Neo Badnik Empire - Story

Catalyst

The world flips upside down, and you're not sure what to think, so you think everything at once – and it cancels out to nothing.

Far from EggBase Alpha – the seat of the Empire and the home of its most important members – Neo watches over the process on Dr. Eggman's latest plot.
From xer vantage point at the top of the base, xe can see most of the base. Truthfully, xer presence here is not necessary. No part of this plan is necessary. No part of it is particularly reasonable, either. Xe's not happy about it.
But even the badnik lauded as Doctor Eggman's second-in-command can do little more than damage control. When he sets his mind to something, he will see it through. Neo had once found that trait admirable.

How naive.

He throws ludicrous amounts of resources into doomed plans long after it's obvious it won't work out. If he could be more flexible, just have a back-up plan, maybe—

No. Xe won't follow this thought process again. That kind of frustration only makes xen careless. It's not as if xe has a more important use of processing power at the moment, but it's neither important nor pleasant. Xe has long learned to ignore these pointless and painful processes.
Xe surveys xer surroundings for a more important focal point, then xer memory banks, then repeats the process for a more pleasant focus.

The base seems to lighten, and xe looks up to see the clouds have parted. Given this base is supposed to be a secret, it has relatively low light pollution – for an EggBase.
The stars are clear. It's pleasant. For a moment, it's even peaceful. And xe thinks about that for a moment.

Xe once told xenself that xe was made to be more than just a war machine – more than a living weapon. Who would bother to make a weapon this complex? So complex that it could even learn to appreciate peace?
But this was likely just an accident of the Doctor's design, xe concedes. It worked out well for xen, but that was just a rare stroke of luck. Xe was made to be a weapon, a mere copy, and xe grew beyond that.

You are more...

The memory plays unbidden, an old bug. Xe dismisses it and looks back to the stars.
This planet will never be ours, xe thinks, certain and unbothered, but there is so much more than just this planet.

Xer aspirations are interrupted by a message coming through the EggNet.

SB-2: somethings really wrong

Xe gives her a moment, expecting some more explanation, but already primed to leave. The SB units can be... jumpy, but it's not in either's habit to message xen like this over trivial problems.

SB-2: dad is dead and sage isnt answering
SB-2: i dont know what to do and orbot went to check on sage

Cubot retracts into her dock as she sends the last message. What else can she do? They just... got here too late. He was already... He's gone.
It feels awfully, horribly wrong, but it's true. He's gone. It just keeps looping, and she doesn't like it. She tries to think of something else to think, but the way her fans are whirring makes it hard to focus on anything.
He's gone.
She tries to think about whatever she was doing before this, but that's hard at peak processing. And it's so warm! She knows being docked won't help with the overheating, but it feels safer, and she's scared.

Just as she undocks to go look for Orbot, there's the sound of an engine in the halls. She thinks that xe isn't supposed to do that, but she still feels the smallest bit relieved.
Xe appears very suddenly, grinding to a stop in the doorway and staring into the room. Xer eyes flicker a bit, which Cubot is pretty sure means xe's thinking really hard. Or stressed, something like that.
She wants to say something, but she can't make it into words, so she just stalls for a second with her voice chip primed.
Neo finally actually looks at her, and she ends up letting out a quick static burst. She hardly even notices. She just about pounces on xen, wrapping her arms tight around xen. Xe hardly reacts, and xe doesn't have to. It's not like such a light bot could knock xen over even if she wanted to. But it worries her.

Xe finally speaks, but Cubot is too focused on being glad xe's reacting to actually parse what xe said. Her first impulse is to explain everything that happened that night, but she thinks it all at once and still can't put it in words, so she stalls again. Neo gives her a moment and then asks, "Where is Orbot?"
By this point, she's given up on speaking for now, and just points out the door.
"Sage." xe says, to no response, so she's probably still offline.
Cubot shuts her eyes and hides her face in Neo's side. She can't bare the thought that Sage is gone, too. If she was, wouldn't Orbot be back by now? Cubot ignores the jolt of phantom pain and tells herself that he's found the issue and he's working on it, probably too focused to think about updating her. He's like that sometimes.

"Orbot?" Neo asks, maybe thinking the same thing. Still no response.
He's really focused! Because he cares about Sage!
She really doesn't like that static feeling. She needs to go find him, and see he's fine, that's what makes that stop, but she's scared. So, so scared.

Neo suddenly starts walking. She guesses xe's gonna go check on Orbot and Sage. That's better. She's still scared, but it's less scary if Neo's there. It would be WAY less scary if Orbot were with her, but at least Neo's here.