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"So, you're Davey Crockett, huh?" Charles Hedgehog, roboticized creator of the Roboticizer and Sonic's uncle, said as he approached. "I've been hearing a lot about you since you've crashed landed on the feet of my nephew." His red-on-black eyes looked him up and down for a moment. "Y'now, sonny, right now, as a fox, you don't look as much like Robotnik as you did when you just showed up here. . . You don't look so psychotic, either."
"Oh, don't mind that, Chuck," Sonic injected. "Davey's 'Psycho Streak' is purely hype. I started it to put fear into Snerdly and Packbald. Besides, he only shows it when he trashes bots." "Ahem!" Sonic blushes, "Oh, sorry, Unc."
"Yeah, Charles. Back home, This big guy's one of the nicest people you'll know. Even Sonia warms up to him. You ask me, I think this mean streak of his is just an act."
"You want to analyz ze complex human perzonalitee, my preencezz? I do not theenk you want to zign up for ze dirty job."
"Besides, look what he brought with him." Bunnie turns around an imaginary catwalk, proudly showing off her new body, with the limbs in flesh mode. Charles did a double take. "Whatta ya think, Charles? Is it an upgrade or the cure? Depends on who ya ask, if ya ast me?"
"We've come here to give you Davey's special treatment, Uncle Chuck. It's the sure cure for what ails the roboticized."
"Is . . . is it really?"
"Only if you want it to be, Sir."
"Please, Davey, call me Charles. 'Chuck' if you must. <Turns to others> I'd love to get this treatment, folks, but we've got work to do. I'll get this along the way. Please."
Everybody sat down, even Tails, who just came in slowly. Everybody notices. "Sonic," Davey whispers, "Tails looks a little down." "Yo, rocket scientist. Is it full time of part time?"
"As you know, Princess, we've got two mysteries to solve. The first of which is Robotnik coming back so soon. I've figured that someone that evil would not allow an exploding Roboticizer #1 to do him in."
"Yeah, I wonder what supernatural place he was in, and how he came back?"
"Well, Heaven wouldn't take him. Maybe Hell got terrified of him taking over. So, they sent him back!" Everybody laughs. "Good one, Dave."
"We've also got this mystery about this silverily goo that Packbell's been dumping as of late. I didn't raise a fuss because the Great Jungle that accursed android was dumping it in was eating it and growing. However, the two happened to begin at the same time. It leads me to believe that they might be related."
"What do you mean Zir Charlez?"
"Don't know yet, Antoine. That's why I called for this two-week investigation. Sonic, Tails, Antoine, and Sally can dress up in these Worker Bot costumes and follow Packbell like a hawk, to find out what's his game is. Davey, you're with me. We can both jack into cyberspace. From there the two of us can find out all we need to know about Robotnik."
"Will do, Chuck."
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"Y'know, Sonny," Charles told Davey as they went down a corridor, "ever since I got my mind back, I've been asking myself why in heaven's name did I make that Roboticizer, since It's been giving us all this pain and suffering. But then you showed up, with a replacement limb. This <Chuck points to that arm> is a classic example of why I've built that thing in the first place: To mend people, to make them whole again, not to send my people into slavery."
"Then blame Robotnik, who uses the machine for evil, not the machine itself. You designed the Roboticizer to be a source of good when used properly. You never knew it would fall into the wrong hands one day. I only hope that you Mobians remember that and not trash your life's work down the drain."
"Oh, with this new upgrade King Acorn sent with you, rest assured. We're here."
Uncle Chuck led Davey into a small room with a mainframe-style cyberdeck, dual input jacks, and comfortable, if cramped, recliner chairs. Davey's not claustrophobic, but as he looked into that room he longed for some wide open space.
And cyberspace definably does qualify as 'wide open space.' Inspired by an earthling fiction writer, cyberspace became the standard virtual reality interface to the 'net. A checkerboard expands to infinity. Chess pieces of cubes, pyramids, cones, cylinders, and other geometric shapes represents data bases, security systems, computer networks, and other connections in Mobius' Information Superhighway. Blue rivers intertwine in computer chip fashion between the chess pieces.
"And with this view screen, you'll have an electron's eye view of the 'net."
"View screen?" Davey said as he flopped on the couch and jacked in- directly--with the Data Spear, "The way I jack in, I don't need view screens. . ."
Davey's eyes defocused and glowed as cyberspace filled his sense of vision. An image of himself appeared on the view screen, but he was changed; Davey was dressed more like a superhero, with a cape, and he appeared to be glowing inside. His hands and eyes were lit up with the promise of power, and his tail was like it was set on fire. ". . . Not when I can become one with the 'net. I now have a cosmic-style awareness over everything that goes in here. It really give quite a buzz."
"I'd say," Uncle Chuck said as he jacked in himself. "If my readings are correct, every terminal and monitor is having a feedback loop sent directly to you. <Gasps> Davey, you're monitoring every computer on Mobius even as we speak! Do you think you can handle--"
"I'm surprised to say it, but I am! Normally, the human, or Mobian mind for that matter, cannot handle this much input all at once, it would be unintelligible at least, insanity-producing at most. Yet, my cyborg implants enable me to handle all this. This is fantastic!! <Laughs> Oh, I've found Lard-ass."
"Where?"
Their vision cut to a security camera's view of Robotroplis' Command Room.
"--need: Another high speed show-off! And this one destroyed a death trap meant for Sonic!"
"But Dr. Robotnik, he was on a hovercycle. I don't think he counts."
Robotnik glared at Snivley for a moment, but then returned to the monitors, admiring Davey's work.
That's odd," Chuck mused. "Usually, Robotnik would be throttling Snivley for that crack."
"Mmm. I'd believe ya, Chuck. And he appears to be admiring me as well. I don't think that's, like, normal for someone like him."
"Humph, from what I heard, that would be debatable."
"Hey now!" Davey turned to make a face at Chuck, but something from the feed caught his eye: Silvery-Grey ooze seeped from Robotnik's left metal arm. Robotnik notices. "Damn."
"Man, Talk about crappy quality," Davey said in disgust. "Who made that arm? Apple?"
Charles just stood silently, scratching his chin, as Packbell arrives into the scene, placing another pan underneath the drip. "Y'now, sonny, I'm beginning to think that's not really Robotnik."
At this point, Robotnik did the one thing that took the two cyber-spies back for almost five minutes: He turned to Packbell and thanked--yes, thanked--him for putting the pan under the drip. Julian Ivo Robotnik would never thank anyone for anything. Everyone who had the nerve to help him are now either dead of roboticized.
"Now I KNOW that's not Robotnik!"
"If he's not, then, who is he?"
"Not who, Davey, What? Do a all-database scan for 'Auto- Automations,' for me, will you."
"Way ahead of you. . . [15 second pause] . . . I've got something." Davey relays a record to Chuck about Snivley and Packbell creating an Auto Automation version of Robotnik. The reason for it was because live was just too quiet without him around. However, Packbell couldn't find up-to-date records on how to make good Auto-Automations, so they had to make do with out-of-date procedures and files. "Remind me to smack Snivley around for using such crappy work. I expected more from him. Oh, I've got access to Main Roboticizer #2! I'll upload the upgrade parameters and we can give you the treatment from there."
"Main Roboticizer #2?! Ballsy, Crockett. Crazy, but ballsy--Hey! what's this? Roboticizer Override?"
"This I've got to see. . . " Davey reached out for the file, but suddenly, white lightning could be seen from some of the paths of blue, and approaching paths.
"ICE constructs!" Charles shouted, referring to the acronym 'Intrusion Countermeasure Electronics,' designed to take out uninvited guests in computer networks by any means possible, even if it means flatlining the poor soul. "Jack out of here, now!!"
Davey managed to get a copy of the Roboticizer Override file in a split second before he jacked out, just before the ICE ran into the ram space he was just occupying one CPU cycle before. . .
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"Whew," Charles said as their brains were catching up to the fact that they are back in their bodies. "That was a close one. You got that last file?"
"Sure did, Uncle Chuck." He popped the disk out from his upper arm drive. "For a moment there, I was disappointed in Needle Nose, but I didn't expected those cyberspace defenses to be developed on Mobius. Now, this game is going to be fun."
"Sonny," Chuck sighed, "If you still think that this is something that came out from Sega, think of it from OUR point of view. And by what I'm fearing from what I think 'Roboticizer Override' means, I'm afraid that you're gonna be seeing that point of view awfully quick."
Davey was too quick to change the subject. "You think that Robatsy knows we were there?"
"Don't know, son. Let's assume he did, however, and move up our plans from there. I'll signal the others. . ."