Text***
[???:]
The sun had already set and the fog had been making it even harder to see in the tall brush cover. So when Sonic saw a bright, blueish light, he knew he was in the right place. He stood in front of a skylight, staring down into it. Or… maybe not? He thought to himself, not noting anything particularly suspicious upon looking through the glass. He tapped his medallion. "Hey, Tails, are you sure this is it?" He asked as the hologram appeared.
Tails, having the most atrocious sleep schedule known to mobian kind, was still wide awake, coffee mug in hand as he nodded. "Uh, definitely. The energy readings are off the charts."
"Okay." Sonic exhaled, dismissing the projection. "Come in, Team Old Folks."
…
Bernadett held up her communicator, she and Chuck standing next to an electrical panel a good distance away. "Very funny. You're grounded." She dead panned, continuing to pry at the cover on the box.
…
Sonic smirked, rocking on his feet. "I'm gonna sneak in through the skylight and find Metal. Is the alarm neutralized?"
…
"Uh…." She clenched her jaw, struggling with one of the latches. She stepped back, letting Chuck take her place.
Though instead of trying to open it, he spun around and kicked it, the electrical box bursting into sparks. He held up his com unit. "It is now."
…
"Thanks, Unc. You guys rendezvous with Knuckles. I'm going in." Sonic replied, getting a "Hm." in confirmation. He leaned forward, sticking a suction cup on the glass before uncapping one of his laser lip balms, using the beam to burn a circle in it. He held onto the suction cup so that the glass didn't fall in and shatter, instead lifting it and placing it beside the skylight. He looked down at the drop below. Then he jumped. The moment he landed, he was met with eerie lighting, long shadows and… footsteps! He ducked behind a jut out of the wall, watching as Shadow walked out of a room across from Sonic and turned into a larger room. The space he had first left from was still lit, containing a vanity full of makeup, jewelry, hair care, and other products, two stools in front of the table. One was empty, pulled out and turned to the side, but the other chair someone was sitting in. Sonic squinted, until his eyes went wide. It was Metal. He glanced into the expansive room his faker had walked into, spotting him still descending a wide set of stairs. The hall between Sonic's room and Metal's was long and open. Shadow would spot him if he wasn't fast enough. Sonic internally scoffed. Fast enough? Who was he kidding? He bolted out of his hiding spot, silently darting behind Shadow and to the room his friend was in. "Metal, we're here!" He whispered, frantically looking around. Metal barely even glanced up, not relieved, not surprised, just completely devoid of emotion. And they were… doing their makeup? At a time like this? "Come on. Let's go!" Sonic panicked.
Metal slammed down a bottle of foundation, glaring at the blue hedgehog through the mirror. "I'm not going anywhere with you, Sonic."
He cringed, walking forward. "You're mad. I get that. I'm sorry. I really messed up at the assembly. I know." Sonic remorsefully added, fixing the cuff of his glove. His mouth began to pull down, tears pricking his eyes at his own stupidity.
Metal scowled, slowly turning around in the chair. "Sonic… You were a garbage friend way before the fight at the assembly." They stated, making the blue hedgehog's lip quiver and eyes get teary red, but they continued. "It was great when I was your… your pet project, who blew up your ego." They stood up, gesturing at him. " 'You're the best, Sonic!' 'I can't believe I'm in a friendship with Sonicredible!' " Metal spat, mocking their own prior eagerness with fake enthusiasm while pumping their fists. They trailed around their chair, smile dropping once more. "But the moment that I started to surpass you, you fell apart."
Sonic's shoulders dropped, and he shrugged, beginning to cry. "You're right." He admitted, voice shaking. "I was so caught up in all my drama." He paused, trying to find the words to get his friend to escape with him. "But I'll be better now. Thanks to you."
Metal stared at him with a blank expression before putting back up a fake smile and shrugging. "You're sorry, and you're better now! I'm… I'm so happy for you!" Sonic's statement was only fueling the turquoise hedgehog's animosity towards him. Tears spilled down Sonic's muzzle. "But my purpose here was not… to be your friend who inspires you." Metal said, taking several steps closer to Sonic. "As you can see…" They raised a hand, and Sonic was half expecting them to slap him, but instead they reached for their own face. Metal placed two of their fingers on their cheek, one on their eyelid, one on their forehead, and their thumb on their temple. They got a grip on their skin and quills, and pulled. Sonic stiffened, his ears shooting straight up when they caught on a mechanical whirring. Metal pulled their hand away, a piece of their face coming with it. Sonic felt his stomach drop, unable to breathe. Circuit boards and wires ran the length of the paneling behind the synthetic exterior of what he thought was his friend's face. "... I'm far more complex than that."
Sonic stood frozen, barely able to move his mouth, though no words would form. "Wha….?"
He staggered backwards, Metal stalking closer. They wanted to make sure Sonic knew what his arrogance had gotten him into. Spell it out for him if they had to. "My purpose was to destroy you."
"What?" Sonic gasped, beginning to hyperventilate.
Metal rolled their eyes and returned their hand to their face, the plating retracting seamlessly back into a normal, organic looking exterior. They smiled. "And I nailed it." Sonic continued to back up, his tears half out of fear. "And now, The Doctor and Shadow have a new mission for me. And whatever it is, I know it's gonna be great."
Even through his emotions, Sonic's logic snapped into place. "Metal, you can't trust them. I know there's still good in you!" Metal gritted their teeth, but didn't even feel like fighting with him anymore, instead shoving him aside and walking towards the entrance of the room. "Metal!" Sonic cried, whipping around. Why wouldn't they listen to him!?
"Sonic, just stop." Metal spat, turning around. "You should get out of here while you still can." They spun on their heels but paused, looking over their shoulder at him one last time. "Oh, and my name? It's Metal Sonic."
And with that, Sonic watched as his former friend walked away. He remained where he was for a long moment, before the stun and gravity of his situation hit him. He needed answers. It didn't seem like Metal was going to sound the alarm and tell Eggman of his entrance, so he hoped he still had time on that front, which meant he needed to look around. He glanced behind him, past the vanity and rows of random equipment, to a wall of screens, pictures, and items tacked up to several large boards. He walked towards them, eyes going wide.
It was all him.
There were pictures of him, his family, and any and everything he loved, from chilidogs to his old track team. There were physical trophies that he'd earned as a kid, and his favorite shampoo, and tons of rocks that he'd collected from his adventures.
It was all here.
The stuffed animal he used to love as a kid, but got rid of when he claimed he was too mature to hold onto such a childish thing (and later regretted throwing away), and several pairs of his old shoes, in front of more pictures of him. "I just met Sonicredible!" He could hear one of the first things Metal said to him, still fresh in his head, along with all of their laughter. How his former friend squealed he offered them a hand. Sonic's face contorted with pained horror, tears still running down his cheeks. But then again, Metal had just proven to Sonic that they had never been friends. So… he supposed 'former' wasn't the right word. He looked from one picture to the next, spotting a piece of paper pinned up beside a picture of a chilidog with the words 'Sonic's hangout - Bueno Nacho'. He vividly recalled when the two of them not just ordered the same thing, but said it at the same time too. "Chili dog with extra Jalapenos. …What are the odds?" Metal had so innocently asked. Sonic looked up at another picture, distressed. "Picture the best version of yourself." He could hear himself saying, face draining of any remaining color when he came face to face with a picture of his younger self, next to a business card that read 'Salon De S'Lauron'. In the photo, he had three spiked squills, short and light blue. "That's the person I want you to be. …Do you see them?" Metal smiled and nodded, opening their eyes. They had stared at Sonic for a moment before answering. "I do." He could remember what Knuckles said when Metal walked out of the salon to meet them, quills perfectly styled like the image. "You look amazing! You've out-Soniced Sonic!" He looked at another set of photos, his breath coming in ragged gasps. It was all of his fights, with him in various poses. "I've studied all his moves." Metal's voice echoed again, before Sonic's own replaced it once more.
"It's like you were born to be my best friend."
Sonic staggered backwards from the array of himself, putting a hand over his mouth.
***
[???:]
Metal stood inside one of the Brain Modulator's cylindrical tubes, Eggman fitting them with an odd looking head piece. It had four small nodes that were positioned on their forehead and wrapped around like headphones in the back. Shadow fastened small restraints around the turquoise hedgehog's wrists, both he and Eggman standing back once they were both done. "Comfy?" The Doctor asked, Metal smiling.
"I guess? But, uh, why do I need these?" They asked, looking down at the restraints.
Shadow scoffed. "Safety precaution… Mostly ours." He smirked, both he and Eggman bursting out in malicious laughter, the glass casing of the cylinder closing Metal in.
But before they could celebrate, the main door from the cave to the lab slowly slid open, Bernadett and Knuckles walking in at the same time that both Sonic and Chuck spindashed from opposite sides of the room to join them. "Hey, Eggman!" Sonic shouted, he and his family crouching into battle stances.
"Credible!" The doctor spat, clenching his fists.
"It can't be." Shadow deadpanned in the most unsurprised voice.
The four heroes walked down the stairs in front of them, Sonic leading the charge. The blue hedgehog scowled. "Mind if we crash the party?"
Eggman pouted. "Oh, I was counting on it." He pulled out a remote control, yanking up its antenna and raising it. "Click." He narrated, pressing a button. Beams of light shot down from the ceiling in a circle around Sonic's team, closing them in.
As it did, it knocked Knuckles' backpack off, the bag clattering to the floor. The drone fell out from inside it, and so did Milk, rolling out onto the ground with a tiny "Oof!" Knuckles spun around, hearing the chao. He gasped, one of their wings bent. "Hey! Milk!" He went to reach for them and see how badly they were hurt, but the beams of light encircling them let out an electric shock the moment he touched the barrier, zapping him. "AH!" He cried, jumping backwards.
Sonic looked around, glaring at their captor, who was snickering. "Nice, right?" Eggman asked, waving around the remote.
"It's okay buddy. We'll be out of here soon." Knuckled told Milk, who crawled on top of the drone.
"Oh, this lair has it all." Eggman continued, gesturing at the beams of light. "And that force field is 100% impenetrable. …Why? …Because the off switch is all the way up there!" He hooted, pointing up at the wall to the far right, where a tiny red button was just below the ceiling.
"DON'T TELL THEM WHERE IT IS!" Shadow screamed, his ears going flat.
Eggman scowled, snapping back. "Shadow!"
"Sonic, I can't hack this force field." Tails called through his friend's medallion, pulling up the schematics for the trap they were in. He rotated it and zoomed, looking for a weak point. Sonic frowned and looked around, until Eggman called them back to attention. "Anywho, welcome to my long-awaited victory." The doctor pulled up a hologram in front of him with the flick of his wrist, displaying a 360 model of Sonic, the Zakadium crystal, and two camera footages, both of his old cell on prison island. "As I rotted away in that cell…"
"Ugh." Chuck groaned, throwing his head back. Eggman looked taken aback. "The evil plan reveal."
Bernadette sighed. "I should've brought a book."
Knuckles shrugged. "I find these very informative. They fill in some of the blanks."
"Do you mind?" Eggman asked, swinging his arms by his sides.
"Oh." The red echidna apologetically shrunk back, the heroes rolling their eyes.
"Uh… uh, where was I?" The doctor mumbled, Knuckles piping back up.
"Rotting in your cell."
Shadow gestured towards Knuckles, confirming his recollection. Eggman nodded and pointed at him, grinning. "Yes, yes, yes. It was there that I realised that you, Sonicredible, had something special. Something that separated you from everyone else." Sonic squinted at the doctor as he continued, Knuckles listening intently while the two older hedgehogs paid no attention. "So, I created a cybertronic Mobian."
Shadow waved his hand at Metal, who stood inside the glass case, smirking at them. "What?! Metal's a robot?" Tails asked, listening in on the villain monologue.
"I sent them in to befriend you, to learn from you, and to steal what makes you Incredible," Eggman pulled up another hologram, this one showing a 'spark transfer', a silhouette of Sonic in white draining while a silhouette of Metal in white raised, showing them getting stronger while the silhouette of Sonic put his hands over his face. "Creating a digital version… of your… spark." Eggman said, putting extra emphasis on the last bit.
"My spark?" Sonic asked, scrunching his eyebrows.
"Your spark."
The blue hedgehog stared down Metal, who grinned. "Sonic-counterfeit." He mumbled.
"You should, you should trademark that." Eggman stated.
"Or Electro-Sonic." Shadow added, putting one hand on his hip and the other on the glass in front of Metal.
Eggman nodded. "Electro-Sonic is good too."
Shadow smirked. "Yeah, it is."
The Doctor redirected his focus, continuing his scheme. "And now I'm going to transfer that digital spark from them…" He pointed from Metal to the second tube. "...to me." The hologram changed from Sonic's silhouette to Eggman's, with Metal's draining of energy and transferring to Eggman. "Because you plus me equals invincible." He stated, his own silhouette raising their arms to signify strength, while Metal's depiction crumpled at the bottom of the hologram.
Bernadette finally focused her attention on Eggman, squinting at him. "Wait. What happens to Metal?"
Eggman shrugged, speaking in a nonchalant tone. "Oh. Well, they'll be destroyed."
"What?" Metal's eyes went wide, quills instinctively bristling.
"What?! NO!" Sonic gasped, homing attacking the beams of light surrounding them, causing a wave of energy to crackle out and shock him.
"You gotta break a few eggs, kid." Shadow spat, Metal beginning to scan the cylinder they were in for any weak points or ways to escape.
"I'm gonna get you out of there, Metal!" Sonic shouted, not willing to let another chance at saving them slip by.
"Why? They're just a robot." Eggman asked, shrugging again.
Sonic growled. "You're wrong. …They're my friend." Knuckles smiled, all of his work finally paying off with Sonic's one declaration.
"Uegh." Shadow gagged, rolling his eyes.
Eggman stepped forward, walking down the three small stairs in front of him that lead away from the machine. "Well that's… That's actually quite touching." He agreed, walking towards the Brain Modulators control panel. "Now, let's see how close to the family you can become." He began pulling down a lever, the electric beams encircling the heroes closing in as he did so.
"They're getting closer!" Bernadette said, each of them backing up a bit more into the middle.
"Stay away from the sides, guys." Sonic ordered, getting Eggman to laugh and pull the lever farther.
"Guys, that thing is gonna vaporise you! And I can't stop it!" Tails called through his friend's medallion, watching a top down infrared view of their predicament.
From outside of the energy field, Milk babbled, looking around until their gaze finally landed on the red button just below the ceiling on the wall to the right.
Chuck jerked away from the beams, yelping as an electric current zapped through him. "Are you okay, Charles?" Bernadette asked, shrinking back as the beams grew even closer.
Milk unfolded the drone's wings from when they had been shoved in the backpack, crawling back onto the top part of the drone. "Okay. Just squeeze in. Closer." Sonic panicked.
The chao babbled, the two tailed fox hearing them through the medallion. "Oh! Good call Milk! I'm on it!" Tails gasped, tapping on his keyboard to hack into the drone. The second he was in, he used a lever to start it. The drone jolted into the air, its engine stuttering, making Milk squeak in surprise at the sudden momentum.
Sonic heard the noise, looking over. "Milk!" He shouted, the drone carrying the chao high up into the air. Both Eggman and Shadow spun around, watching the drone constantly sway and drop from minor damage.
"That's my boy!" Knuckles cried, smiling as it flew closer to the button. "They're im-Milk-ulate!"
Eggman scowled. "What is that!? Shadow!" He screamed, the black hedgehog lighting a chaos spear. He threw it, the orb of energy striking the wall next to the drone as Tails gasped, piloting it as best as he could out of the way. Milk squeaked and held on for dear life. "Shoot him!" The doctor spat, Shadow relighting and tossing another spear, missing again.
"We got this. We got this, Milk." Tails reassured, barely dodging another blast. Sonic gritted his teeth, no room left to squeeze back now that the beams were practically on top of them. Shadow growled, missing several more shots, but still not making any effort to change his approach. "Stabilize. Stabilize." Tails hissed, fighting with the drone's controls. They were hardly a foot away from the button. All they needed was to get a little farther…! Shadow aimed another spear at them, firing it. "NO!" Tails yelped as it collided with the back of the drone. The energy blast ate through the paneling and it burst into flames, but Milk jumped off last second, fluttering their damaged wing. They flew into the small button, their impact pressing it. The beams of light withdrew from around the four heroes. Milk tried to scrabble on top of the button so that they didn't fall down, but they began to lose their grip, shrieking as they started to fall.
"Milk!" Knuckles shouted, dashing over to the falling chao. He dove down, catching them in his extended hands as he slid across the floor. He grinned in relief, checking to make sure they hadn't gotten any more hurt. "Get yourself a chao who saves the day!" He cheered, Milk cooing happily.
"AGH!" Eggman screamed, Sonic and Bernadette sprinting forward. Sonic dodged a roundhouse kick from Shadow, countering with a spin dash before he ducked under a swing, bolting past his faker. He ran up the stairs, turning around just in time to dodge a chaos spear.
Bernadette and Chuck wrestled Eggman, Sonic's mother grabbing the red suited man by the back of his collar. "Y'know, we really should do this more often." Chuck stated.
Bernie grinned and nodded, strangling the doctor. "Yeah." Eggman pulled out of her grip, but Chuck rushed forward, throwing him backwards. The doctor tripped over a box, falling over and groaning.
Sonic ducked under another punch, swerving just as Shadow countered again with a spear, yelling in effort. Sonic jumped into the air, homing attacking the black hedgehog, who stumbled back. While he was still dazed, Sonic whirled around kicking him in the chest. Shadow fell off of one of the many ledges near the machine, yelping as he hit the ground.
From behind the control panel, Eggman, reached up, pressing a button that released a plume of smoke from the Modulator. The two older hedgehogs coughed and doubled back, trying to escape the smog, which gave the madman enough time to press another button on the console. A net dropped down from the ceiling, conveniently right over them and an electric current traveled from the mesh into them. They screamed, and Eggman smirked in vengeance before staggering back up the stairs towards his machine, yanking open the door to the empty cylinder. "Sonic!" Knuckles gasped, pointing at Eggman.
The blue hedgehog spun around just in time to see the doors close behind the doctor, who quickly put on an identical headset to the one Metal wore in the cylinder beside him. "Shadow, the switch!" Eggman yelled, Sonic looking behind him to where Shadow had gotten back up, leaning against the wall. The black hedgehog shot a chaos spear. It slammed into the lever between the two pods, a current flowing through the wires connecting them. The Zakadium crystal floated up from its slot into the air in the center of an electrical current. "Youth!" Eggman shouted, the headpiece Metal wore lighting up, making them whimper. They slumped against the wall behind them, barely fighting against the restraints. Sonic gasped, running back up the stairs to the machine. "Vitaltiy!" Eggman continued.
"No! No!" Knuckles shouted, still standing farther back. Chuck and Bernadette tugged the net off of them, looking over to the machine.
"Killer moves! Mad skills!" Eggman cackled, small bolts of electricity traveling over him. "SPARK!"
Metal hung their head backwards, sinking down in the restraints. "Help!" They cried, wreathing in pain. Eggman maniacally laughed as Sonic looked around for a way to stop him.
"Sonic! The Brain Modulator! If you can disrupt it…" Tails called through the medallion, rotating the machine's schematic. Sonic nodded, pulling out and uncapping one of his laser lip balms. He aimed it up at the Zakadium crystal above the lever. The gem burst into sparks, creating a loud bang. The machine beeped, a red light flashing above the two cylinders as the whirring it had been making stopped.
"That'll do!" Knuckles exclaimed, nodding.
"No! NO! NOOO!" Eggman shouted, the additional energy draining from him. Metal gasped in the other pod, the energy slowly returning to them.
Tails squinted at the live infrared readout in front of him, watching the energy readings fluctuate wildly. "The machine's going crazy!" He exclaimed, the infrared silhouette of Eggman shrinking down. "It's causing some kind of side effect!"
Smoke billowed out of the machine, clouding around the doctor and blocking him from sight, Knuckles crouching and squinting to see, though failing. "What?" He asked, unable to get a clear view.
"NO!" Eggman howled, beginning to sound like he was on helium. "NO!"
Metal gritted their teeth, looking over at the doctor's pod as it opened, the smoke pouring out. The red suited man coughed, falling over upon taking a single step out. "Eeh…" Metal whimpered, collapsing against their pod's wall, exhaustion washing over them in a wave, the restraints the only thing holding them up. Sonic gasped, dashing over to the cylinder. He pried at the glass doors, spindashing them and punching them, but they wouldn't budge.
Knuckles and the two older hedgehogs bolted forward, offering their help. Just outside the other cylinder, the mad man coughed, sitting up. "SHADOW, GET THEM!" He jabbed a finger towards the heroes, only to freeze seconds later. His gloves were massive on him… and… so was his coat! "Hey, what happened to my clothes?" He asked, waving the limp glove. "...WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY VOICE?!" He screeched, putting a hand on his throat.
Shadow walked up behind him, laughing. Eggman looked up at him… wait, looked up!? The doctor's jaw dropped in horror, staring just below eye level with the black hedgehog, who cackled. Shadow smirked at the child before him, who was wearing an oversized coat, gloves, glasses, goggles, and pants, lacking a mustache but having a full head of orangy brown hair. Eggman couldn't have been much older than nine. "AHAHAAA!"
But back on the other side of the Brain Modulator, the heroes still struggled to unlock the glass casing around Metal, each of them trying their own attacks to shatter it. "Open!" Sonic hissed, grunting as he tried to lift the casing from the bottom.
"Oh, this is fan-eggin-tastic!" Shadow snickered, paying no mind to the heroes.
"Silence, Shadow!" Eggman spat, holding up a hand. Shadow would've continued mocking the doctor, were it not for the machine's light's flickering, spark showering down beside them.
"Uh oh."
"It's destabilizing!" The doctor declared, just in time for the Zakadium crystal's faint blue glow to turn red, more sparks with an addition of electricity bursting from it.
Shadow flicked his hand, a cylinder shooting up from the ground. "Get it the escape pod, junior." He ordered, the former adult complying and rushing in, Shadow following closely behind. A bolt of stray electricity struck where they'd just been standing.
Eggman grinned, the pod closing behind them. "They're gonna be blown to bits!" He waved at them, Shadow rolling his eyes. "Bye!" And then the pod retracted into the floor, the paneling shutting over to prevent them from being followed.
But the heroes didn't even notice their exit, still unable to open the cylinder Metal was stuck in. Sonic growled, taking a few steps back. "Knuckles, gimme a boost!"
The red echidna nodded, grabbing his friend by the ankles and swinging him around. He aimed at the pod, letting go of Sonic, who rolled into a ball, crashing into the glass. It shattered upon his impact and the instant he landed in the glass shards, the other two older hedgehogs immediately rushed in to unlock Metal's restraints. "We gotta get out of here!" Bernadette panicked, glancing up at the crystal that continued to spark and blast energy around them.
Still watching the readouts, Tails grabbed a hologram of the gem, looking it over. "Guys, that thing's gonna explode!" The yellow fox gasped, another bolt of electricity shooting out around the lab just as they unlocked the final restraint.
Sonic grabbed Metal, holding onto them as they jumped down off the platform the Brain Modulator was on. The others were already running for the exit as well. "Hurry up!" Chuck called, taking the lead. "Come on."
Electricity struck the ground right behind Sonic, the blast knocking him and Metal over just before the stairs. A thin pipe from the ceiling fell beside them, parts of the lab coming apart. Bernadette noticed that Sonic hadn't continued following them, skidding to a halt at the entrance of the lab to the cave. "Chuck, wait." She looked around, spotting her son. "Sonic!" She cried, beams of electricity striking places all around them. "Sonic!" She dodged another burst, but it was too dangerous to go back.
Sonic groaned, his arms giving out under him when he attempted to push himself off the floor. Beside him, Metal staggered up, turning around to face the Modulator. They held their arms out behind Sonic, blocking the bolts of electricity from hitting him and taking the shocks themself. "Agh!" Metal cried, struggling to keep their balance as the electricity coursed through their body.
Sonic pulled himself forward, gritting his teeth. "SONIC!" His mother screamed, barely dodging another strike.
"Come on!"
"Let's go!"
Sonic shook the pain off, whipping around to see Metal yelp, blocking several more bolts.
"Wait! Metal, what are you doing!?" Sonic wailed, pulling himself up off the ground.
Metal turned around to face him, quickly glancing at the ground and noticing the thin pipe that had fallen beside them prior. They ducked down and grabbed it, whirling back up. "Sonic, go! You need to get out of here! I have to stay behind! I'm the only one who can do thi-"
"NO, METAL, STOP! IT'LL KILL YOU!" Sonic screamed, grabbing the rod away from Metal.
"I can absorb the energy from the cube Sonic! I'm not mobian. Only I can do this!" They pleaded, shaking their head.
The energy bursts behind them grew even more erratic. "I'm not going to leave you here!" Sonic sobbed, still clutching onto the pipe even as Metal tried to pry it back.
"Everyone will die if I go with you Sonic!" Metal begged, pulling on the rod.
"SONIC! COME ON!" Bernadette screamed, another bolt of electricity striking beside her.
"RUN!" Chuck called, ducking away from a stray zap.
Sonic spun around to see his family, before looking back at Metal. Tears ran down their face. "You saved me. Let me save you." The turquoise hedgehog whispered. Sonic sobbed, pushing the pipe back into their hands. "Go." Sonic stood there for a long moment, before fully letting go, backing away. Metal turned around, spinning the rod in their hands. They crouched, before launching into the air towards the gem, with the rod held like a spear. They rolled into a ball to fly past the stray currents of electricity, only unfurling when they were close enough to the source of the bolts. They skewered the red glowing gem, electricity shooting from it, to the staff, into Metal. The turquoise hedgehog held the spear there, dangling from it as the crystal continued to overload, sparks showering down.
"Sonic, come on!" His mother called, Sonic bolting up the stairs to the entrance.
He looked back one last time as he joined his family, sobbing. "No…" He whimpered. But Bernadette grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back through the open lab entrance into the cave. The door began to slide closed behind them, the four heroes running up the wide set of stairs to the cave's exit. The crystal was about to blow. They ran out of the cave, sprinting as far outside of it as they could get and never once stopping. A high pitch whine started to come from the lab, echoing out to where they were running. A slight glow shone from the dam wall that the cave had been under until…
BOOM!
Blue and red fire exploded from the cave behind them, the shockwave knocking each of the heroes over. Smoke billowed up and everything hardly a few feet behind them was up in flames. They laid on the brush covered ground, Sonic being the first to roll onto his back, coughing. He looked behind him, face lit by the orange glow of the flames and stumbled to his feet, looking at the destruction. The other three stood beside him one by one, Bernadette gasping. "Oh, Sunny…" Sonic leaned into his mother's shoulder, sobbing.
Knuckles frowned, squinting at the blaze, until a light coo came from his backpack. He whipped around, opening, and Milk jumped out. But rather than running straight to the echidna like he expected, the chao ran towards the flaming wreckage. "Milk, where are you going?" He asked, getting the other hedgehogs' attentions. The chao hopped over chunks of rock, looking around, like they were searching. Sonic watched them, and despite his tears, he followed, maybe out of denial and false hope. The others followed Sonic as the chao skidded down a steep slope, nearly losing their balance. Milk continued jumping farther through the scorched dirt, avoiding any of the flames and embers, using their hurt wings to occasionally give them a small lift. They were heading towards a large chunk of rock that had no doubt once belonged in the cave. Milk began to squeak just out of Sonic's view, and the blue hedgehog climbed through a narrow path of rubble towards them. He jumped off of a boulder, spotting the chao.
And beside them… Metal's hand stuck out from a pile of rubble, the fingers curling. "METAL! We're gonna get you out of there right- AAAHHH!" Sonic grabbed the hand, pulling it up… but, it was attached to nothing, steel and wires sticking out of the wrist where the arm should have been. Bernadette and Knuckles pulled themselves over the rubble, seeing Sonic hold the dismembered hand away from himself in horror. Milk shrank back, whimpering. Sonic stared at the hand, his stomach flipping as his face drained of any remaining color.
The finger's twitched. "Uh… Uh, S-Soni-i-i-ic? I cou-ould use a-a-a hand-and-and." A slightly distorted and glitchy version of Metal's voice spoke from further ahead. Sonic's eyes widened and he jumped over another pile of debris, planting his feet on the small bits of solid ground beneath the destruction. He looked over to another pile just a few feet away, Metal's head resting between two blocks of stone and rubble. Their body was gone, only a steel beam that looked to have served the same purpose as a spine jutting out through their neck, though it was broken off with the rest of their body. Sonic crouched down on the stones, reaching over and picking up their head. The three other heroes finally crossed through the debris, standing behind Sonic, though Knuckles ran up beside him. Metal face was half destroyed and the faux flesh was melted away on one side, revealing all of the circuitry Sonic had once seen before, their turquoise quills matted back into the dreadlock that Sonic had first met them with. But they were alive. Well, as alive as a robot gets. They blinked the one eye they could, staring back at Sonic.
"We're gonna patch you up good as new, okay? I promise." Sonic panicked, getting Metal to smile with the remaining faceplate they had left.
"Y-Y-You're a reall-eally-eally good fr-fr-friend." Metal stuttered.
"So are you." Sonic countered, a small grin breaking through his fear.
Knuckles smiled beside the blue hedgehog, putting a hand on his shoulder. "They learned from the best."
Sonic glanced over at the echidna, before looking back at Metal and shaking his head. "So did I."
Bernadette and Chuck stood behind them, Sonic's mother raising her com unit. "Honey, get the small screwdrivers out. How would you like to rebuild a cybertronic mobian?" She asked her husband on the other end, smiling.
Jules' voice came through the speaker. "Really!? YES!"
Sonic could hear the excitement in his father's voice, and so could Metal, getting them both to smile.
Text***
[SONIC:]
So, things went back to normal. Or, at least, as normal as the life of a high school crime fighter can be. Sonic thought to himself, he and Knuckles sitting in their usual booth in Bueno Nacho. Knuckles ate a mound of grapes while Sonic devoured a chilidog. Milk sat on the table rather than the booth, snacking on a grape as well, while Sonic's medallion projected a hologram of Tails, who also had a lunch of his own.
It took some time and a mega amount of coding… but we stabilized Metal, flushed out Eggman's evil programming, and saved the good in them. He internally monologued, recalling his father and Tails working side by side over a table that Metal lay on, some parts of them still damaged and in need of being reconnected. But they were good spirited through it all, even when Sonic knew it hurt.
Together, we formed a material arts club! He continued, thinking back to just after Metal was fully repaired, he and they were standing in the middle of what was once the soccer field. Both of them spun a Bo staff in sync, with a crowd of kids in front of them, attempting to do the same as they followed the two's instruction. And now everyone at Emerald High wants to join! …Well… Almost everyone. Sonic corrected himself, remembering the look of pure shock, confusion, and disgust on Amy's face when she walked up to Sonic in the middle of the field, wearing her jersey and holding a soccer ball. When Sonic had told her that Mr. Fink had converted the field into a martial arts training ground, she growled and threw the ball at the ground, running off.
As for me…? Sonic reminisced on Knuckles, Metal, and himself on one of their most recent missions. The three of them continued fighting the other villains of the week that woke up and chose world domination, but fortunately, Eggman hadn't shown his face, and wasn't around to even attempt to take Metal back under his control. Sonic sighed happily. Learning to be a better friend… made me a better hero.
***
[EMERALD HIGH EXTERIOR:]
The bell rang, swarms of people running to get inside the building before they were marked as tardy. A black jeep with white and red accents pulled up to the front of the building. "Off the hook,... token,... chillin',... poppin'." A young Eggman recited, holding a book that said, 'TEEN SLANG' on the cover. Shadow reached over from the driver's seat, fixing the Doctor's drawn on eyebrows with a brow brush. Eggman wore normal kid clothes and glasses, along with a lighter brown wig, trying to blend in, even shadow ditching his usual gloves and shoes for more generic ones, though he made no further effort to conceal his identity. "Tight. …Tight. Tight." Eggman said in different tones, shaking his head as he tried to find an acceptable way to say the word.
Shadow groaned. "Will you hold still?!" He spat, trying to apply the makeup to the former madman. "We don't want you to look like a little freak, you little freak."
"My research is complete." Eggman stated, slamming his book and pulling away from the black hedgehog's brush, grabbing it from him. He glanced up at the rear view mirror, checking his reflection. "Makeup, perfect." He added the last few details, tossing the brush back at Shadow. The black hedgehog scowled at him, but didn't say anything. "Wig, perfect." The doctor fluffed his wig, giving it a small tug to make sure it would fall off. "I will blend in flawlessly." He grinned at Shadow, who looked him over in disgust.
"Yeah, you will… as long as there are like ten other tiny little old men in there." Shadow scoffed, fishing something off of the floor mat below him.
"Silence, Shadow!" Eggman demanded, though without his height or booming voice, Shadow paid even less mind to the order than usual.
Instead, the black hedgehog shoved a thin stack of papers into the Doctor's hands. "Here." Eggman furrowed his eyebrows, flipping through a few of them. "These say you skipped a bunch of grades 'cause you're… gifted." Shadow explained, rolling his eyes. "More like a gift I wish I could return."
"Laugh it up." Eggman shot back, unbuckling his seatbelt. "This whiny, puny body I'm trapped in is a blessing in disguise. Now there's nowhere that Credible can hide from me." He grinned, clenching a fist.
Shadow sighed, shaking his head and staring out the windshield. They stayed like that for an awkward moment before Shadow snapped. "Okay. Great. Get out!" Eggman opened the door, stuffing the papers into his backpack. "I need to get home, change out of these clothes into sensible leather and steel gloves and shoes." Shadow slumped back into his seat.
"Wish me luck, …father." Eggman jeered, mocking their undercover personas as he scooted out of the tall vehicle.
Shadow scowled, clenching his jaw. "Oho-kay…" He sneered, sighing deeply.
Eggman closed over the door as the black hedgehog started the jeep. It rolled out of the parking lot, leaving the disguised Eggman standing in front of the school. "My new evil master plan to take down Sonicredible, will be my tightest yet." He nodded, trying out his newly acquired teen vocab in the most clunky unfitting way possible. He walked towards the building ahead, blending into the crowd.
***
[The End]