Robotropolis- Frying Pan

[DB]

By this point the point the mysterious foreign robot that had attacked Robotropolis earlier had been repaired- not, of course, for any reasons of sentiment. When one attacks Robotropolis, it’s ruler demands an answer.

During the repairs, (which, internally, were quite extensive), many of the wires had to be completely replaced, burnt beyond use by the electrical attacks deployed on the corgi robot earlier in the day. Also requiring repairs were the corgi’s arms- however, for this part, complete repairs were not incorporated, instead, it was opted to only fix the arms enough that they’d be of use, but not to fix the weapon itself, thusly making the plasma gun about as useful as a rifle without a trigger or flint. This, of course, was a safety precaution. After the stunt the bot had pulled earlier, a repeat was not desired. What was desired, however, were the robot’s naked blueprints schematics. It never hurt to know your enemy’s (and it was assumed that the dog bot and it’s creator were enemies to the empire) style.

And even if the robot corgi was now effectively weapon-less, he was still restrained, for further safety reasons. After all, he could still try to run away, and Robotnik did not want that. Oh no. All Robotnik wanted at this point were answers, especially now. The hedgehog he’d attempted to roboticize only moments before had, somehow, both put his roboticizer temporarily out of commission and even more perplexingly, disappeared in thin air. Not to mention that soon after the security camera watching the last prisoner suddenly went offline, and that the current prisoner was nowhere to be found. And then there was the matter of the other event- which, at the moment, Snively was supposed to be taking care of.

All of these things seemed to fit together, but the details Robotnik did not know.

Thusly, questions.

Robotnik raised a hand, and a nearby worker button nodded in acknowledgment, turning to a nearby console and switching a few switches. In moments, the restrained dog-bot would be ‘conscious’ again.

Robotnik shifted so that’d he’d be the first thing to be seen, a disapproving scowl spread across his face, and a hiss of a greeting. “Wakey wakey. We have much to talk about.”

[Stoney]

A slow whine, softer and gentler than the last time it had issued from the robot, indicated it was beginning to come online once again. His limbs twitched as his BIOS kicked in; a soft beep emitted from his throat, confirming his voice box was once again functional.

Then his emotional matrix loaded, and his personality blanket overlay activated. Rush's eyelids jolted open with a start.

WARNING -- HULL BREACH
WARNING -- FOREIGN MATERIAL DETECTED
WARNING -- INCOMPATIBILITY WITH CURRENT SYSTEMS

"G-gaaAAAAH!" He yelled, as both a million warnings flashed across his optics and blinding, mind-shattering pain tore through him. It felt like someone had tried to stitch him back together with leftover parts -- and his system was rejecting them.

Clenching his eyes shut in pain, Rush grinded his teeth so hard they spat sparks as, one by one, he cancelled the warnings and overrode the emergency rejection of the new material. He knew doing so probably wasn't a good idea, but right now whatever was in him was the only thing keeping him alive, and he wasn't gonna push his luck.

Finally the pain receded, as his body ceased to fight its new implants. Rush was left breathless by the ordeal, strugging to fuel his internal microfusion system with more air. This effect was magnified by the fact that the current air he was breathing had an enormous amount of impurities, making him unable to process it efficiently -- thus, more of it was needed to power him than usual. To an organic, it would be akin to being at a high altitude.

Finally , at last, Rush opened his eyes and looked around again.

...Ugh, what a sight to wake up to. Who the heck was THIS ugly fat dude? He needed a shave. And maybe some Rogaine. And definitely a few cases of SlimFast.

Rush took a quick glance around the room, confirming what he already knew: he was a prisoner. He flexed an arm; yep, it was restrained, and the restraints held strong against him. Rush glanced back up at the disgustingly bloated human. He'd read about what generally happens in these sorts of situations. This man would likely be his interrogator.

Rush clenched his jaw. He'd be damned if a word left his lips.

[DB]

Robotnik watched grimily as the robot writhed on the table. In some situations, he may of even smirked at the display, but at the moment he was in anything but a happy mood, and he had no time for small pleasures.

Besides that, it struck an odd note with him. Whoever had created this robot had built it capable of feeling pain. The logic of that seemed bizarre to him. After all, the inability to feel was one of the greatest strengths of a machine. It was one of the reasons he never even so much as attempted to deroboticize his arm.

While the robot struggled, the dictator simple stood and waited, hands clasped behind his back, still scowling. Eventually, the corgi regained it’s composure, a look of defiance on it’s face.

Another odd note. This machine was also programmed with emotions. Behavior like that he’d expect from an organic, or a rogue robian- which the corgi was first thought to be a modified form of. But notes taken during the repairs shown otherwise, nothing quite like this robot had ever been seen before, and it was a bit of an enigma.

Regardless, its expression spoke for it.

“You don’t want to talk, do you?” He sighed, his face contorting to an exaggerated expression of understanding, “That’s alright. You see, around here we have ways of making people… or machines… talk.” His voice turned darker as he spoke, but his next words were back to a neutral level. “But, I’d rather it not come to that, and I’m sure you wouldn’t either. I may even let you go… “

Of course, in reality, he had no intentions of that. But lies were his specialty- after all, they were the most important tool in his other-throwing of the Kingdom of Acorn.

[Stoney]

Robotnik would soon encounter an extraordinary dilemma with Rush: he was very stubborn. So much so, that it was doubtful the tyrant would obtain any information unless he tried hacking, which Rush was well prepared to defend himself against.

The Ressonbot wasn't sure why he was being interrogated, where he was, who this man was, or whether or not he was being sincere with his claims. He didn't even know what information in particular the man desired. All Rush knew was that he was a corgi of principles, and he wasn't gonna talk after being threatened like that. No way, no how.

This meant, of course, that he would probably get tortured. Rush actually had to suppress a savage grin at that thought. To him, torture was just another form of battle, and he thrived on battles. Bring it on! He could take it!

He pondered exactly how to phrase his reply for a moment. For the first time he actually wished for saliva glands, just so he could spit in the man's face and drive his defiance home; sadly, Resson hadn't had the foresight to include that feature. His hands were restrained as well, so he couldn't give a particularly rude gesture in reply. And he still refused to say anything bordering on a sentence.

So he had to settle for turning his head away defiantly, instead.

"Hmph!"

[DB]

(Okay, I'd much prefer to write a nice long post, but... I just can't get into the mindset enough to write one, so... T_T' here's a short twiddy piece o crap. I feel sorta like I'm godmodding here as well. Not happy.)

Robotnik shrugged. "The hard way it is, then." He raised a hand, gesturing to a worker bot at a nearby control panel.

Less then moments later, Rush would be shocked with a current of electricity. Not enough to fry the wires (again), but enough to take advantage of the fact that the robot was capable of feeling pain.

[Stoney]

((Don't worry DB, I'm too distracted by schoolwork to make a very detailed post either. Let us be crappy together!))






And Rush proceeded to spasm like mad within his restraints, screaming something unintelligible that almost-but-not-quite sounded like "NOT MY PANGOLIN".

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the electric flow halted. Rush was left coughing and slumping weakly against his bonds as his joints smoked.

Many moments passed in silence. Then...

Rush snorted.

The snorting grew into chuckling.

The chuckling swelled to create all-out laughter. Scratchy laughter, but laughter nonetheless.

Oh yes, he was loving this. Loving it so VERY much. If that was all this man had, then he'd never learn a damn thing from this Corgi.

[DB]

Robotnik sighed. Second time today someone laughed at an inappropriate time. At least in this situation it wasn't completely unusual, though, it was always awkward when trying to extract information from masochists.

He really wasn't in the mood for games, however, and sighed. At least the prisoner was a machine, the information could always be hacked...

"I don't have time for this." he said, simply, with a hiss, turning to a another nearby workerbot.

"Extract the data directly, there's no point in this method."

[Jamie Lee]

Around that point, a couple of robots were in the process of traveling through the vents. Metal paused when he heard Robotnik give his order, looking out through the grate and spotting him and Rush through it. His eyes narrowed. The android from what he could make out through his obstructed vision was being restrained. This was going to end up being tricky.

He looked behind him at Dash, then sent the tenrec a transmission. <This is it. Be quiet. I need to figure out what I am going to do...>

[Stoney]

Rush sneered at the bloated human. Argh, this self-imposed silence was as inconvenient for him as it was for Robotnik -- he SO wanted to diss the human six ways from Sunday, but couldn't. The sheer effort of holding the insults back was taking its toll on him.

...Oh, hell with it.

"Bite my shiny metal ass, meatbag."

[DB]

Metal's method of communication would of been perfectly fine... if not for one thing... Not being a naturally a robot, and only having been a robot for a short period of time, Dash was not... exactly used to radio transmissions. Thusly, it sounded like Metal Sonic had just spoken inside his head, which, needless to say, scared the living daylights out of him, causing him to yelp in surprise. And if that weren't noisy enough, he also jumped, hitting the top of the vent then falling over into a sit, causing a loud bang inside the vent.

Meanwhile, the dictator's mustache bristled, and he was just about to give the corgi an unkind reply when-


"ACK!"

BANG-THUNK

Robotnik paused at the sudden interuption, furrowed his brow in wonderment, and then, in realization, swiveled to look upwards in the direction of the ventilation system.

"GUARDS!"


"... oops..."

[Jamie Lee]

Metal winced at the tenrec's reaction, and then buried his face into his palm when he heard Robotnik yell.

"Alright... the hard way it is..."

The robotic hedgehog reared his leg back, and then kicked the vent cover clean off. Leaping down into the room his eyes darted up to Robotnik, then over to Rush whose side he quickly bolted over toward.

[Stoney]

Rush kinda...stared blankly at this unexpected turn of events. While he wasn't complaining at the idea of a rescue, he'd rather have a blind two-fingered monkey reformat his hard drive with a pickaxe than be indebted to his worst enemy like this.

"HEY, PIXELBRAIN!" Rush yelled at the worker bot manning the control console for the torture device. "COULD YOU ELECTROCUTE ME AGAIN? EXCEPT THIS TIME, REALLY TRY TO KILL ME."

He paused, then added: "I'D ALSO PREFER IF YOU THREW THE SWITCH WHILE HE'S TOUCHING ME, IF AT ALL POSSIBLE."

[DB]

Robotnik's eyes widened.

"Metal?"

He was, quite understandably, shocked. One of his own robots, kicking out a vent and rushing over to a prisoner like that? It made no sense... and the shock quickly turned into rage.

"YOU'D BEST HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS, METAL..."

[Jamie Lee]

Unfortunately... By the time Rush had finished yelling that particular bot was now a pile of scrap as Metal catapulted into it with a spindash.

"Oh be quiet, Rush!" he snapped at the corgi as he uncurled and glided for the table, his glowing eyes glaring up at Robotnik for a split second after the tyrant finished yelling at him. "Julian, I owe you absolutely nothing!"

Releasing the table's restraints, grabbed Rush by one of the wrists, and before giving him a second to be able to protest the robotic hedgehog's engine roared and he raced back toward the vent. Once inside, he paused only long enough to grab Dash by the wrist with his other hand and proceeded to speed off.

[Stoney]

The whirlwind of motion around Rush finally subsided as his processor caught up with what was happening.

He was being hauled through an extremely narrow tunnel at speeds that greatly exceeded the limits set by common sense. Not only that, but the one towing him was...

"....HEY!"

As expected, he began to struggle in the metal hedgehog's grip. "PUT ME DOWN, DAMN YOU! I WANT TO RIP THAT FAT BASTARD'S ROBOTIC ARM OFF AND FEED IT TO HIM!"

[DB]

Wow. Super speedy rollercoaster like action. Dash'd been through this before. At least this time, he had the small benefit of being a robot, meaning he wouldn't throw up at the end.

Small benefit.

[Jamie Lee]

Halfway out of spite, Metal responded to the corgi's 'request' by tightening his grip.

"LATER!" he snapped. "I do as well!"

Navigating through the wide passageway, eventually Metal placed his barrier up (larger than normal to accommodate his passengers) and accelerated, slamming into the thick grate that was separating the trio from the air outside. His acceleration didn't stop after slamming through the opening either. As hoverpods began to accumulate around them, no doubt having been ordered out by Robotnik, they did little to daunt the metallix. He hurtled through the air, and as his speed only continued to increase the three became little more than a blur against the smoggy twilit city, easily outrunning any units that may have been dispatched.

Dash had said that the Great Forest was the safest place they'd be able to find, so that was the destination the robotic hedgehog had chosen.