[PacAttack]

Glimmericious

"Where are you..."

Cortex was stationed at this computer, eyes trained in on his giant overhead monitor.  It was currently displaying footage of the citizens of the Life Sphere going about there day.  Smiling and happily talking about this thing and that.  It was sickening.  The video feed adjusted becoming grainy for a second before zooming in to get a better (or worse) view of their heroic faces.  The doctor felt his usual somber look sink further down into a scowl.  He would often wonder why the city shared its resources with every single citizen.  It was impossible to believe that every single one of them held some kind of potential in that they help outlive this plague swarming the land.  All of them taking up valuable air, clean water, luxurious food, and his much needed materials.

He was sick of having to dig through the scraps of the remains that was brought back to this miserable bubble.  The arm of some long-fallen robot, rusted out gears and pistons, various amounts of sheet metal.  He could put all of it to use but it was never enough.  He needed more.  Better.  More impressive.  His inner tinkerer was clawing at his insides and seeing how scrawny he was, it was not that hard to see on the outside.  Countless times he had lost his temper in the night.  Screaming, crying, maniacal laughing fits.  Each leading to another failed creation that laid broken on the floor, wondering why its creator had abandoned them.

This time, there was hope.  Hope that he could actually put his talents to use and do something about the miserable state of everything.  Hope that he would turn the tables and show everyone who the the real clown was.  Hope that he would finally be the one on top where he rightfully deserved to be.

The surveyor drone that he had been working on in his off time seemed like a perfect fit for this occasion.  It was an old design he remembered using to monitor his power back home.  A spherical machine that defied gravity as it floated above the ground.  It had a camera lens affixed to tube that could be retracted into the base.  Cortex's little eye in the sky. He ordered it to lower itself to the ground so he could get a better look.  It hummed as he descended into the streets, hovering at a nice twenty feet above the ground.

He better not have gotten himself destroyed.  That would be wasteful.  Such valuable technology all gone because one couldn't hold their inner demons back.  The feeling was shared, however.  The grip of insanity was a powerful thing that led to what was supposed to be his and N Brio's shining moment.  That was the past and Brio could go tighten those damned bolts into his pathetic brain till he stopped moving for all he cared.  All that time, all that work, all that torment, ruined due to one furry mistake that would come to haunt him for the rest of his years.

The mental reliving of past events was taking the toll on him as he navigated his drone looking for Omega.  He could feel his blood beginning to boil which made him sit further up in his seat.  His commands became more fierce, threatening to break the poor keyboard that was doing its best to keep up.  His view of feed was starting to turn red.  No, crimson.  A few choice words exited him that would put most to shock.  He needed to find this thing now.

Rounding another corner with a harsh button press, he soon found a shade of red that wasn't a result of his blinding fury.  Yes, that beautiful ruby red that caught his eyes at first sight.  A wave of solace came over him as he felt himself beginning to return back to where he intended to keep himself.  He took a moment to compose himself and let the drone idle in front the android, giving the camera feed full view his body.  He took a deep breath before flicking a switch on his desk and looking up at the now red light that staring back at him from the darkness.

The drone released a short beam of light that shaped into a hologram of Cortex's head.  It looked down at the ground for a moment, eyes shifting around before looking back up to face him.

"Omega.  It's time.  Follow-- krzzt."

His words were blunt and straight-forward, coming off more as a command.  The end of the sentence was cut short by interference.  No doubt there was some raging on his end but the drone would cut off the stream of light and take off towards Cortex's lab.

[Glimmericious]

'Sitting tight' was not something that Omega excelled at, not at all.  If Weil had directed Omega to sit tight, he could've done so dutifully, as much as it pained him.  When Cortex had directed him to do that, though... well, it had some more mixed results.  And by 'mixed results,' I mean Omega ran across the Life Sphere, occasionally getting into fights and dropping by the Stadium, his own armor falling apart be damned.  Survival was important, but he was also programmed to really enjoy shoving his Saber into people, damn it. 

This was a little more manageable in Neo Arcadia, where Pantheons were produced en masse for him to smash to bits.  (By contrast, that century floating about in space were pure torture, but that's not the point, that's in the past.)  In the Life Sphere, where Omega was generally expected to earn some Good Boy Points instead of committing war crimes, he had no idea what to do with himself.  Bloodshed is what he did, and without it, he was nothing.

He'd tried busying himself with gather intel, and he was capable enough to learn surface level information, but.  Well, there were Reploids that were in charge of gathering intelligence, such as the Rouge and Joan.  Omega was... well, he was a combat build, alongside with features to allow him manipulate the Dark Elf to control all of the Reploids on the planet.  Gathering intel wasn't something he was specialized in at all.  Not to mention, Omega has the social skills of soggy toast, so even asking people basic questions tended to create quite a problem.  He'd learned a thing or two about the nature of Li, but learning specifics that involved directly asking questions were a no-go.

So, by the time Cortex had found Omega again, he'd be in EVEN WORSE shape than before.  Broken all over his body, a few stray wires here and there, and probably more than a few error messages floating across his subconscious.  But, he wasn't dead yet, and so as far as Omega was concerned, this was an absolute win, even if he had been sitting on a bench near-dead when a surveillance drone approached him.

'It's time,' the drone had said.  The following response had been cut off, but Omega had discerned enough to understand that the good Cortex was ready to repair him.  Omega got up, standing up straight and proudly in spite of his injuries, and began following the drone.

Realistically, Omega didn't have much reason to trust Cortex.  He was sketchy as hell and a bit of an oddball, based on Omega's first interaction with the man.  However, Omega had decided that Cortex somehow reminded Omega a little bit of Weil - just a little bit, the tiny scientist could never quite compare to Omega's Lord Weil, in his opinion - and he had decided that was sufficient grounds to trust the man.  It might be pretty okay-ish reasoning, if Weil weren't, like, an actual monster who wiped out most of the life on the planet.

[PacAttack]

"Graaaah!"

Cortex angrily shoved himself back away from his desk, letting his chair roll across the floor with him. His leg had became caught on a cable along the floor underneath and disconnected it, leaving camera's feed with a blinking 'hologram unavailable' blinking in the top left. Cortex rested his steaming head in one his hands as he muttered into it, "Why must I be surrounded by defective circuitry..."

The drone was now set to auto-pilot as it made it's way back to the his lab. Cortex pulled his hand down across his face and beard, attempting to wash away the annoyance that was being broadcasted to him. The feed was displaying Omega as he followed the drone. Cortex had planned out for the repairs of his previous conditions but now with him in an even worse condition, this was going to take more. He was having a hard enough time as it was. "Perhaps I'll have to program in some common sense," he mumbled, now resting the side of his face in one hand, propped up upon an arm rest.

The doctor's lab sat atop one of the highest buildings in the life sphere. A lengthy flight of stairs led up to it. The drone took the short cut and simply floated to the top where the entrance stood and looked down upon the robot from way high up.

Upon reaching the top, orbital drone would hover in front of the door, continuing to monitor the robot. The barrier that kept the doctor's mechanical madness away from the rest of the world stayed secured by a reinforced metal door. There was no way to open the door from the outside less one were to brute force their way in which may prove difficult. A few grooves on the metal barrier led down to places where it anchored itself in place. A long tube bulb was along the top of the door, currently off while the artificial light was shining. Omega would wait for a few moments before their was the sound of clicking and metal sliding. The door would part in the middle and retreat into the the surrounding material, leaving the short scientist looking up at him with those same mad eyes from before.

"Yes, yes! Welcome! Come quickly!"

The doctor shifted his crazed eyes behind him to check if the coast was clear and motioned for him to quickly enter. Once they were both in the clear, he would run his hand across a keypad on the wall in a flurry of presses before the door slammed shut and the locks clicking back into place.

Cortex had been preparing for this moment. The entrance led directly to his lab where he had had a large metal operating table directly under a lamp hanging from the ceiling. The neck was bent and angled down low onto the table. A few machines lined the wall behind the table in an idle state, awaiting their master's orders. Small lights flickered on and off while a few monitors remained on but blank. A dark sheet was draped over one that would give off a faint light from time to time. Cords from said machines were lined up onto the table in a confusing mess. Far off on the other side of his lab laid his computer with it's gargantuan monitor where he managed to acquire a few more stacked up next to it.

Quickly galloping across his lab, he made his way over to his terminal and whipped around to brandish a remote, and with the click of a button, the drone that had been following his latest test subject dropped to the floor with a harsh clang. It was inconsequential at this moment. He would get to it later. Pushing his stubby frame against his chair, he wheeled it over next to the operating table before hopping into it. A devilish grin covered his face as he leaned back into his chair, resting his elbows on the arm rest and clasping his hands together, fingers crossed. The table was clear and Cortex was ready to get to work.

"Come now.  Tell the good doctor what's wrong."