Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sonic was on his last knees. So many things went wrong for the Freedom Fighters. But he couldn't give up. His friends, his family, his Sally, they all need him.

With Mecha Sally already dispatching Amy and the others, she charges a laser, sure to finish Sonic off. Sonic struggled to get up, seeing Silver, dogpiled by Egg SWATs, shouting, "No!"

"I'll... save... you," Sonic gasps.

"Your efforts are meaningless. You are exterminated," Mecha Sally said coldly as she fires.

Sonic stared it down, ready to move... only for a black blur to land in front of him and KICK the laser back at Mecha Sally.

Mecha Sally was struck down by her own laser, collapsing on the ground. Sonic and Silver look to see who saved him.

Standing before them was a mysterious person, wearing a black and grey suit, blue boots, and a full helmet with red lenses and blue accents. There were red and silver hexagons on his hands and feet. And, around his neck, was a digitized white and blue scarf with a flared end.

The newcomer looked at Sonic and reached out a hand. "Are you okay there, pal?"

Sonic hesitantly reaches out and grabs the gloved hand, letting the stranger pull him back onto his feet. The stranger gave Sonic a handful of Power Rings. "I think you need these more."

"Sonic! Look out!" Tails shouts as Mecha Sally gets back up and lunges. However, the masked stranger could tell before he flipped out of Sally's kick and landed on a red hoverboard that looked like a Moto Bug flying in. It looked similar to an Extreme Gear.

The mysterious savior then flies around Mecha Sally in a circle, with a blue trail left behind. As soon as the trail connected to its end, Sally was blasted upwards by a twister of wind. The unknown vigilante then jumps off his board.

"Toyaaaaaaa!" The newcomer shouts as he kicks Mecha Sally to the ground before he spins and fires volleys of blue energy orbs. He lands next to Mecha Sally before he gets out a USB drive from his board's hidden hatch. "Let's hope Metalhead isn't wrong..."

Silver, Tails, and Amy finished off the rest of the Egg SWATs before rejoining Sonic. They watch as the new hero inserts the drive into Sally.

"Hold on...!" Sonic was about to say when Mecha Sally twitched and shook.

"Error. Eggman Empire directives are de...leted..." Mecha Sally says slowly as the masked stranger backs up. Mecha Sally gets up as she looks at Sonic with clarity, asking softly. "Sonic...?"

"S-Sally...?" Sonic trembles as he slowly walks to her. He reaches out and holds Sally's robotic hands. "Is it...?"

"I... I think it is me, Sonic," Sally smiles. "I'm back."

Sonic bursts into tears as he bear hugs Sally's cold body, with the two lovers laughing.

The masked stranger stood next to Silver. "They got something special going between them?"

Amy sighs half-heartily and nods. "Yeah. Those two are inseparable."

The masked stranger snorts. "Jealous?"

Amy smiles at the tease and grins at the stranger. "Sally is my friend. And if Sonic's happy, I'm happy."

The unknown rider chuckles. "Sounds about right."

Sally's lenses gaze at the new hero. "Strange... my optics can't see past that outfit. Who are you?"

The vigilante grins as he does a backflip and lands on his waiting hoverboard. He then poses with a thumbs-up.

"You are looking at the Phantom Rider! And I'm about to flip this world upside-down, and no genius is fast enough to stop me!" The Phantom Rider says cheekily. He sped off on his strange Extreme Gear, flying like the wind, leaving many questions behind.

"Why isn't the Super Genesis Wave working?!" Eggman shouts in uproar as he stomps into his and Wily's lab at the Skull Egg Zone. "If one of you morons messed with the Chaos Emeralds, I'm gonna...!"

Eggman stops to see a Metal Sonic Trooper standing in the room, tossing the seven Chaos Emeralds from one hand to another, seemingly mocking him.

"You...! What is a second-rate knock-off of my greatest creation doing here?! How did you get past my security?!" Eggman demanded as he pressed his recall button.

Metal Sonic rushes in and lunges at the Trooper, punching his head... only to not faze the imposter. The Trooper then zaps Metal Sonic with a thousand volts, frying his circuits. The Metal Sonic trooper then grabs his head and rips it off like it was paper. It tosses its head before Eggman's feet.

"W-What...?" The doctor stutters as he takes a step back.

"I'm insulted by your comparison to this weak, inferior drone you call your ultimate weapon," the Metal Sonic Trooper(?) shockingly said as it stepped forward. Eggman notices the spiked cuffs. "As for your security, it was far too easy to hack and disable all your guards and defenses. You clearly didn't think anyone could match your intellect."

The Metal Sonic Trooper looks at the Super Genesis Wave machine. "And you planned on rewriting and destroying all of reality for your own desperate chance at winning for a SECOND time? Pathetic. You are PATHETIC."

"I... you... urgk!" Eggman said as a clawed hand choked his neck.

"I'm almost disappointed. You have all this potential, yet you lack any creativity and repeat your own mistakes," The Trooper said, its grip tight. "As we speak, my accomplice is already freeing your henchwoman from your so-called free-will firewall with a virus created by me."

"Im...Impossible! That's i-impossible!" The doctor chokes.

"Nothing is impossible. But I suppose you hardly have any adaptability. Ivo Robotnik Bio-Data, successfully copied," The trooper said as he tossed Eggman into a wall. "Your death is avoided... for now, as my accomplice made me promise not to take a life, even one as disposable as yours."

"W-What.... what are you? Who are you?!" Eggman demanded, reaching for an emergency pistol he had.

"I am Neo Metal Sonic, the perfected model of all Metal Sonics!" The Metal Sonic declares, before using an electric barrier to shield himself from the lasers. "And eventually, the ultimate being of all. Chaos Control!"

And with that, the self-proclaimed ultimate being vanished, leaving Eggman shocked. He scrambles to pick up Metal Sonic's body and rushes to where Wily was.

A robot that can use Chaos Control? It was genius, it was brilliant... and it was terrifying. Too terrifying. The robot's words echoed through his mind...

The robot double arrives at the lab, back he stole in this new world, setting the Chaos Emeralds on the desk. "Good. One step closer to the plan."

He sighs when he hears a knock and checks the cameras.

"Yo, Metal, I'm back!" The annoying Rider said outside the gates, holding his Eggstreme Gear.

Neo Metal Sonic sighs as he opens the gates. The Phantom Rider then runs and stops in Metal's lab. "And you grabbed the Chaos Emeralds too! Nice!"

Neo scoffs. "And I assume you succeeded in freeing that Princess from the doctor's control, my loathsome copy?"

The Phatom Rider's holographic helmet fades, leaving the grinning face of one blue hedgehog. "What else did you expect, faker?"

Chapter Text

Two days ago…

Sonic yawned as he got up from Tails' couch, before standing on his feet and checking up on his little brother.

Sonic went to Tails' lab and found him sleeping on his work desk again. The hedgehog shook his head with a grin before he gently shook the kitsune. "Tails, buddy, you slept on your desk again."

"Mm…?" the two-tailed fox said before he slowly got up and perked up in embarrassment. "Oh, Sonic! Sorry, I guess I got too carried away with the project."

"Don't sweat it, Tails," Sonic grins. "So, how is it going?“

"I'm 98.4% sure it's finished! Thankfully, Surge gave me the controller back after Amy asked her for it," The younger fox said as he gave Sonic a metal hexagon.

Sonic chuckles as he puts it on his right glove. "I can't wait."

Metal Sonic reactivated in his status pod, his lenses fixed on the holographic image of his sister.

"Good afternoon, brother," Sage said with a calm yet gentle tone. "I would like to report that the data you gathered during Father's second Grand Prix was a successful recovery."

Metal tilted his head, sending a silent inquiry.

Sage giggles softly. "Yes, I did keep my word only to do that. While I was… tempted to strengthen your loyalty programming, I found that it was unnecessary, and my calculations suggest that greater evolutionary thinking would improve your performance by 102.3%, even without your Neo form."

Metal Sonic processed her words before nodding with silent gratitude. Sage was more efficient and effective than Orbot and Cubot, and even more understanding than his creator at times.

"Oh, Metal, Sage!" The ever-so-booming voice of Doctor Robotnik says as he walks into the lab. “You both are going to be late for the Grand Prix!“

Metal and Sage looked at each other before walking into the sun.

"Welcome, racing fans, to the final race of this Crossworld Grand Prix! The track today is the Bikini Bottom, sponsored by the Krusty Krab!" An announcer shouts, with the crowd going wild. "This undersea city is home to the Krabby Patty, a delectable burger that makes the world go wow! Now, for our top two racers!"

"Up first in line, born on Christmas Island, standing at 3 feet and 3 inches and weighing thirty-three pounds! He proclaimed himself the fastest thing alive, as free as the wind itself, the Blue Blur of a hero, Sonic the Hedgehog! And he's looking stylish!" The announcer proclaims.

Sonic was on his Blue Star, wearing his Phantom Rider suit, which Tails had recreated. He gives the crowd a wink before he looks at his rival next to him.

"Well, I would rather us to settle this on foot, but you'd cheat with your engine anyway, so whatever," Sonic quips.

"And not far behind, created at the mysterious Little Planet, also standing at three feet and three inches, weighing at a scary 276 pounds! He's ruthless, he's toothless, and won't hesitate to show Sonic his place as the real deal! Give it up for Metal Sonic!" The announcer declares.

The robotic double mockingly rubs his nose as he lands on his Quad Copter Extreme Gear, polished to a fine shade of royal blue. He looks at Sonic and sends a series of beeps.

"Hey! I'm not that scared of being underwater!" Sonic says before panicking slightly. "…Tails, are we sure we can…?"

"YES, WE CAN BREATHE, SONIC," Knuckles, Amy, Shadow, Sage, Tails, and Nine interrupt him, accompanied by Eggman's snickering, Zazz's laughter, and Miku's traitorous giggling.

"Right! I knew that! Eventually…" Sonic says as he glares at Metal, giving him a smug look.

"Ha! Sonic's a scaredy cat!" Surge shouts in the crowd.

"Start your engines!" The announcer shouts—the racers, especially Metal and Sonic, are ready to boost. "Three! Two! One! GO!"

Sonic boosts off with the other racers behind him. He takes a turn and sees the Krusty Krab in view.

"This is going to hurt," Sonic said before crashing through the glass door, as he tried to avoid the shards. He also narrowly avoided a Rocket Punch, presumably from Amy, due to the pout he sees behind him.

"I hate my job," The cashier up front said as Sonic and his tailers rushed through the Krusty Krab. He's pretty sure his name is Squidward.

"Oh, hi, Squidward! Bye, Squidward!" SpongeBob shouted enthusiastically. Maybe a bit too much for Sonic's ears.

As he drives into the basement and narrowly avoids a laser from a robot model after a green cyclops-looking guy, he feels someone zoom past him. That person, being one robotic double he knows too well.

Metal Sonic then proceeds to plant a Magnet that latches itself to Sonic's Extreme Gear, making the Blue Blur shout, "Not cool, Metal!" The robot looked extremely pleased.

With him slowed down while the other racers passed by him, he sees the many looks of sympathy, teasing, and mocking from them. Knowing he needs to get back to the lead and quickly, he retrieves an item box and thankfully finds a Yellow Wisp. He then uses the Drill power-up to catch up, knocking over some other racers in the process.

"Ow! Sonic!" Amy pouts.

"Hey, watch it!" Knuckles said.

"Darn you, pipsqueak!" Zazz curses.

"Take it easy, Sonic!" Tails responds.

"My calculations didn't perceive this!" Sage exclaimed.

"Gr... I'll return the favor eventually!" Shadow vows.

"Bah! Blasted hedgehog!" Eggman shouts.

The Drill stops, giving him a front row seat to the sponge firing three rocket punches at the person in first place, which his mechanical rival responds to by using a Shield to negate the attacks.

Sonic then notices two Weights appearing above and crushing both Metal and SpongeBob, which he can guess, from the laughter, came from Nine.

As his Blue Star glides over the water of a beach, which doesn't really make sense since this course IS underwater, he sees a cyan zip, revealing that Metal Sonic easily caught up with a Laser power-up.

"Not bad, Metal!" Sonic shouts with his cocky grin. "But I'm winning this race!"

Metal's pupils intensified as he began performing tricks to boost his speed and pass his organic template. Sonic's eyes narrow as he drifts to build up speed to chase his robotic replica.

As they approached the Travel Ring, Metal's lenses seemed to shift focus at something else. Normally, Sonic would tease him, but then he looks at what is going on.

"Is that...?"

A magenta gem with black ripples floated above the racers. It then collided with the Travel Ring, causing everyone to be confused as they suddenly found themselves racing on pathways made of violet cubes. Well, all but two.

"Null Space... I remember sending Sonic and his friend here!" Eggman realizes.

"Sheesh, I thought I'd never see this again," Sonic mumbles as his Blue Star board flies through the air.

"What's this? A new Crossworld?!" The announcer shouts. "This might get hairy folks! Try not to fall into the infinite nothingness!"

Metal Sonic was still in the lead, scanning his surroundings as he found the Phantom Ruby seemingly observing him and the other racers. As the contestants navigate around pillars and streams of violet cubes.

He then felt his Extreme Gear sent flying, before glaring at his loathsome copy, who held two more Homing Punches. With his rage fueling him, Metal Sonic took a shortcut through Null Space, sneaking around his organic double.

With his Extreme Gear landing back on the raceway made by Null Space's nothingness, Metal speeds next to Sonic, rubbing his robotic nose as a taunt, dodging Sonic's attacks mockingly.

Frustrated, yet thrilled by the chase, his organic copy stepped up his game, with both Sonics neck and neck. As they approach the Travel Ring, they both pause momentarily when they heard their respective siblings shouting at them.

"Sonic! Look out!"

"Brother! Behind you!"

Sonic, seeing something first, shouts at his robotic rival, "Metal, duck!"

Metal turned his head 180 degrees to see the Phantom Ruby shooting towards. Unfortunately, Sonic's warning came too late, as a magenta light consumed both of them.

Everyone, except for Zazz, was shocked and tried to search for Metal and Sonic by slowing down, only for the Travel Ring to turn red and suck them out of the Crossworld.

"Sonic!" Tails shouts before the Travel Ring closes. The race ends due to mass interference, with Tails crying while his friends try to comfort him, and Eggman holding the hand of a shaking Sage.

Metal's systems went online, feeling something towing him as sand gets into his turbine. Slowly moving his head towards the person, he sees his copy on a badly-damaged Extreme Gear, with his helmet and some blood stains, trying his best to drag Metal across a seemingly vast and unknown desert.

The Phantom Rider turns and looks at the robotic hedgehog's lenses. "Oh, thank Chaos, you're awake. We got a problem."