Chapter 1: What I'm Made of

"GwwaaaAAAAHHH!"

This came from Sonic's throat as he fell out of control, covering himself as best he could from the shards raining down on him; he squinted through near-shut eyes to see what was going on. What he saw wasn't encouraging- the city below was nearing fast.

Metal, in his Neo form, quickly regained control and spun in the air, activating his jet engine as he sped towards Sonic who was further below him . His cape flapped dramatically as time seemed to slow down around him when he neared the blue hedgehog; every shard of glass was visible to him, and harmless to his armoured body. The slowly nearing city, jagged peaks rearing up at them, would also hurt him little upon collision.

Sonic, however, being made of flesh and bone, no matter how reslient, would simply splatter.

And while Metal wanted nothing more than to watch his nemesis die in such a spectacular fashion, it would take the thrill out of a potential battle. He righted himself in the air, and time seemed to speed up again as he caught the hedgehog and effortlessly held him aloft as he fired his engine up to maximum, slowing their descent.

Metal finally saw broken buildings rise up all around him as he neared the ground, and hit the floor with a heavy thud; he hadn't even buckled a knee. He let Sonic go, and the hedgehog blurred on the spot as he sped a short distance away and turned to watch his foe, breathing lighly. He looked around; it appeared that they were in the middle of a destroyed main street. There were decaying street-signs and shop-windows advertising broken wares everywhere.

The shards of glass from above fell on Metal Sonic like rain, shattering off his frame and otherwise splintering when they hit the ground. The robot simply stood there, letting the glass slide and shatter off him, his eyes glowing their usual dark red as he stared at Sonic; the hedgehog felt that there was a burning hatred in that gaze.

"So...you're gonna do what that guy told us?" he asked, standing straighter and folding his arms. Metal nodded.

"It would give me no greater pleasure to destroy you..." he responded. "I admit...I don't like doing something if it isn't my own choice. But...this is different. I have wanted to destroy you since I was first humiliated by you...before, I lost control. Now, I have everything going for me- power, skill, and none of your friends are here to help you."

"You think I need them?" Sonic smirked; "I've trounced you a whole bunch'a times without my buddies! And wasn't it you who transformed into a giant dragon to prove that you were me?"

"I was crazy," Metal waved it off with his hand as he started to advance on the hedgehog; "My obsession with killing you had driven me irrationally insane. Now, I don't want to be you. I don't need to be you...I just want to beat you, once and for all. Nothing more."

Sonic clenched his fists. "Doesn't matter to me...you're just another one of Eggman's mechs. Smarter, maybe. Better, definitely...but you're still just a robot. Robots can be broken..." His smirk grew devilish as he crouched, ready to fight; "And there's no Eggman here to fix you if you lose..."

Metal Sonic's cape stirred with the wind, and he floated a few metres into the air, as he clenched his own fists; this was it. His long awaited chance. His eye glowed a brighter red as his engine powered-up and electricity flashed across his form.

Sonic beckoned with that annoying smirk, and Metal thought: I think I'll be pleasing a lot of people when I rid you of them.

BOSSFIGHT START:

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Metal raised an arm, his palm glowing with electricity, and Sonic curled into a ball and shot at the robot; lightning streaked from Metal's hand and missed Sonic by inches as he did a Homing Attack. Metal grunted and was knocked out of the air onto his back; Sonic somersaulted backwards and landed on his feet, already charging at Metal once more. Metal however was up in a flash and seemed to teleport to the side before Sonic could reach him; he then rushed while Sonic was still turning to face him, and rammed the hedgehog in the gut with his shoulder, knocking the wind out of his organic opposite. He then grabbed Sonic by the throat and easily lifted him high in the air; the hedgehog struggled in vain before Metal hurled him at a building with such force he crashed right through the wall, sliding along the floor as he landed.

Sonic however had suffered much worse in his time. Metal walked calmly in after him through the hole, and Sonic got up, panting, but still in good health; looking around and recognising the building as a fallen mall-tower, he then smirked, winked and without warning started blurring from wall to wall of the building, rising up through the levels of the structure by jumping off the flat surfaces. Metal merely powered up his engine and started doing the same, cape somehow not getting in his way as he too disappeared and reappeared right after Sonic vanished, actively following the hedgehog in his ascent of the building. Metal prevented himself from laughing scornfully when Sonic looked visibly concerned that Metal was able to keep up- clearly, the hedgehog had forgotten that Metal was as fast, if not faster than, himself.

Eventually Sonic curled into a ball and jumped off the last surface before smashing through the concrete ceiling to land on the decrepit tower's roof. He uncurled quickly and spun just in time to receive a kick in the face as Metal zoomed right after him. Sonic stumbled back and Metal continued to advance, causing Sonic to back away until he ended up falling onto his back; Metal shook his head. "You truly are inferior" he murmured, snapping out his palm as he readied to fry Sonic with a lightning bolt.

This however proved to be a ruse on Sonic's part, who executed a Tornado Kick that sent Metal spinning into the air; Sonic got up and jumped after the robot, planted a foot in his back, then drove Metal through the roof and back into the mall again, where he kicked off the robot just before the both of them hit the ground, a triumphant smirk on his face. Metal collided with the ground violently, producing a loud CRASH and a lot of dust; Sonic landed a few metres away, standing confidently still with that smirk.

Only for the smirk to be wiped off his face when the dust revealed Metal, completely unharmed within his force-field shield. The shield disapated, and Metal was on top of Sonic before the blue blur could even blink- launching in multiple kicks and jabs, Metal was now fighting using the copied data on the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog, who was a more dedicated fist fighter than Sonic was. The hedgehog was unable to keep up with Metal's blows, so in desperation he rolled into a ball and retreated backwards through the original hole in the wall Metal had made with him out into the ruined street again. Metal however wasn't finished- he rushed in after Sonic, and concentrated- again, drawing on lifeform data, this time from Chaos, he splayed his limbs out wide and roared, "Chaos Control!"

Soon enough, Sonic would find that time had slowed down around him, and he was unable to move- it was like trying to wade through thick jelly. Metal was wailing on him already, again drawing on multiple lifeform data to beat the incapacitated Sonic into a literal pulp. Worst part was, Sonic couldn't feel the blows- he could see them, but the loss of time prevented him feeling the actual pain until time sped up to normal. Whenever Metal struck him, Sonic reacted like a ragdoll in slow motion, only to be hit the other way again. It was undoubtedly humiliating to the hedgehog, and Metal, while he was no sadist, certainly found a grim sort of amusement in finally serving to Sonic what he himself had been served too many times.

Soon enough, the time displacement ran out, and Metal slammed Sonic into the floor a final time before he stood and observed his handiwork. The hedgehog was in a bad way, no doubt about it. He was covered in bruises, cuts, gashes, and blood was present in no small amount. He seemed to be trying to move, or speak, but the sudden rush of pain from all the out-of-time blows had him paralysed. He was, Metal realised, truly beaten.

He had finally beaten Sonic.

BOSSFIGHT END

RATING: A

Metal was too shocked by this to even attempt something so out of character as a triumphant evil laugh- here he was, standing over his greatest foe, who was now at his mercy. It was like a dream; Metal didn't know what dreams were. He could never sleep. But he was told that dreams were wonderful experiences that seemed unconnected from reality- happenings that couldn't possibly occur in real-time. This situation qualified, and for a moment Metal actually wondered if he were somehow dreaming- that he would wake up, and realise that it was all a cruel joke, a fantasy, and he would then carry on functioning with the knowledge that he would never, ever fulfil his programming and deepest desire.

Yet it was real. He didn't dream. Sonic was a bloody mess, and it was because of him. Metal was silent for a moment, watching his arch-nemesis cought wretchedly. Then he readied his arm, the tips of his sharp claws glinting- time to end it. Now or never.

Then he froze- he couldn't move. He realised with dread as to why, and he tried to move, desperately, frantically, but it was all for nought; he was effectively a metal statue. "No no no, Metal Sonic...you're not playing by the rules," the smooth, creepy voice from before announced. "You weren't supposed to win..."

Metal was furious; not supposed to win? How was that even fair? Still able to speak, he yelled in anger, "You promised! You said that we were to fight it out, and whoever won got out of here...there were no rules!"

"My world. My rules," the voice stated simply, mockingly, and Metal found himself hating that voice- the way it sounded so condescending, constantly on the very edge of jeering, and dripping with superiority. It reminded him of Eggman, but at least he could bear the eccentric scientist. This fellow, on the other hand...Metal just wanted to terminate him. "I've changed things around a little. Mixed them up. I've decided your battle will be fought in four different rounds...you won round 1. Manage to win three, and you can leave...with Sonic's corpse. For now, though..."

Metal could hear the smirk in the voice, and it infuriated him; "Enjoy your...momentary...victory. You will know when round 2 starts. Ha ha ha hahahaaaa!"

Sonic was enveloped in a black portal before Metal's very eyes, and then he was gone. Metal found he could move again, and in rage hit the spot where Sonic had previously occupied, leaving a hole in the concrete. Then he straightened, looked around himself, and gathered his composure. His world, his rules...

Metal Sonic powered up his jet engine and zoomed off through the city streets.