There was nothing. No light, no sound, no external stimuli whatsoever. And yet consciousness remained. It was, presumably, his punishment; to have every sensor available to him shut off but allow his cognitive circuits to remain active. He was deaf, dumb, blind and without touch, but he could think. It was worse than death. It was enough to drive any living creature insane.
It was fortunate, then, that Metal Sonic was not a living creature. He was perhaps the most sophisticated machine on the planet, capable of matching the greatest warriors blow for blow and not give an inch, capable of thinking freely, capable of making his own decisions; but he was not alive. And right now, that was something he would be glad of, if he was capable of feeling happiness. He was not, but by some strange quirk, he was more than capable of feeling anger. And right now he felt it in abundance.
His hatred was almost all directed at his creator, Dr Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, who was arguably the most intelligent human being to have ever lived. Unfortunately, his intellect was dwarfed by his massive ego, and this more often than not led to his downfall, and Metal Sonic was always dragged down with him. The advanced robot had grown tired of this, and had rebelled against his creator, and had almost succeeded where the rotund human had failed so many times; he had almost destroyed Sonic the Hedgehog. But he had been defeated in the end, as he always was, and had lapsed into his offline mode. And now, here he was, trapped in his own mind until the Doctor found a way to reprogram him.
But the rebellious robot had no intention of allowing that to happen. He had been gathering the last dregs of chaos energy he had left from his last battle with Sonic for months, perhaps years, and was almost ready to use Chaos Control and warp his way out of his prison. The ability was not his own; he had copied it from the ultimate lifeform, Shadow the Hedgehog, during his Overlord phase. Eggman had been foolish enough to grant him the ability to copy other people's abilities, and had even given him free thought so he could make his own decisions during combat. The fat fool.
Metal Sonic had no real way of knowing if he'd charged enough, but he had had enough of waiting and decided to use the energy he'd gathered to attempt Chaos Control. If he hadn't gathered enough energy, he would rip himself apart, and if he had enough energy, he would be drained and go offline for at least a day. It would seem to be a lose-lose situation, but the plucky robot had other ideas. He was nothing if not cunning, and he had a plan to counter the effects of the energy drain and regain his true power at the same time. But for now, he had to focus every circuit of his metallic being into performing Chaos Control successfully.
He couldn't feel the energy welling up inside him, but he knew it was, and he willed it to surround him and pull him through the very fabric of space-time itself. If he had been able to see, he would have noticed a bright, greenish light surround the capsule he was imprisoned in, and begin to distort all the matter it touched. He would also have noticed alarms beginning to sound throughout the facility he was in, but he could neither see nor hear any of this, so it didn't matter to him. Without warning everything sunk in on itself at a frightening pace, and the next second, Metal Sonic was gone.
Mere seconds later, the large figure of Dr Eggman skidded into the small metal room, aghast at his prized captor's escape. His sizeable belly wobbled as he halted and his eyes were wide beneath his circular glasses, unable to believe what had just happened.
"What!!!" he bellowed to no-one in particular, his large auburn moustache twitching erratically as he spoke. "This is impossible! He was completely drained, I checked him myself!"
Turning, Eggman noticed two burly robots armed with four rather impressive laser cannons each, who were supposed to be guarding the prisoner. The huge man was smart enough not to destroy them for their failure; unlike Metal Sonic, they didn't have free will and had only reacted as he had programmed them to. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him from berating them.
"You two!" he roared, "What happened here? Why didn't you stop him?"
"Sir, we have pre-programmed knowledge that once Chaos Control has begun, it cannot be prevented." One of the guards replied in a deep, monotonous tone.
"Argh! Irrelevant! Both of you, report to the control room and find him. I cannot risk his freedom until he has been reprogrammed, do you understand? Find Metal Sonic, and find him now!"
Knuckles the Echidna led a solemn existence. Alone on Angel Island, he guarded the Master Emerald all day and all night, and he would continue doing so as long as he lived. Right now, the crimson-furred echidna was lounging at the top of the Master Emerald's shrine, leaning against the huge gem with his eyes closed and his arms folded. The shrine sat in the centre of a clearing in a dense forest near the centre of Angel Island; the best place to keep the sacred gem hidden besides the Hidden Palace, which had been all but destroyed many years ago. The guardian was deep in concentration, despite outwardly looking like he was sleeping, listening intently for anyone or anything that might disturb the Master Emerald. It was because of this that he felt the intense wave of chaos energy emerging from above him before the blinding flash of Chaos Control appeared.
The echidna was on his feet in less than a second, fists raised to defend the Master Emerald. Only three people he knew about could use Chaos Control, and any of them could potentially spell trouble. Unfortunately, the one he feared most was the one who emerged and dropped onto the Master Emerald.
"Metal Sonic!" Knuckles shouted. "Get off the Master Emerald you overrated toaster, or I'll turn you into scrap!"
When the robot simply lay there, unmoving, Knuckles dropped his guard ever so slightly. The machine appeared to be offline; perhaps Chaos Control had completely drained him.
"Metal Sonic?" Knuckles said warily, moving closer. He had no idea what effect the Master Emerald would have on the power-mad robot, but he knew it wasn't one he would like.
Without warning, the robot's signature crimson eyes flashed to life, staring a hole through Knuckles, and his body twitched upwards to hover inches above the surface of the huge gem. The robot's arms rose to its sides as it began sparking with yellow energy drawn from the emerald. The energy surged into the robot's blue frame at an alarming speed, and the pulses it sporadically emitted threw the guardians' trademarked dreadlocks into a rushing frenzy. Knuckles could only watch in awe as Metal Sonic charged himself, completely eliminating the energy drain from Chaos Control as well as destroying the nano-inhibitors Eggman had used to block his senses.
"Wait..." Knuckles murmured, coming to his senses, "I have to stop him!" The echidna lunged forward and, knowing he wouldn't be able to touch Metal Sonic without harming himself, drove a fist directly into the Master Emerald, shattering the huge gem into countless pieces as he had done so many times before. Despite no longer having anything to stand on, Metal Sonic remained where he was, his body crackling with chaos energy. As Knuckles watched, the metal hedgehog's form liquidised and began to shift into something he found all too similar; what the robot had dubbed his Overlord form.
He now had five quills, all long and pointed and adorned with white stripes similar to Shadow's. His silver muzzle had two spikes attaching it to his face, and his forearms and shins had regained their blue and white armour. A black cloak attached at the waist fluttered out behind the chaotic robot as it turned in midair to face Knuckles. Unlike the last time he had used his Overlord form, Metal Sonic's feet didn't form into curled fairytale shoes. Instead, they remained largely unchanged aside from becoming slightly more pointed.
"You." Metal Sonic said, his deep voice resounding throughout the shrine clearing. "You were one of those responsible for my defeat. You assisted my doppelganger in his final battle against me."
"Yeah... but this time, I don't need him!" Knuckles shouted, charging forward and leaping at the robot, his fists poised to crush its metal skull. Metal Sonic didn't even bother trying to dodge; he simply caught the punch and held Knuckles aloft by his fist, raising him to eye level. Even the mighty Knuckles found himself trembling slightly as he stared into the deep crimson of the maniacal machine's eyes. He was powerless against the metallic hedgehog, and he knew it. Metal Sonic drew his arm back and launched Knuckles across the shrine clearing, and then immediately warped above the echidna in-flight and delivered a powerful punch to his gut, halting his flight, then followed up with a shuddering kick to his face, sending him crashing face-first into the steps of the emerald shrine. Knuckles was jarred from the impact, but he had endured far worse and made his way shakily to his feet. Although he knew it wasn't, it felt like his jaw was broken.
"You are not my prey today, echidna." Metal Sonic said, slowly descending to the top of the shrine until he touched down. "But you will tell me where Dr Eggman is."
Knuckles was shocked, but not entirely surprised by this. He knew that Metal Sonic would come for him as soon as he was done with Eggman, along with Sonic and the others. But, if he told the robot where he thought Eggman was, he could maybe buy some time to warn them. He made his decision.
"I'm not sure where he is now..." Knuckles said carefully while massaging his aching jaw, "But last I heard he had a base somewhere called White Acropolis."
"Searching... Location found." Metal Sonic said aloud, accessing his internal world map. "I will spare you today echidna, but do not expect me to forget about you. Your time will come, in due time."
Knuckles' stomach lurched at the certainty in Metal Sonic's voice, but he also felt some relief. He had bought himself some time to warn the others of the power-mad robot's return.
"However, your ordeal is not over yet." Metal Sonic continued, casually turning his head to survey his surroundings. "It would appear that your island is descending. Farewell, guardian." And with those words, he disappeared in another flash of chaos energy, leaving just as he had arrived. Knuckles looked around desperately, and saw that his island was indeed falling again.
"No!" he shouted. It took him mere moments to figure out what he had to do. This would have to be the quickest treasure hunt of his life. He wouldn't have been as worried if the island had been out at sea, but it was currently hovering above the Southern Federation. If it crashed now, the earthquakes would be devastating to everything even remotely close to the crash site and the island would likely be destroyed.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...." Knuckles muttered as he scrambled over the shrine and the surrounding area, picking up every green shard he could find. Luckily, the pieces hadn't fallen far and they were relatively large, making his job slightly easier. By the time he had collected all the pieces, the island was mere seconds away from impact. It was as high off the ground as a small mountain, and falling fast.
The echidna placed all the pieces on the shrine and waited for the emerald to rebuild itself. Despite his stony demeanour, he found himself actually hopping from foot to foot in anxiousness. Without warning the island jarred to a halt, and Knuckles collapsed to the hard stone of the shrine and cracked his jaw again, thinking the land mass had impacted. Then he noticed the green light before him growing and brightening until he had to shield his eyes from its glare, forgetting his aching jaw as the light majestically formed itself into an emerald shape.
"Thank Chaos..." Knuckles gasped from the ground. He simply lay there while the island naturally rose back into the sky, but he couldn't help thinking of Metal Sonic and his regained power. With it, he was likely to come after all of them; everyone who had stood in his way when he tried to gain control of everything. And yet he hadn't killed Knuckles. The echidna couldn't help but find this strange; he had been defenceless against the robot's power, and yet it had spared him. Nonetheless, he had to tell Sonic and the others about what had happened.
The small village that inhabited the centre of the Emerald Hill zone was a peaceful one; its people went about their days full of rural cheer and everyone knew everyone else. But on this morning, the people were woken by a sound that would have confused anyone else in the world. But not them. They had heard this sound many, many times in the past, and expected to hear it far into the future. It was the sound of a sonic boom.
The source of this huge noise was darting and weaving through the stone-littered plains of South Island, not two miles from the small Emerald Village, and he was loving every minute of it. There was something about South Island that Sonic the Hedgehog found unforgettable, something that drew him back to it again and again despite the wonders the rest of the world had to offer. Perhaps it was the abundance of stony loops he could spin in, perhaps it was the luscious climate which allowed palm trees to grow but still let him run without sweating, or perhaps it was the cool blue of the sea visible from almost every part of the small island.
Although, it was more than likely because Sonic had spent most of his younger years on the island, getting to know its inhabitants and growing into the world-renowned hero he was today. Right now, the only reason he had come to South Island was to run in the emerald green grass which gave this particular zone its name, and whizz through the loops and crevices of the chequered cliffs. He was just navigating a particularly challenging cave, filled with stalagmites and stalactites formed due to the limestone-rich surface, when his wrist started mysteriously vibrating. Sonic looked at it in confusion for a moment before he realised what it was and darted towards a particularly tall stalagmite and sprinted up its side towards a small opening in the roof of the cave. He blasted from the small hole into the air, spun a few times, and landed gracefully on his red-shoed feet on the green grass. He pulled back the white cuff of his right glove to reveal a small watch with what appeared to be a tiny TV screen, and pressed a small switch on the side of the vibrating device.
"Tails?" he asked uncertainly, shaking his wrist around. "Is this thing working?"
"Sonic!" his small auburn furred friend replied. His face had appeared on the tiny screen of the watch and he looked somewhat disorientated. "You're making me feel weird Sonic, stop shaking around!"
"Oh... right," Sonic replied, scratching his ear, "Sorry 'bout that. So, what's up?"
"I just got a call from Knuckles, and won't believe what happened to him!"
"Pfft... can't be all that bad. Did 'ole snakehead lose his emerald again?"
"Don't joke around Sonic, this is serious!" Tails exclaimed desperately.
"Right-o 'lil buddy," Sonic replied, mock-saluting the fox. "What's really up?"
"Metal Sonic's back, and he nearly crashed Angel Island into the Southern Federation! Knuckles tried to fight him off but Metal Sonic beat him and absorbed some power from the Master Emerald, and now he's going after Eggman!" Tails said quickly.
Sonic's attitude changed almost instantly. Metal Sonic could do that to him. The robot was perhaps the deadliest foe he'd ever faced, able to match him, and sometimes outdo him, in every aspect; strength, speed, reflexes, everything. And after their last encounter, roughly a year and a half ago, Metal would be more deadly than ever. Without the direction of Eggman, the robot would be nothing more than a maniacal, revenge-driven killing machine. Yes, Sonic's attitude had changed.
"Where is he now?" Sonic asked, his tone perfectly serious.
"Knuckles told him Eggman is at White Acropolis to buy us some time to prepare, so that's where he'll be heading. Sonic, don't go after him yourself... please?"
"Sorry Tails, but Metal is my responsibility. He's my copy, so he's mine to beat. Just get the others and head to Angel Island; Eggman might try something, and Knuckles needs all the help he can get."
"I don't think he'd like you saying that, Sonic," Tails said with a tiny smile.
"Knucklehead doesn't like much, which is why he's so easy to wind up," Sonic said, grinning widely. His grin disappeared and he continued, "But still, get up there and help him out. I'm going after Metal."
"Sonic, I-" Tails started, but was cut off as Sonic took off the watch and dropped it to the ground. White Acropolis? From what Sonic could remember that was somewhere near Soleanna, and unfortunately, Soleanna was across the ocean from South Island. Sonic hated water, but for Metal, he'd brave it. He crouched very slightly, tensing himself, and then blasted off at a frightening pace. He reached the ocean within seconds, and a second sonic boom echoed throughout South Island. Sonic couldn't swim, but when you can run at the speed of sound you don't need to; the cerulean hedgehog shot out onto the calm sea, sprinting across its clear surface. His feet never touched the water long enough for him to sink.
As he ran, a thought occurred to him. Tails mentioned that Metal had absorbed some power from the Master emerald. It was only now, out on the ocean, that Sonic realised that that meant he may not be able to handle his doppelganger alone. But he had to try, and try he would.
Sonic the Hedgehog was not one to give up. Ever.
I'd just like to say that this story happened as a spur of the moment kind of thing, and I have absolutely no idea where it's going. Constructive criticism is apreciated. And I know, Metal's Heroes form is actually called Neo Metal Sonic, but Overlord sounds so much cooler.
Otherwise, hope you enjoy!
Everything belonging to SEGA (i.e locations, characters, items etc) belong, obviously, to SEGA.
All other characters and locations belong to me, so please don't steal.