I hadn't seen Amy since this morning... I wondered how she was faring. She said she was going to check on Cavalier Sonic to get more information and hopefully have something that could assist us. I similarly hoped she would come back soon. What had me occupied was annoying me. I stared at Nova, who stared back at me with wide, blank eyes. We were still in the laboratory, studying and trying to figure out how Nova connected to Carillon Rose's power source.



"I'm at a loss," I told Belle, frustrated.



"M-maybe we're thinking about this too hard," she muttered.



She was probably right. I went back to Carillon Rose and opened a panel on her back to get another look at the container. It was too small for any sort of creature, so Amy was right that I wouldn't really harm Nova or somehow get them to power the robots in such a way... Uh, possibly. It depended on why my future self was here.



Belle sighed aloud. "Maybe... We should just try out some routine things with Nova? What do you usually like doing with them?"



"What, you think playing with them will reveal the power source?" I asked with a slight mocking tone.



"Maybe." She shrugged. "Worth trying, right?"



...



I picked Nova up, a heart forming above their head. They were not bothered with whatever was going on at all. A part of me wished I shared that kind of ignorance.



"... Yes, I suppose it's something to try," I replied. "I'll go over some routine with Nova and report my findings."



"Good luck!"



I went to the elevator... And I had to wait for it to descend to our level. A little strange. Only Amy could have sent the elevator up. I checked the base alert logs I was connected to... I saw one person enter, but shortly after, they left. Had to be Amy. Maybe she wanted to visit before something else caught her attention. I wondered what occupied her. Maybe boundary-breaking, but I wished I could track her location at all times like I could with Belle or my Master... I'd ask her about it sometime.



I refocused back on my current task. The best place to start for Nova's routine was the beginning. After exiting the elevator, I carried Nova back to the produce garden, then put them in their heart-shaped bed. Nova grabbed their feet while sitting there, patiently watching me for whatever I would do next.



There was not a lot I could do in the late afternoon that we didn't already do. I went over to a fruit tree and pried off a ripe fruit for Nova, then offered it to them. They eagerly chomped into it, then tossed the half-eaten fruit to the side after a brief moment. They had juice all over their face and a few seed remnants.



I cleaned their face and was rewarded with a little whine. I rolled my eyes. I normally played with them for a little while before tending to the garden... I picked them up again and placed them on the floor, grabbing some of their favorite toys. I felt ridiculous, but maybe something interesting would happen.



Nothing did. Nova was very happy, but happiness was not necessarily the goal. I cut our playtime short. "Nova, check the plants," I said.



"Chao?" Nova had a question mark above their head as they fluttered towards the nearest planter. We already gardened today; I had no other ideas...



Hm. I was interested in Nova's ability to grow plants after discovering their link to the power source, but I never actually planted anything new for them to grow. There were more flowers we could plant as a test. "Follow me, Nova." We left the produce garden and went for my flower garden instead. All my flowers were in pristine condition... Amy expressed a desire to be given more flowers, so I would create another bouquet. Before that, though, I'd use the empty space in one of the soil beds to plant more.



I harvested a few seeds from the opalescent flowers I spent so long creating a little while ago... I wanted to plant more to serve as the next significant bouquet. I wanted to make different colors with the same kind of sheen to impress her. I went to one of the planters directly under the sunny skylights from above and started my work. Nova watched me for a moment, then dug into the dirt to help me. Together, we planted the seeds. I allowed Nova to water them.



... Well, at least I had new flowers planted. I wondered if--



Nova strained as they raised their arms.



Pop! The flowers sprouted. They lowered their arms and stared at me innocently.



"... Nova, keep doing that. Make them grow again."



"Chao?" Nova stared down at the sprouts and lightly scratched their head. They eventually lifted their arms and grunted. The sprouts grew taller, reached for the sunlight. Big leaves unfurled from their stems and small green buds appeared at their ends.



Nova collapsed, tired.



...



I left for the kitchen and dug out the snacks I used to help train Nova. I couldn't keep them on me in my base form, but Nova hadn't discovered where I hid them yet. I got out a pouch of candied berries and returned to the flower garden where Nova lay.



I shook the bag, causing them to immediately jerk their head up. "Chao??"



"Yes, for you." I walked over and offered them the entire bag. They could devour as much as they wanted to get their energy back. Nova attempted to squeeze their face into the bag as they crunched on the berries within.



... Quite ravenous.



Their tail eagerly wagged as they feasted. Admittedly cute.



... They tried eating the bag once it was empty. I took it away from them, causing them to whine again and reach for me.



"I'll make you more later. I want you to make these flowers bloom," I told them. "Nova, make them grow."



Nova thought for a while like they weren't sure whether they wanted to actually do it or not. They were so... irritating. I was asking a lot from them, but this was important work. I could not force them into doing more than they wanted, though. An unfortunate fact Nova knew.



Luck was on my side. They stood up fully again, then lifted their arms and strained to grow the flowers once more.



The flowers bloomed, each one shimmering beautifully. Flowers only I could make... But Nova was allowed to help, I supposed. The flowers, though gorgeous, didn't do anything out of the ordinary to me. I didn't detect anything different--



Nova grappled the stem of the flower and strained more. They let go and collapsed backwards, failing to uproot it from the soil. That didn't make much sense, though--



... The flower...



The flower Nova held grew extra petals, curling over in a unique pattern I never saw before. The petals themselves became brighter, even glowing. I scanned it to gather its data. The genetic structure did change and had some similarities to Nova. It-- no, wait. I have seen this pattern. It looked just like... the code. It looked like the code I gathered from my future self long ago, it looked like the file Belle got. It was this flower.



There was a unique energy the other flowers didn't have, either. This had to be the power source... And my future self figured out how to make them even stronger, to make the robots even more unique because of it. I wanted to learn more, how I could do that. My discovery started with Nova, of all things.



"Nova, make--"



"Metal Sonic!" My Master called me through my communicator. I didn't expect him to-- "Return to the main base right now and arrive at my location. No detours."



Why did he want me to go back to the base immediately? What was he doing? There was a certain feeling in my core. I didn't want to resist my programming too much. "I'll be back, Nova," I told them, then left the room. I kept the door open.





I left the base and followed my Master's location. He was in the main base nearby, closer to the city. I flew above the environment to not come across any other adversaries.





I hoped she went up the elevator while talking to me so we wouldn't waste time. Then again, maybe giving Carillon Rose her power source when no one else was around wasn't the smartest move. Belle needed to prepare in any case.





...?



There was some interference with our connection. I hadn't dealt with this before. I closed in on my Master's base. Whatever Belle did was in her own hands until I could reunite with her in person. Amy would likely return before too long to assist her, anyway.



... I hoped to never return to my Master, so I wasn't exactly pleased about being summoned. He initially told me to not return until I had anything substantial... But I never grabbed anything additional. He likely assumed I did my usual patrols.



His location brought me to one of the newer buildings he constructed recently. I wasn't entirely sure what it was for.



I entered the building... It was practically a large dome, metallic scaffolding and remnants of construction on the outer layers of the open room. There were beams suspended in the air and a thin section of the roof. It wasn't finished yet. I didn't see anything immediately concerning--



!!!



Amy! She was...



"There you are, Metal Sonic!" My Master's voice boomed throughout the dome. He descended down in his pod-shaped carrier, passing me a confident grin that I would otherwise describe as 'eerie'. Sage descended alongside him, her gaze unrelenting. There was a sense of dread deep in my core that knew why he had Amy, why he summoned me. Suddenly, Sage's stare made more sense. How long did they know? Why?



I looked at Amy again. Her torso was bound by chains as she was attached to a square-shaped pole in the middle of the entire complex. I didn't understand this building. There was no one else around, so the situation couldn't be related directly to Cavalier Sonic, could it? If that was the case, Sonic and Tails would also be around. She returned my stare, eyes with as much life in them as ever, but her frown was just as intense.



My Master spoke again, leading her to scowl. "I called you back for a special reason... But, before we get into all that--"



"Metal! Knock him out bef--" Amy was silenced by my Master tying a cloth against her mouth. Angry. He should not have touched her like that. He should never have touched her... But I could do nothing with the awful loyalty programming still in place. I was physically incapable of attacking him. I really wanted to attack him.



"Ah, sorry about that. Forgot standard kidnapping protocol," he dramatically sighed. "Either way, Pinky, you should know that my finest work of art can't attack me at all. You should know better than anyone, in fact," he said with a sly grin.



Amy glared at my Master, then she looked at me. There was a horror she expressed to me...



"I'm almost impressed, Metal. How long has this been going on for? Ten years? Eleven?" He hummed and tapped his wrist as if he had a watch. "You didn't lie in a way that contradicted any of my code. When I sent you to do something, you did it. You gave progress reports, data, everything I needed to know. You researched everyone about the same, the exception being that blasted Hedgehog. But I created you. Of course you're smart."



...



"Yet your little crush made you careless!" he shouted, slamming his fists against his pod. "Upgrading you into Neo Metal Sonic only made you more of a nuisance. Your work to capture the robot hardly compares to all the free time you spent with your special person of interest!" He gestured to Amy as he shouted.



Amy groaned something, but I couldn't decipher what she was saying.



He ignored her. I was frozen. "I bet you're wondering how I knew to check your files more thoroughly, hm? I have to thank my anonymous benefactor for that. Instead of leaving me more weapon schematics, they left your deactivated body at my doorstep with some tips that you've been following someone else's orders."



What? Amy made a sound of confusion at the same time, slightly turning her head to watch my Master.



"And what a treasure trove you had scattered all throughout your database, Metal Sonic. I saw files of letters from your special admirer, I saw your personal text logs, I saw infuriating photos. I hardly had to look further to realize you drifted too far away from what should have been your primary goal. I saw enough."



I never had alerts about file access unless I directly checked them myself. The dates of access for the letters and some photos from when I was in my true form coincided with the time I was being repaired. I felt an intense uneasiness. I checked deep in my personal files, ones I took the most care to hide and bury from detection: my recordings, my precious memories.



... He didn't access them. He hardly saw much past the photos I had in my true form, yet what he saw was enough for him to put us in this situation.



Amy yelled something else, though my Master had a similar trouble in understanding her.



"You're curious, huh?" He tilted his head at Amy, scowling towards her. "You're probably proud of poisoning my work the way you have. Disgusting rat," he sneered.



She yelled two muffled words, her brows furrowed. I had a feeling she cursed at him.



He relaxed back in his seat and sighed, flailing one of his hands in the air as he watched me once more. "After fixing you, I tracked you without your detection. You're very fond of that base, huh? That's where you do all of your secret little meetings?"



Did he also know Belle was there? He didn't mention her, but... My connection with her was still not working.



"You know, maybe this is my doing. I've upgraded you before and you failed then, too. Even with your programming, you just can't help yourself. Your drive to improve is tied to your drive to be more independent-- your core desire to surpass that blue thorn in my side," he sneered. "I'm starting to think it's not worth it... Hrnnnh..."



Sage's eyes widened, the first change in expression she had the entire time. She looked like she wanted to say something to him.



"Ehh... It's not all useless," my Master hummed to himself. "You did give me valuable data over time, not only about that robot, but also about how to make you better." He sat up straight. "That's right. I have no plans to destroy you despite your egregious betrayal, Metal Sonic. After all, you're special to me. You're my first complex creation. Call me sentimental, maybe a little bit nostalgic. I kept you around for this long, so it feels wrong to let you go." He stroked one side of his moustache and crossed one of his legs over the other. "You have to get it from somewhere, right?" He cackled.



...



"I figured this would be a good opportunity to teach you both a lesson," he continued with a devilish grin. "This isn't the first time you tried to influence one of my robots, Pinky, but it is the last."



I dreaded his next words. I felt something that became far too frequent and familiar.



Fear. I was scared.



He turned his head fully towards me, joyful expression gone. "Get rid of her, Metal sonic. Kill her."



No! I wouldn't... I refused. I would never hurt her. I wouldn't--



"Now!" he screamed, pointing at her. My Master rose higher in the air as he watched me. Sage also watched, emotionless, a spectator, a backup plan. I hated him. If I made the decision to get my programming removed far earlier, back when Belle first offered, maybe this would never have happened. I wouldn't have been in this situation.



Kill Amy Rose. I had to kill her. I needed to. She was in the way.



No, she wasn't. I--



I needed to be careful. I couldn't resist too much or else I would lose myself entirely. No, I wouldn't lose myself. I would. Stop.



My feet brought me forward. Amy stared, eyes wide, brows furrowed in concern. My Master wanted me to kill her. He wanted her to die.



Belle could've helped me. I tried to send messages to no avail. Whatever I could do to get out of this, it had to be in here. It had to be.