Fandom Sonic RP (Closed)

[Kumokumo]

Binx's face turned cold when she realized Hope had vanished. "Oh no.." Her heart shattered for her sweet little robo-friend because she knew Hope had to be upset. Her many eyes locked on target. "Shadow this is entirely your fault!" The fuzzy little appendages on her head that typically wiggled in excitement were twitching with anger. Sonic promptly moved clear of her way as she approached and shoved Shadow. Not that it would have sent him flying by any means-- strength wasn't at all her forte. She was so mad she didn't care if the black hedgehog lashed back. "Stop acting like you even care about the rest of us. It pisses me off."

The blue hedgehog's body was twitching with suppressed anxiety. "If anything happens to Hope...if she gets outside and Eggman finds her.." "Come on Jazz, let's hurry and look for her. You don't think she could have gotten far do you?" He took her lightly by the arm. Not at all trying to force her; he just wanted Jazz safe and away from the two fuming teammates behind them. "You know Hope better than me." "If I were a robotic bunny, where would I be? She's surely upset from what was said in here." It must've been hard to feel the way Hope felt. In some way Sonic was sure she must've felt guilty for all of this to happen. "Hope..don't worry about us. We'll make sure nothing bad happens!" That's what he'd say if she was here--problem being she was nowhere in sight.​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

The shove had left Shadow shocked, baffled at what just occurred. Not at the fact that Hope just ran away but by the fact that Binx, the sweet spider, had suddenly grew a spine and actually retaliated with such passion and anger. Who knew Binx could get so loud? Or angry? He honestly was a tad impressed.

As Sonic gently guided her away from the confrontation, it was clear that Jazz wasn’t totally there at the moment. Jazz felt…numb. She was trying her best to disassociate herself from this fight, this world, everything and everything to keep herself from sobbing right in front the blue savior. In the hard times, Hope gave her and Fy, as fitting as it was, hope. She was like a mini cheer squad, always wanting to keep everyone happy despite times looking bad. The robot would be determined to keep their morale high when Sonic disappeared, when The Resistance started coming undone, even when they alerted the base they broke into of their presence. The rabbit had been their little light. And now…that light was gone.

“I want to get out of here!” was the last thought Hope had. Now, Hope was making a mad dash into the woods with no destination in mind, hoping to get lost and never be found again. To rot away till the end of time. You see, the Apatite Battery didn’t actually allow travel through dimensions. In reality, it gave a user who bonded with the apatite the power to fulfill strong desires. When Hope, Fy, and Jazz were corned by Robotnik’s machines, surely about to be blasted into oblivion, the bot had thought “I wish we were somewhere far away from here!” and naturally, the apatite made the wish come true. It became clearer that Hope had bonded with the apatite when her friends were stuck in the rain on Mobius and had no shelter to hide in. “I want them to have shelter” and just like that, the group happens to stumble onto the abandoned warehouse that no one had spotted before. Being the one to be burdened with this knowledge, it was apparent why Hope didn’t want to stay with the others at their new home. She was the true cause of all this suffering. She got her friends trapped in a strange place. She transported the Apatite to Mobius. She had put all the Mobians in danger. She just couldn’t do anything right, could she? She was a dumb, faulty, pathetic excuse of a creation. Just like her creator had said.​

 

[Kumokumo]

"Jazz don't worry, we'll find Hope in no time." He looked down to type something out on his little communicator watch. Probably giving Tails a heads-up on what had just occurred. "I think our best bet is going to the radar room and having Tails look for her there. We need to find Hope before anyone else does." As hopeful as Sonic was that they'd be the first one could never be so sure. If Tails could track the three newcomers then so could Eggman or anyone else with the technology to do so. "I just hope we can untangle this mess before it's all too late!" No one that ever looked at Sonic would guess that he had any semblance of worry in his mind; a negative word never flew from his mouth. He held onto a smile to keep everyone's spirits burning bright. "No matter what, I won't let anything happen to Mobius! Or my friends."

Binx's eyes looked like they were mentally stabbing Shadow. Heck, she wanted to right now! "Aaannd now you're quiet. URRGH! I have half a mind to zap you into the void." His silence only seemed to stir her up more. "Acting all cool and stoic. You know you get onto Sonic for being rash and jumping into action without a level head--but it seems you're just as brazen! Here I thought you had some sense about you." She pointed one fuzzy appendage in his face. "Just stop acting like you even care about us. It hurts." Fire frothed in the spider's eyes. "Or next time I really will zap you out of this plane of existence."

A dark, sinister chuckling distorted by what can only be described as mechanical whizzing, circled in on the space above Hope. "S0meone 1ooks l0st." A dark figure loomed like an oppressive cloud; his mere presence emanated the emotions of anyone who dared approach him--pure and utter despair. "Wh4t is a p1ece such as y0urself doing here 4ll al0ne?" The bright atmosphere seemed to crumble under the weight of his feet. Metal glowered down at Hope with cold red orbs. "Don't tell m3 th4t your prec1ous fr1ends aband0ned you? Th4t re4lly is too bad." If he had a mouth it would be upturned in the most evil of grins. "Wh0 w1ll prot3ct you n0w?" The mech shot down from the ledge he'd been standing on and was front of her in less than an instant.​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

Sonic’s words managed to scrape the surface of her despair enough to earn a response out of her. She gave his arm a light squeeze and gave a nod, a sign to show that she intended to follow him and would stay by his side despite her foggy mental state.

The hedgehog snapped out of his trace as the appendage came into his personal space. He moved the appendage with his hand in a gentle manner, his signature glare meeting two of Binx’s many eyes. “Zap me? I don’t recall spiders possessing such an ability.” He chose to ignore those several other claims. Some of them held truth in them while others weren’t as factual but he wasn’t willing to admit that to the spider.

Hope let out a yelp, falling over herself from the sheer amount of fear that the metal hedgehog had struck into her very core, or rather the Apatite Battery. “Take me away, take me away!” But the battery refused to respond in this moment. It needed time to regain the energy that was spent. Sadly, time wasn’t on the rabbit’s side. Running out of options, she merely curled up into a ball, whimpering and shaking. “P-please…don’t hurt me…!”​

 

[Kumokumo]

"Sorry, we're gonna have to be quick." Sonic's eyes glinted apologetically moments before scooping the skunk up in his arms. He felt bad that they didn't have time to talk more--he was really starting to enjoy getting to know her better. Of course nothing this good could last. "Ugh..couldn't the drama just wait until later?" The air whipped around the two as Sonic blasted through the corridors. Going down the stairs was faster than waiting for the elevator! "How is it looking Tails? Any sign of Hope?" Straight to the point. Though when he spoke and set Jazzlyn back on her feet he was looking at her with a small smile, as if silently saying, "Sorry about that. Hey if you're dizzy you can lean on me."

"I'm trying my best Sonic! But something is messing with my radars!" Tails click clicked away at the keyboard. "It's almost as if someone is jamming the signal! And strangely enough it's not coming from Eggman's end. It's a jumble of encryption keys--ones I've never seen him use before. It'll take me a minute to crack them."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." Of course she'd never send Shadow to some unknown hellscape (even if he deserved it.) Not to mention how much energy it would take! She'd have to curl up and hibernate for DAYS. "Not that you've ever taken the time to know. Because--like I said--you don't care about any of us. Why get to know us?" Yes! And it seemed like no one wanted to get to know her ever since she stepped foot on this base. No one except for Hope! Of course Binx was unconscious to the fact that she was mostly getting her own emotions mixed in here, but it couldn't be helped. "Do me a favor and don't talk to me again. Should be easy for you." She restrained the urge to punch him in his silly nose as she stalked away.

"H0w cut3." Metal's voice was dripping with malicious amusement. "Sc4red alre4dy?" He bent over to look at her, like an adult bends over a mistaken child. "Wh0 said 1 was h3re to hurt y0u? Sur3ly y0u must think s0 l0wly of me." The gritty laughter that grew from him sounded nothing like Hope's gentle whirring. It was rather like two sawblades chewing at each other. "1'm almost offend3d. Wh0's to s4y th4t 1'm not here to m3rely 1ntr0duce myself?" Red eyes pierced down upon her. He absolutely feasted off of fear. "My n4me 1s M3tal. Met4l S0nic." The claws he had for fingers clicked together with what seemed like impatience. Oh, but he could look at that expression of sheer terror all day! "Ar3n't y0u going t0 tell m3 y0urs?"​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

The skunk held onto the speedster for dear life as he flew down the staircase. Seeing his speed was one thing, but experiencing it? It felt like being strapped to a living rocket with no seatbelt. Jazz became certain that if she let go of him, she’d go flying into a wall and turn into a black and white splat. Thankfully, the ride that was Sonic the hedgehog came to an end as she was placed on her feet. Naturally, the trip left her sense of balance impaired so she did take the chance to lean on him. A little shaken but other than that, she seemed okay as she could be as she shot a weak smile his way.

The nerve of that spider! How dare she act as if she knew his life story? “It feels as if no one else is able to understand how dangerous things have become..” Other than Rouge and Omega, Shadow had little people who he could confide in and even then his closest allies sometimes couldn’t stand beside him when needed the most. The hedgehog might be doomed to a fate of loneliness, no matter how many people seem to walk into his path. “She doesn’t understand…nobody does.” And with that, he too left the main area, stomping off to go brood in private.

Confusion grew within the cowering ball of metal. Not here to hurt her? It had to be a form of trap. Some scheme to get her to lower her guard. Nonetheless, it’d be vital she played along with whatever this encounter was unless she wished to meet a cruel demise. “…H-H-0P3…?” She dared not to look the fiend in the eye, afraid that somehow he could read her thought process if she gazed into his eyes.​

 

[Kumokumo]

"That's not what I was hoping to hear." Sonic taps his foot. "Let me know when you get any clue as to where she is Tails. I think I might implode if I have to stand here any longer!" Aside from the dramatization it was true. One of the worst feelings in the world to the blue hedgehog was knowing someone was in trouble but not being able to do something about it immediately.

"I'll get through soon! Don't worry. But I am concerned about the origin of these keys. It's reminding me a lot of something I've seen before...I just can't put my finger on it." The notion of Metal hadn't crossed his mindscape juust yet. That would definitely be horrendous!

"If you need to take a rest you should, Jazz. I can handle what's going on here." Deep down he knew the skunk wasn't going to listen, but it was worth a shot! "Or at least sit somewhere. There's nothing we can do right now anyway and you'll need your energy." He could tell she was plain worn-out. Who knows how many sleepless nights they'd had?

"Urrgh! I hate men sometimes." Boys and their egos. Binx knew she would be of no to little help given her mental state so she didn't bother go check with the others til she cooled off. "Here I am hiding in my room when Hope needs saving..I hope she's okay." Many magenta eyes turned to the dark book on her floor. Funny, she hadn't put it on the floor? Dark energy seemed to be oozing off it, and the darkness seemed to envelope the room like a bad feeling. "What..is this?" Silence. And then a scream.

"H0P3. Wh4t a fitt1ng name f0r a h4rmless l00king rabb1t. T3ll me, wh3re do y0u come fr0m?" He was scanning her already. Unlike Hope he held no sense of manners. "Y0u d0 not m4tch anyth1ng on my d4tabase." "1n f4ct, y0ur cr4ftsmansh1p is oddly f4miliar." Metal was just obeying orders, but regardless he would fulfill his own wishes as well. Eggman might have sent him here to investigate--but there were no further instructions. "Wh1ch m3ans 1 can d0 as 1 s3e fit." "And wh4t is y0ur prim4ry funct1on, rabbit?" The mech was more than intrigued about his latest "catch." Despite only having met minutes ago, she was a rather interesting specimen. Her make and model very much resembled his own; something that interested him greatly.​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

With a soft groan, the skunk takes the second option, choosing a corner and wedging herself in it. She was running on empty, but sleep was the last thing she’d resort to. Whenever she slept, her mind would cause her so harm in the form of horrible nightmares. The stress from internal and external trauma put on her resulted in a really bad of insomnia. It only grew worse when using coffee to stave off sleep and bury herself in work. For now, she’d simply sit, trying not to let her thoughts consume her.

To the dark hedgehog’s surprise, the scream reached his ears just before he had completely left the area. Without any hesitation, Shadow raced down towards the source, gliding along the floor. No matter how upset he was at the spider, Binx didn’t deserve whatever hazardous conditions she had been met with. “Besides, if I do nothing, Sonic absolutely won’t let me hear the end of it…” He told himself this in order to distance himself from letting any lingering emotions of weakness cloud his mind.

“My primary function…?” What was she programmed to do? Certainly not her original directive of killing ever in her radius. No commands were bestowed upon her thanks to her leaving the doctor behind. She was a free rabbit who got to call the shots. “I…do not possess one. And I come from somewhere far beyond this world which is why my data will not correspond to previous data logged in your systems.”​

 

[Kumokumo]

"1 see." How very interesting. And implausible! No objective??? What kind of robot was this anyway. What kind of machine has no objective. He didn't even catch himself quietly repeating, almost in a puzzled manner. "No primary function..?" It made no sense! What would it be like to have no primary function? "T3ll me rabb1t. H0w do y0u exist w1thout purpose?" For the moment Metal seems-- neutral? He tilts his head down at the other robot. scanning her for answers.

Whatever had appeared to make Binx scream seemed to be gone. Rather, the book was on the floor shaking violently. In panic she tried to cast some sort of protective spell but to no avail. A black wave of energy surged from the pages and straight through her like a blade. Except when she glanced down there was no wound. "It's..gone??" Maybe the spider would've come up with some other coherent thought, some sense for all this, but she was horrified.​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

Sensing how neutral Metal started to behave, the rabbit’s quaking appeared to slow, but she still remained curled. Right now, it was hard to pinpoint a motive for approaching her other than the robot taking commands from a higher power. But, if that was the case, wouldn’t things be going south at the moment? Thus, Hope still responds, but not out of fear, but out of curiosity as well. “My model…it is not adequate for my primary function and I was deemed a faulty model. I was disposed of…but then, I received the opportunity to become more than scrap metal. I had been given another chance to prove my worth. But this time, I was in complete control of my own behavior. There was no master I had to obey.”

The hedgehog was apprehensive about entering the room. Whatever danger was in Binx’s room, it was an evil that Shadow couldn’t comprehend currently, meaning that caution is the best tool at his disposal. He peered into the room, eyes locked on the fuzz currently residing inside. “Binx! Are you alright? I heard a scream.” His voice…was he genuinely concerned?? It sounded so with how gentle his tone became compared to his earlier snarky one during the mini feud. In this voice, he almost sounded like a worried friend checking up on you after not being contacted all day. In truth, he was worried. But it might be too late for anyone to call him “friend”, not counting Rouge or Omega. “Tell me if you need me to help you.”​

 

[Kumokumo]

Metal seemed eerily still for a moment. "If I can only guess what her primary function was--judging by her power levels and build--" She was certainly not a useless robot, as she had claimed to be. Her specs were more than formidable. So why throw away all that potential?? "Opp0ritun1ty..." The metallic hedgehog was buffering like a program you've run too many times and now it just can't load properly. "Y0u m4ke no sens3. EV3RY r0b0t h4s a purp0se. " His head twists at an unnatural angle down at her. "No master you say?" Now THAT was an intriguing thought. Metal Sonic had disobeyed Eggman before, if not regularly during disputes. They were barely scratching the surface but these were subjects Metal often tried to wonder about. Of course whenever he asked Eggman these questions, his answers weren't exactly the same as Hope's. "H0wever, y0u m4ke intr1guing p01nts. H0w d0es 0ne 'c0ntrol' y0ur beh4vi0r? D1d y0u k1ll y0ur m4ster?"

"Shadow?" Well now Binx was beginning to feel that sense of guilt trickling in. Obviously he wouldn't have come running if he didn't give two rings. Her eyes were wide and panicked. "I-I don't know what happened! Something just...just came out of the book. That's what made me scream--but then it just--" That's right. Whatever dark force it was just sort of evaporated within her. It had hurt for a moment but then the pain subsided along with the black energy. Though despite it all Binx was more concerned about what had happened before, what she had said in offense to Shadow, which she knew now was obviously not true. "Look I'm really sorry about what I said before.."​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

“If only it were that simple…” The words had absentmindedly been spoken. Killing Robotnik had been a thought that crossed her and it brought…mixed feelings to say the least. Sometimes she could still her original command kicking around in her software, trying to claw its way out to kill everything. But Hope vowed to never let that beast out. “My data had been corrupted upon contact with an artifact my creator planned to embed in me. It granted me my freedom.” Said artifact was another apatite, one that didn’t possess the same level of power as the one she currently held. It was weak, but strong enough to alter and corrupt her coding, granting her a life that couldn’t be easily manipulated. “And no, my creator isn’t dead. I don’t kill anything with a life, no matter how deplorable that life might be.”

“That doesn’t matter now. What matters is getting you away from this thing before it pulls anything worse.” With urgency, the dark hedgehog took Binx’s hand, swiftly moving her out of the room and to the outside space. His grip on the spiders hand seemed a little firm, but it became loose the farther away from the hazard the two became. Only when Shadow had guided her to the main area, relatively close to an elevator did his grasp on her hand fall back. The look in his eyes seemed pensive. He likely started planning the safest course of action. Maybe lock down that portion of the third floor or the entire floor should the need arise.​

 

[Kumokumo]

Metal seemed to ponder these words. If you listened closely enough you could even hear the deep mechanical whirring going on in his head as he tried to piece all this information together. "Corrupt?" Did the fact that he, the ultimate creation, disobeyed his master's orders mean that he too was corrupted? The thought made his processors shiver. All of a sudden he sounded aggressive again. "1mp0ssible! And w3ak. Y0u hav3 pot3nt1al, and 1 se3 it h3re. Yet y0u W4ST3 y0ur t4lents 0n y0ur p4th3tic fr1ends! Wh0 0nly w1sh t0 use you!" His eyes looked like two psychotic burning coals. "Y0u must h0ld s0me h4te f0r the 0ne wh0m creat3d you. J01n me, H0P3. T0geth3r we can l4y w4ste t0 b0th our us3less m4sters. We c4n m4ke th3m pay f0r 0ur suff3ring!" Yes!! That was surely the answer he needed! The reason why for so long he had never been able to surpass Sonic. To fulfill his purpose. But now he could have a powerful ally to help crush those who dared oppose. He hovered now above her as if to emphasize his point. "W3 ar3 f0rged 0f th3 s4me metal H0p3. We hav3 the s4me des1res; t0 be us3ful and w4nted. Ar3n't y0u t1red of s3rv1ng th0se ar0und you? W1th me by y0ur side, we c4n crush th0se wh0 wish only to ensl4ve us!"

"Shadow.." Now she felt just terrible! Deep down Binx knew he had to have cared about the team..just in his own way. "Why did I say those things? Stupid." She wasn't one to look like a crybaby but she'd honestly wanted to cry in that moment. "That's just the problem Shadow, it went in me. Whatever was in that book is hiding inside me now like a parasite." The spider gave him an apologetic look. "Look it's my fault for bringing the book here in the first place so I need to leave before something else bad happens." She tried to give the hedgehog a confident look. "The answer with the least casualties lies with me leaving and taking that awful book with me. I think you know that."​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

Metal was right. She did hold resentment towards the doctor who tried to mold her to fit his design. The amount of the damage he’s caused, the amount of the damage he’ll continue to cause…it only fueled the fire how much she despised Robotnik. But, to kill him, to allow herself to revert back to previous instincts, to become the very thing she sought to destroy…THAT generated a far brighter hatred than whatever her former master did to her. Standing up, Hope’s conviction in remaining nonviolent was firmer than ever. Finally, she was able to look the robot before her in his eyes. “You are correct. The feelings generated around my creator burn with hatred, but I refuse to give into that nature. That’s not who I am anymore. I will never go back to that life! I’ll defy whatever he wanted me to be and what this world expects of me!”

That suggestion seemed plausible. But, there were some flaws in that plan. “Even if you left, there’s no guarantee that you’d make it far enough before whatever lies inside you surfaces. And even if there was enough time, there’s no safe means of travel to leave without the risk of other people stumbling across your path. I can’t let you or that book leave this building. End of discussion.” His voice lost its gentle sound, growing serious. This voice differed though from the one laced with bitterness. Shadow was determined to keep everyone safe, including Binx. “A good first step might be to figure out the book’s origins. Binx, where did you find that book?”​

 

[Kumokumo]

"H4h! Y0ur fr1ends h4ve mad3 y0u s0ft. Wh4t a wast3." Metal glowered down at her. "G0 ah3ad. Ke3p f33ding into the l1es. 0ne d4y y0u'll see just how f00lish you r3ally are. Th3y w1ll N3V3R see y0u as an equ4l; 0nly as a t00l th4t they c4n use and d1spose of as th3y pl3ase." He crosses his arms and scowls. "D0n't c0me runn1ng to m3 wh3n they thr0w y0u aw4y."

Binx huffed. Shadow had a point--not that she'd admit that. "I found it in the echidna's ruins. Actually, Knuckles found it and gave it to me to translate. Though I'm beginning to doubt the purpose of that book was for anything good.."​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

Hope couldn’t help but pity Metal. Why did he seem so bitter and angry? She knew nothing of how he was treated back at Eggman’s lair but she had a feeling that he probably went through the usual hardships of having a master like Robotnik or any versions of him. The robot didn’t understand the positives Hope’s companions brought her. Could he even process or express compassion and empathy? The thought of him being deprived of such things filled the rabbit with sorrow. “You are mistaken, Metal. They’ve been my side since the day they found me and they respect my wishes to live a life without fighting. Our friendship is not defined by the parameters you believe they are. I’m sorry that you can’t seem to understand that topic yet, but maybe someday, something or someone can change how you feel.”

Like Sonic, Shadow also had a little communicator watch on his wrist. Quickly, he attempted to contact Knuckles, hoping the echidna would know more on how books like these were used. “Then that’s where we’ll start. Knuckles is our best bet on learning how to remove the parasite. If that fails, Tails might also have some ways to keep you and the book in containment till better leads make themselves known.”​

 

[Kumokumo]

Metal was dumbfounded. How could she refuse his offer? Together they would certainly have the capability to overrun this world's Eggman. This entire time, Metal had been playing nice with the doctor just because he knew he couldn't defeat Sonic and his friends alone. What was he to do now? What did she mean by a life without fighting?? His whole function was centered around destruction. His voice became low and cruel and he was clenching his claws tightly. "Y0u sh0uld f33l s0rry f0r yours3lf. Y0u 4RE D1sFunct10NED. Y0u ar3 pATH3t1C. Y0u h4v3 N0 PUrp0sE!!" But really was he...talking about H0P3..or himself? He'd had a purpose...but he was never good enough to fulfill it. Sonic always bested him no matter what--damned hedgehog. It made him worthless as a creation. It made him unworthy of existence. One day, he would crush the doctor. And any who saw him as worthless!

This H0P3 had no motive to lie to him now. So what was all this about friendship being genuine? Regardless, Metal knew he would never be singing kumbaya and holding hands with the Sonic team. No one could forgive him for what he'd done. Wait..did he wish for forgiveness? "ArRRGH! What is wrong with me?" Hope had definitely scrambled his processors beyond repair. Instantly he had seen the potential within her, and thirsted for companionship, as they were of the same maker and similar model with the same primary function; to wipe out anyone who dared to oppose. But now Hope was saying there was no one whom opposed?

"ERROR. 01100101 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110010. ERROR. RUNNING DIAGNOSTICS... 01110000 01110010 01101111 01100010 01101100 01100101 01101101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110101 01101110 01100100. STATE: FULLY OPORATIONAL. PRIMARY FUNCTION: ???? ENEMY: DOCTOR EGGMAN."

Metal Sonic lowered towards Hope, as if he were going to snatch her up in one fell swoop. Growling incessantly. But when the dive never came, his tone changed dramatically. Shaking a finger at her, mimicking that of Sonic himself. "Th3 0nly 0ne wh0 w1ll ev3r und3rst4nd y0ur p4in is me." He peered down at her as he began to take air. "1'll ke3p 0ur littl3 talk a s3cret. C0nsid3r it a 'g1ft' betw33n friends." The jets beneath his feet burst into life like two silver dragons. "0ur d1scussi0n h4s pr0ved ins1ghtful. 1'll be w4tching y0u cl0sely." Was that little blink on his visor a wink? But just as quicky as he'd appeared, he was gone.

"Alright, but if things get too dangerous I'm going to have to take matters myself." Maybe a teleportation spell? No..that would just wear her out. Something to put herself in a deep state of comatose? She'd have to brush up on that incantation first.

After explaining said situation to Knuckles via communicator, he was of course rushing to the scene. It was a matter of minutes before he was panting in front of the two."That's insane! I've held onto that book for weeks and it'd never done anything like that. You think it had some negative reaction to you?" Knuckles had somewhat of an understanding of magical and otherworldly artifacts, just given his time with the Master Emerald. He was incredibly sensitive to energies such as that. He places a hand over Binx's chest to try and sense this 'foreign source.' "You know, you two might actually be overreacting." Amazingly it would be Knuckles to say that. "If there was anything evil in that book, I would have sensed it a long time ago and quite frankly I don't sense any evil energy now. If anything it's reminiscent to that of a chaos emerald. In that case, the intent would be with the beholder I guess." And Binx wasn't bad right? So they had nothing to worry about.

"But Knuckles! You didn't see what I saw! It was terrifying! It was like this big hairy thing!"​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

“How…How am I alive? The probability of a peaceful encounter was as good as zero percent…! Also…” They were friends?? They were friends!! This was exciting news! True, “friends” could have been a lie, but Hope was willing to have faith in it due to the fact that her body was still in one piece. She wiggled in place from her processors going into overdrive, replaying the event on loop within herself. The whole encounter caused her to forget about the guilt that would eat her up if she let it.

A sigh from the direction of Shadow. Was it annoyance or relief coursing through him? “As long as Binx isn’t in pain, I suppose then the main threat has been neutralized. But maybe we shouldn’t let that book remain in your room, Binx. Seems too risky.” Shadow then turned to face Knuckles, wanting to bring a proper resolve to the issue. “Is there any place you could take the book, Knuckles? If the book can summon monsters, it could put the safety of the base at risk. Plus, we apparently have some very important guests to protect.”​

 

[Kumokumo]

It couldn't have been seconds later that Sonic appeared. Having no idea what had just occurred. "There you are Hope! I was beginning to think I'd never find you." Still, how strange was it that the encryptions blocking Tails' radar stopped so suddenly? Surely there was some kind of odd coincidence. Regardless, he was just glad to see her here in one piece! "Look, I'm sorry about Shadow. He's as uptight as can be! But I think he's got our interests at heart--deep down anyway." The blue blur held a hand out to her. "So don't take what he says personal. Heck, even I'd be miserable if I took his comments to heart."

"Whaddya say? Ready to head home?"

"I'll take it back to the temple for now. I was having Binx translate it to see what it was all about--guess we've got more of a reason to want to know now." The echidna shrugs sheepishly. He wasn't at all concerned knowing that it didn't seem to be inherently bad. Just yknow--chaotic. "Don't you two worried little love birds worry about a thing. Ol' Knuckles will handle everything." He had no reason at all to call them that--other than to poke fun at Shadow. The furthest thing from having a soul, letting alone capable of complex emotion. That was the running joke anyway. He did the same to Sonic and Amy despite knowing Sonic did not reciprocate the feeling and Tails whenever he came into contact with literally anyone.

Binx literally had to buffer for a minute. "Should I say gross do I stay quiet liKe what do I say?" She was aware of how Knuckles was, and his whole gag with Sonic on Shadow's 'souless' demeanor. "Knuckles, I will bury you."

Of course he only smiled as he turned and left to go get that darned book.​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

The hero’s voice yanked Hope out her little daydreaming session. Her head snapped to look him in his emerald eyes, rotating a full 180 degrees. “Sonic?!” “What’s he doing—oh…” That’s right…she currently was running away from all her problems, her main problem being Shadow. The guilt slowly seeped back into her motherboard but the distress she felt weakened from before. Her head then rotated back into its rightful position as she stared up into the sky, Metal still occupying gigabytes of data in the robot’s memory. Eventually, she takes Sonic’s hand. “Yeah…let’s go home.”

. . . .

After returning to the base, Hope received a long but heartfelt talking to from Jazzlyn, who had been like a worried exhausted mother who had lost their child in a supermarket. But the skunk couldn’t hold onto her anger for long when Hope proved that no damage had been done to her. Feeling relieved that her robo-friend is back where she should be, Jazz slinks off into her quarters, planning to doodle away into the late hours of the night. Of course, Hope simply couldn’t rest. Not with the metal hedgehog racking around in her mainframe. “It might seem a little unusual…but I wish to speak him again.” But how? Metal took orders from Eggman and there wasn’t any reason for a late night adventure, was there? Nonetheless, the rabbit takes advantage of her battery and teleports herself out of the base, wandering into the night in hopes (tehe) of meeting the mechanical speedster once more.

Meanwhile, Fydrick tailed behind the red echidna who was holding some strange book. The dog man was WAAAY out of loop for whatever the heck was happening. For what he can remember from the aftermath of his year long nap, there were anger screams and some terrified screams and now he was needed to protect his commander, Knuckles. “Oh, wait, not a commander here. I think…?” Even if he wasn’t, the pale turquoise canine would treat him as such since Knuckles was his number one in the book of Fy. Anyways, he wondered where the two of they were headed. It was supposedly a safe place for that spooky book the echidna gripped tightly onto with his gloved mitts.​

 

[Kumokumo]

Metal of course had no problem feigning innocence when he'd returned to Eggman. What reason would the doctor have to believe one of his most beloved creations had turned against him? Not that Metal wasn't already operating with vengeance in mind even before he met Hope. That day he had reported back to Eggman with fake data to keep their meeting secret. He knew if Eggman learned about H0P3 and about the battery; it wouldn't spell well with his plans nor the robotic rabbit.

"1f my funct1on is pr1marily my 0wn..choice..th3n wh4t h4ppens n0w?" He'd been sifting through data endlessly ever since their fateful encounter; what did it mean to have a choice? He'd made the choice to disobey Eggman in the past--but why was that? Did he feel as though the doctor held him back from his primary objective of destruction? Or was it truly, deep down that he felt...lonely? Dissatisfied with how his creator treated him. Dissatisfied with the lies. Eggman always called Metal "friend," but it held much different meaning than what Hope had described. Sonic's team never treated each other as harshly as Eggman treated his robots. "Wh4t d0 1 w4nt?"

His internal question hung over the world as his eyes scanned the canopy below. "1 w4nt t0 be bett3r th4n Sonic!" But did he have to kill him for that? Surely, there was some better way-- perhaps he could pick apart Sonic's primary function. Aha! And he could do it better! What a brilliant idea. That would surely prove Metal's worth! The dark robot was just about to go enact his plan when suddenly, he saw something appear on his scanner. "Hmm.."

It brought him great joy to slam into the ground behind Hope. Probably with the intentions of surprising her--but he didn't necessarily think about how it might startle her. "1 n3ver w0uld h4ve gu3ssed t0 find y0u her3. Y0u must b3 thr1lled t0 see me."

"Stick close to me Fy. I don't need you getting lost in here." Knuckles led the Doberman along through his winding ways of tunnels (he'd dug personally) to the temple. The book was proving to be a real pain in his quills, especially now that he'd lost his translator. He'd just have to make do with the cheat sheet Binx left him to work with. The plan was simple: Step one, get the book to the temple, Step two, try to figure out what it's all about, Step three, Knuckles go about his merry day without magic causing problems.

Knuckles kept the temple in pretty good shape, so it was no surprise to see that there were still many old structures still standing from the ruins. "Aallright. Now time to pick apart this stupid book."

A familiar light spider was sitting on the ceiling of the main room, reading away at her spellbooks. Nothing changed in Binx's agenda since the event. Though she did try her darndest to avoid Shadow at any cost--especially after the Knuckles comment. To her, it just wasn't a good idea to go and get attached to the hedgehog. He was just impossible to read sometimes! And she honestly didn't believe Shadow was the type to let himself get attached to others anyway. ALSO it didn't help that she still felt like a freak; she was nothing like her friends! Too many extra arms and eyes and whatnot. Surely no one, especially Shadow, found her in any way desirable. So it was best not to leave herself open to get attached. Plus, she could distract herself by helping Sonic with his endeavors!

The blue hedgehog had wanted to make their new friends as comfortable as possible, so he'd enlisted the spider's help with decorations and whatnot. Also! What a treat it was for her to give him advice on how he should approach and make friends with Jazzlyn.​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

The poor thing got so frightened by the sudden appearance of Metal that she practically flew into the air from the scare. Her sensors didn’t pick him up at all, not this time or even their first encounter earlier. Another shortcoming her defective workings generated. Once Hope’s mechanized version of a small heart attack passed, she shot a look of mild annoyance at the robotic hedgehog that spooked her. “H-hello there, Metal. Very kind of you to drop in so unexpectedly…but I guess you aren’t too far off the mark. I did indeed to locate you!” How embarrassing to be caught so off guard. The hedgehog was probably relishing the fact he startled the jumpy rabbit too.

Fy had to hand it to the ancient echidna tribe, the architecture here took his entire focus. Alllmost his entire focus. His priority was defending Knuckles with his very life, which hopefully it wouldn’t come to that if their visit to the temple was kept short and sweet. Sure, Knux had incredible strength and skill in combat but a little extra help never hurts, right? And the Doberman was determined to be the greatest help that he could be. He had to show Knuckles how capable he was! Though, he had a feeling that wasn’t easy to shake. The scent radiating from the book gave the dog some bad vibes. He couldn’t put his finger on why though.

Departing from the elevator after attending to other affairs, the indifferent hedgehog made his entrance into the main area, groaning. Today had been…interesting, to say the least. A little too interesting for Shadow’s taste but at least the excitement should be over. He happened to look upward and found Binx situated above himself with…another book?? “Not again…” He realized that the sweet spider appeared as calm as she usually was, meaning that no danger had struck. Yet. “Guess if she’s okay then there’s isn’t reason to worry, right?” Even with no real reason to stay, the dark hedgehog couldn’t find it in himself to move from his spot. He only stared and watch the peaceful spider.​

 

[Kumokumo]

Chuckles emanated from him. "Y3s, very k1nd of me." He practically beamed at the affirmation, especially from his white rabbit friend. Well, Metal did have a distorted view of what friends were, but he hoped that he might make it on that list of hers one day. "1'll b3 s0 impress1ve sh3 w0n't be abl3 to d3ny my fr1endship!" Yes, then perhaps she might reconsider his idea of world domination. Or he may even settle for whatever it was that 'friends' did. He really was clueless in regards to formalities of any kind; it honestly made him reminiscent of a child that way. "H3heh." Of course, his moment of soaking in the limelight ended rather quickly. He cocked his head like some feral owl. "L00king for m3?" "F0r wh4t purp0se d1d y0u se3k me out?" Believe it or not that tickled his gears silly. Someone was looking for Metal Sonic? He'd only known how it felt to have people run in fear. Though he still wasn't quite sure which he liked more-- after all he had enjoyed the look on Hope's face when he'd startled her.
​

Knuckles found Fy to be easy to get along with and perhaps that was because he never seemed to disagree with the hot-headed echidna as everyone else seemed to do on frequent. "Argh! This stupid thing doesn't make any sense!" Again, probably why he'd enlisted someone else to try and translate it. Knuckles wasn't one with this thing called patience. Red quills shook to show his blatant frustration. "Does this make any sense to you??" Knux handed off the book to Fy with a look that can only be comparable to that of a child's when asking for help with their math homework. "The energy coming off this thing is so familiar but I can't put a thumb on it! And this uSEless translation is literally just a jumble of words that don't exist! I mean what does this incantation mean?? Nox et coeli capita Ad lunam gloriosam Matrem suam inclina??" Wow, he really felt nauseous after reading that.

It took a minute for the spider to realize there was someone in the room with her. And Shadow actually scared her! She had been so absorbed in her book that she had no clue he'd even entered. That mixed with the fact that he hadn't said a word and was actively looking at her made her jump free of her skin. "S-Shadow! I didn't see you there!" "Did you forget you were supposed to be avoiding him? Scram!" Her fuzzy limbs quickly gathered themselves to make their speedy getaway. "I just remembered I have to do something! Sorry gotta go!" But she had merely only turned around when---Ow..why was her head ringing..? It was like someone had flipped some kind of switch. She instinctively went to cover her ear tufts.

​

 

[Sparkie_Darkie]

Hope’s embarrassing grew with each passing moment. If she could produce sweat, her palms would be clammier than…well, clams. Suddenly, Metal’s perception of her seemed far more important than she originally anticipated. Why was this happening? Surely seeking out a friend to converse with shouldn’t warrant such things. Yes, she planned to have an absolutely normal conversation with a “friend” who might rip out her wires and steal the battery if he so chose to, but that wasn’t the cause of this new behavior. Something more complex that her systems didn’t compute was at hand. “Spit out already…!” “N-nothing all that serious! I merely wanted to engage in another discussion with you about…anything!”

Believe it or not, Fy possessed many skills that even he couldn’t recall. Many a time, he’d figure out he excelled at different things like being capable of identifying all the birdies he’d see in sky without knowing why he knew which ones were which. Oh well, not remembering a lot about the past life he lived would expectedly bring about such surprises. He hoped that his mysterious abilities could kick in and impress Knuckles! Skimming the lines the echidna recited, he was able to identify this language as Latin. “Thanks, random skill I don’t know why I have!” But, as he was about to translate, this awful ringing filled his ears, immediately causing the book to fall out of his grasp. The sound made him wish to tear off his ears.

Shadow sensed the impromptu urgency in Binx’s voice. The tone of it, combined with her body language, conveyed her need to leave being more of a want, perhaps out of fear. Not like it hasn’t happened before. He was Shadow the hedgehog, one of the most unpleasant people to be around based on how he was treated. Though, the treatment was probably deserved with how explosive and cold Shadow appeared on a daily basis. Feeling the slightest guilt for chasing the spider away from her, he went to apologize. But when the spider covered her ear tufts, unease loomed over his shoulder. “Maybe it’s just a headache…? Please no more surprises…”​

 

[Kumokumo]

"4nyth1ng you s4y" Metal blinked down at her in his bewilderment. Couldn't she talk to her 'other friends?' It seemed she had jumped through extra hoops just to find him out here. "H4h! It is du3 t0 the s1mple f4ct th4t I 4m the b3st! H0P3 w0uld much r4ther conv3rsate w1th m3 inste4d!" That had to be the answer. After all--he was stunning! Stunning to look at, stunning when he did his work and stunningly narcissistic at times! "1 h4ve a qu3stion f0r y0u H0P3." His mechanic whizzing and whirring was less aggressive than their previous encounter. Sure, his voice was naturally cold and calculating, but somehow it had lost a lot of it's edge. "T3ll me, d0n't y0u pref3r m3 0ver S0nic?" His red eyes followed her closely, as if they were checking to see if the reaction was genuine. Surely H0P3 liked himself better! I mean he was just flawless in every way--as they both were! Being immortal, precisely designed beings, it just made sense that they were superior in every way.

Knuckles couldn't quite describe the pain he was in. It was like a headache--but all over! Like he'd just been mashed by a giant mallet. Of course he was quick to grab Fy by the arm, as he could tell his fellow companion was under the same infliction. "Fy? Urgh,,don't worry. We'll figure this out--" Too late for that. The quills along his spine grew and darkened, same for his tail, which sprung out long yet kept its original crooked angle. He felt like some surging fungus or weed; every inch of him taking on a sharper, less-friendly appearance. He'd have no clue to what extent this transformation altered him until he could find his reflection but for now all he knew was slight throbbing pain and an indescribable urge to run wild.

"Something is wrong...!" Binx kept her ear tufts securely covered with eyes sealed shut. "Terribly wrong! I-I can feel it" "Shadow, you s-should get out of here." She had not the slightest clue what was happening--but she had a funny feeling that she wasn't the only one this mystery illness was effecting. The sudden urge to rip anything and everything in sight was slowly building up within her and she didn't want Shadow to have any part in it. The fuzzy limbs in her midsection grew long and sharp, along with her ear tufts and 'tail'. Everything just seemed to grow, darken, and exaggerate. If Amy thought she was startling before, Binx was certainly more horror-eske now. The fangs in her head, once small and barely visible, now long and protruding with wild eyes sharp and glowing.​