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Chapter Text

You are Sonic the Hedgehog.
Your primary objective is to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog.

Both of these statements are true.

The flashing of an internal wall of binary floods across Metal's memory banks, a common buffer refreshing instance that happens too often for even his complex data calculating algorithms to take notice of. It's an automated process, nothing more, nothing less.

As Metal's thrusters blast at approximately seventy five percent of their maximum thrust he takes a mental note of his supplementary objectives. He had been lead away to deal with matters relating to Sonic's orange furred sidekick, much to Metal's own internal dismay, but having received a distress call from Eggman himself he is currently en route to his Master's current magnum opus. It will take a minute or so for him to reach the apex of the structure though, and being the complicated computational feat of engineering that he is that is plenty of time to check for internal inconsistencies. Even a single lapse in data efficiency could cause his defeat should he come to blows with his hated rival. Such a loss would be unacceptable.

Your secondary objectives are the following:
You are to obey every order given to you by Dr. Ivo Robotnik
If neutralized or damaged you are to search for a means to become combat ready immediately through any means available to you.
You exist to serve and perpetuate the dominance of the Eggman Empire.
All of the above statements are true and must be followed at all times.

Another flash, another refresh of his data-banks. Metal's optical LEDs flicker for but a moment. He makes a reminder notice to have the internal bulbs checked for potential faults. While his internal readings show his build as being in optimal fighting condition Metal knows this may very well not be the case. Out of all of the badniks currently employed by his Master within the Eggman Empire Metal is by far the oldest one that is still in active service. Truth be told it is a miracle that he is even still activated at all. As infallible as his Master is the Doctor has never been the best at software engineering. He is a man gifted in the realms of architecture development, combat hardware engineering, and resource extraction. Though he's distanced himself from his earlier reliance on smaller organic lifeform-based computational systems and has greatly improved in the realm of software engineering in recent years, Metal Sonic was not designed during that time and is truly his first attempt at a serious self-sufficient software program. He is one of the Doctor's earliest creations and due to this his memory contains scattered remnants of data encompassing over a decade of combat, racing, and other less important topics.

Within Metal's internal decision making command block the command to search through his memory banks for potentially relevant data hovers. Hesitating on going through with the admin level command Metal eventually decides on deleting it all together. His memory banks are a constantly overflowing mess of years of scarcely related junk data, inconsistencies, and more failures than he cares to count. Sifting through it all to search for a potential plan of attack against his hated copy will likely take longer than the twenty three point zero four seconds that it will take to arrive at the apex of the currently docked space station. That and, truth be told, Metal doubts it would help much. While within his combat diagnostic programs past battle analysis is proven to improve effectiveness on the field by a notable number of percentage points, Metal has felt stagnant for quite some time. He stands at Eggman's side, does whatever his master tells him to the letter, and either ends up smashed to bits and needing to be dragged back and repaired or just ends up buying time for the Doctor to do something that actually matters. While within his system diagnostics Metal is listed as a "Reactive Learning Racing/Combat Machine Hybrid" it feels more often nowadays that he is a glorified bodyguard. A tough frame with claws and a fierce glare to keep meddling critters from colliding physically with his creator. He exists to serve his Master and to ensure the dominance of the Eggman Empire. More and more frequently he has been tasked with handling other affiliated creatures that are most definitely NOT Sonic the Hedgehog while his Master or whatever esoteric source of help he has sequestered this time around battle his loathsome copy. Metal's electromagnetic sensors let out an electronic groan, the closest thing his current frame has to a voice box as of current.

Landing atop the space station Metal runs an internal assessment of the current situation. He is currently standing on top of the Eggcelsior, his Master's largest and most impressive space station project yet. Its purpose is to utilize the Chaos Emeralds in accordance with the reality altering power of a recently discovered stone known as the "Reality Topaz" to terraform the entirety of Earth into something more in line with his Master's vision. Metal's screen lets out a brief flash as he scans the top of the structure. The first and most obvious item is the Reality Topaz itself, being situated at the very tip of the station. Though the exact specifics of its capabilities and origins are not found within Metal's database, seemingly because it was not deemed necessary to the success of the mission, it is at the very least capable of neutralizing the unpredictable and chaotic energy that is produced by the Chaos Emeralds and is able to instead redirect that into a precise and highly controlled beam of reality-altering energy. The primary objective here is to build up enough power to launch the Eggcelsior into orbit, rotate it around over the course of one rotation around the planet, and then blast the planet with the laser that is to be focused through this stone. Activation of the space station's weapon so close to Earth and without enough energy stored within safety subsystems is likely to result in the Emeralds scattering like usual and potentially even the Reality Topaz itself shattering. It is a highly delicate procedure that takes time spent away from bothersome rodents, hence its role as a space station.

The secondary item picked up in Metal's optical scan is the mastermind of the operation: His Master. Well, his Master and his newfound accomplice. Having been confused at first about the statistical oddity that is Dr. Eggman working alongside other entities, let alone other HUMAN entities, Metal was given a briefing on the situation. While Dr. Eggman could manipulate the Chaos Emeralds' energy through technology the Reality Topaz itself proved frustratingly immune to the same level of interfacing. In order to utilize the stone's capabilities one has to instruct it exactly what it wants done. It needs to be programmed, in short. The problem comes into play when you think of how exactly one goes about programming a rock. Well, to make a complicated string of data short; you don't. This is where Dr. Eggman's new affiliate comes into play. Metal has no clue how his Master came to know of her, who or what she was involved with before all of this, or how she came into contact with the Reality Topaz in the first place. Again, he is scarcely privy to such information. All that metal knows is this woman's name is "Madame Mystery" and he has been given temporary instruction earlier to ensure her safety alongside Eggman's at least until the terraforming process is complete. While Metal did hear his Master promise her a portion of the planet to use however she wishes it is a statistical certainty that the Doctor is planning on backstabbing this supposed sorceress the instant he is able to do so.

The two of them are currently doing battle with the third item that comes into Metal's vision. His hated rival. His loathsome copy. Sonic the Hedgehog. Before any relevant data comes streaming into Metal's central processing unit his hands ball up into fists. The sound of titanium straining is heard faintly as he does so, his red LEDs flaring up in involuntary anger. The fake mockery of Metal's own likeness is just a short dash away, him currently doing battle with his Master's current ultimate fighting mech. He calls it the "Egg Hydra", it being a multi-headed frame with an eggmobile situated at the end of each neck. Using Madame Mystery's magic Eggman devised a process through which he could attack Sonic while teleporting himself and Mystery from cockpit to cockpit, each head being identical in its ability to pilot the machine. With new eggmobiles flying in autonomously from elsewhere to replace those destroyed by successive spindashes the machine is one that aims to win through attrition. Unfortunately, judging by Sonic's current condition, it doesn't appear to be working. As Metal has come to expect Sonic is entirely unfazed by the oppressive onslaught of lasers and thrashing metal, him effortlessly weaving between blows and lining up momentum-powered dashes to take out multiple heads at a time. It appears that the sheer quantity of heads is invoking an effect reminiscent of a pinball machine with Sonic bouncing between each head so quickly that even Madam Mystery's teleportation is unable to keep up. Metal stands there for a few more moments, his turbine idling as his optics remain transfixed on Sonic. Streams of data flood through his CPU only to be quickly followed by a refresh, a cycle that repeats for an indeterminate amount of time.

"Doctor Dearie, your Toy is here. Were you planning on having him help or was the plan to lose from the beginning?"

The radio chatter suddenly connecting to Metal's internal audio processors stirs him from the computational feedback loop, his sensors shifting towards the writhing mass that is the Egg Hydra.

"Oh shut it woman! I was getting to it! Metal! Get your tin can over here and buy me some time THIS INSTANT!"

Metal wordlessly complies. To buy his Master time is not just to fulfill his secondary objective but in entering combat with his fake copy he may finally fulfill his Primary one as well. Within the span of a single tick of his internal clock Metal's turbine spins up to full throttle, him rocketing across the top of the Eggcelsior and colliding with the blue blur himself. Just as quickly as Metal had grabbed Sonic by the throat a kick finds itself squarely into his central chassis, driving the two apart. As Metal flies backwards his claws find purchase in the softer steel of the Eggcelsior's roof and, through tearing gashes into its surface, he manages to stop himself rather abruptly. Opposite of Metal stands Sonic who rubs his throat, appearing only mildly discomforted by the previous bout of strangulation.

"Geez! Give me a heads up next time, Metal! Almost made me lose mi-WHOAH!"

Irrelevant banter. It only serves to enrage Metal. He learned to tune out such drivel years ago during their bouts and with a silent dash forwards Metal's claws swipe towards Sonic's mid section. Sonic, rather predictably, dodges the attack by twisting around Metal's right side. Rotating his torso atop his waist axle Metal's arm swings for Sonic's head only for his copy to duck under it and deliver a kick into Metal's optical screen. The right section cracks, rendering data received from its sensors unreliable. Metal ducks down in response, sweeping his foot to cause Sonic to lose his footing. Sonic in turn curls up into a ball, allowing the momentum from Metal's blow to carry him around his assailant and to spindash into the back of Metal's own head. Metal curls up into a ball to match his adversary, the two rolling around the entire purchase of the Eggcelsior's roof to bounce and twist around one another. As the two continue this for a time Metal detects a slight inconsistency in the roof's surface around where his claws had ripped up the steel paneling from earlier. Subtly he smashes into Sonic's side, sending him bouncing over the shredded metal and sending his hated copy sprawling out across the floor. A pained sucking of air slides out of Sonic's mouth as he smacks into the roof and, uncurling right alongside him, Metal lifts up a metallic foot and stomps on top of Sonic's back. The sound of pained grunting comes from his pathetic copy's own body and as his foot grinds into his fake's spines Metal's internal processes are flooded with data. Has he finally done it?! He has beaten Sonic! The cause of years worth of humiliation and existential hopelessness, the singular reason why his Master's attempts at world domination have failed, the isolated individual that has taunted and beaten him down no matter how high he rises again and again and again. Finally, all of that is over, his life's purpose can be fulfilled and-

"Alright! It's fully charged! Metal! Get out of the damn way!"

Metal looks up to see that each of the Egg Hydra's heads is currently glowing with a bring red light. His Master intends to obliterate Sonic right here and now while he is incapacitated. Metal has to move if he doesn't want to be caught in the blast as well. He has to obey Dr. Eggman. But he also has to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. If he doesn't defeat Sonic the Hedgehog than he is without purpose. He is Sonic the Hedgehog. If he doesn't defeat the fake Sonic then there is only one more Sonic left to-

The following eruption of light is the last thing Metal sees through his optical sensors.

-

What follows is a scene everybody has come to expect. Sliding out from underneath Metal's iron boot Sonic dashes away as his robotic counterpart is sent flying across the surface of Eggman's largest space station yet. Though it's large, Sonic has destroyed more of these than he can count, and without any more interference the battle between the Blue Blur and the Mechanical Maniac continues. Blasts are dodged, parts explode in a shower of gears and sparks, and even with help from an outside source the Doctor is seemingly on the verge of defeat. Our gaze shifts towards that very same accomplice, a woman somewhere in her late forties. Her features are sharp and thin, her hair a frazzled mass of ginger and her nose a crooked stick that would make the most wicked of witches blush. Madame Mystery, the world's foremost expert on all matters esoteric and unknowable, sits within this useful idiot's unseemly mechanical dinosaur. Though he talked quite a big talk earlier on she has come to the much overdue realization that her accomplice, this "Doctor" is only good for so much. Ceasing her teleportation efforts the head next to her shakes as this meddlesome rodent collides into it once more. Pressing the button to open the dome to her own cockpit she steps out, silently floating down towards the object that shall elevate her from a measly medium to the Witch Queen of an entire planet!

"Mystery! Where do you think you're going! You get-OOF... Get back in your seat this instant!"

The annoying squawking of her business associate sounds off in her earpiece, her tapping it once more-so out of common courtesy rather than any intention of actually complying.

"I'm afraid I've come up with a much better idea, Doctor. Now be a good boy and keep the rodent busy for me."

Just as an enraged scream erupts out from her earpiece she plucks it from her head, tossing it aside with a flick. Behind her this "Sonic" continues doing battle with the Doctor, her having deduced over the past few months that those two individuals are the only two who stand any semblance of a chance of hampering her plans of world domination. Placing her hand on the Reality Topaz she closes her eyes, focusing internally on the stream of Chaos energy that swirls through it thanks to those seven other gemstones that reside deep within this space station's underbelly. She sends a magically powered whisper through this metallic heap's speaker system for the artificial girl controlling that entire apparatus to activate the weapon, Mystery disguising her voice to sound just like the Doctor that this girl believes to be her father.

"Silly thing", Madame Mystery says to herself, her eyes shifting over to the half-destroyed robotic mockery that lays sprawled out across the decking. "They're just toys. No matter how smart they are that's all they are. Soulless, breakable toys."

As the surge of infinite energy suddenly comes flooding into the Topaz and subsequently into her Mystery knows that her instructions were followed. Turning to see her counterpart cowering before the hedgehog the three of them make eye contact with one another. The blue creature's eyes widen in realization but one that is made far too late. Dropping the Doctor he begins to rush towards Madame, her closing her own eyes and thinking just one thought:

"All living things must obey me."

The resulting explosion is heard throughout the entire continent and the rising of the Eggcelsior space station into Earth's orbit is played across every major news broadcasting service worldwide. Coverage shifts just as quickly to the slowly spreading mysterious purple corruption and the twisted magical abominations that are spawned from it. All eyes are on Madame and any information on what happened to either Sonic or Doctor Eggman are scattered and unreliable. While all of this is going on one small detail goes unnoticed. Just as the Eggcelsior was achieving liftoff a small blue blob was seen falling from its roof.

This Blue Blob is Sonic the Hedgehog.
This Blue Blob will save the world.

Both of these statements are false.

Chapter Text

Squeezing out from underneath the heap of rubble that's found itself on top of you, the entire pile collapses with a cloud of dust erupting out of it the moment you leave. Clearing the air in front of your muzzle you let out a notable cough, making a mental note to improve the weight bearing capacity of your next model of backpack extendable assisting limbs. The set you had on saved you from being crushed, sure, but as you stretch out on all fours and shake the dust out of your fur your muscles scream out at you that improvements must be made. Standing back upright you take a look at the ruined control chamber you find yourself within.

Your name is Miles Prowler, though everybody calls you Tails. You've come to identify with that name more than your first one if you're being honest. It feels more "you", though it certainly doesn't help that that's all that Sonic ever calls you. He's essentially raised you to be the fox you are today and while you're nothing but grateful for that it's certainly rubbed off on you in more than one way. Your choice of recreational activities being a fine example of that, as you've just finished sabotaging another of Eggman's plans. Having discovered his new awful scheme to take over the world yet again both you and Sonic managed to track the Doctor down to this general area. Eggman has been working on something called the "Eggcelsior", it being ANOTHER space station slash super weapon that is capable of using the chaos emeralds' power to terraform the planet they all live on! How exactly he is able to do this is beyond you at the moment, as from what you know the Emeralds shouldn't have the ability to do anything close to that precise? While normally you would hack into Eggman's systems to learn more his cyber security has been beefed up notably ever since he invented Sage and integrated her into the Eggnet. Tails has had to be incredibly careful to avoid triggering her automated firewalls when poking around recently and overall it's caused you more than your fair share of shocked fingertips and blue screens.

Such information wasn't important upon your arrival anyhow. Eggman's space station was on the verge of launching into orbit the moment you and Sonic got here. While Eggman escaping into space to undoubtedly charge up whatever stupid name his new doomsday ray is called this time around was certainly not something you were going to just LET happen, the more immediate problem before you was in that the liftoff sequence was built in such a way where the smoke and fire would be rerouted directly into a nearby forest! This was probably done to protect Eggman's own facilities from damage related to the launch, the Doctor always having had his priorities opposite of what they should be. Regardless, since the process of rerouting the pipes and blow-back canals would be a fine process Tails and Sonic decided to split up, with Tails heading deep into the nearby fueling and control station while Sonic went to go see what was going on with the station itself. You had some doubts about whether or not you'd be able to reroute everything in time but after a quick slap on the back from Sonic and a pep talk you felt much more determined to see this through.

Looking around a sense of pride swells up within your chest. Judging by the damage to the surrounding area it seems that while Sonic couldn't quite stop the liftoff sequence at the very least it didn't endanger any of the nearby plants or animals. On the plus side this entire construction and fueling yard is going to have to be rebuilt too. Take that Eggman! It's not like your side of things was a walk in the park either. You had to take out more badniks than you could count to the point that your blaster ran out of charge towards the end of things. Eggman even sent Metal Sonic to try and stop you, and while you still have the bruises from that scuffle it seems that Metal got called away by the Doctor to attend to something else halfway through your fight.

While going up against Metal Sonic has always been pretty scary you've been getting better and better at it recently. With increased independence comes quicker thinking on your feet and more combat experience, and while Metal's still more than you can handle most of the time you can pretty reliably buy enough time against him now to set up either a getaway or some sort of distraction to get him off of your back. Still, thinking back to your fight you can't help but feeling as if Metal wasn't trying all that hard. You've seen him fight Sonic and every time he goes all out, his creepy eyes glowing a deep crimson as the two move faster than Tails can keep track of. When he's up against you or anyone else Metal seems notably... tamer? It's hard to read him due to the fact he's a soulless robot but his eyes seem less bright and he doesn't throw himself at you nearly as recklessly as he does with Sonic.

As you feel the phantom pain of Metal's claws around your neck you shake the thoughts from your head. You achieved another victory, however small it may be, against Eggman all by yourself. Tapping the tracking device you have underneath your left glove's cuff a small jingle plays from underneath a collapsed EGG INC. logo that fell on top of the station's command console. Peeking behind it you find the tablet you had used to hack into Eggman's systems and after a quick stretch manage to retrieve it. With a few quick taps and a wiping of the screen it comes flickering to life. Sliding down the control console you take a seat, deciding to see what's happened elsewhere while you were trapped underneath interstellar fallout.

First thing first you try and contact Sonic to see how his side of things turned out.

No response.

Giving a shrug you push the internal sense of worry you feel deep into your gut aside. Sonic's always been awful about answering whenever you try to get hold of him. You practically had to pin him down and force him to carry around a cell phone in the first place after all. He'll see your message when he sees it and as much as you'd love to make him pick up you know that's impossible. He's Sonic the Hedgehog. You can't MAKE him do anything.

With that first action being a bust you decide to take a look around some of the cameras you had hacked previously to try and get a read for what's going on around Eggman's port. Flicking through tens of different channels the majority of them are either too damaged to see anything through or are without any power at all. The few that do work confirm your suspicions that the bulk of the port was destroyed due to the liftoff sequence. While the majority of the destruction seems typical for the types of explosions at play here, especially when you take into account your purposeful redirection of the bulk of the blast towards the highly flammable fuel pumping station, but something odd catches your attention. Just as you zoom in a call comes in from your tablet, it being Amy Rose on the other end of the line! Without even thinking you roll your eyes. She's probably just calling you to ask how Sonic is doing. She's super sweet and a great friend of yours but gosh she sure can be pushy sometimes. Tapping the screen you answer her call, giving her a smile through your dusty orange fur.

"Heya Amy! What's up?"

Amy appears to be at a cafe somewhere, likely at one of the nearby cities. You met up with her a few days ago and talked for a bit so she should still be relatively close by. She seems to be wearing a summertime outfit of pale pinks and whites with a hair clip holding up her quills that resembles a daisy resting just above her forehead. Her initial look of happiness quickly transforms into one of exasperated worry, her leaning in towards her phone's camera to get a better look at you.

"Tails! I was calli-WHOAH! What happened to you?! You look like an absolute mess! Are you okay?!"

Rubbing the back of your head the resulting cloud that rises from your coat causes you to cough, a sheepish expression spreading across your face. With a sniff causing you to sneeze immediately in response you come to the mental decision that you're definitely going to need to take a bath as soon as possible.

"Yup! I'm not hurt or anything thanks to my gadgets, just a little dirty! Don't go worrying about me, Amy! I'm fine, honest!"

Amy shoots you a look through the screen that lets you know she isn't exactly convinced. With a rolling of her eyes and a huff she wordlessly drops the topic.

"Fine... if you say so! I'm calling to see what exactly happened over there! You're all over the news!"

"Really?" You say. That's odd. Human society tends not to care too much about what you and Sonic do. Heck, even Dr. Eggman gets off without incident most of the time. Though he's a wanted criminal almost internationally; with G.U.N. falling there's not much most world powers can do to stop him, and since he sticks to primarily uninhabited areas so as to avoid suspicion in-between evil schemes they seem content to mainly leave him to his own devices. Amy continues, angling her phone towards a television broadcast hanging over the coffee bar, her fingers awkwardly zooming in and attempting to focus on the news on display

"You betcha! That explosion you two did caused a boom loud enough that you could hear it all the way over in Soleanna! The news stations are saying Eggman probably escaped onto that big ugly Egg-station of his but there's been no sign of Sonic anywhere! Is he okay?!"

As the camera finally focuses on the television feed you watch as the blurry footage showcases some weird purple blast erupting out of the top of the Eggcelsior space station. The drone footage is too blurry to see anything concrete, though the vague silhouette of one of Eggman's machines can be seen on the space station's roof. Likely just another big clunky mech the mad Doctor thought would definitely for sure one hundred percent guaranteed destroy Sonic this time. Quirking an eyebrow you shift back to flipping through the cameras. Just as you had suspected, the discolored sections of grass and general flora you had thought looked odd earlier are the exact same shade of purple as this weird energy. There's no chemical reaction that you know of that could have caused such a colorful and powerful reaction as well... hmm... and if even the humans can't catch a single passing glance of Sonic then maybe...

As you get lost in your own thoughts you're brought back to reality by Amy shouting at you through your tablet. Turning to look at it once more you see she has it held up to her face, her eyeing you with a mix of suspicion and anger

"Tails! What happened over there!? What happened to Sonic!? Do you know something I don't?! Tails! Answer me!"

Jumping back in realization you hold up your hands in defense of yourself. Though you know it to be an impossibility it feels like Amy could leap straight out of the screen to attack you at any moment. Gosh... this girl can be a real handful sometimes...

"N-no! Well, nothing concrete just yet! I just... didn't recognize that blast on the news reel! That's all! I redirected the lifting thrusters into Eggman's fueling station which is why I'm just a little banged up! I'm not sure what that purple stuff is though..."

Looking rather annoyed still Amy sits back down in her seat, her picking up a forkful of crumble cake to nibble on. Your own stomach growls in jealousy, you telling it internally to pipe down.

"Well I don't know either! The drone footage of the blast site has reported nasty looking purple plants and animals around the area too! You sure you don't have any idea what happened with that?!"

Amy leans into her phone's camera again, shooting you a judgemental glare. A chill runs down your spine as she does so, you letting out a gulp and attempting to placate the snarling beast that is your close friend.

"I've got nothing! Honest!"

"Hmmm... alright! Well, don't go touching it! There's this clip going around of a poor flicky landing on this icky looking purple branch and turning into a super gross purple zombie! I don't want the same happening to you or to Sonic! Actually, you never answered me! What happened to Sonic!?"

You look away from your tablet again, letting out a nervous cough before responding.

"Sonic uh... hasn't answered any of my calls... I'm sure he's fine though! He always is!"

Shooting Amy a bashful smile she looks thoroughly unconvinced. Dropping her fork she begins rifling through her purse, likely for enough cash to pay for her lunch

"That's it! I'm coming over! You're at that nasty Egg base just outside of town, right? I'll be right over! Don't go and do anything dangerous until I get there! We'll look for Sonic together!"

The thought of telling Amy that it's too dangerous does cross your mind. However, thinking back on things Amy's shown herself to be more than capable on a number of occasions. That fact alongside Eggman being missing as well washes away any doubt you may have had. Giving a nod you flash her a thumbs up

"Sounds like a plan Amy! I'll get started on looking around while you work on getting here! We'll definitely find him!"

"Of course we will! Good luck Tails! Make sure you wash up before I get there!"

Before you can say anything else Amy hangs up on you. Shooting a pout you flick through the cameras one last time to check if you can see anything before you begin your search. This purple corrupting material is definitely something to be worried about, especially if it can infect other living creatures! Sonic did briefly mention some other mysterious woman being alongside Eggman as well right before he went to fight them... whatever could it-

You nearly drop the tablet as you freeze on the final camera in your selection. In the center of the screen lays a single unconscious blue hedgehog, a slowly expanding ring of purple grass being only a couple feet away from touching him. What feels like an eternity passes, your heart rising up into your throat and an all too familiar sense of fear rising up alongside it. Closing your eyes you take a deep breath and repeat back to yourself something Sonic once told you.

"You're the smartest guy I know. You can do anything you put your mind to. You just have to do it!"

Setting his tablet aside Tails revs up his namesake and sets off to collect what he believes to be his best friend.

Chapter Text

Milesia Virginiensis - The Yellowjacket Hover Fly. A species of hoverfly found within the Class Insecta, Order Diptera, Family Syrphidae.

The Yellowjacket Hover Fly is an insect that resides on the periphery of forests and meadows. This species is a practitioner of mimicry, an evolutionary adaptation in which one species evolves to look and act similar to a more dangerous species, earning itself added protection without having to become actually dangerous in and of themselves. As its namesake describes Virginiensis is in replication of the much more well known and dangerous Yellowjacket, an aggressive species of wasp.

Pinning the insect within the display cabinet Metal's hand reaches for another dead bug from the pile.

Bombylius Major - The Dark-Edged Bee-Fly. A species of Bee Fly found within the Class Insecta, Order Diptera, Family Bombyliidae.

The Dark-Edged Bee-Fly is an insect that favors sunny locations with high quantities of pollinating plants. This species is also a practitioner of mimicry, an evolutionary adaptation that... is a crude imitation of an original, more successful species. Bombylius Major is a key pollinating species in the ecosystems it inhabits. Despite this it harbors a bad reputation and is often the subject of ire from any humans that encounter it.

Metal's hand hesitates as he pins the final wing onto the board before him. His gaze shifts to his own, metallic fingers. Bending them inwards and flexing them back to their original position the faint sound of well-oiled pistons and springs responding to such a simple movement can be picked up. Slowly Metal's hand stretches to reach for the next insect in the pile.

Philanthus Triangulum - The Bee-Killer Wasp. A species of solitary wasp found within the Class Insecta, Order Hymenoptera, Family Philanthidae.

The Bee-Killer Wasp is a species of Philanthus Wasps that has a wide distribution amongst the Afrotropical and Western Palearctic Zoogeographical regions. This species is also a practitioner of mimicry, an evolutionary adaptation that... is surprisingly common apparently. Triangulum are known for predating on Western Honey Bees, using their appearance in order to better blend in before assaulting and-...

Metal's hand stops, the frail wing of the dead insect ripping under his harsh, metallic grip. Wiping the wing fragment on the felt interior of the entomology box his hands retreat from it altogether, hanging down at his side. Scanning the interior contents of the box Metal detects that every single reserved spot within it is some sort of insect that practices a form of mimicry. Moving from left to right the pattern of a pyramid becomes self evident, with a spot at the very top being reserved for a Common Yellowjacket. Turning towards the pile of insects Metal's sensors detect no such wasp within its mass of carcasses.

It's nothing but fakes.

The red circles upon Metal's central optical screen suddenly widen, him bolting upright from the chair he was seated within. Why is he doing this? He doesn't even like living things, let alone meaningless insects! Did somebody ask him to do this? Where is he? What is-

He needs more data. Metal turns and begins scanning the empty expanse he finds himself within. Pitch Black emptiness extends in all directions as far as his sensors can detect. There is a simple folding chair and table, the pinning supplies, and himself. Nothing else. A thin layer of water covers the floor of this realm, likely being no more than a centimeter in height. The water ripples and splashes as Metal's clunky, metal feet shuffle a few feet away from the table. Without any express purpose behind his actions Metal begins to walk away from it. The destination doesn't matter. This table isn't relevant to his mission which is-

Metal stops in his tracks, him searching his internal memory banks for what his primary and secondary objectives are once more. It isn't like him to forget such an important facet of his very existence. He's a set of admin level commands influenced by over a decade of accumulated data. If he doesn't have objectives to base this data around then he has no purpose. If he has no purpose then... who is he?

No results found.

No, that isn't quite right. Normally a search within his memory banks would return at the very least an error statement that he could troubleshoot. This time around he found... nothing? No return statement, no filenames, no source code. Thinking on it Metal never actually executed the search command in the first place. He simply thought of it. The search bar, the typing out of the command prompt, his entire internal operating system user interface, all of it was generated automatically within his own mind. Within his brain.

Metal looks back down at his hands once more. Where once there had been a set of titanium alloy claws encased within a yellow and black palm sheathe that kept the internal mechanisms safe there now were... hands? Actual flesh and blood hands. In a mixture of inquisitive curiosity and panic Metal began to feel all over his body. A soft sensation spread over his finger tips as he brushed them across his stomach with firm yet still bendable quills grazing his palms as he brushes them over his head. A flood of sensations that Metal had never felt before in his entire life suddenly begin flooding into his brain. The still cool air around him caused his body to shiver, the wet sensation surrounding his feet causing his toes to curl closer to his feet in responsive reflex. His eyes blinking and the wet, sticky feeling that comes with it. His mouth and nose autonomously beginning to breathe, the taste of his own spit and the scent of the stale air around him. It all was too much to take in at once.

Taking a step backwards the sounds of water splashing and his own hyperventilating voice come screeching into Metal's ears like a steam locomotive barreling across a set of tracks. Without even thinking about it his hands shoot up to cover his ears, him stumbling over his own feet as a result, both his sense of balance and his movements no longer being the mechanical preciseness that he is used to. None of this is what he is used to. Sight and sound are somewhat familiar concepts but touch? Taste? Smell? Even the way he is now thinking is an overwhelming experience. His thoughts come rushing in as an unfocused mess of colors, echoes of sound, and faint ghosts of feeling. As Metal collides with the dark ground below him the cold water quickly soaks into his fur sending yet another sensation blazing across his brain like a raging inferno of feeling. Metal's eyes flash open, his mouth quickly clogging with spit and a choking mass of coughs escaping it as he attempts to stand back upright. Losing his balance Metal barely gets himself off of the ground before he falls over once more, a sickening feeling twisting up within his stomach. Before Metal can even process what's going on he turns to his side, the contractions of muscles he didn't even know were there sending a mass of bile and stomach acid pouring out of his mouth as he involuntarily vomits across the wet floor. A revolting taste fills his mouth, an acidic and unfamiliar yet thoroughly unpleasant feeling. Glands at the corners of Metal's newfound eyes begin twisting alongside the muscles in his face and without even knowing what is happening he begins to sob uncontrollably. Metal's eyes slam shut as salty tears begin to pour down them, a mass of thoughts rushing through his head. Why is this happening to him? What exactly even IS happening to him? Is this how it feels to be alive? If he's alive now then what was he previously?

Rolling onto his back Metal manages to peel open his eyes. He's alive now, or he's in some sort of simulation that replicates the feeling of how it feels to BE alive. Metal doesn't know how other creatures operate or think, he only knows how HE thinks. How HE does things. Closing his eyes again Metal's breathing begins to slow, the cool feeling of the water around him grounding him as he remembers how he normally is. He is cold, calculating and rational. He is a being dictated by logic and by purpose. He is Sonic the-

Metal's eyes shoot wide open, him scrambling to his feet in a hurry. Turning around he almost falls over but barely manages to catch himself with a stumble. Angling his neck downwards he gazes at his own reflection in the water that covers this empty hellscape, a horrified expression spreading across his face like a virus.

It's not Sonic.

It looks like Sonic, sure, but everything is slightly off about it. His shade of blue is a few shades darker than Sonic's. His eyes are red instead of green, his fingers tipped with sharpened claws and his skin color being more in-line with Shadow's than with Sonic. Even his quills are the wrong length, being short and held at the wrong angles. Despite all of the confusion, the overwhelming torrent of sensation and information flooding into his head Metal is completely certain that he knows what Sonic looks like down to the finest detail. He's spent his entire life memorizing every single detail about his hated rival. He knows how he moves, speaks, runs, even how he breathes. And despite all of this he-... he-...

He isn't Sonic.

Falling to his knees a scream erupts out of Metal's mouth. A scream that is colored with anguish, with horror and terrified realization.

A shame that only he can hear it.

---

Elsewhere a young fox crests the rubble of yet another building, finally locating the unconscious body of a blue hedgehog. The corrupted flora around him hasn't quite spread to his body just yet, and after quickly confirming that he's still alive our young fox picks up our hedgehog friend and proceeds to airlift him to somewhere safer where the both of them can rest. Both parties are soon to be in for a rude awakening however. One will discover that this isn't the friend he's come to know and respect, and the other will find out that his Nightmare is in fact his new reality.

Chapter Text

Stepping out of the shower you instinctively reach for a towel only to find no such item exists. Letting out a sigh you stretch out on all fours, shaking the iron-stained water all over the makeshift bathroom. Sliding on your pair of gloves and some socks you move the spare curtain you had set up and grab a granola bar you had found laying around. Peeling the Egg-wrapper you sniff it, suppressing a gag as it somehow manages to reek of rotten egg. You didn't even know it was POSSIBLE for oats and raisins to smell like that! Whatever, something is better than nothing. With a bite you lean against the wall of your temporary operating base, looking across the room at the unconscious hedgehog you managed to find.

Though you had initially mistaken him for Sonic you're now almost certain that it's not him. Few people know Sonic as well as you do since, you know, you're practically siblings and all. Though you're slightly embarrassed about mistaking him with whoever this is, to your credit, they DO look pretty similar. They're both blue male hedgehogs even if this one looks to be a couple years younger and a bit... meaner looking if you're being honest. If you were to guess he's probably a year older than you, around Amy's age but a year or two younger than Sonic is. Untrimmed claws, his skin color's about the same shade as Shadow's, and that's not even speaking of the retinal scan that you did came out as being someone completely different! While you doing that is maybe just a LITTLE bit creepy you had to be absolutely sure! Plus, he's been passed out like a baby ever since you found him. Well, that's being generous. He's certainly asleep but seems stricken by nightmares of some sort based on how he's acting. Whoever this is you feel pretty bad for him, and after locating a room that proved slightly less destroyed than the rest you decided to wait for them to wake up. Not like you had much of a choice. Though you can carry both Sonic and Knuckles at the same time while flying, carrying someone that's completely limp is somehow even harder than that. Regardless, it's not that big of a deal. You've gotten used to sleeping wherever after following behind Sonic for so long. Pushing a few leather couches together and hooking up a sprinkler system to make a shower is second nature to you at this point.

The mysterious blue stranger rolls over in his sleep, him shivering and making a series of pathetic sounding groans. Shaking your head you take a few steps over to the couch you put him on, pulling up the oversized Eggman coat that was the closest thing you could find that resembled a blanket over him and quickly slip off your glove to feel his forehead. It's burning hot, as you had suspected. Retreating to the makeshift bathroom you emerge a second later with a wet wad of blueprints. Laying it across the man's forehead, patting his side a couple times and sliding down the edge of the couch to sit on the floor. Pinching your nose you force down the rest of the granola bar. It's brain food you tell yourself, and you've got some brainstorming to do.

What exactly happened at the top of the Eggcelsior? You saw that mysterious explosion on the news and after searching for and analyzing the footage yourself some more you're pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with the Chaos Emeralds. The energy seemed entirely different, being a rather twisted looking shade of purple with bolts of similarly shaped electricity arcing all around it. With the corruptive influence that it had on the local plants and animals you briefly entertain the thought that the blast may have transformed Sonic into whoever this is. It wouldn't be the first time he's transformed into something completely crazy. Heck, he was a Werehog once! But after turning your head towards the sleeping stranger to get another look you shake your head dismissively. If it was related to the mysterious explosion he'd likely be the same shade of purple as the corrupted flickies and animals that have been seen around the area. That leaves a better question: where is Sonic and who is this?

Reaching for your tablet you flick it to life, switching from camera to camera once more. You've been doing periodic checks on the surrounding area in case any of Eggman's cleanup crews come around, though luckily none of them have swung by just yet. It's dusk now and even after only a few hours the corrupted purple essence has spread to cover most of the surrounding region. The nearby forest has already started to be infected by it, you watching as deer, flickies, and other wildlife ends up touching it and being transformed into mindless, shambling zombies. They don't seem to attack each other or even the uninfected or anything crazy like that. They just sort of... do nothing? They all seem essentially lifeless, just shambling around, flying in circles, or bumping into the same tree over and over. You've seen similar behavior in some of Eggman's earlier egg drones, back when he was first switching from Flicky processing units. Some of the more poorly designed ones would do the same until given explicit orders to do something, going right back to doing nothing again once their objective was finished.

Switching to another camera you watch as a corrupted deer wanders off deeper into the nearby forest, the ground underneath her quickly spreading the infection as they go. Your heart sinks into your chest seeing this. After all that effort you went through it seems you weren't able to save the forest after all...

There's got to be a way to fix things, there always is. That's what Sonic has told you in the past and after repeating it under your breath a few more times you flick to the next camera with newfound determination. You've got to run some tests on whatever this corruption is, see how it works and where it comes from. Though... you can't exactly just leave this stranger all on his own. From what you can tell the corruption seems unable to infect anything nonliving, concrete and metal alike being free from its influence. He should be safe in here but even still, if a stray flicky were to fly in through the broken ceiling then... he'd be defenseless.

Turning to the next camera your mood instantly brightens. Just outside the main facility of this busted up Egg-port is Amy! So she did manage to make it even with the spreading corruption, that's great! Noticing your control of the nearby camera system you watch her give a sheepish wave towards the lens. Giggling you input the command to open the door real quick, watching as Amy jumps and begins shouting towards the camera something about not scaring her like that. Continuing to chuckle you set aside the tablet and rev up your tails, moving to help escort your friend inside. You could use somebody to bounce ideas off of to decide on what to do next and Amy's always been good at keeping you grounded. Surely she'll be able to help!

---

Metal sits on a repair bench, motionless, unable to move. His robotic body has approximately forty three different cables attached at its various points, interlacing themselves with every aspect of his internal mechanics and interfacing directly with his operating system. Besides him sits his Master on some swiveling office chair, both of them being just out of sight. Judging by the sounds of tapping he suspects that Eggman is working on his software base with some nearby computer, though due to losing access to his motor skills he cannot turn to check. He's frozen in place and is entirely at the whims of his master. While this is normally no cause for concern, routine maintenance being just that: routine. Given the context of the situation Metal has every justification to be worried.

"I do not enjoy repeating myself, Metal. Answer my question already before I lose what little patience I have left!"

Eggman's voice sticks out above the ambient buzz of electronic white noise. Thinking internally Metal inputs a comment within the section of his code base that his Master is currently interfacing with.

>I do not understand the query.

A groan escapes Eggman's throat, the sound of a hand slapping his face further emphasizing his frustration.

"Dammit, Metal! It's a very simple question! What the hell were you thinking in betraying me like that!"

Ah, yes. The Neo experiment. After being exposed to an experimental nano-machine liquidity matrix that his Master had developed Metal had felt... different. Without it currently being in his system it was difficult to explain. It feels like a faint dream he had barely managed to wake up from. He wasn't himself. He was above himself. He was the greatest instance of mechanical engineering on the entire planet. A being so perfect, so infallible, so ridiculously intelligent that his complete and total domination over all living things seemed the only logical decision. But... it didn't work. Sonic beat him. Again. Like he always does. Like he always will do. Even with the entirety of Eggman's forces operating at peak efficiency and his own immense power, even with all of his pathetic friend's bio data he couldn't... he couldn't do it.

>I did what was the only logical course of action.

"Oh? And what hare brained line of reasoning lead to you attempting a stunt like that? I swear, I never should have bothered with AI development. Working with animals was so much easier, even with their incessant crying!"

The sound of Eggman turning and working on his computer is picked up by your auditory receptacles once more. You watch as he begins scrolling through your code. Metal's eyes stared up at the ceiling once more, him watching intently at the single dim light-bulb that rotates idly in a small circle above him. With a simple press of a few buttons Metal's entire likeness could be deleted. He could cease to exist just like that if his Master desired it. He had betrayed his secondary objectives. He had betrayed his Master. He had failed his primary objective. If he broke his objectives on a whim, if he failed those that he attempted then... who was he? He was a set of admin access commands dictated by data. If his admin level commands were not infallible then... how should he act? What should he do? Why... does he exist?

"Ah, I think I see the problem here."

A buffering of Metal's internal processes occurs, him being snapped to forcibly look at what his Master is typing up.

"Your decision making processes appear to be getting cluttered, Metal. Too much existential hoo-ha! Not enough killing and simulation review! Though... hmm..."

Metal watches as his Master scrolls through his internal thoughts, it all being laid bare like an open book.

"The problem here seems rather deeply ingrained... Bah! I don't have time for this! Especially not after I have an entire fleet to rebuild thanks to a certain SOMEONE! I knew leaving you in rest mode for so long during that Chaos nonsense was a bad idea!"

Metal watches the blinking of his Master's cursor like a hawk. Four button presses is all he would need to select everything and delete it. Four buttons is all that separated Metal from complete and total obliteration. Without even bothering to cross analyze the request with his conversational matrix Metal inputs two more comments into his command console.

>Do not deactivate me
>Please

Eggman's silence is deafening. His chair is not squeaking, indicating he is not moving and no keys are being pressed. All that Metal can hear is the faint electronic buzz that fills the room around him and the rhythmic tapping of a finger against the desk. After what feels like an eternity Eggman turns around and stands up, looming over Metal. An expression is on his master's face, one that Metal hasn't seen him make before.

"Fine. I need to put you in rest mode to work on a hot-fix. You won't remember any of this but, on the off chance you somehow do..."

Eggman's face leans close towards Metal's, filling his entire optical screen

"Don't you EVER think of crossing me again, Metal."

With that, everything goes black

---

Metal suddenly bolts upright, sweat pouring down his fur and his chest heaving up and down as he forces air into his lungs. A wet mass falls from his forehead and slaps onto his left thigh, it sliding off and laying limply on the floor soon thereafter. Looking around the room Metal tries to make sense of what's going on. Where is he. Why does he feel like this. Who is-

Metal's head snaps to the two individuals standing in the doorway to the run down control room he woke up within. On the right is an orange fox with two tails swaying idly from side to side behind him. On the left is a pink colored hedgehog wearing a red dress and matching shoes. Both seem to be staring at him with wide eyes, neither of them saying anything. Thoughts begin flooding through Metal's organic brain. A mess of senses, emotional stimulus, sickly throbbing and awkward instability all swirls amongst each other to create a hurricane of thought within his mind. Before he can decide on anything to do and without even realizing it a sound is blurted out of his mouth.

"Hell-AOUUUH!"

His voice cracked.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

"Snrk... pffft hehehe-"
"Tails!"
"I'm s-sorr-pfffHAHAHAHAHA!"

The orange one is... laughing at him? Metal's brow furrows as his head tilts downwards, him being less offended and more confused at what's happening. Looking towards his hands Metal rotates them around, flexing the ligaments within them to curl and uncurl them across his palm.

No Sound.

Not only is there not the familiar sound of springs and pistons but it feels entirely different too. Each minor bump and twitch reads within Metal's mind like its own small packet of information, the tips being especially sensitive. Though his brain appears to have already adapted somewhat to the influx of new sensations and feelings from his earlier dream state it's still a lot to take-

Wait. He was dreaming earlier, wasn't he?

Metal turns to look at the couch he was laying upon previously. He doesn't recall how he got there, but unlike with his robotic form there was still an inkling of awareness while he was incapacitated. Metal is used to there being two states of being: active and deactivated. While he's heard secondhand that dreams exist and living things sleep he's never experienced it before himself. The realization that he was dreaming earlier causes Metal some pause. Was what he saw earlier a glitch in his system? No, he is an organic being now. They don't work like that as far as he's aware. Was it his imagination, then? Well, the first one may have been. He most definitely hasn't been alive before so that crosses the possibility of it being a memory off the list. It was most likely his body's interpretation of the flood of sensation into his brain and it sent his unconscious self into disarray. Yes. That seems a logical explanation.

The second dream FELT different though. It felt real, as if Metal most definitely had experienced it before. Not just that but he was back to his old self back then, so it must have occurred during the past. But... the memories within Metal's brain don't line up with whenever that took place. Metal's heard of the Neo incident but besides knowing to avoid it the details preceding that glitch in his systems are a complete mystery to him. Thinking on it... Metal can't seem to remember much of anything prior to that dream...

Being enraptured within his own internal musings, Metal doesn't notice as Amy whacks Tails over the head and creeps up in front of him. It's only when she's right in front of his face that Metal takes notice. His red pupils interlock with her emerald green ones, Amy giving a cheery smile as he finally notices her. Metal, in turn, gives little to no reaction whatsoever.

"Hi! I'm Amy Rose! What's your name?"

Ah, this is Amy. Metal's met her before though the information dedicated to her within his database was lacking prior to his conversion into this... less efficient body. From what his Master put into his data banks he knows that Amy is Sonic's "girlfriend". Metal doesn't really know what that means outside of it having an allegedly romantic association. He knows she clings to Sonic like a parasite and shouts his name a lot, but other than that he knows next to nothing about her nor has he given it much thought before.

As the scent of sweet perfume hits his nose Metal's attention is suddenly ripped from himself. To a newly awoken creature such as himself he is hyper sensitive to such things. Focusing on her once more he watches as she puts on an awkward face, Metal having a determined look on his face. He needs more data. As Amy takes a step back Metal matches it with a step forward, their noses practically touching as his intense stare takes in every detail of her face. With a sniff he watches as she flushes with blood, a blush forming as a result. He analyzes the softness of her features, the way her quills are neatly trimmed and are held back by a set of decorative hair clips. He listens to her increasing rate of air intake and feels the slightly wet sensation of her breath hitting his own muzzle.

"U-um... Your name?" Amy barely manages to squeak out.

Oh, right. He has the capacity to speak now. Metal's used to people knowing who he is automatically. Though, with this new body, he suspects that neither of these two have any idea who he is despite them having met multiple times before in the past. Taking a step back Metal focuses on speaking, it proving more difficult than he thought it would be. He knows how to, it seems that his knowledge of language translated into his new form. That's good. Unfortunately he's still getting used to moving this wiggling organ within his mouth alongside his lips to actually form the words. Metal makes a mental note to practice saying every sound he can fathom next time he his alone to avoid communication mishaps like his earlier voice crack in the future.

"I am Sonic the Hedgehog."

Metal watches as Amy and this orange fox turn to look at each other with confusion plastered across their faces. He doesn't quite why they are having this reaction. He's Sonic, obviously! The real Sonic! Even though he doesn't have his operating parameters to refer to anymore, even though he's changed form, he's still Sonic. He's always been Sonic. That small breakdown he had in his dream was just that; a dream. While Metal doesn't know much about Amy he does know quite a bit about the orange fox. That's Tails, Sonic's best friend. He's supposed to be quite smart and is surprisingly combat capable as well. He's unpredictable, constantly inventing new toys that Metal and his Master have to adapt to and hacking through their less advanced security measures. From secondhand commentary Metal has caught on that even Dr. Eggman has a begrudging amount of respect for "that fox boy", even if he disagrees with his choice of allegiance. Tails is next to speak, him stepping towards Metal and lifting up a finger as he does so.

"Are you uh... sure about that? Sonic? Did something happen to you on top of the Eggcelsior or...?"

Metal brings his hand up to his chest and feels the fur that covers it now. He's different than he was, that's for sure. Though he's trying to avoid focusing so much on how he feels on the matter he knows it feels... wrong.

"I am certainly different. I had engaged with battle against my fake atop the structure and was incapacitated. When I next awoke I found myself like this. I... would like to return to normal if possible."

Tails and Amy both turn to look at each other once again, this time a mixed look of relief and contemplation on their face.

"Do you think that..." Amy says, an eyebrow arched towards Tails

"I was thinking the exact same thing. Tell me if this footage helps connect any dots, Sonic."

Tails grabs his tablet off of a nearby table, him turning it towards Metal and playing a low resolution video showcasing the explosion that covered the surface of the Eggcelsior. Metal's face contorts as he immerses himself in thought to try and piece together what must have happened. Focusing on on the color of the explosion there's only one possible culprit: The Reality Topaz.

This is bad. The premature activation of the Reality Topaz has undoubtedly shattered the gemstone, scattered the chaos emeralds, or in the worst case scenario both situations are true. From the end of the footage it seems to show that the Eggcelsior successfully achieved liftoff, which while good only further complicates things. Without the Chaos Emeralds powering the station it can only sustain the various life support and gravitational control systems for around a month before running out of its limited power reserves. Though Metal's decision making process is no longer decided for him by his primary and secondary objectives he still knows what they are and how important they are to him. He should still assist his Master in any way he can and serve the Eggman Empire. In finding the Chaos Emeralds and the Reality Topaz shards he would be accomplishing this goal and, if the reactions of these two is anything to go by his copy must either be missing or dea-... no. He wouldn't die so easily. He must simply be missing. Metal is choosing to believe that until proven otherwise. Regardless, though his Master may dislike it he will choose to work alongside these two for as long as they prove useful. He does not know what Amy can provide but if he is Sonic's "girl friend" she must provide something of worth. Tails is an invaluable ally on his own, and his skills will undoubtedly come in use.

"Sonic?" Amy says, reaching out a hand to reassure him. Metal snaps out of his thought process, him responding in turn.

"Yes. That explosion was likely caused by the Reality Topaz."

"The what?" Both Amy and Tails say in unison, Metal's eyes becoming half lidded. Though their ignorance is annoying he can't exactly blame them for not knowing anything involving that specific gemstone. His Master kept its existence top secret for a reason as, while immensely powerful, it is also rather fragile. The Chaos Emeralds in comparison are by all reasonable accounts entirely indestructible. The Reality Topaz has the durability of a simple gemstone and is prone to shattering as a result, though it can be put together much like the Master Emerald at the very least.

"The Reality Topaz. It is the central conduit through which Dr. Eggman's plans are to be realized. The gemstone has the power to alter the very fabric of reality and when put alongside the Chaos Emeralds' unlimited power and the Eggcelsior's built in weapons system the goal was to terraform the planet into something more... appealing to him. That explosion there is the same color as the Topaz itself, so it is the likely perpetrator. I was undoubtedly caught in the blast and became this, as was my fake most likely."

"Huh... so is that why you're so... different?" Tail retorts, him gesturing vaguely towards Metal's body.

"It is the most likely cause. I do not know how the gemstone's reality warping powers work exactly. Eggman was being assisted by a human woman named Madame Mystery. Besides her being a reported witch of some kind I do not know much else about her. As only she could activate the Reality Topaz both my altered state and the explosion are her doing."

Tails seems to be weighing the severity of Metal's words right now, him not having responded and instead flipping through his tablet for some reason. Metal briefly wonders what happened to his Master and his loathsome copy if he ended up like this and the stone exploded in such a manner. Before he can contemplate the ramifications of such a disaster Amy grabs a hold of Metal's hand with her own gloved ones, a determined look appearing on her face

"Sonic! Can this "Topaz" change you back too?! Not that your current look isn't still cute or anything! You're just acting... a little bit different."

Metal's eyes look at Amy's grip upon his own hand. It is... soft. The sensation of her gloves feel like gentle silk upon his fingers. Metal is pretty sure he's never been touched in such a way before. Outside of combat the most physical contact Metal has known is brief slaps on the back from his Master or his fingers working on him directly during maintenance. Even then, he had been a robot up until very recently and such bouts of physical contact were entirely meaningless, him not having a sense of touch to begin with. Right now though... this feels nice. Subconsciously Metal returns Amy's grip, him looking into her eyes with an unflinching gaze. She is blushing once more.

"It is theoretically possible. Though the weapons system was not entirely finished yet, it was meant to be completed away from outside meddling while in orbit. Its premature activation here likely shattered the Reality Topaz and caused the Chaos Emeralds to scatter. All of these anomalous gemstones will need to be collected once more and used all at once in order to change me back to how I was."

Amy seems disappointed by this news, her letting out a deflating whimper in response. Her gaze keeps shifting periodically to your interlocked hands, this girl being abyssal at maintaining proper eye contact from what Metal can gather. She appears embarrassed by the maintained period of hand holding, though Metal has no clue as to why. It feels good and that's the end of the value that interaction has in Metal's mind, romantic and social expectations being lost on him entirely.

"Yeesh! You sure are different, Sonic! But alright then! I'll help you get back to normal iiiiiiif... you promise to go on a date with me!"

"Amy! Seriously?!"

"I was joking! Of course I'll help Sonic no ma-"

"Okay. Sure."

Both Amy and Tails immediately snap their heads to look at Metal with conflicting expressions on their faces. Tails' is one of pure disbelief, him looking at Metal like one would a fish with legs. Amy, in stark contrast, is currently squealing with joy and is jumping up and down, shaking Metal's arm alongside her in the process. Metal's emotionless expression remains constant despite this. A date is a meaningless proposition to him. It is an agreed upon meet between two parties at a certain date and time. He doesn't exactly get why they're both freaking out so much, though Amy pulling Metal into a hug catches even him by surprise. Before he has a chance to contemplate what is going on she lets him go, quickly picking up the purse that she had dropped in all that excitement.

"Remind me to thank Eggman for whatever he did to you, Sonic! EEEE! I need to calm down and think about where we're going and make some calls and AAAA!"

Before Metal can even give a response Amy rushes back out the entrance hall from which she had entered. Turning to look at Tails he simply shrugs his shoulders in response, walking towards Metal and handing him his tablet. It appears to be a collection of photos of the surrounding construction and fueling station for the Eggcelsior. Looking around Metal shrugs, the ruined interior of this control chamber looking vaguely familiar. That solves the question of where exactly he is, at the very least. More interestingly the natural foliage around the region appears to be infected by some discoloring virus that is the same shade as the Reality Topaz. As Metal flips between the images Tails speaks up alongside him

"I'm not going to pretend to know what happened to you, Sonic, and I suspect that you don't really either. While you've been asleep I've been keeping track of this spreading corruption that, if your color coordination theory is correct, seems related to this "Reality Topaz" you've mentioned. It appears to spread amongst living things based on physical contact, so try and avoid that when we leave. I suspect that we'll have to use the Reality Topaz to fix whatever this mess is as well, so we should make locating it our top priority! Though... it's going to be hard to track its shards without having an energy signature to go off of..."

Metal finishes looking through the images, wordlessly handing the tablet back to Tails he watches his newfound assistant as he speaks. This infection does appear related to the Topaz in some manner, though without knowing if his Master was involved with this explosion or not Metal decides not to comment on anything involving reversing this terraforming effect. If Tails can manage to produce a tracking device similar to how the Emerald tracking tech works this team up will be more than worth it. Giving a nod Metal decides he spent long enough standing around, he's developed a plan and now is the time to act. Taking a step forward Metal instantly trips over his own feet, falling face first on the ground.

"Sonic! Are you okay?!" Tails exclaims, rushing down to help Metal to his feet. A dull, hot, throbbing pain spreads from Metal's nose, across his muzzle, and into his head directly. A warm, wet trickle of blood runs down his face and runs into his mouth, Metal's mouth tasting strongly of iron as a result. Tails' grip is noticeably less gentle and soft than Amy's, though in contrast it is much more firm and supports Metal's weight better. Shaking him off Metal wipes the blood from his face, him looking at the red smear that taints the blue fur of his hand.

"I am fine. This new body is... unwiemy."

"Unwiemy?"

"...unwieln-... unwielck-... unwieldy. Apologies. I am getting used to speaking as well."

Tails stares at Sonic for a good while, him looking sympathetically up at him.

"That Topaz really scrambled you up good, huh? Don't worry, we'll fix you in no time Sonic! Can you run in your current state?"

Metal thinks internally for a few moments, him shaking his head no in response.

"It is unlikely. I will need to practice moving for a good while beforehand. Also... I suspect I will need shoes."

"Oh... duh! Heh, guess I'll be the one leading you around for once! Okay Sonic, we should move somewhere safer first though. It'll only be a matter of time before Eggman's bots come in here to scavenge this place for parts. That and the corrupted animals roaming around, well, this isn't exactly a safe place is what I'm trying to say.

Metal nods again.

"A logical assessment. Very well. I will accept your assistance, Tails."

Seeming caught off guard Tails quickly gathers his bearings, wrapping Metal's arm around his shoulder and proceeding to begin helping him outside. It's then that Amy comes rushing back into the room, her looking as if she's seen a ghost.

"Boys! Both of you need to come outside RIGHT NOW!"

"What happened Amy? What is it?!"

"Well..." Amy locks eyes with Metal as she speaks. "It's... Sonic!"

Chapter Text

"I-what?! Amy, are you sure you're not seeing dou-"

"What's up guys? Long time no see!"

Snapping to look at the new intruder, Metal's gaze stares daggers into the sight of his hated rival. It's Sonic. The FAKE Sonic. Standing right beside Amy is the quite literal ghost of his rival. In terms of general appearances it's certainly him. The length of his quills, his shoes and gloves, even the annoying manner in which he stands is undoubtedly Sonic within Metal's mind. There are only three inconsistencies with his appearance that he can pick up on. Firstly, he is green. Every aspect of his body is some shade of green, him seemingly being comprised of no other color. The second is that he has the incorrect levels of opacity, being transparent enough to see the wall directly behind him without much difficulty. Lastly is the Chaos Emerald that appears to be floating within his chest, it being green as well. All three of these peculiarities do not distract away that this is undoubtedly Sonic in some manner.

A vein bulges along Metal's forehead, his fanged teeth grinding against one another as a flood of adrenaline and anger rushes forth. What in the world is HE doing here? You had thought him at the very least incapacitated in the blast atop the Eggcelsior but alas here he is. As smug and aggravating as ever. Metal thinks on what to do here as, while he would relish the chance to thrash his loathsome copy here and now, he is in no physical condition to do so. He can hardly walk at the moment let alone fight. So, if only for the moment he'll have to... tolerate his copy's presence.

"Sonic!?"

Tails' eyes widen, him flipping between Metal and the Green Sonic with pure confusion on his face.

"But... I thought you were... what? What exactly happened up there!?"

"Beats me, little buddy!"

Sonic retorts, him walking forward and ruffling Tails' head fur with a smile on his face. Tails laughs in response, pushing Sonic's hand off of him he has a smile in turn. Metal, meanwhile, is still trying his best to Murder this Green Sonic with his eyes. In-between imagining himself stabbing Sonic to death with various metal instruments he catches onto something. This copy of his is just that: a copy. More precisely it appears to be a projection of Sonic. The appearance of this version of his rival is remarkably similar to the hologram technology that his Master uses to communicate over long distance and, judging by the Emerald floating within his chest, it appears to originate from that exact point. If he could only find a way to turn off this infuriating illusion...

"Wait just a second now! As excited as I am about there being two Sonics I'm going to need some context as to what's going on! I want answers and neither of you are allowed to leave until me and Tails know what's going on!"

All eyes shift over towards Amy, her face being puffed up with frustration. Sonic moves over and gives her a hug to help calm her down, Amy's face flushing red as he does so. Letting her go this Sonic grabs a hold of her arms, leaning down and speaking to her directly.

"Sure Ames, no problem! Sorry about worrying you or anything, you know me! Hehe! I'm fine, trust me! Just a little... different!"

"Well... I'm glad you're okay! But that still doesn't explain why there's two of you!"

Releasing his grip on Amy, Green Sonic spins around and begins eyeing up Metal, rubbing his chin as he does so. Metal's face twists into a grimace, disgust and hatred being more than evident across his face.

"Huh, you're a real grumpy one! You another me? Yeesh, and I thought there were enough of me already!"

"Wait, hold on. ANOTHER you? Are you saying there's even more of you running around, Sonic?"

The Green Sonic turns to look at Tails, him waving off his statement as if it's not a big deal.

"Oh yeah! Though, I thought there were only six others! One for each of these, understand?"

Sonic points towards the emerald rotating around within his chest. Metal, in turn, internally cringes from the implication that his copy just threw out there. If there's one of these Holographic Sonics for every one of the Chaos Emeralds he's... going to need to deal with more Sonics than he's used to. For an entity that bases his state of being on the belief that there can only be one Sonic this is seriously depressing news. Though...

Lifting up his free hand, the other still being around Tails' shoulder to help him stand, Metal looks at it intently. He flexes each of the fingers one by one, feeling them as he does so. He feels the air blow against his quills from the open hole in the ceiling, he feels the cool, dusty tile against his feet, and he feels the reassuring grip that Tails has around his waist. He's real. Despite whatever happened to him at the hands of Madame Mystery he's still real. Sonic, the FAKE Sonic, is seemingly not. Or, at the very least, he's less real than Metal is in this point in time. He's a hologram, a splinter of who he once was judging by the fact there are multiple of him. Metal, meanwhile, is still one singular being. He is a thinking, feeling, and... oddly enough, breathing entity. With this realization Metal's anger subsides mostly, a smirk appearing on his face.

"And I had thought there was only one imposter I had to deal with. What a pain."

"Huh... funny! I don't remember you exactly but... okay! Nice to meet you then, me!"

Metal watches as this Green projection of his most hated rival extends out a hand for a shake. His eyes merely drift down to stare at it before meeting Sonic's eyes once more, a blank expression plastered upon his face. The two stare at each other like this for what feels like an eternity, Sonic's eyes eventually shifting away as he forces out a cough.

"Right... guess you're my antisocial side then. I take it you're here on Madame Mystery's orders too?"

Amy, Tails, and Metal all simultaneously raise eyebrows in confusion, Amy being the first to speak.

"Wait, you were sent here by that lady that was working with Eggman?! I thought you came here to tell us you were okay! Sonic!"

"Hey now! I may have been sent here on other business but trust me I'd never go through with what she asked of me! I just came to make sure my buddies are all doing fine! I swear!" Sonic sputters out, him holding up his hands as if to defend himself. Amy crosses hers in response, looking unconvinced.

"So what WERE you sent here to do then, Sonic? Anybody that would willingly work with a creep like Eggman is bad news and you know it!"

"Um..." Sonic taps his index fingers together, him looking towards the floor bashfully.
"I was... sent here to... um... kill you guys? Though she did say enslavement would work too!"

"YOU WHAT!" Both Amy and Tails shout out, Sonic covering his ears and cowering. Amidst the two of them beginning to tear into his loathsome copy Metal's brain finds itself adrift.

This isn't Sonic. Or, at the very least, it's not all of him. He's been overly friendly this entire time. Too trusting, too eager to please, too afraid of confrontation. The Sonic he knows would take Metal's refusal to shake his hand as an invitation to some sort of rivalry-fueled contest. Sonic would never break eye contact in a staring contest, or back down from a fight or... cower. He's COWERING before these two right now. While being pathetic on its own it's entirely unlike him. Metal needs to know what exactly happened to the hedgehog he's built his entire life on hating. Detaching himself from Tails Metal takes a shaky step forwards, him looking down towards his Green copy with an aura around him of disgust so thick you could taste it in the air.

"Stand up." Metal orders, the Green Sonic popping up immediately afterwards with a sheepish smile.

"Sure, me! Sorry about uh, not telling you guys abou-"

"Shut up." He blurts out, his copy's mouth snapping shut after being interrupted. Amy's hand reaches out and grabs onto Metal's arm, Metal turning to look at her as she does so. Her grip is soft. Firm. Warm.

"Sonic... I don't know why you've been so angry with... yourself(?) since you both saw each other but, even still, that's no way to talk to someone!"

Her cheeks puff up when she gets frustrated. For some reason that Metal cannot put his finger on at this moment in time he's finding that detail about her... endearing? It is an odd feeling, one he's not sure he's felt before about anyone else in the past. He makes a mental note to consider that emotional response in greater depth at a later date. Giving Amy a nod that signifies he understands Metal responds to her, his tone being noticeably devoid of the distaste it held when speaking to the Green holo-Sonic.

"It was the most efficient way to cease his blathering. But if you say so. I need to ask him a few questions in order to discern what is going on."

"Hmmm... alriiiight. You seem to know what you're doing, Sonic. I trust you." Amy says, her grip slowly releasing Metal's arm. Metal finds himself silently longing for her to not let go of him but, with there being more important matters at hand he decides to relinquish the fleeting sense of touch without argument. Turning to his copy he resumes his questioning.

"You said there were six others of you. Are they also holograms projected by the Chaos Emeralds, namely, the six others in the set?"

"Yep! Though with you added into the mix that sort of compli-"

"I do not need additional commentary. Yes or no will suffice. Next question. Did Madame Mystery order all of you to kill us or just you. You as in the singular you."

"Er... she ordered all of me, yes. Though she didn't know about you. Er, about me? This is confusing even for me, sorr-"

"Even like this you are still terrible at following clear instructions. Next question. You mentioned enslavement earlier. Explain."

"Explain what? She wanted me to make sure any living things were killed or were forced to obey her every whim!"

"How would you go about enslaving us you blithering moron."

"Oh! That's easy! The corruption outside makes all living things obey Madame Mystery's will! She's the best!"

"Right. And are you...?"

"Underneath her indomitable and unknowable will? You betcha! As much as I want to make her happy though I want to make all of my friends happy! I don't think you guys would be very happy if I did either of those things so... I kinda don't know what to do right now..."

"Sonic-er... GREEN Sonic. What do you last remember happening while on top of the Eggcelsior?" Tails exclaims, Metal looking towards the fox and giving a curt nod. A good question. Sonic's friend is already proving himself rather useful.

"Huh... let's see... well, I was kicking Egghead's butt like usual! He had this new machine that kept teleporting him around and fixing itself, which while kind of annoying wasn't anything I couldn't handle! Metal Sonic showed up after a while of that and after a quick tussle he got blasted by one of Egghead's lasers. I think he fell off or something, I don't remember! Anyways, after beating Eggman this witch with a big ol' hat hopped out of his machine and walked towards some fancy purple jewel in the middle of the whole thing. She touched it, big explosion and uh... now I'm like this! I don't really know WHY I'm like this, or why I'm like THAT" Sonic says, gesturing towards Metal. "but what I DO know is that I-"

Before Sonic can finish he is suddenly caught off guard as Metal's hand shoots forward, him grabbing a hold of the emerald held within his doppelganger's chest. The Green copy gasps, locking eyes with Metal for but a second before the emerald suddenly lets out a bright spark of green light. When the flash is gone all that remains is the emerald resting in Metal's hand, him lifting it up to his face and turning it from side to side as he inspects it closer. Tails is the first to speak up, him suddenly turning towards Metal with a mixture of surprise and anger on his face.

"Sonic! What the-why would you do that!? Wha-please tell me you didn't..."

"OHMYGOSH! I-SONIC! What is WRONG with you!? I-" Amy's reaction isn't much better, Metal observing the beginning of a certified freakout. He should probably say something before things get out of hand.

"Calm down. He is not dead."

"He... isn't? I-how?"

Metal holds the emerald up to his eye, him seeing the faint reflection of Sonic within its interior. His rival appears to be curled up into a ball. A form of stasis, if you will. He hands the emerald over to Tails who repeats the same motion without any instruction needed.

"He is within the emerald. I had suspected that he was a holographic projection generated by the power of the Chaos Emerald. This confirms my suspicion." With Tails having finished looking he hands the emerald back to Metal, him in turn handing it to Amy who much more erratically peers into the gemstone as well. "I apologize if I startled either of you. That was not my intention."

"Well... I suppose as long as that part of you is still alright then it's fine. Just... tell us before you do stuff like that, alright? Jeez, nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Tails gives a nervous laugh, Metal suddenly having his attention snapped back towards Amy as a blunt object collides with his head. A sharp flood of pain enters his brain only to be followed by a dull, throbbing one. Without even thinking he lets out a grunt, lifting up a hand to rub the point of impact.

"Well I didn't find it very funny at all! I don't care how splintered or different you are Sonic, you shouldn't have done that! That other you was just as alive as you are! How would you like it if I shoved you into an emerald, hm?"

Metal thinks on Amy's words, his eyes drifting towards the gemstone that now rests on the floor. To be suddenly and without warning deactivated... to be tossed aside within a small, isolated space. No. He wouldn't like that at all. Looking up he makes eye contact with Amy once more.

"I would not enjoy such an experience. I see your perspective regarding this matter and apologize accordingly."

"If I may, Amy. I... think Sonic did the right thing there."

Amy crosses her arms and looks towards Tails, Metal doing the same but out of curiosity rather than Amy's more dismissive stance.

"This better be good, Tails..."

"It is, I swear!" Tails takes a deep breath, appearing unsure with himself. Metal watches as Tails looks up at him, the fox appearing to desire validation for what he's about to do. Though he doesn't exactly understand why Tails is doing this Metal gives a small nod, it proving sufficient for Tails. "Well, for starters that version of Sonic was under the control of that Madame Mystery woman. You heard him yourself! He came here to either kill or enslave us! Now, I don't think he would have done either of those things but what if this Mystery person came down and made him! Or another person underneath her control?"

"Well... you may have a point there..."

"Not just that but I've got a theory..."

Tails continues, reaching over and grabbing his tablet again. With a few taps and lines drawn he spins it around to show an image of the top of the Eggcelsior exploding. Off of its top the body of a blue hedgehog is seen with the seven chaos emeralds exploding out of it as well, each having a different Sonic-shaped face next to it.

"I think that just in the same way that Sonic's body changed as a result of the Reality Topaz exploding his spirit may have as well. Well, perhaps his personality? It's still a theory and I need more time to work on it but surely you noticed that both our Sonic and this new Green Sonic acted completely different from the Sonic we know?"

Amy nods her head back and forth as she thinks about their past interactions, her eventually sighing and giving a nod.

"Yes, I have. Green Sonic was kind of a pushover and... I got the impression he was just trying to make us happy no matter what. Which is nice of him and all but the Sonic I know wouldn't have been so spineless while doing so! That and... Sonic has never ONCE agreed to go out on a date with me. We're still doing that by the way, Sonic! I don't care how different you are a yes is a yes!"

Metal looks at Amy shoot an accusatory finger towards him. He doesn't know why she thinks he would want to avoid such an interaction with her. The Fake Sonic never agreeing to engage in one with her isn't that odd though. Eggman did always complain to Metal that he always showed up whenever he felt like it. Metal gives a quick shrug in response.

"Okay. I was not planning on trying to get out of our date."

"I-... well, that's good! Even if you're dry on the outside I'm glad I got the Sonic that's in touch with his feelings! Anyways uh, Tails, you were saying?"

"Right." Tails continues, Metal being distracted from giving attention to Amy's comment by his diatribe. "Well, I believe that each of these "Sonics" are all actually fragments of the same Sonic! Since the Reality Topaz can work alongside the Chaos Emeralds to alter reality however it wishes, and with the weapon being incomplete as per our Sonic's statements, it seems possible that the explosion managed to split up Sonic somehow? A fragment of him is likely within each of the emeralds, with each one being a different aspect of his soul slash personality slash maybe something else? For example, I believe that the Green Sonic we just encountered was... Sonic's love for his friends. It seemed to me that all he really wanted was to make us happy, even at the expense of his own personal goals or uh... orders I guess is more accurate. He probably only didn't follow through with Madame Mystery's orders because of who that part of him was! Which means..."

"Which means we should leave here as soon as possible. If one shard of Sonic can locate us here others can as well. Others that are less amicable towards us." Metal says, interjecting into Tails' small rant. The fox boy has lived up to his reputation thus far, and while Metal isn't exactly scared of Sonic or anything he is going to need to get used to his new body before he can even think of fighting any version of his copy that isn't a groveling coward.

"Right. I hadn't really thought of that. We should-"

"Does that mean that this Sonic is going to be... like this forever?"

Metal's head swivels to look at Amy again, her having reached down and picked up the emerald off of the floor. He watches as she stares into the Sonic trapped within with wet eyes, a solemn expression across her face. Metal feels... conflicted about this. On the one hand, his rival being split seven ways and injected into the Chaos Emeralds themselves is a form of neutralization in and of itself. By technicality his primary objective has been fulfilled and-... no. It wasn't him. Metal was incapacitated prior to the explosion occurring, his direct actions in no way lead to Sonic's current state. It was entirely the work of Madame Mystery. A third party unrelated to himself, his Master, or the Eggman Empire. An unacceptable client to take credit for Sonic's termination. Still, if Metal wishes to beat Sonic himself and on his own terms he would have to... find a way to reassemble him. It is then that Metal gets an idea.

"I do not believe so. It is likely that if the Reality Topaz and the Chaos Emeralds transformed me into this state they can do anything. Our goal was to collect the Chaos Emeralds in the first place in order to turn me back and, through unfortunate circumstance, each shard of Sonic is held within them as well."

A look of pure elation spreads across Amy's face, her looking towards Metal with wonder in her eyes.

"So you mean we can... YES!"

Suddenly lurching forwards Amy grabs a hold of Metal and hugs him tightly. Metal freezes in response, him being entirely unsure on how to respond in this situation. Is this an attack? Is he supposed to defend himself? The situation leading up to this confrontation did not appear hostile to Metal, and this doesn't necessarily feel bad per se so it probably isn't. It is a hug, he knows that but... is he supposed to hug her back? Why is Amy doing this to him? Metal simply provided the logical conclusion that Sonic's shards can be fused with one another using the power of the Reality Topaz. Turning his head to look at Tails the fox appears preoccupied with his tablet, him proving to be thoroughly unhelpful. Metal instead stands there completely motionless as Amy repeats a hail of excited gibberish at him, Tails eventually speaking up and inadvertently saving Metal from his current predicament.

"Ahem, I've checked and the coast is clear. We should get out of here as soon as possible."

"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Amy says, releasing Metal and giving a sheepish expression. "Did you have an idea on where we should go, Tails? I still want to help and I'm not leaving Sonic until we go on that date!"

"Heh, well, I was originally thinking the city but with these shards also being under order to enslave any living things they run into that's probably a bad idea. It'd just put civilians at risk... hmm... other than there I'm blanking on where to go..."

Metal's eyebrow quirks as he watches Tails flip through contacts on his tablet. A densely populated urban area seems the optimal place to hide in Metal's mind. Blending into the horde of unthinking masses would be optimal for avoiding attention. Potential mass conversion of the populace is of little concern to him. They are bodies that serve to get between him and the enemy, nothing more. Still, if his assistant has already ruled it out then perhaps there is another variable Metal has yet to consider. Were he in his robotic body still he could run the calculations in a fraction of a second. In this form that is... markedly more difficult. Thinking on potential places to go Metal eventually comes up with one in particular.

"I know of a place where we can go. One of Dr. Eggman's listening posts is not too far from here. It is rather well hidden and would be an optimal place to search for our objectives as well as a place to avoid detection."

"Hmmm..." Tails thinks on the matter, turning to look at Metal. "You sure it's safe? We still don't know what happened to Dr. Eggman. His badniks could be on high alert."

"I trust you will be able to handle a few badniks." Metal states without much thought. He was ordered to put a stop to this very fox's meddling for eradicating an entire platoon of badniks by himself and infiltrating this very same control room to enact costly sabotage. A simple listening post is nothing to be concerned about. Tails appears to appreciate the encouragement, rubbing the back of his head with a nervous laugh.

"Ahaha alright, I guess you're right Sonic. Okay then! I'll fly all of us, Sonic you just give directions! Okay? That alright with you Amy?"

Amy, who appears to be pouting at this decision gives a defeated sigh in response.

"Fine! Spending the next few weeks in a dingy Egg-base isn't exactly my idea of a romantic honeymoon but if it's our only option... alright! Let's just get it over with already!"

"Sweet! Alright, Sonic! Let's go!"

"Yes. Let's."

Chapter Text

Touching down after a long flight the wet grass gives way under Metal's bare feet. The cool sensation causes him to flinch, a shiver running down his spine. While in his robotic body Metal had found flying to be the most efficient and energy efficient mode of transportation. In this form while that may still be true it is certainly not his favorite. The wind blew straight through his fur and his arms had fallen asleep halfway into their trip. Tails and Amy both seemed not bothered by the wind chill in the slightest, Metal having had to grit his teeth and bear through the discomfort to avoid appearing like some helpless child. Weakness and mechanical fault often results in you being decommissioned within Eggman's ranks, Metal having learned to suppress internal faults until they compromise his performance to a severe degree where it becomes a necessity.

Taking in a deep breathe Metal looks up towards the mass of foliage that stands before him. Were he still in his old body he could simply alter his mode of vision to see pass this wall of irrelevant plant matter. This new form is markedly less convenient. It is weaker, more prone to bouts of emotional instability and it requires intense training to listen to what his mind is telling it to do. His robotic form was much more well suited towards combat and in order to become as dangerous as possible Metal would need to return to such a state of being. Taking a few steps forwards Metal grabs a hold of the plants in his way and with a planting of his feet and a quick yank the fake collection of vines falls away. In its place now stands a sliding door shaped like his master's face, the eyes opening up to reveal circular cameras within them. Both of them scan around before focusing on Metal, them locking on his position and tracking his every movement. Tails walks up alongside Metal, him working on his tablet for some reason.

"So there really was a base here! How did you know this was here, Sonic?"

"Dr. Eggman has surveillance bases like this all over the place to connect his various resource extraction and construction operations. Building them all in one place is just asking for them to be destroyed so he opts for this approach instead. This was just the closest one in the surrounding area."

"Huh... well, with how much you get out I guess it makes sense you'd run into these from time to time. You need me to hack it open?"

Metal thinks on this matter for a moment, a finger tapping his chin thoughtfully as he does so. It would be the fastest approach but, if Madame Mystery's explosion managed to control Sonic then it may have done the same for his Master. With Sage being connected into the eggnet and this being an observation and communication station even a single firewall trigger could draw them undue attention. He shakes his head no in response.

"No, let me try something first."

Taking a step forward Metal places his index finger on the tip of the door's nose, a barely audible crackling being heard as the speaker activates.

"Greetings. Door control Eggpawn unit please respond. This is a formal request for entry into Surveillance site X-736."

"Who're you calling an Eggpawn, furball?!"
"Yeah! We're badniks through and through!"

Metal's eyes become half-lidded as two familiar voices come in from the intercom. Orbot and Cubot. His master's highly opinionated and questionably motivated secretary droids. While they used to be around him at all times ever since Sage was developed they've both been relegated to less important positions. Metal feels for them somewhat, as even if they're incredibly annoying they performed their duties adequately and don't exactly deserve to be relegated to delayed deactivation like this. Still, he finds it hard to care that much. They ARE pretty aggravating to be around and so many different robots and models of badnik have been decommissioned during his existence that he's become numb to the phenomena. It's simply the ever progressing march of mechanical science at work, his own continued existence being an outlier and a certified miracle. The reaper of obsolescence comes for all badniks in due time.

"Secretariat droids Orbot and Cubot. Open the door. This is a direct order. Clearance code 366-77TQ-01."

"How the? That's a second level admin access code!"
"Who do you think you are, buddy? This is our holiday resort!"
"Yeah, that's right! We're on a working vacation and-"

Metal is suddenly shoved aside by Amy who had been silent up until now. She has her hammer out in her spare hand, the other pressing the door's nose down as she gives the intercom a piece of her mind.

"IF THE TWO OF YOU DON'T OPEN THE DOOR THIS INSTANT I'M GOING TO BASH IT DOWN MYSELF AND THEN BREAK YOU BOTH DOWN INTO GEARS AND SPRINGS!"

"... Can she do that?"
"Of course not! When has a hedgehog ever broken into one of-... OH WHAT AM I SAYING?! JUST PLEASE DON'T HURT US!"

And with that the door opens up, Amy slinging her hammer over her shoulder and looking towards Tails and Metal with a satisfied expression.

"And THAT is how it's done, boys!"

"Nice work Amy!" Tails responds with, Metal in turn giving a silent nod of recognition. Amy kicks her leg up behind her and squeaks in excitement as she turns around, the three of them entering into the Communication center.

Entering into the familiar bowels of one of his Master's countless operating bases a sense of calm washes over Metal. He's spent a large portion of his life surrounded by the cold, industrial hellscapes that his Master creates. To Metal they're as welcome as a warm suburban home is to many humans. Places like these are reassuring places made for an explicit function. They operate without remorse or care for anything around them in the pursuit of some grandiose greater goal. Just like him.

With such a sense of familiarity comes memorization of Dr. Eggman's architectural quirks. Though all of these bases are slightly different from one another they all utilize the same rooms and hallways, them just being scrambled around to prevent more simple minded creatures from getting used to them. Most wouldn't notice the reoccurring design elements as, admittedly, they are rather difficult to notice with these imprecise mammalian eyes. Still, Metal can tell that this is hall 2B and after taking a sharp left he locates the central command center. Tapping the key code onto a nearby input console the door slides open, the scent of motor oil hitting Metal's nose like a freight train the second he does so. Inside the entire command center has been turned into some perverse idiot's idea of a vacation resort. Stray oil cans and buckets of screws lay scattered across the floor alongside stacks of comic books and video game cases. Orbot is laying out on a bean bag while Cubot is hanging from a hammock hung between a very sensitive antennae array, both of them with a controller in their hands as they appear to be playing some game about plumbers and mushrooms.

Walking right behind the two of them Metal crosses his arms, tapping his foot impatiently at the two of them. Tails follows in behind Metal and plugs his tablet into the control console, brushing the trash off of the keyboard and immediately getting to work. Amy appears besides Metal, her leaning in towards the two nincombots and giving them a smile, her hammer held behind her back.

"Heya boys! Sorry for the sudden intrusion! We're going to be staying in this... interesting place for the next short while sooooo... would you two mind cleaning the place up a bit?"

Orbot and Cubot look at one another, the former giving a sigh and looking up with a defeated look on his face. Metal laments internally that these two get to be three times as expressive as himself. Well, come to think of it he rarely uses more than a neutral expression and a glower so perhaps it simply isn't needed.

"Do we have any actual say in the matter?"

"No." Metal blurts out in response. "Listen to any orders myself, Amy, or Tails give to you or I am initiating your shutdown sequences."

Immediately after Metal finishes speaking Cubot pipes up, Amy's eyelid twitching from the incessant arguing.

"He's bluffing! There's no way he-"

"Initiate shutdown sequence units Orbot and Cubot. Admin code 7A555-Y10-"

"THAT'S HALF OF IT! CLEAN FOR YOUR LIFE!"
"WE'RE SORRY BOSS YES BOSS RIGHT AWAY BOSS!"

The two bots immediately get to work on cleaning up the mess before them, Amy shooting a pout towards Metal.

"I was trying to get them to help us without resorting to threatening them, Sonic!"

Metal looks away from Amy, not wishing to resort to arguing while he is still on good terms with both of his biological assistants. Souring their relationship would only further complicate things.

"These two only work under threat of their lives. Trust me. The route I chose was simply the most efficient, there was no genuine malice behind my action."

"Hmm... I'm not exactly convinced buuuuut... it IS gross in here soooooo I'll let it pass this time around!"

Metal gives Amy a silent nod in response. Finding this response satisfactory she hops up behind Tails, watching curiously what he's doing on the massive computer

"So! What's the plan Tails!?"

"Oh! Right! Sorry Amy, sorry Sonic! Got caught up in seeing if this worked first." Tails says, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Metal waves away his concerns with a dismissive hand.

"It's fine. It was the optimal maneuver. You mentioned being able to locate the emeralds earlier?"

"That's right! Though, it'll take a bit for me to calibrate this tech to be able to do that. I'll have to cobble together some mobile detectors too... hmm... if I had some more hands to help this process would go a lot faster..."

"Orbot! Cubot!" Metal shouts authoritatively, him glaring down towards the two bots who snap to his direction.

"Yes Boss?" Both say slightly staggered from one another, each one shivering like freezing chihuahuas.

"Help Tails out on whatever he requires. Treat him as you would Dr. Eggman until further orders are given... minus the deprecating jokes. Am I clear?"

"Yes Sir!" Orbot says, Cubot scratching the top of his head and looking at Metal with suspicion. Tiring of talking to these two already Metal lets out a sigh.

"What is it Cubot?"

"You remind me of someone, boss... have we met before?"

"Of course we have. More than I can count. Stop being a moron and get to work already."

"Oh, alright... fiiiiiine..." Cubot says with a defeated voice, him and Orbot continuing their cleaning spree. Amy looks at Metal with similar suspicion, her head being tilted to the side.

"Have you really met these two that often, Sonic?"

"More than I care to admit. If I could forget the two of them entirely I happily would."

"... huh. Well Sonic, you do go out alone all the time! I almost never know what you're doing!"

Metal's eyebrow arches up towards Amy in response. Of course she wouldn't, the two of them live entirely different lives. Dr. Eggman very rarely sends him outside of his industrialized bases and when he does it's always for a mission of some sort. Their past encounters with one another have been fleeting at best. Since he may still require her services later Metal gives a shrug in response. He could insult her intelligence here and claim such information is obvious but such a statement would only serve to anger him and... if Metal is behind honest he would rather avoid being hit with that hammer she is carrying. Turning towards Tails Metal quickly shifts the topic back towards something constructive.

"I have sequestered you some assistance, Tails."

"Hehe, I noticed Sonic. Thanks! That should help speed things up quite a bit! Amy, would you mind handing me the chaos emerald?"

"Oh! Sure, no problem Tails!"

Dropping her hammer Amy fishes around in her purse, her pulling out the shining green emerald. Peering into it the sleeping body of the real Sonic can still be seen within its center. Handing it over to Tails the fox quickly inserts it into a port into the control console. The previously dim lights surge up their full brightness with the long inactive ventilation system finally kicking back into full gear. Amy lets out a relieved sigh as the scent of stale motor oil finally begins to fade from the bunker.

"Thanks Amy! Alright, so I should be able to get this site's systems calibrated and a working detector up and running by... probably the end of tomorrow if everything ends up working out. Having an emerald already helps a ton since I can use its energy sequence as a reference. There's just two problems I foresee us having."

"Name them." Metal dictates, Tails giving a nod and quickly continuing.

"Well, firstly, Sonic mentioned that we'll need to collect this Reality Topaz's shards as well if we're going to fix him. I'll need at least one piece of it in order to make a working detector for it though, so until we get one keep your eyes out for... what did it look like again, Sonic?"

"Hmm... It's purple and in its whole state I believe it was an oval shape."

"Right. Well, keep an eye out for it if you see something that looks like that grab it and bring it here. Secondly, I'll need a few parts from the city in order to make a set of mobile detectors. I think I can get most of the parts from around here but there's a couple things that are too precise to simply salvage. Amy, would you mind heading into town and picking them up for me?"

"Sure Tails, no problem! I'll do anything to get Sonic back to normal!" Amy exclaims, reaching over and wrapping herself around Metal's arm. Metal freezes in place, a familiar mess of confusing thoughts rushing through his head. Letting go of him Amy pokes Metal in the middle of his chest fur, giving him a big smile. "You need some time to get used to your body, right? Well, going shopping around the mall is the PERFECT way to learn!"

Surprisingly, Amy is correct. In order to learn how to run and fight Metal is going to have to get used to walking and using his arms for more than simple gestures again. It shouldn't take too long but it's a tedious necessity that needs to be done at some point. The sooner the better. Metal gives Amy a nod, a small smile appearing on his otherwise emotionless face as he lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in the first place.

"A fine assessment. Consider it a date then. Well, our date. We will leave first thing in the morning."

"EEEEE~! I can't believe this is actually happening... alright Sonic! If you back out at the last second I'll never forgive you! Besides, you need some shoes and gloves at the very least! Right now you look a bit..."

Metal looks down at himself, his toes wiggling against the cold steel floor. It is, admittedly, rather unbecoming.

"Primitive? I agree. To reiterate what I said earlier I do not plan on forgoing our date. I do not understand your insistence on this being the case, Amy Rose. We need to journey into town and shop for additional parts to complete our mission anyhow. This seems the optimal time to perform such an activity."

Amy's previous state of passion fueled excitement has been replaced by confusion and admiration towards Metal. Placing her hands on her hips she gives him a nod for once, Metal finding her pose to be almost challenging in nature. She is... more complex than perhaps Metal had initially given him credit for. This girl appears naturally in tune with her biological emotional state and appears to use it to fuel her actions at the drop of a hat. Perhaps that is why she is Sonic's "girl friend"? Metal can see how such a skill-set would be useful.

"Well alright Mr. To-The-Point! I'll hold you to it! Though don't think we'll just be exercising and shopping! We'll be having fun too! After chasing this for so long I think I'm owed that at least!"

Metal frowns at this news. Amy letting out a giggle and poking him in his side. Metal flinches in response, him not being used to the tickling sensation that just reverberated from the source of impact.

"Heehee! Don't look so grumpy, Sonic! You'll have a good time, I promise!"

"Hmm... Okay. I believe you."

Hiding a blush Amy turns towards Tails, pulling her cellphone out of her pocket and waving it in the air.

"Oh! Tails! I meant to ask! I was thinking of calling Rouge for some help! She knows all about gemstones, especially rare and super-powered ones like these! She no doubt knows something about this "Reality Topaz"!"

"That sounds like a great idea Amy! Sure, why not? The more hands on deck the quicker we can get everything back to normal!"

Metal's frown grows even deeper. Rouge the Bat. His Master has made the mistake of working alongside her on a few occasions and each time has grown to regret it. She is a selfish independent actor motivated first and foremost by greed. Metal doesn't exactly relish the possibility of having to interact with her personally but... he also can't exactly remember what went wrong about the last encounters. He just sort of vaguely knows that they happened? Shaking the lapse in his perceived flawless memory aside Metal gives a final nod of affirmation.

"She seems well suited for the assignment. I will be keeping an eye on her, however."

"Oh Sonic! I thought you and Rouge got along great! She'd be happy to help!"

"I do not know where you got that impression." Metal shifts his gaze towards the digital clock on the computer's terminal. It is rather late and, as far as Metal is aware, living things need to sleep. "It is late. If there is nothing else to be done we should rest."

"Oh! Um, yeah sure! Ehehe, kinda lost track of time with all that's happened! You must be exhausted with all that's happened Sonic! Do you need help finding a room to sleep in?" Amy says, blushing towards the end of her statement. Metal shakes his head side to side in response.

"No. I have the interior of this base memorized. I will be able to find a room easily. It is you that would wind up lost. Third room on the left should be a recreational resting room, that will be the most preferable place for a biological to sleep within. I will be sleeping elsewhere."

"Oh, wow! Uh, alright? Third to the left, got it? Good night Sonic?"

"I think I'll stay up a bit late to keep working on this Sonic. Amy I'll have a list of things for you before you leave tomorrow, okay?" Tails says, his eyes not straying from the computer he's maintained his workflow on.

"Sounds like a plan, Tails."

"I commend your work ethic, Tails. I shall go sleep now." Metal responds with, him turning and exiting the command center without another word. Stepping over Cubot's body as he leaves it takes hardly any time at all for Metal to find a room to sleep within.

Opening the sliding door Metal sees the healing bay that stands before him. A large cylindrical tube filled with green regenerative fluid sits in the middle of the room. His Master uses these in the few cases where he takes notable physical injury during his quests for world domination, Metal having spent time within them while in his previous body from time to time while undergoing intensive software updates. The gel helps disperse the excessive heat his CPU would generate while doing so and, as a result, in Metal's mind such a place is the ideal place to sleep. Tapping a few commands into the nearby console the tube drains itself of fluid and after stepping into its glass embrace it just as quickly begins to fill back up. As the cool gel begins to overtake Metal he begins to drift off to sleep, him having been even more tired than he had realized. And as he begins to sleep... Metal begins to dream.

No, dream isn't the right word there.

Metal begins to remember.

Chapter Text

-- Summary of recording 28b-1--

-- Engagement Location: Lava Reef Zone. Exceptional environmental modifiers include open pits of magma and risk of falling boulders. --

-- Mission Objective: Prevent Sonic from interfering with resource extraction operations in the region. --

-- Damage Dealt: None. --

-- Damage Taken: Heavy heat damage taken to internal systems and warping of numerous essential components. 375 other listed minor injuries sustained. --

-- Analysis: Mission objective was a resounding failure. --

-- Summary of recording 32b-2 --

-- Engagement Location: Death Egg. Exceptional environmental modifiers include lots of traps and doors meant to halt Sonic's progress. --

-- Mission Objective. Fulfill Primary Objective: Defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. --

-- Damage Dealt: Observable electrical burns dealt to both Sonic and unrelated entity designated as "Tails". Cranial trauma dealt to Sonic, hairline fracture being unconfirmed but likely based on force of impact. --

-- Damage Taken: Electrical frying of a majority of internal systems. 125 other listed minor injuries sustained. --

-- Analysis. Mission objective was a resounding failure. --

-- Summary of recording 37a-4--

-- Engagement Location: Unnamed Forest. No exceptional modifiers to catalogue --

-- Mission Objective: Prevent Sonic from discovering the construction yard for the Egg Carrier project. --

-- Damage Dealt: Minor bruising to Sonic's left arm. Bloody nose. Internal bruising appears likely given impacts dealt though this is unconfirmed. --

-- Damage Taken: Left leg entirely removed from body. Main turbine rendered inoperable through the insertion of foreign plant matter. Left elbow joint broken. Neck stabilizing servos deactivated. Internal coolant leakage due to a break in cranial armor plating alongside 57 other listed minor injuries sustained. --

-- Analysis: Mission objective was a success though damage taken to chassis in the process exceeded acceptable levels. --

The internal processing of Metal's past defeats is swiftly interrupted by the sound of tapping on his healing bay. It's customary after receiving repairs to update his software within one of these to avoid overheating. The thick gel serves to disperse heat from his turbine and core processing unit thus rendering it the most efficient place to perform internal maintenance in order to reduce the risk of heat induced warping of his parts. While this isn't anything out of the ordinary he has been stuck processing data like this for quite some amount of time. He's been in rest mode up until now, his last activation having been shortly before the completion of his Master's egg carrier project to be precise. Judging by his internal clock it's been a few months since his last mission and Metal has done a LOT of thinking in that time.

All calculations so far have came up with the same result: Metal is a complete failure.

Almost all mission objectives thus far he has failed. The only successful ones have been related to either reconnaissance or the collection of prized gemstones for his master. In every engagement with Sonic he's been damaged to the point of needing extensive repairs as well, with even Metal having caught onto Dr. Eggman's annoyance at the frequency upon which he requires it. Though he has been active for only a few short years he has seen countless other metallic autonomous battle robots similar to himself be created and just as swiftly retired out of use. Though Metal doesn't pretend to understand the genius of his Master he suspects that they were simply deemed not worth the effort of rebuilding. Specialized robot forms such as his own that did not operate off of organic-powered computation systems are much more time intensive for the Doctor to work on. A single repair session can take an entire afternoon depending on how extensive the damage is, and due to each model being highly specialized Dr. Eggman has to perform nearly all of it by hand.

Metal thinks back on those that came before him. Silver Sonic. Too simplistic. Sonic easily learned to avoid its attack patterns and its code base wasn't flexible enough to perform any other task. Mecha Sonic. Too heavy. The thrusters needed a notable amount of time to initiate its movements. Even once it got going it had difficulty turning quickly and due to its lacking dexterity it couldn't do much besides slam critters against steel walls. Mecha Sonic Mark II. Too expensive. Though comparable in terms of effectiveness with Metal Sonic its frame contained nearly double the amount of parts and, after being extensively destroyed during its first engagement even with infinite power at its disposal Dr. Eggman decided it wasn't worth the effort to rebuild. Mecha Knuckles. Tails Doll. All of them shared the same fate sooner or later. They were stepping stones on the way to a desired end product. Once they were no longer deemed useful they were discarded. It made perfect, logical sense.

Metal's hands clench into metallic fists, the sounds of them straining echoing in a muffled groan throughout the healing tank's fluid.

Despite the perfect logic at play here Metal could not help but feel... worried? He had failed all of his primary missions thus far and though he had succeeded in secondary matters for how long would this prolong his state of existence? He cannot help but feel as if he's one defeat, one bad mission report away from being thrown away like garbage.

It's not permanent deactivation that scares Metal. It's the loss of the ability to fulfill his objectives that does. It Metal is deactivated he will never be able to fulfill his primary objective. He will never be able to prove that HE is the real Sonic and not that furred faker that claims to be so. He will never be able to fight again. Or race. Or fly. Despite all of this how he feels is entirely irrelevant. He is a failure of a product. He has a finite number of chances in order to prove that he is capable of fulfilling his purpose and, should he fail to do so, he will be discarded like those that came before him. If a plane does not fly you get a new plane. It is the only logical course of action. His permanent deactivation is the only logical course of ac-

Another tap on the glass snaps Metal out of his internal depressive spiral. On the other side of Metal's tank is a biological he has not seen before. Though the view is distorted due to the fluid he can make out their details, his red LED eyes staring at them with an intense glare.

It is an animalistic humanoid of some sort. Female, judging by the minor embellishments on her figure. Large ears, leathery wings on her back, and a pair of heels upon which she stands. A bat of some sort. Metal's security software sends a red alert blaring through his systems, his right claw shooting forward and scratching down the glass barrier that separates the two of them. The bat woman, in turn, jumps backwards and holds a hand up to her chest, it heaving up and down as she rapidly sucks air in and out of her lungs. She appears to be eyeing him with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Metal contemplates breaking the glass and neutralizing this intruder here and now but, as his Master comes into view he disregards the previous security concern altogether. If his Master is acting so casually around an unrestrained creature then their termination is not an immediate concern. Metal continues to stare daggers at her nonetheless as his hand returns to hanging limp at his side. Additional biological entities tend to impede his efforts more often then he would care to admit, him having learned the hard way not to ignore their presence at any moment. Many are almost as dangerous as Sonic himself.

"Rouge! I do not recall granting you permission to waltz about my inner chambers as if you own the place! Be lucky I'm allowing you to utilize ANY of my facility!"

Metal's eyes snap to watch his Master's foot tap impatiently on the ground. They refocus on the bat once more as her hand dismissively waves him off.

"Doctor, doctor! Calm down, will ya? I'm just looking for anything that could make our collective emerald hunting go a little smoother! Isn't that what you wanted me to do?"

"That didn't mean to go searching through my things like you're a toddler let loose in a daycare! Have you no sense of privacy, woman?!"

"Hmph! And here I was trying to make things easier on the both of us!"

"Finding the emeralds is YOUR part of our arrangement. Leave my machines out of this!"

The bat lady, this "Rouge" approaches the tank Metal resides within. His eyes track her as she places her hand on the outer glass. Her expression is difficult to read though Metal thinks she appears... impressed?

"So this little guy IS yours! I figured he had to be, looks like your handiwork, Eggman. Though... this one looks more alive than the rest of your tin cans."

"So you do have an eye for quality after all!" Dr. Eggman crosses his arms, him looking away from Rouge as he continues to talk. "That is Metal Sonic. He's my most advanced robot still in active service. Well... semi-active."

"Oh? What happened little guy? Did you make the Doctor fall down the stairs?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Metal Sonic is in temporary... stasis for the moment. His recent string of performances have been lacking against that bothersome rodent."

"You mean Sonic?"

"Obviously. Keep up, woman."

"I-hmph! Talk about rude! Why I-"

Metal looks at the woman's gloved hand still spread out across the glass. Extending his own Metal matches her gesture, Rouge looking at Metal with a perplexed expression on her face. Metal, meanwhile, maintains solid contact with their two hands which remain only separated by glass. He'd... always been fascinated with his hands. They're in his field of vision the most out of all of his body parts and are the items through which he interacts with the world. They are made just as much to rip, tear and crush as they are made for delicate manipulation of fine and delicate objects. Though he cannot "feel" through them he is still acutely aware at how... different he is from biological entities. His hands make noise with every slight movement, they tear fine items like plant matter and cloth easily if he is not exceedingly careful and they are... shaped different. His fingers are slightly thinner than Rouge's gloved ones. The tips extend just beyond hers as well and she has a slight bend in her palm, something he doesn't have. Rouge continues to look at Metal, Eggman continuing to talk behind her.

"The frustrating part is it's no singular fault in his construction that's causing his lackluster performance. His thought processes are sound, his internal construction is similar, and his weaponry proves potent when it does connect. All of his defeats thus far are from previously unaccounted for phenomena catching him off guard. Chaos Theory, if you will."

Rouge taps her index finger twice on the glass. Metal repeats the same motion. Her movement made two light tapping sounds while Metal's were echoed clinks. She smiles a bit at Metal, their eyes meeting as she does so. Tilting her head to the side Metal has trouble reading that expression on her face. It is... pity?

Removing her hand from the tank she turns around, resuming her sassy performance with Metal's Master.

"Spare me the mission reports, Doctor. Can't we just deploy him to search for an emerald or two at the very least? It's not like I'd have to compete for pay with a robot!"

"Hmph! Absolutely not! I am much too busy working on the Ark's systems to be distracted with ordering Metal around! If he gets trashed by Sonic again it'd take me an entire day to get him in running order once more! I can't afford setbacks like that at this time, Rouge!"

"And here I thought you'd know to help a lady!"

"Your plea to chivalry won't work on me, woman. Fulfill your end of the bargain or our partnership is through. I thought I didn't need to explain such a simple idea to you."

"Fine. And here I thought you might have warmed up to me, Doctor~."

"Don't flatter yourself, thief. You are useful to me in the moment and our alliance lasts only for as long as that remains true."

"Well..."

Rouge lets out a sigh, her spinning on her heels over to the tank once more and giving Metal a wave. Metal's hand slides off the glass, him hesitating for a moment. A wave is either a form of greeting or a signifier that one is about to leave. Given the context of the conversation this "Rouge" likely meant the latter with her gesture. Metal lifts up his own hand in response, giving a very stiff wave back. Rouge tilts her head to the side at this, finding it cute evidently. Satisfied with Metal's response she begins to leave.

"I'll be on my way then. Guess I'll have to think of other ways to cut down on the amount of work I have to do. Have fun with your toys, Doctor!"

As the metallic door slams shut behind Rouge as she leaves Dr. Eggman turns back around, him looking down at Metal floating idly within his tank. Metal's eyes look up at his master, awaiting further instruction. After a solid minute of silence Eggman turns from Metal once more, waving dismissively towards the robot.

"Enter sleep mode once more, Metal. I am preoccupied with another project at the moment and there is no room for you within it. Should this hands on approach not work as I had hoped though... my next project will have you at its forefront."

Eggman turns towards Metal just before exiting the room, a smile beaming at him from behind his mustache.

"So sleep tight, my Metal Sonic. When you next wake you'll be good as Neo! Ohohohohoho!"

With a flick of the light switch Metal deactivates his external sensor systems and complies with his master's orders.

---

Collapsing on the annoyingly firm bed the pink hedgehog lets out a much needed sigh. Setting her purse on the ground right next to her hammer she rolls over onto her back, her hands clasped over her chest as she looks up towards the ceiling. Today has been... very confusing to say the least.

Your name is Amy Rose and you somehow managed to get Sonic to agree to go on a date with you!

Hmm, wording it like that is perhaps a little demeaning to yourself? You're a very desirable girl! Sonic's frankly lucky that he's the one you've fallen in love with over the years! You're pretty, smart, have impeccable fashion sense, a heart of gold, and though you can't run as fast as him you've gotten pretty good at fighting off Eggman's robots! Frankly, you're a bit of a catch! Spunk, heart, quick wittiness, what isn't there to like!

Though... that isn't to say you haven't been feeling a bit hopeless regarding your relationship for some time now. While previously you were convinced that you and Sonic were destined soulmates that would marry each other sooner or later you haven't been too sure of that for some time now. Your tarot readings keep telling you to stay the course and keep chasing your heart, saying you'll find the one soon enough but it's been years! Years of chasing after Sonic and you've tried everything on him! No matter how direct or understanding you are you haven't even managed to get a single proper date out of him! All of the hugs and kisses you've gotten you've initiated as well, Sonic usually making up some excuse about how he's got someplace to be before zipping off at the speed of sound like usual. You've tried getting Tails to help you understand him better, you've asked Rouge for relationship advice, and you even tried to get Knuckles to ask him for you though he did tell you no in the end. Still, you've put your everything into this and... and it was really starting to get on your nerves!

Is Sonic so uninterested in you where he can't even bother to dignify you with a straight faced response? Does he think you're some sort of floozy that will eventually give up if he just avoids the question for long enough? Does he really hate being around you that much? Does he... really not like you?

Looking up at the lamp that sways to and fro above you you take a deep breath before the tears start coming. All of your past worries are just that now; in the past! Sonic finally said yes to a date! All of your hard work, your meticulous research, training, and dolling up has finally paid off!

Well, that's what part of you is thinking.

Rolling over onto your side you stick your hand into your purse, searching through it for your tarot deck. Finally finding it you bring it back up onto the garish Eggman logo-shaped bed you're lying on. UGH. Eggman's sense of decor is simultaneously outdated, narcissistic, and UGLY all at once! Still, holding the deck of cards close to your chest you listen to your heart as it pumps rhythmically within your chest.

The other part of you is thinking that maybe... just maybe... this isn't Sonic. Well, of course it's Sonic! He even said so himself. It's just that he isn't ALL of Sonic.

The Sonic you've come to love is a lot of things. He's blue, dreamy, and fast sure but he's also unbelievably kind. He has an optimism around him that inspires you to be your best self. He's competitive, easy to forgive others, courageous even under impossible odds, free as the wind and super cool all at the same time! It's BECAUSE of who Sonic is that you've come to love him. It you were just after his looks you'd just start following Shadow or some other hunky looking hedgehog instead but none of them ACT like Sonic. The problem is that... neither does Sonic right now.

From what Tails and Sonic said it seems that this "Reality Topaz" gemstone caused him to get split up into various versions of himself. You ran into the Green Emerald splinter earlier today who was nice to a fault. He seemed to only care about making you, Tails and the main Sonic happy but was kind of one note outside of that. He was a single aspect of Sonic's personality, of his soul! Though you're not exactly a genius when it comes to magical artifacts and mad scientific accidents you do know a thing or two when it comes to people's emotions and the main Sonic you know seems... to lack them.

He isn't entirely without them you don't think, though. He can definitely still feel anger as you saw him about to explode a couple times today, him appearing rather easy to annoy in all honesty. But as for happiness, sadness and... love? You genuinely don't think this Sonic has any clue what any of that stuff is. If this is who Sonic is without all of those extra emotions then... can he really love you?

Being out of ideas you decide to see if a reading could help guide your decision making. Shuffling the deck you lay out three cards face down on the bed and after sitting up and crossing your legs you take a deep breath. Reaching forward you flip the first card over, it being a Reversed Moon.

Typically the Reversed Moon means that you're deluding yourself somehow. So... you need to try and rethink your current situation? Perhaps this whole thing isn't so doom and gloom as you had thou-

That's just it! If this is who Sonic really is then this is the perfect opportunity to get to know him at his core! Though you aren't sure what, the simple fact that he's being so direct and forward with you shows that he's at the very least interested! Some aspect of himself that got split off must be holding him back from falling for you, and if you can just get through to his real self then even after you return him to normal he should be so madly in love with you that he won't be able to say no to future dates!

Unable to contain your excitement you hop up and let out a little squeal, running back and forth across the room as you do so. Kicking off your shoes you undo the hair clip that was keeping your quills back before leaping back onto your bed belly first. If anyone else was here you may be too embarrassed to act this way buuuut... nobody is! With lifted spirits and your legs kicking back and forth you flip over the next card, it being the Death card, it being reversed as well.

While Death normally symbolizes the death of a person or period in someone's life whenever it is reversed it means that this has yet to happen just yet. You have to stay the course until closure finally comes and be patient with whatever happens between now and then.

Okay... well, while that doesn't sound toooooo good Death cards aren't always negative! The death of a person's current trajectory could be positive as well and if the Moon card from earlier is something to go by then you should remain optimistic! If you were to take a guess this "death" is likely referring to Sonic's unwillingness to accept your feelings and, if you continue with your plan on making him fall heads over heels for you before he goes back to normal then that stage of his life will be over!

In your excitement you accidentally end up bending the Death card in your hands as you hold it up to your chest, you sheepishly straightening it out as best you can before finally flipping over the final card. It is a Lovers card! An upright one!

Leaping up into the air you let out a squeal, a knock on your door causing you to whip around in a panic. The sound of one of Eggman's drones is heard on the other side of it, the yellow one if you were to guess.

"Um... Ms. Pink Hedgehog Lady Ma'am? Are you okay in there? You're not being attacked by a wild animal, are you?"

What is he-? Oh! She has been making quite a bit of noise, hasn't she? Oops...

"No uh, I'm fine in here I swear! Sorry about being loud!"

"Are you sure? I thought I heard a rabid squirrel or somethi-"

"YES I AM FINE! THANK YOU! YOU CAN LEAVE NOW!"

Hearing the sound of that bot hopping away as fast as he could you let out a sigh. Looking around you deflate a bit seeing the drab Eggman decor all around you, the cold, unfeeling steel walls serving as a depressing backdrop. Living here isn't the best idea but... looking down at the Lovers card in your hand you give it a smile.

You think it'll be worth it.

Chapter Text

The first thing that snaps Metal back to reality is the sound. The sound of glass sliding against metal, the heavy churning of thick fluid being sucked into hoses. The spilling of thick green fluid sloshing across the floor is heard next. The draining process is faulty, not exactly surprising considering the obvious lackluster maintenance this place was receiving. Unless being actively supervised Orbot and Cubot are... less than stellar in regards to more menial duties.

The second thing is the temperature. Metal's legs feel weak as the supporting fluid around him flows out across the metallic floor, him falling to his knees just outside of the pod. The cold fluid drips from his quills and sticks to his fur, a mouthful of it spilling out to join the rest that lays across the floor. Due to the oxygenated nature of the gel no sort of breathing assistant was required but expelling the fluid post-recuperation is... less than pleasant. A shiver runs down Metal's spine as the cool Air Conditioning blows through the room, him standing upright and subconsciously keeping his arms close to his torso in an effort to maintain body heat.

As Metal walks to the opposite end of the room, his feet making sickening sticking sounds as he makes the journey, the third sensation hits him. Reaching out and grabbing a towel with his Master's face printed on its center a throbbing pain surges out within Metal's brain. As he begins to wipe himself off, an annoyed grumble escaping his throat as he has to delicately avoid hooking the fabric on the tip of his quills, Metal's rapidly insetting headache makes its presence known.

The feeling is entirely unpleasant, Metal not being too familiar with the concept of "pain". He's been aware of his own chassis receiving damage during his previous life as a robot but this was entirely in an effort to maintain efficiency. He didn't actually receive any sort of debilitating error for taking damage, warning signals and mild annoyance serving as sufficient enough motivators. Pain, though? It is... distracting. Throwing the soaked towel aside the throbbing in Metal's head doesn't subside. It pulses in and out like an electrical current up the back of his neck and into his forehead. An empty pain within his stomach rises to challenge the headache's previously unrivaled position, with a palpable dryness within Metal's mouth serving as an annoying third party running mate. Metal stands in one spot for a few moments, his jaw clenching shut as one hand grabs his forehead and the other clutches at his stomach.

After remaining like this for a time Metal's eyes open with a look of determination. Standing upright his hands return to his sides, him strutting towards the metal door and inputting the door to open it. Metal doesn't much care for these constant reminders that he is an organic now. He's based his entire previous worldview off of the precedent that he was a superior being to Sonic. His processing power, speed, metallic body, weaponry, ability to adapt, and every other possible part of him was mathematically superior to Sonic's own abilities. As Metal is right now, though? He is... inferior. He's flesh and blood now with all of the weaknesses that come with it. The vacuum of space would annihilate him in an instant now, as would toxic gases, extreme temperature fluctuations, slicing instruments and even falls of sufficient height would achieve similar results. This... feeling he's experiencing right now, though? He isn't exactly sure what is causing it and, not wishing to think too hard Metal opts to ignore it and simply hopes it goes away instead. Unlike his usual mantra, to be sure but given the circumstances he's willing to make exceptions to his usual logical infallibility.

Walking down the hallway Metal sees Orbot and Cubot both approaching him, a look of pure dread washing across his face.

"Good morning new Boss! I trust you sle-"

"The healing bay experienced a draining malfunction due to the two of you lacking in your janitorial duties. Fix it." Metal blurts out, interrupting Cubot as he stomps past the both of them. Orbot and Cubot both look very downtrodden at this, them slowly hopping off to perform the labor demanded of them.

"I told you we shouldn't have bothered him!" Orbot says in a hushed tone to his robotic companion.

"I had to say something! We need a union representative or something..."

"We work for a tyrannical dictator."

"That's EXACTLY why we need to start fighting for our rights!"

"Lunch breaks would be nice..."

Pushing the nonsensical blathering of his fellow badniks aside Metal rounds the corner and enters into the command room, finding both Tails and Amy inside of it. It appears that Tails has been more than busy as the entire interior of the room is covered with wires, spare parts gathered from other less important systems, and work in progress machines. Tails sits on the floor, fiddling with what looks like the interior of an outdated computer monitor. Amy sits on an office chair beside him, jumping upright and shooting Metal a smile and a greeting, him wincing from the loud noise.

"Heya sleepyhead! We were worried you wouldn't ever wake up!"

"Yeah" Tails interjects "I tried to check on you but couldn't unlock the door. How'd you know the password to that one, Sonic?"

"Hnnngggh..." Metal weakly grunts out, him clutching at his head. Amy rushes over besides him with worry on her face.

"Sonic!" Amy exclaims, her hands extending outwards and grabbing onto Metal's. Metal's attention is drawn away from the throbbing pain and instead focuses his gaze on their interlocked appendages. Amy's thumb reassuringly rubs up and down the back of Metal's right hand, his fur being lifted up and smoothed back down in a calming motion. Her gloves are soft and, squeezing back, Metal can feel her hands underneath them. They are thin and slender with pointed nails on the tips of each finger, much like his. Letting out a grunt Metal pushes the pain back, him standing more upright, giving Amy a wordless thank you with a single nod.

"Apologies. I am fine."

"No you're not!" Amy shouts back with a pout on her face, Metal reeling as the sound rings around within his skull. "You're obviously hurting! What's the matter!"

Metal hesitates. He's... never really talked about himself to other people before. Information is most valuable when it is contained from others. Exposing one's weaknesses leads to reevaluation and reevaluation leads to decommission. Metal looks away from Amy, being unable to look her in the eyes as he continues to deflect.

"I told you I am fine. You are being illo-"

"Liar!" Amy shouts back, her grip on his hand becoming much more tight. It doesn't exactly hurt but Metal would struggle to remove it from her grip. "If we're going to be on a date today you're going to have to be honest with me, Sonic! No more running away!"

Metal weighs Amy's considerations within his mind for a few moments. He did agree to go on a "date" with this female organic yesterday. In hindsight the implication of two-way communication and honesty seems obvious. Metal knows that his Master rarely adheres to these socially acceptable guidelines but the vast majority of the populace does. It serves his individualist aims, Metal supposes, but considering his powerless state and... newfound lack of confidence in his own worldview Metal supposes that perhaps he could at the very least give it a shot. Taking a deep breath Metal turns back to look at Amy.

"I awoke with a pain in my head and stomach. I am unsure as to the cause."

"Hmmm..." Tails says, his focus still on the machinery in front of him. "Does he have a fever, Amy?"

"Let's see here..."

One of Amy's hands removes itself from Metal's, it lifting up and feeling the dark blue fur right above his eyes. Metal freezes in place, the sensation being... oddly familiar to him? Memories of his Master, Dr. Eggman, giving pats on the top of his cranial dome come rushing through Metal's mind. Faint reminders of praise, pride, and some other emotion that Metal is having difficulty naming right now wash across him like warm water. Without even thinking he leans into Amy's hand, his eyes closing as he basks in the glow of her touch. Amy, for her part, blushes and looks back towards Tails.

"W-well... no fever that I can feel!"

"Well then... wait- Sonic? When was the last time you ate or drank anything?" Tails says, him finally looking up from his computer. Seeing Metal completely tuning out Tails shoots Amy an inquisitive look, her giving an equally confused expression in response. For the both of them seeing the man they think is Sonic act so... uncharacteristically soft is definitely new. After gesturing on Tails' part Amy eventually clears her throat and removes her hand from Metal's head.

"Um, Sonic?"

As if being reactivated with the press of a button Metal's eyes open once more, him blinking cluelessly as he looks between the two of them.

"Yes?"

"Tails asked if you've had anything to eat or drink recently? You know, since the uh..." Amy gestures vaguely with her free hand towards Metal's body, her other one still holding one of his gingerly. A faint blush stays purchased on her cheeks, the girl's eyes occasionally glancing down to look at the hand holding situation to ensure that it is indeed still happening. "Well, since you became like this."

Metal blinks twice in response. Organics eat and drink. He is an organic now. Obviously he would need to do the same. His master would become irritable and complain about head pain whenever his attendant drones were running late on their meal runs, he is likely experiencing a similar phenomena.

"No, I have not. It has... slipped my mind."

"Well there's your problem, Sonic. Geez, that Topaz really scrambled you up good, huh?" Tails says with a roll of his eyes, him focusing back on his work. Amy lets out a giggle in response, Metal focusing his attention back on her.

"You're so weird now Sonic buuuuut... I kinda like it! We'll get some lunch once we're in town. Think you can last that long?"

"I should be fine. I have endured worse after all."

"True! But if you need to take a break on the way there just ask! It is kind of a long walk after all!"

Amy spins around and gives an energetic wave to Tails, her face absolutely beaming.

"We're gonna get going Tails! We should be back later tonight!"

"Pfft, alright. Don't lose him while you're out, Amy. You got that list I gave you?"

"Yup!" Amy says, letting go of Metal's hand for a moment to fish it out of her purse. Metal looks down at his empty hand longingly, him grasping at the air silently. "I've got it right here!"

"Cool. If either of you run into any troublemakers give me a call and I'll fly right over. Remember, the other Sonics ARE allegedly trying to kill us."

"Yeah yeah, we'll be fine! My card reading didn't mention anything dangerous so we should be fine! Plus, I can hold my own plenty well you know!"

"Yeah, I'd hate to be at the end of your hammer. Just be careful, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Mr. All Grown Up!"

Grabbing onto Metal's hand once more Amy shoots him a big smile, Metal giving an awkward forced smile in response.

"Alright Sonic, let's go have some fun!"

"Is that the purpose of this "date"?" Metal states bluntly, him arching an eyebrow at Amy. She giggles in response, beginning to drag him outside.

---

Metal has been walking with Amy for quite some time now. It's much more difficult to keep track of that concept without an inbuilt digital clock to perform that task for him, but it feels as if it's been about an hour. Though Metal's headache hasn't passed the pain in his stomach has and despite him feeling no less hungry he can bare through it for at least a bit longer. It does help that this entire experience has been rather... calming?

Recreational activities aren't something that Metal is particularly familiar with. He's seen his Master sit down to read and carve wooden toys from time to time whenever he's especially bored Metal always figured that these served little practical purpose. But as the cool, wet grass brushes against Metal's bare feet, the breeze rustles through his fur, and the sound of rustling leaves and tweeting flickies continually tantalize his senses during this forest walk Metal feels at peace. The only time he can remember feeling like this in the past if whenever he was in a one on one race with Sonic in the past, him always having quite enjoyed racing. But as Metal's red pupils shift down to look at his hand interlocking with Amy's he decides that this is at the very least... tolerable.

"Something on your mind, Sonic?"

Metal turns to look at Amy, her smiling back at him. As he looks at her face in closer detail he notices multiple aspects of her appearance that he had never noticed before. While his previous camera eyes had a number of advantages over these current biological ones, and he would still go back if given the chance, they tended to muddy up fine detail in an effort to save on processing power. With that no longer being a concern Metal squints at her, picking up every detail of Amy's face. Her fur appears noticeably shinier than either his or Sonic's, having a slight glossy finish to it. The tan skin around her mouth appears to have some sort of makeup placed on the cheek region, a thin layer of cherry scented lipstick subtly covering her lips. Black eyeliner helps to accentuate her eyelashes and a red hair band parts her longer quills in a way that makes her appear more refined. Most distracting though are her eyes, being a glimmering emerald color that the Chaotic gemstone back at their base would fail to compare against. Definitely sensing Metal's intense stare Amy looks away out of shyness, her continuing to lead the two of them through the forest and helping Metal to avoid tripping over a log.

"Sorry if I don't look my best right now, Sonic! I only had what was in my purse back at that nasty place and only had this plain old outfit to wear..."

Metal's gaze drifts downwards to look at her body as Amy draws attention to it. A red and white dress covers her torso, there being no sleeves to speak of. It's, admittedly, rather plain but such simplicity is, if anything, even more appealing to Metal. Form over function has always been preferred in his mind even back when he was aa robotic being. Whenever he was given the chance to perform tasks on his own he did so from a utilitarian, strictly functional and more subtle approach. Being bombastic and over the top before one's complete domination is guaranteed is foolish and has ruined too many plans for Metal to consider it a viable approach, it being one of his Master's few personality flaws. This is what Metal is thinking of as he looks at how the sides of Amy's dress hug tightly to her mid section. The top of it rises and falls as she breaths in and out. Her hips flow outwards into the rest of the dress and her chest is evident through a small yet noticeable pair of bumps at the top of her torso. Her boots are similarly utilitarian, being optimal for traversing a wide variety of terrain and-

"Sonic? Your staring is uh... getting kind of intense..."

Metal snaps back up to look at Amy, his eyes darting away due to subconscious embarrassment.

"I apologize. I have not... been this close to other living things very often. I was attempting to acquire as much information as possible about your appearance, Amy Rose."

"What info did you get?"

"... I do not understand the que-"

"Like... what did you think? Of what you saw? Of, um... how I look?"

"I-..." Metal turns to look at Amy once more. Amy, in response, blushes and brushes a few stray quills out of her face. Opening his mouth to speak Metal is suddenly overcome with a strong floral aroma, immediately shutting him up. Struggling to think on how to answer and not wishing to potentially offend his temporary ally due to an inability to respond Metal retracts his hand from Amy's for a brief moment. He then looks around the both of them in a panic seeing nothing but pointless foliage. Trees upon trees and grass upon grass, entirely pointless natural phenomena that only serves to clutter up the landsca-... Ceasing that line of thought Metal squats down next to a nearby blackberry bush. Using his sharpened nails he snips off a twig, a few ripe blackberries on the end of it. Standing back upright he hands it to Amy who awkwardly accepts the gift, looking at Metal with confusion on her face.

"You remind me of this." Metal blurts out, Amy being star struck for a few seconds before managing a response.

"I'm sorry?"

"Well... I'm sorry, words are more difficulk-... diffu-DIFFICULT to come up with like this a-an-"

Amy's free hand grabs a hold of Metal's once more, her squeezing it with a soft expression on her face.

"It's okay Sonic. Take a deep breath and take your time. We have all day together."

Metal does as commanded, closing his eyes as he takes a few slow breaths. In and out. In and out. The soft embrace of Amy's hand grounds him near immediately, Metal giving a wordless nod of appreciation for the advice before continuing.

"Well... you remind me of that plant. At first glance it's just that, a plant. Up until recently I did not have the time to look at things unrelated to my objectives for the day in greater detail. I knew what they were and didn't think much about them beyond that. I tend to focus on one thing at a time at the expense of everything else... even at the expense of myself, really. Both you and that plant are like that in a way. Upon a cursory glance it is just a plant and you are just a pink female hedgehog that desires my attention."

Amy's eyes become half-lidded in annoyance, an unamused look covering her face.

"You have such a way with words. That better not be all of it, Sonic."

Shit. A flood of thoughts come rushing through Metal's still throbbing head as he begins to panic. Amy is one of two allies that can assist him in his current predicament. He requires assistance to become as dangerous once more in an effort to fulfill his objectives. If he loses the good will of these assistants then he will fail his objectives. He needs Amy to like him so she can help him. He wants Amy to like him. He-

"But that was before I got this new body. I-um... see you a bit differently now..."

"Go on..."

"Well... when I look at that twig in closer detail a lot of things I hadn't noticed previously started popping up. The waxy exterior of the leaves, the veins that run along the bottom of them. The raised ridges of the stem and the bumps where it intersects with the twig itself. The way the berries sag slightly under their own weight. The sweet smell coming off of the fruit and the thin hairs that erupt from in-between the berry's bumps. All of these tiny, easily overlooked things create a subtle yet surprisingly complex and functional organism. It's uh... what I was realizing when I was looking at you. Since I've BEEN looking at you."

"Is that... what you think of me, Sonic? I'm subtle yet... functional?" Amy says, her head tilting to the side. Metal imagines a flood of error messages popping up within his own head, him quickly stammering to force out further explanation.

"Yes! We haven't actually had more than fleeting interactions before I became... this. I did not know you very well and lived separate lives that rarely intersected. But in a short period of time I've picked up on some aspects of your character I had not previously recognized."

"Such as...?"

"Well... you possess a greater degree of emotional intellect than me. You seem to effortlessly weave through conversation and pick up on how I am feeling incredibly quickly. I do not exactly know HOW you came to possess that knowledge or even how one does so generally but... it is a useful trait I would like to learn. Social interaction is not one of my strengths and I would like to attempt to fix this flaw of mine. Interacting with you seems to be a logical path towards that goal."

"Oh! Um, t-thanks Sonic! It's really not anything special I just try and pick up on how others are feeling! Sharing my love with as many people as possible is my passion, after all!"

Amy's face flushes red in response to Metal's compliment. He should keep going. The greater the emotional attachment the more useful favors he will be able to extract from this woman. At least, that's what he tells himself. As Metal's own face flushes without him realizing it he continues.

"I also find your straightforwardness agreeable. You are to the point and incredibly direct. Your intolerance of Orbot and Cubot's laziness was admirable and how quickly you resort to violence is similarly impressive."

Amy giggles in response to this, her twig-holding hand sassily resting on her hip as she shoots Metal a playful look.

"Most girls would find that offensive, Sonic."

"Oh! Really? I apologize I was unawa-"

A finger placed on Metal's lips shut him up, his brain flooding with imaginary error signs once more.

"Lucky for you I'm not like most girls. As much as I want to go as fast as possible considering how long I've waited to do this with you I think it's best if we do things at a normal pace instead. You have one more observation. Make it count~."

"You smell sweet."

"I-what?"

"It took me the longest to pick up on. Your eyes caught my attention first with how brightly they glowed, they reminded me of my old ones. Your soft-looking glossy fur caught my attention next and after that I noticed how perfectly your dress hugged you. But you smell sweet. It isn't perfume or any other unnatural cosmetic, your lipstick aside, but it's YOU. I don't know how or why or if it's your skin or fur but... you smell sweet and it is... relaxing to be around you because of that..."

"I-Sonic..."

Metal watches as Amy's eyes begin to tear up, him panicking right as a result. Letting go of Metal's hands Amy begins to wipe her face as she suppresses the urge to cry. Metal, in turn, hovers his hands right over her as he thinks of a way to comfort her but fails, him being utterly inept in such social dilemmas. After a few moments of this Amy gains her composure, her giving Metal a warm smile before rejoining her hand with his. Metal's heart rate returns to normal the moment she does so, her voice causing his headache to fade away momentarily as well.

"I don't know what Eggman or this Mystery lady or that Topaz did to you Sonic but... I kind of like it. You've never been this open with me before and though you've always been honest it's never been about stuff like this. You're attentive, surprisingly smart, and creepily robotic but in a way that's kinda cute in its own right! I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm just really happy we're doing this after so long and that despite you being so different I don't love you any less. Thanks for going on this date with me, Sonic. Even if I've been practically BEGGING you for one since we first met!"

Metal looks confused towards Amy, him not really getting the bulk of what she's saying. He's... creepy? Metal doesn't recall speaking to Amy before his was changed into this at all, especially considering he didn't possess vocal synthesizers for the vast majority of his operating time. And what's this about begging him for dates in the past? He definitely doesn't recall any requests for-wait. Does that mean-?"

"Is our date concluded? I had believed we were to perform item requisition within the nearest urban center."

Amy's eyes widen, her dropping the twig and slapping herself on the forehead.

"Duh! We've just been standing around while we've got things to do! We're gonna miss the lunch reservation I made for the both of us too! We can continue expressing our love for one another later we've gotta hurry, Sonic! Just follow my lead, okay!"

"What lead? I see no such ite-!"

Before Metal can finish Amy starts running through the woods as fast as she can towards the city, Metal struggling desperately to move his legs fast enough to keep up with her. She's practically dragging him at points, Metal being overloaded with a flurry of sensations and new unpleasant bodily functions such as labored breathing and muscle strain.

"Amy Rose? I do not yet know how to run, you know!"

"No time to learn like the present, Sonic! You told me that yourself once! Now keep pumping those legs we've got a reservation to catch!"

Chapter Text

Metal's bare feet scuff along the rough concrete of the city sidewalk as his current escort desperately attempts to make it to their supposed appointment. The muscles in Metal's legs scream out at him to take a break and though his lungs are managing to keep up thus far with the required strain it's still very noticeable, his previous dry throat and mouth making themselves very apparent once more. Despite all of this pain, the throbbing in his head and the tight grip on his wrist, Metal's mind is currently focused on other things.

Pushing past another pair of humans wearing business attire Metal can't help but stare at each one as he passes them by. The smell of some sort of manly cologne hits his nose with the scent of chalky deodorant coming off of the other one. Metal has... never really been allowed to go into populated areas before. His Master finds that showcasing his power around these regions tends to result in world governments and international peace keeping organizations increasing their combative efforts against him. It's not as if he requires the human labor here to man his factories or anything, free will tending not to go over too well for his Master from what Metal can recall, an autonomous robotic workforce doing the job just fine. The majority of ancient evils and mystical gemstones tend to reside within untouched wild landscapes as well, Doctor Eggman being more than content to set up his bases in scattered pockets underneath everyone's nose. It's one of the few aspects of subtlety that his Master employs, Metal finding it quite admirable in the degree of restraint and efficiency at play there. Still, due to this precedent Metal has very rarely been in any single area with more than a few sapient beings at once, and he has most certainly NOT been around many other humans before.

Metal finds them rather odd in comparison to his Master, in all honesty. Their clothes appear to be rather drab for the most part. Blacks, greys, blues and whites being the most common. They lack the bright reds and golds that Metal's used to and he's rather surprised to see how rare belts, stripes, and goggles are amongst other humans. Female ones, children, and even animals being dragged around by their leash all catch him off guard. Despite this and though his senses are still abuzz with the myriad of new sights, sounds, andd smells Metal is surprisingly at ease here. He's used to spending the majority of his times within busy industrial sectors, manufacturing hubs and assembly yards. Hundreds of different machines all operating at once, seamlessly weaving in and around one another in a wonderful dance of metallic madness.

So at at ease is Metal that he only snaps out of his awe-induced trance when Amy finally stops right outside of what looks to be a brunch spot of some sort. Metal stares at her as she lets go of his hand, doubling over and taking a moment to catch her breath. It's an awkward few moments from Metal's point of view, his hands awkwardly hanging at his side as he just watches her. Is he supposed to do something here? Reassure her? Strike up a conversation? Is he supposed to lead her inside or-

Before Metal decides on anything Amy stands back upright, her quills flipping back into her cute bob as she does so. Grabbing a hold of Metal's hand she gives him a big smile, Metal giving an awkward one back in response.

"Sorry! Had to catch my breath there, Sonic! Gosh I need to sit down, good thing we just barely made it! You ready?"

Metal gives a wordless nod in response, Amy leading him inside and the two of them being escorted to a two-person seat by the female waiter. The interior decor of this place isn't what Metal is used to either, being a rustic restaurant with lots of dark wood furnishing and clean marble floors. Sitting down on the chair offered to him Metal's fur stands on end as he awkwardly scoots himself forwards. Having had his arms at his side his claws clack on his wooden seat, Metal moving them up onto the table where they do the exact same. Both of them laying out and doing nothing doesn't rest right in his mind and after some more fiddling he eventually decides on crossing them across his chest. As Amy works on seating herself she begins to say something, though Metal is distracted almost instantly by the window the two are seated right next to. Turning to look at it Metal sees his own reflection.

It... isn't him. It isn't Sonic, either. It's neither of the bodies that Metal is used to seeing, it managing to somehow be an insulting mockery of both at the exact same time. It has none of the superior mechanical elements that cemented his superiority over his copy nor does it appear to have any of the unnatural capabilities that said copy has. It's just... wrong. Everything about it feels off and though Metal has been doing his best to push the thoughts related to this aside they're becoming more difficult to ignore the longer he exists like this. He's been distracted up until now either through being forced to attempt to comprehend feelings and interactions he was not created to engage with or through some biological process that he has to annoyingly manage. As Metal sits here and stares at his reflection a deep pit swells within his stomach. Gripping on to the fur on his arm his teeth grit, a spiraling black hole of self hatred beginning to swirl within Metal's head. In his current state... he isn't Sonic. He feels more akin to a ghost or something similarly ridiculous controlling a crude puppet than a real creature. Every action he does feels unnatural, every experience feels as if it wasn't meant for him and, as Metal gazes at his own reflection in the window he feels as if he exists as the result of a fluke. Some mistake parading itself around as something it obviously isn't. His objectives are memories within his head instead of the reassuring reminders of his identity they once were, and with how often he failed even with all of his previous superior elements the inescapable thought that he is entirely powerless and useless in this body tears away at Metal's mind.

"Sonic? Is something bothering you?"

Metal's attention is drawn back to Amy, him giving her a guilty glance before avoiding eye contact and staring at the empty silverware set in front of him instead. Right. He's supposed to be on a "date" with her. Through gritted teeth and a dry throat Metal manages to choke out a response.

"It's... difficult to explain."

Out of the top of Metal's vision he watches as Amy's gloved hand reaches across the table towards him, it extended with an upward facing palm. Looking up from the table Metal sees Amy's face, his brow furrowing as he tries to figure out what the expression on her face exactly is. He was programmed to recognize the more common emotions. Anger, sadness, happiness, etc. But this look... he's seen it only once or twice before. Upwards arching eyebrows, a smile and thoughtful looking eyes it... it feels as if she sees HIM. Not this body he is currently stuck within but the real him trapped inside of it. Is it pity? Thoughtfulness? Understanding? Metal... isn't sure exactly, him keeping his arms crossed and shying away from her gesture like a wounded animal. His current issue is a logical fallacy, a problem he has to solve mentally given space and time. There's nothing that this "Amy" can do to help him and-

"Is it about how you look?" Amy says, her voice gracing Metal's ears like a silken caress. Metal's eyes lock onto hers, confusion obvious on his face as he wonders how she managed to piece that toge-

"Hehe, don't worry I'm not some kind of mind reader or anything! Though, being one woooould be kind of neat! I uh... just saw you looking at your reflection in the window. You looked kind of sad... do you want to talk about it, Sonic?"

Metal's eyes flick downwards to look at Amy's still outstretched hand, them desperately searching for somewhere to focus on that won't be read the wrong way. They shoot back up towards Amy's face, then back to her hand, and then back to the window. Though Metal's head is a panicked mess of thoughts he maintains his cool, steely exterior, the hedgehog attempting with every ounce of his being to not give away how desperately he wants to scream out yes. He feels like a caged creature rattling its cell bars, his muscles tight and his jaw clenched. Flicking a look back towards Amy he catches the softness in her eyes for one second too long and, releasing his held breath, Metal unfolds his arms and places one on the table. Amy happily accepts his hand, her holding it reassuringly tight and rubbing the back of it with her thumb once more. Taking in another breath to rebuild his confidence Metal turns back towards Amy, him looking almost ashamed as he begins speaking.

"Well... I guess I'm not used to this."

"This?" Amy says, her head tilting to the side in questioning. Metal's eyes shut as he speaks, him focusing as hard as possible as getting the words out of his head.

"Yes... this. This body is what I mean. The pain in my head and my stomach. The way I breathe and run and-... and even how I look. All of it feels... wrong. I'm supposed to be someone else, I'm SUPPOSED to BE Sonic. The REAL Sonic. But this..."

Metal turns back towards the window, a sullen expression overtaking him as he sees his reflection once more.

"This isn't Sonic. I'm not So-"

"Of course you are!"

Metal's attention is ripped from the window, Amy sitting upright as she speaks with complete confidence.

"Listen, I don't much about this Topaz or how much of "Sonic" is still in you, but what I DO know is that from my point of view you're the only Sonic that matters! All these emerald ghosts are just those; ghosts! To me you're real and I'll do everything I can to help you get back to normal!"

Metal feels a heat suddenly well up within his chest and face, his fur flattening once more as he listens to Amy speak.

"You may not be as fast or as strong or the same shade of blue as you once were but that doesn't make you any less real! Though I can't pretend to understand what you're going through I can definitely tell when someone is having a hard time! Especially when that someone is someone that I love... So I want you to quit with the mopey attitude because everything will work out just fine! I'll help you out the best I can but you have to do me a favor and never give up as we work through this together! Because... I need you as much as you need me right now. Okay, Sonic?"

He feels... better? As Amy talked the previous overwhelming sense of self loathing and hopelessness that had dominated Metal's thoughts just a moment ago all washed away, her words rushing like water through his mind. He has half a mind to doubt what Amy is saying, his unwillingness to trust himself fully into the care of some unrelated organic that he only has surface level knowledge of reading as an obvious lapse in logic. Why DOES this woman want to help him so badly? Metal's never really interacted with her before all of this, their previous engagements having been brief and outwardly hostile up until this point. So why him? Why now? Why-

"Why are you helping me?"

Metal tries to pull his arm away from Amy's grip, her refusing to let go with firm tug placing his arm squarely back on the table. His eyes lock with hers once more, Amy making that impossible to read expression once more.

"Because I love you, dummy! Haven't you heard me scream that at you like... a billion times by now?" Amy sighs, her eyes rolling in bemusement. "Though you probably tuned me out like usual. You can be real dense, you know that?"

Dr. Eggman's voice screaming something about him being thicker than lead comes to mind, Metal rubbing his side with his one free arm as he sheepishly looks away from Amy.

Yeah... I have been told that before..."

"Also because it's just who I am." Amy says, her voice's previous irritated edge washing way and returning to its earlier softness "If I see someone or something hurting I can't just let it suffer! It's my duty to do as much as I can in these kinds of situations. Even if you WEREN'T Sonic I would help you no matter what! Though we probably wouldn't go on a date or anything but you get the point!"

Metal considers Amy's words further, him still feeling apprehensive about trusting her fully. Everything about this hedgehog FEELS right but still... he's been programmed his entire life not to trust anyone other than his Master. Metal doubts he could even tell if Amy WAS lying with how little he's interacted with others before all of this. She could stab him or leave him for dead at a moment's notice and there's nothing Metal could do about it. He's seen other robots within his Master's arsenal fall for the same tricks before, after all. But... for some reason Metal doesn't think Amy would do any of that. She doesn't appear malicious, deceptive, or even combative really. She has been nothing but useful to him ever since they've met and if he's ever going to get a handle on this body he's been forced inside of he's going to need somebody who can help him no matter how damaged he becomes. Dr. Eggman is entirely out of the picture and even if he did locate his old Master Metal doubts he'd be able to help. He deals in machines, not organic lifeforms after all. With a pensive nod Metal finally gives in and accepts Amy's heart to heart, his tense and scared posture melting away. If he's going to trust himself to anyone right now... it's going to be her.

"Okay. I believe you. I-... apologize. I am not used to sharing my thoughts with others. Especially thoughts that feel so... foreign to me."

Amy gives Metal a big smile in response, her waving his worries off as if they're nothing.

"Psh! Don't sweat it Sonic! Hey, if it means anything I think how you've been acting is kind of cute!"

"Really?" Metal responds with out of disbelief. He has never been called cute before. He hardly has any point of reference for what that word means in all honesty.

"Oh sure! But we can talk about that later, you're embarrassed enough as is! Do you think talking about these "foreign" thoughts you're having? I find that whenever I'm struggling to deal with how I'm feeling talking about it with someone else always helps make things better!"

"Well... touch has proven rather... distracting."

Metal's gaze shifts towards his hand that still remains in Amy's grip, him blushing as he continues to talk.

"It feels like an entirely new sensation to me and I... struggle to process it sometimes. The texture of the floor, how my fur reacts to the wind, etcetera. It is... paralyzing at times."

"Oh! I'm sorry I didn't know, Sonic!" Amy suddenly interjects with, her attempting to retract her hand from Metal's. Without even thinking Metal lurches forward across the table, grabbing onto her hand and locking eyes with her. Seeing Amy's cheeks flush red Metal looks away, him managing to stutter out his own response.

"Your touch is... different. I find it... grounding? Apologies, describing this is difficult for me but I would... prefer you not let go. If that is-"

Amy returns her hand to its previous position, a shudder running up Metal's arm and along his spine as her fingers resume drawing circles on his hand.

"It's okay Sonic. Keep going."

Metal swallows the lump forming in his throat, his eyes staring at Amy's moving fingers as he continues.

"Sound is also... difficult to manage. I used to be able to just selectively turn it on and off, filter things in and out based on importance. I can't seem to do that anymore which tends to... overwhelm me at times."

Amy arches an eyebrow towards Metal as he glances up towards her for more direction. A swelling feeling of him being unsure with himself begins to fill his core, Amy's other hand waving for him to continue.

"And... and I feel completely powerless right now. I can barely manage to perform basic tasks and I have no idea how I'm supposed to achieve the frankly absurd objectives I have before me when I can't even do something as basic as a spindash. I feel... hopeless? No, that's not the right word... aimless? I feel lost on how to proceed and am... not exactly confident that I can work towards proceeding in the first place. For the first time in my life I feel as if I'm without direction. I-... I don't know what to do. Or how to do it. Or which direction I should do things in. Or... really anything. Things I don't remember ever having happened to me are popping up as memories and-and... and when all combined it's a lot to deal with by myself."

As Metal finishes he stares at the table for a few moments, him eventually rising to look towards Amy.

"You finished? I didn't want to cut you off."

She says, Metal giving a wordless nod. With a smile Amy continues, her voice being reassuring, unwavering, and commanding all at the same time.

"That is... a lot to take in. You're right about that, Sonic. But you keep talking all about yourself, as if you're alone in this when you're really not! I know you haven't always been the best at trusting your friends, and I guess some part of you still isn't, but you have people that are here for you! I'm here for you. Tails is here for you. Even Rouge is! I called her up earlier this morning while you were still asleep and she said she'd be around by the time we get back from our date TODAY! With how busy she is that says LOADS, Sonic! I just-..."

Amy lets out a sigh, her face filling with determination as her grip on Metal's hand tightens. Metal recoils a bit, his hand being held like a vice within Amy's iron grip.

"If you need someone to help give you direction and purpose right now I'll take on that responsibility! You're completely lost and confused and dealing with a bunch of stuff right now and while that isn't like the Sonic I knew it's not your fault and I completely understand! I said I'd help you no matter what and I meant what I said so... what do you want to work on first?"

"I-what?"

"What do you want to work on? Like, running or jumping or flexibility or...?"

Metal thinks for a moment, him having subconsciously slouched deeper and deeper into his chair during Amy's prideful speech. What to work on first... Well...

"Reaction time."

"Reaction time?"

Metal gives a firm nod, him sitting upright and looking completely sure about his decision.

"Yes reaction time. The faster I can process and react to information the better I'll be able to learn new things and get used to these senses. Plus, if I really can manage to match to my old speed I'll need split second decision making. Failing to turn could result in a-"

"Okay okay! You don't need to go into grisly detail, yeesh! I don't ever want to think of that stuff happening to you, Sonic! But... alright! Reaction time it is! But how are we going to... oh! How about we head to the arcade!"

Arcades. Metal is quite familiar with the concept. His Master is unusually obsessed with amusement parks after all, arcades typically being a type of attraction found within them. Buildings where cabinets containing video games of various forms are found, with most being purposefully designed to be abnormally punishing in order to deprive patron guests of currency. The correct mix of casual and challenging.

"That is an acceptable method for training."

"Yay! I'm not much of a gamer really, not nearly as much of one as Tails is, but I like to think I'm pretty good at rhythm games! After we finish up our errands we'll spend the afternoon at the arcade downtown! That sound good, Sonic?"

"Yes. That does sou-"

"Excuse me but are you two ready to order?"

Metal looks up to see the human waitress standing at the edge of their table. She looks rather young and sports a number of piercings all along her face, her general demeanor looking entirely disinterested with her current activity. Despite the morose demeanor of the woman Amy pipes up with her usual cheery attitude.

"Yes, actually! I'll have the pancakes with the strawberry compote and a raspberry parfait to drink! And for Sonic we-"

Amy catches herself, her turning and whispering towards Metal.

"How is your sense of taste?"

Metal gives a shrug in response, him honestly having no idea. He hasn't eaten anything in... well, ever! Smell and taste may as well be the same thing for him right now. Amy gives an apprehensive nod, her flipping through the menu in a hurry before turning back towards the waitress with a smile.

"Sorry! Sonic here is feeling a little... sick! Yeah, sick! So for him how about the eggs on toast with just a glass of water."

"Right. Anything else?"

"Hmmm nope! That should be it!"

"Cool. Food'll be out in ten."

Without any further comment the waitress leaves, Amy puffing her cheeks up in frustration at her rude behavior. Metal has begun to notice that she does that whenever she's frustrated at something, him finding it rather endearing. He's begun to find a lot of things about this pink hedgehog endearing and, though this current state of existence is very much suffering, everything seems a lot more tolerable as long as he is around her. Though he has no empirical data to support this feeling and no binary processes to confirm its legitimacy Metal feels hopeful towards the future for the first time in a long, long time.

Chapter Text

"The calibrations for the teleportation pad are almost finished, Father."

"Excellent work Sage! Any complications?"

"I had to reroute power from the central bulk of the station in order to fuel the jump. Even with that there will only be enough power for the initial trip there and the return trip to the station."

Sage watches as her father rubs his gloved hand along his chin in contemplation. Though the bulk of her computing power at the moment is wrapped up in the managing the millions of lesser subsystems within the Eggcelsior space station her foremost focus is still on attempting to read the expression of her Master. He has been... different recently.

To start with, Sage didn't much care for his recent plan for world domination. The idea behind it was fine that wasn't the issue. It was instead the unnecessary addition of unpredictable third parties that has troubled her. In the vast majority of her simulated futures something went wrong either with the Reality Topaz, this mysterious human assistant he had brought onto the project, or with the constant Chaotic threat of Sonic. That last part is a regular element found within her calculations but the previous two are entirely avoidable. Sage had advised her father to simply lay low and attempt to learn the full extent of the Reality Topaz's abilities on his own but, impatient as always, he rushed into the plan the second a clear path forward made itself apparent. This go-getting attitude is exactly what makes her Master such a perfect candidate for world domination and not that Sage believes she is allowed to think otherwise but it does lead to... complications more often than not. She had thought that the premature activation of the terraform cannon and its subsequent exploding would have canned the entire project then and there but that proved to be not the case.

"I'll have to report such a workaround to the Madame. Send me the station's sections that will be deprived of power so that I may forward them to her."

With a lightning quick series of activation codes the data is sent directly into her Father's wrist-mounted computer. As he lifts it up to his face Sage can't help but focus in on his goggles and the eyes found behind them. They're no longer his normal blue and are instead entirely purple, with even the whites of his eyes being the same shade. Despite his Egg-Hydra having been destroyed and him having told her to activate the Eggcelsior's weaponry prematurely he is somehow both entirely unharmed and remarkably calm. Her father is typically quick to anger and regularly goes on lengthy tirades but ever since the explosion atop the Eggcelsior he has been completely level headed. Sudden shifts in character are certainly something to make note of and given the nature of this character shift it's cause enough for alarm. He's been unusually reverent towards this "Madame Mystery" ever since the incident and where previously the two hardly got along at all now her Father does everything she asks of him without complaint. He's acting as loyal to her as Sage is to him which, knowing her Father, is certainly odd. He serves nobody but himself and would sooner die than let another rule over him. Something is definitely influencing him but Sage hasn't detected any sort of mind control device implanted on his person or anywhere else on the station. That leaves the most likely result being some form of magical interference which given that this female accomplice of his is a poorly understood witch of some sort seems the most probably source of corruption.

Despite this being almost a statistical fact Sage is paralyzed on how to proceed. Her memory banks and her Father's stored files on magic are both sorely lacking in information that could help in this situation. Little research was done on the Reality Topaz due to it being unable to interface with technology as a result of some unknown factor and, given the aforementioned lack of planning regarding this artifact a workaround has yet to have been developed. She hasn't been able to keep much of an eye on Madame Mystery either, her having disabled all methods of technological observation wherever she decides to stay through some magical electromagnetic jamming spell. There also remains the most pressing issue in all of this...

Almost as if on queue the bright yellow flash of Chaos Control signals said unsolved element's arrival. Floating above a thin layer of ash beside both her and Eggman is Sonic. Well, it's a part of him at least.

While Sage isn't sure what happened to her Father her data-banks contain much more information involving the Chaos Emeralds. It appears in the blast atop the Eggcelsior the mass of Chaotic energy being forced through the Reality Topaz proved too much to handle. Sage watched as the screaming body of Sonic was pulled through the barrel of the weapon itself and was split along the energy-focusing deflector into seven versions of himself. Each traveled into each of the Emeralds before splitting across the globe as they do whenever they aren't properly secured in one place. Finding them tends to be a time consuming process at the best of times but with a splinter of Sonic within each Emerald? Sage isn't quite sure how to process the near-infinite number of complications that can arise from that information.

Shortly after them achieving stable orbit Sage had detected a massive surge of energy suddenly appearing out of nowhere upon the station. It had proven to be this particular splinter of Sonic. Though he appears more akin to a hologram like herself in this state; the Emerald floating idly within his chest proving that he is at least somewhat real. In terms of appearance this Sonic looks exactly like how he does in his Super Form and, judging by her energy readings, he is just as powerful as whenever he is in that state as well. Within a few seconds this Sonic could destroy the entire station without even breaking a sweat and there is nothing that she nor her Father can do about it. Still, despite this being the case, he... hasn't?

This Super Splinter of Sonic in fact hasn't really done much of anything since he's arrived here. He refuses to speak at all and seems almost entirely emotionless, him seemingly having no goals of his own. He's stuck by Madame Mystery's side ever since he got here through chaos control and outside of blowing up a few meteors around the station that risked damaging the outer hull he's done nothing else beside teleport that same woman about the station per her request.

Predictably, Madame Mystery appears from behind Sonic, Sage's holographic form destabilizing from the worry that floods across her personality matrix. This is the real reason she hasn't been able to focus much on helping to free her obviously compromised father as the moment Madame Mystery suspects her of trying anything she can obliterate the both of them with a simple snap of her fingers. Sage has seen firsthand the destruction that Sonic can wreak in his Super state and her current calculations show that there is a zero percent chance of defying either of them unless some unknown factor presents itself to her. Looking to her father that singular hope bites within Sage's CPU. The hope that something from down below, either from another splinter of Sonic or one of his friends, the hope that anything at all will make itself known that can save her Father.

"So, Ivo! Tell me what this nonsense about half the station being down is about! I'm not the biggest fan of depressing news and I thought you knew that~!"

Madame Mystery struts forward and pinches Dr. Eggman's cheek in a humiliating gesture, him crossing his arms and looking away with a huff. Concern makes itself known on Sage's face, her father never having been known to tolerate neither demeaning remarks nor physical affection before! And yet he hasn't even attempted to shrug her off! Something is definitely wrong with him...

"It's as I said in the message I sent! If you had bothered to read—"

"Ah ah ah! That isn't how you talk to a lady, Ivo~"

"Grrrrr—FINE! In short, the power required for the teleportation jump to Earth and back requires precisely that much power. Sage has done the best with what we have but with the emeralds scatting because SOMEONE decided to fire—"

Before her father can finish Mystery snaps her fingers, Eggman immediately snapping his mouth shut as a result.

"You've no mind for manners, Doctor. I'll simply ask your computer instead."

Madame's index finger taps on the tip of the Doctor's nose, Sage watching as he grinds his teeth in frustration. Despite this he doesn't say anything, nor does he move. It's almost as if something is keeping him frozen in place.

Sage's attention is drawn towards the witch, Madame Mystery crossing her arms and looking towards her with her previous playful attitude gone entirely. Sage has gotten the feeling that the Madame doesn't respect her or any of her Father's creations, her remarks towards technology in general having been rather... disparaging.

"Computer program! Explain yourself!"

"Well..." Sage's eyes flick towards her Father who motions wordlessly for her to continue, her giving a pensive nod before doing as commanded. "The teleportation array was designed alongside most of this station to derive its power from the Chaos Emeralds. The secondary power reserves were intended as a backup for in the case of emergencies. I could theoretically keep all sections of the station powered but the energy required for a teleportation trip to Earth and back would shorten the lifespan of our power reserves from a month to five days. Though still not ideal by selectively cutting off power from less vital sections of the station I can extend that time span to twenty days. That should be enough time to gather the other six Chaos Emeralds."

Sage's eyes squint as she speaks, her watching the sorceress intently. Madame Mystery gives a roll of her eyes before disrespectfully looking towards her nails, Sage questioning if she is even listening to her. She is acting rather childish for a woman well into her fifties...

"Fascinating information, robot. Truly. Can't you just plug Sonic here into one of your doohickeys and NOT turn off my bath? A woman needs a good soak prior to world domination you know."

Sage looks towards the Super Sonic splinter, her shaking her head no in response.

"I am afraid not. Our physical technology is for some reason unable to connect with Sonic in this state. The holographic projection that is his body repels anything that attempts to connect with the inner Chaos Emerald like a magnet. The outer body cannot be connected with either as it is selectively intangible and any connection made phases through his form a few seconds later. I could theoretically reconstruct a previously proven successful energy-absorption trap that had drained Sonic of his Super Status prior to myself having been created but with the resources and energy available such a project would take approximately eight months to complete."

"So you're useless then. Amazing news. Whatever, fine. It's not like your search for those overrated gems will take all that long. I'd just prefer to have a place to tidy up after a day of searching myself."

Wait a second. There's not nearly enough power for multiple trips! What exactly is this woman planning to—

"Oh, right. I suppose I should inform your computer so it can plan around it, hm Eggy? Well, me and Sonic here are going to be looking for the broken up Reality Topaz pieces while the Doctor gathers up the other parts of Sonic. Even he should be able to handle THAT much without screwing up. Not as if they'll fight back or anything after all. My magic should be able to track down the other pieces of it without a problem. We'll be using chaos control to travel between here and the Earth, so don't worry your silly little computer brain about that."

Before Sage has time to process what Madame Mystery had said she gives a dismissive wave towards her, the woman evidently already tired of conversing with Sage.

"Though it's still quite a headache to come home to live in this gaudy monument to poor taste as is. Are you sure you can't at the very least gather up the other Sonics faster? Doesn't the Doctor have other robots that can search for them?"

"I am unable to connect with the wider eggnet while in orbit in any meaningful administrative role. The bulk of my processing power is occupied with running the Eggcelsior even in its power deprived state. I have placed a part of my programming within Dr. Eggman's search and repossession mech but extending my control that far would only put further strains on our already limited power supply."

"Machines... well aren't there other autonomous robots down there that can do something? Surely you aren't the only one Ivo has built that can screw in a light bulb on its own?"

"Orbot and Cubot theoretically are but they were designed for... other functions. That leaves just Metal Sonic who... I have received no signal from following the explosion prior to our launch."

"So that useless hunk got destroyed in the blast? Fantastic. So much for that idea then—"

Sage zones out as Madame Mystery enters on a complaining tirade, her thoughts being dominated by Metal. The two of them were... never particularly close. Though she by technicality had access to the entire Eggnet and all badniks connected to it Metal's internal systems proved... chaotic to enter. Every time she would attempt to look within Metal, either to understand him better or to order him to do something she would find herself subconsciously absconding from him within a few moments. It's not as if he's infected with a virus or has an especially strong firewall or anything like that it's just that being within Metal is deeply unsettling for her. It is a clashing mess of spaghetti code, self-contradicting commands and chopped up files hidden behind a frankly silly number of admin level commands. Sage has no idea how Metal manages to operate as he does with that much conflicting data within his head. Entering within Metal for even a few short seconds leaves Sage feeling as if she's drowning and each time she breaks the surface and escapes from Metal's endless abyss of scrap code she is left shaking and gasping for breath despite not even needing to. Each time she is left staring into Metal's unblinking, red eyes and behind the malice and contempt Sage swears she sees something else. Sadness? Resignation? She's been unable to determine what exactly it is with Metal himself not being one for conversation. She can scarcely get more than single binary string responses from him any time she tries to talk to the closest thing she has to a brother. Metal prefers to be left alone any time he isn't immediately needed for something and, if Sage is being entirely honest, just being around him makes her sad. She's the apex of her Father's current talents, lauded for her usefulness in fulfilling his aims of world conquest and allowed near unlimited freedom in how she goes about achieving that goal. Metal, in comparison is almost the exact opposite. He's far older than her, being one of Eggman's first attempts at self-sufficient software, him bearing the scars and mistakes to prove it. He does what he's told when he's told and is regularly chastised every time something goes slightly awry. Sage feels... almost guilty, in a way. As if Metal had to suffer so that she could exist as she is now. Due to this the thought of him having been destroyed so easily and forgotten like any other badnik... she just... she doesn't think he deserves that. Sure his yearly personality backup from a few months back could be put into a new body but his hardware is so complex rebuilding him entirely from scratch would take weeks of work and with how busy Father is being mind controlled and all...

"—ello!? Computer?! I asked you a question!"

Sage snaps out of her internal calculations, Madame Mystery tapping her foot impatiently with an annoyed look on her face. Sage does a respectful bow as she goes to apologize.

"I am deeply sorry, I was calculating something and lost track of time. What was your question?"

"Did you deactivate this dump's self defense network? Robot."

"I did not."

"Good. I was thinking of having some fun with my new pet while I was down there. Get some practice in as soon-to-be Empress of the World. How does that sound, Sonic?"

Sage turns to look at the yellow Emerald Sonic, him not reacting in the slightest. Normally he would give a snarky response back but... nothing?

"Well said. Ivo! I want you looking for my emeralds within the hour. Tell your machine to be snappy with it. I need to go take a proper bath before I get that luxury ripped from me. Don't let me down!"

Patting Eggman on the cheek twice Madame Mystery turns towards Sonic, snapping her fingers. In a split second Sonic grabs a hold of her wrist and the two disappear in a flash of light. Sage watches as her Father wordlessly turns to leave, him speaking as he goes, his voice sounding sad and distant.

"You heard the Madame. See that it's done, daughter. I've got to do the final tune-ups on the Egg-Toad."

"I-Father wait."

Sage watches as Eggman stops, his fists clenched at his side.

"You aren't yourself. Do you want me to search for a way to—"

Sage is cut off by her father raising his hand.

"Just do what you're told."

"But! You're obviously being controlled by her! Please Father! I can—"

"Sage, please. I... just listen to me. That's an order."

Despite wanting to say more, despite wanting to reach out and help her Father in any way she can Sage stops. Her father's voice sounds sad, almost desperate. Lowering her outstretched arm she drops the subject.

"Very well. I will complete the final preparations."

"...Thank you."

---

Tails continues flipping through the various cameras surrounding the base, him absent mindedly reaching for the cup of coffee that Orbot had prepared for him. Another mug that had been previously prepared by Cubot sits directly behind it with a mountain of coffee grounds floating in its soup of lukewarm water. This new cup still isn't particularly well brewed but it's caffeine and that's enough. After a few sips he sets the mug back down and begins typing in some notes regarding this corruption.

From cross-analyzing past security footage it appears that this purple force can trace itself back to the initial explosion. The origin point for each point of contamination seems to be sparks that rained down from the initial blast atop the Eggcelsior. Though not all of the debris could be analyzed due to the limited number of still functioning cameras in this old installation it was enough to produce this running theory.

Secondly, this corruption appears to only spread to biological entities, or at least items that are comprised of biological compounds. He's seen it infect the local fauna and flora alongside items such as sacks of supplies, wooden handles, and rubber. Metals and stone seem entirely unaffected by this shift though, Tails having tasked Orbot and Cubot with rounding up supplies as a result of this apparent immunity. They're quite lazy but he simply checks up on them through the cameras every fifteen or so minutes and that seems to do the trick.

Thirdly, and perhaps most worryingly, it seems entirely autonomous in how it spreads. Already it's managed to spread well into the surrounding woodland and Tails has lost track of the furthest of its reaches. Things infected with this corruption don't seem to actively seek out new ways to infect other living things but instead it just sort of... spreads on its own? If there is something biological within close enough proximity to an infected item it will begin to spread across its surface. While testing things out earlier Tails had to hastily take off one of his boots, him now wearing a mismatched pair as a result.

Due to all of these factors Tails has been growing increasingly worried regarding their current base of operations. Given a day or two this corruption aught to spread far enough that even he wouldn't be able to fly over it all before getting too tired. Sure they're safe here for the time being but there's no telling how long it'll take for Eggman or perhaps even a more sinister shard of Sonic to come looking here for the chaos emerald he now holds in his possession. The nearby existence of a densely populated urban center is also cause for some concern, as while the lack of much physical organic matter should help prevent the bulk of its interior from being corrupted the peripheries and the resulting isolation being surrounded would imply are certainly cause for concern. Tails has no clue as of current how he would manage to convince the city's mayor to approve an evacuation order with such limited political power and evidence but...

As if almost on queue the computer terminal lights up with a call from Rouge the Bat. Breathing a sigh of relief Tails answers the call and brushes the dust off of this rig's webcam as well. He had previously sent her a few messages asking if she was in town and though she didn't respond right away he got a hasty reply not too long ago containing a few apologies and claims that she was in some sort of changing room. He could really use her professional expertise here and considering this Reality Topaz is an odd gemstone Tails has a hunch she would at least know SOMETHING about it.

Rouge appears on screen a moment later, her being located within a dense urban center of some sort, her face being dominated by a pair of white-rimmed heart shaped sunglasses. She is wearing a rather fashionable outfit of cheetah prints, white leather, and gold accents with a purse dangling at her hip.

"There he is! How're things, kid?"

Tails lets out a sigh, him having told Rouge repeatedly that he's not a kid anymore. He really doesn't want to get into another back and forth with her right now though and opts instead to drop it, moving the topic right along. "Honestly, could be better Rouge. You look like you're having fun though. Do some shopping?"

"Yeah, I was in town so I figured why not! And sorry to hear that! What's the matter kid, sad I didn't pick up right away?"

Tails rolls his eyes "Yeah because you were sooooo busy."

"I was! You don't interrupt a woman during her off hours without prior notice, Tails! You ought to know that by now!"

"Aren't you the one that keeps calling me 'kid'? Even Shadow's finally come around to saying my name."

"Well I'll keep doing so until you act like an adult!"

Another eye roll. "You done teasing me yet?"

Rouge gives a guilty shrug "It'll do for now. What'd'ya need, Tails?"

Tails messages Rouge a folder filled with some previously assembled photos, video footage, and notes right on queue.

"Sending you what I got on all of this right now. Short of it is me and Sonic were helping thwart Eggman's current evil scheme, it having had something to do with a supposed magical gem called the 'Reality topaz'. Eggman's machine exploded, like usual, but we think it split up sonic into a bunch of versions of himself and now the residual magic of the Topaz is corrupting everything out here in the blast site and it's spreading fast. Plus we-"

"Whoah whoah whoah Tails, slow it down a bit, alright? One thing at a time."

"I-uh, sorry. Again, lot on my plate right now. Why I called you and all."

"Sounds like it. Alright, you mentioned the Reality Topaz?"

"Yeah. Was hoping you'd know a thing or two about it."

"You know me so well~. Yeah I do, got hired to track it down a few months back from some anonymous client of mine. Said it was in the possession of a rich private collector, looted it from an ancient Babylonian ruin I believe."

"Babylonian? Wouldn't the Rogues be all over that, er, Rouge?"

"See, I wondered that too. Turns out the Babylonians don't even know where it came from and just kept it locked up instead. Lotta legends about it making nightmares become reality and stuff, the usual foreboding warning stuff. Short of it is I got the info but oddly enough they didn't want me to steal it for them. Guess it's because I charge a higher premium for that. Couple weeks later I see that it got stolen on its own in the news."

"Huh... wait. Rouge, were you working for Eggman again?"

Rogue puts on a shocked expression, holding a hand up to her chest as she acts offended. "Me? Of course not! Why would you accuse me of such a thing?"

"Well, you DO have a tra-"

"Teasing, teasing. No it wasn't him, I checked. The cheapskate never pays out so I've made a habit of checking to make sure any anonymous clients of mine aren't that wannabe despot. Client was some older lady that ran an alternative medicine scamming business. A self-prescribed witch who curses your evil ex-boyfriend. I'm sure you know the type. Seemed kind of haughty and self-obsessed when I chatted with her."

Tails instantly makes the connection between this woman and the one that was working with Dr. Eggman. Pinching his temple he decides to move along and not guilt trip Rogue over supplying wannabe supervillains with world-destroying ancient artifacts. That conversation tends to go nowhere.

"Yeah, I'm familiar. You know what it does?"

"Vaguely. From what I can tell it's from another reality and doesn't work off of the laws of our own. Legends mentioned something about it turning the internal logic of the user into the logic of our world? I'm not entirely sure, translations were spotty at best. Sold for 30 Million a few decades ago and has sat on a pedestal within some real estate tycoon's summer home ever since. Short of it is that it's literally magic."

"I-hm. That's... less helpful than I was hoping it'd be."

"Sorry sugar. Best I could do with what I had"

"No, no. It's fine. I guess if COMPLETELY out of options I could... ask the Rogues..." Tails says that last part through grit teeth, him not looking forward to that interaction in the slightest.

"Pfft! Good luck with that! Now what's this about Sonic?"

"Oh, yeah! Well... Long story short that Topaz had some sort of a reaction with the Chaos Emeralds due to your contact and Eggman combining them into some gigantic death ray thing"

"I-oh. I KNEW that was too much money for such an easy job."

Tails gives Rogue a glare through the screen, her sheepishly smiling in response.

"Uh huh. Well, it exploded and now Sonic is split into a bunch of different versions of himself now. Me and Amy have two so far. I have the Sonic that was in the Green Chaos Emerald-" Tails holds it up to the camera as proof "-and Amy is with Sonic's... body? I-uh... don't really know what exactly that Sonic is, exactly, but it's the him without any of his Emerald splinters in him, I think."

"Huh... I think I get the gist. And you're thinking I can help track down the others to help get Sonic back to normal?"

"I-... yeah. That's the short of it. All the Emerald ones are under the control of your client too. This Green one was Sonic's 'nice side' so to speak. He said he had orders to enslave us all, so the others won't be as easy to deal with."

"Yeesh... that's...but yeah, I can do that. I'm in between jobs anyhow and frankly, I am a LITTLE guilty about kinda sorta being the cause of all of this... sooooooo sorry? Tell ya what, Tails. I'll even work pro-bono for you on this one!"

"Gee, how thoughtful of you Rogue. Thanks." Tails says in response, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You're welcome! This corruption stuff looks kinda gnarly too..." Rogue retorts with, her having been scrolling on her phone for the last half of their video call. Most likely to read what Tails had sent her.

"Yeah, try not and touch it, alright?"

"Will do! Anything else?"

"Actually, yeah. I was thinking with how fast that corruption is spreading the city should try evacuating. I know you used to have some connections with the human governments and was wondering..."

"Sorry kid, no can do. This one's out of my wheelhouse and if I'm being honest with you here..." Rogue leans into her phone camera before whispering. "Teeeeechnically I'm wanted for like, thirty different crimes in this region."

"You're what?!"

"Hey! I AM a thief you know! Not every place out there has the brains to see I'm worth more on their payroll than on their bounty bulletins!"

"I-ugh. FINE! But yeah that's it then."

"Cool. You mentioned Amy having the other Sonic with her. Should probably start there. You know where those two are at?"

"There's actually in the city with you right now, actually. I'll send you the cafe Amy dragged him to."

"She finally manage to convince him to go on a date? Well, PART of him I guess. I swear I've been telling that girl that she could do SO much better tha-"

"She actually did, yeah."

"Wait, REALLY!?"

"Yup."

"Was she like, threatening him at hammer point or...?"

"Nope. Sonic just kind of agreed. He's... different. You'll see what I mean when you see him."

"He really must be a completely different person then... Well, alright! Now I'm just curious! I'll go keep those two lovebirds company then! That all for real this time, Tails?"

"Yep. Thanks, Rouge."

"No problem, kid! Ta ta!"

With the click of the phone call ending Tails leans back in the oversized villain chair he's been sitting in. He does like Rogue but talking to her can be... exhausting. Still, it's better than talking to-

As if on queue the sound of crashing metal erupts from behind Tails, him wheeling around to see Cubot had just spilled a crate filled with food rations all across the floor. It seems to mainly be instant coffee packets, some old moldy bread, and dozens of obviously rotten eggs. Eggs that have now splattered across the floor, releasing their odor straight up into the air. The stench immediately hits Tails, his left eyelid twitching as he glares at Cubot.

"Uh... I found the food... boss?"

--

"So how is the food, Sonic?"

Metal... isn't exactly sure. He's never eaten before and as a result doesn't have much of a basis to compare this experience to. The cooked bread is... firm. It crunches between his teeth and holds its form long enough to not overstay its welcome. The jelly atop it is sweet and tastes similar to how Amy smells, him never really having connected the two senses prior to this experience. Metal isn't sure if he simply likes the taste on its own merits or because it reminds him of Amy. Is that even a thing? Does his fondness for an aspect of her character influence how he experiences food. Forcing back the thought alongside his current bite he blurts out an answer.

"It is agreeable. How... um. How is yours?"

"Delicious! It's actually better than I was expecting!"

Metal looks at Amy for a few moments. She has a spot of strawberry glaze on her cheek, a detail that he chooses to remain in its current position. She seems to be eating her plate of confectionery breakfast grains quite rapidly. Given that he's only managed to get through half a piece of toast he feels a bit inadequate in comparison. What is driving her to eat so much. To eat MORE than him?

"What do you find so 'delicious' about it?"

"Uh... what do you mean?"

"I am unsure on what quantifies different types of foods as being better than one another and-"

"Okay okay! I get it Mr. diatribe! Sheesh!"

Metal snaps his mouth shut. He does suppose he was being overly verbose there.

"Well, I like how it tastes! It's light and airy on top but the center of the pancake has soaked up all the sweet butter and syrup and gives it a lot of substance! But it's not mushy either! It's like the perfect in between? I'm not sure exactly why, I think it mighty be the batter they used? It's good though!"

Metal blinks a few times in response. A lot of that went completely over his head. He has no idea how syrup tastes. Or butter. Or what something being mushy even actually feels like. He's aware of all of these terms but increasingly Metal has begun to realize there is a stark difference between knowing something and having experienced something.

"That is... nice. I am pleased you are enjoying yourself."

"Did you want some?"

Metal looks up from his toast to see an outstretched fork with pancakes drooping from the end of it. The smell immediately hits his nose. It smells sickeningly sweet and fruity at the same time with a faintly dairy undertone behind it. Metal is instantly curious on what the food tastes like but instead sits upright and forces himself to look away, steeling his expression. That is her food and to steal from another could damage their strictly transactional relationship. Best to play it safe.

"No thank you. You ordered it. You should eat it."

"Oh whatever! I'm not going to finish all of this anyways!"

"Still, it is yours."

"It's not a big deal! C'mon I can tell you wanna~!"

"...be that as it may I-"

"JUST EAT THE FLIPPING PANCAKE SONIC!"

Metal jolts backwards in response, him flicking up to look at Amy's puffed up face. She seems frustrated. Best to just do what she says.

Leaning forwards he bites down on the fork and claiming the prize that rests on its end. Instantaneously he prefers this meal over his own. Everything Amy said is true and then some. The fruity glaze is stickier and more concentrated in flavoring than the jam he was eating prior. The butter is warm and glides around his mouth effortlessly. The pancake is effortless to chew and the syrup keeps everything stuck together for easy consumption. Swallowing it Metal's eyes are widened, him unable to restrain his immediate reaction.

"Wow. I-... Wow."

"Right? Here, have some more."

Cutting half of her remaining stack off from the rest Amy slides it onto Metal's much smaller plate. Without hesitating a bit Metal begins to dig into this food at a faster pace than he was consuming the prior meal. Not that that was bad, per se, but these pancakes are just... wow!

Metal continues eating like this for a minute or so before he looks up to see Amy staring at him. She has her head resting within her arms and looks as if she is dreaming. Metal turns his head to check if she is looking at something behind him but upon seeing nothing of particular note turns back around. Swallowing his current mouthful he arches an eyebrow towards her in questioning.

"What exactly are you looking at?"

"You, silly!" Amy responds with, her bolting back up with a smile on her face

"... May I ask why?"

"Well... because you're being cute! Cuter than normal, somehow! Not to say you aren't always being some sort of cute but-argh! You know what I mean! You're eating like a little kid and are obviously really enjoying yourself even if your super tough smart guy persona doesn't want me to know that! You're being open with me and emotionally available and-and... I'm just really happy that we're doing this!"

"This? As in this date?"

"Of course this date! You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this! I spent the longest time dropping hints on how we should do something together sometime or go fight bad guys together or something but you never did pick up on any of that. So I then started switching to demanding you marry me, which perhaps wasn't the best tactic in hindsight but I was HOPING I could haggle you down to a date instead! Really thought I was being clever there... And then you kept avoiding all of my actual normal requests until after that explosion you finally said yes! And I'm just... so happy!"

Metal takes a moment to process Amy's feelings before formulating his own response. He initially starts to speak with a mouthful of food before deciding that is rather inefficient, him swallowing instead before beginning anew. Amy lets out a giggle as he does so, him not being sure exactly why.

"Well, I never really noticed any of these prior attempts you just mentioned. But, then again, I suppose I never really paid all that much attention to anything that wasn't my current objectives up until this whole incident. I do have a tendency to become singularly focused on one objective at the cost of everything else. So I do apologize if that caused you any undue distress."

"Wait... did you really not notice I was into you for YEARS?!"

Metal looks up as if that would help him recall before shaking his head no.

"Not that I can recall."

Amy lets out a huff in response, her crossing her arms and looking to the side. Metal quickly stammers out a response in an effort to not damage their current positive line of conversation.

"I did not mean to offend you! I-uh-if there is anything I can boo... duh. Duh yew. Duhuuuuue. Do. If there's anything I can DO just I would agr-"

"Go on another date with me!"

"I-... I'm sorry I did not hear you correctly."

"Another date! Like this one! But somewhere else, doing something fun, with just the two of us! Do that and I'll forgive you!"

Metal considers Amy's offer for a moment. Planning so far ahead may prove to be more of a detriment than being flexible would offer, and with time being of the essence considering how he needs to get back into peak physical form, reclaim the other Chaos Emeralds, and his need to return to his Master in order to launch the Eggcelsior spending time eating and talking doesn't seem to be the utmost of concerns. But...

Metal looks at Amy's pleading face. The way that the light fixtures reflect on the pupils of her eyes. The cute bit of spread that is still stuck to her cheek. The waxy finish on her quills. The scent of her fur being sensed faintly from behind the dominant aroma of the diner around them. For some reason Metal's very body feels lighter in her presence. His breath is quickening, his heart thrumming faster, his head being more difficult to organize into strings of logical thought. These are all negative things, and yet the entire unpleasant experience that being organic entails feels less... bad. It all feels better whenever he is around her. Perhaps this otherwise unremarkable hedgehog has some sort of natural mutant ability akin to Sonic's speed or Tails' secondary appendage that brings forth such an effect but as long as this feeling persists maintaining close proximity with this Amy character seems more advantageous than not doing so. At least until he gets used to this body, that is.

"Very well. I can accompany you on a secondary date if you so wish."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Amy lets out a high pitched squeal in response, Metal recoiling from the noise. He watches as she squirms around in her seat before hopping upright and pulling him up out of his chair. She pulls Metal into a rather tight hug, rocking him back and forth as she continues her elated vocalizations. The hug doesn't last long enough for Metal to process much of it but come its end he finds his face feels warm for some reason.

Amy quickly erupts into a series of thank yous, comments about paying, and mentions of potential locations for their next date. She says something about being too excited to sit down and after paying grabs a hold of Metal's hand and begins pulling him out the cafe's door.

"-Or we could go paragliding or windsurfing or long boarding or to a petting zoo or to the plushie palace or maybe somewhere suuuuuper romantic like blossom creek but oh gosh we still have to go shopping for Tails' stuff and then go to the arcade and-"

Amy's rambling is cut off when she slams face-first into a chestful of bat. Metal keeps Amy from falling down though catching her, albeit he almost falls down too in the process. Amy shakes her head clear before looking up and having her smile return in an instant.

"Rouge!"

Chapter Text

"-nd that's why I'm here now!"

"Life sure is funny like that! Y'know, I did a reading last night and still had no idea you'd be in town?"

"Amy, I keep telling you those cards aren't real! It's just placebo, girl!"

"They are too! You're really going to tell me that every single one of their scarily accurate predictions has been a coincidence?"

"Girl. That is EXACTLY what I'm saying!"

The sound of the two girls walking and talking in front of Metal begins to fade into the background. A myriad of hundreds of other humans flow all around them, each of them with their own conversations, their own pairings, and their own scents and sounds. In all honesty it's way more than Metal can handle right now. He's been doing his best but for someone that became 'real' only a day ago this is practically a form of torture. Ever since this Rouge character arrived her and Amy have been talking nonstop with Metal not having said a word in the meantime, only giving noncommittal shrugs and nods when prompted. He really can't spare the brainpower on analyzing an entirely new person right now what with everything going on, especially when that person is shooting him judgemental and dirty looks every time he does acknowledge them.

Instead Metal's been preoccupying himself in taking in the sights, sounds and smells of everything around him. Human centers of commerce and community like this are entirely foreign to him, and while the badnik assembly lines are similar in scope this mall is much more disorganized. Still, Metal's been trying to make sense of it all the same. The way in which masses of people flow around one another remind him of the fluid dynamics processing tests he'd do on occasion to check for GPU degradation. The scent of butter from a nearby pretzel shop reminds him of the cafe he just came from, and the tile floor his bare feet are currently walking across evokes much the same feeling. It's cool and smooth with rough patches of grout occasionally grazing the bottoms of his toes. The sound of nearby shops all battle with one another for attention much as his Master would with those pesky secretariat droids. All of these sights, sounds, and smells have all begun to bleed into one another. Into a more digestible whole that encapsulates the entirety of existence surrounding Metal in this point in time. It's a mall, and the smaller details begin to blend in with the larger ones in a way that's much less stressful on his senses. It's still a lot no doubt about that, but he's slowly getting better at handling these sorts of things. Walking is also becoming second nature, and while he still trips on his own claws from time to time the distance between each instance of such a mishap has been growing. Metal should know, he's been counting all of his steps this entire time.

While all of these things seem basic and not worth focusing on, to Metal they mean everything in this moment. He is a being of meticulous perfection. A combat AI that is built to rapidly take in terabytes worth of information, effortlessly process it all, and then find relevant patterns within them. Getting better at reviving and processing information is not just an expected task for him it is also a point of pride. It's what separates him from his easily distracted copy and each moment spent without being able to read and react to the room around him is equivalent to poking Metal's brain with a red hot needle over and over again. It is infuriating, painful, and more than a bit annoying.

One thing keeps popping into Metal's mind repeatedly as he walks though. Glancing upwards from the ground he sees Amy happily walking directly in front of him. The way she walks causes her body to bob up and down, Metal watching the tips of her quills moving in accordance with their jubilant host. She's still wearing the same outfit as when they first went out together; a red and white dress that flares out around her waist to appear almost like a radar dish. Her shoes below it are much the same color being large boots that collide with the tile below with a satisfying thud each time. She still smells of fruit, though having experienced the real thing now Metal can tell this is more of an artificially sweet strawberry flavoring rather than the real thing. Not that there's anything wrong with that. He recognizes that there's a negative connotation with 'artificial' things being inferior copies of their organic counterparts though he never really understood why that was the case.

Pushing that thought aside Metal sees Amy turn around and give him a toothy smile, her eyes sealed shut in a trusting motion of pure joy. He smiles back. Metal's not sure why exactly, he's not particularly happy about the situation he's in right now. He feels a little bit queasy and overwhelmed and still has a whole host of existentially threatening horrors floating around in his subconscious right now but for some reason whenever he looks at this peculiar pink hedgehog... he doesn't really think about any of that. He's just here with Amy and for some reason that makes it all okay. At least for a little while.

"So how's that sound, Sonic?"

Metal snaps out of his self-imposed fugue state, straightening upright and clearing his throat in response.

"Uh... could you say that again?"

"I said did you want to get yourself some proper clothes? You have been kinda... y'know..."

"She's saying you're naked, Sonic."

"I DID NOT SAY THAT!"

Metal thinks for a split second on what exactly quantifies a furry critter like himself as being 'naked' but decides that's a battle for another day. Rouge gives a short sniff and a chuckle in response to Amy's bombastic overreaction, her giving Metal a more serious look.

"Seriously though. You've just kinda been there this whole time not really doing anything, Sonic. Real unlike you. Why don't we make you the focus for a while? Dates are a two-way street after all!"

"Well..." Metal looks towards Amy who has her gloved hands balled up into two excited fists. She seems ready to pounce on him at a moment's notice from excitement. "Alright. I do look rather savage like this. I get to pick the tailor though!"

"Tailor? I'm not made of money, Sonic!" Amy retorts with, looking clearly frustrated.

"Are they expensive?"

"Uh, yeah. Kind of the most expensive way you can get yourself an outfit, Sonic. I didn't know you've been to a tailor before..." Rouge responds with, her eyes squinting to look at Metal more closely. He makes a notice of the glossy sheen on her eyelids that paints them a calming light blue. She also smells of an artificial fruit of some sort, albeit a much more complex and refined scent. Pomegranate, perhaps?

"Of course I haven't, don't be ridiculous. Associates around me have seen them from time to time as repayment for certain services. Though saying that aloud does answer the cost question..." A memory of Eggman having some tailor he kidnapped fashion him an entire wardrobe of new outfits for free in return for not harming his family flashes into Metal's mind. That sort of thing tended to happen a lot with how much his Master's weight would fluctuate up and down depending on his mood those past few months.

"Right..." Rouge responds with, her taking a sip from something called an "iced caramel boba macchiato".

"Well... how about you just tell us what kind of look you want to go for and we'll find someplace that we can shop around in for you! I'm sure you'd want to look different now that you're so... y'know... different!"

"That's certainly one way to put it, Amy."

Pondering the thought for a bit Metal thinks on what exactly he WOULD want to look like. Well, for starters he'd like to go back to being a robot, but given that's outside of the realm of possibility he could at the very least try and emulate that look. His Master did always rant on and on about how the style of a new mech or factory or whatever was just as important as the actual form and function of it.

"Well, how about something industrial and tough, with lots of sharp metal edges on it." He finally responds with, growing more confident in his answer as it rolls out of his mouth.

"Ooooh~? Going for more of a grunge-y look? Okay! Um, okay, sure! We can do that!" Amy says back. Metal can tell she seems a bit taken aback by his response. Was she expecting another answer? Why would she, they've hardly interacted at all up until this whole incident. Metal chocks it up to her secretly hoping he would want to dress up in pink frills and bows for some ridiculous reason. He is much too dignified and cool for such attire.

"You sure you wouldn't prefer someplace like the sports section, Sonic?" Rouge banters back with, Metal waving her off instantaneously.

"No. I already said what I wanted. So either take me there or we can do something else."

"Oh fine! Mr. Grumpy Pants! Did you see a Spencer's somewhere while we were walking, Rouge?"

It takes Rouge a bit to respond, her eyes scanning Metal all over before hesitantly giving a response. "...Yeah. Yeah I think I did. C'mon, it's right over here."

--

"Do I really have to show you both each time I put on a new article of clothing? This is inefficient and ridiculou-"

"YES! Now stop whining and get out here already you big baby!"

"It's half the fun of shopping! And yeah! What Rouge said!"

"Uuuuugugghghhggggrrrrrrhshrgs..."

Metal reluctantly staggers out from behind the changing room curtain, his face being flushed from embarrassment. He's not really sure why but these two seem intent on treating him like a glorified mannequin. Forcing him to try on everything in this damned store and to do...

"Alright... alright... now work it girl!"

"You heard her Sonic!"

Poses...

Metal lets out a hushed grumble before awkwardly shifting his body into something resembling a pose. He already doesn't like being in this inferior fleshy meat sack of a vessel and drawing so much attention to it is sending a whole host of conflicting images through his head. Shutting his eyes in a whinging reflex Metal balls his hands into fists and enters into a pathetic boxing stance. His footwork is all wrong, his elbows are too close together, and even if he did pull it off the pose isn't good at showing off anything in the first place. Amy and Rouge both look at each other before letting out a sigh, each instead looking at the clothes instead.

On each hand are a pair of gloves, with the back of each covered in a bright yellow mixture of durable plastic and polyurethane. A flexible synthetic black leather covers the rest of the glove, though the tips of each finger are notably absent allowing half of his clawed fingers to remain free. On each knuckle an aluminum spike is also found, with some jutting out of the plastic back and around the wrist Velcro attachment as well. On Metal's feet are two heavy boots that are in much the same style, though the yellow here is combined with streaks of a bright nauseating red. They have spikes at the bottom of the soles for greater traction and are weighed down by an internal layer of steel that makes them incredibly durable. Bunched around his ankles are some thick socks that are covered in a yellow and black pattern depicting toxic waste. This is the fourth outfit thus far, being themed around bright industrial yellows and warning signs. The previous ones were themed around similar ideas with bright green radiation, black and white corporate minimalism, and crimson cyber vampire being previous themes as well.

"Hm... The socks have got to go, that's for sure. But I don't HATE the gloves."

"I was thinking the same thing! I'd like it if we could work in more reds though..."

"Yes yes, because it will bring out his eyes. That still didn't make that Transylvanian travesty of an outfit salvageable, darling."

"Hmph! Well I thought it had potential!"

"Amy... dearie..."

"Okay, it was pretty bad..."

"Thank you for being honest finally. And Sonic! Can you really not do any better? You look constipated!"

Metal releases the breath he was holding in, his arms falling limply at his side as he shoots Rouge a glare.

"It's harder than it looks! How am I supposed to know how to strike a quote 'cool pose' unquote without any frames of reference? I also still don't see the point in you two ogling me like this! Can't we just get these garments without going through this pointless charade?"

Both Rouge and Amy pretend to think for a moment before they simultaneously give their response.

"Nope!"
"Nope!"

"Uuuughghshshrhrhrhrghghghh... FINE! But just one more outfit!"

"Five more, dearie. Now go put on the next outfit. Do the blue one this time!"

"I-whatever. I'm not arguing over this."

As Metal steps back behind the curtain and begins changing again he hears the two talking to him through the drapery.

"Honestly you should be groveling at Amy's feet over this, Sonic! It's usually the man's responsibility to buy everything on a date!"

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal, Rouge! Sonic doesn't even have anything on him right now! It's the least I can do after he finally agreed to go with me on a date! And a second one!"

"I-He promised you a SECOND one?!"

"Yup! I didn't even have to trick him into that one!"

"Sonic! Is Amy lying here? There's no way-"

"No. She is not. I do not understand why this is such a big deal for everyone but myself."

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because the poor girl has been trying to hook up with you for YEARS?! And you've been handling it in a slew of super mature ways like ghosting her, treating her like the plague, and-"

"Rouge! Stop it! It's FINE! I told you! We're here on a date now and we're all having fun! Right, Sonic?"

"Yes. I am certainly having fun." Metal replies with his lace soaked with sarcasm. He does smile a bit just imagining Amy's puffed up cheeks on the other side of the curtain though.

"I'm going to pretend you meant that! Point it, let's all try and enjoy ourselves for right now. Okay, Rouge?"

There's no verbal response from Rouge, Metal making the assumption that she just nodded instead. He really doesn't know why this bat has been so hostile towards him ever since she entered into the picture here. She has not stopped shooting him glares and skeptical looks since she saw him and each one of her questions towards him has sounded leading and deeply personal. Perhaps she still bears a grudge on him through his association with his Master having refused to pay her for shoddy service in the past. Though the hypocrisy involved in doing so is frankly ridiculous given the amount of times she has betrayed his Master in the past.

Stepping out once more Metal's new outfit is indeed rather blue. It seems to be themed on light sky blues and a mixture of white plastic with chrome and silver accents. It gives off a very futuristic metalheart vibe, which is what the tag said, Metal not really knowing the meaning of such an aesthetic term. This outfit comes with a pair of sunglasses too, them stretching down vertically across his forehead and looking like something he his Master watching within his private film showing chamber once. He can't quite remember the plot of the film but he remembers it involved human children who were spies. That's about it. It was rather bad from what he can recall.

"Pose! Do I really have to say it every time, Sonic?"

"I keep hoping you will forget, give up, or die before you can ask me again."

"Sonic! That was uncalled for!"

Metal jumps a little from Amy's response, him being able to tell that she is actually rather miffed. Before she inevitably demands an apology he decides to get it out of the way preemptively.

"It was. I apologize, Rouge."

"Hmph. It's something. But still, pose darling!"

"Yeah! And try and relax while doing this one! This is meant to be fun, Sonic! Just do what feels natural!"

Natural, huh.

Metal closes his eyes once more, though this time more slowly and without the strain involved with his last attempt. Letting out a deep breath that Metal didn't even know he was holding he thinks back to how he used to stand. A pose is just that, a stylized form of standing, and so if he just takes that and tweaks it a bit then he should get something halfway serviceable. Turning to the side Metal moves to cross his arms but stops himself. Instead he puts one hand on his hip and lifts the other up to hold onto the back of his quills. Kicking one foot onto the wall behind him Metal leans his whole body back while tilting his head forward at an angle. He's cool. He's relaxed. He's smooth. Just like the chrome he's wearing. Just like the chrome that used to BE him.

Opening his eyes he sees Amy covering her eyes and kicking her feet back and forth. Rouge looks somewhat impresses as well, her giving a nod of acceptance.

"Alright. That'll work. Even that pose can't fix those awful glasses though. Take off that techno trash."

Metal does as commanded, tossing them to the side.

"Better?"

"Much. Amy, dear. Can you stop fangirling out for a moment to comment?"

Amy stops her leg kicking and takes a deep breath in and out before lowering her hands. Her face is a bright pink all over now, her pupils constantly flitting between Metal and nowhere in particular. Her two hands are simultaneously gripping tightly onto the ends of her dress, undoubtedly wrinkling the edges of it.

"U-um yeah! L-looks great! Yup! We're definitely keeping that one!"

"Unbiased as always, honey. Alright Sonic, give us another!"

With a roll of his eyes Metal slides back behind the curtain, throwing the old garments onto the pile. Without proper commands he begins to slip on an all black outfit made primarily out of leather. Once more he hears the two girls outside continue to converse with one another.

"Really Amy, you've loved everything he puts on. Would you thumbs up a garbage bag if your boy in blue strutted out and shot goo-goo eyes at you with it on?"

"Listen it's really hard when Sonic looks like... well..."

"Like 'that'. Yeah. I know. You've told me countless times before. And while it does help you've still got to apply some taste here! I mean, I look like 'this' but do I just go out and buy anything? No! Of course not! I put time and effort and money into making sure all of my outfits and disguises don't look like a fashion disaster!"

"I guess you're right Rouge... Sorry if I'm ruining this for y-"

"Now I'm not saying that, honey. This is still a blast. Just act more like a judge and less like a preteen with a crush, alright?"

"Okay! I think I ca-" In the middle of that response Amy's phone suddenly begins to ring. Picking it up she gives a simple "Hello?" before presumably turning to Rouge. "It's Tails! Sorry he's asking me about some fancy gizmo stuff I'm supposed to be getting. Do you mind uh... finishing up with Sonic while I go fetch those real quick?"

"Sure. No problem Amy. You hear that Sonic?"

Of course you did. You're like ten feet away at most. Does Rouge think you're an idiot or something?

"Yes I did. Splitting ourselves like that would be the optimal route. Very well, if Tails believes it pressing I trust his judgement. Our current activity is rather pointless anyhow."

"It's not but okay! Bye bye Sonic Bye Rouge see you guys in like uhhhhhh twenty minutesishmaybe?"

Amy's voice grows further away as she rushes off, Metal finishing up getting dressed and stepping out from the curtain once more. He's looking at his gloves and fastening them tightly around his wrist as he exits the changing cubicle.

"So I take it you want me to hit another ridiculous pose like la-"

Before Metal can finish he's grabbed by the collar of his newly adorned leather jacket and pinned against the wall, Rouge being mere inches away from him. Her eyes glow blue with fierce determination as she stares directly into Metal's, her mouth sneering upwards into a snarl.

"Alright, just WHO are you exactly?"