Chapter Text
Espionage was always Espio’s strong suit.
Whenever a case required more information that could only be obtained through infiltration, he was the one sent in. So, when his team’s latest mission was to investigate an anonymous tip from an unknown client, he was sent to check it out.
The claim had been believable enough. One of Eggman’s old factories from the war had been reportedly seen active again, gray clouds drifting up from the smokestack every so often. Their client had asked for them to go investigate. It was a concerning case. The factory had never been cleaned out post-war. No one wanted to enter and relive their trauma so early into peacetime, so the idea of a new criminal having access to Eggtech… It practically spelled out trouble.
Honestly, Espio didn’t even want to take the case at the moment. Anything related to Eggman filled him with a sense of dread and anger, the pain of losing his family to Eggman’s horrible virus filling him with emotions he’d rather hide away. But alas, he had to. Who knows what someone could do with the doctor’s wartime technology?
Climbing up the smooth wall, Espio crawled up to a broken window. Carefully slipping inside, he dropped down to the floor, looking around as he walked.
The factory itself was nothing unusual. Assembly lines sat rusting, but not dusty. Old, deactivated Egg Pawns stood in an army, likely intended to have been deployed before the war ended. Scraps lined the walls, and disturbingly, abandoned wispons sat in a pile near the corner. Espio could only hope that they were merely dropped by their wielders. He walked to the large set of monitors and computers, quickly turning them on.
It needed a password.
“If this factory hasn't been properly used since the war, the passwords should still be the same…” He muttered, quickly typing in the password.
‘H8TE-THAT-H0G.’
And he was in.
“Of course,” He chuckled to himself. “Of course he wouldn't change it. He's much too prideful to admit his password is terrible… Or, just too stupid to remember to change it.”
Either way, he got to work. The keyboard lacked dust, meaning it had been used recently. What for, however…
He accessed the folder that was last opened… Around two days ago. This factory was used much more often than he had thought. The folder was named ‘Project RBTC.’ Curious…
Opening the first file, he began to read.
‘Log 1: Due to the unfortunate failure of the Metal Virus, I've failed to conquer the world yet again. However, I've learned! It worked much, much faster than expected, leading to the Zombots going out of control. However, I think I know how to fix that.’
Espio felt his heart drop. His tail curled tightly, his scales turning an ever so slightly paler shade.
‘I’m not attempting the virus itself again. It's much too unpredictable. Despite that, I believe I've found a much more reliable way. The Roboticizer. It's merely an idea at the moment, but I have a vision. A beautiful piece of machinery capable of manually turning flesh into metal… Making the one it's used on into my obedient robotic servant.’
His eyes widened. His fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms through his gloves.
‘That monster…’
As he read each file, his scales turned paler and paler. The doctor detailed his progress in creating this Roboticizer, each log written about building the machine and testing it. The failures were especially haunting; the test subjects did not survive the process.
He had to notify Vector. Even if whoever accessed these files was not Eggman, he still needed to be informed about the doctor's plans.
He climbed onto the rafters and waited in invisibility. He wrapped his tail around his perch, sitting with his legs crossed. He’d wait until the perp showed themselves, comm. Vector, and if he could, detain them himself. It was a sound strategy, he thought, one that had worked many times.
As he waited, staring at the haunting sigil of the Eggman Empire, thoughts began to flood his mind. He clenched his fists, furrowing his brows.
Why was he so… Tense? He'd never been tense when it came to Eggman. Was it from the Metal Virus? That didn't make any sense, though. Vector… Vector and Charmy were fine. Everyone else was fine. Why wasn't he?
He should be fine. He didn't suffer nearly as much as the others. Whisper lost her only friend, Sonic was exhausted to near death for days, Cream had to lose her entire family before becoming infected herself. He had only lost Vector and Charmy, and he'd gotten them back.
He should be okay.
His thoughts were pulled away from his feelings by the sound of a loud door shutting.
‘Gotcha.’ He thought, before freezing.
Eggman and Metal Sonic walked into his view, stopping at the computer. The metal copy of Sonic stood guard, while Eggman accessed the computer, Espio watching him enter the password before pressing a button.
The entire factory shook as a cylindrical metal contraption rose out of the floor, a huge Eggman Empire logo on the top. It looked nightmarish, a glass door on one side that looked like it locked from the outside.
The Roboticizer.
‘I have to get out of here.’
He wasn't paying attention to what Eggman had said, not until he heard something that made his body freeze.
“Someone was here. Based on the time these files were opened, they were here just before we got here! Metal, my boy,” Eggman laughed. “Find that intruder.”
And suddenly, within moments, Metal Sonic came crashing through the rafters, swiping at him. Espio yelped, jumping back and narrowly avoiding what would have undoubtedly been a fatal strike. He felt his chest, which Metal’s claws had grazed. Locking eyes with the robot, he threw three of his kunai, and made a mad dash to the window.
In his panic to escape, he mistakenly grabbed the jagged glass of the broken window. He felt a sharp pain across his hand, quickly pulling it back, without realizing he no longer had anything balancing him above the glass. He groaned as he felt the jagged edges pierce his stomach, catching himself before they could go too deep.
He didn't have a moment to gather himself, immediately feeling cold hands grab his tail and throw him into the wall. He gasped as he hit the wall, falling onto the floor. Metal quickly restrained him, dragging the battered chameleon over to where Eggman stood.
The doctor looked down at him with a devilish smile.
“Well, look who it is! The spy of that team of idiots! What, get tired of them?”
“They are not idiots,” He growled.
“Bah. That's a subjective word anyhow. Now… I assume you know what that machine over there is, correct, lizard?”
He bristled at the use of the word lizard. “Yes. It's called the Roboticizer. Why?”
“Well… It just so happens it's not perfected yet. The only way we can be sure it works is to use it on a Mobian.” The doctor said, “And it seems the perfect subject has waltzed right into my hands.”
Espio's eyes widened, his scales turning a pale purple, near white. Metal released him, and immediately his hand went to his commlink. Before he could even get a single word, no, breath in, Metal grabbed his hand, twisted his elbow, and slammed it on the ground.
Espio bit his cheek to keep from screaming. Metal twisted his elbow hard enough to dislocate it. He was lifted by Eggman, dragged over to the machine.
His eyes and movements grew frantic.
‘He’s insane. He's insane! I will not allow him to turn me into a mindless slave, or a puddle of red!’
Eggman gripped his elbow, earning a yelp from the now rigid chameleon. Espio was tossed in, his eyes widening as his back hit the cold metal. He banged on the glass, ignoring his elbow and stomach screaming at him.
“Release me!” He yelled. He froze as he heard a whirring noise.
And then… The pain started.
Espio couldn't stop himself from screaming. It felt like his skin was being burned and ripped away, a cold numbness replacing it. He fell into the glass again, trying to break it as he grit his teeth. His movements were becoming more and more mechanical, and the numbness had reached his chest already.
‘No… No…! This can't be! I won't let it end like this…’ His vision was beginning to blur, the cold overtaking his mind.
It was hard to describe what it felt like, having his free will stripped from him. As his mind began to fade, it felt like he was entering a deep sleep.
He let it claim him.
—
Eggman grinned as he let the door to his greatest machine yet open, watching the smoke from inside flow out.
“It worked!” He laughed, turning to the machine. “Step outside. Let us see your new look, lizard.”
His smile only grew as he saw his newest creation step out. It was glorious.
The chameleon pest had been completely and successfully transformed into one of his robots.
“This is perfect!” He laughed. “Now, my newest robot; what is your prime directive?”
“...”
“Hah! Rhetorical question. You don't have a voicebox, I made sure of that.” He laughed even more.
The robot chameleon stared back at him, bowing. He grinned again.
“Oh, I like you. Now… What should your new name be? Ah! I have it!”
He quickly led the bot over to the computer, stamping the Eggman Empire logo right onto his chest.
“Welcome to my empire… Mecha Espio!”