It had been only a month after that fight on the Death Egg Mk II that Metal Sonic was never going to be able to forget, where he slammed into an electrified wall at 3,072 m/ph. It was bad enough when it happened the first time, but the second time was far worse; knowing before it happened just how terrifying an experience he was going to go through made it unbearable.
That experience changed him forever. When he woke up after being repaired by a robot nurse in Eggman's base, he acted extremely jumpy, alert and easily excitable, and everything seemed to remind him of his painful experience; from the moment he was reactivated, he panicked because he was lying on a metal work bench, and was reminded of when he was lying on the metal floor of the Death Egg Mk II with an electrified wall in front of him.
Anything that reminded him of electricity was a trigger for him, causing him to tense up and go into panic mode at the memory of his painful experience, acting as if he was running off pure adrenaline in a fight or flight response of self-preservation. Flashes of light would startle him because he would initially think they were the result of electricity; he dreaded rainy days because thunder and lightning would send him into a panic, to the point where he felt paranoid that lightning would strike him through the window if he was in a room with one. He hated fire because anything that hot reminded him of the burning sensation of high voltage jolts of electricity piercing his metal body and rushing through every part of it, burning him from the inside. Buzzing sounds would startle him and send him into a panic, since they made him think they were coming from electricity or an electrified object heading towards him and he would go into a violent frenzy trying to neutralize the threat, destroying whatever the sound came from. In the daily training room, whenever he saw sparks of electricity coming from the training mechs he would defeat, he would go berserk and start fighting the mechs in a violent frenzy to the best of his ability, tearing them apart ten at a time and destroying the pieces afterwards, all from the sparks of electricity threatening him.
When someone else was watching, even a weak robot, Metal Sonic would cover up his fear by acting resentful and claiming that his behavior stemmed from something reminding him of how much he hated Sonic for defeating him in their last fight, appearing petty and acting out of misdirected anger as opposed to frightened and panicked, determined not to get electrocuted again. His act worked for the most part, with the other robots admiring him and cheering him on when he fought in the training room more viciously than ever before, thinking that if anything, his loss had made him stronger. They didn't know how afraid he was that his painful experience was going to happen again. They didn't know how it felt to slam into an electrified metal wall at four times the speed of sound. They didn't know how important it was to him that he prevent it or anything like it from happening to him again.
Barely anyone understood that his experience had such a big impact on him that he relived it on a daily basis, having nightmares about it every night to the point where he was reluctant to go into sleep mode and would put it off, having flashbacks about it whenever he saw or heard something that reminded him of it in the slightest, and when he was particularly stressed out, remembering it when he closed his eyes, thinking he was going to be electrocuted again the instant he turned off his optical sensors. In some circumstances, he was so stressed out that even hearing the words associated with things that reminded him of the experience would startle him and make him flinch and cringe, because hearing those words would force him to imagine electricity and start feeling like he was in danger.
As the days went by, he gradually less easily alarmed, paranoid and fearful, reminded of the electrocution by even the slightest of things. But it didn't change the fact that he had triggers. He had nightmares, flashbacks, and triggers. And he couldn't have been more ashamed. He didn't want to be weak. He never wanted to feel that way, and wished that he could simply turn it off instead of being overwhelmed with fear and not feeling safe even if he was reminded of the experience by something completely harmless to him. But he did. He did feel that way, and he hated it. He often wished he didn't have feelings, because they were only making him miserable. The days turned into weeks as he slowly recovered, and the amount of triggers he had decreased with time. But that didn't change the fact that he had them.
A month after the experience on the Death Egg Mk II, Eggman finally sent him on a mission again, believing that he had recovered; after all, aside from his personality changing to serious, cautious, and easily angered - which Eggman thought was the result of minor CPU damage and didn't bother to fix it - he hadn't actually stopped being useful to him. The mission he sent him on had nothing to do with fighting Sonic, but he went on it anyways; not only because he was sick of being cooped up in the base, but also because he had no choice.
As he was carrying out his mission, which involved checking Tails' workshop to see if there was a Chaos Emerald in there, he encountered Tails, who was frightened at seeing him. The child gasped, and cried out, " Metal Sonic! " and started shaking in fear at seeing him just outside of his workshop. At first, Metal Sonic raised his arm to attack him, but after a few seconds, he was confused to discover that he didn't feel like attacking him. He lowered his arm to his side in confusion and went into deep thought about why he wasn't feeling any hatred towards the kid, his eyes darting around with his arms crossed as Tails trembled in fear of him.
When he first saw Tails in front of him, he realized that the child was with Sonic during the race that eventually resulted in the most terrifying experience of his life. He didn't remember the race itself, with the painful experience afterwards having such an impact on him that everything else was just a blur. In fact, the only reason he knew that Sonic was friends with a two-tailed fox at all was because Eggman reminded him of it. Of course, that didn't change the fact that if he saw a two-tailed fox near Sonic's house, he'd easily put it together that he must have been the child who was with Sonic on the Death Egg Mk II, and he did put it together quite easily. But to his surprise, he didn't feel like he wanted to attack him for it. Usually, when he was faced with something that reminded him of his worst memory, he wanted to destroy it, assuming that it was something that could be destroyed, as opposed to electricity or fire, which he would flee from if no one else was around. Since Tails was technically capable of hurting him, as well as being close friends with Sonic, he should've naturally felt the urge to attack him for reminding him of his experience. He even assumed an offensive stance upon seeing him in preparation for acting out this urge. But for some strange reason, he didn't, and after he lowered his arm in confusion instead of attacking him, he immediately started thinking over in his head why that could've been, determined to know the answer before he made a decision about what to do next.
All of his triggers had something in common; either they could seriously damage him - like electricity - they reminded him of being seriously damaged - like lying on something metallic - or in the case of buzzing noises, they made him think of electricity. All of his triggers would irrationally cause him to feel like he was back in that experience where he was just about to slam into an electrified wall and be thrown into a frenzied panic over trying to prevent himself from being electrocuted again. Since Tails was with Sonic during the race that led to that experience, Metal knew he should've been a trigger because of it, making him feel like he wasn't safe even long after he was. But rather than getting thrown into a frenzied panic to defend himself against a threat and neutralize it, he remained calm. It might have been because Tails had never actually hurt him. In fact, the three-year-old child had never even insulted him. While he did help Sonic win the race and caused him to get electrocuted as a result, it wasn't like he had literally made physical contact with him and electrocuted him, like the wall that came down in front of him. He hadn't directly hurt him in any way. In fact, now that he thought about it, he didn't really associate Tails with the memory at all. He was racing Sonic, not Tails, so he barely even noticed Tails was there, and if it weren't for the fact that he was helping Sonic win and Eggman reminded him of him later, he would've forgotten about him. Did he even register him as an enemy at all? There was also the fact that he was a lot more powerful a fighter than Tails, a three-year-old child who, judging from his frightened reaction to seeing him and the fact that he wasn't even bothering with trying to fight him, was very clearly not a threat.
That was it. He wasn't a threat. Tails wasn't a threat to him, so there was no reason for him to want to neutralize a threat that wasn't there. He had no reason not to feel safe around the child, because while he could technically damage him, he couldn't possibly destroy him, let alone defeat him in battle, and he certainly couldn't electrocute him. So, after seven seconds where Metal Sonic thought deeply about why he didn't feel like attacking Tails, during which the kid was paralyzed in fear, Metal Sonic finally said with his eyes widened in realization, " He's not a threat... "
Tails looked incredibly confused at hearing that. He was still trembling, but he couldn't help but wonder why Metal Sonic would say that to him. He was best friends with Metal's sworn enemy; wouldn't that, by extension, make him his enemy, too? Why was Metal Sonic surprised that he turned out to not consider him a threat to his safety, when he was a three-year-old child who couldn't defeat him in a fight alone? Why was he so surprised at not seeing a threat, when the only one he should consider a threat to his safety is Sonic? Has he been living a life where threats to his safety were normal to him, to the point where he instinctively went into an offensive position at hearing someone come up to him, even before his mind registered that he didn't feel like hurting him was necessary? Why would Metal Sonic not hurt him just because he felt it wasn't necessary? Tails would've expected him to hurt him anyways out of sadism, but instead, he didn't feel like hurting him at all, and stated that it was because he felt safe. Did he feel unsafe around Sonic? Was he afraid of him? Why was Metal Sonic so concerned about potential threats to his safety to the point of immediately and instinctively assuming an offensive position like he was about to punch him to protect himself, before thinking about it and realizing he didn't actually want to do it? He had never acted that way before, at least not in front of him. Did something happen to make him constantly feel unsafe? Had he changed?
Two seconds passed as Tails wondered why Metal Sonic had decided not to attack him for not being a threat to him as opposed to attack him to show off his power. During that small timespan, he stopped trembling in fear and went from looking scared and nervous to simply confused, wondering if he should say anything to him to get more information. But before he could ask him why he made the decision he did, Metal Sonic turned around and flew away at the speed of sound, looking like he was simply going back to focusing on what he had focused on before and forgotten about him. Tails gasped, and ran into his home, wanting to call up Sonic and tell him to try to get the answers.
Several minutes later, Metal Sonic was flying towards the entrance to Eggman's base, a cave in a meadow with a forest nearby leading to a secret elevator to the underground base. Walking up to the cave wall, he was just about to enter the base when he jumped at hearing a familiar buzzing sound behind him; a sound that was almost identical to the sound of an electrified wall. Frightened and going into panic mode, Metal Sonic instantly turned around with his red eyes shrunken and dim from the fear and saw electricity coming out of what seemed to be a metallic staff that was being held by a white gloved hand. As soon as he saw the electricity, it was registered in his mind as a high-level threat, and his instincts took over.
It all happened in an instant; Metal Sonic heard the buzzing of electricity behind him, instantly turned around with his eyes widened and his red optical sensors shrunken and dim, and started shaking uncontrollably at seeing an electrified object in front of him, being held by a person - he didn't notice who it was, nor did he care - who would find him cowardly if he ran for his life.
He instantly kicked the person in the ankle to force him to drop the electrified object, flew backwards to prevent himself from being hit by the object as it fell to the grassy ground, shot a laser at it from his chest to make the electricity coming from it vanish, and then stomped on it multiple times at the speed of sound, crushing it into bits and pieces to make absolutely sure he was safe from being electrocuted. As soon as he had seen the object, he had narrowed his black eyes and assumed an angry expression to hide his fear as he dealt with the situation, although his shrunken red optical sensors gave it away. He didn't care about dealing with the person who had tried to electrocute him, at least not at the moment; all he was aware of was the electricity and the object it was coming from, and all he was focused on was dealing with his flashbacks by destroying the object as much as possible.
By the time he had finally destroyed the electrified object - with far more force than necessary - only four seconds had passed, as he was moving so fast that he was only a blur. After he had dealt with the dangerous weapon, his shaking stopped and he kneeled down on the ground, sitting down in exhaustion while panting to catch his breath; he gained energy for himself from oxygen, so while he technically could go for hours without breathing it, he still instinctively felt the need for it. He was tired from devoting all of his strength to neutralizing the threat by destroying the electrified object as thoroughly as possible, but he felt no regret; now that the electricity was gone, he felt safe, and relieved. He was so incredibly relieved that he was aware of nothing else except his relief. " I'm safe... It's over... " Metal Sonic said in between breaths, and sighed in relief at last, finally calming down.
" Hey... " The sound of Sonic's voice startled him and made him jump, and he tensed up as soon as he heard it; even though he had heard Sonic speak to him in a sympathetic tone, it didn't register to him as fast as the identity of the speaker, the person who reminded him of his worst experience the most.
" SONIC, WHERE'D YOU COME FROM?! " Metal Sonic exclaimed while startled, jumping to his feet and turning to face him with his eyes widened in surprise. His normally menacing red eyes had returned to being the size of tiny dots from the fear, and he couldn't hide the fact that he was trembling.
Sonic, on the other hand, was shocked and confused that Metal Sonic was surprised to see him. He had assumed that Metal knew it was him, because he had kicked him in the ankle to make him fall to the ground the instant he saw him; or rather, the electrified object he was carrying. Bewildered and feeling slightly concerned at seeing Metal Sonic with fear in his eyes, Sonic said with a confused tone, " You didn't recognize me? "
Trying to look annoyed to save face, Metal replied with his arms crossed while looking at what was left of the object he destroyed, " I wasn't focusing on who was holding it. I was focused on neutralizing the threat! The instant I saw that extremely dangerous weapon, destroying it became my top priority. It was all I was aware of at the moment. "
Sonic's eyes widened in realization. It all added up. The fear in his eyes at hearing and seeing the electrified metal object, the immediate response to make him drop it, him focusing all of his attention on destroying the inanimate object instead of him, and the massive amount of relief he showed at getting rid of it at last. Metal Sonic was afraid of being electrocuted. He seemed to fear it more than anything; and judging from the way he paid more attention to the electrified object than him, it was clear that he regarded electricity as a higher level threat than his mortal enemy. Wanting to figure out why he suddenly developed such a fear of something he before had no problem with, Sonic thought back to the previous times he saw him deal with electricity, and it didn't take long for him to figure it out. He didn't witness what exactly happened to Metal Sonic when he slammed into an electrified wall, since he was on the other side of it when it happened, so he was unable to see what condition he was in even if he wanted to. But he remembered the bloodcurdling scream that had resulted from it, and judging from how seriously Metal Sonic took the threat of being electrocuted again, it was clear that such an experience had a big impact on him. When he saw that electrified object in Sonic's hand, he focused entirely on the electricity and nothing else, and he had a far-away look in his eyes as he started shaking uncontrollably, and now it was clear why. He was having a flashback. Sonic felt awful about being the cause of it, and wished he had never brought an electrified object with him in the first place; while he had only intended to use it to stun him in case he tried to attack him, he still felt sick to his stomach knowing what he had done.
" Wait a minute... " Metal Sonic said suspiciously, which filled Sonic with fear as he realized what was coming. " YOU TRIED TO ELECTROCUTE ME! " Metal Sonic exclaimed furiously, looking enraged. But Sonic could see that his red eyes were shrunken from fear, and it became clear to him that he wasn't shaking from anger, despite wanting to look like it. But even though Sonic could see the fear in his eyes, it didn't prevent him from getting panicked and flinching at Metal Sonic's furious outburst. After all, being afraid meant he felt like he was in danger, and if he felt like he was in danger, that meant he felt like Sonic was a threat, and if he felt like Sonic was a threat, that meant he was very likely to attack him. " No, Metal, I just wanted to talk! " Sonic exclaimed, clearly panicked as he took a quick step away from him.
Taken off guard by what Sonic had said, Metal Sonic looked at him incredulously, surprised and bewildered as he tried to process what had just happened. Sonic actually acting startled and panicked because of him, insisting that he only wanted to chat with him despite approaching him quietly from behind with an electrified object in his hand, and... calling him by a nickname? The only ones he knew who called him Metal were Orbot, Cubot, and Metal Knuckles. They called him Metal as an abbreviation of his name because they spoke with him so much that they felt the need to shorten it. But Sonic barely ever spoke with him, so why was he suddenly calling him by an abbreviated form of his name? Was it because he was speaking quickly out of panic and thus wanted to finish his sentence as fast as possible? That must have been it; he quickly ruled out the other two possibilities, which were that he was calling him an insulting nickname while clearly trying to convince him not to hurt him, and that he was calling him by an affectionate nickname because he cared about him. Sonic had never acted afraid of him before; he always acted cocky around him, playfully teasing him and just trying to have fun with him rather than being afraid. So the fact that he was afraid of him at that moment, spoke volumes. Everything about what Sonic just said to him shocked and confused him, and since he didn't want to look weak, he responded with an angry response of righteous indignation.
" Talk?! You expect me to believe you wanted to talk?! You snuck up on me with an extremely dangerous weapon that could've ELECTROCUTED me, and now you're saying you just wanted to talk?! You really expect me to believe that blatant lie?! Even if you did wanna talk to me, you wouldn't have approached me with something like that! How could you even think about doing that to me?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH?! You threatened to put me through something similar to the most horrible experience I've ever had in my life and you expect me to trust you?! " Metal Sonic told him off, still shaking with his fists clenched in rage. " I'm sorry! I didn't- " Sonic exclaimed, feeling more guilt at this point than fear, but Metal Sonic wasn't having any of it.
" Of course you didn't! YOU DON'T CARE! You never even considered what that experience was like for me because you didn't care about me! You didn't care what happened to your sworn enemy's robot, as long as you won the race! You didn't care how much excruciating pain I was put through slamming against an electrified wall at 3,072 miles per hour because it wasn't you! Y-You, you didn't care how it made me feel because you probably didn't even think I had feelings... " For most of the rant, Metal Sonic was telling him off furiously, but as he got further into it, he started to stammer from stress as he revealed just how upset he was with him, and at the last eight words of his venting, he spoke with a saddened tone that was almost at a whisper. Sonic never thought he would actually feel sorry for Metal Sonic. Feeling guilty, he looked down at the ground with a melancholic expression, and whispered apologetically, " I was wrong... "
Once again, Metal Sonic was thrown for a loop. This was another first. Sonic apologizing to him, actually feeling guilty for the way he made him feel? He couldn't believe it. He didn't think Sonic would ever feel bad about the way he made one of Eggman's robots feel. He had heard Sonic was compassionate, which made sense considering he was the hero of the world and it was his duty to save people, but him actually feeling sympathy for a robot? That took it to a whole new level. " I... " was all he managed to say, whispering it in shock as he tried to regain his composure, having his arms crossed to try and avoid looking weak. His eyes weren't shrunken anymore; if anything, they had become slightly bigger than usual, but without glowing menacingly like they would've if he was truly angry. It was almost as if he... appreciated it? No, that couldn't be it! That would imply he wanted Sonic to care about him, which would imply that he respected him, which would imply that he didn't hate him as much as he logically should've, and that was just absurd!... Was it?
Metal Sonic sighed, trying to make it sound like he sighed in exasperation with Sonic rather than in reluctance at what he was about to do. " Well, at least you admitted it... " he said quietly, looking away from him and unsuccessfully trying to look disrespectful of him instead of reluctant and melancholic. Sonic was surprised at this; he was expecting him to continue telling him off or attack him, not show him appreciation for apologizing in his own way.
Wanting to change the subject, Metal Sonic asked him awkwardly and reluctantly with his arms crossed, " You said you wanted to converse with me. If that is the case, then, what were you going to converse with me about? Not that I, care, or anything. I just, couldn't help but be curious... "
Sonic looked up at him, relieved that he was finally going to be given the chance to ask him what he wanted to ask, and without having to have a stun weapon on hand just in case. He said calmly to him, " I was gonna ask you why you didn't hurt Tails. "
Metal Sonic looked confused. It took him a few seconds for him to realize what Sonic meant. When he did, he deadpanned, " And you felt the need to electrocute me for that? " Sonic winced and said unhappily, " I took it with me just in case you tried to attack me the instant you saw me. It wasn't really meant to be a weapon, I just, took it just in case. It was a precautionary measure... " There were a few seconds of silence, as Metal thought about what Sonic had said, and realized that he was telling the truth. After all, it did seem uncharacteristic of him to try to electrocute someone, especially for the purpose of interrogation. " Alright, I believe you, " he said cautiously at last, and Sonic sighed in relief. Sonic asked, " So why didn't you? "
" Didn't what?" Metal Sonic asked with his arms crossed. " Hurt Tails! I, I'm not saying I don't approve of your decision, but it doesn't sound anything like you... From what Tails told me, you saw him, were about to attack him, but then you decided against it. " Sonic said in confusion. At his first sentence he had raised his voice unintentionally, and was slightly panicked in the second sentence from hoping he wouldn't suffer any consequences.
" He wasn't a threat. " Metal Sonic deadpanned. " That's what you told him. But, I, I just don't understand. The Metal Sonic I know would never not attack someone because they can't beat him in a fight! The Metal Sonic I know would never choose not to hurt someone because it wasn't necessary! "
Metal Sonic rolled his eyes and deadpanned, " Well, clearly you don't know me well enough. " He walked towards the cave wall and placed his hand on it and caused it to flip around, giving him access to the elevator behind the wall. As this happened, Sonic thought deeply about what Metal just said. After the events of that day, it was clear to him that he really didn't know him well enough. How could he say he understood him when he was surprised several times in a row by Metal Sonic's behavior? And it was usually a pleasant surprise at that; he wasn't expecting Metal to decide against hurting Tails just because he didn't have to. Perhaps he wasn't as evil as he thought. " Metal, wait... " he said in sad confusion, wanting an answer to the question in the back of his mind. Metal Sonic stopped before the elevator, and turned around slowly with a suspicious and wary expression to ask him, " Why did you call me that? "
There was a silence, and it made Sonic wonder if he made a mistake. He wasn't thinking when he said it, he just did, and he shouldn't have taken it for granted that there would be no reaction to it at all. " There's only three in the world who call me Metal and they're people who care about me, " Metal Sonic told him, sounding suspicious and unhappy. Sonic was surprised once again; he never would've imagined Metal Sonic had friends, let alone friends that were close enough to call him by a nickname. He couldn't help but wonder who those friends were.
" It was just quicker... It's no big deal. Saying ' Metal Sonic ' every time would take too long, and it's like saying your full name every time I address you. I mean, how long would our conversations last if you always called me, ' Sonic the Hedgehog? ' Heh heh heh... " Sonic replied, being nervous at first and then joking around with a smile by the end to lighten the mood. After a brief moment of consideration, Metal Sonic nodded with his arms crossed, and commented, " That seems logical. It couldn't be an insulting nickname at a time like this, and you couldn't possibly be saying it in an affectionate manner. Using it as a simple abbreviation only makes sense, " believing his explanation. Sonic then realized that his explanation was more like a half-truth; in a way, he was calling him Metal because he cared about him, or rather, because he felt sorry for him, and wanted him to understand that he wasn't addressing him as his enemy by calling him something different. He would've attempted to convince him of the truth, but he knew he'd never believe him, and it was just going to change the subject. So instead, Sonic asked him,
" What I wanted to say was... You're acting a lot different from the last time I encountered you. You're not cocky and taunting me and trying to have fun like you were when I first met you, and you're not as mad as all the other times. I've already been surprised several times by your behavior today, not that I disapprove of it. So what changed? Did Dr. Robotnik reprogram you? Did something happen? Did something make your personality change or were you always this way? " Sonic said to him in concern, looking worried and sad.
Metal Sonic went from looking suspicious and wary to looking at the ground melancholically with his arms crossed; his painful experience changing him was so obvious that even Sonic noticed. He wondered why Sonic hadn't figured out what had changed him when it was made so clear by his reaction to electricity in front of him; or was he only asking for confirmation? And in a way, he knew how Sonic felt; he was surprised and confused by Sonic's behavior that day, too, and not in a way that he disapproved of. Rather than taunting him or treating him with hatred, Sonic showed nothing but sympathy and concern for him, and even felt guilty for stressing him out. Had Sonic changed, too?... Or did he simply feel sorry for him because he figured out from his bizarre reaction to the electrified object exactly what had changed about him? Upon realizing that, Metal Sonic sighed, ashamed of looking weak in front of him, and said, " I think you know the answer, Sonic… "
Sonic looked incredibly worried and concerned, and it was clear that he had already realized what the answer was; he just didn't want to believe it. Wanting him to know one last thing before he left, Sonic explained, " I hope you don't blame me. If I had known, I would've not been able to do a thing, because I didn't have a choice. That electrified wall was Robotnik's idea. I just hope you understand that it's not me who caused that to happen to you. It's him. If I hadn't tried to win the race, I wouldn't have survived, so I didn't have a choice. I'm sorry. "
After that, he turned away and ran home at the speed of sound, having finished speaking with him. Metal Sonic stared at him as he ran away, and despite having his arms crossed, he couldn't help but look saddened by what happened. Sonic was right. It wasn't his fault. He didn't have a choice. His idiot boss was the one who thought it was a good idea to put an electrified wall at the end of the race. He should be holding it against Eggman, not Sonic. But what was he supposed to do? Sonic was supposed to be his enemy. And if he turned against Eggman, he would have to run away from home to avoid getting reprogrammed or scrapped, so he would be kicked out of the base and have to start a whole new life. He wouldn't have a home anymore, he wouldn't have a place to live where he was surrounded by people who respected and cared about him, and he wouldn't have a place where he felt like he belonged. The world would never accept him, not even if he tried to break off ties with Eggman. He had no choice but to stay on his side. So it had to be this way. Even though Sonic seemed to care about him, they could never be friends. He couldn't help but wonder if they would've been friends if circumstances had been different, or if they would've still been rivals because of his inferiority complex caused by the burden of being based off Sonic.
Author's Note: Another story that didn't really happen in the, well, " canon, " of The Rescue Mission, but it's still using the same Metal Sonic from that story and provides the same insight into his character. As you can tell by Tails being described as 3 years old, this takes place during the Classic Era, when the 8-year-old Tails was 5 years younger. If you haven't guessed it by now, the Death Egg Mk II electrocution is a reference to Sonic 4 Episode 2, where the final fight with Metal Sonic takes place in the Death Egg Mk II and he runs into a, you guessed it, electrified wall. As controversial and flawed as that game was, Metal Sonic was easily the best part of it, especially that theme song! Perfectly suits a fast-moving robot like him! So, hope you liked it, it probably wasn't that great, but whatever, as long as someone likes it, I guess.