A/N: This fic is a collab between myself and the-clarity-organism. She wrote Sonic, and I wrote Metal Sonic.
17 hours in the repair bay, and the memory was as clear as recently processed data: the hum of the drill. The screeching of steel. And the waiting. Oh, the waiting. Hours and hours of waiting. For the right part. The right machinery. The queue to end. Waiting for his own repair.
And the humiliation. Eggman had not been pleased by Metal's complete and utter failure in his very first mission, and thus those 17 hours were accompanied by innumerable lectures, as embarrassing as they were repetitive.
Metal would stand for it no more. He would have his revenge, and he would have it now, here at the precipice of Metallic Madness, where the edge of the wind met the seeds of Eggman's machinations.
Eggman's empire would spring from the depths of this artificial fallow, from the cacophony of the construction drills and saws working tirelessly in the canyon below. Here, in the depths of Metallic Madness, Eggman would achieve his dreams.
And Metal would have his revenge.
In the distance stood his prey: the tiny dot of blue between the great, mechanical cliffs. It was there Sonic stood out like a daisy growing up from the smooth sheets of steel.
Given his tiny size though, Sonic had to be far. Distance had that effect, making the great appear small, rending the cliffs thin and making Sonic appear tiny.
But...no. No, this couldn't be right. Sonic stood next to a pyramid of barrels, and those barrels were huge. But if we're just a matter of perspective, then the barrels would be the same size as Sonic. So this implied—
Metal revved his engine, rocketing through the air. Just as he passed over Sonic, he cut his engine, plummeting down and landing with a loud clash as his feet cut into the steel.
"Uh—" Sonic's voice was close but unusually small. "Metal Sonic? What are you doing here?"
Metal lurched backward, cutting his heels deeper into the steel floor. Frantically, he jerked his head left, then right, then left again, until finally, he looked down.
Sonic was standing there, a mere fraction of his normal size. And yet he stared up at Metal with no fear whatsoever. He looked more confused than anything.
"Didn't I already take you down in Stardust Speedway?" he asked, scratching his head.
"S-sonic—?" Metal's own voice surprised him. How did he sound so hoarse? Sonic was his archenemy after all, and above merely defeating him, Metal was here for revenge. If Sonic was small, that would make his revenge easier.
Wouldn't it?
"How did you get," Metal paused, "so diminutive?"
"Eggman's got some shrink rays I had to pass through," Sonic replied, pointing in what Metal assumed to be the direction Sonic came from. "So I just deal with it and find the ray that changes me back later."
"I see." Metal found himself unable to take his eyes off Sonic. His archenemy...he was just so small, so—so defenseless. It would be supremely easily now for Metal to defeat him. Metal could do it like it was nothing.
But the point wasn't defeat. It was revenge. So now—
"Oh no, do not think you can get away with this, Sonic." Metal narrowed his gaze. "You may have shrunk yourself to avoid defeat at my hand, but I cannot allow you to get away with your scheme so easily."
Sonic raised a brow. "Um...what? I didn't even know you'd be here. I thought you exploded or something."
"Yes, and that was your fault!" Metal stepped back just slightly, pointing a finger in Sonic's direction. "That is why I am here now! For my revenge!"
Metal shook his head, folding his arms. "Or rather, that was why I originally came here. Your miniscule size is making this rather difficult."
Sonic frowned, hands on his hips. "I mean, I wouldn't've fought you if you hadn't attacked me first. Could've saved yourself from exploding by just, you know, not fighting me. Unless you just want me to sit there and take whatever you dish out."
"No, the doctor created me to defeat you. And I must have my revenge too. Which is why I am here. But now you have gone and shrunk yourself. This is a problem because my full revenge must include proving I am superior to you, and I cannot prove myself superior to you if you are weakened. As you are when you are small. Hence the problem."
"Oh yeah?" Sonic challenged, smirking. "And how are you gonna prove you're better than me if you're following Egghead's orders?"
He straightened, trying to make himself seem taller. "You don't see me doing Eggman's bidding."
"I—you—" Metal beeped. Sonic's smirk was so infuriating regardless of his size. Big or small, Sonic was always the same. And Metal—
Metal could not withstand it.
"You are missing the entire point!" Metal groaned, pinching his forehead. "But nevermind. I do not need you to understand. I only need you to return to your proper size, for defeating purposes."
Sonic's smirk became even more smug, if that was even possible. He knew he had stumped Metal.
"All right, keep your bolts on. I'm sure the ray that turns me back to normal isn't too far away from here," he assured.
That smirk—it was even worse now, Metal just could not tolerate it, he could not—
"There is a ray that turns you back?" Metal leaned down, offering his hand to Sonic. "Then we must take you there immediately."
Sonic took a step back, surprised. "What? Really?"
His surprised face faded into something closer to amusement. "You're just gonna take me there?"
"Yes." Metal nodded solemnly. "You are far too small to make it there yourself, and I cannot allow you to go alone. What if another robot defeated you between now and then? I could not allow it."
Sonic snickered. "Aww, I didn't know you cared!" he cooed teasingly, climbing onto Metal's hand and sitting down.
Metal twitched. Even if Sonic was small, the warmth from his body still leaked into Metal's palm. Remarkable. How something so small could be so warm and so—
"So you said a ray is needed to restore you?" Metal said, a little too quickly.
"Mhm," Sonic confirmed with a nod. "There are these beam-things that change my size."
Metal nodded. He just had to keep his eyes focused on the distance.
There was no Sonic in the distance.
"So where is this ray?"
Sonic shrugged. "I dunno. You just keep going. Lucky for you, I already got past all the small stuff that you wouldn't even be able to fit through."
Metal rolled his eyes, taking a quick step down the steel pathway. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he would have his revenge. "Then let us finish this post haste."
Sonic shifted on Metal's hand, feeling Metal's palm and noting how smooth it is.
"Heh, didn't know you had morals."
Metal kept his hand held just out from his chest, keeping it as level as he could while he walked.
"Morals? It is not about morals. It would simply mean less if I defeat you in a suboptimal state."
"That counts," Sonic argues. "If you didn't have morals, you wouldn't care if you defeated me, so long as you did it. I'm sure Egghead doesn't care if you defeat me like this or not."
Metal shook his head. Sonic simply didn't understand. It wasn't about right or wrong or anything like that. Metal simply wanted Sonic back to his normal size, strictly for defeating purposes.
There was no other reason.
"Regardless, this reversal ray has to be somewhere," Metal said. Metallic Madness continued to stretch forward, and Metal had to take the long path around a particularly nasty spike trap. "You will be normal again soon enough."
"And you think Eggman'll be okay with us fighting in the middle of his lab place here?" Sonic asked, clearly either trying to irk Metal or playfully keep conversation.
Metal eyed Sonic skeptically. "I am most certain the doctor would not care in the slightest, not as long as you are successfully defeated."
"So you can wait until I grow back, but you don't have the skill to take me on without hurting Egghead's property?"
Sonic laid back, hands behind his head as he stared up at Metal. He tsk'd. "I'm disappointed, Metal Sonic."
Metal rolled his eyes. In Sonic's current slackened state, his legs dangled just slightly off Metal's palm.
Metal brought his other hand up, cupping Sonic between both his hands. He then brought Sonic up to eye level.
"Unbelievable. It is as if you had never confronted the doctor before. Mere property damage was never a deterrent to his ambitions."
"So you admit that you can't defeat me without damaging Egghead's property," Sonic replied with a huge smirk.
Metal let out a disbelieving beep. Still holding Sonic in one hand, Metal lifted his other, pressing his fingertip to Sonic's chest.
"These are big words to come from someone so small and helpless."
Sonic giggled—actually giggled—at the finger on his chest.
"Big words coming from a soon-to-be scrapheap." He paused. "Though..."
His eyes trailed down Metal's armor, eyeing Metal like he were some sort of display.
"Gotta admit, you look pretty awesome from this angle."
Metal's heel screeched against the steel floor. He stood utterly still.
"Please clarify your banter," Metal said, his voice oddly squeaky and flat at the same time.
Sonic shrugged. "It's just like I said." It was hard to tell if he was just egging Metal on or not.
The great ridges of Metallic Madness narrowed into a small canon. Standing along the precipice, Metal glanced at Sonic through the corner of his eye.
Even though the tiny hedgehog felt light in his palm, Sonic's beaming smile was as big as anything Metal had ever seen.
Metal shifted his weight. "Yes, well...I suppose I must be awe-inspiring, given all the great feats I am capable of."
Sonic chuckled. "I can't give you one compliment without you blowing it way out of proportion, can I?"
A small bolt laid in the path ahead of them. As he walked, Metal kicked it with the side of his heel. "There is no exaggeration here. I am simply a superior creation in every way."
"Oh yeah?" Sonic challenged. "Like how superiorly you're holding me?"
Metal gave the bolt an extra kick, and it tumbled along the path ahead. "That is correct. The manner in which I hold you is the most superior manner."
"I dunno," Sonic egged on. "If Tails were here, he'd have his gloves on. That'd probably be super comfy."
"The fox? Superior to me? That is the most amusing joke you have made yet. My hands are so superior I do not even need gloves." Metal shifted his hand slightly, causing Sonic to slid into the concave portion of his hand. "My hands are able to offer precise support that no mere organic hands could ever hope to achieve."
Sonic hummed, although not quite ready to admit that Metal was doing a pretty nice job holding him. "And? Is support all you got?"
"Of course not! There is much more I am capable of. You can not even begin to comprehend it."
A sharp, frigid wind kicked up, harsh enough to scatter the bolt away from Metal's foot.
An opportunity.
"For example, consider this."
A small amount of power is all it took. Metal directed a little extra to his hand. The electricity hummed through his circuits, causing the base of his palm to warm gently.
Sonic let out a tiny squeak of surprise, not expecting Metal's hand to become warm so suddenly.
He tried to remain smug and leaned back, which proved to be a mistake, as he got a feel for even more of Metal's warmth. He flushed, choosing to appeal to Metal's ego to avoid having to answer. "A-ah, okay. I've got an ego too and you are my best racing buddy, so I'll let it slide."
Metal forced himself to inch into the canyon. The center was narrow yet still wide enough he could comfortably walk through it.
"I am your...best racing buddy?" Metal said carefully. "You truly think so?"
Sonic raised a brow, flush fading somewhat at the change in conversion. "Well, yeah? I mean, no one else can keep up with me like you can."
The canyon widened. A sharp breeze rustled past them, cold and sharp with the industrial tinge of Metallic Madness.
And yet, Sonic's small body against Metal's palm remained noticeably warm.
"You mean this? Even if I have lost to you twice already?"
"No one's ever won in a race against me," Sonic reminded him, albeit smugly. "You're the only one who ever came close."
"...I see."
The wind kicked up into a harsh gust. Metal lifted his other hand near Sonic's side, blocking the worst of the gust.
"I still intend to defeat you during our next race."
Sonic sat up, surprised as he stared at the hand protecting him from the wind.
He looked up at Metal, smirk returning. "We'll see. You've got the right attitude for it."
Sonic's smirk really was something. It didn't matter how small the hedgehog got, his smile always held the same power.
"Yes. We shall see."
The industrial canyon widened again, transforming into a wide slate. Dozens of Eggman's robots puttered about, hammering steel beams or spinning bolts into place.
Ahead, a single laser beam sputtered in the distance, the cascade of blue light buzzing across the entrance to the next area.
Sonic turned his head away from Metal, hearing the beam's noises.
"Oh! That's it!" he exclaimed, pointing.
Metal rolled his weight onto the tip of his feet, standing taller to offer a wider view.
"Truly? We are here already?"
"Mhm!" Sonic pointed more insistently. "Red shrinks me, blue grows me back."
The laser continued to spatter in the distance, beams of light sparking down.
Metal should have known about this shrink ray. He was the doctor's creation, and so it should follow that he would know everything. So why hadn't the doctor told him about this?
"Well then, let us return you to your proper size," Meta said. "Then, once you are finished with this zone, we may race."
"Mhm, sure!" Sonic exclaimed, already readying himself to get down from Metal's hands.
He tested his hands against Metal's palms more than expected.
Metal cupped his hands around Sonic and took a few more steps. When he got to the edge of the laser, he had to stop.
Metal knelt down, hands still cupped around Sonic. The laser was beaming down in front of him.
He looked down at his hands. He should probably let Sonic out, or say something, or do something, but…
But all of that seemed just so final.
He had to say something, so Metal looked away and said, "Just so we have an understanding, I merely carried you here because I calculated it would be the fastest choice in the set of all possible options."
"Yeah yeah yeah," Sonic said with a playful tone. "You just wanted to carry me."
Metal huffed. With a tilt of his wrist, he eased Sonic onto the ground. Sonic's annoying warmth instantly left his palm.
"That is simply false. This was merely the fastest way to my objective."
"Mhm, okay," Sonic replied, unconvinced. "You walked here, and I could've supersped my way over here."
Nevertheless, he started walking towards the laser.
Metal stood up. From where they were standing, Metallic Madness smoothed out. The sky was clearly visible, as was the runway leading to the next zone.
Metal took a step away from the laser. Looking back would be a mistake, he knew that, and yet he couldn't help it. His gaze drifted backward.
Sonic was already gone.
Another step forward, then another. Going back to Eggman might be the logical decision here. He could regroup, reevaluate what had happened, and decide how to properly defeat Sonic once and for all.
Instead, Metal turned. The next zone wasn't far from here. Sonic wasn't far from here.
With the gentle hum of his engine, Metal launched himself toward the next zone.