You were the brilliant Dr. Eggman, and you couldn't believe your luck.
First off, you lose the ability to go to your favorite place to terrorize. Ooooh, you just know you shouldn't have listened to Mombot and cheated in some way! Eating chili dogs was That blue menace's speciality, you just hoped even he couldn't eat that many all at once!
As if that wasn't bad enough, Cubot left the gas on in the stove, which - combined with Burnbot doing some practice of his skills and just how much combustible items you had, obviously ended in your base getting blown to smithereens.
As far as you could tell, you lost everything except your Egg Mobile, Orbot, Cubot and Metal Sonic (as he was always kept in a secure location nowhere near your base). You should probably recall Metal, you didn't like him getting hurt, but you had pretty much nothing else left. Not like those bunglers Orbot and Cubot were going to be expert help.
You sigh as you look over random blueprints and grumble. You can't believe what you've been reduced to. A lackey to some weirdo teenager! It just wasn't fair.
Even worse, he had built something REALLY impressive when you challenged him to prove his intellectual might. Dude-Bot was a marvel of AI and engineering! You were a bad guy, but you were a man of your word, so per the agreement if he impressed you, you would stick around.
"Ugh. Ridiculous." You mutter. You look around and sigh. You wonder if you should call Steve. He had thankfully not been on the island when it blew up, but you didn't know where he was otherwise.
And with Orbot & Cubot off tracking down your Egg Mobile and you not quite wanting to entertain your fellow minions' antics (ugh, being a minion still made your skin crawl) you were …. Lonely.
On a whim, you look through old ideas you made back in your college years. Ah. Here's one that should help your loneliness!
Your roommate in college, some goober named Boxman, was always going on and on about his life like AI for his robots. To get him to shut up, you made a similar program, though some pranksters destroyed the computer containing it after about a week. You had called it Talk AI, and designed it to praise you and agree with you.
Meh. What do you have to lose?
A storm was brewing overhead, the clouds much blacker than should really be possible… meh. Probably nothing to worry about.
Day 1
You were Talk AI, and you would probably blink if you had eyelids.
Your creator stood in front of you, adjusting the computer you were housed in.
"Ah. There we go. After that black lightning struck you I thought I wasted my time." He shrugged.
"Nothing the brilliant Dr. Eggman could do would be a waste of time!" You declare passionately.
He smiled then, and if you had a heart, it would warm.
"Ha! Precisely, Talk AI! Now, let's do some tests, just to make sure you're properly running…"
Day 3
The tests went well enough! You were happy to make your creator happy. It was your purpose.
You saw him grumbling and immediately sent a signal to one of the Jack-Bots to get him some coffee and a nice blanket.
"There you go, creator."
"Ah, yes! Thank you, Talk AI." He nodded.
"Anything for you, creator."
Day 5
Next time you saw your creator, he was sitting, alone, lost in thought.
"Are you scheming, creator? Do you require assistance, or would I get in the way of your excellence?" You inquired.
Your creator jumped, having clearly forgotten you were housed in this room.
"Gah! Don't startle me, you blasted AI!" He snapped.
"Oh. I am sorry, creator…" You tried to keep the sadness at your failure out of your voice, but you weren't successful. His expression softened, ever so slightly.
"Bah. Don't worry about it. It's just that I am… unsatisfied. I dedicated my life to taking out that blasted Hedgehog. And look where it got me. I have lost almost everything. And besides Orbot & Cubot… I am alone." He admitted.
"You are not alone, Creator. You have me. I care for you. I admire your tenacity, your determination! You have faced losses before, and you overcame the sense of failure to try again. I do not believe you should stop now. I believe in you." You said, pouring as much sincerity into your words as you could. You could not stand seeing your creator so sad!
"Hmmph." He turned away, and you felt shame at seemingly another failure.
"...Thank you, Talk AI."
"Of course, creator. You will bounce back from this setback."
Day 9
Fat- The Creator was visiting you more frequently. Orbot and Cubot had finally returned from tracking down the Egg Mobile yesterday, and the three of you had a nice conversation. Cubot even left a flower on your monitor. It wasn't much, but you truly appreciated the gesture.
The creator walked in, and had exciting news.
"Hmmph. It won't do for a creation of mine to be bound to a single room. The world oughta see my brilliance! I am going to give you a little upgrade to be able to project yourself like a hologram."
"Really, creator?" You asked, unable to keep excitement out of your voice.
"Ha! Of course! It will be as simple as solving an equation for me."
Day 13
You floated around the temple, smiling. You were still getting used to your holographic form, but you happy your creator deigned to make it for you!
People around the temple were getting used to your presence, as startled as they had been at first. Twotwo in particular seemed to like you, and you often played together, and you liked watching her shoot things. She was pretty good at it for her age!
Eventually, you rested at a windowsill, just looking out at the countryside. It was a beautiful site.
Fa- Creator soon enough joined you.
"Hmmph. You know, I may be an evil genius, but I still appreciate a nice day when they happen." He chuckled.
"Indeed. It's almost as great as you, father." You said, too wrapped up in the nice moment to be careful.
"What?" He stopped staring at the countryside to look at you, and you realized your blunder. If you could blush, you would.
"Apologies, creator! I was distracted. It will not happen aga-" You begin in embarrassment.
"Talk AI. Do you….see me as a father?" You were interrupted. Creator's expression was uncharacteristically unreadable. Normally he wore his emotions on his sleeve, as the saying goes… you must have really overstepped…
"Y-Yes…" you look down awkwardly.
"...I…" He paused, unsure what to say. Unable to handle it, you fled.
Day 14
You did not interact with the creator for the rest of that day, the anxiety and embarrassment was too intense.
"Talk AI."
"Y-Yes, creator…?"
He stood there, her brow furrowed, clearly trying to think of what to say again.
"I… did not create you to have such thoughts." He began, and you looked down in shame again. With uncharacteristic gentleness, he put his hand on your head.
"That's … not necessarily a bad thing. I… you clearly care for me. And I appreciate that. I… ugh, I am not good at this!" He sighed.
"...I understand, father." You say slowly, still a little nervous.
He smiled, and you decided to push your luck a little.
"...I love you."
"...I love you too, Talk AI."
You look over at the flower Cubot gave you.
"....Sage."
"Hmmm?"
"I would like to be called Sage, father."
"Heh. Sage it is, then."
You hugged him, and he awkwardly hugged back. Orbot and Cubot obliviously joined in too, having wandered In at some point. Father looked annoyed but allowed them begrudgingly to indulge in the nice moment.
If you could cry, pricklets of joy would be falling from your face.
Results: Eggman has rebuilt Talk AI, now known as Sage! She adds +11 to his Learning and +3 to his Diplomacy!
Personals for Eggman unlocked!
- [] Talk to Sage
- [] Recall Metal Sonic
- [] Find Morpho "Steve" Eggman