#ic. arcee ( amnesiac bot )

[rosavulpes]

He'd awoken long before the morning sun had begun to make it's initial climb over the horizon of mountain ranges . It's warming light just barely piercing through the veil of grey clouds that had rolled in the night before , pelting the rocky pine tree dotted landscape with heavy rains .

It had made for an easy night's sleep for him . Even when as always , there'd be moments where he'd awaken ? and stay awake ? The sound of the rain rapping against his windows had been enough to lull him back to peaceful sleep before long .

It wasn't often that he'd return to this place after having built it up himself , but , after what he'd endured these last few days during Sonic's birthday ? He'd needed some time away from GUN , to get his bearings back together , and ? It would allow him more time to keep working on his current " project " .

While he didn't consider himself to be an enthusiast , or a collector by any means . There was a certain calming aspect , a means of focusing his mind when working with different moving pieces in front of him . That is , to work on motorcycles . A hobby that had began when he'd been given his first motorcycle by GUN .

He'd initially believed it to be a waste of resources as he could easily outpace the top speeds it could reach without breaking a sweat , but ? He'd soon learned how to appreciate what it could offer him in term of utility . So , aside from already learning how to repair , customize , and maintain the one he'd initially been given ? Anytime he came across something unique , vintage especially , odd that caught his eye ? It warranted a further look to see if it would be worth the effort to try to restore it . In this case , while he wasn't certain he could restore " Arcee " . That hadn't stopped him from picking it up , to try all the same .

Arcee . Whether it had been the name of the manufacturer , or brand name for whatever automotive company that had produced the motorcycle , it's name had just barely been eligible under all the rust , and oxidation that it had accumulated over the years . Perhaps even longer than that still .

He first come across Arcee through an advertisement , the main selling point being that it could supposedly transform from a motorcycle to a four seater vehicle with a few easy flips of a switch here and there . Alternating between the two according to what the Owner wanted it to be , but as he'd learned after talking to the seller , those parts needed to be bought separately elsewhere ... assuming they even existed .

If Arcee ever had that function once before ? Her parts had likely rusted off , leaving only the motorcycle form that it was in now .

Still , given the lack of official documentation for it , Shadow could only suspected that it was likely just a specialty novelty vehicle produced as a one off only for the type of people with deep enough pockets that could have afforded it's hefty price tag all those years ago ... accounting for inflation of course .

Taking a long sip of his freshly made , still lightly steaming coffee as he made his way to his spacious garage area . He'd managed to make some improvements on Arcee over the past year . The name sounded catchy , so he'd decided to keep it . He'd last worked on it about three weeks ago , going through the processes of removing the oxidation and rusts from certain pieces that were remained salvageable by giving them overnight baths in different chemicals to remove the decay .

Removing yellowing , cleaning , and more .

Setting his coffee mug down on a work bench , and removing the tarp he'd placed over it . While he'd not yet figured out how to pry open the engine without using excessive force , miraculously enough ? It still functioned . By some miracle , it still functioned despite it's probable age . Whatever spark of life that remained inside of Arcee must have been a strong one . Still igniting whenever he turned the key in the ignition slot .

Before he'd dawn on a pair of black gloves , Shadow returned to his work bench . Opening a cabinet to reveal a collection of vinyl records that had collected a bit of dust . Lightly blowing on , he'd pull out one in particular , Take Five , and set it to play as he got to work .

Hours passing , as morning , soon turned into afternoon .

The old worn tires had been swapped out for newer ones with far better , far more modern treads , headlight casings cleaned with hydrogen peroxide to removing yellowing , casings all repainted to remove the once barely visible touches of pink to a deep black and red with a metallic sheen . A new bike chain , tightened with extreme precision .

The only issue mystery that yet remained unsolved , was the engine itself . He felt that it could be improved , it's overall torque , and horsepower . However , as mentioned before , he'd yet to find a way to pry the engine open without causing significant damage . While he knew he certainly could ? Then he'd risk losing one of the few salvageable original pieces of the bike , and at that point ? The differences between the pictures he'd been given of the bike dating back to decades ago would look far too different from what he'd changed it to now .

Regardless , as he began to remount all of Arcee's new , old , and refurbished pieces to it . Once done ? He figured it was as good a time as any to take Arcee for a test drive down the mountain trail .

Swapping out his oil , and rust stained gloves for his standard white ones , he'd pull back on Arcee's handlebars , listening to the sounds of the engine revving each time before kicking off the stand and taking off down the mountain . With a new suspension put into place , he couldn't help the light smile that came to him as he barely felt the bumps whenever the tires went over rocks .

Eventually ? The spirit of adrenaline getting to him , as Shadow abruptly turned off the paved mountain trail that went down to the mountain base , and instead headed for the off beaten path . Filled with fallen trees trunks , large obstructions in the form of rocks , and narrow pathways between trees . A proper test .

Making use of the new brakes to make narrow turns or to drift between trees , he could see pieces of mud get kicked up as the tires tore apart the muddied soil . The roar of the engine strong as he lifted up the front portion to perform a wheelie as he rode off the top of a bike . Landing down below with a soft bounce , his speed only increasing as he continued to push the power of the engine further to see how much he could get out of it .

His test or thrill ride , as he neared the edge of the mountain . The motorcycle and hedgehog coming to an abrupt swerving stop that saw the hedgehog's foot standing mere inches away from a very , very steep drop down to jagged crevices below .

Not bad . Not bad at all .