I wasn't really sure why I was summoned. After I left the old base, my Master got me and Sage into a shuttle with him, then off we went to wherever he was taking us. Notably, Orbot and Cubot were left alone... They often were, anyway. I guessed my Master finally trusted them to not burn things down as long as a TV wouldn't spontaneously combust. None of us told him about that, to be fair.



With Sage also here, maybe we were actually going to do a mission together. When I glanced to Sage beside me in the shuttle, she looked giddier than her usual. I brought my attention back to the window closest to me and watched the scenery pass. I realized we were taking the same path to the island I was left on.



... We stopped before we got there, instead lowering down to the new base. I hadn't seen the completed base yet, though Sage and my Master have. It was definitely more eccentric than my Master's usual eccentric: an abundance of color on the outside, a large glass dome that looked similar to his head, beach chairs and even a bar run by one of the pawns. The three of us went inside to an equally bright base... I wondered if there were any actual projects here.



"Father, what is our mission?" Sage excitedly asked. I was surprised she didn't know, though I appreciated I didn't have to ask.



"Nothing right now. Just relax and do whatever's on your mind. If you need me, I'll be through that door," he said, pointing straight ahead. "Metal, since you've been getting meals for me, go let the chef bot here know I want something tropical." He hummed cheerfully to himself as he walked onward. Sage floated in the same direction, excited to accompany him.



I downloaded the map from the Eggnet to figure out where the kitchen was... Ah, it was past the doors of the big dome area, which happened to contain a massive indoor pool. I hovered after Sage.



When we entered the pool room, my Master busted out of a different door in a striped one-piece swimsuit. He reclined on one of the pool chairs and let out a loud sigh. A few small robots wheeled over some drinks to him, which he took without even thinking. I kept going to the set of doors on the other side.



According to the map, there was also a theater, an arcade, a few bedrooms, and... a laboratory deep underground, not including all the other storage rooms and smaller workspaces. The base was predictably big and lonely, but I supposed my Master liked all the space to himself. After reaching the next hallway, I went through some swivel doors into the kitchen. Surprisingly, this one was a lot more 'relaxing' in its design.



'I'm cooking,' I told the resident chef bot, then just started grabbing the ingredients on my own. My Master wanted something more tropical, so I looked up some recipes I was interested in trying. The chef bot was complacent to my presence and cleaned instead.



Cooking was a good way of killing time. I preferred cooking for Amy Rose... I fondly reminisced about last night, how emotional she got when she tasted the dinner I made for her. I hoped to give her more... And I wished I didn't have to be here, but I had a feeling my Master didn't want me to wander off. I still wasn't sure why he told me to accompany them.



"Metal Sonic?"



I was dicing fruit with a large knife when I heard Sage's voice. I turned my head and saw her slightly poking up from the counter.



"Are you... preparing food for Father?"



I nodded.



"Have you done this before...? Is that why you bring him food sometimes?" she asked, floating up a little more. She rested her hands on the counter.



I nodded again.



"May I watch?"



I didn't care either way. I shrugged and gave a final nod, then continued dicing. Sage kept a distance while giving me a very attentive stare. I slid the fruit into a bowl, then began splitting and cutting some peppers.



"A mango and a pepper...?"



'The flavors supposedly compliment each other,' I said. 'I haven't made too much spicy food, though.' Amy definitely had a sweeter palette... I actually thought she might've liked this one. The spice wasn't supposed to overpower anything else.



I finished cutting a pepper and put it aside. When I grabbed the next one, Sage was right beside me.



"May I try?" she asked.



...



I slid the cutting board slightly over to her and handed her the knife. She floated up to be at a proper level and carefully held the knife, aiming for the pepper-- I quickly stopped her.



I fixed her hands. She would've chopped her fingers off if she was more corporeal. "Oh...! I see," she muttered to herself. She chopped at the pepper similar to how I did it, but much slower. "You made it look easier..."



'I've been doing it for longer.' I offered her the bowl to slide the pepper in, which she did.



"Did I chop adequately?" She put the knife down and angled her head up towards me.



I nodded. She smiled at me.



"I would like to help make something for Father... May I continue assisting you?" she asked, fidgeting with her hands.



Her help would make this go a lot slower, but... this was a rare time I didn't want to punt her. 'Alright,' I replied. I sent her the recipe I was making via the Eggnet.



We didn't talk very much, our silence at least more comforting than not. I took the lead in cooking and gave Sage a few simpler tasks. I allowed her to dump the ingredients into a pot and watch over it while I measured other seasonings.



"What made you want to cook for Father, Metal Sonic?" she asked me. I put some of the seasonings in the pot while she stirred with a ladle.



'I wanted to make sure he was getting all his proper nutrition, and I had nothing else to do.' I gave a confident lie and a simple truth.



She smiled wider. "How thoughtful...! I did not expect you to have concern about those kinds of things..." She averted her eye and suddenly frowned. "... I apologize, I may have been unintentionally rude."



I shook my head. I mean, she was right. I didn't actually care.



"I am glad you do not take offense..." She watched me as I changed the heat level on the stove top. We just had to let the food cook for a little while. "... Orbot and Cubot often speak positively of you. I realized that... we do not get to spend much time together," she muttered. "I am glad Father decided to bring you along. I always wanted you to accompany us."



I was... actually surprised. I thought she wanted her dear Father all to herself. She was all too ready to take control of me or threaten to dismantle me before. Not that I cared about my Master's favor anymore, truthfully... I preferred spending time with Amy Rose. Sometimes I had trouble thinking about my existing loyalty. I was loyal, but the last time I got to do something, he just left me on an island to rot. Meanwhile, Amy Rose freaked out when I was deactivated for thirty seconds...



Sage turned away from me, focusing back on the food. "Okay... So... We wait? Is there anything else to prepare?"



'I like to make a simple dessert alongside the main meal sometimes,' I told her.



Sage thought for a moment. "Oh...! We should make a healthy dessert." I wasn't sure that existed. "I will search through my database..."



She began sending me some recipes she saw... They uh... They did not look good or appetizing. Looked more like prison food.



'No,' was all I said.



Sage frowned. "But...! These have proper amounts of nutrients Father requires."



'We could make a simple fruit salad or something. Still somewhat nutritious.' I walked over to our storage and brought out some fitting tropical fruits, ones that wouldn't clash with the main meal. It's what I would make for Amy. My Master seemed to prefer more savory, but I similarly didn't care.



"What recipe are you making...?" she asked.



'Modified version of a fruit salad I made before.' I sent her the recipe, though it wasn't that similar except for the method of chopping them up and mixing them together. I thought making a kind of drizzle to mix the fruit with would be good as well.



"This looks completely different," she muttered. "How are you able to make something without following its instructions?"



'Instinct,' I said. It would be more embarrassing to tell her to follow her heart. Though... 'Try to imagine what would be tasty for him to eat.'



"Hmmm..." Sage studied the fruits while I cut one in half. I handed her one.



'Dice this one,' I said.



We both fell into silence as we chopped up more fruits together. I kept an eye on her progress to make sure she wasn't going to injure herself or ruin the food. We were nearly done... She stuck a piece of pineapple into her mouth.



...



'You can... do that?' I asked.



"I like this taste," she said, nodding.



Even though she was not completely physical, she could have a sensation I couldn't in this form? That... Unbelievable. He gave her something like--



I had to steel myself. I could not control what I was able to do with my own body, not right now. At least she could taste-test... I stirred the pot, then scooped out a small amount.



'Try this, then,' I said, putting a few morsels into an empty bowl.



She picked a piece up and ate it. Her eye went wide and she began tearing up.



"It is very spicy...!"



'Too spicy?' I asked, tapping my muzzle in thought. I didn't want the spice to be overpowering. I decided to add a bit more fruit and dilute the spice some.



"I do think Father will like it," she hummed. "He likes spicy food... But I do think a little less spice would not be harmful."



After making some adjustments, I eventually had her try the food again. She liked it much more. She helped me set up two bowls-- one for the main meal, and one for the dessert-- and we brought it to our Master together.



When we went back to the pool room, he was still on the chair as before, but he was tinkering with a device I hadn't yet seen. A few other small pawns placed a table around him already, so Sage and I put the bowls there.



He glanced in our direction. "Sage? What were you up to?" he asked, raising a brow.



"I helped Metal Sonic make you some food, Father. We hope you like it!"



My Master put down the device and turned slightly towards us. "You both made this?" His gaze was more on me.



I nodded.



"Metal Sonic did more... he was teaching me." Sage gave a confident nod, then looked up at me. I thought it was amusing she assumed giving me credit would matter in our Master's eyes.



"Huh." He reached for the main meal first and took a bite. His posture straightened a little. "... It's very good. Good job, you two."



Sage excitedly balled her fists. "Please enjoy, Father!"



Okay, I was surprised he gave me some praise. But... I accepted it. I didn't want him to hate anything I made. I gave him another courteous nod.



"Wait, is that why you've been bringing me food, Metal? You've been cooking for me?"



I nodded again.



"Huh... You've been doing well. Thank you." He reached over and patted me on the head, then patted Sage before he continued eating.



...



I was... happy. I watched him for a brief moment, then left for the entrance. I felt a presence follow me and didn't have to guess who it was.



I perched myself on a tall rock by the beach and watched the ocean. I turned my head around, catching Sage off guard. She floated back a little.



"Sorry," she muttered. "... May I spend more time with you?"



I thought for a moment. I went back and forth on whether or not I tolerated Sage around me... But, she didn't annoy me today, and we weren't really in any situation that would cause her to take control of me. I turned my head back towards the ocean, then gestured her to join me.



She sat on the rock beside me and watched the ocean as well. We were quiet for a while, comfortable, the ocean waves filling the silence. I thought of my date at the beach with Amy. I hoped she slept well. I wish I could've watched her reaction to the breakfast I made... I'd have to ask her how it was later.



"I was pondering about all of Father's different creations," Sage started, breaking the silence between us. I glanced at her, but otherwise didn't turn my head. "I have all of this data available... but there is still so much I need to learn." She tilted her head a little, her hand on her chin as she thought. "When we all raced, despite how I perfectly calculated my victory, I lost two races."



She was learning a harsh lesson I learned a long time ago, except I actually could exactly copy others.



"The same happened with assisting you in cooking as well... I knew exactly what you did, but doing it myself, I was not able to copy you perfectly..." She sighed. "I want to learn more... I want to learn from you."



'Why?' I asked.



"Because... I want to improve, to better cover these faults I discovered about my data."



I shook my head. 'No, I mean, why do you want to learn from me?'



She turned her head fully towards me. "You have more experience. You have seen so much more than I have. You assisted Father for far longer." She turned back towards the ocean and rested her head in her hands. "I was always fascinated looking through past data about you. Sometimes I thought you and Father could read each other's minds."



My Master and I did have great synergy at times. That was before Sage was brought into the picture... I was a forgotten thought afterwards. No, maybe even before that. He never treated me the same after I became Neo for the first time even though he still sent me on missions. I'd never know why he didn't erase me.



I leaned my head in my hands too. I was happier as Amy's favorite, so losing my Master's favor didn't make me angry like it did before... It just made me feel empty when I thought about it. Maybe a little bitter. Maybe he wanted me to be...



"I hope to get that kind of connection with Father... and with you, too, Metal Sonic." She sat up straight and gave me a firm nod.



Her gesture was... I didn't know. She made me think of Belle. 'I'm not sure he would use you for combat,' I said.



"I have very useful abilities out in the field. I am sure Father will need my assistance in a more dire scenario... Combat or not, I am happy to assist him."



'What exactly have you been doing whenever you two were away from the base?' I asked.



"I helped Father transport some materials and control some electronics in his stead... He tried out a few different projects, but I do not actually know what he is working on right now." She tilted her head, tapping her fingers against the rock as she focused out at the ocean. So what my Master said was true...? I thought they were just spending time together, to be honest. "Father did sound excited about his current project."



'Is his project here?'



"I believe so."



Interesting. My Master mentioned schematics from the future he wanted to build here at the new base, so maybe he started it already. Hopefully we would get to see what it was.



Sage gasped. "Do you think that might be why we are all here?" she asked.



I shrugged.



"Ah... This is another place to relax as well. Maybe Father finds us comforting."



'You overestimate the fondness he has for me,' I told her.



"Huh? I do not think so... Father loves you."



He did not love me in a way that mattered to me. If he did, he didn't tell me. I didn't want to debate with her about it. In hopes of moving past the conversation, I gave her a pat on the head.



She seemed happy enough with my response and let it go.



"... Did you see Father built an arcade? Have you explored it yet?"



I shook my head.



"There is one game I wish to learn, but it has to be two players... Can you help me?"



...



I stood up and jumped off of the rock. I walked back towards the base entrance and gestured her to follow. She did, her expression much brighter.



Today was strange for me... But I didn't hate it.