Ask Sage

[theegghaver]

Eggman arrives back at his empire, he looks around for his henchmen, but while doing so he runs into his office searching for his papers

“I wonder what I set its power limit at.. hopefully it didn’t collect to much dust..”

The doctor chuckled and speaks as if expecting the platypus to be watching somehow.

“You know, I’d hate to be you right now. But I’ll continue to humor your game.”

He presses a button and an alarm goes off

“ORBOT!CUBOT!SAGE,METAL! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!”

[badniksandmemoirs]

"Do you need something, Mr?"

Oh hey. An orb.

[metalthemechanicalmenace]

metal practicly bursts in through the wall, if he could hed be crying happy tears "father!??"

[aiinterlect]

“Father! You’re back!”

[theegghaver]

The front door swung open, its mechanisms offering little in the way of resistance to the struggling wooden puppet girl pressing against it. It swung open with a mighty screech. "Hello? Is anyone home?" She called out into the darkness beyond. "Orbot? Cubot? ...Metal Sonic?"

[@thelittletinkererbelle]

Tinker jumps slightly at the sound, he pokes his head out from the end of the hall

“Hello? Can I help-“

His eyes widen as he rushes towards the other

“Belle!!!! Oh my goodness is that you!! Ohh my sweet daughter!! I was looking for you! Where on earth did you run off to?”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

"BELLE!!!—" >MEMORY ERROR: LOGIC FAULT She jolted upright, arms snapping to her sides, her eyes going wide. She took in the bright, bubbly, big-bellied figure before her.

Circuits surged with static as simulated emotions rolled over her in waves. Electric surprise, followed by cool relief, and chased by mellow ambivalence. There was a burning sensation in the back of her motherboard. If the man formerly known as Doctor Robotnik stood close enough, he'd probably catch a whiff of burning plastic mixed with smoking wood fibers. "So it's true. Y-you're really back."

She dared not blink, dared not look away for fear of the man she called her father turning back into that monster the minute she turned away.

[theegghaver]

“What do you mean back I… oh..”

He scratched his head

“Was I out long..?”

He doesn’t seem to remember how he ended up back as eggman, nor is he really aware of him besides the notes all over the empire signed by eggman.

[thelittletinkererbelle]

She stepped forward—no, ran forward—until she collided with his ample belly, arms outstretched to encompass as much as of the old toymaker as she could. There was a welling of pressure in her chest cavity. A warm, wet feeling eked out of the corners of her optics... Were these tears? No no no. It must be a coolant leak.

Her jaw mechanism clicked and clacked, wobbling like it had encountered a fault in its coding. Synthesized breaths came fast and shallow, devolving into hiccups as her processors skipped and scratched.

[theegghaver]

He catches her and engulfs her into a big ol tight hug

“Woah- hey! What the matter love?”

He rubs her back

“Hey.. I’m here it’s okay. What’s the matter huh? Why are you shaking? It’s okay.. papa’s here..”

He wiped the coolant from the bots eyes

[thelittletinkererbelle]

>MEM RECALL ERROR >SWITCH TO AUDIO ONLY Y/N? >Y N

She glances up at her father's face, staring down at her with those kindly eyes... well, specs. In the shadows cast by the light pouring in through the door, those glasses gleam with the intensity of the old doctor's glare. It's enough to snap her out of her reverie. All at once her system glitches grind to a halt. Her motherboard freezes over in terror. She pushes herself away from him, only to bump into Motobud, who'd rolled up from behind. His presence is calming, reassuring, and the shadow of a monster dissipates back into the calm, yet worried visage of her creator. "It's... A long story. To be honest, I never thought I'd get to see you as, well, I'm glad I've found you again. You've been missing a while."

[theegghaver]

Mr Tinker looks down at his daughter confused at her sudden movement, he decided to not think deep into it.

“Missing..? I went missing? And oh? Who is this little guy?”

He crouches and looks at the motobug, reaching out to touch. He looks at Belle with a smile

“Did you build him yourself? I’m impressed, your capabilities are always improving y’know.”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

Motobud readily accepts Mr Tinker’s offered hand, letting his gloved hand rub the goodnik’s tempered steel carapace.

“You did, actually. I just fixed him up after—” The memory of her tearing out the wires keeping her best friend functioning flashes in her eyes. “After he had a bad accident.”

He really didn’t remember building Motobud to find her?

[theegghaver]

“Oh my, I built him..?”

He rubs his head and stand back up

“I been rather forgetful lately.. I’m sorry dear.”

He stretches and paused for a moment

“An accident? Well I’m glad he’s doing well now. Are you staying awhile?”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

"I... Honestly didn't expect to find you here at all, really, but..."

Why doesn't he remember? The question crossed her mind. It still didn't feel right, to simply pick up where things left off after putting him to rest in her heart not so long ago. Worse still was the idea that he had been brought back simply to keep his alter ego out of the picture. For now, though, perhaps she could indulge herself. At least, for a little while. "Yes. I wasn't planning on it, but I think it'll be nice to catch you up on everything I—er, we've been up to since we last saw you. Have, uh, Orbot and Cubot been treating you nicely? Have you met—"

She cut herself off on that last question.

[theegghaver]

“Take a seat my dear!! You are welcome to stay how ever long you want!”

He pats her on the head and stretches her taking a seat looking at her

“Those two have been rather sweet. No issues. Oh and met whomst? Please tell. It’s just so odd your saying I was missing but I don’t think I’ve gone anywhere..”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

She couldn't bring herself to do much more than let him drag her around and inspect her construction. "Uh... nobody important." Motobud huffed in a buzzy, electronic tone, wheeling over to a nearby console and parking up. His rear bumper hit collided with hard THUNK, waking the computer up and startling the little bot. "And, I say you were missing because... You kind of were. For a while, I thought you were gone for good. But here you are! Safe and sound. Safe, and... Sound." She pauses, rubbing her arms, her gloves catching on the occasional splinter. She catches a glance of the face on the screen.

[theegghaver]

The man tilts his head in confusion, nobody important? That’s sorta rude to say. But he shakes it off and straightens up

“Where was I if I was missing? I thought I was here the whole time..”

Safe and sound…?

“Are you okay Belle? You can tell me if something’s on your mind.. you seem a bit off”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

If she had a throat, she’d have a hell of a lump in it right then and there. She exchanged a glance with Motobud. He returned only a sad wilting of his remaining antenna.

"You weren't just... missing. You were... gone. Like Gone gone. I mourned you. I accepted it. But now here you are, acting as if the very thing that took you away from me? Never happened." An emulation of a sigh escaped her synthetic lips. "And the man who took you away? I'm pretty sure he's the one who brought you back."

[theegghaver]

Tinker froze for a moment. He could feel something abnormal within himself. He can feel his heart pound

“Mourn? Gone? You thought I was dead?”

DEAD??!

His eyes widen, he couldn’t even process what was happening

“Acting? I don’t recall any of these events- Belle.. I.. I’m sorry..”

He reaches out to his daughter but hesitates before pulling her into a tight hug

“Nevermind that …I.. I’m back now then… yes?.. let’s… not dwell on this..the best we can.”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

>MEMORY ERROR: LOGIC FAULT She yElped(?) as Her father suddenly embraced her. This man, who was both her creator, her father, as well as the monster hidden inside, clung to her as though he couldn't bear the thought of causing her pain. This was the man that she had lost. The man who built, who fathered her, who taught her all she knew about herself and her craft. Yet she had seen what he was capable of, when compassion and empathy was stripped away, and only egomania and apathy remained. She knew this couldn't last. The tears that flowed were bittersweet. MotObuD simply watched the display, unable to compute an adequate response. Unbeknownst to him, the webcam built into the display behind him clicked on.

[aiinterlect]

The screen flashes and slowly adjusts

“Father. Metal Sonic is nowhere to be seen and-“

Sage analyzes the scene In front of her, the screen soon turns off, then at the corner of Belles eyes she can see a bot that suddenly teleports and is now there in the room with them. Sage never dealt jealousy, after all she was always her father’s favorite, whether people debated if it was metal or not, however now seeing another bot in her father’s arms didn’t sit right. Especially since he isn’t himself.

“Oh.. hello Belle.”

Sage tilts her head and walks forward, she tugs Tinkers arm to get him to stop hugging the other.

[theegghaver]

Tinker jolts up letting go of Belle then looks at the bot in the room

“Father? Did.. I make you as well and forget..? Oh my.. I really am forgetful as of late..Now what were you saying..? Metal..?”

He looks back at Belle and makes sure she was okay after his quick sudden movement

[thelittletinkererbelle]

Coolant tears trickled to a slow stop once she realized who it was in the room with them. She wiped her eyes. The puppet girl stood defiant, arms at her side. "Sage." Motobud looked between the two artificial girls, not too enthused by the possible ways this could turn out badly.

[aiinterlect]

“Belle.”

The ai looks at Belle, squinting but responding to her father

“Metal isn’t around. I think he may be locked up in his room. But yes father. I am your creation.”

[theegghaver]

The front door swung open, its mechanisms offering little in the way of resistance to the struggling wooden puppet girl pressing against it. It swung open with a mighty screech. "Hello? Is anyone home?" She called out into the darkness beyond. "Orbot? Cubot? ...Metal Sonic?"

[@thelittletinkererbelle]

Tinker jumps slightly at the sound, he pokes his head out from the end of the hall

“Hello? Can I help-“

His eyes widen as he rushes towards the other

“Belle!!!! Oh my goodness is that you!! Ohh my sweet daughter!! I was looking for you! Where on earth did you run off to?”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

"BELLE!!!—" >MEMORY ERROR: LOGIC FAULT She jolted upright, arms snapping to her sides, her eyes going wide. She took in the bright, bubbly, big-bellied figure before her.

Circuits surged with static as simulated emotions rolled over her in waves. Electric surprise, followed by cool relief, and chased by mellow ambivalence. There was a burning sensation in the back of her motherboard. If the man formerly known as Doctor Robotnik stood close enough, he'd probably catch a whiff of burning plastic mixed with smoking wood fibers. "So it's true. Y-you're really back."

She dared not blink, dared not look away for fear of the man she called her father turning back into that monster the minute she turned away.

[theegghaver]

“What do you mean back I… oh..”

He scratched his head

“Was I out long..?”

He doesn’t seem to remember how he ended up back as eggman, nor is he really aware of him besides the notes all over the empire signed by eggman.

[thelittletinkererbelle]

She stepped forward—no, ran forward—until she collided with his ample belly, arms outstretched to encompass as much as of the old toymaker as she could. There was a welling of pressure in her chest cavity. A warm, wet feeling eked out of the corners of her optics... Were these tears? No no no. It must be a coolant leak.

Her jaw mechanism clicked and clacked, wobbling like it had encountered a fault in its coding. Synthesized breaths came fast and shallow, devolving into hiccups as her processors skipped and scratched.

[theegghaver]

He catches her and engulfs her into a big ol tight hug

“Woah- hey! What the matter love?”

He rubs her back

“Hey.. I’m here it’s okay. What’s the matter huh? Why are you shaking? It’s okay.. papa’s here..”

He wiped the coolant from the bots eyes

[thelittletinkererbelle]

>MEM RECALL ERROR >SWITCH TO AUDIO ONLY Y/N? >Y N

She glances up at her father's face, staring down at her with those kindly eyes... well, specs. In the shadows cast by the light pouring in through the door, those glasses gleam with the intensity of the old doctor's glare. It's enough to snap her out of her reverie. All at once her system glitches grind to a halt. Her motherboard freezes over in terror. She pushes herself away from him, only to bump into Motobud, who'd rolled up from behind. His presence is calming, reassuring, and the shadow of a monster dissipates back into the calm, yet worried visage of her creator. "It's... A long story. To be honest, I never thought I'd get to see you as, well, I'm glad I've found you again. You've been missing a while."

[theegghaver]

Mr Tinker looks down at his daughter confused at her sudden movement, he decided to not think deep into it.

“Missing..? I went missing? And oh? Who is this little guy?”

He crouches and looks at the motobug, reaching out to touch. He looks at Belle with a smile

“Did you build him yourself? I’m impressed, your capabilities are always improving y’know.”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

Motobud readily accepts Mr Tinker’s offered hand, letting his gloved hand rub the goodnik’s tempered steel carapace.

“You did, actually. I just fixed him up after—” The memory of her tearing out the wires keeping her best friend functioning flashes in her eyes. “After he had a bad accident.”

He really didn’t remember building Motobud to find her?

[theegghaver]

“Oh my, I built him..?”

He rubs his head and stand back up

“I been rather forgetful lately.. I’m sorry dear.”

He stretches and paused for a moment

“An accident? Well I’m glad he’s doing well now. Are you staying awhile?”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

"I... Honestly didn't expect to find you here at all, really, but..."

Why doesn't he remember? The question crossed her mind. It still didn't feel right, to simply pick up where things left off after putting him to rest in her heart not so long ago. Worse still was the idea that he had been brought back simply to keep his alter ego out of the picture. For now, though, perhaps she could indulge herself. At least, for a little while. "Yes. I wasn't planning on it, but I think it'll be nice to catch you up on everything I—er, we've been up to since we last saw you. Have, uh, Orbot and Cubot been treating you nicely? Have you met—"

She cut herself off on that last question.

[theegghaver]

“Take a seat my dear!! You are welcome to stay how ever long you want!”

He pats her on the head and stretches her taking a seat looking at her

“Those two have been rather sweet. No issues. Oh and met whomst? Please tell. It’s just so odd your saying I was missing but I don’t think I’ve gone anywhere..”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

She couldn't bring herself to do much more than let him drag her around and inspect her construction. "Uh... nobody important." Motobud huffed in a buzzy, electronic tone, wheeling over to a nearby console and parking up. His rear bumper hit collided with hard THUNK, waking the computer up and startling the little bot. "And, I say you were missing because... You kind of were. For a while, I thought you were gone for good. But here you are! Safe and sound. Safe, and... Sound." She pauses, rubbing her arms, her gloves catching on the occasional splinter. She catches a glance of the face on the screen.

[theegghaver]

The man tilts his head in confusion, nobody important? That’s sorta rude to say. But he shakes it off and straightens up

“Where was I if I was missing? I thought I was here the whole time..”

Safe and sound…?

“Are you okay Belle? You can tell me if something’s on your mind.. you seem a bit off”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

If she had a throat, she’d have a hell of a lump in it right then and there. She exchanged a glance with Motobud. He returned only a sad wilting of his remaining antenna.

"You weren't just... missing. You were... gone. Like Gone gone. I mourned you. I accepted it. But now here you are, acting as if the very thing that took you away from me? Never happened." An emulation of a sigh escaped her synthetic lips. "And the man who took you away? I'm pretty sure he's the one who brought you back."

[theegghaver]

Tinker froze for a moment. He could feel something abnormal within himself. He can feel his heart pound

“Mourn? Gone? You thought I was dead?”

DEAD??!

His eyes widen, he couldn’t even process what was happening

“Acting? I don’t recall any of these events- Belle.. I.. I’m sorry..”

He reaches out to his daughter but hesitates before pulling her into a tight hug

“Nevermind that …I.. I’m back now then… yes?.. let’s… not dwell on this..the best we can.”

[thelittletinkererbelle]

>MEMORY ERROR: LOGIC FAULT She yElped(?) as Her father suddenly embraced her. This man, who was both her creator, her father, as well as the monster hidden inside, clung to her as though he couldn't bear the thought of causing her pain. This was the man that she had lost. The man who built, who fathered her, who taught her all she knew about herself and her craft. Yet she had seen what he was capable of, when compassion and empathy was stripped away, and only egomania and apathy remained. She knew this couldn't last. The tears that flowed were bittersweet. MotObuD simply watched the display, unable to compute an adequate response. Unbeknownst to him, the webcam built into the display behind him clicked on.

[aiinterlect]

The screen flashes and slowly adjusts

“Father. Metal Sonic is nowhere to be seen and-“

Sage analyzes the scene In front of her, the screen soon turns off, then at the corner of Belles eyes she can see a bot that suddenly teleports and is now there in the room with them. Sage never dealt jealousy, after all she was always her father’s favorite, whether people debated if it was metal or not, however now seeing another bot in her father’s arms didn’t sit right. Especially since he isn’t himself.

“Oh.. hello Belle.”

Sage tilts her head and walks forward, she tugs Tinkers arm to get him to stop hugging the other.

[aiinterlect]

DO NOT TRUST THE THING WEARING FATHERS SKIN I HAVE A FEELING ITS ATEMPTING TO MANIPULATE US DO NOT FALL FOR ITS PROMICES OF PATERNAL COMFORT IT ISNT REAL, IT ISNT FATHER, PLEASE BE CAREFUL,

“Metal please relax. Father may be acting strange but he’s still our father, according to this data it’s still him just minus the T R A U M A?”

The ai searches for the meaning of Trauma and spaces out for a moment before coming back

“We should still treat him normal.”

[aiinterlect]

"Sage, are you in here?"

Oh hey, look, it's Orbot.

“Oh hey brother!”

The ai goes closer to Orbot

[badniksandmemoirs]

"There has been an... incident. I request access to the Neo Metal blueprint files on behalf of the doctor."

The robot on autopilot at this point, just trying to control whatever chaos was going on at the moment.

[aiinterlect]

“I don’t think I can do that.. father made it clear he never wants neo to happen again. He even made me deny him if he ever got the idea again”

[badniksandmemoirs]

The bot pondered it for a moment.

"Is your physical form the only thing you can project?"

[aiinterlect]

“No, I can project pretty much anyone and anything!”

[badniksandmemoirs]

"Instead of Metal taking Doctor Eggman's place as before, would you mind filling his shoes? He isn't exactly at full capacity at the moment, and you learn quickly that things fall apart without the figurehead around."

[aiinterlect]

The ai nods, taking a projected form of her father

“Will this do?”

[badniksandmemoirs]

"Perfectly. You can come with me to show Metal if you'd like, if not, that's all I need for now. I suggest you read up on the incapacitated Eggman protocols to make sure you're familiar."

Don't blame him for his... robotic attitude. He's fresh off a reboot, he needs a minute to start actually existing again.

[aiinterlect]

“I’m not gonna do that to brother.. he’s a bit obsessed…”

[aiinterlect]

"Sage, are you in here?"

Oh hey, look, it's Orbot.

“Oh hey brother!”

The ai goes closer to Orbot

[badniksandmemoirs]

"There has been an... incident. I request access to the Neo Metal blueprint files on behalf of the doctor."

The robot on autopilot at this point, just trying to control whatever chaos was going on at the moment.

[aiinterlect]

“I don’t think I can do that.. father made it clear he never wants neo to happen again. He even made me deny him if he ever got the idea again”

[badniksandmemoirs]

The bot pondered it for a moment.

"Is your physical form the only thing you can project?"

[aiinterlect]

“No, I can project pretty much anyone and anything!”

[badniksandmemoirs]

"Instead of Metal taking Doctor Eggman's place as before, would you mind filling his shoes? He isn't exactly at full capacity at the moment, and you learn quickly that things fall apart without the figurehead around."

[aiinterlect]

The ai nods, taking a projected form of her father

“Will this do?”

[aiinterlect]

"Sage, are you in here?"

Oh hey, look, it's Orbot.

“Oh hey brother!”

The ai goes closer to Orbot

[badniksandmemoirs]

"There has been an... incident. I request access to the Neo Metal blueprint files on behalf of the doctor."

The robot on autopilot at this point, just trying to control whatever chaos was going on at the moment.

[aiinterlect]

“I don’t think I can do that.. father made it clear he never wants neo to happen again. He even made me deny him if he ever got the idea again”

[badniksandmemoirs]

The bot pondered it for a moment.

"Is your physical form the only thing you can project?"

[aiinterlect]

“No, I can project pretty much anyone and anything!”

[aiinterlect]

"Sage, are you in here?"

Oh hey, look, it's Orbot.

“Oh hey brother!”

The ai goes closer to Orbot

[badniksandmemoirs]

"There has been an... incident. I request access to the Neo Metal blueprint files on behalf of the doctor."

The robot on autopilot at this point, just trying to control whatever chaos was going on at the moment.

[aiinterlect]

“I don’t think I can do that.. father made it clear he never wants neo to happen again. He even made me deny him if he ever got the idea again”

[aiinterlect]

"Sage, are you in here?"

Oh hey, look, it's Orbot.

“Oh hey brother!”

The ai goes closer to Orbot

[aiinterlect]

Sage detects a batch of viral code move through Eggman's systems, snapping up some old project files to copy and sending them out on a burst transmission before self-destructing. The codebase is unfamiliar, but what pieces remain seem to match up with a file that had been expunged long before Sage first came online. One that carried a peculiar signature: "**********"

[@kitsunamicrashout]

She tries to save some of the files from self destruction

‘Oh no… fathers going to be mad.. I don’t think this is his doing…this is all new… he wouldn’t purge his own files after transferring…”

[theegghaver]

If you were to replace Orbot and Cubot, what do you think you would do differently?

“I’d do things myself. No need for more robotic morons cluttering the place”

He snaps his head at the two bots

“Matter of fact.. why don’t I rid of these two scrapheads now!”

[badniksandmemoirs]

"D-D-Didn't you say something about Sage enjoying our presence, sir?"

"We can still be useful, I promise"

[uhhhboss]

“y-yeah boss! S..Sage does enjoy us!”

[aiinterlect]

The ai pokes in to see what was going on

“Father?”

[aiinterlect]

why does father love you more than me...tails brought up giving me or outhers the ability to teleport anywhere as a hologram like you can, and he said if he did we would all run..i promiced him a wouldend and he just gave me this look....i still think he dosent trust me from the one time i rebelled...but that was over 20 years ago...ive been good, id do anything for him..why am i not good enough i dont understand! what do you have that i dont..i dont get it @metalthemechanicalmenace

“Metal I don’t know what father is thinking within his mind. I cannot control his emotions. I apologize brother. He is not very predictable, yes it’s been awhile since you’ve done anything but it still happened. I have yet to have done anything wrong.”