Sonic the Hedgehog Fanfiction
by Sonic Dust (dustinman77@hotmail.com)

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, et. al. are © Sega, Archie Comics, and whoever. Used by me! without permission becuz this is a fanfic.
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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
I took the time to reread my own fanfiction, and decided it could use an overhaul. Therefore, here it is: the new-and-improved Mech of Mystery! I plan on doing the same for SonicWorlds as well. Enjoy!
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THE MECH OF MYSTERY
Ch. 1
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"Chloe! Sally!! Bunnie, do any of you read me?!"

A desperate voice was shouting in the wilderness. A voice full of frustration, anger, and a tinge of fear.

"You witch, what have you done? Do you have to have everything your way?" He adjusted his helmet and vaulted from the barren wasteland, the rocket on his back pouring forth black smoke and scorching fires.

"Perhaps it's not too late on this plane... can they yet be warned?"

¤¤§¤¤


"Yeeeeeooooowwwww!!!"

Sonic hurdled Antoine's head, and just in time. He almost got sliced wide open. As he turned to face his former friend, he nursed the gash on his left shoulder.

"'Twan! C'mon! It's me, Sonic, remember? Hedgehog extrordinaire, fellow freedom fighter! We're on friendly terms, remember?"

Sonic dodged another slash. It was no use. Antoine was roboticized, and no matter how hard he tried or hoped, he wasn't going to just come out of it. He just wished the battleground wasn't at the top of a high cliff; he needed more space to move to be able to fight at top form, and this ledge was very constricting.

"ELIMINATE SONIC, PRIORITY ONE," Antoine droned, drawing back his sword once again.

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"AAAAAAGH! Bunnie, NOOOOO!!!"

Tails awoke with a start. He gasped for air, panic-stricken for a few seconds, then realized it was only a dream. He breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he suddenly noticed he didn't know where he was. As his eyes adjusted to the low light, he saw an opening, but it had bars on it. He began looking around, and deduced that he was in what appeared to be a cell; a very crude cell. It was a simple rocky cave with bars on the entrance.

Tails got up and dusted himself off, then walked over to the enterance to see what he could see. When he got to the 'door,' he did a double take. A couple miles down was a boiling pit of lava, and between him and it were vertical cliffs all around. He looked further up the rock face and saw an opening.

"I've gotta get outta here," Tails muttered, rattling the bars.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!!!"

Tails stopped and listened. "That sounded like Sonic," he thought. He threw himself into the bars as hard as he could. All he got for his trouble was a sore shoulder.

Tails was furious. "I'm gonna bust outta this birdcage if it's the last thing I do!!!"

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Sonic had definitely seen better days. He never thought he'd be given the run-around by Antoine, but the roboticization made Ant a much better fighter than he normally was.

He stood up and almost fell over. He hoped he didn't have a concussion. A clothesline was the last thing he expected 'Twan to pull. 'I need to watch it,' he told himself. Sonic shook his head and started after Antoine again. At least Sonic could still outrun him--he'd just have to figure out how to use it against his former fellow Knothole resident.

"COMPLETE ELIMINATION OF SONIC," the Antoine-bot said, slashing downward.

"Yeah, yeah," Sonic said, executing a quick roll to avoid the perilous blade. He struggled to his feet as 'Twan readied his next assault.

SWISH!

Sonic nimbly jumped over the sword.

"What's the matter, Ant? Don't have the-"

The injuries had taken their toll on our hero, for he neglected to notice his proximity to the edge of the cliff. When he landed, he teetered for a moment, then plummetted toward the boiling magma below. It was such a terrifying experience, and he was so battered already, Sonic only had a brief moment to scream before he blacked out.

¤¤§¤¤


Tails was leaning against the wall of his stony prison. 'Is this really how it's going to end?' he thought to himself. 'I don't want to go out like this. There's so many things I haven't done... It can't end like this, they'll find me.' Tails sighed. Waiting for salvation isn't easy when you're used to being a saviour.

Then, his ears perked up; he heard a scream. He looked out through the bars and saw a blue streak flash past the entrance.

"Sonic?! Oh, no!"

Tails ran to the bars with renewed vigor and strained at them again, in a vain final attempt to free himself and get to his falling compadre. Unfortunately, iron is tougher than a 12-year-old fox's muscles, and he soon slumped down in exhaustion and failure.

"I knew I should have spent more time at the gym," he said.

Suddenly he heard the sound of an energy beam being fired. He jumped, expecting a SWATbot, but all he saw was that the metal bars were melted away. He quickly ran to the entrance to see who had freed him, and saw a strange figure.

The mysterious rescuer was dressed in mostly black and purple, and a flowing cape draped from his shoulders. He was clinging to the rock face by a grapple line mounted on his right gauntlet, and the laser he had used to free Tails was mounted on his left. The visor on his helmet was so dark, he couldn't see into it.

"Hey, thanks," Tails said, climbing through the melted bars. "But who-"

"No time for pleasantries right now," his rescuer said in a strange, tinny voice. "You must save your friend. He was lucky enough to have snagged his spines on a tiny ledge far below, but he's still unconscious. It won't hold forever, so I would suggest..."

"Oh, right!" Tails said, leaping out of the entrance and into the air. He revved up his twin tails and hovered near the stranger. "But what about you?"

"I'll take care of that drone up top," he replied as he kicked off the wall. At that moment, a jetpack appeared on his back. As he started to throttle upward, he caled back, "Good luck!"

"You too!" Tails yelled. Then, he turned and plunged downward toward his friend.

¤¤§¤¤


Tails' tails whipped around at a blinding rate as he nose-dived toward the pool of steaming lava. His eyes watered, and he ducked his head to get his face out of the wind. The speed and the heat made him feel faint, but he had to press on.

Suddenly, he saw Sonic. Just as the stranger had told him, he was dangling from a ledge by his quills. Tails had to get to him, but he had gained quite a head of steam. He had to struggle against gravity to stop from plunging head-first into the molten earth, but he managed to right himself with but a few feet to spare.

"Sonic!" he shouted, flying over to his battered ally. He saw all his injuries and winced at the mere sight of them. He gingerly picked him up, and the rock he had been hanging onto gave way, falling into oblivion several yards below.

"Sonic, you have to wake up!" He shook him, and he didn't wake up. "Oh, no! Please, don't let him be..." He took his pulse. "Oh, thank the Ancient Walkers! He's alive! He's unconscious, but alive!"

Tails blinked sweat away from his eyes. He looked up at the cliffs towering over him, and suddenly felt wiped.

"Oh, no," he panted. "I don't think I can carry him all the way up there." He smiled weakly. "Too many chili dogs, eh, Sonic?" No answer. He was starting to panic, but surpressed it. Suddenly, he thought of his backpack. He hoped he still had it, but he couldn't remember. He felt behind him; he sighed with relief. It was there, and it had just what the Doctor ordered; climbing gear. He hastily put on the harness, then tied it to Sonic, so both his hands would be free. He nailed a piton deep into the crag, then ran the rope through.

"Finally," Tails said, letting himself relax. He stopped flying and dangled above the lava. As he regained his strength, he tried to remember what had happened that he ended up here. He couldn't come up with a single clue. He decided to attempt the meditation method that Athiar had taught him. He relaxed, concentrated, and waited.

And he waited.

Suddenly, an image of a version Princess Sally in black leather flashed into his mind. The thought broke his concentration, and he came out of his meditative state. 'Evil Sally?' he thought. 'From that other dimension? Why would I be imprisoned here by her, of all people?' Tails hated all the evil Freedom Fighters from that dimension, but he hated her with a passion, since he had had a small crush on her--before she tried to light him on fire.

Mystified as he was, he now felt much better having rested, so he decided to try to make it back to the top of the cliff to get to the bottom of his predicament. As he unhooked them from the wall, Sonic started to rouse.

"No, just seven...," he muttered. "That'll last me the weekend."

"Poor guy," Tails said. He remembered his bandages, and took one out of his pack and wrapped Sonic's arm and head with it quickly. Then, he proceeded to airlift him to the top.

As they arose, Sonic stirred again.

"Sonic?" Tails said. "Are you okay, man?"

Sonic blinked. "Huh? Tails, buddy, that you?"

Tails breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the Walkers you're alright! I thought you might have been seriously hurt."

"Nothing a few dozen chili dogs and a trip to a spa won't cure," he replied, wincing in pain. He looked around. "What's going on?"

"I don't really know," Tails said, remembering his brief recall. "I wish I could tell you."

"Well, let's get out of here. I'd rather my sauna not come complete with deadly liquid rock."

¤¤§¤¤


Sonic and Tails arrived at the top of the cliff to witness a spectacular battle between the stranger and the roboticized Antoine. The caped figure's black and purple mantle was now tattered and torn, and his helmet, while intact, looked a little worse for wear. Antoine was readying for another attack, and the mystery dude was chargeing up his laser.

"Now I remember, Tails," Sonic said, rubbing the now-nice-sized knot on his head. "I came here looking for you! You didn't show up for morning excersizes, which didn't set right. Then, when you didn't show up for lunch, I got really worried, and used the tracking device in your shoes to find you, but I ran into robo-dweeb over there."

"But," Tails said, "where's 'here'?"

Just then, a red figure with flowing spines sailed in and sent both contenders flying into the wall with two well-placed punches.

"If you wanna rumble, either take it off my island or count me in."

"Knuckles!" Tails said. His brow furrowed. "But, that means we must be on the-"

"Floating Island, kid," Knuckles said, confused. "Shouldn't you know where you are?"

"You'd think I would, wouldn't ya?" Tails said, shrugging.

"Don't worry, keyed," Sonic said, patting him on the shoulder. "I've had more than my fair share of experience with amnesia. We'll figure it out."

Unfortunately, they had forgotten about the participants of the duel Knuckles had just ended. Antoine had gotten up and was steadying himself to take a swipe at Knuckles. Sonic suddenly noticed, and his eyes went wide.

"Knux, look out!"

Before the red echidna could react, Antoine's ear was seared off. It was the stranger, whom was just standing up. He had shot his ear off to draw attention to him and away from Knuckles.

Antoine rushed him, and they locked in a strength match. Eventually, Antoine was thrown to the floor.

"That's the way!" Tails yelled.

As the caped figure approached for another blow, Antoine jumped up and threw his sword at him. It buried deep in his chest.

"NO!" Tails, Sonic and Knuckles cried.

Then, the wound started to sizzle and spark, and his chest exploded, sending him flying backwards. He crashed into the wall and slumped down, a glowing silvery liquid oozing from the gaping wound.

They all stared for a moment. "That guy," Tails said, "was a robot. But... but he saved me. And you." He turned to Knuckles.

"Hey, don't look at me," Knuckles said. "I have less of a clue than you do." Then, he noticed the Antoine robot picking up his sword. "Oh, no you don't, bub!" He flew toward him and gave him a roundhouse that took him out of commission instantly.

"Good work, rad red," Sonic said. He walked over to Antoine. "Dr. Robotnik, you're gonna pay for this. You've roboticized my friends, my family. I'm going to beat your face in when you least expect it."

Tails put his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll win. Buttnik doesn't stand a chance."

"What's this guy's deal, then?" Knuckles said, pointing at the unknown saviour.

Tails walked over to the stranger and knelt by him. He slowly took off his helmet.

"Wh-wha?"

It was a roboticized overlander. Tails didn't recognize him, but he looked like he was a well-built, handsome man in his early twenties before he was converted. From the several slightly different color pieces on him, it appeared he had been repaired hastily several times, perhaps by himself. One of his eyes was an outdated external ocular module, which looked strange compared to the other one, a more standard internal e-eye. He fingered the protruding wires and torn metal in his chest cavity.

"Sonic," he said quietly, "do you think we can return the favor?"

"I dunno, man," Sonic said. "Rotor and Uncle Chuck are pretty good at that stuff, but he's been ripped up pretty bad. I guess we can only hope his brains are in his head, not his heart."

"I don't know if he even had a heart," Tails said. "But if he did, it was pretty big."


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On to chapter 2!