At first, the world came to him in black and red. Lines of wireframe marked the perspective of the room- representing each minuscule dent in the wall- each tool or miscellaneous piece of machinery strewn about the room- each detail of a mustached man's face, staring at him intently, with a wide grin and jovial look plastered on his features.
Then, an explosion of color- further refining each of the world's details- the greyness of the metal vent covers, the vibrant blues of the sky outside the viewport window- the characteristic red tint of the man's nose.
As his vision processes completed their final startup checks- the rest of his mind came into action. His facial recognition software jolted into motion, and he recognized the man to be his creator, Doctor Ivo Robotnik. His auxiliary sensors burst to life- the silent droning noise of machinery filling his artificial ears and the feeling of hard steel beneath his talons filling his false nerves.
And then, at last, his primary systems came online.
[METAL SYSTEMS ONLINE.]
[PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: SURPASS SONIC THE HEDGEHOG.]
[SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: PROTECT DOCTOR ROBOTNIK AND THE EGGPIRE.]
[TERTIARY DIRECTIVE: eggLang.exception.null]
[INQUIRY: WHAT HAPPENED?]
Through the reflection in the man's glasses- Metal watches his inquiry appear on a screen behind him. He notes that he happens to be wired into the base's systems at the moment- and that his frame is pristine, as if it were brand new.
He notes that it may, in fact, be brand new.
"Ah, Metal! You're conscious! I really need to invest in faster drives- your startup sequence took a very long time..."
Eggman clears his throat.
"Anyways- you sustained very heavy damage in your last fight with that blasted hedgehog- too, heavy damage, really. It wasn't... worth it, per say, to repair your previous frame- so I have transferred you into a new one! Go on, get a feel for it! I've included many features you previously lacked- before you ask, no, still no voice chip. I've been having issues getting those working..."
Metal raises a clawed hand into his vision, staring downwards. He's taller now- presumably to not be outdone by the loathsome organic copy, who had been growing steadily over the years- his turbine is in pristine condition, and he has the most curious sense of touch, now. He reaches over with his other hand- experiencing the feeling of dragging his claw against his palm- the sharp, biting sensation.
It is most intriguing. He turns to his creator with as much of a look of gratitude as he can muster. Unfortunately, his expressions are rather limited- but he hopes the message is gotten across regardless.
"I'm glad you enjoy your upgrades! You know, I never realized just how behind you were with my technology- I mean, I haven't given you any proper touch ups in... well, too long! For my greatest creation, you were overdue for an overhaul."
Greatest creation. The praise is somewhat lost on the machine, however, it appreciates it regardless. It nods hesitantly- attempting to disconnect itself and stand up.
"Woah, woah now. Calm down there, Metal- you're still not calibrated for these new systems- it may be a bit hard to-"
Metal feels as the cables disconnect, and plummets to the floor. His legs seem to operate on different control schemes, now.
After a moment of re-calibration- Metal feels the servos in his legs straining to pull him back upright. They succeed, and he reorients himself- his optical scanners intaking the rest of the room as he turns to Robotnik, awaiting further instruction.
"Eager to get back to it, huh? Well- unfortunately, I've got nothing for you to do right now. Say- why don't you go orient yourself around the base? These forests can be confusing to navigate..."
--------------
Flying through the trees was... difficult. Too difficult for Metal's liking.
He was still adjusting to his new chassis- and his old turbine was simply inadequate to carry him at the speeds he was used to- much to his chagrin. He felt weighed down- a feeling he was not going to get used to for a while.
[CRUISING VELOCITY REACHED.]
That was it? This was his turbine's cruising speed? Despite his speedometer reading quite the velocity, he felt like he was hardly at a jogging pace. No- this simply wouldn't do. He began to try and push his turbine further-
His speed gradually increased, however, the stress on his body increased in turn. As he began to rocket between the trees and brush- his turbine's overthrottle was starting to drain on it-
[WARNING: MAXIMUM SAFE VELOCITY REACHED.]
THIS was his limit? No. Disregarding the warning- he continued to try and speed up- his turbine struggling to meet his ever increasing demands...
Finally. This was befitting of him. He soared through the air at breakneck speeds- but his systems couldn't handle it for long- and as quickly as that euphoria arrived...
[OVERHEAT. EMERGENCY SHUTTING DOWN TURBINES.]
Metal began to rapidly lose speed- his speedometer tanking as he came to a stumbling halt amongst the brush. He curses himself as he feels the heat of his turbine stifling the air around him- and light smoke emitting from the back of it. The doctor would not be pleased with him damaging his new shell already... and he was not pleased with himself, either.
He had let his need for speed get ahead of orders.
[ERROR NOTED. RESOLVING.]
He wouldn't again.
However- it still lingered within him- and, with his turbine engine now under duress- he couldn't rely on it to carry him home. Though it DID seem that his legs had gotten an upgrade- their control schemes must have been different for a reason. And so- he began to run, normally- back through the forest, towards the base. He had taken a bit of a winding path coming here, but returning in a straight line was optimal- and he didn't wish to discover the limits of his legs by dallying about as that would leave him stranded.
Revving to life- he sprints onward- slashing branches and thistles out of the way with his sharp claws- and, nearly passing through a clearing- when something calls for him to stop. His heavy metal shoes dig into the ground as he skids to a halt- the opening within the trees giving way to quite the scenic view of hills in the distance.
But that was not why he had stopped- no. He had stopped because of the pink mass of pixels in his visual scanners- leaning against a tree across the breach.
--------------
Amy was tired. She'd been hard at work for days- assisting Tails with his newest project, of which the two-tailed fox seemed to never sleep on- and she was desperately in need of a break. Preferably, one out of the way of everyone for a while...
And luckily, she had just the spot! Sneaking out of Tails' workshop- he had passed out on his desk again, and she had laid a blanket over his shoulders- she makes her way out of the town and into the forests. She has a basket held in her hands- containing a picnic blanket and a few small food items for her to snack on while she distracts herself from her life's recent stresses.
As she paces through the brush, she hears a low rumble in the distance- but pays it no mind, assuming it to merely be something from Tails' workshop- that she did NOT wish to deal with right now. She reaches her clearing, and takes a seat beneath one of the towering trees- laying out her picnic blanket and sighing.
The morning passes by and the afternoon arrives- and, having finished the small lunch she brought for herself, she packs up the basket and simply sits, taking in the sounds around her with her eyes closed.
The chirp of birds! The ribbit of a distant frog- the racket of crickets in the grass, and-
The soft thud of heavy weight against the dirt. Confused, her eyes snap open, and she turns to the source of the noise-
Only to see Metal approaching her. She panics- stumbling back a bit- and raises a hand to block her face...
It was taking a long time to capture her as it usually did. She slowly lowered her arm, meeting the scary gaze of the robot, both locked in a moment of confused silence.
"...Aren't ya gonna... k-kidnap me, or somethin'...?"
The robot shakes its head- beeping negatively.
"Oh..."
Somehow, she understands this beep fully.
"Well! I'm not busy-"
She pats the grass next to her, and scoots to the side slightly.
"I've got time to listen."
--------------
Confused, Metal took a seat next to the pink hedgehog- not even really understanding why he had listened to the command. He, unsurprisingly, ends up not being the one to talk as much- and simply sits there, an odd feeling of contentedness within his matrices as he listened to Amy Rose vent about her recent frustrations and gush over every little thing. He expressed some visible annoyance when she spoke of his loathsome copy- which, he noted, managed to pull a giggle from her.
Why was she acting so... [DEFINITION FOUND]- amicable towards him?
[NOTE ADDED: AMY ROSE]
[CONFUSING.]
He found himself staring at her blankly- taking in each minute detail of her appearance. By the time she had stopped talking, he was convinced he could create a full, 3D model exclusively from the data collected by his sensors- and he wasn't entirely sure why. He convinces himself that it was due to the organic notion of eye contact during conversations.
Eventually, she had run out of things to say, and she sighed tiredly. The afternoon sun was now beginning to droop- and his turbine had thankfully cooled down in the interim. He began to devise a route to return to base, however, her annoyingly cheery voice interrupted his inner machinations-
"Well- it was nice to have someone here to listen to my ranting, for once!"
...He simply lets out a computerized tone in response.
"Yeah, well, even if you say you don't care- I can see through you, silly robot!"
See through him? Had he become translucent somehow? No. That was illogical. His apparent confusion caused her to emit another giggling sound-
"Anyways... thanks!"
She grabs hold of the interwoven wood basket beside her, standing and waving to him cheerfully as she sprints off back towards, presumably, her 'base of operations'- her home, Metal recalls.
...
[NOTE ADDED: AMY ROSE]
[CONFUSING | INTRIGUING]
With that, Metal stands back up- his servos snapping out of their stillness, and he carefully fires up his turbine engine- flying back to home turf, mind lost in thought.
He had no idea at that time what exactly was to come- or that this would not be the last instance of a chance encounter with that pink hedgehog.
As he re-entered the secret outpost, he noted that his creator was consumed in his work- and, as per protocol, decided not to disturb him with his return. He simply paced silently through the hall- past the crowded workshops and into a small, side room- built just for him. A charging bay contained within it was his target- and it had been recently upgraded to fit his new height. Slotting into the capsule, his visual feed cuts out as he seals himself away for the day.
