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Post by Topaz Mutiny on Mar 7, 2009 0:44:15 GMT -5
Deep within the confines of a junkyard was a secret. If one took a piece of scrap and knocked it against a certain pipe three times, paused, and then knocked three times again, a hatch would open, revealing a marvelously hidden bunker amongst the refuse. It was the hideout of a refugee- a robian who had, against all odds, regained his or her free will. Now an invaluable spy, the robian had built this stronghold in secret, filled it with incredible and necessary technology and safeties, and was, in effect, his new home whenever he was able to slip away from the duties he would normally be forced to do. The robian hedgehog within the bunker set down a set of headphones, looking distressed. He sighed, purely by reflex, and began to sift through the information he had managed to gather on a very confusing and little-known subject. First, he had encountered a strange roboticized pangolin he had mistaken for his friend Zachary, as the pangolin had bore a remarkable semblance to Zack, and even had the same name. Even odder was the pseudo-Zack's apparrent free will, and the severe lack of even attempting to hide it. And, once mentioned, the pangolin had laughed, cynically even, and fled through an air duct. Uncle Chuck rubbed his chin thoughtfully. After successfully managing to break away from the group of robians that had chased after the escaping pangolin, the robotic hedgehog had made a beeline for his bunker, extremely worried about these queer events. He had immediately set up his spy and hacking equipment, searching everywhere and for anything that might give him a clue as to what was going on, and if so, did Robotnik know? His worry increased exponentially as he saw that there was initially very little for him to gather. His little mechanical spy-bugs managed to capture a few sound clips of interest, and as for hacking into Robotnik's network... the tyrant knew. Uncle Chuck had tried all levels of access he could afford without getting discovered, and while there was very little on the ones with easy access, some of the more difficultly encrypted levels mentioned the production of a chip that enabled partial free-will. Compared with the pangolin's reaction to what Chuck had assumed was total free will, it now made sense. Had he still been organic, he would have paled at the notion of such a chip. Looking at what schematics he could afford, Chuck gathered that it gave a massive advantage to Robotnik. A robian able to speak its mind, and yet still take orders without fault. If Robotnik ever remembered... No. He'd never give up that easily. If worst came to worst, he would be forced to reveal his secret as a robian with free will and flee, lest he expose his nephew and Knothole's location. But why? Why would Robotnik do such a thing? To be sure, he could have done it years ago, but why this pangolin? More digging revealed some heavily classified files and data. Chuck had worked on it for a lengthy amount of time, but finally managed to extract it without alerting the system. What he had discovered amazed him. Portals, like those he knew of the Void, except these led into a true alternate dimension, instead of whatever the Void could be described as. Described as wild and random, and was the cause of several recent disastors. Could this actually be true? It seemed too impossible to imagine, and yet the facts seemed to lead to this conclusion. Chuck had quickly severed his connection in order to mull things over, as well as to keep his presence undetected. Then later on, he found to his horror that a fox with two tails had been roboticized, and was also equipped with the new chip. Activating his spy bugs in those sectors, Chuck was able to find out more of what Robotnik was up to, and was appalled. After that gruesome detail, he hastily wrote an urgent note to Knothole, detailing all he had dug up, and to warn them of the possibilities that could happen. He never knew that, as he sent the dragonfly-pidgeon off to Knothole, there was little to no one there who would recieve his urgent message. Afterwards, he had placed his headphones back on to see if his spy equipment had picked up anything new, but so far things have gone morosely quiet. And now it was the current time, and Chuck had his face buried into the palm of his hand. Being out of the loop had felt bad enough, but now people from an absolutely ignorant place were being captured and subjected to a torture they could never even imagine. So he had warned Knothole, and promised help to the pangolin whose name was Zack... and yet there was still so much to do to prevent Robotnik from not only dominating one planet, but two. What was to be done, what could be done, what had to work... Somehow, the individual forces needed to be collected and informed. That was a given. There had to be some way to stop Robotnik; something he could do to amend the terrible mistake Chuck had made all those years ago. It was agonising. Despite learning as much as he did about the current catastrophe, he still felt like this was only the tip of the iceberg, and that many more unexpected things were to come. He still couldn't quite believe that there was an alternate dimension, let alone one that apparrently had alternate versions of people he knew. There was just still so much more he needed to know, but no way to effectively get it. As the old hedgehog's mind raced with questions, answers, doubts, fears, and guilt, he had begun to activate every bug he had, and had begun tinkering with his leg, which had been acting up from the pollution that wore at the gears. Yes, there was much to do, but even if it cost him what was left of his life, Charles would make sure he would do everything possible so Robotnik would fail this latest conquest.
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Post by Jamie Lee on Apr 13, 2009 5:34:15 GMT -5
Bunnie peered out through the tall piles of junk and filth that littered the streets. As her eyes drifted back and forth to confirm the coast was clear she turned, looking back at Sally and Nicole, and beckoning them to follow as she darted off. Reaching the camouflaged bunker she stretched her mechanical arm out, knocking on the aforementioned pipe the required number of times. As the hatch lifted she invited herself in. "Howdy, Charlie," Bunnie greeted with a noticeable lack of her normal pep, spotting the robian in his seat as her entourage followed.
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Post by Lans on Apr 20, 2009 1:05:00 GMT -5
"Oh no..." Sally followed Bunnie inside, getting her first look at 'Uncle Chuck.' ANd even despite the robotic form, it wasn't hard to see who he was...though she'd had her suspicions. "...Tell me you're joking." "Sally...the odds are in favor that there are signifigant personality differences between this Charles Hedgehog and the one we are familliar with," Nicole said reassuringly.
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Post by Topaz Mutiny on Apr 20, 2009 20:12:02 GMT -5
The robian hedgehog turned around in his seat, snapping back in place the plating on his leg. He wasn't too surprised that he was getting visitors so soon- despite having only just sent the message to Knothole, he would have expected the resiliant group to figure out quickly that something was amiss. And despite being pleased by the visit, it just wasn't a time for playful banter. "Hello girls." He responded, reciprocating Bunnie's lack of mirth. His eyes quickly focused on Sally and the feline that accompanied them both. The squirrelmunk's odd choice of clothing had caught Chuck's interest... was she yet another of the alternate look-alikes? What the lynx had said seemed to support that thought as well. Standing up, he went to greet his guests. "Unfortunately, there's little time for jokes." He replied with a synthesized sigh. "I assume you're here because... interesting things are probably happening back in Knothole?" the spyhog then asked, sounding more business-like than usual.
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Post by Jamie Lee on May 14, 2009 1:01:51 GMT -5
"Honey, ya'll don't know the half of it. Ya'll'd think I's tellin' some kinda tall tale," Bunnie, looking more worn out than usual, shook her head and pulled in a preparatory breath. "Just so we's on the same page, just how much do ya'll know?"
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Post by Topaz Mutiny on May 16, 2009 2:38:31 GMT -5
"I'd say it feels like I absorbed a year's worth of information in just a day." Uncle Chuck began, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, though stopped quickly as the noise of metal-on-metal rattled his audio-receptors. "What I've learned is that portals like the Void have been appearing everywhere, but instead of a dimension like the Void, they lead to what is apparrently another reality. More specifically, a reality that parallels ours." He explained, pointedly staring at Sally during the last bit. "They've been pulling people from both sides into the other's dimension. It hasn't even been that long, but there are already some casualties." The elderly robian looked around distractedly. "I've warned Knothole. Robotnik knows about the portals, and he's planning to- to use them in a strike against this other world." He added, deciding not to mention alter-Zack and what was obviously an alter-Tails. A look of fury quickly flashed across the hedgehog's face. We need to nip this in the bud. He growled to himself. The key was communication; and that thought made him feel guilty. He shouldn't be withholding any information about this, even if it was personal. "Robotnik's already developed a chip able to give robians enough free will to act normally, and yet still be fully under control of any orders given to them, and he's already tested it in the two robians who are going to build a stable portal for him." Chuck conceded, looking at Bunnie. "And here I thought that I was going to tell you something farfetched. How much did you know before?"
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Post by Lans on May 16, 2009 23:21:45 GMT -5
"We already know about Tails and Finitevus. We were looking for members of his...organization to help them escape, but haven't found any as of yet, though Nicole did manage to get in contact with a unit that might prove helpful...if we can find it again and convince it."
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Post by Jamie Lee on May 17, 2009 0:26:15 GMT -5
Bunnie opened her mouth to continue speaking when-- "What about me, now?" a familiar sounding, if slightly gruffer than usual, voice asked as the bunker door swung up. Leading a small group comprised mostly of cyborgs was a white figure wrapped in a black cloak. His confused face, from what could be seen of it, was partially obscured by a filter-mask. Lance, being part of said group, zeroed his focus in on Sally almost immediately. Besides the fact she looked like that naked dame the doc had in his office earlier, he quickly realized her to be wearing a GUN uniform. " ... Aw man." Midnight, who had actually been rather silent since leaving Lower Mobius, entered with the group. Not knowing knowing anyone other than Dash and Ray though, and not having anything to add, she stayed silent and kept near the back. Bunnie's mouth hung open from her earlier attempt at speech, instead staring in surprise at the group who followed behind Zachary. Even with already having seen him earlier the sight of Dash partially organic managed to catch her by surprise. Even more-so was the teal wolf that accompanied him, also much less mechanical than the version she happened to know. After a moment she shook her head and propped her head up with a palm. " Hoo boy, ain't nevah gonna get used to this," she muttered.
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Post by Leda on May 17, 2009 18:41:01 GMT -5
Another in the group of cyborgs lingered nearby as well -- luckily more collected than she'd been not too long ago. Those who knew her would note that she was actually being quiet for once, and those that didn't would note how closely she was sticking to Zachary.
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Post by Lans on May 17, 2009 19:58:49 GMT -5
Sally's eyes widened in surprise for a moment at the sudden appearance of the other group. Reflexively, she nearly reached for her weapon before realizing who they were. "Well..." Sally said, glaring in the direction of the newcommers. "It seems finding the legion members won't be a problem." "And, ironically, in the company of their leader's counterpart as well." "Yes Nicole, I did notice that."
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Post by Topaz Mutiny on May 18, 2009 19:38:16 GMT -5
And Amy was the last to trail in, quite upset and quiet. When they had said 'city', she hadn't been expecting something out of a nightmare. Well, at least they had arrived at help. Trying to peer over the others, Amy managed to catch a glimpse of the four ahead of them, and was particularly startled by the hedgehog robot. A hedgehog robot that looked FAR TOO MUCH like Uncle Chuck. She made a few confused noises before settling back down. Okay, yeah, this place had counterparts. BUT WHY WAS UNCLE CHUCK-A-LIKE A ROBOT. Speaking of whom, Chuck was brought out of his forlorn musing over Tails (he knew it) and Finitevus by... his own Finitevus. And a whole bunch of other people. Normally Chuck would have been hesitant about showing newcomers the location of his hidden bunker, but he trusted that his good friend would know who would and wouldn't be safe to bring along. "Ah! It's good to see you Zack." He said to his partially roboticized friend. He felt oddly relieved to see him, probably due to the fact that he first thought that Zack had finally been fully roboticized. "And you have great timing. I would have sent a messenger pidgeon or come to you myself, as some rather strange things have been happening." After greeting the echidna, Chuck went on to explain who they just mentioned. "We weren't talking about you.... not exactly. It's still... difficult for me to grasp, but rips like the void have been appearing that lead to an alternate world." He paused, frowning as he considered what to say next. "There are counterparts of ourselves, and I happened to meet yours. Apparrently this... lady-" He explained, gesturing to Sally while stuttering over just exactly what to call her by, "-Knows him as well." He then shook his head, bemused and confused. I still don't understand why he's a pangolin instead of an echidna though. He then looked at the alternate Sally. Despite being from an alternate world, she seemed just as well-informed as ever.
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Post by DB on May 18, 2009 22:04:41 GMT -5
Dash fidgeted, having entered with his team members and also taking notice of the GUN agent... more particularly, that she was a GUN agent he'd already encountered earlier that day. Now he was sort of... standing behind Julie and Lance. Almost hiding, really. The day had certainly been strange enough without any more trouble being stirred up. Not to mention the hell hole of a city they'd just gone through had him more than a bit disturbed.
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Post by V for Vizetta on May 19, 2009 4:03:22 GMT -5
And, almost completely silent, a small sparrow girl huddled almost right next to, and slightly behind Zachary, looking at the people in the bunker already. "..."
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Post by Jamie Lee on May 19, 2009 4:49:58 GMT -5
Zachary eyed the squirrelmunk critically for a few moments as Chuck spoke, noting her striking resemblance to the princess. "I'm well aware of the counterparts. I came across yours in Elem," his gaze turned back to Chuck. "But before we go into that I'm afraid there are other, bigger, concerns we need to discuss first. First of all, Elem appears to have become all but abandoned, Cassia and I were the only natives--" he paused long enough to glance at the group behind him, "--Left, aside from seeing Tikal earlier, who I then witnessed fall into one of those portals. I assume the rest probably met some similar fate if they aren't just hiding in their homes in the dark - which brings me to another crisis and the main reason I'm even up here; our power stone has died."
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Post by Topaz Mutiny on May 19, 2009 21:31:23 GMT -5
Uncle Chuck nodded in response to Zack, as he had just wanted to make sure that Zack knew what was going on. His eyebrows had quirked when he heard that Zachary had met his own counterpart. But then they fully raised up in alarm when the echidna told him of the crisis in Lower Mobius. "What?" Chuck snapped, obviously startled by the news. "So soon?" The elderly hedgehog had expected that power stone to last Lower Mobius a lot longer. Why did it die all of a sudden? The robian's brow furrowed, wondering what to do. It seemed that Lower Mobius had just become his biggest priority, despite the urgency of these portals. He had done all he could so far, and now it looked like his friend's home was in more urgent jeapoardy. Walking briskly towards the back, Charles entered the private area of his base. It wasn't exactly his room, but it did allow a bit of privacy when he needed it. He grabbed a black box that layed on a desk and opened it. A faint glow lit his features as he gazed upon the power crystals within. They were remnants of a large crystal that had been excavated in the mines, whereupon he had Sonic and the other freedom fighters help shatter it to keep it from falling into Robotnik's talons. They were significantly weaker than power stones, but Chuck hoped that the few shards he had managed to procure could keep Lower Mobius' power supply running for a bit longer, until they managed to find something more powerful to fuel the underground city. Chuck closed the box. Walking back from the personal area, he handed the box over to Zack. "Here. It's not much, but hopefully it'll tide you over until we find a more permanent power source." Despite being a robot, Chuck had the unmistakable urge that made him want to rub his temples.
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Post by Lans on May 20, 2009 22:19:48 GMT -5
"All right, now that that's out of the way," Sally said, stepping forward to address the legion members. "I would hope that we could...set our mutual dislike of each other given the circumstances. Your...boss asked me to locate you."
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Post by Jamie Lee on May 21, 2009 14:33:19 GMT -5
Lance was frowning as the GUN agent approached. Having already had contact with Finitevus the wolf knew of the truce already, and knew that letting her tag along wasn't something he preferred happen. Of course, he wasn't going to admit they had contact with each other. Not yet. "Oh did he?" Letting them to their business for the moment, Zachary graciously took the box and carefully raised the lid. Placing his organic hand onto the glowing stones he allowed his eyes to slip shut, concentrating on their energy. "Hrm... We might be able to stretch this a week if we watch our resources..." he closed it, looking back up. "I can't thank you enough, Charles," and then, his brow furrowed with intensity. "There's another urgent concern, though. The stone didn't just die on its own. This... crystalline... thing appeared in the cavern and then later slipped away in the commotion your double caused. He... told me he was created by Gerald Robotnik." Holding a hand up as she waited for the elder to finish, Bunnie quickly cut in; "Knothole's got its own problems. Apparently all of the other Freedom Fighters are missin', and there's this huge flyin' island hoverin' over the forest!"
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Post by Leda on May 22, 2009 0:10:49 GMT -5
It was probably a good thing Lance had answered first, and had done so with feigned ignorance; Julie's first instinct was to shake Sally by the jacket until she coughed up the details of her conversation with the doctor. In fact, her scales had just started to bristle upward when Lance beat her to the punch. Realizing that she'd nearly given in to such a severe impulse with no thought, the pangolin drew a deep breath and released it slowly. I am wound up WAY too tight right now, the legionairre thought to herself. We need to find Lord Finitevus, and soon.
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Post by Topaz Mutiny on May 23, 2009 22:05:14 GMT -5
Glancing at the squirrelmunk, Chuck decided to let her finish her own business, as it was apparrent he wasn't needed there at the time. Listening to Zachary, he nodded in return to the thanks, as it was the least he could have done. He would have to set up a search for a new power stone quickly, if Zack's estimation was cor- Crystalline thing made by a Gerald Robotnik? The robian's eyes darted as Bunnie quickly explained the situation at Knothole, which only made this whole mess just that much more difficult. Though overcoming the seemingly impossible had become his forte. Despite lacking a need for it, Chuck simulated a breath in order to clear his mind, sorting the facts in his scientific head. Chuck held up a hand to Bunnie while looking at Zack before speaking. The disappearances were alarming and a mysterious flying island even more so, though what they could actually do to remedy that situation was, at this point, miniscule. That, and he was slightly stunned at the name his friend just spoke of. " Gerald Robotnik?" Chuck rhetorically asked, shaking his head. "I haven't heard that name in years. I thought Julian's brother disappeared for good after the coup."
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Post by Lans on May 24, 2009 0:11:45 GMT -5
"Yes, he did," Sally responded to Lance. "The short version is that he and our version of Tails Prower have been subjected to a process called robotization that has transformed them both into robots supposedly under the control of this world's Robotnik." She paused to get a breath but quickly went on before they could think about interrupting, "However...both have apparently managed to overcome his control, though they are helping to build an artifical portal back to our world, but is planning to sabotage it after we've all used it to return to our world where we can begin to try and find and reverse the cause of all this madness."
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Post by Jamie Lee on May 24, 2009 17:48:48 GMT -5
"I know," the echidna muttered grimly. "The funny thing is the creature said it had never even heard of Julian. It also claimed it was some sort of genetic experiment and that it had two personalities. The one I spoke to was apparently named Black Doom. The other side was... Mephisto or something to that effect..." The wolf's head tilted back thoughtfully as Sally explained herself, keeping both of his hands folded behind his back in what seemed a casual posture - though the two legionnaires standing beside him would have realized otherwise. Once she was finished he glanced at his companions and scrunched his mouth up. "Hmmm... You don't say, eh?" and then, he brought his hands out, and it was revealed he had been holding a DL communicator the entire time; one finger pressed firmly down on the talk button. "Hey Doc, how does her story check out?" A moment or two later, a somewhat irate sounding voice most of the people in the room would have found very familiar suddenly spoke up; <Her story is accurate. Ms. Acorn and I have agreed to a truce, and my apprentice and I have both managed to break the control our programming had over us.>
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Post by Leda on May 24, 2009 22:35:52 GMT -5
At the sound of her leader's voice, Julie's demeanor visibly brightened, and without warning she snatched the radio out of Lance's hands. "Doc, hi!! I've got good news! If that programming kicks your ass again, the guy that looks like you said he knows how to get rid of it for good!" Pausing for an extra glance in Zack's direction, she idly added, "And right now he looks really freakishly close to you. All he needs is a tutu or something."
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Post by Jamie Lee on May 24, 2009 22:46:55 GMT -5
A rather cynical chuckle came from the communicator. "That concern isn't necessary Julie. There's nothing Robotnik can do about that no--" Having heard his own voice coming from behind him, Zachary had turned and quickly noticed the communicator being held out. It was that point Julie found it yanked out of her own hand and an incredulous stare pointed at her over the 'tutu' comment. "Dr. Zachary, I presume?"
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Post by Leda on May 24, 2009 22:50:31 GMT -5
Well, she may have just gotten robbed of that which she'd already rightfully stolen, but it seemed inconsequential: Fini had just confirmed that he was free of the programming for keeps. Grinning ear to ear, Julie let out an airy giggle and pelvic thrusted in victory. "HELL YEAH!"
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Post by Topaz Mutiny on May 24, 2009 22:55:09 GMT -5
Sir Charles furrowed his brow, intrigued by Zack's findings. Genetic experiments weren't unheard of, but the technology for such things were nearly impossible to come by these days, and so it had dwindled into an oddity. Plus, he knew that Gerald had been dealing with biological warfare, but he didn't think that included artificially created Mobians. As he thought about Zack and Bunnie's situations, he dimly heard the conversation between Miss Acorn (as he had now dubbed her) and the group members. Slowly it dawned on him just exactly what the squirrelmunk had stipulated, and the magic response from the pangolin he had met before. Of course, before he could make a beeline for the communicator, Zack beat him to the punch. He desperately wanted a chat with the other Zachary, but it looked like he was going to have to wait his turn. CURSES. Also, the elderly hedgehog quirked an eyebrow at Julie's 'tutu' comment. That was.... very random.
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Post by Lans on May 24, 2009 22:58:30 GMT -5
Sally frowned as the communicator linked to Fini was 'passed' around. If he'd been able to communicate with his flunkies, why hadn't he done so in the first place? And then it crossed her mind that the other Finitevus had told this Chuck that... Nicole let out a gasp. Sally was suddenly practically on top of Zach, knocking the communicator out of his grasp, as she grasped his shoulders. "Black Doom!? You're SURE, absolutely sure that's what he called himself!?" she demanded.
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Post by Jamie Lee on May 24, 2009 23:05:13 GMT -5
"Ah--HEY!" Zachary shouted as the communicator clattered across the floor. The action had also knocked both his monocle and his hood away, causing his spines to fly outward. "I'm not deaf, woman!" he growled, shoving her off.
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Post by V for Vizetta on May 25, 2009 0:20:28 GMT -5
Cassie gasped as Sally 'tackled' Zack, reaching out to pull her away. She didn't say anything... but she didn't have to with a pair of mechanical arms. She wanted the squirrelmunk OFF. [Dice Roll: 4][rand=654603338561233241016107633462595811680418812456526190492674578125]
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Post by Topaz Mutiny on May 25, 2009 0:53:32 GMT -5
Meanwhile during the sudden ruckus, Chuck picked up the dropped communicator. Seeing that it was undamaged, and that Zach was... currently busy... he decided to have a quick chat. "Sorry for inturrupting. This is Charles. I'd like to know how exactly you and your friend managed to break the programming without alerting Robotnik." The robotic hedgehog asked with a strong voice. It had taken years and quite a bit of help in order to break his own programming, and yet these two had managed to do that in mere days after being roboticized. It could be because of Robotnik's new experimental chip that the odds had turned in their favor. If so, this could possibly lead to the mass creation of a chip able to impede and aid in overcoming the programming, at least until they managed to create a permanent deroboticizer. As for the hecticness around him? Eh, reminded him of his nephew.
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Post by Lans on May 26, 2009 22:44:11 GMT -5
[dice=6] (Dice roll = 6) Sally released Zack, preparing to say a hasty apology before getting him to answer the question...when she suddenly felt herself get grabbed from behind by a pair of mechanical arms. Already on guard because of the presence of the legion members, Sally reacted reflexively, lashing out at the person with a roundhouse kick before she realized exactly who it was... [dice=6] (Dice roll = 5)[rand=9896153061578092622181730893247871882715572955162563516801707854]
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