also serves as my eye. Do not worry. There are no animals trapped within me.”
Mecha configured back to normal and knelt before Sigma, placing his hand on Sigma’s chassis. “What about you? Are you powered by one…?”
Sigma rotated his head no , placing his own hand over Mecha’s reassuringly. “I am not. My energy core is a prototype version of the same crystal matrix which powers Omega.”
“May we see it…?”
“Certainly. Yes, of course."
He let the locks on the white part of his chestplate disengage with a series of clicks, the plating folding down to reveal his inner workings.
The Flicky looked in first, perching on the gray muffler on the front of Sigma’s torso. It peeked around for a few moments, then gave a song of satisfaction, flying back up and nuzzling the side of Sigma’s head. After a moment it departed, flying off in the direction the Flicky flock had gone.
“...I hope that brought it some peace.” Sigma said. “Knowing not all of us run on its kind.”
Mecha nodded silently. His hand sought out Sigma's, lacing their fingers together.
“Would you still like to see? My power core, that is.” Sigma said.
“Oh! Yes.”
Mecha turned and focused intently on the glowing energy core in the center of Sigma's chest. It was a sphere of clearest crystal, sitting in a protective red casing. Blue and white electricity ran through it and into the rest of Sigma’s circuits like lightning. The soft, electronic hum it emitted was pleasant; and Mecha recognized the sound from many nights of falling into recharge with his ear pressed against his partner’s chest.
Mecha began to reach in, as if hypnotized by the swirling light, but snapped out of it and pulled his hand back quickly. This was Sigma’s core, his heart, his soul , even–
“You can touch, if you would like. I trust you, dear.”
Sigma cracked open the red casing surrounding his core and ignored the safety warnings that flashed across his HUD, chuckling warmly at Mecha’s starstruck expression. Mecha’s hand shook slightly as he slowly reached into Sigma’s chest, carefully placing it onto the crystal.
It was warm. Pleasantly so, not too hot, despite the constant stream of electricity passing through it. Tendrils of blue light seemed to be attracted towards the tips of Mecha's fingers, trailing around with them as he explored his partner’s core. It produced a slight tingling sensation, Mecha noticed– but nothing bothersome.
Emotion welled up in Mecha’s own core, making his eye fritz and waver. This was an indescribable amount of trust– he could easily shatter Sigma’s crystal; snip the wires connecting it to his circuity with his claw. This pulsing, beautiful sphere was his life , and he trusted it in Mecha's hand.
“I- I love you. I am so fortunate to have you by my side,” Mecha said, resting his head on the side of Sigma’s chassis. His hand was still wrapped around the crystal, so Sigma reached for his claw and gave it an affectionate squeeze.
“I love you too. You will have me as long as I function.”
“Theoretically, that is forever.”
Mecha glanced up at him. His optics were upturned, smiling.
“Precisely.”