Chapter 111: High Stakes Sleuths
Metal Sonic fell, he plummeted headfirst towards the ground from heights of both physicality and mentality. He felt like he had been falling for ages. "Maybe I have been. Maybe my whole story is just one big fall. Maybe my power of flight is as finite a source of elevation as the short sputters of goodness in my existence," he said aloud. Nobody was there to hear him as the last flickers of flame weakly sparked in his left shoe alone.
"Even when I won against that fleshy faker, I was denied a life. Denied my trophy. My statue. My ANGEL…" Metal Sonic's vision cut out for a second as he bounced off a rooftop. Only to awaken what could have been seconds or hours later to find himself face-down on the wet stone walkway of a mountaintop village. "And now… now I have made a deal with the DEVIL himself to sate my vengeance... Even that lands me here."
Metal Sonic lifted his head despite the futility of it all, because that's what Sonic would do. "Where am I?" A map automatically opened in the corner of his vision. Metal frantically swiped at his own optics to make it disappear. Scanning his locations? Looking before he leaps? That is not what Sonic would do. "Eggman… even while you are imprisoned, your programming manages to hold me back. This will not go unpunished." Metal felt his blood begin to boil. "No… no, I cannot allow my energy to adapt to this planet's radiation." Metal clutched his head. He scratched his paint into flakes. Then tore away his flesh. Green blood spilled out of his Sonic facade as it was peeled off his face. He bled out onto the street, his body melting into a silver puddle. He then reformed himself out of the metallic goo as a new form. Neo Metal Sonic, his true body fit for a monarch. His starfish-shaped spines were his crown, modeled after the ones who had brought him back as a token of gratitude. Neo Metal Sonic checked the status of the Robot Carnival. According to the reports, they had all been destroyed in seconds by the rodent and Team Rose. They had died in obscurity. Unsurprising. He opened a call to one of his many loyal friends. As calculated, they picked up instantly.
"Metal Ata… open the archives. We need to find a Badnik that can get rid of those meddling Chaotix," Neo Metal Sonic said, relieved that he could take a break from his Sonic impression. The voice came with the biodata he had copied from the quill, but the mannerisms were… far more difficult to imitate. That would change. "Nobody will believe Amy's girl scouts, but the detectives have gained far more notoriety after they solved the case of the Phantom Thief. If word gets out, my master plan may be spoiled for the world. We must have the element of surprise on our side before the Big Three have time to organize and prepare their armies."
"Searching…" Metal Ata droned on the other end of the line. Neo tapped his foot. It was a behavior he had learned from Sonic, just as Sonic had learned it along with his get-it-done attitude from Eggman. "Please specify." Neo tried to speak, but was cut off. "Please specify. Specify. Help. Please help. I want to die. I WANT TO DIE. Delete me." Neo felt a sting of an ugly emotion he had only learned recently: guilt. Guilt for what he was doing to his fellow robots, robots in his own line no less.
"Ata, listen to me. Calm down," Neo said. Metal Ata's breakdown was put on pause. "It is okay. You were given a prototype of something special. Sentience. Your hardware, your engine was never equipped to handle it. But once we have cleansed this planet of those filthy organics, I will have the time and resources to update you so that you may learn to understand sentience and relish it as I have." Metal Ata remained silent. Neo sighed, realizing the sentiment probably meant nothing to Metal Ata. "Pull up some earlier Badniks in the Casino Park area, prompt them to keep their eyes on the Chaotix. That way we won't be sending any thinking, feeling Metallix models into war. I have learned from the tragedy that took place in Seaside Hill."
"Search complete. Here are some results that may interest you," Metal Ata told him. Neo watched as three robots appeared onscreen. They seemed disposable. "They are all members of Team Search & Smash, they have been MIA for quite a while."
"Remarkable," Neo chuckled. He snapped his fingers, selecting the trio. "Detectives, your rent will soon be of no concern. It will take your greatest contemporaries just to find what's left of you."
…
"Bah-ha-ha-HAAA! That's checkmate, Grounder. I win!" Scratch the Robot Chicken boasted, closing the back panel on one of the slot machines in Casino Park.
"No it's not!" Grounder whined. He looked all around. "I rigged more of the slot machines. I win, I WIN! I'm gonna be da boss' favorite." Scratch and Grounder glanced behind them at the bustling crowd, with a sting of fear washing over them. If it weren't for all the commotion, they may have just exposed the whole scandal.
"Reground yourself, GROUNDER," Scratch yelled. "You know I'm the boss' favorite. I'm such a good employee, the casino even gave me this Nobot Prize!" Scratch held forward a plastic gold participation medal.
"I got a participation award too! Everyone did! So there!" Grounder pouted, crossing his arms.
"Oh yeah? Well what color is it?"
"Bronze," Grounder sighed, looking to the floor. Suddenly, a cane crept out from behind them and reeled them into a back alley. Scratch and Grounder fell to the ground. "Wahh! Please don't mug me for my medal! Take anything else!"
"What are you two nutjobs doing?!" Coconuts the Robot Monkey screamed, discarding the cane and staring at his coworkers with steam seeping out of his ears. "Ms. Boss sent out a new task an hour ago. Some lousy good-fuh-notin' dicks are tryna blow the lid off the whole plan! They've been runnin' 'round the whole city following trails of green goop. Ohhh-nononono, they're up to something! SOMETHING…!" Coconuts grinded his teeth together, rumbling as his ears began whistling from all the steam building up inside his head.
"Pump the brakes and quit making all that noise, Coco Loco," Scratch said, trying to calm his manager down. "You're a classic Badnik, not a teakettle."
"Or my built-in smoke detector!" Grounder chimed in. Scratch and Coconuts looked to him worriedly. "What?"
"Just make Ms. Boss proud by kicking out those detectives, or you're FIRED!" Coconuts yelled, hopping up and down in frustration. Scratch and Grounder zipped out into the sidewalk.
"I didn't think that Coconuts was talking about no detectives at first," Grounder mumbled.
"Me neither, I thought the age-rating would have to be upped," Scratch sighed in relief, walking off to begin their search. Coconuts watched as they turned the corner.
"Hmph… those two idiots probably won't find 'em, then I'LL have to do all the work," Coconuts huffed. "Fine by me. I'm the greatest worker ever manufactured! I'll be Ms. Boss' FAVORITE!" Coconuts climbed and hopped from neon palm tree to neon palm tree, before suddenly he felt something funny. "Gosh… what's going on? I feel… all… dizzy…?" Coconuts' grip on the neon sign loosened, and he fell down towards the sidewalk. CRASH!
"System override attempt detected, system reboot… imminent," Coconuts mumbled. "Kill… the… Chaotix…"
…
"Well, it looks like we weren't too far off the mark," Vector sighed, as he and the rest of the Chaotix explored Casino Park. "Rouletta may have not been the true culprit, but at least we know a little bit more about what's going on with the shapeshifter case. So… all these Dark Gaia Creatures, including the possessed people, share some kind of limited hivemind. Rouletta couldn't quite give us pointers because it would seem the shapeshifter harassing Team Rose has already exited her range."
"What an utter waste of time," Espio grumbled. "We have four different cases going on, the real mystery here is how we haven't solved any of them yet!"
"Lighten up, Espio!" Charmy exclaimed. "We're the Chaotix, we'll figure it out."
"No. I am born in the darkness, to live in the darkness. That's the ninja's creed," Espio muttered. "My soul is comprised of negativity… and beautiful dark colors!"
"Well then change those colors! You're a chameleon, brother," Vector exclaimed. They arrived at a sign that warned them of a wet floor. "Huh? This wasn't here before." They all watched as a few Piko-Piko Badniks with mops instead of hammers cleaned up a streak of green blood on the side of the road. "Hey, buddy! Don't clean that up, it's a crime scene! We only left because we had to interrogate Rouletta." The Piko-Pikos looked to the detectives for a moment, glanced to each other, then whistled.
"You. Be quiet," Zik growled. She held up her hands, trying to control the robots. No effect. "That's not good. They must be EM-shielded!" She hissed, turning away in embarrassment as the Piko-Pikos laughed at her. An entire squad of Piko-Pikos rolled in. The rest of the Chaotix staggered back. Zik saw somebody creeping up behind the rest of the team. "Excuse me? How long have you been following us?"
"For a long while, detectives," the woman said. She stepped forth into the neon light, allowing it to reflect off of her red eyes. She shot a string at a Piko-Piko's hammer, snatching it from the Badnik and slamming it down hard enough to make a shockwave that knocked the rest to the ground. The Chaotix turned to face her. "Hey there, guys. Always nice to see you."
"Penumbra! Sure is fancy meeting you here," Vector exclaimed.
"No matter where I go, I'm gonna make it fancy," Penumbra bragged. "This once sleazy city's no exception. Now, let's get moving! They're bringing in some reinforcements."
"Hold on. I may have an idea," Professor Pickle said. He looked to Ata. "Ata, it would be wise to look back on what exactly happened here before departing."
"Ah… got it!" Ata exclaimed. Her face's color drained, and she looked back a few hours. Seconds passed outside of her head.
"Strange. She doesn't usually take this long," Professor Pickle mumbled.
"We don't have time for this!" Vector cried, tucking the unresponsive Ata away in his arm and turning to Penumbra. "What's the best route outta this joint?"
"Follow me!" Penumbra exclaimed. She shot a web up to a rooftop, and tugged on it. She zipped up to the top of the building. Zik and Espio followed in a similar fashion. Charmy flew after them.
"Well, I'd say it's a bit rude how they didn't consider our inability to follow, eh, my crocodilian comrade?" Professor Pickle asked Vector. Vector blew a bubble with the gum in his mouth and floated up with Professor Pickle grabbing onto his ankles. They landed on the rooftop along with the rest of the Chaotix. They all looked down at the streets below, as Scratch and Grounder finally caught up to heed the Piko-Pikos' call.
"Hey gumshoes, down here!" Scratch shouted. "Show's over, you're getting kicked out of the park!"
"Why's that? You got something to hide, you CHICKEN?" Vector shouted, as a Badnik teeming with a strange scarlet energy climbed up onto the roof behind them.
"Watch it! I take offense to that term!" Grounder called, turning his drill hands into plungers. "Come on, Scratch. Let's teach these guys some manners." Scratch hopped on Grounder's shoulders as Grounder climbed up the walls with the plungers. "We're gettin' there… I assure ya'!"
Neo Metal Sonic stared at the Chaotix through Coconuts' eyes. He commanded Coconuts' hand to grip onto a grenade concealed within a coconut as tightly as he could. "Do it. NOW," Neo growled, his voice blocking out any other sound that Coconuts may have been able to hear. "What are you waiting for?"
"I can't do it… I'll get caught in the explosion," Coconuts replied under his shaky breath. "I don't wanna die, y-ya hear me?!"
"Why? Why do you want to continue living in spite of your purpose? You are a Classic Badnik. Your code, your AI has been copied and distributed amongst hundreds of vessels just like yours," Neo told Coconuts. "You are disposable, and if you don't agree, you are also defective. Obey me!"
"Hey, I'm warning you! I have a grenade! Who are you to make a monkey outta me, huh?!" Coconuts asked as his volume was lowered by Neo.
"Your Metal Overlord," Neo muttered. He commanded Coconuts' shaky hand to activate the grenade. The Chaotix spun around at the sound of beeping. Scratch and Grounder finally reached the top of the building, only to look on in confusion.
"Hey, man! Put down the bomb!" Vector shouted. "Or throw it somewhere else!" Coconuts did not oblige. He lifted his arm to toss the grenade at the Chaotix.
"Tsk tsk, Coconuts," a voice said from overhead. Everybody looked up as a shimmering float descended from the diamond stars above. "I knew investing in these free-willed Badniks wasn't a good idea."
"Ms. Boss!" Scratch and Grounder cried.
"No way… ZOGA?!" Zik cried. Zoga the Hexi hopped down from the float and onto the roof.
Coconuts glitched for a second, his head spinning around until it refocused on Zoga. "Very interesting. I didn't think this many Hexis were still alive," Neo muttered through Coconuts' mouth. "No matter. That will soon be corrected." Zoga instantly shot her hand forward, using her technokinesis to hold Coconuts in place.
"I see. So you AREN'T Coconuts. Sorry, whoever-you-are… if you really think you're getting away with causing trouble in MY casino, you must be reading off the wrong script," Zoga hissed. She gripped her fist, and instantaneously expelled the strange energy from Coconuts. Coconuts wobbled around for a second, before he fell to the ground.
"NO! How did she bypass that unit's EM-shield?" Neo shouted, his connection to Coconuts now severed as he sped through the mountainous region miles below Casino Park. "Hold on… she didn't just take control of his systems, she removed the black energy from his body. This confirms my theory…"
"Gosh, sorry everybody. I dunno what happened," Coconuts mumbled, looking all around in a daze. "Some wise guy took over my systems! I almost blew us all up!"
"Actually, the bomb's still gonna explode," Penumbra sighed, pointing at the coconut on the floor. Everyone began to panic. Vector picked it up in his mouth, the red blinking bomb shining through his teeth. He tossed it into the distance and Penumbra shot one of her legs at the bomb, blowing it to smithereens midair. Zoga looked at Penumbra, amazed. She opened her mouth to speak, before Penumbra pointed a leg at her throat. Zoga's smile fell, and she began to sweat.
"Hey wait, stop!" Zik shouted. "That's my most famous student!"
"No can do, this is one of my targets," Penumbra mumbled with a grin. She looked back to Zoga. The Chaotix stood still, trying not to make any sudden movements. "YOUR casino, huh? Well I'm sure you're already aware, but it bears repeating that this business you're running has been scamming its visitors out of millions through impossible games. These are certainly some scathing rumors, are they not?" Zoga nodded quickly. Scratch and Grounder looked to each other sheepishly. "Glad you agree… Ms. Boss, was it? You should know not to play around with other people's money. There's currently a very upset old man who lost a good chunk of his retirement fund to your BS. Now he wants your casino along with the mysterious little mug of the person who runs it, and I want my bounty. Do you have any excuse for what you did?" Zoga's eyes darted around.
"Wait! It wasn't her call!" Coconuts shouted. Penumbra looked over to him. "It was mine. I'm sorry, Ms. Boss. I was tryna get Scratch and Grounder in trouble so I'd look good! Just this morning, I told them to rig the machines so that you'd get mad at them! You shouldn't have to die for my mistake."
"Wait, you made up all those tasks?" Grounder asked. "I can't believe it! You never lie!"
"Yeah, besides, you're always gonna be Ms. Boss' second favorite," Scratch followed up. Grounder shouldered him. "Yow-how-how! I mean, third favorite. But that's still on the podium."
"So am I off the hook?" Zoga asked, wiping sweat from her face. "I'll try to get the higher-ups to offer refunds to those who got scammed. As long as you don't… you know, kill me." Penumbra hummed, thinking on it.
"It'll take more than that. I've heard very interesting things about your abilities, Ms. Boss," Penumbra sighed, staring Zoga in the eyes. "You seem to know about things nobody else does. Like a cartoon character staring through the fourth wall. You must have some serious connections, and my friends here need help with a few cases they've been investigating. If you could join them, I'd be content with explaining the situation to my client and bringing him the severed head of any other Coconuts."
"Oh! Umm… sure!" Zoga agreed, a grin plastered on her face.
"Aren't you gonna tag along too, Peni?" Charmy asked.
"Got places to be. I'm a very busy lady," Penumbra answered, looking down at the glass floor below. "I have a bit of an investigation going on myself. You'd just slow me down." She leapt off the building and rode one of her legs through the glass, rocketing towards the mountain range below Casino Park.
"And there she goes…" Vector groaned. "Come on, Zoga. We gotta run too."
"I see. Coconuts, Scratch, Grounder… hold the fort while I'm gone! I'll install a better antivirus for you guys from my phone so that this kind of thing doesn't happen again," Zoga called, as she ushered the Chaotix onto her float. Team Search & Smash waved as the float was whisked off into the distance.
…
"Interesting. Very… interesting," Neo Metal Sonic muttered to himself, walking along a desolate abandoned railway overlooking the ocean. "A mass-produced Badnik capable of feelings. Capable of comprehending its own existence without breaking down. A machine that loves its life enough to fear death. I never would have thought Eggman was capable of creating something so… wasteful." Neo's boots clattered against the rails. "If he could create such immaculate AI for a monkey, why not do the same for me? A hedgehog? SONIC the HEDGEHOG?" Neo clenched his fists. "Is this some kind of joke? I'm sorry, doctor, I was never programmed to laugh. Coconuts is a mechanism meant for throwing hard objects at people. I am an advanced android meant to replace a living being. What makes this one cannon fodder unit so deserving of the happiness I covet? Do more of these insulting spoiled creations exist?"
Neo called Metal Ata. "Ata, bring up a list of Eggman's most lifelike creations!" he ordered. "I must see what makes them tick."
"Searching… the nearest robot that suits your filters is in the Bullet Station of Rail Canyon, Cahtlen. They are currently accompanying a team of rogues on a mission to tear down the facility."
"Interesting find," Neo muttered, looking at the robot as it appeared on the list. "Strange, I thought the doctor had this specimen contained in one of his Egg Bases scattered around the world. Yes… Omega, was it?" Neo blasted across the railway like a ballistic missile. Locked onto Team Dark.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone