Path to Little Planet - Plotting My Schemes

[Dr. Mechano]

"Heh heh heh. ...Oh, this will be excellent!"

Eggman departed from Eggmanland quickly, zooming through the air in his trusty Eggmobile. Suppressing his giddy laughter for a moment, he picked up a communicator to send a message to Metal.

"A-HEEEM! Attention, Metal Sonic! I've got something HUGE planned- Ohh, It's far too complex to explain now, but not to worry. Soon, I'll have all the time in the world! Meet me at Never Lake! GWEEEEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! ...Over."

As he continued flying at breakneck speed, heading toward his destination, Eggman grinned. This was going to be his greatest. Plan. EVER. ...Okay, so he thought that about plenty of previous plans, but this time it really was!

[Jammerlee]

Elsewhere, standing on top of a rocky spire, Metal Sonic looked at the glistening lake that spread beautifully out before him.

<... I will be there as soon as possible.>

[Dr. Mechano]

Still flying toward his destination, he answered into his communicator.

"Excellent! We'll rendezvous at Never Lake shortly. Meet you th-" He stopped short, "Oh hey, Metal Sonic."

Waiiit a second...

"Metal Sonic?! What are-" He shook his head, "Nevermind."

Eggman opened the passenger's side door to his Eggmobile, "Get in. I'll explain everything on the way to Little Planet!"

[Jammerlee]

The metallix turned and innocently glanced behind him as Eggman came up and brought the eggomobile to a mid-air stop beside him. Feeling a bit of smugness bubble up from deep down, he did as he was told, stepping away from the spire and boarding the small flying vehicle.

"Should I presume that this involves the Time Stones?"

[Dr. Mechano]

"Indeed!" Eggman exclaimed as he took off, "I've been researching the Time Stones, and have arrived at some absolutely stunning findings!"

"What I've found has led me to discover the presence of an amazingly powerful being behind the Time Stones' power. We are going to harness its power for my greatest plan of all time..." Eggman said, before getting an annoyed look, "And before you say anything, I know what I'm doing this time."

[Jammerlee]

"... As long as I am not slammed into a wall again I do not particularly care..." Metal grumbled, resting his head in his palm against the side of the eggmobile. "What do you intend to do regarding this... being, then? Are you sure it would even be willing to work with us?"

[Dr. Mechano]

"Oh, don't worry about that..." Eggman said with sly grin, "I have ways of getting it to cooperate."

"In any case, this is for you..."

Eggman, casually outstretched a hand, presenting Metal with a data disk, as he gestured with his other hand to some attachments behind him.

"I've delevoped a new upgrade for you," he continued, "It will enable you to assume an android form with a rather realistic organic appearance. Should be useful for... stealth, undercover work. That sort of thing."

...and perhaps as an unstated apology for abandoning him, but never mind that.

"The trip to Little Planet could take a bit, so if you'd like I can install it on the way there."

[Jammerlee]

Metal blinked as he took the offered disk, holding it up to examine. A new android form that was meant to make him appear organic? That didn't make any sense. He could already take lifedata from others and assume their form. Despite those thoughts, he glanced over toward the aforementioned equipment, and began to take the necessary steps to hook himself up and begin downloading the new data.

"Is this involved in what you are planning?"

[Dr. Mechano]

Eh... Not really.

"It's integral to my plans," he nodded, "It will all become apparent in time."

[Jammerlee]

"Oh... kay..." Metal answered with a quizzical tilting of his head. By now he had hooked himself up and placed the disk in its proper place, watching internally as the new data was introduced into his system. One of the convenient things about the metallix's body was, as a nanite collective, updating his body had become massively simplified - tell the nanites what shape to take and what structures to mimic, and it took away all of the manual labor.

As the download came to a finish, Metal unhooked himself and then looked down at his talons, allowing his body to liquefy to take on his brand new form...

... A strange sensation he has never recalled experiencing before greeted him. A feeling as though... though... how to describe it? It was as though his physical form was being re-shaped like clay - though he couldn't recognize it as such. He had gone from a familiar feeling of no physical feeling whatsoever, so... possessing a sense of touch. Not even any of his forms when using life data had possessed a sense of touch. He blinked in surprise - feeling the rise and fall of eyelids - as he stared down at his now organic-like hands. The blast of wind as the eggmobile raced through the air ruffled his fur and the clumps of quills on his head.

"It is... it is..."

He felt his facial features scrunch together, grabbing at his arms as he felt his body begin to shiver. He scanned the surrounding temperature in an attempt to figure out the proper term.

"... Freezing. I think that is the right word?"

[Dr. Mechano]

Eggman nodded, grinning, "Then it works exactly as I expected."

He pressed a button, enclosing the Eggmobile beneath a dome-shaped windshield as they continued their ascent.

"Is that better?" he asked as the Eggmobile's heating system kicked in.

[Jammerlee]

"I... suppose?" the android answered, still shivering from the lingering chill in his synthetic skin. Shaking his head and gritting his teeth, he glanced down at his body, uncurling his arms slightly as he studied over what his new appearance was like. Short and coarse cobalt fur spanned the majority of body body, broken only by the shorter and softer peach fur on his arms and stomach. On his hands he noticed a hair of black fingerless gloves with yellow and white trim, and around his neck was a golden medallion with a black pattern that made it resemble a tire.

He blinked, reaching for the medallion.

"Did you change the clothing on my Sonic form?"

[Dr. Mechano]

"I made a few modifications," he answered, "A bit of my personal artistic touch. You'll find it far easier to select whatever clothing data you want now."

Eggman pressed a few buttons on the Eggmobile's contol panel, continuing, "We'll be arriving at Little Planet shortly. Prepare to disembark once we land in Quartz Quadrant."

[Jammerlee]

The android nodded quietly, still focusing on his hands. Wiggling his fingers, he took in the sensation of what it felt like, then began to pick at the fabric-like texture of his gloves, paying close attention to the various sensations this caused.

"... This is weird... and distracting..." he commented, grimacing as he ran a hand through his synthetic fur. "How do organics deal with this all the time?"

He simulated a deep inhale, then paused as he noticed there was something else aside from his newfound sense of touch. Blinking in surprise, be looked around, taking several more whiffs at the air around him. What was that? A sense of smell? He glanced over at creator sitting beside him, canting his head in curiosity.

Then he leaned over and sniffed Eggman.

[Dr. Mechano]

Eggman stared.

"...Metal Sonic, what are you doing."

[Jammerlee]

The android blinked. Leaning back, he glanced aside and sheepishly pushed the tips of his index fingers together. "I do not know what any of these weird sensations are supposed to mean! Also, you smell funny."

[Dr. Mechano]

Eggman folded his arms and grumbled, "Since this is your first time to smell anything, you don't really have a frame of reference for what smells funny! Besides, let's see you smell like fresh roses after working on oily machines all day long..."

Eggman's momentary irritation quickly subsided though, as the Doctor was too proud of his work's success, "In any event, we're entering the atmosphere. Prepare for landing!"

[Jammerlee]

"So... you smell like... oily machines," Metal said in an almost matter-of-fact tone, bracing himself in his seat as the shift in gravity began to pull them toward the small planet's surface. He paused at that thought, sniffing at his own arm. It smelled... different. He held it up. "What do I smell like?"

[Dr. Mechano]

"No more questions," Eggman answered sternly.

"In any case," The ship touched down, impacting the quartz-covered surface of the landing site. Unfazed, Eggman grinned, "We're here!"

[Jammerlee]

The android frowned indignantly at being abruptly cut off from being allowed to indulge in his curiosity. Rather than protest, though, he looked out the wildshield at the location they had just landed in. It had been a long time - not since he had been first built, in fact - since the pseudo hedgehog had set foot upon Little Planet. The sight that greeted them was that of a large quarry. Chiseled mountains of purple rock surrounded them, dotted with the brilliant green glow of thousands of exposed quartz, almost giving a feeling as though they had landed within a blanket of stars.

As the two stepped out from the Eggmobile, the very first thing Metal noticed with his newly acquired senses was how... cool it was here. The next thing he noticed was the dusty scent of minerals in the air - though he couldn't recognize it as such. His entire body jerked, as though he was about to wander off, but had abruptly stopped himself. Instead, his ears folded back, and his fur puffed up as he stood there beginning to shiver - despite the fact the temperature wasn't that cold.

[Dr. Mechano]

Eggman strolled out of the Eggmobile, glancing around at his surroundings.

"Ahh, Little Planet! It's been so long since we were here, conquering the landscape and molding it into my glorious planetary fortress!" He scratched his forehead, pondering, "Or, since some of that was in the future, perhaps I should say it's going to be so long until we do that? Bah, never mind."

Noting Metal's reaction to the cold, Eggman remarked, "Now might be a good time to try selecting some clothing data."

[Jammerlee]

Oh. Right. He had freedom over what his clothing could appear like now. There was just one eensy little problem regarding that. He had never really bothered to pay attention to the sorts of things organics would wear, much less did he have knowledge of what was appropriate for certain kinds of weather. Pondering over that, he glanced up at Eggman, and then back down at himself.

And then inspiration struck. The clothing on his body liquefied and reshaped around him into a rather familiar looking suit. He shifted to admire it on himself, and then grimaced. Unfortunately, while that did alleviate some of the issues with the temperature, he found that the feeling of fabric rubbing against his fur was... extremely uncomfortable. His shoulders convulsed.

"How do you deal with this?!" he complained, opting to hold his arms away from his torso.

[Dr. Mechano]

Eggman gave Metal a thumbs-up, "Exquisite tastes, I see. I approve."

He stifled a laugh at Metal's antics, managing to keep it together to answer his inquiry, "Heh heh... You're just experiencing a bit of sensory overload. In time, you should be able to adapt; Eventually, you'll hardly notice it!"

"With that said," Eggman said as he took out a safari hat from the parked Eggmobile, placing it atop his head, "There's an ancient source of immeasurable power with my name on it! The hunt is officially on!"

Eggman ended his exclamation by striking a dramatic pose and pointing straight ahead. Somewhere nearby, he'd calculated, they'd find what he was looking for.