Well, this is my first 100% sega character story. I'm liking where it is going. Now know this. I replaced all the swearing with the word 'Chao'. That way they can sort of swear without me making this an M-rated story for swearing. This will be a love traingle between Amy Shadow an Rouge but that will develop more later.
Rain? What is rain to me? My visual sensors are a tad distorted and that is all. More importantly I can still see plainly the pathetic creatures running and laughing with their lovers in the cold and the dark. I don't know much about those either. I can see in the dark and my hyper drive engine compensates for the heat loss. I'm sitting under a tree if you are interested at all. I'm here in this station square park. These fools must not have caught the weatherman's reports to stay indoors. These fleshy things are so inefficient.
It's been a week since Sonic the hedgehog -whom I have been told is my arch enemy- last defeated Eggman. He had his flagship: the Egg Massacre pitted against the Tails's 'X-tornado' dog fighter. Although the flagship was more powerful, the freaky fox managed to find a way to disrupt the ship's computers. The chaos drive exploded from a power overload and the ship fell into the sea.
"Sonic will board us to get the emeralds!" Eggman shouted throughout the fallen flagship.
"Kill him!" That was the last I heard of him. I was down below in the storage deck. Many other robots had been destroyed by the crash into the ocean. I had managed to stay on line. So had Shadow the hedgehog. I grabbed a hand cannon but shadow refused to take a gun. We nodded and began to race up the sinking ship. Soon there was another large crunch. We looked back to see the ship was broken in half, with the other half sinking even faster. Up above we saw a small metal egg vanish in the distance. Shadow stepped towards it.
"The sky? Really? Was that our limit? Or was it that little blue fellow? Damn you doctor! You should have known! You should have done something about it!" he shouted. I knew he was experiencing a hormonal condition called 'rage'. I spoke up in my generic voice.
"We must continue." Shadow looked and nodded.
"Yeah. Right." He pushed past me and continued. I followed.
The screeching of the metal was intolerable. The ship incessantly snapped and cracked at every joint. The floor began to flood and we had to go up a level to avoid going under. Here the hull was much more exposed and the twisted metal from the bow began to break and fall before us into the hungry, torrential sea. I turned left and Shadow opened a door. We then stepped into the engine room. It was cylindrical with a pillar in the center and the roof was now exposed. We looked up at the blue sky to see a far bluer thing starring back at us. Instantly we went into a fighting pose. He merely laughed and jumped down. Shadow attempted to run forwards while I ran to the side to pincer him. He held up a ring and there was a flash of light. I stopped and waited for my visual sensors to adjust. Then I saw him on the pillar withdrawing an emerald. I tackled him only to be thrown off and into a wall. The wall promptly fell forwards onto me, pinning me down. Shadow was standing behind the hedgehog. Suddenly he spoke up.
"Why do you do this to yourself, Shadow?" Another loud snap rang through the area.
"Eggman is my master; no matter how much I hate it."
"He abandoned you. As I recall that breaks all bargains." Shadow looked down. Then he saw me in my awkward position. Sonic sighed.
"He's the faker." They sighed.
"What would I be if I wasn't hunting you? I wonder." Sonic shrugged.
"I wonder what I would be, if I didn't have you in my rear view mirror." Shadow chuckled.
"Give me an emerald." Without a second thought, Sonic handed him the purple chaos emerald. Shadow raised it up and looked at me.
"Chaos control!" He vanished. The shock wave caused the room to shutter like a child in the cold. I attempted to free myself from the fallen concrete but I was damaged when it fell. I could not muster the strength.
Sonic looked at me and frowned.
"Insect; like a bug crushed under my foot you are." He walked towards me. I tried to free myself again.
"What is your ultimate goal?"
"The completion of the Eggman empire." I tried to free myself again.
"Completion? It never started! how do you suppose you start an empire?"
"Prime directive: The destruction of Sonic the hedgehog." I tried to free myself again. It was useless. I could only listen to him.
"Ha! That's a laugh; coming from you. You have no idea do you? You don't know why you keep losing. It's not strength or brains that are your true weakness. You are a robot: a one trick amalgamation of scrap metal. You have no mind or soul. You have only your programming. You can never do anything else. Even Shadow has his freedom. But you don't want anyone to have freedom! All you want his to have the whole universe bend to the will of that stupid Egg! And do you know what? I hate you for that!" He fell to his knees and pointed to his chest.
"The pure blue hero...hates you!" He was jeering. "How did you manage that?" He stood up and kicked my head. Another smash boomed in the distance.
"I work to protect life, freedom, and happiness. You seek to destroy them. You are everything I despise. You have no conscience, no mercy, no pity. Do you remember the first time we met? You were helping Egghead turn the people of the little planet into robots. I beat you then. And I continued to beat you. I hurled you and your mechas off of the little planet. I stopped your hostile takeover of the Acorn Kingdom. I saved all of Mobius from you! I am Sonic the hedgehog. And you are my enemy." He stood up.
"I won't save you. I'm done with you. Shadow there is some hope for but not you. And when your processor is frying in the salt water and you are screaming for the pain to end I hope you remember this. I hope you remember your victims." Sonic turned and withdrew the six emeralds from the column and looked at me again.
"What a mess you-" Boom...Boom Boom. The ship buckled and water came flooding into the room. Sonic fell back, not expecting the sudden change in orientation. Suddenly the entire wreck began to tilt. I could feel the metal slipping off of my back. Sonic picked up the other emeralds then glanced at me. I was able to free myself and pulled out the hand cannon I had taken. For about One one thousandths of a second we stood there and I wondered if I was really about to pull the trigger. I cannot comprehend why I hesitated, but then fate intervened.
A crack shot through the air instead of my laser. Following that was a whirling, whizzing sound. I looked up, still aiming at Sonic. A large buttress had dislodged from the hull and was falling. I could fire at the buttress or at Sonic. I lifted the gun and sliced the cold steel in twine. At that moment Sonic used the energy from the six emeralds to supercharge his powers. Within an instant he was racing out on top of the water and back to shore. I stood there as the wreck sank beneath me.
I had failed. I activated my jet propulsion and glided towards the city.
The rain continued to pour. In one of the store windows I could see a television warning those foolish enough to stay outside of the storm. A storm would not be favorable operating conditions, but I could manage. I stand up and begin to examine my surroundings. Suddenly something shook a branch on a tree. I walked towards it slowly. Suddenly I could see, under a small shrub, an earth squirrel with a blue collar. It was dark brown with light brown markings. I focused in on it. It was holding a nut and hiding from the rain. It shook slightly and then looked at me. Suddenly it ran away again. I followed it. It was darting from tree branch to tree branch, still with its nut.
Amazing was this little fellow. I knew that squirrels like this aren't really aware. They aren't sentient beings: much like myself. Yet, this creature could since danger, and make decisions about how to keep himself alive and unharmed. I watched every move closely. It was such an elegant creature. I don't know how long I was chasing it but eventually it was at the end of the park I was in. Suddenly I heard an unmistakable sound.
Of course I knew her. I had listened to her whimper time and time again on the various ships Eggman had kidnapped her on. It was Cream the Rabbit. I hid behind a bush as she and her friend cheese splashed in the puddles made by the rain. She was wearing a brown blouse with a yellow skirt and a bright orange raincoat. Son she saw the squirrel I was chasing and ran over to it.
"Hi there." Her chao came by and hugged the squirrel. I assumed it was one of her wild pets. She knelt down and began to pet the wet thing.
"What's wrong? Are you scarred?" She looked at it curiously. Suddenly it darted past her and out into the city. She watched as it disappeared into the mist. Then she turned towards the bushes.
"Who...who's there?" I remained still. The rabbit walked towards me looking about the bushes.
"Hello?" I closed my visual receptors and sat down. The rabbit then pushed away some greenery and gave a slight yelp.
"Sonic robot!" she stumbled back, her chao grabbing her coat. After a minute she came close again.
"Cheese...do you think he's..." She reached out to touch me. I moved slightly once she made contact. She quickly withdrew her hand.
"I think we should go. This robot is bad!" She turned and without a second thought ran off into the city. I wondered for a moment why she was here.
Then I began wondering why I, Metal Sonic, was here.
I had no reason to be here. I should have been following Eggman's orders. I should be trying to repair the Egg Massacre. I should be helping create a new evil plan.
But wait. Isn't that how it always goes? No. I cannot go back. If I do it will just be the same old plot and punishment with Eggman. I need to find my own destiny, or carve it out of this world.
I grunted as I threw the brown coat over my shoulders to keep off the rain. I turned back to the man I'd just mugged and gave a swift kick to the neck, knocking him out. I sighed and searched the pockets. A wallet containing $185 and a few credit cards, a half gone pack of condoms, some cigarettes, a cell phone and a pocket knife were inside. It wasn't much but it could keep me alive for a while. I'd recently used up the last of the ration squares and sleep pills I used on Eggman's long voyages. I needed some real food and a real bed.
I looked out at the city. A lot of people were running in the rain past other people in pairs who were just walking slowly. No one had seen; perfect. No witnesses means this guy is out of luck until some good Samaritan comes by. I'd call him an ambulance but I can't allow myself to be linked to this. So I sighed and looked back at him lying there. He probably thought he had it bad. He should have been me. Working for a smart-chao maniac with a one track mind made for a chao of a lot more stressful working environment then some jerk at the office. I smirked. It was good to be free from him. Then I turned to the gray, foggy city.
"I think I'll even treat myself to a meal." Not like that horrible, preservative coated garbage that he kept in his pantry. I glanced at the man one last time and then disappeared.
Some say the city is a different experience at night. I could say the same about these speeds. The one thing I had in common with the faker was a love for running. Every place had to faces. One face was at 0 and the other was at 300 miles per hour. Shapes and colors all whirled around my head. Every bump turned to a bounce and every sound was an echo. It was like dashing through heaven during God's costume party with the angels. It gave me the satisfaction of being alive in the universe without the desire to own it.
I could definitely wait until tomorrow to figure out the whole 'destiny' issue. Soon I slowed my pace and found a restaurant; one of the best pizzerias in Station Square supposedly. I walked in out of the drizzle and looked around. No one noticed me, as I thought they wouldn't. The only ones who saw me on the Egg Massacre -and therefore have proof of my wrong doing- were Sonic and Metal Sonic. Who knew where that robot was? And Sonic wouldn't have gone through the trouble to have a warrant put on my head. Besides, he didn't see me do anything wrong. So he had no proof. Without proof he couldn't press charges. I sighed contently. I had no drama, the law wasn't after me, and I had over one hundred dollars in my pocket. So far things were going a lot smoother than I thought.
I took a seat next to the window and listened to the sound of the rain for a while. The restaurant was quaint. It had dark blue carpeting and pale red wallpaper. the tables were mosey oak and the chairs were quite comfortable. Soft, orchestra music was playing in the background. Soon a voice chirped in my ear.
"Welcome to Aridia's Pizza Parlor!" I turned my head to see the brown labrador standing next to me. I nodded.
"I'd like a large, supreme pizza if you don't mind." I said, being as polite as possible. She nodded, taking down some notes.
"I'm sorry to have to ask, but how will you be paying?" She looked up coyly.
"You see there was an incident a while ba-" I raised a finger to stop her.
"Credit." I said, reaching into my pocket. She smiled weakly as my hands searched for the plastic. I soon found it and pulled my hand out, accidentally dropping the condoms on the floor. She blushed instantly and looked away shyly.
"I, um...you really feel that way?" I panicked slightly. If this got out of hand I could get that warrant I was barely avoiding. I wasn't afraid of the station square police, but living with that on my head wouldn't be as easy as living freely.
"An accident: terribly sorry." I picked them up quickly. Best not to make to much of a fuss or I'll get her upset. She sighed and looked back at her pad.
"Would you like a drink?"
"Hard lemonade please." She glanced up and scanned me. It was obvious I was of legal age so she bowed respectively and walked away towards the kitchen. I leaned back and made myself comfortable.
It was in that instant I knew the closest thing to absolute peace I would know for a long time. I have no regrets about that moment. I relished it totally, completely and as absolutely as anyone ever could.
And then I heard her voice.
"SONIC!" A slam and a sob or two later, silence returned to the restaurant. I sighed heavily. She had such a crush on that hedgehog. It was pitiful. I turned back to the window to continue watching the storm. Then I heard a noise.
"Shadow?" I have been compromised. Chao. Sweet Chao. I turned to see her sitting there, she was wearing a pink wool sweater and a red skirt. Her hair was combed back and out of her face, an improvement in my opinion. Her headband was still there though. She smiled weakly and stood up, coming towards me. I would have moved but in that instant the pizza was slammed onto my table. By the time I'd searched the room -only to find the still upset waitress walking quickly away from my table- she'd placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Shadow! It's so good to see you again!" Her usual beaming face made me sick. I had to get out of this as quickly as possible.
"You too Amy." She giggled cutely. Was this her usual style? Was she using me for practise with Sonic? I didn't alter my voice at all. Perhaps it's a bit deep but there's nothing to be done about that. She wiggled into the seat next to me and continued to hold onto my arm with a goddess's grip. She must have learned this with Sonic.
"So how have you been?" She flashed her green eyes at me. This wasn't friendly conversation. She was using me as an emotional pillow to cry into.
"Good."
"I didn't see you when we were all beating Eggman today." Chao! She knew something was up. I began to sweat, trying to think of an excuse I wouldn't have to validate later. Her gaze softened considerably.
"I'm sorry. It must be hard to be split between your friends and your ...well...whatever he is." She looked away, knowing she'd said a bit too much. I sighed again. The crisis was avoided.
"It's ok. Don't be sad." Her faint Strawberry shampoo became stronger. I turned to realize she'd placed her head on my shoulder.
"Sonic..." I knew she was using me for comfort, but she was getting a bit too comfortable. I sighed and allowed her to use my shoulder while I cut into my food before it got cold and my drink before it got warm. 15 minutes later, with Amy still mumbling things to herself, I finished the quite excellent meal and took my stolen credit card from the waitress.
"So...You have a ride home?" She asked, not moving. I looked at her. She was just starring off into the distance.
"I don't need a ride." She chuckled, looking at me.
"Need a place to stay?" Perfect. I could ditch this used card now. I'd get free room and board as long as I was 'good'. I looked at her.
"No." She looked at me coyly. I knew what she was getting at, even if she didn't know I knew.
"You can stay with me for a while!" I appeared shocked and stood up. She only pulled harder.
"No really-"
"Yes! You have too!" She tugged me again. I allowed her to pull me. I dropped the credit card in the street as I left.
"You're going to love living with me!" I wondered if Metal Sonic was on line. If he was, he wasn't having nearly as much luck as me.
Please R & R.