Runaway Robot

For the past six months, many people across Mobius had been reporting sightings of a red robotic Hedgehog.  No one knew for sure what its mission was since it never stayed in one place for too long and never attacked anyone.  The lack of aggression, to those who were brave enough to get a good look at this robot, was the strangest thing about it.  It looked like a sort of "next-generation" Metal Series robot, and these tended to waste no time causing chaos and destruction in their wake.

This time of year, though, most people just forgot about the robot sightings.  It was Christmas Eve after all, and the robot still hadn't attacked anyone.  The robot was still at large though, and it was currently peeking into the picture window of a house in a suburb of Westopolis.  The robot was fascinated by the Christmas tree that stood on the other side of the glass.  The imitation conifer was decorated with a vast assortment of ornaments, from glass baubles to homemade crafts.  It was also illuminated by tiny, twinkling white lights and larger, steady-burning bulbs of red, green, yellow, blue, orange and purple.  Every so often, one of the house's occupants could be seen approaching the tree, grabbing a brightly-colored box, and walking away while giggling with excitement.  After a bit, another occupant aimed an object that was foreign to the observing robot at the tree and pressed a button, triggering a bright white flash of light that caused the machine to automatically adjust the light sensitivity of its visual sensor and believe it was under attack by agents of the group that created it.

"Visual disorientation attempt," it announced out loud.  "Further aggression is imminent.  I must withdraw."  With those words, the runaway robot headed for the city.

In an office in GUN Headquarters an Old Bear looks outside the window. Knowing that even though it's Christmas even though GUN doesn't get that luxury since there must be people on base, As he smokes his Cigar he will receive a call. Looking to his Black phone he will pick it up. the phone is of a wireless design allowing the Major to speak while moving in his office.

' Carville Here... Just one picking minute. You're telling me that a dang Metal is loose on the streets? .....', Before he can finish the person contacting him continue to speak on before the Major takes a seat snuffing out his cigar in the process.

'I understand general. It is not good to have the civilians freak out on Christmas. I know the boys won't like it, but I'll wrangle up a squad together.'

With that he hangs up and turns to his computer. Picking a squad of five from his roster to handle this situation.

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Meanwhile, In a small town apartment in the residential block of the city. A light Pink hedgehog is getting out of the shower all clean and dress in some red pajamas ready to head to bed before she looks outside to see the snow. Drinking her Hot cocoa before she notices something out of the ordinary.... A Metal passing by. She quickly gulps before she almost spits out ...

" Oh my.... is that a metal? Now THAT'S a story I can defiantly get another Silver Acorn Journalism award for!" With that she drinks the hot cocoa quickly before running into her bedroom and 10 minutes later gets into her reporter gear and camera before putting on her winter Hijab and proceeds to leave the apartment

" Stay there metal... Sahla al-Sabet is coming for ya!"

On top of a high skyscraper in the main square of Westopolis, a shadowed figure wearing a black hooded cloak was leaning on the balcony rail, overlooking the city. Its face was concealed by a black-and-yellow, lightning-print bandana and black, tinted goggles; it was also carrying a rifle on its back by a cross-shoulder scabbard. 

This figure was known to the public as Volt—a member of the infamous vigilante gang, DVNz. He and another member of his gang, Overlock, came to Westopolis to monitor the city during the annual holiday shopping rush, one of the busiest days Northamer sees all year. Overclock's hacked security cameras were watching both the streets and the city square, and if any public danger was suspected, the details would be relayed to Volt, who would attempt to be the first responder.

While watching the lively crowds on the lit surface below, a chime rang on a communicator in Volt's left ear. After clicking a button on the earpiece, a youthful, timid voice came from the other end: "Volt? Do you copy? Volt?" It was Overclock.  

"Big O, my man! You find something on the feed?"

"Actually...yes I did. But I don't think it's what you expect."

"Heh, as if I have expectations anymore." Volt chuckled, backing off of the balcony rail. "Lay it on me."

"Well, um...there's a Metal Sonic in town," said Overclock with a tinge of fear in his voice.

"Wait, a what?! Why?!"

"I have no idea, but I'm kinda scared to find out. You should probably head down and intercept it before it gets to the crowds. Those things are bad news."

"10-4. Keep me posted."

Overclock continued watching the Metal via the hacked security cameras; meanwhile, Volt got ready to track it down in person. He unholstered two black-and-yellow pistols from his hips; then his hands began to crackle with electricity, charging a pair of black-and-yellow bracelets that were hidden underneath his sleeves. Using his pistols, he fired a long, solid electric beam at the edge of a lower building, which he used as a grapple to swing down from the skyscraper and onto the lower rooftops.

As Overclock continued to give Volt information on the robot's whereabouts, Volt would travel across the rooftops, chasing it with his pistols in hand.

XM continued to wander the streets while the vigilante tracked him and GUN prepared to engage him.  Occasionally, he'd peek into the window of an apartment if he spotted the light of a Christmas tree still twinkling.  The red robot knew nothing about Christmas customs.  The trees he saw in windows resembled trees he'd seen in the forests he'd traveled, but these were much smaller so they could fit inside a house.

Eventually, one Christmas display on an apartment balcony caught his attention.  The lights appeared to flash and change color in time to music that his keen robotic ears easily picked up.  He took a chance and rocketed up to the third-story balcony that this display adorned and hovered there, studying the display as it danced to Destiny's Child's rendition of Silent Night.  Suddenly, a bright white floodlight activated and shone down on him, making him much more visible to the apartment's occupant: an orange-furred Hedgehog woman.

"That must be the Metal that's been sighted for the past few months," she said out loud before taking a sip of Chaos Cola and putting on her winter jacket.  Since there were no reports of the robot attacking anyone, she figured it wouldn't be TOO dangerous to confront it.  She opened up the sliding door that led out to the balcony and approached XM.

"You are unarmed?" the robot asked, noticing that she wasn't carrying anything that could be interpreted as a weapon to him.

"Well, you're not exactly smashing through the wall and trying to ram that nasty-looking drill of yours into me.  According to the news reports on you, you haven't been hostile to anyone.  Usually, when a Metal like you is out and about, it's causing a lot of destruction and death.  What did bring you here?"

"The illuminated arrays in this facility are changing color and flashing in synchronization with sound patterns being broadcast from inside.  What is the purpose of these arrays?  They are...fascinating."

The Hedgehog laughed and scratched the back of her head.  "Those are my Christmas lights, and they're being controlled by a little program I wrote up in college.  It takes any music fed into it, analyzes it in real-time, and animates the lights accordingly.  I've been using it for my Christmas displays every year since then."  This was definitely not the typical Metal unit.  Maybe it had a glitch in its programming that made it more curious than hostile.


"I am not designated as a Metal," XM corrected matter-of-factly.  "I am designated as an Exterminator Model.  My creator is identified as Machina, but further data is unavailable.  I have been labeled a defective unit."

"Defective, huh?"  The Hedgehog took another drink of soda.  "I'm assuming the 'defect" is a lack of hostility.  Are they hunting you down?"

"Affirmative, but they have not pursued me into population centers."

"Unlike Dr. Eggman, Machina doesn't want to be seen.  From what I've gathered, defective robots they make are first dealt with by scout drones, and those are programmed to avoid population centers where they could be spotted.  Machina would no doubt love people to think you ARE built by Eggman.  That would explain your resemblance to Metal Series bots."

"Such data is unavailable.  My activation was registered as premature.  No combat directives are present within my program."


"Oh.  Well, if you want, you can come inside.  I'm not with Machina, so I won't mess with your programming.  Besides, keeping this door open will just run up my gas bill."  The woman motioned for XM to follow her as she went back inside.

XM slowly followed the Hedgehog into the apartment.  "You are...kind.  What is your designation?"

She giggled.  "My name's Amber.  Can I call you XM?  It sounds cooler, and a bit more fitting, than 'Exterminator Model.'"

XM nodded as Amber closed the door behind him and took a seat in a recliner that sat across from a Christmas tree that was lit with red, green, yellow, orange, blue, purple, and warm white LED lights.

Taking her lead, XM slowly took a seat on the couch, being careful not to break through the cushion with his heavy metal body.

(skipping my post for Bruno since I am trying to get a friend to join the rp )




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After she got her gear on the Hedgehog heads down to the garage where a small yellow van is there waiting in the parking lot as she climbs in placing her camera down in the foot area of the passenger side as she turns on the ignition. She will leave the garage she would start driving seeing that the metal has already left the area. While she is driving she will click on the phone attached to a holder on top of the radio and calls a number for a Benny.

'Hello?' a male voice would answer the phone

' Benny get your ass up and get to your front door. We got a story for channel 45. I need ya'

'What? But I'm about to open presents with my family'

'FINE!' The hedgehog will respond in a tempered tone 'I can do this on my own then!'

With that she hangs up as she searches for the robot.

While Sahla was starting her van up and preparing to get some info on XM for the Channel 45 News, the robot remained in Amber's living room, sharing his life story with the Hedgehog.

"I'm guessing Machina hasn't sent any covert operatives or hired guns after you yet."

"They have not.  I am thankful for that."


Amber scratched her chin.  "They might be waiting for GUN to come after you.  It wouldn't surprise me if they had operatives working within that organization."


"If necessary, I will remain in this facility for the time being," XM offered.

"Might not be a bad idea," the Hedgehog replied.  "Maybe I can help you somehow.  I have experience with robotics.  Maybe I could give you a pair of hands that are more like mine.  Having a drill and blaster for hands has to make things difficult for you."


XM's blue eyes literally brightened at the thought of this impending upgrade.  "That would be desirable.  My current configuration renders non-destructive tactile contact impossible."  He thought back to the first time he tried to touch something.  It was a bird that had perched on a fence post, which he inadvertently impaled with his drill.  "A previous attempt has caused erroneous termination of function," he recalled, his electronic voice tinged with sadness.

"Well, I'll get started then," Amber replied with a smile.  "You weren't on my Christmas list, but you're getting a present anyway."


"List?  Present?" XM repeated, tilting his head.

"Yeah.  During Christmas, it's customary to give friends and family presents...gifts."


"I am...your friend?"

"I barely know you, but I'd say you are.  In a way, you even remind me of one."


"Who is this friend that I resemble?"


"His name was Rocky.  He was a robot...just like you," she replied as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Your optical units are leaking," XM observed, clueless about biological functions such as crying.  "Are you malfunctioning?"

Amber wiped the tears away.  "No.  It's normal for people to cry when they think about a long-lost friend.  About six months ago, Rocky disappeared, and his creator was killed," she replied with a sigh as she headed for the small workshop she had set up in the extra bedroom of the apartment.

Volt's journey across the rooftops led him into the city's residential area, which was quite some freerunning distance away from the main square. However, thanks to his grapple beam and parkour skills, he was able to make it in almost no time. The apartment roofs in this area were much more level and consistent in height, and thus easier to scale. While Volt was hunting down the robot from the rooftops, Overclock watched its every move via the hacked security cameras, constantly updating Volt on its movements.

"Any clue by now where it might be headed?" Volt asked through his earpiece while climbing a rooftop gate. "Negative," Overclock answered. "It's strange—I don't think it knows either." Volt jumped over the gate and clung to its outer side, then dived onto the roof of another building, landing in a roll. He got up, sprinted again and asked: "How so?"

Overclock began tapping buttons on his keyboard, analyzing the robot from multiple angles. All he could see was its intermittent stopping and staring into random apartments. "It's acting...off, like it's looking for something but doesn't know where it is."

"Maybe that—HUNGH!" Volt grunted as he jumped over an alleyway into the wall of a slightly higher building. Planting his right foot on the wall for support, he would jump up and grab its top edge. After pulling himself up, he'd resume his sprint. "Maybe that something is a someone. You think Eggface might've called a hit?"

"That is poss...i...ble..." Overclock slowed his speech as he watched the robot rocket out of his view. He began fervently tapping a button on his keyboard, cycling through cameras in a slight panic. "Um, Volt? We have a problem! It just flew away, I can't see it anymore!"

"Ugh, really?!" Volt broke his sprint and crouched on the rooftop he was on, lightly panting, the frigid air turning the breath from his bandana into smoke. He reached for his goggles with his right hand and clicked a button on the rim. He looked around slowly, scanning the immediate area for anything suspicious. Then, he spotted something: a faint, firey glow trailing smoke into the sky. Zooming in with his goggles, he spotted the Metal hovering to an apartment balcony. "Don't worry, I found it. It's...oh for the love of celery, it's heading for someone's balcony!" Overclock immediately switched his monitors to the feed from Volt's goggles. "Volt, hurry! It might—" 

They both stopped and observed quietly as an orange hedgehog came out the apartment, unalarmed, to meet the robot. The hedgehog stranger seemed to have a pleasant conversation with it, and they both went inside, leaving the DVNz dumbstruck.

"...Y...you saw that right?" "Yes... I did."

Volt stood up and blowed his breath in the cold air. "Ok, look, for all we know, it could be trying to lull whoever that was into a false sense of security before attacking. Or, that orange person could've been one of Eggstache's goonies." His hands crackled with electricity, recharging his Siphons again. "Either way...I'm going in."

"R-right...wait, you're not just going to burst through the balcony are you?"

"Oh ho ho, it iz ze contrary, mein naive freund!" Volt bellowed, badly imitating his leader Alloy's German accent. He jumped across a few more roofs, then fired a grapple beam to the top of the apartment complex the robot entered. The beam retracted and pulled Volt along with it, slinging him to the complex's roof. After landing, he told Overclock: "Stay on the feed. If I need you, you know my location."

"10-4. Volt, please...stay safe."

"Heh, don't I always?" Volt snickered as he walked over to the rooftop exit door. He holstered his pistols, then raised his right hand about chest high. Sparks of electricity surged around his glove; these sparks then congealed in his palm, forming an electric blade. He used this blade to slice against the door handle, severing the lock. Volt then pushed open the door, quickly running down the stairs to the floor he just saw the robot enter. 

After locating the apartment the robot entered, Volt snuck down the hallway and ducked in front of the door. He then slowly drew his pistols and knocked on the apartment door, immediately putting his gloved finger over the peephole. "Special delivery!!" he yelled in a disguised voice.

Amber had begun working on XM's hand upgrades when Volt came knocking.  XM, who had gone into the workshop with her, was the first to hear Volt's disguised voice.  "I am detecting an unknown voice emanating from the south.  Estimated distance is 35 feet.  The voice is saying 'Special delivery."


Amber put down her welding torch, lifted up her mask, and scratched her head.  "I don't know of any delivery service that runs on Christmas Eve, especially not at this hour."

"Was a delivery anticipated?"

"Well, I did order the entire Challenge of the GoBots series on DVD.  It would be nice to have gotten that tonight.  I also ordered the super-rare Bots Master Street BOYZZ prototypes...and a repro cart of the Seiken Densetsu 3 fan translation."  Before allowing her anticipation for nerdy Christmas presents get the better of her, she activated the webcam she had mounted by the door.  "OK...I did NOT order drawn weapons."  She activated a 2-way communication system built into her webcam setup.  "OK...Who are you?  Why are you here?  You SAY you have a delivery, but I don't see any packages."  She grabbed a homemade weapon made from a spare Energon Shockblast figure, went to the door, and spoke more directly to the stranger.  "Consider yourself lucky I'm not calling the cops.  Do know that I"m willing to defend myself though."

Moments later a squad of GUN soldiers wait outside a VTOL Transport as the Major walks out. No longer sporting his dress uniform, but a standard GUN officer field uniform walking over to the selection of men loading a truck onto the VTOL craft.

'Is everything is ready Sergeant?' He would ask a large human. From his height he is 7 feet tall.

'Everything is ready Major. The squad is ready to roll out. R+D gave use a few Wire Launchers and Deflectors. We don't know how dangerous the machine is so caution is needed'

The Major will light up a cigar while the Sergeant speaks to him 'Good. We will need everything we have. I am sorry that I had to call your men out here on Christmas eve, but we must make sure the civilians have a Christmas to wake up to, As soon as the unit is loaded up I want some Monobeetles to scout out the area. Once they find a signature that matches the Metal I want the truck deployed and ready to search the area. We are to bring it undamaged. Understand?'

The Sergeant nods in agreement as the troops load up.

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While GUN continues to move out the Reporter would continue to drive trying to find the metal.

'It has to be somewhere here. I saw it going towards the downtown block.. That thing is quick' She would murmur to herself as the stop light turns green allowing her to drive towards downtown doing her best to follow the metal's trail.

Volt noticed a strange camera during his approach, but was certain that Overclock had it under his control; prior to patrolling the city, Overclock checked that he hacked every single manufactured camera in Westopolis. After Volt knocked on the door, however, Overclock could be heard over the earpiece frantically tapping a button on his keyboard.

"W-wait, Volt, I-I can't find that camera!" Overclock panicked, checking a database listing his cameras. "Wait, what?! I thought you said you hacked every camera in the city!" Volt whispered excitedly. "I did, I'm sure of it! Overclock switched his monitor back to the feed from Volt's goggles, inspecting the camera in question. "...Oh no," Overclock groaned. He could be heard facepalming and slouching back in his chair. At this point, the camera's lens slowly began to turn towards Volt, much to his surprise. Overclock, his hands still covering his mouth in shame, confessed through the earpiece: "I only hacked cameras sold by security companies—that one's homemade."

Before Volt could reply,  a young, seemingly innocent female voice over the camera's intercom began interrogating him: asking who he was, why he was there, and where the supposed package was. Volt stayed silent for a second, then whispered to Overclock: "Well...crap." He stood up and stared into the camera's lens. "Looks like we're just going to have to take the direct approach."

He replied over the intercom to the female voice: "I should be asking you the same thing. Custom surveillance and a Metal Sonic? Heh, yea, totally not suspicious," he chuckled sarcastically. Now, he was certain that this stranger more than likely worked for Eggman. "I don't know what you're up to, but trust me, I have a package alright...for you and your little pet." 

Within seconds, this same voice seemed to come to the door, threatening to call the police and claiming that they were ready to defend themselves. Volt reasoned that this person saw his pistols, and if they were coming to the door so readily, they must've had some sort of weapon of their own. To him, taking this stranger lightly would be a costly mistake; he had to make the first move.

Volt briefly glanced at the camera's wiring to confirm its connection to the apartment complex's electrical system, then backed up a couple steps from the door, answering:"Yeah? What, you gonna sic your robot on me?" he taunted, clicking a button on his goggles, switching to night vision. "You know, you're actually kinda funny, threatening to call the cops while harboring a friggin' Metal Sonic."

"Then again...I've always heard Eggman's goons weren't so smart."

Following this remark, Volt would instantly fire several rounds from his left pistol into the camera. These shots, although weaker than normal, were enough to fry the camera's circuitry, travel up its wiring, and cause a brief power surge, disabling the building's lights and electrical equipment. Volt would take a second to allow the outage to distract the stranger, and then, using the darkness as cover, immediately proceed to breach the apartment and subdue his suspect. First, he would forcefully kick the door with his right foot to loosen it, then ram it with his right shoulder to break the security chain and knock away anything behind it. Then, upon entry, he'd quickly lunge at the orange hedgehog aiming a knee to their gut to stun them. He'd follow with a swift armbar takedown: grabbing her free arm with one hand, striking down on her elbow with his other forearm, and slamming her to the ground with his knee in her back. With her pinned, he'd put a pistol to the back of her head and aim the other at the Metal Sonic. At this point, the lights would come back on; he would then demand the hedgehog not to struggle and robot not to move, or he would shoot.

Noticing that all the lights in the apartment had gone out, XM switched his vision to infrared to keep track of his friend and see the intruder that had burst in and attacked her.

"Please desist," he weakly begged.  "This is an error.  I am not a Metal Sonic.  I do not think Amber works for a Dr. Eggman."

"He's right," Amber confirmed as she struggled to get the DVNz operative off of her.  "He's a runaway Machina bot designed to LOOK like a Metal."


While Amber struggled against Volt and XM tired to break up the fight, a steel-gray Wolf with a cybernetic right arm clad in a black trenchcoat watched for a bit before using his arm's built-in surgical tools to pick the back lock and stealthily enter.  "It is good that my natural night vision allows me to work under cover of darkness," he whispered to himself.  "My next upgrade will only enhance it, but first, I have a bit of operating to do," he grinned before firing small tranquilizer darts ad Amber and Volt.

Picking up the sound of the darts being fired, and seeing the Wolf clearly due to his body heat, XM jetted into the path of the projectiles, causing them to clink against his metal skin harmlessly.

"Well, it seems that your defense protocols are functioning quite well.  It's just a shame you're defending the wrong people, XM-01."


XM froze with shock.  He had never seen this person before.  How did this suspicious Wolf know his name?  "H-How do you...know my designation?" he asked nervously.

The Wolf smiled and leaned toward XM's face.  "You're the reason I'm here," he whispered.  "Machina can't have you running around malfunctioning like you are.  You'll expose them."


Amber growled with rage when she heard the all-too-familiar voice of the Wolf.  "Dr. Koren!  I had a feeling you were with Machina!"


"Why, yes, I am...not that you'll get the chance to blog about it!" he grinned before firing another tranquilizer dart at the woman.  "I'd be more than happy to perform a procedure that'll do away with the daughter of Detective Lucia!"


XM tried to once again block the shot, but was a bit too slow this time, allowing the dart to hit Amber and knock her out.  "No..." he said out loud, sadness filling his voice.  "Defensive Protocol failed.  Amber is non-functional..."

As the Monobeetle flies into the city to detect the signature of the Metal the Transport flies high above the city. Inside the large vehicle the Major watches the operatives check in the small command room in the ship checking the data to make sure that the Metal is located.

'It's just a matter of time until we find him Major. That metal is in the city and once we get him we will be able to deploy in 10 minutes. Local authorities will also give us the full support.'

Bruno would nod to the Sergeant as he watches the footage from the Monobeetle 'I hope your right Sergeant. We can't start dropping troops unless we have proo-'

Before he can finish his sentence a Brown Female Spider monkey in the same outfit as the Major walks in only wearing a beret instead of a field hat.

'Major. I received reports from the Police that cameras in the city are down so they are currently blind. So it's just that monobeetle out there. '

The major would shake his head and place his left hand under his muzzle 'It seems that Metal either disabled the cameras or someone else wants it as well. Tell the Police to send out some scout VTOLs and do a search as well. Inform us as soon as they see anything suspicious or the metal. '

The spider monkey will salute as she makes her way back to the com room.
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(Skipping Sahla's turn as she is just driving )

As soon as the Spider-Monkey left, an android in the form of a steel-blue Echidna with navy and silver armor on his forearms and lower legs entered the command room.

"I received the report about a Metal unit in this vicinity," the android announced in a natural-sounding voice.  "Dr. Kikuta believes I am ready for my first field mission."  He then straightened up his posture and saluted.  "Anti-Metal Prototype 01...Codename Steel...ready for duty, sir!"


The young android was eager to prove himself to his GUN superiors as a reliable asset in the fight against Eggman, but, with this being his first mission, he was still a little nervous.  What if he had to endanger a civilian to complete his mission?  What if he failed?  Would he be shut down?  Dr. Kikuta had assured him that one failure wouldn't result in termination, but there were so many officials outranking him that could override any decision he made regarding Steel's fate.

As the robot humbly pleaded its case, Volt kept his pistol square between its eyes, not letting his guard down. Although he couldn't help but think it wasn't acting like a heartless killing machine, he couldn't take any chances. 

"Yea, right. And I guess the friggin' laser cannon on your arm's just birth defect," he snarked in reply. "You think I'm dumb or something?"

Suddenly, Overclock came through over the earpiece. "Wait, Volt, that...that robot looks familiar," he said. For the first time he was able to get a clear look, in color, at the android via the feed from Volt's goggles. On his monitors, he began pulling up news reports from around Mobius that rumored sporadic sightings of an unusual red Metal Sonic. "Yea...yea, this is definitely the same one. It's that friendly one that's been popping up everywhere: the one that made some think Dr. Robotnik was turning a new leaf. I think it's peaceful."

"...Are you sure?" Volt stared into the eyes of the robot for a few seconds, still aiming his pistol at it. Mechanical as it was, he could almost feel a sense of empathy from it; on top of this, he had reason to trust Overclock's judgement when it came to technology. Yet, something still seemed fishy. "Well, why is this thing saying its not part of the Metal series?"

The orange hedgehog, whom the robot called Amber, began to move under Volt's knee. "I said stay down!" Volt barked, driving his knee harder into her back. Amber spoke in agreement with the robot, naming something called "Machina" as its maker. Overclock, who heard over the earpiece, was alerted. "Wait, what? Machina? Isn't that just a myth?"

"Uh, am I missing something? The heck's a Machina?" 

"It's...hard to explain. I don't know much about it myself, but..."

Before Overclock could finish his sentence, Volt spotted movement from a dark-gray figure in his peripheral. On reflex, he swung one of his pistols towards it and began demanding it to freeze; however, the robot jumped in front of him. Volt lunged back, lifting his leg from Amber and aiming his pistols towards the robot and the figure. He then heard a light "clink!", with small darts falling off the robot's back. "What the—tranquilizers?"

The figure that fired these darts addressed the robot as XM-01 and claimed to have come for it. Amber then rose in an outburst, identifying the figure as Dr. Koren, a member of this "Machina". Overclock immediately began running this name through a database search; in the meantime, Volt kept his eyes peeled with his pistol aimed at him. 

Koren rose his arm again, aiming a dart gun at Amber. On impulse, Volt fired as well, but the shot would only graze him; he missed when XM jumped in front of him to block the dart. Amber, however, was hit, and Volt caught her to lay her gently on the floor as she passed out. 

While Volt was trying to make sense of this scenario, a frantic shriek came from Overclock: "VOLT! CODE DELTA! JAGDGEIER!*"

"Crap, already?!" Volt thought to himself. Realizing he had to act fast, he took a brief look around the room. He spotted the christmas tree near Koren, the light decorations outside, and the sprinkler system on the ceiling. This gave him an idea. 

"Don't worry, metal dude. Your friend's gonna be fine. Those pointy things just made her a little sleepy," he assured XM, who was overwhelmed with emotion. "If I'm not around when she wakes up, though, tell her this: "—he stood up, watching Koren carefully— "'don't worry, my dad's rich'."

Without raising his arm, he'd quickly snap his right wrist toward the tree and fire a shot similar to the one he used to fry the camera. This would cause the tree's socket and lights to violently explode in a large, electric flash; if Koren was near it, he would get electrocuted. However, this was only a distraction; he'd then sweep his pistols across the apartment, still keeping an eye on Koren just in case he made any sudden moves, shooting at multiple pieces of electrical equipment—TVs, lights, sounds systems, etc.—to set off more explosions. This would eventually set the apartment ablaze. As the smoke alarm would come on, Volt would rush through the flames to XM. "Pick up the girl, NOW! We're getting out of here. Stick with me!" he'd order it. 

Volt rushed out the apartment, ran through the hallways, and pulled a fire alarm, setting off the sprinklers to make it difficult for G.U.N. to enter. He bursted through a fire exit door and slid down the escape, disappearing into a back allway with Amber and XM.

XM quickly and carefully grabbed Amber with his cannon arm and attempted to support her with his drill arm, snagging her clothes and causing her to stir a little.  "I hope that you are still functional, Amber.  I would rather have...avoided physical contact until my upgrades were complete, but...it is dangerous to remain here."

With those words, XM activated his jets and flew out of the open front door, following Volt through the fire escape.  Koren, meanwhile, hurriedly jumped off the balcony with his cybernetic arm sparking and overloading from the electrical explosion.  "Blasted little deviant!  I'll have to do something about him, but first, I must return to Machina HQ for repairs.  My superiors are not going to be pleased," he said as he landed on the snowy ground and ran away.

While XM continued to carry Amber to safety, the Hedgehog sniffed the smoky air and mumbled, "Doing smoked turkey this year, Dad?"  She was clearly not entirely conscious, but the fact that she spoke was reassuring to the red robot.

"Smoked turkey?" XM repeated, the comfort caused by hearing Amber's voice allowing his curiosity to resurface.

Amber opened her eyes a bit, but was still groggy from the tranquilizer.  "Oh...XM...Dad smokes the turkey we eat for Christmas dinner sometimes.  It's really good.  Too bad you can't eat."


"I cannot, but it sounds enjoyable."


"It is....What's going on anyway?"


"The unidentified life form overloaded all electrical systems to disorient the one called Dr. Koren.  Do not worry.  His father is rich."


"I'm guessing the place is on fire.  That explains the smoke...and why you were so desperate to get me outta there.  Thanks, XM."


"I could not allow you to be terminated, Amber.  That would be...a fatal error."


"You really are nothing like a typical killer robot.  You're more like...Rocky...when I first met him..."  With that, she drifted back to sleep, thinking about her long-lost friend, Dr. Koren, her mother, and Machina.  She began to wonder if XM WAS Rocky.  His pacifism would make more sense if he was, given his creator's disdain for the use of AI for military purposes.

( gonna skip atm. I am having writer's block at the moment)

Walking down the sidewalk in the city where two rather bizarre sights of Mobians going down the sidewalk. One looked like a female in some sort of power armor wielding a glowing sword in one hand, and a large pistol with a very large mussel in the other. This was followed by a sort of cybernetic like monk behind with surgically altered mechanical appendages. The woman in front appeared to be a Mobian feline with tan fur and silver white hair, while possessing a cybernetic eye. The other's species was unknown as he appeared to be much akin to a robot man save for a normal Mobian black fured hand showing. Both of them seemed to be going around and gazing at the local festivities and looked very catholic in appearance, but in a bizarre cyberpunk sense. Apparently they were close as the female moved onward while the male followed.

"Isn't is a nice day of Sanguinala, sister Clark?" The robotic man behind her said in a rather audio distorted machine like analog voice.

"Too nice, yet these sort of festivities are common in my hometown of Spagonia as well. Sadly none of this glorifies the Emperor's Light."

"You cannot blame other Mobians Agatha, they are not aware of the Omnissiah's blessings. It is our duty to spread the good word to the people of Mobius."

(Note: They look like this:)

(Jared, how do these characters relate to XM-01 and the plot of this RP?)

Gamma V wrote:(Jared, how do these characters relate to XM-01 and the plot of this RP?)

(The techpriest is in charge with dealing with any forms of technology, especially those of artificial intelligence. They could try to make sure the robot is secured before something bad happens. David's job is basically to ensure technology doesn't go rogue to threaten humanity, and Agatha is basically there to guard him and deal with such threats to him should that event transpire.They're also space Catholics who worship space Jesus on Christmas.)

The effects of Dr. Koren's tranquilizer darts were now beginning to lift, and Amber found herself completely waking up, still in XM's arms.  "Hey, XM.  Did I miss much while I was out of it, besides us escaping a burning apartment?"


"The individual who initiated the fire instructed me to inform you that his father is rich.  I assume that means that he is willing to replace your damaged possessions."


"Well, he SHOULD pay for the damage he did.  Your in-progress hand upgrades were probably destroyed, as was the equipment I used to make them."


"At least...you are functional.  That is of highest priority."


"You're a sweet kid, XM.  Makes me wonder if I'm not the only one fighting Machina.  Maybe someone else sabotaged your creation process to stop your killer programming from being installed."


Just then, Amber noticed the Catholic-looking cyborgs walking down the street.  "Is Machina adopting an Old World Catholic dress code now?" she asked, assuming that these strangers were with Machina based on the sheer number of cybernetic implants they had.  "I don't think anyone would have so many cybernetics on board if they WEREN'T with Machina."

((Due to Jared's ban, him and his characters are excluded from the RP. A skip is necessary to keep the story continuous.))

Although starting a fire at Amber's apartment was not his original plan, Volt felt he had no other choice. With GUN at his back and Koren—and whatever this "Machina" was—at his front, he had to do something drastic to escape and get XM and Amber to safety. He felt a slight sense of obligation to XM after it saved him from Koren's tranquilizers; the least he could do was keep it and it's friend out of GUN's hands. However, he also knew the fire would cause GUN to zero in on the apartment complex. He had to act quickly, but carefully, to get all 3 of them out of the city.

Volt stuck to ground level with pistols in hand trying to stay out of lights from the VTOLs flying by. He snuck around corners, rushed across streets, and dove into alleyways, signaling XM to follow when the coast was clear. In one alley, he caught sight of a Monobeetle patrolling the streets. He started to go after it and take it down, but Overclock stopped him:

"Volt...no." "Aw, come on dude, it's right there!" "Volt....no." "Ugh, fine. You're such a buzzkill sometimes..."

While watching the Monobeetle pass by, Volt chuckled to XM behind him: "Kinda hot in this cold weather, don'tcha think?" However, XM didn't reply. "Wow, did they not give you a sense of humor?" he said, turning to XM. He then saw why it wasn't replying: it was focused on Amber as she started to come to.

Still groggy, Amber mentioned that she smelled "smoked turkey". Volt noticed his cloak still reeked of smoke from the apartment fire. He thought for a second, then questioned her: "...Wait, are you just saying that because I'm a bir—" he hesitated, realizing that he might reveal his identity. "...Nevermind," he said, turning back to the street and silently eavesdropping on XM and Amber's conversation. He could tell that XM's care for its friend was truly genuine; if there was any doubt left in his mind that this robot was peaceful, it was now gone. 

After the Monobeetle passed, Volt tapped XM on its metal shoulder. "Come on, we have to move." He darted out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk, making sure the coast was clear before he signaled XM to advance.

The following has been redacted from the storyline:

[redacted and moved to a new post]

(Whose turn?)

(You can post, Jared.)

"Sister Clark, it appears we have been ambushed." The techpriest said as his sensors went off from Volt behind him widely.

"Not like I didn't hear him David. However, I will handle this."The feline woman said as she suddenly ignited her glowing power infused sword and took a slash at Volt's pistol.

She appeared to move very fast and precise, almost as if she was trained for an ambush from behind. This combined with the fact her armor allowed her joints to move with motion due to servos would allow her powersuit to slash at the gun as she spun around. Meanwhile the robotic looking monk man did nothing, but it appeared he turned around and began to scan Volt with his sensors.

"By the Omnissiah, I am Brother David Andross. A humble servant of the Machine God." David said rather calmly to Volt.

"Not now David!" The feline lady yelped out as her sword have already impacted the gun, and if it wasn't of the highest quality it would be cut like butter by a hot knife.