Chapter Text
Sage needed a high vantage point to scan the surrounding area more effectively, so Metal flew to the tallest building. The building looked like the Empire State Building on Earth. Metal landed on the top, giving Sage and Metal a great view of their surroundings. They could see what remained of a once-thriving city and destroyed land around it.
“What could have caused such destruction on this scale?” Sage asked out loud, and her question was shared with Metal. “I am beginning my scan; keep an eye out for danger.” Sage then disappeared into cyberspace to better scan the surroundings.
Metal decided to scan the city from his vantage point to see anything to keep his mind busy as he waited for Sage to finish her scan. The only thing that caught his red eyes was a large spire-like structure, and it was a more recent creation, as it did not look damaged at all like the rest of the buildings surrounding it.
The creation of Eggman decided to use his zoom feature in the hope of getting a closer look at this spire, and when he did, he was in for a shock. The entire structure was built with corpses of drones, those that look not that different from those that found Metal while he was offline.
Metal remembered the three drones that examined his crash landing. V and N Metal could barely remember, but J he remembered in clearer detail due to her being up close and personal with him.
Metal blush or what could be passed as blushing as he recalls that female drone’s hands on his face, especially on his shiny muzzle; sometimes he wishes Eggman loved him like the doctor loved Sage.
Sage reappears, snapping Metal out of his digital train of thought: “So far, I could not locate any satellite station in this section of this planet. However, I had located a bunker.” Coordinates appeared on Metal’s screen, which was not far away.
Metal jumped up, activating his thruster and rocketing towards the bunker, with Sage following behind. While flying, Sage took note of all the destruction. She was still unsure what caused this world to become a lifeless husk, but from what she could gather, it was likely over a short period. The Drones only made things worse after a while; they failed to harm Metal, but they had firepower that put most of Eggman’s badniks to shame.
Sage’s theorizing would have to wait, as she noticed they had arrived at the bunker entrance. She started scanning to see if there were people behind it. Metal turned around and kept looking out for danger. The bunker reminded Sage of the many Eggman has across Mobius and on the moon. This raises the question of why the people of this planet have one, especially one very close to a city.
Sage finished her scan and turned to Metal. “The bunker is still in use, but whoever is running it is not organic.” Metal was unsurprised, as the radiation was so high that it was unlikely even Mobians could survive on this planet.
Metal approached the door, prepared to force it open, but Sage placed a hand on him to stop him.
“Brother, let me phase through. I don’t want to risk you damaging the door.” Sage was worried that destroying the front door might anger whatever was inside, and if they made this their temporary home, it would not be a good choice to keep it in good condition.
Metal stepped back and returned to watching out for danger, leaving Sage to get the door open. Sage phased through and opened the door on the other side, but what was waiting on the other side surprised her.
Behind the bunker door, five members of the Work Defense Force were sitting at a fold-out table playing a card game the humans called Gin Rummy. Among these drones was Khan Doorman, the head of the Worker Defense Force and creator of the blast doors. You can tell him apart due to his obvious fake mustache and gray jacket.
“Say Khan, how your girl doing? I saw her looking around in the backrooms for parts again.” Said the Drone, known as Todd.
Khan’s eyes did not leave his cards as he said, “Oh Uzi probably getting parts for the project she is working on. Sadly, it don’t look like a door.” Khan does not fully remember what he saw Uzi working on during the few times he visited her; it reminds him of those guns humans used before they all got wiped out.
Khan then glanced up, smiling as he got a winning hand, but then he noticed something passing through his precious blast door: a girl? She looked similar to humans, but she had strange glowing digital bits on the tip of her dress and her feet, making it look like she was wearing shoes. She looked like she came out of one of those Eastern cartoons Uzi loves so much.
The rest of the drones notice this floating black-and-red girl staring at them with one visible red eye. However, Khan’s fear was slowly replaced by curiosity as he got a better look. He noticed this girl was not physically there, hence her lack of making any shadows at all but, in fact, glowing.
“Sorry to interrupt your game, but I must speak with the one in charge.” Her tone was polite and friendly, or what you can consider friendly in this dying world.
The four other drones pointed to Khan, and he breathed a tired sigh, not surprised this happened. “Well, not officially the leader. I am head of the Worker Drone Defense Force.” Khan explained to this strange ghost lady.
“So you are Worker Drones?” Sage asked, wanting to clarify and prepare to write this information down for later. Khan nodded yes, so Sage continued, “I need you to let my brother in. We got stranded and in need of shelter.” Sage decided to be a bit vague on the exact details, as it might make things more complicated than they needed to be.
Khan thinks and then asks, “Is the sun up?” He wants to make sure those murder drones are not trying to use this girl’s brother as a Trojan horse to get inside. Sage nods yes, and Khan relaxes his metallic shoulders. “Well, alright.”
Khan walks to the control panel, pulls out his Door Master Key, and uses it to unlock the bunker’s entrance. When the door opens, the drones all look upon Metal Sonic. His back is facing them, and while he is shorter than them, they can sense the danger he radiates. Not helping was Metal Sonic turning his head around like an owl, his crimson eyes looking like he is always angry.
Rotating his lower half to face the entrance, Metal slowly walked inside, his scarlet eyes scanning for any threats, but these drones were no issue. Metal noted they looked much like the drones who tried to kill him when he went offline, except they were shorter and not designed for combat.
Sage noticed the fear on the drone and said to them, “Don’t worry, Metal Sonic is well behave. Right Metal.” She glances at Metal to see if he will listen, unlike he did earlier with her father.
Metal glanced at Sage before facing forward and let out a beeping sound, which was Metal’s way of saying yes.
“My brother said yes. I forgot to share my name, I’m Sage.” Sage explained, being polite as she usually is.
Khan smiled and said, “Khan, Doorman.” He presses a button on his remote to shut the blast doors, the only way inside the bunker. “Follow me you two. I show you around.” Gesturing for Metal and Sage to follow him.
Metal and Sage followed Khan deeper into this bunker, with Metal half paying attention as he scanned his surroundings to make sure there were no threats to him or Sage lurking in this bunker. Sage was curious to learn more, as these drones could adapt and build a society like their makers. Their data will be useful for future upgrades to the egg pawns.
Meanwhile, at the spire that Metal Sonic noticed before resting inside were V and N trying to charge for hunting when the sun set; however, J was still up. Sadly, she had to report their performance to the boss. J checks herself in the mirror to make herself look good, while Cy-Boss can’t see her, which makes J feel more confident about herself.
J sighed as she looked at her tired, digital yellow eyes reflected in the one mirror inside the Landing Pod. She wishes it could be over, and if there is an afterlife for drones, she could reunite with him. Shaking those thoughts out of her head,
“We do this job, and she’ll let us go,” J said to herself in a vain attempt to make herself believe her own words. Something J did daily at this point.
A bright yellow light projected onto the powered off-screen with that same symbol used by the being that forced the portal close, causing Metal and Sage to land on this planet. It’s the mark of the Absolute Solver, the author of humanity’s end. J stood up, knowing it would be best to get this over with.
“Hey, boss, how are you doing?” J tried her best to compliment the author of her, V, and N’s misery for who knows how long it has been since the manor.
“Oh, you know, chilling as I wait for you three to finish the two very simple task I gave you.” J felt fear wash over her as Cyn’s tone made it clear she was tired of waiting.
“We have been killing plenty of Worker Drones as we do, but that lab is too heavily guarded. Whatever is down, they seem to have figured out are weakness and-” J got cut off when the solver symbol appeared around her neck as she slammed into the wall, pinning her to it.
“You three have failed to get inside that stupid lab for nearly 2 decades. Maybe I need to give the three more motivation.” The being known as Cyn put more pressure on J’s neck, choking her out like she was a human.
Two more symbols of the Absolute Solver appeared on either side of J’s head, and together, they began pushing into J’s head, crushing it like a soda can. If J could scream, she would, as her head was slowly crushed, her visor cracking, making it impossible for her to see as panic filled her system.
Eventually, Cyn let her go as she collapsed to the floor, her nanite wasting no time repairing the damage caused to her head. J needed a moment to collect herself as the panic of nearly losing her head slowly faded.
“Beside failing to break into one lab, anything strange happen during your hunt?” J noted that Cyn’s tone made it seem like she expected them to have something to report to the disassembly drones.
J collected herself as she rose and answered, “Near the end, we saw something crash down in the city. We investigated and discovered the thing was, in fact, a drone of some kind.” J was unsure how to describe this Metal Sonic robot her team had found.
Cyn’s silence made J feel uneasy. She was unsure what was happening in that twisted abomination’s head but knew better than to challenge her. She tried and failed a thousand times, and Cyn made the punishment worse each time than the last.
J continued, “He was not like the other drones that made JCJenson, and he was tougher than you think.” The silence, along with the symbol of the solver seemingly staring right into J’s non-existing soul until Cyn finally responded,
“Let me take a peak; hold still.” J’s eyes were replaced with a large X as her limbs went loose and her stature slouched slightly.
Cyn had entered J’s mind and was coping with all the information stored inside, and it was easier to do this than have the corporate-loving drone explain anyway. Cyn enjoyed how much J did not like it, and she always took pleasure in torturing J for always trapping her in the basement, along with just being a smug, bossy jerk.
Once done, Cyn left J’s head. J stumbles a bit but, luckily, avoids landing face-first into the floor of the landing pod.
“Interesting, so something did come through…” Cyn’s tone was hard to tell, but it almost sounded like she was curious and maybe a bit excited.
J wanted to ask what Cyn meant by come through? But J knew what would happen if she did. Just thinking about them made J feel uneasy. Eventually, Cyn’s silence was broken as she said.
“Find this drone and capture him.” J was confused as to why Cyn wanted to.- Then she realized the obvious answer, and dread washed over her. “I see your nervousness J for the safety of your ‘job, ‘” mocking Serial Designation J, knowing the real reason for J’s dread. “If you bring this robot in one piece to me… I may let… her go.”
J’s yellow digital eyes become only outlines as she processes what Cyn was implying with her words, “You mean Tessa is-”
“Yes. I did promise not to discard her after all. Do this for me J, and you can have Tessa. V and brother can all leave as you accomplish your mission.” J could not believe this. It could end this nightmare, and she would have Tessa back. “However, if you fail me one more time, J. I will kill you, erase all memory of Tessa from your mind. You will never see her again.”
Cyn’s call ended, leaving J in shadows to reflect on this new mission and the news that Tessa was alive. Part of her was screaming that it was a lie, but she did not care. Lie or not, she would reunite with Tessa, and if it meant bringing this Metal Sonic to Cyn, so be it.
J returned to her sleeping spot, hung upside down, and tried to get some sleep before sunset so they could begin hunting once more for the key to their possible salvation.
Back at the bunker, Metal and Sage were still being shown around the bunker as Khan decided to end the trip at his place, where they could stay for the time being. Khan opened the door and walked inside, but Sage hesitated.
“You don’t have to, Mister Doorman. I and Metal really don’t need-” Sage was caught off-guard seeing Metal walk inside, making her sigh, “fine.” as she followed the rest inside.
Khan turned to face them and spread his arms wide. “You can stay here until we find you a spot that best suits you both. If you require anything, let me know.” He was trying to be as polite a host as Sage and Metal, namely Metal. When Metal stared at Khan, it fueled a fear inside him only matched by those monsters outside the bunker.
“Like I said, Mister Doorman, we don’t need much. Do you know any radar stations on this planet?” Sage thought it’s best to start with already existing radar stations on the planet in the hope of contacting the father to tell him they were fine and what their location was.
Khan thinks, “I don’t recall seeing any, but I think the bunker’s systems might have-” A door opens, and walking out is a smaller drone than Khan. She was female, with her purple hair and matching digital eyes.
“DAD, who the hell did you bring?” The drone noticed Sage and Metal and took the time to process what she was seeing. “Why are there a ghost girl and someone who should be on a website best left forgotten?” she said, gesturing to both Sage and Metal Sonic.
Metal did not like what this brat said about him, but he saw a notification on his screen that he should not fight her. Metal collected himself as Sage floated to this female drone. He will let sis handle this.
“I am not a ghost. I am an A.I. program named Sage.” She gestures to Metal Sonic and continues, “That is my brother, Metal Sonic. Your father brought us here to stay for the foreseen future.”
The girl nodded as she examined Sage. “So where you projected from?” as the drone moved her hand through Sage, confirming that this A.I. lacked a physical form.
“My digital form is projected from a digital realm that I dubbed cyberspace.” Uzi nodded, following along as it made sense to her. “As for my brother, he was designed to surpass father’s nemesis and be his ultimate creation.”
Uzi nodded; however, she took note of one thing Sage had said, namely, about her father. Speaking of dads, as she saw him making his way to the door,
“Well, I trust you girls to get along while I do important things, like building more doors.” Khan sounded way too happy to leave and get back to making doors.
Uzi did not show it, but even though she accepted that her father probably wouldn’t ever love her as much as she wanted him to, it did not hurt to see that she was second in his heart, right behind doors.
“Your father has an odd obsession with doors.” Sage commented, trying to sound mean, only stating what she was seeing.
Uzi let out a frustrated sigh. “You tell me. So do what you want, I got stuff to do before class starts, so… yeah.” Uzi awkwardly walked to her room as it shut behind her.
Once in her room, Uzi returned to her work bench and returned to work on the gun she had been working on for the past few months. She was getting close to finishing it, but Uzi was not sure-
“Interesting weapon. It fires photons into a condensed focus-”
“AH, do you know nothing about privacy!” Uzi screamed at Sage in frustration at being startled by the A.I. Sage just phased through the door to see what Uzi was working on.
“My apologies., I was just curious about the laser weapon.” Sage admitted it was a bit rough and not as refined as Doctor Eggman’s guns, but considering the state of the planet, it was understandable.
“It’s a rail gun.” Uzi shouted at Sage, “the magnets are used to amplify the photons, allowing me to better destroy my enemies.” Uzi laughed evilly, taking pride in her creation, as she planned to use it to kill-
“Photons are electrically neutral. Therefore, the magnetic fields serve no purpose and are dead weight.” Sage said. It sounded cold, but Uzi’s attitude got on Sage’s nerves.
Uzi took a moment to process what Sage had said. “Well… I am working with what I have. Besides, it looks cool.” Uzi tried to convince herself more than Sage, who did not buy it.
Sage’s gaze returned to the gun as she scanned and formed a 3D wired frame copy of Uzi’s Gun. Sage started examining the 3D model to see what could be improved. Uzi noticed this and was amazed. What else can this A.I. do?
“After some examination, you could convert the magnetic field generator into a makeshift Particle Accelerator. It won’t be as powerful as a real accelerator but would improve the output and time for it to be recharged.” Sage glanced at Uzi, seeing her reaction. The young drone was in thought, clearly processing what Sage said.
“Hmm, could work, although this might take me breaking up the gun,” Uzi said, thinking how she could even make the changes Sage suggested. “I am guessing you can help if it means my sick ass gun can be even deadlier” Swallowing a bit of her pride, as making this weapon was more important.
Sage smiled as she explained what Uzi needed to replace and could repurpose. Meanwhile, outside Uzi’s room, Metal stood around waiting for something to happen.
Metal glanced, noticed a chair, walked over, and plopped onto the chair. It would feel nice if Metal Sonic could feel anything, glance around the home to make sure of any last-minute threats, and decide to enter rest mode. Metal dreamed of crushing his loathsome copy, but that ponytail girl touching his muzzle made him feel good. Metal made a note to ask his father to remove that bug in his programming. His father loves removing stuff from him, especially stuff in his programming and memories.