Backstory: Key to the Past
BY
Sega1cool

Disclaimer: All properties used are copyright of their respective companies, so don't sue me b/c
it's all for fun.

Author's note: This story will be told from Zoel's point of view.

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The Following Morning

I awoke with a slight headache and felt very groggy. I surveyed the village and saw that the others
were getting up as well.
I called to Ryan, "Hey, Ryan!"
"Ouch, not so loud man, I'm still not too awake yet."
"Sorry, so if I'm here I'm guessing its not a dream."
"Yeah, too bad, right?"
"Yeah."
We talked for awhile till Sally called us aside.
"Hey, guys, we've decided that we should scout the remains of the base."
"Sounds like a plan, we do need to make sure that their are no experiments left running." Ryan said.
"Not to mention any possible data we can get." I added.
"You and Ryan will make up one team and Sonic and Tails will be the other team."
We agreed to go in two hours to go.
------------------------
Ruined G.U.N. remains

I did not really agree with this idea but I saw that we had no choice.
"Hey, Zoel. Catch up, man."
"Coming Ryan."
He had no idea the evil that he had gone up against. G.U.N. was so hellbent on control, it was nearly
too much for the Earth, let alone Mobius.
Sonic and Tails went in through the roof, while Ryan and I went in through the front door.

Inside, it was realitively clean, considering what we had done to it in the previous battle.
Ryan called me over to a computer monitor.
"Hey, Zoel, check this out."
I walked over to the monitor to see what he wanted.
"Check this out. It seems our friends were collecting data on us." Ryan said.
"Yeah, but for what?" I asked.
I remember back to before, before this all happened.....
It was a lot more peaceful back then. We had just enjoyed the summer before our freshman year at college
was to begin.
Ryan had gone down early to get his dorm set up.
All of our friends and us had agreed to meet for one last party before we went our ways.
Then the night of our party arrived, and Ryan had not shown up.
Later, I learned why.
It seemed as if he had just vanished from the face of the Earth.
I, as well as my friends, were saddend by our friends disappearance.
We all went our ways and started college......
"Uh, Zoel, hello? You in there?"
"Huh, sorry, I just kinda spaced out there."

Ryan went off to check the room marked "EXPERIMENT LAB".
.....then it happend, at the time I did not know why but I later learned it was G.U.N.'s fault.
One day, I felt this strange force as I was ripped into another time.
I learned that not only I but a few thousand others felt this as well.
I looked around, trying to find a familiar face.
I found a few of my friends, but the peace from that would not last.
The head of G.U.N., I forget his name after all this time, took some of us away to holding cells, while
leaving the rest here.
He said that we had shown prowess and skill, and would want us to join him.
Obviously my friend's and I did not agree.
He said we would change our minds, giving the time.
I soon found out what he meant.
One by one they changed, joining the evil that was G.U.N.
First Angel, then Jordan, then Ashley, Justin, all till I was the only left.
I was too strong and stubborn to be affected by their brainwashing, so they did the next best thing.....

I ran as fast as I could as soon as I heard Ryan scream.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Look at that."
I looked into the glass tube and a chill ran down my spine.
Their was a robotic version of me hovering silently, waiting for something.
"I guess they were tired with human versions of me and were going for the robotic equivalent." I said.
"Yeah, well at least this thing will never see the day of light." Ryan said.
We walked on, seeing more robots, some version of Sonic, others of Tails, and even a few of Knuckles.
Then we reached the end of the hall and saw one robot that stopped Ryan.
"T...That's...."
"That's who?" I asked.
"That's E-102 Gamma, at least it looks like him."
The robot had the architecture of Gamma, so Ryan said.
"It has to be him, I can tell from the feeling, the feeling of a metallic soul." Ryan said.
Ryan reached over to release him, but I voiced my concern.
"He may look like him, but what makes you sure it is him?" I asked.
"You don't come across a robot who would make you think twice about its sentience."
Ryan then typed on the computer and brought up some info.
"Look it says it all here. This is the proof."
I read the screen. It said that the remains of this robot were found on board a mysterious ship known as
the Egg Carrier.

.....they drew a sample of my DNA and did what I thought was impossible. They made a clone of me, except
for the fact that he was pure evil. He was to be sent to a planet I heard about from Ryan once before.
Mobius. I was stunned to find out that Ryan was right in his beleif that it existed. I also overheard
Ryan's name. I was puzzled by this and decided to try and find out what this was about. One night, I broke
out of my cell and hacked into the main computer to find out some data. I was stunned to find out the Ryan
they had talked about was my friend, although he looked different somehow, in someway he looked different.
Of course, after that night, all things for Earth went downhill. You many be wondering why I did not escape.
Well, something went down that night, something that would change the people held there....

As the capsule slid up, the robot sparked to life.
"I hope you know what you're doing, Ryan."
"Don't worry, I altered its programming back to the its original sentient thought."
I watched the robot stand up, and look about his surrondings.
"Bzzt, where am I?" he said.
He looked at Ryan and spoke, "You, I remember you. Ryan, I beleive your name was. Where am I?"
"You mean you don't know?"
"No, the last thing I remember is battling a rebuilt E-101 Beta. He pulled a fast one and gave me a fatal blow just
before he bought it."
"Well, according to this info, G.U.N. found your remains and attempted to make you into a militaristic machine."
"How much time has passed?"
"I'd say about a year now."
I interupted, "Ryan, for now we should finish our check of the base and explain later."
"Right, let's keep going."
I watched E-102, a machine capable of conscious thought....

......the captives were sick and tired of being held there. So that same night as I found out about Ryan, they planned an escape.
They busted out of their cells and hijacked a few shuttles from G.U.N. and escaped into space. G.U.N. was too slow to stop them but they soon
forgot about them. Awhile later, a new type of robot was discovered by a Dr. Cain. It was revolutionary as
it could think like a human. Unfourtunately, G.U.N. wanted to use them as a weapon. Dr. Cain refused, seeing that G.U.N.'s intentions were not
to benefit humans. G.U.N. was not content with that. They stole the plans to the now named "REPLOID" and started a line of their own.
They got the brilliant scientist Dr. Gerald Kintobor to help create them. However the programing was faulty and the line of G.U.N. reploids
went haywire. They started attacking humans and caused an awful mess for G.U.N., not to mention Earth.
They put Kintobor on the newly finished ARK and sent my evil
double along on another space ship with a support crew.....

Ryan snapped me outta my deep thought again and we continued on.
We then heard Tails' scream echo through the hall and we ran towards the source.
"Tails, what's wrong?" Ryan asked.
"Look." Tails said pointing at a glass tube opposite of us.
Inside was what appeared to be Ryan, only it looked evil and cold.
"It appears that G.U.N. figured if you can't beat 'im, mimic them." Sonic said.
I looked and deduced it was some sort of robotic doppleganger of Ryan......

....several months passed as I sat in my cell, wondering of Ryan's fate. Then it happened, I heard rumors that a mysterious human had
appeared on Earth. I decided now was my chance to make my escape. I pried loose two of my jail cell's bars and snuck out. A quick stop at the
armory and I was set to go......

"I guess they didn't get to far," Ryan said, "since there is no sign of programming at all. It's just an empty shell."
I looked at it and it was errily spooky, waiting to be given being.
Ryan and the others decided the best thing to do was to destroy both this and my duplicate robot....

....I hurried to the space ships after hearing that the human had been cornered. I arrived to see another clone of me holding Ryan, what
appeared to be Callie, and...Shadow the Hedgehog? I quickly put an end to my clones' plan with a bullet through the skull....and that leads us
to this.

As we walked back to the village, we felt as if the worst was behind us. If only we knew of the atrocities to come.....

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THE END?^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^



Pain, sorrow, anguish,
metal, evil, sadness,
A new evil's presents itself,
time is a factor,
And Ryan is hit to close to home....

all in:
METAL, BLOOD, and TEARS