Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was like any day on Mobius with the infamous Doctor Eggman cooking his latest plan. Eggman was looking over his latest project as he prepared to activate it for the test run. Standing next to him was trusty minion Agent Stone.

“Sage.” Eggman ordered as he turned to his right as his A.I. daughter appeared, a smile on her face brought one to the doctor’s.

“Everything is in order. The bridge should be able to form a portal to a location light years away from Mobius. Success chance is 89%,” Sage explains, excited to see what happens and explore more of this vast universe.

Eggman nodded, turning to his left, “Agent Stone, fire it up. Let's see what waiting out there in deep space.”  A gleeful smile painted on the Doctor’s face.

Stone matches with a smile of his own as he presses the button to start the machine. It builds up energy to form a portal to a selected destination in a galaxy far away from Mobius.

However, an explosion was heard outside, and Eggman turned to Sage. His digital daughter knew what he was going to ask before he even glanced in her direction,

“Sonic has arrived and making quick work of the Egg pawns.” she projects footage taken from one of the many cameras around the base as Sonic's homing attack or righting through the Egg pawns like they were wet paper. 

“Of course that blue rodent would show up, like a moth to flame he is.” The doctor sometimes wishes he could test things without fear of Sonic coming in and ruining them like he usually does.

“Don’t worry, father, I already sent brother to fight Sonic.” Sage’s smile was clear on her face, “I examine how his latest upgrades perform against Sonic.”  

Eggman nodded as Sage teleported away, leaving the doctor with Agent Stone. Both were now waiting for the portal to open and see what awaited them on the other side. 

Sonic was making quick work of what remained of the Egg Pawns protecting outside the base, leaving the blue blur trying to find a way inside and stop whatever the doctor was cooking this time. Tails got reports that Eggman has been using satellites to search deep space for something.

The roar of a jet engine snaps Sonic out of his train of thought as he backflips over the Charging Metal Sonic, who finally arrives to face him. 

“Took you long enough to show up Metal.” Sonic's cockiness was showing, and that always annoyed Metal, and now he really wanted to put his fist between the hedgehog's eyes. 

Metal turned around to face his loathsome copy, still hovering in the air so he could look down on the hero of Mobius. The two-speed demons just stared the other down, waiting for the other to do something until the silence was broken when Sage appeared right next to Metal.

“Hello Sonic. Metal has been waiting to fight you for some time.” Sage explains to Sonic being polite and professional like always. 

“Oh, did the doctor give his second favorite child some love?” Metal rage was clear in his eyes as he clenched his metal hands, Metal Sonic was ready to throw hands with his organic copy. 

“That was not a very nice thing to say to my brother.” Sage’s tone made it clear she was unhappy with what Sonic said to her brother, “For that Metal shall be going first.”

“Going first in what-” Sonic's question was answered by Metal punching Sonic square in the face, launching the hedgehog away. 

Sonic was stunned by how fast Metal was; he had to give Eggman credit for upgrading Metal to catch up to Sonic's level, no matter how much faster or stronger he became. However, Metal is not the only one who has learned some new tricks since their last fight. Metal flies after preparing to land another punch on his fleshy double.

However, Sonic saw it coming this time and parried the attack, launching Metal back. This was followed up by Sonic spin dashing into Metal, turning into a makeshift buzz saw. It did not seem to leave a scratch on Metal, and Metal responded by activating his Black Shield to get Sonic off him.

Sage watched as Sonic and Metal were going even blow for blow; it amazed her that every time she thought Sonic would have a plateau, he just rose above, and Metal was upgraded every time to match Sonic's ever-increasing power. So why did he keep losing? Was it simply because he was designed after Sonic, and a copy can never hope to surpass the original, right? Sage had pondered this as she worked on the latest upgrades for Metal.

Back to the fight between Metal and Sonic, the blue blur ran away. Quickly realizing Metal was distracting the blue blur, he decided to find where Robotnik was, shut down what he was scheming, and then get out of there. Metal, tired of chasing, decided to try out one of the additions added to him by his sister Sage. One of his arms was turned into a cannon, and he began to fire a barrage of blasts toward Sonic. 

"WOAH!" Sonic shouted as he barely jumped out of the way of the barrage Metal refused to let out and kept firing, with Sonic barely avoiding being tagged, "Guess you armed and dangerous now Metalhead." Sonic's smirk returned to his face, which angered Metal like usual. 

Sonic leaped, landing on the side of the building, and launched himself off it towards Metal. The Metal Faker saw this coming and prepared a charge shot to finish off Eggman's nemesis once and for all. Sonic was not that foolish; he used another trick he learned from the Starfall Islands and slipped past Metal, confusing the robot hog. Sonic was using Wild Rush zigzagging around, making it impossible for Metal to land a shot on the blue blur. 

Sonic finished his Wild Rush by crashing into Metal as both smashed into the building and kept fighting while inside said building. Sage noted that Brother and Sonic's battle was getting closer to where Father and Agent Stone were, so she sent a quick message to Eggman to give him a heads-up to prepare for the arrival of his blue nemesis.  Once sent, Sage returned to examining Sonic and Metal's battle, and it was clear the two-speed demons were just getting started. 

back with the Doctor, he got Sage's message and groaned in annoyance, but before he could rant about Sonic, the device had finished charging up as a portal started to form. The portal was big enough for Egg Mobile to fly easily.  On the other side, they saw a planet a lot like Mobius, except it looked like it was stuck in the ice age or something not too dissimilar from that, along with a ring like Saturn encircling the planet. 

"Astounding as usual doctor." Agent Stone said to Eggman, but something about that planet the portal was leading to made Stone feel uneasy.

Eggman did not share that feeling as he was laughing evilly at a successful test: "With this, conquering planets across the galaxy will be a breeze. and will start with this one!" Eggman said, pointing at the planet shown through the portal.

Stone was confused, "Why this one? this planet looks like has seen better days." Stone trusts the doctor has his reason, so answering his question should be a simple task for Ivo,

"You see, Stone, this planet is rich with minerals seems the people of the planet wiped themselves out, leaving the planet in a nuclear winter," Eggman explained clearly he had his eyes on this planet for some time. "Now Stone prepare the-"

Eggman was cut off when smashing through the roof of the chamber. The portal-making device locating was used to guess Sonic and Metal Sonic. the two landed, and Sonic quickly glanced at the portal and noticed the planet on the other side.

"Looking for new worlds to conquer, Egghead?" Sonic even looked to see if Eggman was in the room, but the doctor's growl of annoyance confirmed he could hear the blue blur, "This one looks a bit expired."

Eggman was tired of this rodent, "Metal! Crush him!" demanding Sonic be dealt with once and for all. 

Metal did not need to be told twice as he charged at Sonic, trying to swipe at him, but Sonic leaped back as the two resumed their fight just now around the portal. Eggman turned to face Stone and told him to head to get stuff prepared for evacuation. Stone exits the control room, leaving Eggman to watch Sonic and Metal fight until Sage appears beside him.

"Portal stability is still strong. should I start the shut down of it?" Sage asked.

"Negative. There are still 2 minutes left on the clock. once that is over, you can shut it off, and we can leave." Eggman wanted to ensure the portal could stay active and strong for over 5 minutes. "I see Metal is keeping pace with Sonic as usual." It really felt like Metal was Sisyphus always trying to reach the top, only to keep falling short of his goal. what did Metal lack that Sonic had?

"Indeed, Father, the Cannon's arm gives Metal an edge in a field Sonic lacks." Sage said, trying to remain positive as she could tell her Father had grown tired of Metal feeling like a sunk cost. Sage feels like she is letting down her brother, who cares for her deeply.

in a place covered in shadows, with the only light source being yellow X marks acting as eyes. Those eyes are locked onto the monitor screens, showing the portal Eggman created from the planet's perspective. This is the sensed manipulation of space in the upper atmosphere, but they did not expect this. 

“Interesting.” Said a robotic voice that was more inhuman than even Sage. Like it was just using a text-to-speech device, it tried to zoom in to see what was on the other side of the portal, but she could not see much besides two blue streaks of light clashing against one another. "However, I don't like sharing."

A strange yellow glowing symbol appeared, looking like a hollow hexagon with arrows shooting out from it, forming an upside-down Y. That symbol spawn appeared behind the Portal, easily eclipsing it in size as it seemed to be forcefully closing the portal. 

Sage sensed the presence of something as her gaze moved from the Metal and Sonic battle to the portal. Her digital eyes widened, and she saw it slowly being forced closed. However, due to this, the portal became unstable as it began to suck things in like open doors on a plane or spaceship. Eggman quickly pressed a button to bring down the blast shield to shield himself from being sucked through the portal; however, Sonic and Metal were beginning to feel the pull of the Portal.

Metal's thruster was working overtime, and Sonic was forced to use the super peel-out as he tried to run against the portal's pull. The portal pull was getting stronger as the portal was fighting back against the force trying to close it.  

"Metal, disengage from Sonic and get out of there." Eggman ordered, but Metal, for the first time in a long time, ignored the doctor's command and turned his boost to maximum speeding towards Sonic "METAL THAT'S AN ORDER DISENGAGE FROM-"

Sonic glances back, seeing Metal approaching very quickly, and Sonic reacts on instinct with a powerful roundhouse kick straight into Metal's big face, launching him towards the portal.

"So long, Gay Metal!" Sonic said with a smirk, knowing he had won yet again against-

"Brother!" Sage shouted as she flew after Metal. The portal fully collapsed behind Sage, causing a large kinetic explosion and launching Sonic into the wall of the chamber.

Eggman was stunned as, before his eyes, Sage was gone like he feared he would lose when she helped Sonic do battle, with that being Sage dubbed The End. Eggman glances at Sonic, who seems to be shaken up from being launched into the wall; part of him wants to destroy Sonic, but doing battle with Sonic will only get in the way of him going to find Sage and Metal. Although Metal did not listen to him, the doctor feared he might begin rebelling once more. 

Meanwhile, on the planet, in the ruins of one of the many cities on this ruined planet, snow-covered most things caused by whatever calamity caused this planet to be near-lifeless. Keyword, nearly as soaring across the roofs of what remains of this city was what the locals called Murder Drones.

Two were female, aka V, the psychotic short-haired one, and J, their leader, and one with long twin tails. Also, their N is the only male and the one who is considered the dumb one of this trio. The three Murder Drones landed on the roof of a still mostly standing building. 

“J, we really need to figure out how to get into that bunker.” V said, clearly annoyed that a feast fit for a king hiding behind a larger door that none of the drones could break. 

“Well, V if you have ideas on how to get it feel free to share.” J's tone made it clear she did not like her tone, and V did not like J’s either. 

N did not seem to care as he stood between the two drones about to get into a catfight. His eyes wondered about it until something caught his eye, “Wow, a comet heading right our way.” Pointing towards the sky. 

“N shut up; the company shareholders are talking.” J shouted as she turned back to V preparing to lecture her until the words N said finally clicked in, “What the hell you mean-”  

J and V turn just in time to see something burning from reentry heading straight their way. Forming their wings, the three drones jumped out of the object's path as it smashed through the building, causing it to collapse.

“What in the name of our corporate overlords was that!” J shouted, genuinely caught off guard, and it seemed shared by the other two.  Regaining her composure, she ordered, “Let's find out.”

V followed alongside N, who followed the destruction caused by the falling object. They saw the object seem to hit the concrete street, but instead of digging into it, it skipped across it like a rock on water, and the object eventually stopped when it crashed into a wall.

Landed just right in front of the object J, and the other disassembly drones got a better look at it, and it was Metal Sonic. Metal was still turned off due to the blow it took from Sonic, and it did not seem damaged at all from burning on entering the atmosphere for smashing through a building. 

This was no drone they had ever seen, and it was pretty small, even smaller than some worker drones; their scanner detects a strange energy radiating off the robot. Was this some custom-made drone? Or was it made by a corporate rival, JCJensons?

V walked towards the still-turned-off Metal with her hands turned into large claws and her metallic teeth on display, “Well, no point in wasting a fresh snack.” Something pulled her back from her tail before she could bring her claw down onto Metal Sonic.

“Let me get a look, V.” J said as she walked past and crouched down to get a closer look, “besides, I don’t want you to accidentally destroy JCJenson's property.” she grabbed Metal by one of his spikes on the back of his head and took note he was pretty heavy.

As J scanned Metal N, he said, “I hope he still got some oil. The last few drones I ate did not have much.” N was still a bit hungry as he did not have his fill, which meant he was a bit hotter than he should be. 

J rolled her eyes as she kept scanning, and her hand glided across Metal’s smooth frame. A faint blush formed on her digital face; her fingers landed on Metal Sonic’s muzzle as she angled his head. So far, there was no marking to show who made this machine, although it had engraved the words Metal Sonic. Must be the machine's destination, J thought as she kept examining it with her hand still on Metal Sonic's Muzzle.

Metal, in this not fully conscious state, really liked the feeling of J’s hands on his muzzle; he began to rub against it like a cat getting head rubs, “Hue hue hue hue-”

The sudden noise coming from Metal startled Serial Designation J as she dropped Metal and began stopping on its head, screaming in shock. V and N watch, trying hard not to burst down laughing at the sight before them.

J collected herself taking note despite her stomping as hard she could not a single dent was made on Metal big head. She heard snickers coming from V and N as blush formed on her face as she turned to both annoyed and embarrassed.

“Not ONE word.” N did the zip lips gesture while V rolled her eyes as she walked closer to Metal to get a closure look herself.

“Well besides it love being petted did you find anything useful.” her teasing got J to glare at her which only brought a smile to V face, “Like if this guy got some oil hidden inside that cute little body of his?”

J shook her head, “No my sensor did not pick up any oil inside this.. Metal Sonic.”

“That a cool name.” N said only to get an eye role from his fellow murder drones.

V morph one hand into a gun and aimed it at Metal, “Well might as well make sure it dead.” as the drone unload road after round aimed directly at Metal large forehead. However the bullets bounce off or fell to the snow cover concrete floor.

“What the hell is this thing made of!?” V shouted, annoyed at Metal not being turned into Swiss cheese by her bullets. She prepared to pull out her bigger guns when J stopped her by grabbing her shoulder to calm her coworker down.

However before any drone could say anything a warner dashed across their screen. That the sun was rising and they need to return to the spire. J growl most as knowing how heavy Metal was it be to much a risk to carry him back specially on a time limit so they just left empty handed.

Metal remain lifeless on the street as raises of sunlight beamed across the frozen wasteland that was once called a city. Metal systems were still struggling to turn but luckily helped had arrived in the form of Sage.

She watched from afar and was prepared to fight those drones to get to her brother but they left in a hurry for reason she could not guess, was it related to the sun? Shaking her head as she flew towards Metal and got to work rebooting Metal proper.

Metal red eyes glown to life as he examines his surrounding with his scanner show many warning like the air having massive amount of radiation.  Metal stood up dusting himself before his crimson color eyes landed on Sage.

“Happy your still functional brother.”her smiled brought a smile to Metal’s non existent mouth but sadly her tone took a more serious tone, “Sadly we are light years away from Mobius and I can not connect with the eggnet.”

Metal made a beam sound as he look the side in shame, he knew if he was not so focus on destroying Sonic they would not be in this mess. Sage saw this and wanted to cheer her brother up,

“We all make mistakes brother. For now lets focus on getting a lay of the land and find shelter. I fear this planet is more dangerous than father predicted.” Sage had a feeling given that something cause all the lifeforms on this planet to be wiped out, along with those drones from earlier did not seem friendly.

Metal Sonic nodded as  he stat to hover in the air before rocketing into the city looking with Sage following as the two look for a spot to get a lay of the world the two were on. Welcome to Copper 9 Sage and Metal Sonic.

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.

Chapter Text

“You know you don’t have to join me in class.” Uzi said as Sage was floating on her left while Metal walked behind both on Uzi’s right. “Besides, why do you want to go to school? It is super lame.”

Sage glanced at Uzi and said, “I have never been to school, so I would like to see what it is like.” In truth, Sage wanted to come to ask the teacher some questions, seeing she had nothing to lose.

Uzi decided not to argue anymore, as it did not matter at this point, but she did have something to ask: “So, your brother designed it for combat, correct?” Sage simply nodded yes. Uzi asked, “You think he is capable of killing the murder drones that have been a plague on this rock of a planet?” 

Metal Sonic made a beeping noise and started scratching the bottom of his nose with his finger. He was confident he could easily handle those pesky murder drones; however, his Sister thought otherwise.

“While Metal is clearly more advanced than them and able to tank some of their weaponry, I don’t have enough data to say for certain Metal can defeat them, especially if they all team up against him.” Sage answered, leaving out other details, such as how Metal is not the best when he gets jumped by multiple fighters at once.

Uzi did not like that news, but figured it was getting too hopeful to assume these strangers from a place far from Copper 9 could solve all their problems. However, once her gun was finalized, along with Metal and Sage's help, the three could take out one or two of them, allowing Metal to finish them off. 

Uzi’s plans for murdering the evil drone were put on hold as she arrived at the entrance to her classroom, as the door slid open, allowing her, Metal, and Sage to pass through. Every one of Uzi’s classmates were there: Lizzie, the dumb blonde, Doll, the Russian girl, and, of course, her totally done-with-life teacher, Liam.

“Uzi, you arrived on time for once.” Liam said in a tone that would sound actually shocking if he did not sound like his soul was crushed under the weight of a dwarf star. “And your plus ones?”

Sage floated towards Liam’s desk, saw his name was Liam, and said, “Mister Liam if my brother and I would be too distracting for the class we can-”

“As long as you and your 'brother' don’t disrupt the class, you two should be fine to stay.” Liam did not care, but he did show some unease when looking at Metal Sonic, and he was not alone.

Sage nodded as she hovered after Uzi to her desk. Metal stood at the front of the class, still scanning the room, namely all remaining drones. He could feel their fear of him, likely sensing he was made for combat, like those Murder Drones that want to consume them. However, one stood out from the rest, one with purple hair, but it was more a dark blue in shade, along with red eyes.

Metal Sonic danger sensors were warning that she was a threat, but Metal was not sure why? She looked normal, like the rest of the drone. Metal moved his eyes off Doll and stood next to Uzi facing forward like the rest of the students as Liam began the class.

Doll’s scarlet eyes kept her eyes on that blue robot; she felt his gaze land on her, and she feared it might know she got powers unlike the rest of her classmates.

“Oh, I did not think you into the strong silent type Doll.” Teased Lizzie Doll’s friend. Doll knew Lizzie was messing with her, but it did not make Doll feel more relaxed. “Or are you worried about your cousin hanging out with a floating ghost girl and animal cosplayer?”

Doll glanced at Lizzie before returning her gaze to the back of Metal Sonic’s big head and said in Russian, (“That blue one is as dangerous as those killers that stalk outside waiting for us to welcome them in and accept are fate as prey.”)

There was a long pause between the two until Lizzie broke it by asking, “Do you think like goths or like a baddie like me?” All that Doll said flew over her head, which was not shocking to Doll. So she decides to play Tetris in her head as this boring class continues. 

The class began sharing their PowerPoints on the assignment Liam gave them last week, and it was Uzi turn, and the class was ready for whatever is cooking in that crazy gremlin mind of hers. Uzi started her presentation, and she explained how the planet fell due to human recklessness, but Sage could tell by how vague it was that likely the drones don’t know the exact details.

Sage can understand Uzi's annoyance at her father and the rest of the older drones not at least trying to fight back, but the A.I. realized quickly these drones were more human than she first assumed. 

“Anyway, That’s why my project is this sick as hell railgun.” Pulling it out and aiming at her classmates, which causes them to freak out. The only one who did not react was Doll, who was asleep, got bored with the class, and the Tetris game she was playing.

Sage, as she had no physical body, couldn’t be harmed, and Metal was too fast and not going to show fear to a child who had sharper edges than the ultimate life form. Uzi, seeing her classmates were growing concerned, said, 

“Easy, morons. It doesn't work.” Realizing what she said, and good old insecurity kicked in, causing her to freak out and activate the not railgun as it pulsed with energy as she laughed evilly. 

Liam, who was done with artificial life, said, “Uzi the homework was a word problem about buying watermelons.”

Uzi realized her mistake and became a bit sheepish, “Oh, and this magnetically amplified photon converger doesn’t count.” She already knew the answer, but it was worth trying.

While Liam spoke Sage kept an eye on the not railgun, Sage refused to call it that as it glowed green energy started to change to a red color. Sage and Uzi overlooked the risk of the gun overloading, forcing the A.I. to act quick.

“UZI, drop the gun!” Sage planned to form a shield around the gun to contain the explosion.

However, Sage’s shield was not as strong as she thought. The explosion shattered her shield, launching Uzi hard into the wall and shutting her down. Luckily, that was all the damage that was done.

Metal dash to check on Uzi, not because he cared, but Uzi was the only person who might be useful for getting him and Sage off this dead world and return to father, aka Eggman. Liam spoke,

“Sage, can you take Uzi to the nurse, please?” His tone did not change, and he did not show any concern for Uzi, which did not go unnoticed by Sage, but now was not the time.

Sage asked Metal to pick Uzi and the railgun up, and they headed to the nurse to ensure there were no internal damages due to the explosion. Sage could not help but pity, as it seems no one cares for her, even her own father. She knows her father Eggman loves her… but does he share that same love to her brothers? 

Elsewhere, a few hours later at the corpse spire, J had gotten up many hours before they were supposed to go out and hunt those sentient toasters that made this dead rock their home. 

J did this to check on the ship, make sure it was still in mostly one piece, check to see if anyone snuck in and that N and V were still asleep. J took note the sun was setting much faster than usual and seeing she got time to kill decided to take a gamble and head back to where they last saw that cute blue toaster.

It was tricky to avoid the sunlight, but eventually she arrived at the landing site of Metal Sonic and J was not to shock, he was gone. She tried to use her sensors to find any sort of trail? Sadly no. 

As J returns to the spire, thoughts of where it could have gone? J doubts the punker with those annoying toasters who refuse to accept their end, as she guesses it lacks the firepower to break in. And just to check, she did a quick visit to the bunker’s entrance and the door was still standing.

Once at the spire, she sat down pondering what to do as J waited for Moron and psycho to wake up so they could begin their hunt for that metal rodent. J thought Cyn’s offer for bringing that handsome blue rodent looking robot was very promising. 

However, J felt it was likely a rug pull and that monster will not offer the sign agreement they have-granted they did not sign anything but same thing-also did she just call that blue toaster hand-

“No stop that.” J said to herself, and she tried to bring order to the thoughts spiraling inside her metallic skull. “I need to talk to V.” 

J is aware of V and Cyn's deal as she overheard it and clue in on why V and N became so distant, likely due to V not being the same shy girl at the manor all those years ago. J thought, was she the same drone? She considered herself as her loyalty to Tessa was absolute but… Would Tessa see her as the same or a stranger wearing the face and name of J. Also why was she to be attractive to that stupid blue animal looking

That train of thought stopped when J heard movement outside, a sign the N and V were waking up. Taking a deep breath, J prepared as she exited the ship. Outside V and N were waiting with V examining her blade claws like a human girl examining her painted nails.

“Alright, your two new orders just came in last night.” This got N excited as he loved being told what to do, V did not react beside raising an eyebrow, “You two recall that strange blue toaster from yesterday?”

N nodded yes while smiled evilly, “Oh I can’t wait to rip open its metal shell and consume its soft internal circuits.” getting a bit too gleeful at the idea of ripping apart. 

“Unfortunately V we can’t do that as higher ups think it has value and want us to capture it” V was disappointed by this, but she also became suspicious on who really gave this order?

N decided to state the obvious, “Well, let's just go where we left him and will be.” Before N could take off into the air, J grabbed him by his tail and pulled him back to the ground causing it to belly flop onto the snow cover concrete.

“Moron, while you two were sleeping I checked and it either got up and left or one of the toasters snatched it up.” J hopped none of the worker drones that live in that stupid bunker found it otherwise they might have to be more proactive in finding a way in.

V meanwhile recalls how J seems to be drawn to that robot, making this disassembly drone wonder if this is a real order or one J made up so she can have it for herself? J has done that a lot like getting supplies for the pod they made their home or when J wanted a collection of JCJenson company pens to add to her collection. 

V tune back as J continues to speak and about the game plan for today, “Now your patrol routes are the same. HOWEVER!” As she said that, J glanced at V as she was the one that liked to go in guns blazing the most, “If this robot is active do not engage right away, report your location and if possible wait so we can all strike at once.”

V rolled her eyes in response, “Please, we don’t know it can even fight. For all we know it is just a recon drone not designed for combat.”

J did not share that same hopeful thinking, “I would not invest in that being true given that our usual tools are not as effective on it than the toasters we usually feast on.” J forced a smile on her metal face, “Besides it only one drone versus the three of us. Along with that if we do a great job capturing it the higher ups will reward us handsomely for their hard work.”

N got excited, maybe he will finally get a JCJenson pen of his own, while V remained suspicious more than before but played along for now. J told them to get to work and N wasted no time flying out the spire to look for the metal robot, leaving J and V alone.

J glanced at V happy to see she did not leave as she wanted to talk to her, but the expression plastered on V’s face was one of a clearly rebellious employed,

“Is there something you want to say, V?” J tries her best to remain professional as she does not want to start a fight with V as J needs to talk to her about what they do once they capture the drone hedgehog.

V's expression did not change as she answered J with, “What do you even see in that blue toaster?” curious on J thoughts and also poking to get some information on why her boss is giving them “fake” orders to capture it.

“Well he is very well-made a drone with a nice coat and paint clearly well-kept-” J process finally caught up what she was saying and stopped herself as glared at V, “Why are you asking personal questions while we are on the clock!?” J’s annoyance was plain as day on her metal face.

V chuckled and said, “Just curious, also good luck finding your boy toy. I am going to focus on the REAL objective.” V popped out her large metallic wings ready to fly when,

“Their CYN’S orders.” J said, almost shouting, but it was enough to stop V.

V took a moment to process what J said as dread washed over her. She tried to act cool as her wings disappeared and faced J, “What could she see in that cosplaying robot?” V had a few ideas, but they are all options that bring more dread to V's existent soul.

J’s face matched the worry that was clear as rain on V’s as she said, “She did not say, but I had to guess that the drone we found might be either an effective combat drone of some kind or just something interesting, and she wants.” J would not put it past that psycho for it to be a bit of both.

V yellow eyes hollowed out to process what this could mean for them, whatever Cyn sees in that thing is far from a good thing. J continue by saying,

“Cyn says if we capture it. She let us go.” She did mention Cyn returned Tessa to them, J lost her once, and she is not going to let anyone take her human away from her. It is selfish, but she can’t lose again the only person who gave her life any meaning.

V could sense that offer of Cyn’s was too good to be genuine, “You know she won’t let honor that deal. Even death can keep us away from her.” V said, gripping her shoulder tightly as tries not to break into a panic.

J thinks on what to say like any good manager should do to their underlings, eventually she has a plan, “The best and only option is capturing the drone. We don’t need to tell Cyn right away we have him, we can use that time to figure out what exactly Cyn sees in this drone.” 

V thinks this over, not sure why J says they should find it? Then it hit her, it was obvious but V did not want to get her hopes up from just saying it, but she had to know if J was thinking the same thing, 

“You think Cyn sees it as a threat to her?” J looked away as she did not want to get her hopes up either, but this drone might be the key for them to get any form of vengeance on the THING that took away their master.

J finally responded, “That is a likely possibility, but we won’t know until we capture it. If we do this V… there's no going back.” J tone made it clear to V that this might be their only shot to stop Cyn once and for all.

V for the first time in god knows how long had a genuine smile, “It can’t be worse, right?” J puts on a smile trying to hide her fear if they fail as for time she needs V to play along, “What about N?”

J forgot about that moron, honestly she is not concerned about him snitching, but he could become a problem. “We keep him in the dark. The less likely N starts getting more thoughts in his head, the less likely Cyn will sense something up.” 

V did not like J's tone when talking about N, but she can see in J’s eyes that her fellow drone is trying to remain calm. “I try to keep him in line. Should not be hard given he is chasing around like a lost puppy.” It was sad that V knows N still loves her like in the manor, but she is not the same worker drone he loved so long ago.

J nodded as the two flew out of the spiral and began their hunt, Meanwhile back inside the Bunker in Uzi’s room the gremlin herself was waking up finally after being knocked out from the explosion of her gun.

“Huh? Why am I-” Uzi noticed in front of her a digital wall with text written on it, it took her a minute to read what it said.

Uzi following the accident in class, me and Metal took you to the nurse. Sadly, she was busy, so I did the check-up myself. You were fine, I am sorry my shield failed to keep you safe.

Following the check-up, I order Metal to take you home. I am currently doing other things, so Metal is here to keep an eye on you. He has been ordered to keep you safe, but that doesn't mean send him to kill your classmates. — Sage

A smile snuck into Uzi’s face, it was a strange feeling to have people actually care for her well-being. Uzi hopped out of bed and walked over to her workplace and checked on her sick railgun, but she noticed quickly that her gun no longer had a power source, the battery burned out due to the overloading in class. 

The only place that might have a replacement for it would be possibly the ship those murderous monsters use to arrive on this planet. Which means going to the literal belly of the beast, Uzi wonders if life hates her? 

Uzi did not dwell on that as she picked up her weapon and cleared her head as she went to her father’s room to get Khan’s Door master key that he often keeps in there just in case. Uzi walked over and opened the door and attempted to reach it, but she could not feel it. Annoyed, she opened the door, and her purple eyes hollowed out when she saw no master key.

Uzi slightly panicked as she began looking for that stupid key leading her to the living room of the Doorman apartment, Metal Sonic was resting in the same chair as he was before the trio head to Uzi’s class.

Uzi glanced at Metal and asked, “Say Metal, have you seen a key card lying around?” Metal red glowing eyes gaze into her purple eyes for a nearly a minute, Uzi sigh and said, “Okay I take that as a-”

Metal pulled out the Door Master Key, he held between his metallic fingers. Uzi smiled as she walked over to take it, but then Metal opened his other hand and projected a message from Sage to Uzi.

“I had calculated that there was an 83% chance you would try to exit the bunker, 70% of said 83% is likely because you know to find a new power source for your weapon. 13% decide to take your chances, which are 97% likely to lead to your death.” Uzi starts pouting knowing Sage was right but does not want to admit it, “To make sure me and my brother's best help to get off this planet does not get herself killed I order my brother to guard the key until Khan returns home.”

Uzi let out a frustrating sigh, “AGH why you have to be such a tool.” Metal glanced away; she had no place judging him, he had no choice in the matter. His father made sure he could not even turn off without Eggman’s permission. 

“Fine. I bet your creators love how much of a good boy you are!” Uzi yelled become more angry than she thought as Uzi continued, “I try to EARN my father love but I know I will always be second place to FUCKING doors.” Uzi ran to her room, closing it behind her, leaving Metal Sonic in silence.

Metal let Uzi’s words sink in, part of him wanted to ignore them and continue on with his mission, but one part could not help but pity Uzi. In some ways, he can see a bit of himself. Like the need to prove himself to be loved by his father, the day Sage entered was the day Metal’s hopes of and dreams of being father’s favorite were dashed. 

Uzi in her room rested her back against her bed and got into a feeble position. She was so mad, sad, and just lonely. She understands Sage is worried about her, but killing those bastards or showing them they can no longer hide behind stupid doors, maybe only then will her father love her.

The door to her room open and Uzi looked up as she stared daggers into Metal Sonic. Was he here to send another message-

Metal tossed the Door Master Key next to Uzi, surprising her, following up by using his metallic thumb to point behind him, clearly meaning for them to get going. He was going to let go forward with her plan after all.

Uzi smiled as she picked up the key and rubbed the back of her spherical dome of her head, “Thanks.” Uzi let a smile form on her face, which caused Metal to use one of his metal claws to scratch the bottom of his nose like his organic copy.

The two exit Uzi’s room and the Doorman household as they start making their way to the Bunker’s entrance as Uzi shouted to get herself pumped, “Alright Metal, LETS GO MURDER SOME DRONES!!” followed by her typical evil laugh that might impress Eggman.

Metal started to have second thoughts but resolved himself to keep going, he hated sitting around waiting, rusting away inside a bunker doing nothing. He was designed for combat, to kill, and by robot god is he going to crush those that stand in his way.