Metal

[SotF]

AN: Well, every year I try to at least write a short Buffy Halloween fic. So this is this years.

xXx

His hands worked the tools before jerking back as a few sparks danced within his project.

The chime of the clock warned him of yet another hour, and the passing of the one month mark.

One month since that day, one month since everything changed inside his head.

Lights flickered, but he ignored it and reached back inside to continue work.

A brief flash of memory crossed his mind as he continued the adjustments.

xXx

He'd ended up with a detention, something that messed his day up far worse.

He'd been stuck scrounging from the discount bins and found a few things that gave him an idea for what the night had been forced to become.

The mustache had given him the idea, and the red cape reminded him of something.

xXx

Closing the metal hatch, Xander reached one gloved hand over to the computer he'd acquired and attached a cable to what he had been working on.

xXx

The inner tube was easy enough to modify and an old bald cap he'd gotten from Jessie years prior had completed the costume along with seven fake gems of different colors.

If he only knew that a spell was coming, or what it would do and everything could have been so different, but the city was unprepared for that which came.

xXx

The metallic bird hopped into his lap as fingers caressed the keyboard as he worked without a sign of attention to the world at large.

A beep and he relaxed as a download bar appeared, "Good..."

It was a darker tone, one none would have ever associated with him before that night.

"So, very, very good..."

xXx

It was the dawn of something that night, but none could tell what. Almost as if all interested parties were holding their breath and wondering what would come next.

As light twinkled most curiously and quite chaotically around the seven emeralds bought with pocket change int he costume shop.

And by chaos the world would never no the disaster now floating down the streets.

xXx

"You can't do this!" the shrill screams of his, well, former principal filled the air of the warehouse, now adorned with countless machines, "I'll have you expelled!"

That which was once Alexander Lavelle Harris laughed, a sound both dark and disturbing as it echoed about the facility.

"Perhaps, but you were not quite the worthy adversary I would have loved to test my machine upon," Xander responded with an almost cheshire grin, "but in every game, there are winners and there are losers. And as you know, in this game, losers get robotizicized!"

And the heir of the mind of one Doctor Ivo Robotnik, master of Robotropolis, activated the machine.

A horrific scream echoed through the chamber as the boy who would be master of machines watched and caressed the robotic pet left over from his ascension.

 

[SotF]

Xander grimaced as he fiddled with the holographic emitter.

It wasn't quite his best work, but the device had been working well enough to cover for his roboticization of the principal. He was having a few second thoughts about that act as well, the machine proving as annoying as the man had been.

At least the man was rather easily avoided...

Completing the minor tuning of the disguise, he turned back to the other machine still in progress on the workbench.

Continuing work was the only thing that kept him from sending the forces he'd already built down to the school and dragging that fool, Rayne, back to allow him a suitable location to voice his displeasure.

At least the work also made it easier to ignore the bits of his thoughts plotting methods of conquest of the city or world domination.

Part of him was pushing away from his friends while fighting the concepts All Hallows Eve had left within his brain. That little voice that brought up just how impressive a Slayers abilities would be when boosted by roboticization, and how useful such a minion would be.

The speakers had been set to broadcast from the hidden bugs he'd, well, let loose to keep watch over those he still considered to be friends.

"Don't worry Cluck," he stated while reaching from his seat over to the robotic bird perched atop the computer and stroking the cold steel of its serrated beak, "I'll let you have your fun with that fool when he tries to escape our allies."

 

[SotF]

Ethan Rayne ran for it.

The reason for his return was destroyed, and good riddance.

Now he just had to get out of town before his former friend and an enraged slayer could catch up with him.

He heard but a bit of scraping metal before his foot kicked something hard and he stumbled, rolling hard against the cement.

Managing to suppress a yelp, the chaos mage turned to see just what had run underfoot in the dim light.

"A chicken?" he muttered, wondering if he was seeing things correctly.

And then it's eyes lit up as if the switch were thrown and it stepped towards him. Dull metal plates and a glistening comb of blood red that matched the brightly lit eyes. The serrated beak was not something he wanted anywhere near him in the disturbingly menacing aura the thing gave out was telling of its nature.

"What have you found for me, Cluck?" the slow voice stated from the shadows as something far larger moved towards him as a dull thrumming filled the air.

The figure wasn't actually any larger than a normal teenage boy, but the machine he was seated within moved into the light, hovering a good yard off the ground. He was armored, though Ethan couldn't tell if parts were integrated into his body or not, but the machine bird somehow fluttered up to its masters arm as those eyes turned upon him, cackling in a almost sarcastic tone with each beat of those bladed wings.

"A rat you say," the form seemed to respond to the gibbering, "Well then, there is only one response to such a thing, but at least it's not a hedgehog..."

The tone seemed to almost brighten as the next words were spoken.

"SWATbots," Xander stated, the order crisp and clear, "Take him."

Ethan's blood ran cold as the dark alley seemed to light up with dozens of glowing eyes, each revealing a hint at the black armor of the robots waiting to serve their masters call...

 

[SotF]

The partially disassembled robot lay atop the table, elbow deep in what might have looked human at one point.

Hissing steam from the doors alerted him to the return of his minions.

"Objective complete," was the simple statement as Xander reached over and adjusted one of the overhead monitors before returning to his work.

Ted was an interesting specimen to examine, primitive by his standards, but there were some very interesting applications to some of his technology. However, whatever being programmed the diversion was lacking at that end while a genius at other points.

He had no need of the machines relative crude infiltration programs, inherited memories reminded him briefly of the duplicate he'd made of the Princess so long ago. That was a work of art, this wasn't even really trying it seemed.

What really interested him was the power source, something he'd already copied for something special he'd been working on for weeks.

The heir of Robotnik paused while watching the disguised robots home detonate through the video feed, satellite feeds were such wondrous things, and the place had been stripped of anything possibly useful before he ordered his minions to stage a gas leak.

Turning from his research, Xander walked to another lab in his warehouse, the assorted robots of various creatures that had managed to evade the Slayer and yet hadn't the luck to evade his SWATbots were simply fodder for the roboticizer.

The camera in the library showed the others gathering, and their conversation was on something perfect.

"No weapon forged..."

Mad laughter erupted from him, one that would have sent chills down the spine of anyone who had known him as he turned to the glass tube containing his latest creation.

A flash of light revealed the smallest bit of blue metal on the form within.

 

[SotF]

Rupert Giles grabbed Buffy and Willow as the deafening roar of the trucks horn tore through the abandoned parking lot.

The semi in question passed within a foot of them as it continued to accelerate on a beeline for the entrance before the three were bowled over by the bound form of the stolen vehicles former driver.

"My god," the Englishman managed to let out before the vehicle plowed into the entrance with a scream of rending metal and shattering glass before the trailer seemed to roll forward behind the cab, smashing the end of it into the wall above the ruined entryway.

It was a wall of wreckage that blocked their egress to the interior, and the fall of their plans.

But, perhaps, another's plans had just begun as the ruined trucks remains shielded them from the explosion within.

xXx

Angelus slowly crawled back to his feet, looking at the mayhem between himself and what used to be the malls entrance.

He'd picked this section because of the theater, and it had only been the concessions stand in the middle of the area that had kept his force alive, but the humans were screaming. If it had been his idea, it would have had him smiling.

Dru's face seemed almost paler than usual in the flickering of spreading flames that were swiftly joined by the downpour from the sprinklers that were still intact.

A flash of motion caught his eye.

Had something survived that, the concept seemed insane, but more motion.

A cloaked figure, was moving through the flames as the lights finally died, and then it looked up at him, the only light in the room came from those glowing, crimson eyes.

 

[SotF]

As the Judge froze, the figure seemed to vanish with a roar that at least matched the explosions volume, and the demon could only stare as Angelus also disappeared only for both figures to reappear.

The vampire was driven into the wall, shattering the plaster and sending shards outwards before his eyes could see what had attacked for but a moment, and even then only noticing the metallic sheen as the red, emergency lighting came on in response to the havoc of their foes initial attack.

Then the machine pivoted, still grasping the entity that was once angel, then shifting into a throw to toss aside the stunned blood sucker with almost contemptuous ease as the Judge took a shocked step away.

It was only the sound of shattering glass from the flying body smashing through a storefront that broke the shock in the Judge, allowing him to act and attempt to fight back.

While the attack seemed to be a stream of lightning, it had little to do with electricity, and even then it did nothing to slow down his foe beyond prompt it to discard the now flaming cloak and reveal the form that had been concealed.

One might say it was short for a killing machine, at least if you took a human perspective of eye level. Spines draped backwards as if it were some industrial interpretation of a mohawk merged with a buzzsaw. Armor plating with the joints fused, or perhaps the entire armor had been cast and forged in a single piece.

An arm raised, metallic spikes that flexed as fingers folded into a fist pointed at the ancient monster while the gauntlet shifted and revealed something that might have been akin to a gun fired a pulse of energy through the shadows.

The Judge went airborne, clearing the railing, but the attack didn't end there as the machine moved again, closing in the blink of an eye to smash into its foe in midair, acting as the hammer to the Judge being a nail.

A demons roar was cut off, shifting to an almost pitiful mewling as the audible sound of bones snapping ripped from the monster, and the machine stepped back.

Gasping for breath and attempting to find the ability within its smashed body to speak, the Judge knelt there above the spiderweb fractures in the marble flooring while the metal warrior that had attacked positioned itself behind, the second arm revealing another weapon and both taking position.

The dual flashes of both weapons firing ended the Judge, body falling to the floor, smoldering from energy weapons fire.

Drusilla, the sole witness to the entirety of the fight, just stared as the machine walked away.

 

[zeebee1]

You know, when no one responds it should send a message.

 

[sworded]

First time reading through these, and I like them. I think there an alright series of story snips. They're not enough for a whole fic as they are now, but they are interesting to read.

 

[SotF]

You know, when no one responds it should send a message.

And you know, this isn't the only place I post things.

 

[semil]

I'm paying attention, but I don't really like to respond just for the sake of saying something.

 

[SotF]

Xander sat there upon the metallic throne, watching the screen displaying the files from his servants memory banks.

His seat was meant for someone many times larger than him, but then again, it was possible that he'd fill it out just as Julius had.

While many held the misconception that the good doctor was overweight, the truth was that Robotnik was anything but. Roboticization was not just a tool for creating minions, but something the mad genius had used to improve his own body beyond what any human could relying on the abilities provided by nature.

While not the same form of the process as what gave him such interesting minions, it did have the same basis and the plans had been used to entice the King into funding the research in the first place.

Of course, the military aspects were far simpler to develop without such trivial details as free will in his subjects.

For a moment he'd pondered the image many would have had of his abode.

Flickering lights and many other trappings of a mad scientist were absent.

Not because of the atmosphere, his inherited fashion sense covered that in styles that still creeped out some portion of his brain.

But the one thing that the mechanical mastermind had always used to his advantage was efficiency, a flickering bulb was one that should be replaced, damage should be repaired, and, well, hedgehogs should be annihilated (though he'd yet to actually come face to face with the last part of that in his personal experience).

He was pondering methods to amplify the power of Metal Sonic's cannons after their showings against the Judge, as well as a new coating material that wouldn't be as susceptible to the carbon scoring that could effect his weapons performance in the future, not to mention something difficult to scrub clean in the joints of the machine.

All in all, his pets outing had been a successful field test for its combat capabilities.

Baring no illusions that Angelus' existence had been ended, he considered options for dealing with the being that had irked him before his apotheosis as one hand stroked clucks cold, steel plating.

His free hand caressed one of the facets of the glowing gem waiting for him to find a use for it.

 

[semil]

Before this story I hadn't thought of Sonic since the days of the Sega 32x adapter.

Nostalgia is fun.

 

[SotF]

Before this story I hadn't thought of Sonic since the days of the Sega 32x adapter.

Nostalgia is fun.

Sonic 4 has done a rather good job of bringing that feel back. The homing attack makes some things possible that weren't with the older games and the shift in the way you accelerate works decently once you get the hang of it.

And then there's SATam, I don't think any series can quite match up to it, at least with Sonic ones.

 

[TerraBull]

Nice!

I Am curious how some other events will play out.

No other Sonic chars were there? Some kids with Tails fox ears & twin tails?

How is the Mayor viewing this?

What is his appearance currently? Bald?

What about the assassins?

Will Dawn make the appearance by being the Princess or Minion? Kendra? Faith?

Will Xanader let the Mayor become the .. snake demon to kill it or Roboticize?

Continue when you can.

 

[SotF]

He had possessed many names over his long life, ones that might be familiar to many scattered across the world he inhabited and some even beyond it.

The appearance of a balding human face, with eyes burning an almost demonic red and showing signs of balding unusual for one of such apparent youth, upon his television screen.

"Greetings and salutations to the grand master," the title was spoken with more than a touch of contempt, "Of the Order of Teraka."

A pause, letting him take in a few more details, though the overshadow hid much more than it revealed.

"You may be wondering who I am," the mocking smile might have aggravated someone who hadn't been used to dealing with various upstarts who had dared challenge him in times long past, "But, it's of no importance, what is important is that you cease all operations in Sunnydale concerning the Slayer..."

The grin the man had managed to annoy him.

"And why would I deign to do that?" he finally spoke back, wondering if this fool could actually hear him.

The madman held up one of the many rings his servants wore, and then a second.

"You see while I dislike magic, no..." a pause as if the being reconsidered his words, "I hate it, but it does have its uses."

"Get on with it," his patience with this fool was wearing thin.

"You see, that little bit of magic you enchanted them with provides a minor link between each and everyone of them, and while the intent was to prevent them from being worn by others..."

The gloved hand fondled the item as if to taunt him, "It is such a nice vector to deal with your kind."

"So very..." the word was drawn out as if savoring it, "...very nice."

His eyes widened and face paled slightly.

"Now, I guess it's time for you to face whatever afterlife you foolishly believe in due to that attitude problem of yours," the bringer of his doom stated as the roboticized form of Ethan Rayne stepped into view behind him.

The old man felt his own ring begin to warm against his flesh, swiftly rising to a burning heat that spread to his clothes while the maniac on the television started laughing hysterically with what appeared to almost be a metal chicken joining in.

"It warms the cockles of what used to be my heart," Xander managed to get out between peels of laughs as he watched the burning man on the monitor...

 

[SotF]

Metal Sonic moved slowly through the hospital, letting the holographic disguise shield him from those about him. The only hint that he was something other than the doctor he had covertly replaced was the hint of a metallic noise with each footstep.

Xander watched the various video feeds, both the direct transmission from his soldiers sensors and the hijacked security devices, while lazily stroking cluck back within his lair.

Something had caught his eye a few times in the various wards after Buffy's admission.

A flicker caught his eye and a grin crossed his lips for a fraction of a second, "Proceed to sector three, target sighted."

He didn't bother to listen for an acknowledgment, the machine didn't bother to speak anyway.

It was one of the features he'd been quite proud of, his creation was learning quickly and developing into something quite dangerous in his own right. The machine was a work of art, and one that he was still improving as a constant project.

Already, Metal was 17% more capable than he had been during the brief skirmish in the mall. The weapons had been fine tuned and his power systems tweaked to provide a lot more than they had.

Part of him liked the fact that his, for lack of a better word, child was far more menacing than the version Julius had created. And part of it was by giving him freedom to develop, to think and plan while still restricted on a basic level to maintain loyalty.

And the very idea of a demon that was capable of natural invisibility had wet his appetite, a source of research to upgrade his own forces, not to mention allow him to construct something that would be most amusing to construct if all went according to plan.

Something else caught his eye and he adjusted the view on the main screen.

"What is he doing there?" he whispered to himself.

Angelus was heading towards Buffy's room, and he paused at the internal conflict.

The vampire was a definite threat, but so was the demonic entity that Metal was already closing on. He couldn't tell for sure what the vampire would do, but should he cancel his planned mission and ride to the rescue.

His hand twitched, prompting a momentary growl from the robotic bird resting on the arm of his chair.

"Easy Cluck," he whispered and made his decision.

 

[SotF]

One of the attributes that distinguished a so called "master vampire" from the run of the mill spawn was the ability to blend in with little effort. Angelus' souled self's paramour had pointed out the relatively minor issue concerning the sense of style.

But either way, few people would have spared a second glance at his appearance as he walked casually through the hospital to leave a minor gift for the slayer.

Unlike many of the young ones, he had the opinion that the effort in preparation of the prey is worth the effort in the end.

With contemptuous ease, the vampire entered the hospital room and closed the door behind him, mentally secure in his invulnerability.

It was when he tried to remove his hand from the knob that Angelus learned that he wasn't correct in that view.

The pain shooting through his wrist left him ignorant of the rending steel of an armored, mechanical fist tearing a hole in the door itself to grab him.

"The hell..." Angelus stammered, in fact all he managed to get out before the hand pulled back through the door and his own arm with it.

A crash resounded as his footing gave way and his shoulder slammed into the jagged penetration before the door itself was ripped open to reveal the nightmare from the mall standing there for only the merest flicker of a second before his hand was released by the machine.

Metal pivoted, adding to his next move in a full rotation before driving his knee into the vampires gut, a strike that smashed the blood drinker into the damaged door with enough force to rip it clean off its hinges and send both vampire and door crashing down the hallway in a manner that carried an eerie similarity to a skipping stone.

Angelus' next concious thought was that he'd split his lip with his own fangs, and was in fact missing one as he tore himself free of the twisted steel and staggering to his feet.

The blood haze let the casual cockiness that had inspired the brat that Drusilla had sired flood back as the machine advanced down the hallway towards him.

Without a thought, the vampire threw a punch, one that didn't manage to connect as Metal caught his wrist with its off hand and held it there for an agonizing moment.

The vampire blinked as his opponent slowly, visibly casual in motion, raised its empty hand and waggled one finger as if chiding a particularly naughty child.

Then metal struck, open palm strike to grasp his extended arm at the elbow on the interior while releasing the limb with the other. A slight shift as it rotated to give him a clear attack on the exposed and immobilized elbow, an opening taken to the horrifying orchestra of shattering bone that seemed to echo through the hospital halls.

But Metal Sonic was not done yet, driving his knee upwards again to lift him up into the air before spinning and driving the same foot into his back with even more bone crunching force that slammed him into the tile floor before he could react.

Running was all that Angelus could think of as he forced his undead body to move, lunging to his feet with a snarl as the alarms finally went off in reaction to the brawl tearing apart the ward and with the hand that was still working managed to find a fire alarm.

Fortunately the sound prompted his foe to pause long enough to get into the stairwell without another strike upon him.

He needed air, and started screaming when an energy blast blew the door behind him.

 

[Prince Charon]

Please, continue.