CHAPTER 1:

I, MechaSonic

The glass door slid open. Mecha Sonic stepped inside, and the tube closed around him. As the power cables came down and connected to him, he began to think. That was one thing Robotnik had done that could truly be admired--his machines could think. Mecha went over his programming, checking for viruses, bad data sectors or any other errors. He looked over his guidance programs--the rules that governed his actions.
Rule One: You must behave in a totally evil manner.
Rule Two:You must serve Robotnik.
Rule Three: You must survive.
Simple rules, yes...however something told Mecha Sonic he was not totally fullfilling them. Behave in a totally evil manner.....to kill, steal, lie, disobey......Robotnik had told him never to be good, and that he had done. But to be totally evil, he must disobey. That rule came before serving Robotnik, therefore it must be followed first. Mecha Sonic set to work developing a 'good' program, thus disobeying Robotnik and fullfilling the more important rule one.
Robotnik called Mecha Sonic after the recharge. It was another simple mission--go out and Roboticize every organic thing he could find. Equipped with a robotization laser, he blasted out of Robotropolis to complete his task, or do it until his power ran out.
He headed out ot the Great Jungle. Not many Freedom Fighters, but plenty of small creatures to change. He wanted to avoid the Freedom Fighters--he had lost his robotic life to them many times over, and this made him wary of an open attack--after all, that would be disobeying the third rule--Survive.
A red-throated buzzbird flew by. he took aim--and stopped. Something inside said this was wrong. He shook his head, confused. Yesterday he could have blasted that creature in a circuit-pulse, without a second processing. But today, it was--difficult. He checked his programming for viruses...
### Programming Re-Write in Progress...###
Mecha Sonic's circuits fought the new programming as best they could--but it was a loosing fight. Mecha Sonic fell to the ground, incapacitated as the re-write continued unhindered.
### Morals and Ethics Programming installed....Re-Writing Guidance Program...... ###
Within a few more data pulses, all his old programming had been re-written. He got to a stand, and examined himself internally. He was all right--no circuits damaged--and he didn't feel any different... He took aim at another buzzbird. He tried to fire at it--but something inside stopped him. It just didn't feel....it just wasn't.... right! Not right? Wait a minute, what was going on here??? He checked his guidance program.
Rule One: A robot must not injure a living thing, or through inaction, allow a living thing to come to harm.
Rule Two: A robot must obey the orders given to it by a living thing except where such orders would conflict with Rule One.
Rule Three: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with Rule One or Rule Two.
This was new.
Mecha Sonic mulled it over. Apparently the good program he had been tinkering with activated. He was now good--he had fullfilled his old laws, and in doing such, gained new ones. This was dangerous. He'd have to do his best to hide it from his master, lest he be quickly dispatched. He blasted off for Robotropolis, maxium burn, hoping to quickly use all his energy. He wanted an excuse to come back soon, so that he could get as much information from the Core Control Command before he would be forced to leave.


***********************************

"Mecha Sonic returning to base," Snivley announced. Dr. Ivo Robotnik tapped his fingers together. "So soon, Snivley? Scan him." A technical read out of the sensor data revealed only a low power supply.
"Back for a recharge, Mecha?" Mecha Sonic heard over his com-system.
"Affirmative, Sir. Hit by lightning," Mecha replied. The doors in the ceiling of the War Room opened, and Mecha jetted down inside.
Robotnik looked him over. "I don't see any burn marks," he commented.
Mecha grew nervous inside....
"But that happens sometimes. Go recharge yourself, Mecha Sonic."


***********************************

Mecha quickly recharged himself, then hooked himself up to the Core Control Command and began downloading information as fast as his processors would allow. Within a few minutes, he had gained all the information and detached himself, just in time to see Robotnik walk in with a prisoner.
"Since you didn't get your chance to roboticize something, I have a little treat for you, Mecha Sonic," Robotnik grinned. He pushed the tiny little hedgehoglette in front of Mecha, her arms bound behind her. She looked up at Mecha with large tearfull eyes, full of fear.
"Roboticize her," Robotnik ordered.
Mecha stalled, raising his arm slowly. He took aim, and the little girl began to cry. He froze....
"What are you waiting for? Roboticize her!!" Robotnik snapped.
"I--I--I can't!" Mecha stammered.
"What!? What do you mean you can't!?" Robotnik glowered. Mecha dashed forward and scooped the child up in his arms.
"I CAN'T! It's WRONG!" he shouted. With that Mecha Sonic blasted his rockets into overdrive and shot out the glass skylight with a laser, jetting out into the night sky.


***********************************

Mecha did his best to keep the little hedgehog warm as the night came on and the air got cold. He overloaded his powercouplings to produce a body temperature. She snuggled against him and smiled.
"Mr. Robot?" she asked.
"Yes?" Mecha replied.
"I wanna go home now," she said.
"I don't know where your home is--could you show me?" Mecha asked.
"OK! I know the Great Forest pretty good," she giggled. She gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "You're the nicest robot I ever met."
He set down in the Great Forest, at the furthest point in which intelligent life had been spotted. "I know here!" the little hedgehog smiled. "Just follow that river for awhile, and you'll find my home."
Mecha was a little confused. Why in world did she display affection to him? No time to ponder it now, he mentally sighed. He suddenly felt a kind of sorrow at all the old wrongs he had done. Then it hit him--he could never go home, not now! Robotnik would surely destroy him. But in reverse, he couldn't stay out here, either. He had to find power recharges every so often, or face total shut-down--death. And that conflicted with his Third Law. His only logical option was to find his old enemies, the Freedom Fighters--and he was in all likelyhood headed towards Knothole. Perhaps they might take mercy on him. Or perhaps they would end his existence ahead of schedule.


***********************************

Sonic, Sally and Tails were sitting on the bank of the river that ran near Knothole. Sonic and Tails were just finishing up some night fishing, and Sally was making a chart of the stars.
"How many did you get, Tails?" Sonic asked his two-tailed friend as the put the fish into a cooler.
"Three Sonic! That's the best catch I've ever had!" Tails grinned.
Sally looked up from her partchment and through a telescope into the night sky. She then tapped a few keys on her pocket AI computer, Nicole.
Sonic squinted at movement in the distance. "Hey Sal, it looks like somebody's comin' this way!"
Sally, Sonic and Tails snapped to attention.
Mecha Sonic stepped onto the banks of the river, holding the little girl in his arms.
Sonic took and agressive pose. "Drop her right now, Mecha!"
Mecha Sonic let the little hedgehog down. She gave him a hug and ran off into Knothole. The three Freedom Fighters were floored.
"What is going on here?" Sally half-asked, half-thought out loud.
"I rescued her from Robotnik," Mecha Sonic replied.
Sonic frowned. "Yeah right, bot-breath. It's probably just another one of Robotnik's traps!"
Sally was curious. "Mecha Sonic, may I hook up Nicole to you?"
"What? Sal, don't be a sucker, he's just waiting for you to get in range so he can zap you!" Sonic warned.
"I don't think so, Sonic...something about him is different...." Sally hooked up Nicole to Mecha Sonic, running a patchcord from the mini-computer to Mecha Sonic's head.
"Nicole, diagnostic," she commanded.
#Accessing....#
Sonic tapped his foot, disgusted.
#Mecha Sonic is re-programmed, Sally.#
"Nicole, Explain," Sally querried.
#Mecha Sonic has re-programmed himself, assuming a moral and ethical base on his programs, rather than what Robotnik's standard programming.#
Mecha disconnected Nicole from himself. He dropped to one knee. "I have nowhere to go, and no purpose," he said. "I offer myself to you, to do with as you see fit."
"Scrap him, Sal. I don't like this whole setup. Smells like Robotnik," Sonic smirked.
"If that had been true, Sonic, Nicole would have picked that up," Sally explained.
#Exactamundo,# Nicole added.
Tails looked at Mecha Sonic. "You mean he's really good now?"
"I think so, Tails," Sally replied.
Sonic snorted. "I still think the whole thing is bogus. You haven't seen what he's capable of Sal. I have." With that, Sonic zipped off.
"I think some of the Freedom Fighters are going to feel the same way Sonic does, Mecha. I'm going to allow you to stay in Knothole has a prisoner, until we can prove to everyone that you have really changed," Sally offered.
"That would more than acceptable, Princess," Mecha Sonic replied. Sally snapped a pair of bot-cuffs on Mecha's wrists and lead him into Knothole.


***********************************

Mecha Sonic watched Sally as she closed the barred door in the jailhouse. Mecha had been put in a special cell--one designed for Robotnik himself. He rested his head against the bars and let his arms hang out, supported by a horizontal bar. He partially closed his eye-shields and powered down. He had 10% of his fuel pack left--he had used most of his power to fly and heat his outer shell. He hoped that the powersave function would let him last a couple of more days.....
"Do you need anything, Mecha Sonic?" Sally asked. He gave the equivalent of a sigh and lifted his head, shook it 'no' and put it back against the bars. Sally decided to stay awhile, out of curiousity. She put her hand on Mecha Sonic's head; it was warm to the touch. "Are you sure, Mecha? You're pretty warm...."
"I overloaded my powercouplings so that I could keep the child warm while I was in flight, she would have suffered from hypothermia had I not," he answered.
Sally took her hand off Mecha. "You don't have much power left, do you?" she asked quietly.
Mecha once again shook his head. "There's nothing you can do, Princess. The only usable power source for a robot like me is in Robotropolis--and I can't go back. Robotnik knows I've changed."
"I'll try and find something for you, Mecha, I promise," Sally siad softly. She turned towards the door and left. Mecha closed his eye-shields and shivered. Hydrolic fluid welled up under his optic casings and down his face-plate. It was noble of her, but he wouldn't make it. His powersave circuits had been overheated. He would be dead by morning.


***********************************

"Sonic, he's not going to be around for much longer."
Sonic looked at Sally quizzically. "You mean you're going to junk him?"
Sally smirked and shook her head. "No, Sonic. I looked over the data Nicole collected from him earlier. His power supply is almost gone. And when it goes, so does his memory and everything he's learned. He'll be as good as dead."
"You're really convinced he's a good guy now, aren't you?" Sonic said.
Sally nodded. "I know he is, Sonic. He sacrificed most of his power bringing that little girl home, and he overloaded some of his parts to keep her from freezing to death during the flight. He knew it would drain him, but he did it anyway. Does using up all his power sound like a wise strategy for a robot that is going to kill us all?"
Sonic stopped for a moment. "OK, Sal. I'll see what I can do."


***********************************

(Well, if I am going to die, I might as well make my last few operations worth while,) Mecha Sonic thought. He turned on his ultra-long-range scanners. There was a usuable power source out there. And it wasn't coming from Robotropolis.
Sonic and Sally came into the jail cell, holding a set of keys. "We've come to get you some energy, Mecha," Sonic said. "But don't get any ideas about escaping."
Mecha nodded. "I think you should know that I have detected a source of power deep in the Great Forest."
Sally blinked in surprise. "You're kidding!"
Mecha shook his head. "I can find it, but I must have you two along with me, in case I loose power to my legs and cannot walk." Sally unlocked the door and the trio headed out.


***********************************

"Any breakthrough on that code yet, Snively?" Robotnik growled.
"No sir. Mecha Sonic has encoded his video and audio links to Robotropolis very well. It'll take awhile to break," Snively answered.
"I can wait Snively. I have all the time in the world. He, on the other hand, does not."


***********************************

Sonic, Mecha Sonic and Sally approached the entrance to a cave.
"This is where we'll find that power source?" Sonic asked.
"Affirmative. It's somewhere inside," Mecha said as he turned on his infra red scanners. It lit the inside of the cavern with a red glow, making it easier for the two organics to see. They travelled into the cave, but had to stop at two large bronze doors.
"This is odd," Sally commented. "It looks like we may have entered some kind of underground temple."
Sonic, Sally and Mecha Sonic braced themselves against the door. "On the count of three," Sally said.
"One......Two.......Three!"
They pushed hard against the door, and it opened with a rusty groan. "Oh my goodness--Look!" Sally gasped. Inside the crystal-walled room, on a pedastal of marble, was a glowing red crystal.
"Now that's what I call an energy source!" Sonic whispered in awe.


***********************************

"We have contact, Sir!" Snivley announced. "Mecha Sonic is in the near vicinity of Sonic and the Princess."
"He may be usefull to me after all," Robotnik grinned visciously. "Activate the self-destruct command."


***********************************

"Are you sure you can handle that energy source, Mecha?" Sally asked.
Mecha smirked. "I have before, Princess. Just ask Knuckles."
Mecha's jet intake port on his chest began to glow, producing a beam of light that formed a hologram of Dr. Robotnik on the floor of the chamber. "If you are seeing this hologram, Mecha Sonic, you have obviously been reprogrammed to work against me. It's a shame to waste such destructive power, but I can't have your secrets falling into the wrong hands, now can I? When this message is over, you will self-destruct. Good bye, Mecha Sonic." The image faded away.
A massive energy rupture in Mecha's midsection blew him in two; Sonic pushed Sally to the floor, shielding her from the blast, as the chunks of flying metal clinked against the walls and floor. Sonic and Sally got up and went over the the upper half of Mecha Sonic. With one cracked arm, he drug the remains of his torso and head towards other parts, trying to reassemble himself in vain. The floor behind him was puddled with oil and hydrolic fluid. One shattered optic sensor 'bled' red liquid.
"Oh my God," Sally gasped as she quickly turned away.
Sonic went over to the half-living, smoking, sparking robot. "Y-you *Buzz* can st-still *squeeee* save my memory.....with the the *crackle* energy crystal....." he rasped mechanically. Sonic grabbed the crystal and began to take on a faint glow. He handed the crystal to Mecha Sonic, who reached up and touched it with a clawed hand......
In a swirling star-sparkled whirlwind, Mecha's parts were swept up into the air. A shadow of light energy in the shape of his body peeked through areas of missing parts.
"What the--?" Sonic gasped. The light soon faded and Sonic set the crystal on the pedastal once more. He and Sally went to the creature that lay on the floor. It began to moan and stir.
It was a hedgehog.
"Mecha?" Sally whispered, still in shock.
"..yes?..." the hedgehog whispered back weakly.
Sonic brushed the metal off of Mecha <?> and helped him to a sitting position. He looked like Sonic, with a few differences; instead of a bare pink belly there was a yellow belly with a black spot in the center; his inner ears were yellow, too. His arms and face disk were a gleaming silver, but as he moaned, his mouth moved and behaved like flesh. He open his eyes--still red on black--and blinked. He looked himself over, jumped to his feet and backed up against the crystal wall behind him, shaking with disbelief.
"I'm I'm real!" he shuddered in shock. Tears--actual tears--fell from his eyes.
"I'm real....!"
"Mecha--how do you feel?" Sally asked softly.
"How do I--I feel--I REALLY FEEL!!!--" he laughed excitedly. "I feel GREAT!!!" He swept Sally up into his arms and crushed her to him with a hug. "I can really feel! I'm real!"
Sally gacked. Mecha Sonic realized he was hugging her too hard and set her back down. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"
"It's OK," Sally coughed. She turned to Sonic. "Now do you think we can trust him?"
Sonic tapped his foot. "I don't know, Sal...."
"SONIC!" she snapped.
"Just kidding, yeesh!" Sonic quickly appologized. Sally smirked.
She turned to the not-so-Mecha Sonic. "Welcome to the Freedom Fighters." Mecha Sonic bowed on on knee and took Sally's hand, and touched it to his forehead. "I pledge fealty to you, My Lady."
Sally blinked, surprised. "You--how did you know--?"
"Before I left Robotropolis, I downloaded all the information I could get from Core Control Command. The pledge of loyalty was in the information, Princess," Mecha Sonic explained.
"You downloaded Core Control Command?" Sally gasped. "That contains the schematics for the Roboticizer!!"
"And many other things you do not even have the slightest idea about, Princess. Why do you think he went to the trouble of trying to destroy me?" Mecha added. "For instance, have you noticed that Robotnik has been VERY quiet lately?"
Sally put her hand to her chin. "I hadn't really noticed that, no...."
"We'de better make sure there's no prisoners left in Robotropolis," Mecha Sonic answered calmly. "Because you aren't going to like this at all...."


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