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Arms folded behind his head, Mighty strolled casually down the coastline. He watched as his best friend, Ray, glided steadily over him with a chipper demeanor.
“Y’know, Ray,” the armadillo spoke up, “As much as I prefer this peace and quiet, I kinda miss going on adventures.”
“Not me,” Ray replied, his voice tinged slightly with nerves. “Adventures are scary!”
Mighty halted slightly in his tracks upon overhearing a faint noise. Picking up on his friend’s shift in focus, Ray squinted into the distance. A blue blur seemed to be approaching them. It almost sounded like…a rocket?
“Sonic?”
Mighty’s eyes widened. “Look out!”
Mighty curled into a ball and rolled out of the blur’s way, while Ray skittishly flew higher to evade it. The blur skidded to a halt, sending sparks flying, and turned to face them, revealing his red eyes and metal plating. Yet, Mighty noticed, something seemed…different about his appearance. Had the mad doctor upgraded him?
“M-M-METAL Sonic?!” Ray stuttered.
“What’s HE doing here?!” asked Mighty.
Metal Sonic, having completely turned to face the duo, began walking towards them slowly. Mighty assumed a fighting stance, while Ray cowered behind the safety of his friend. Metal Sonic moved an arm, and Mighty braced to shield himself and his friend…but no blow ever came.
Tentatively, Mighty lowered his arms and eyed the robot. Metal Sonic was extending a clawed hand out to the armadillo, as if expecting a handshake.
Mighty and Ray spared each other a quick glance before looking back at the robot with doubt and concern, respectively. “What’s the deal? You NEVER hesitate to attack.”
Metal Sonic took a few steps back, and his red eyes disappeared; a red, holographic projection of Dr. Eggman quickly emerged from them.
“Muhahahaha!!” the holographic doctor jeered. “I've finally developed the ultimate weapon! In three days, I'll conquer the world. Think you can stop me? Ahahahaha!!”
Metal Sonic retracted the hologram and stepped forward again, hand once again extended.
“Why are you showing us this?” asked Mighty. “You don’t actually expect us to HELP Eggman…”
Metal Sonic beeped as he shook his head.
“T-then…” Ray spoke up nervously, “You want us to help you s-stop him?”
Metal Sonic nodded.
“But why?” asked Ray.
“And how do we know this isn’t a trick?” Mighty tacked on.
Ray looked to his red-shelled old friend. “I dunno, Mighty, he seems pretty serious.”
Mighty sighed and extended his own hand. “Alright, we’ll help, but the second you try anything funny, you’re done.”
Metal Sonic accepted the handshake, and Ray stepped out shyly from behind his protector.
-
“This beach is so beautiful and calming, isn’t it?” Mighty asked as he took in the horizon of Seaside Hill.
“Why would Eggman fill it with his creepy robots?” asked Ray.
Metal Sonic released loud, indignant beeps.
“Aah! I-I didn’t mean you, Metal…”
“Hey back off, Metal. You want our help? Then start acting like a team player. Now lead the way.”
-
“So, you’re the ones who were playing games with my army!” Dr. Eggman shouted from the cockpit of his Egg Hawk.
“We wouldn’t have to break your toys if you didn’t use them to hurt people!” Mighty taunted back.
Ray made an audible gulp. “D-D-Doctor Eggman…!”
Metal Sonic hummed plainly.
“Siding with them, are you? Grr! I’ll show you what happens when you revolt against your superior!”
-
“Wow, this city is HUGE!” Ray gasped in awe at the Grand Metropolis.
“Eggman must be using it to construct his army, as well as transporting all that energy,” Mighty glanced to Metal Sonic. “Right?”
Metal Sonic nodded with an affirmative beep.
“Then let’s go, team! Follow those pipes!”
-
Mighty, Ray, and Metal Sonic halted in their steps at the sight of the backs of three unfamiliar presences.
The perceived leader, a purple wolf-like gunslinger, tipped the brim of his hat over his eyes and turned to face the trio. “Oi, ain’t that one of the doc’s robots?”
“Ooh, your friend is real shiny~!” the green woodpecker beside him sang. “Can we keep him?”
“D-don’t hurt us, please!” Ray begged.
“Then tell me,” the sniper demanded, “Why is HE palling around with the likes of YOU?”
“Who wants to know?” Mighty asked, stepping in front of Metal Sonic as if to protect him.
The third stranger, an intimidating yellow polar bear, growled lowly and pounded his gloved fists together.
“Alright,” the leader of the strangers sighed as he reached for the holster on his belt. “Guess we’re settling this the old-fashioned way.”
-
“Just who were those guys, anyway?” asked Mighty.
“I dunno,” said Ray, in awe of the bright lights of Casino Park. “But this casino sure is amazing!”
Metal Sonic interrupted with four irritable beeps.
“Aw come on,” said Mighty, hooking his arm around Metal’s. “We could stand to have a LITTLE fun while we’re here.”
Ray wrapped his arms around Metal’s remaining one in a clingy grip. “Yeah, let’s play some games!”
Metal Sonic unleashed a flurry of sputtered, flustered beeps as his companions dragged him into the casino.
-
“You three again?!” Dr. Eggman spoke from his floating perch.
“Yup,” Mighty sighed with a mocking shrug, “Seems we just couldn’t stay away.”
“Y-yeah,” stuttered Ray, “P-p-put ‘em up!”
Metal Sonic hummed plainly.
“Hmph! Laugh all you want, everything is still going according to my plan!” As the doctor spoke, rows of variously-colored flying robots began to materialize on the platform. “Get them!”
-
“Impressive base,” Mighty spoke up as he and his companions grinded down the rails of Eggman’s new military base. “Shame it’s being used for such violence.”
Metal Sonic looked at Mighty quizzically, forming question marks with his artificial eyes.
“Well, sometimes people don’t want to see others get hurt, Metal,” Mighty continued. “That’s why friends look out for each other, because they care about each other.”
Metal Sonic’s eyes morphed once again, this time into straight thin lines, seemingly processing the weight of Mighty’s words.
-
Taking in the sight of the Egg Albatross, Metal Sonic directed a series of robotic beeps, chirps, and clicks at the doctor.
“What are you blathering on about?!” Dr. Eggman sneered. “Of COURSE I’m using my power to hurt others! Whether by choice or by force, all will kneel before the awesome strength of MY empire!”
-
“Mua-ha-ha-ha! You dolts actually fell for it! Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
Mighty grit his teeth in frustration. “He tricked us! We’ve been fighting a dummy while his army grows stronger by the minute!”
Ray looked at the false Eggman with worry before he turned his gaze to his best friend, and then to Metal Sonic. The robot stood silently, staring at the bobbing head of the dummy; he clenched his metal claws into a shaking fist.
“What’s wrong, Metal?” Ray asked.
Metal responded with three lone, low beeps.
“Metal’s right,” said Mighty, “We can’t let anything distract us from what’s important: beating Eggman. Let’s get going!”
As Mighty and Ray fled the scene, Metal Sonic stalled ever so slightly, taking one last opportunity to glance back at the dummy as it melted into a rippling quicksilver puddle.
“Copying life form data…”
-
“Argh! Not YOU bozos again!!” a familiar voice yelled.
Mighty, Ray, and Metal Sonic turned their attention from their jungle surroundings to the familiar trio of hooligans before them.
The green woodpecker gasped. “My shiny!” He tried to lunge himself at Metal Sonic, but the polar bear grabbed him by his red neckerchief and held the flailing bird back.
“L-L-Leave Metal alone, you bullies!” Ray scolded, tentatively stepping in front of the robot.
“Don’t tell me you’re all buddy-buddy with them now,” the leader scoffed at Metal Sonic. “Ain’t you supposed to be following you-know-who’s orders?”
“If Metal Sonic says he’s not with Eggman anymore,” Mighty spoke up, “Then I believe him. Now stand down!”
“Make me,” the lead hooligan growled.
Mighty sighed and put up his fists, followed by Ray and a hesitant Metal Sonic.
-
“Th-this place g-gives me the c-c-creeps!” Ray stuttered as the team set foot onto the grounds of Hang Castle. Suddenly, he looked to his left and yelped. “Aah!!”
Instinctively, Mighty halted in his tracks and held up his fists, ready to shield Ray from an incoming threat. Curiously, Metal Sonic found himself also poised to defend Ray. Upon registering that there was no apparent threat, the robot turned his head to the flying squirrel. He let out a string of beeps as his eyes once again took the forms of question marks.
“Everyone has something they’re afraid of, Metal,” Mighty answered, placing a hand on the robot’s shoulder pad. “Being brave means fighting even though you’re scared.”
Processing Mighty’s words, Metal Sonic nodded and gestured for the others to follow him.
-
Mighty grumbled as he noticed the doctor’s Egg Mobile approaching the haunted manor. “You better be the real deal this time…”
“If you guys aren’t afraid, then I won’t be, either!” Ray asserted.
Metal Sonic remained silent, not even uttering a hum as Eggman’s robots descended towards them.
-
Dr. Eggman’s voice rang out over the entirety of his Egg Fleet. “Muhahaha…you fools must all have a death wish? Witness this invincible battleship, built by the hands of a genius. Its power…unmatched throughout the universe!”
At the furthest end of the furthest ship in the fleet, Mighty stood with his companions beside him. “If it weren’t for villains like you, we could all live in peace! Let’s finish this, team!”
-
“This is it!” said Mighty. “You guys ready?”
“R-ready when you are!” Ray replied, putting on a brave face in spite of his nerves.
Metal Sonic kept silent only for a brief moment before uttering a single, somewhat sad beep.
“Hmph! Enough of this! Mighty, Ray, Mecha Sonic!” Dr. Eggman lowered the hatch that shielded him inside his Egg Emperor. “Time to meet your maker! I’ll show you what REAL evil is!”
-
“Another fake, huh…” Mighty mused out loud.
“But thanks to Metal, we still stopped the armada!” Ray cheered, offering a high five that Mighty returned. Ray offered the same gesture to Metal Sonic, only for the robot’s hand to gently push away his own.
“Huh? But isn’t this why you asked for our help?”
Metal Sonic clutched at the core on his torso.
“Wait,” Mighty said, suspicion evident in his voice. “Why does it feel like you’re hiding something?”
With Mighty and Ray’s attention on Metal Sonic, the duo failed to notice a shape rising from the puddle of liquid metal formerly known as Dr. Eggman. The shape elongated and grew five sharp dagger-like claws.
But Metal Sonic noticed.
Without warning, Mighty and Ray were pushed away by the robot, and before they could question his actions, Metal Sonic started convulsing, his torso pierced and his systems overloaded with electricity.
“Metal!” they both yelled.
The robot’s eyes flickered to complete black and his body fell lifelessly to the ground. Ray flew without haste to the robot’s side, Mighty not far behind.
“He…he saved us from getting hurt,” Mighty breathed in complete astonishment.
“Metal, wake up!!” Ray desperately nudged the robot’s arm, to no avail. He glanced worriedly up at his friend. “What do we do, Mighty?”
Utilizing his super strength, Mighty lifted the robot’s limp body over his shoulder and glanced in the direction of nearby gray storm clouds, crashing thunder, and crackling lightning. “I’m not sure, but I think I know where to find some answers. C’mon, Ray!”
Ray took to flight in order to keep up with his friend’s pace, and spared the unconscious robot a sympathetic glance. “Even though you’re kinda scary,” he spoke gently, “You’re still nice, Metal. You’ll be okay.”
-
“Metal Sonic has finally transformed!” Dr. Eggman cried in horror. He and the other teams of heroes watched as his robots fled from the roaring, newly-transformed Metal Overlord.
“So THAT’S Metal Sonic?!” Sonic asked in disbelief.
“What?!”
Sonic whipped around at the sound of approaching footsteps and found himself face-to-face with his old prison break friends. Mighty and Ray’s faces changed from concern to horror as they took in the sight of the blue robotic titan.
“But if that’s Metal Sonic, who…?” Ray turned to look at the robot cradled in Mighty’s arms.
Dr. Eggman jumped back in shock. “My old Mecha Sonic Model No.29, code-name Rocket Metal Sonic!! How did YOU get your hands on it?!”
Mighty’s eyes shifted away towards the ground, brows furrowed in sadness. Ray placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and gave the doctor a pained expression.
“I see…Metal Sonic must have reprogrammed it to deceive you,” the doctor said tensely. “Just like he deceived me. It was never anything more than his tool for destruction!”
“No!” Mighty gasped. “I can’t believe that! He SAVED us! He would never…”
Tails stepped forward. “Can I see him?”
Mighty hesitantly placed the robot on the ground and allowed Tails to examine him. “If I can just re-calibrate his circuits…” Tails pulled a wrench out from the fur of his massive tails and quickly began tinkering away at the robot’s torso core. “Aaand…done!”
Rocket Metal Sonic’s eyes flickered to life.
“Are you really back?” Ray asked hopefully.
The robot nodded before bowing his head and beeping dejectedly.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Mighty assured him. “What are friends for?”
Rocket Metal Sonic raised his head back up to look his teammates in the eyes, and nodded swiftly before bracing for combat.
“But what’s the point?!” Dr. Eggman cried. “Metal Sonic has combined your data with the power of Chaos and is super strong! We can’t defeat it.” The doctor gripped his head in frustration. “Aaaa…if only we had the 7 Chaos Emeralds!”
Gradually, different members of each team began pulling out and revealing the Chaos Emeralds they had collected on their respective treks; Cream’s yellow emerald, Big’s purple emerald, Omega’s green emerald, Ray’s white emerald, Espio’s red emerald, and Charmy’s teal emerald.
Eggman was taken aback. “What’s this! But how? Even with the Emeralds’ power, our chances for victory are slim…it would take a miracle!”
Sonic tossed and caught the blue emerald in his possession. “Just leave that to me, Doc…”
“Sonic, no!” Amy objected, but her concerns went unheard.
Tails ran over to Sonic’s side. “I’m going with you too!”
Sonic found himself taken aback by the young fox’s courage. “Tails…”
Knuckles approached Sonic at his other side. “You can count me in, too.”
“Knuckles…”
“Okay, guys,” Shadow spoke up, catching the blue hedgehog’s attention. “We’ll buy you some time.”
Sonic gave Shadow a long look, touched by his former foe’s offer. He turned to Team Rose; though Amy’s face betrayed traces of her prior concern, she offered her hero a thumbs up and mirrored her teammates’ eagerness to help. Then Sonic turned to point at Team Chaotix; Espio nodded silently, Charmy rose into the air with an eager flip, and Vector gave his own thumbs up. Finally, Sonic faced Team Mighty. Mighty and Rocket Metal Sonic both nodded, while Ray almost seemed eager to throw himself into danger.
With Tails and Knuckles firmly at his side, Sonic confidently strode within his circle of allies. “Okay then, let’s get ready to do this. We’ll show that creep the REAL SUPER POWER of TEAMWORK!”
-
The sky was dark, the air was teaming with electricity, and Metal Overlord was on the attack.
“Using others for your own gain…you’re pure evil!” yelled Mighty.
“We’re not afraid of you!” cried Ray.
Rocket Metal Sonic unleashed a fury of beeps and chirps.
“So, this is how you repay me for granting you new life?” Metal Overlord boomed. “You have outlived your usefulness!”
-
Eventually, through the combined efforts of Team Rose, Team Chaotix, Team Mighty, Team Dark, and Team Super Sonic, Neo Metal Sonic was defeated. Upon losing his Metal Overlord form, he quickly reverted to his true, original Metal Sonic form. Sonic gave his fiercest rival a few final quips, then fled the scene as Amy chased after him, followed shortly by Tails. Cream, Cheese, Chocola, Big, and Froggy bid their leader farewell and good luck in her efforts. Knuckles left soon after to prevent Rouge from trying to steal the Master Emerald. Team Chaotix, meanwhile, had chased after Dr. Eggman, who was attempting to flee the scene without paying the detectives for their services.
With the chaos of the situation winding down, Mighty took notice of Rocket Metal Sonic standing alone, watching the doctor’s futile escape. So much had happened in such a short time, so much had changed. He wanted to believe what he was seeing in the robot, but a part of him still held onto doubt out of fear. Well, there was only one way to test those doubts.
“So,” Mighty asked, giving Rocket Metal Sonic a light punch on the arm. “What are you gonna do, now that we know you aren’t REALLY Metal Sonic? You still gonna ditch the doctor? Make a new name for yourself?”
Rocket Metal Sonic looked down and gave an uncertain beep.
“We can help you find one!” Ray said, clinging to the robot’s arm once again. “We’re really good at helping people!”
At that, Rocket Metal Sonic hummed and nodded.
As the three began to walk away, Mighty glanced back at Shadow and Omega, the latter holding the collapsed form of the true Metal Sonic. “Can we trust you guys to handle HIM?”
Sharing a quick glance, Shadow and Omega nodded silently.
Mighty gave a thumbs up in response. “See you around, then.”