THE METALLA SERIES

THE METALLA SERIES

All Sonic related characters are © SEGA and TAKI

Carlu "Kick", Governor Mammon, Metalla2, and Prince Mamoru are © me, Masquerade.

Used without permission.

This is how I view the Sonic world: the humans and echidnas of the Heavenly World are practically struggling for superiority. So, they're in a huge economic war, and everyone has two kinds of names. They have an English name, and a Japanese name. For example, Sonic's full name is Sonic "Sonniku," and Tails is Tails "Tailsa." However, echidnas have their Japanese name come first (so Knuckles is Knuckelzu "Knuckles."). Echidnas say everybodys Japanese name, rather than the English name, and for an echidna to call another echidna by his/her English name is usually an insult. Whew, I have no life!

Now that the legal crap is out of the way, let the games begin!

Who am I? You are Metalla.

Where am I? You are in Eggman Land, home to your master, Robotnic.

Who is robotnic? Who is my master? Robotnic is the one you will serve, especially since the first Metalla was destroyed.

First metalla? Aren't I the only one? No. Robotnic made Model1 Metalla a year ago, but it was destroyed. You are the Model2 Metalla, a robot that is faster, stronger, and smarter than the first one.

I am ready to serve robotnic. Patience, Metalla. That day will come, but it is not today. Robotnic has the data you will need to serve him, but he must sort it, so that you will have the traits he wants. You will not have a heart, or feelings.

Won't I need those if I am to work? No, you will not. In a matter of days, you will be active, and you will serve Robotnic greatly.

Yes, I will. ONCE OPORATIONAL, I SHALL BE UNSTOPABLE! I am ready now!

"Impatience can be a weakness, Metalla."

Robotnic? Master, is that you?

"It is me, my creation. Soon, the ones named Sonic and Tails will feel your fury."

Yes, My Master. This Sonic and Tails will witness my power, and it won't be pretty once I am free!

Pt. 1 of 4: The Second Metalla

"Metalla! Take my hand!" Sonic cried as he reached into the pit filling with lava. Metalla, who was beginning to wear down, kept climbing. Knuckles leapt on top of Sonic, holding him back.

"No, Sonniku! He's trying to trick you! He'll pull you in with him!" Knuckles yelled. Sonic did his best to ignore him. Metalla was now close enough to reach out for his hand. The two reached, desperate to touch fingertips. Suddenly…

SLAP! Metalla slapped Sonic's hand away. Sonic gasped in surprise. The lava was catching up to the robot, but Metalla refused to move. He just looked up at Sonic.

"There is only one Sonic." It said slowly. It hung his head, and the lava started to consume him.

"Metalla!" Sonic cried, trying to reach for him again.

"Sonniku, no!" Knuckles yelled, yanking him away. It was the last Sonic ever saw of the robot. Sonic threw back his head, and screamed the word that echoed for miles.

"METALLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Sonic awoke, panting heavily. His pillow and bedsheets were soaked with sweat. He sighed with relief; it was just a bad dream. Amazing how an event from one year ago could scare him so much now. He laid back in his bed, and looked up at the ceiling. He heard his bedroom door open.

"Sonic, are you alright?" a nine-year-old boy's voice asked. Sonic smiled.

"I'm fine, Tails. Why do you ask?"

"I heard you screaming. I didn't hear what you said, but you were talking in your sleep, too." Sonic slapped his forehead. He hadn't talked in his sleep for years. How could he be doing it now? He sighed in frustration.

"It was just a bad dream, Tails. Go back to sleep." Sonic urged, motioning with his hand that Tails go away and leave him alone. He heard the door close, and Sonic went back to sleep.

Knuckles watched the sunrise from where he sat. It was very beautiful today, and for good reason. Knuckles had finally talked to his girlfriend about what he wanted to happen in his future, and she agreed with him. Knuckles couldn't wait to tell Sonic. He would be sooooo jealous…

"Morning, sweetheart." A voice said. Knuckles turned to see Carlu, his lovely girlfriend, walking up to him from her tent. He smiled, and tipped his hat. He continued to watch the sunrise from the mountainside, and almost didn't notice Carlu wrapping her arms around him. "How are you?"

"Great." His smile grew bigger. "How about you, baby?"

"Wondering what you're doing out here at five in the morning." She sighed.

"Kick," Knuckled put his hand on Carlu's cheek, saying her nickname. "This is one of the reasons I brought you down here with me: to see the sunrise in Meta Junglira."

"It's very beautiful." She commented, resting her chin on his head and hat.

"I was going to propose to you this morning, but I couldn't wait." Carlu sat beside her love, looking into his eyes.

"I'm glad you didn't wait." She smiled. They put their arms around each other, and nuzzled their foreheads (an echidna sign of affection). "I'm so glad that we're getting married."

"Mm hm." Knuckles nodded, drawing her closer to him. They gently kissed as the sun emerged fully from the mountains.

DREET, DREET, DREET! DREET, DREET, DREET! The phone rang in Sonic's home. Sonic got up from the table, and his breakfast, to go see who it was. When Sonic turned on the monitor, he saw Knuckle's face. Sonic smiled playfully.

"Knuckelzu! Good to see you!"

"Nice to see you too, Sonniku." Knuckles nodded. "Hey, have I got news for you."

"Go ahead, buddy. What is it?" Sonic asked as Tails walked up to the screen with his breakfast bowl in his hand.

"You won't believe this…" Knuckles began, "but…last night…I got engaged."

"Say wha?" Sonic asked, tilting his head. "No way, you're kidding!"

"Have I ever, Sonniku?"

"I guess not." Sonic shook his head. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"Who else? Remember Carlu?"

"You asked her to marry you?" Sonic pointed at the screen, curiously. Knuckles nodded. Sonic clapped once as he laughed.

"You lucky son of a gun!" he exclaimed. "You got the greatest girl on the planet!"

"If you're putting it that way." Knuckles agreed. Carlu, the dark red echidna that had her dreadlocks tied in a French braid, came into view of Knuckles videophone. She smiled and waved at the screen.

"Hi Sonniku! Hi Tailsa! How are you?" she greeted.

"Fine." Tails said.

"Tired." Sonic admitted, yawning. "Nightmare kept me up all night."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"But I'm also very happy for you." Sonic's charming smile returned. "So, you're getting married soon?"

"That's right, but don't think that will be happening anytime soon." She explained. "First off, I need to get legalized back into my home, so that Knuckelzu and I have a place to get married."

"Wish ya luck." Sonic winked at her. Carlu giggled, and walked off screen.

"Well, now that she's gone, we can talk." Knuckles smiled, watching Carlu leave. "Hey, I feel like getting into trouble on Alliance Island. Wanna come?"

"I dunno," Sonic mused. "I don't have anything on my schedule today…" Knuckles laughed.

"When do I pick you up?" he asked. Sonic shrugged.

"Well, actually, now that I know where Eggman Land is, I'd rather get in trouble over there." He suggested.

"Okay," Knuckles nodded. "I'll pick you up in about a few hours."

"Fine with…"

DOOP! DOOP! DOOP!

"Oh." Knuckles gasped, checking his phone line. "I've got another call. Could you hold on a sec?"

"Pick us up in a few hours, Knux." Sonic insisted, giving Knuckles a thumbs up. "I'm hanging up."

"Okay, see you later." Knuckles thumbed back. With that, Knuckles hung up.

Knuckles connected onto the other line, and found that it was the Governor Mammon that was calling. Knuckles saluted, and kept his knees from knocking.

"Governor, why are you calling?" Knuckles asked politely.

"Is the lady Carlu there with you, treasure hunter?" the Governor asked.

"Give me a moment, sir." Knuckles requested, and went over to the direction where Carlu had walked off. A minute later, Carlu could be seen on the Governor's video screen.

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked rather rudely. The Governor didn't seem to notice.

"Carlu, you and your friend have been chosen to go on a dangerous assignment." Mammon began.

"Keep going." Carlu urged. Mammon held a blue print paper up to the screen to show Carlu and Knuckles. Carlu looked at it carefully, then gasped.

"You know what this is?" Mammon asked.

"It looks like Metalla blueprints." Carlu stated. "How did you get a hold of them?"

"The N.O.S. smuggled these out of Eggman Land a few hours ago. They are indeed the blueprints of a second Metalla."

"A second Metalla?" Knuckles gasped as well. "Robotnic vowed to make one a year ago after the first one was destroyed."

"And it appears that Robotnic lives up to his vows." Mammon continued. "Since the data for the first Metalla was destroyed around the same time as Metalla was destroyed, Robotnic has been working from scratch. Indeed, as these blueprints show, this new generation of Metalla will be much powerful than the last one, since the most dangerous weapon it possesses is the laser turrets on its wrists. However, it is loaded from head to toe with hidden weapons. Unfortunately, we can see that some of the accessories that Robotnic planned to put on it were erased." He pointed his finger at one of the features: a heat-scanner. "So, we believe that this is a first draft copy."

"So, this new Metalla could have any kind of weapons that you don't know about yet?" Carlu asked.

"Yes." Mammon nodded. "So, you two have been assigned to go to Eggman Land, and destroy it before it can be activated."

"Wait a minute!" Knuckles butted in. "Why are you calling us?"

"Not too many of our agents have been into Eggman Land, and we need someone who knows their way arou…"

"That's not what he means, Mammon." Carlu shook her head. "He wants to know why you called us, and instructed us to do something that your men could handle themselves."

"Carlu," Mammon began. "Your father was one of the best men I ever had. He would have been able to do this easily. I'm sure that he passed down his skill as a spy to you, his only child before he died."

"You confuse me, Mammon!" Carlu yelled into the speaker of the videophone. "First, you kick me off my own island, jail me every time I come back to visit my family, now you're begging me for help? And you expect me to help you?" She crossed her arms. "Your problem, Mammon; why don't you deal with it?"

"Carlu, you're worse than Sonic." Knuckles mumbled. "Let me take care of it." He looked into the monitor of his videophone, and directly at the Governor. "Governor Mammon, I invited a friend of mine to help me trash Eggman Land today. He can go with me to Eggman Land, and we can destroy the second Metalla there."

"Approved." Mammon excepted. "But don't tell him about your mission, Knuckles."

"Yes sir." Knuckles saluted. The screen went blank, and Knuckles turned to Carlu.

"You have some explaining to do." Knuckles scolded. "Why didn't you tell me you were part of the spy network?"

"I wasn't, but my father was. I didn't want anything to do with the N.O.S, since they're responsible for my ruined life, not to mention the death of my father." Carlu explained. "Besides, since you know about the spy network, you must be part of a spy faction yourself."

"Yes." Knuckles admitted. "I'm planning to retire though."

"Which group?" Carlu interrogated.

"Superior Service, network of Prince Mamoru."

"Ah, I see." Carlu admitted. "I should have guessed that a guy like you would be a spy in real life."

"Let's not think about that now." Knuckles suggested. "We have a mission to go on." He headed for his vehicle.

"You can go." Carlu insisted. "I'll stay here. I'm not going."

"Okay." Knuckles nodded going back to her, and giving her a hug. "I'll be back soon." He gave her a kiss goodbye, and headed for his vehicle.

"Just out of curiosity," Carlu began as she helped Knuckles onto his Speeder. "Who is this friend you invited to go with you?"

"Secret." Knuckles said, powering the engine. Carlu smiled.

"Its Sonniku, isn't it?"

"I told you, it's a secret." Knuckles smirked, starting to take off. Carlu waved him off with her hand.

"Tell Sonniku that I said hi!" she requested, as Knuckles flew away.

Master? Did you come to see me again?

"I'm afraid that I have bad news for you, Metalla."

Go ahead, what is it?

"Some pesky echidna spies have been caught by some of the guards, and one of them escaped with some of my plans."

What will you do?

"This is the bad news, my creation. I must activate you now; with whatever data I have. Since you have been discovered, it is likely that the President must sent Sonic here to get rid of you."

Activating me doesn't sound like a bad idea. Go ahead, master. I am eager to serve you at last.

"Very well, Metalla. Computer, activate Model2 Metalla."

Yes, Master. Activating unit...

Master…I…am…

"I...am...alive!"

"Model2 Metalla, the data you need is programmed into you now. Use it when Sonic arrives."

"Yes, Master. I will not fail you."

Knuckles landed his Speeder next to Robotnic's fortress. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles got out, and looked around.

"Just like the old days, huh Knux?" Sonic asked. Knuckles adjusted the hat on his head.

"Yep." The echidna nodded. "And just like in the old days, we didn't come all this way just to look at it. Let's get to business."

"Okay, let's go." Sonic agreed, entering the fortress. "Where to first?"

"How about the lab?" Knuckles suggested. "We can destroy anything ol' Robo might be working on."

"Why not?" Sonic gave Knuckles the usual thumbs up. "I wanna see Robotnic when he's really ticked off."

"I think we go this way." Tails pointed down a hallway. Sonic and Knuckles ran for it, and Tails flew behind them.

"Here they come. Boy, will I give them a surprise!"

"Wow. Look at this place." Sonic gasped at the huge size of the laboratory. Several robots were encased in small power beds, and were being energized. Tails studied them for a moment, then went behind each bed. Sonic watched in surprise as he heard small snapping sounds by each bed. One after the other, the beds stopped energizing. Tails came out from behind the last bed with several cords in his fists.

"So much for those robots." He happily announced. Sonic smiled, and ruffled Tails's hair.

"You little genius, Tails."

"Where is he?" Knuckles grunted in frustration, as he looked over several capsules of robots. "Where is Metalla?" He looked over his shoulder to make sure that neither Sonic nor Tails heard him. They didn't. Good, that was a close call. He continued to scan the room for any trace of Metalla, and he found what he needed to see: a label on a capsule that read:

MODEL2 METAL SONIC

READY FOR TRAINING

PURPOSE OF CREATION: ASSASINATION

TARGETS: SONIC "SONNIKU"

"Okay, so where is it?" Knuckles asked himself, seeing no model in the capsule.

"Did you find something?" Sonic asked, walking up to Knuckles, looking at the inscription. After reading it, Sonic made a face. "I hope that this is old."

"Not by the date on it." Knuckles pointed out. "Look." He showed Sonic the date scribbled on the paper. The date was recent. "It's been in the capsule for a few days."

"Oh, no." Sonic kicked the floor. "Where is it?"

"That's what I was asking myself."

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Sonic and Knuckles turned towards the scream.

"TAILS!" They exclaimed, running towards the endangered fox. When they reached Tails they found him cornered by a robot pointing a pistol at him. Sonic stepped foreword.

"Hey, robot!" Sonic yelled. "Let my friend go!" The robot turned to face him, and Sonic gasped. "Metalla!"

The robot looked like an exact copy of Metalla, except that its eyes had a brighter glow, and it had a built in holster in its side. Also, it had a metallic piece of metal curving over his head like bangs, and instead of flat feet the Metalla had thick metal boots. It looked at Sonic in hatred.

"My God." Knuckles gasped as well as the robot pointed the pistol at Sonic. "It's him! It's the second Metalla!"

"Him? 'Him?' Who do you think you are? I'm a girl!" Metalla snapped. Sonic and Knuckles jaws dropped. "That's right, I'm a girl, and my name is Metalla. Also, I've been programmed to destroy Sonic "Sonniku." That would be you."

"Yes." Sonic admitted. "But I doubt that you could actually get me." He ran towards Metalla with Super Sonic Speed, but Metalla just laughed, and warped to safety. Sonic just ran into the corner where Tails was trapped, and nearly crashed into him. Metalla warped back to where she originally stood, pretending to stagger and clench her chest.

"Oh no! My heart! My heart! You nearly gave me a heart attack." She sarcastically shouted. Then she started to laugh. "Get a clue, Sonic! I have the same data as you. I know everything about you, everything down to the last secret. I know your every move, your every thought. I'm somewhat like the last Metalla, only I have even more..." she held out her wrist, and revealed a laser turret pointed at Sonic. "I learned from Metalla1's mistakes, and now that I'm fully functional, you have no hope of defeating me."

"We'll just see about that." Sonic doubted, taking on a fighting pose. "Give me your best shot."

"Okay." Metalla shrugged, firing the laser. Sonic and Tails managed to get out of the way in time. Metalla fired again and again, each time missing. Frustrated that her aim wasn't that good, she powered up her rocket boosters in her boots, and took off after Sonic.

"Y'know," Sonic told Tails as they fled down the hallway. "She must have picked up her bad gun talents from me. I can never shoot a gun."

"D'oh! Of course!" Metalla mentally slapped herself. "Oh well, at least I can pound the snot out of you." She caught up to Sonic, and grabbed one of his spines, and yanked him back with her. Knuckles jumped on top of her as she tried to punch Sonic in the face. Knuckles gave her a blow on the chin, and Metalla was knocked over, giving Sonic time to escape. Metalla mechanically got up, and angrily watched them exit the hall.

"Well, they won't get out of Eggman Land, that's for sure!" She warped out of the fortress.

"I think we're almost there!" Knuckles yelled as they reached the Aincent City on Knuckle's Speeder.

"I think she is too." Sonic notified, pointing behind them. Knuckles checked the rear view mirror to see that Metalla was rocketing on their heels. Knuckles growled.

"It had to be female." He muttered. "Hold on to your butts!" He presed his foot on the gas pedel, and zipped past the huge sky scrappers of the Aincent City. Metalla was actually matching their speed. Knuckles growled at this discovery. "Just doesn't know when to quit. Well, I've got a trick or two up my sleave." He pulled something out of the glove compartment. It was a small blue stick with a little wooden handle. In his hand, it brightly glowed.

"GET DOWN!" he yelled. Sonic and Tails ducked their heads as Knuckles threw the stick. It struck Metalla in the forehead, and she staggered back with a cry. "Yeah!" Knuckles threw his fist in the air. "You can get up now. She's gone."

"No she's not!" Tails said pointing behind them. Knuckles growled even louder.

"It'll take more than a stun stick to get rid of me!" Metalla yelled at them.

"How about two sticks, you metalic piece of crud." Knuckles muttered taking out another one. "DUCK!" he shouted. Sonic did as he was told, but Tails wasn't that quick. He was about to duck when Knuckles threw the stick, and it struck Tail's head. With a cry simular to Metalla's, Tails fell out of his seat.

"TAILS!" Sonic yelled.

"TAILSA!" Knuckles yelled as well. He steered his Speeder to catch Tails, but Metalla was much quicker. She caught Tails by the arm, and formed a force field around them. She laughed as she held Tail's limp body in her arms.

"Too bad, guys." She sneered. "Looks like you need to get your friend back."

"I'm coming, Tails!" Sonic yelled. Knuckles managed to stop his Speeder, and grab Sonic's shoulders.

"Sonniku, don't!" he shouted. "You won't be able to get past the sheild!"

"But I gotta save Tails!" Sonic yelled.

"Metalla won't hurt him, Sonniku. She's after you, not him."

"Tails is in trouble!" Sonic despretly explained. "He'd try to save me too."

"Yes, but there's no way to save him now." Knuckles calmly explained. "We'll come back to save him later." Just as he spoke, Metalla warped and vanished.

"TAILS!" Sonic gave one last cry. He hung his head, and sat back in his seat. "Maybe you're right. Let's go."

"We need to regroup." Knuckles explained, heading for the Warp Zone out of Eggman territory. "And I know just the guys to help us out."

"I'm coming back for you, Tails." Sonic vowed under his breath. "And Metalla will pay for kidnapping you. Just wait and see." Then, the Warp Zone sucked them back to the Dark World.

Good thing Robotnic wasn't carefull about where he keeps the extra data CD's. A mysterious figure held up a small CD, and fed it into a slot. His programming software clicked and wrrred to life, and a Sonic-like robot was seen in an energizing bed. The figure loomed over it. Excelent, now Robotnic is about to get a taste of his own medician just as soon as my 'creation' is completed.

WHO IS THAT I SENCE? A message scrolled across a nearby computer screen. The way a non-activated robot can talk out loud.

"I am your master, my creation. I have many tasks for you just as soon as I activate you in a few hours."

MY MASTER? I HAVE NO MASTER.

"You do now. And you will serve me."

I HAVE MY MEMORIES BACK NOW! I DIED MASTERLESS! I VOWED THAT ROBOTNIC WOULD NEVER BE MY MASTER ANYMORE, AND I WOULD NEVER HAVE ANY MASTER! I AM FREE!

"You work for me now. That is the way things will be from now on. Now," the mysterious figure began. "Tell me your name."

My name? My name…is metalla!

To be continued!