Despite being out of the blast radius, Metal Sonic was still hit with the shockwave that was generated from the explosion.
The force of the blast caused Metal's thruster to shutdown and he began to rapidly drop down to the ground below.
Metal turned to face the ground in mid air. His processors quickly coming up with options to save himself.
Metal looked around for something to help break his fall. His vision focused on a tree that had remained intact after the blast. Reaching one arm out he grabbed a branch, which helped slow his fall. However at the speed he was falling, the arm that grabbed onto the branch was hit with the whiplash of the fall, causing it to be dislocated at the shoulder.
As a result, Metal lost his grip on the branch and fell to the ground. But the impact was much softer thanks to the branch slowing his fall.
He got up and observed his arm, lifting it with his working arm before letting it go. Once he did that the arm fell limply to the side. Analyzing the injury, he concluded that while the arm was non functional at the moment, the injury was minor and the doctor would repair him once he got back to base.
He then observed the forest and the damage done. He was annoyed over Eggman's decision of using an unstable energy source for a robot. The logical thing to do was to use the energy to power one of his bases, or if you were going to use it for a robot, analyze it first.
He heard a beep in his radio, signaling that Eggman was trying to contact him.
"This is Metal Sonic."
"Metal Sonic, are you alright?" Eggman's voice said. "I saw the explosion, what happened?"
"The energy source of the robot became unstable." Metal explained. "The robot exploded and destroyed a large area as a result."
"I see." Eggman said. "Could you recover the remains of the Tortoise? I could improve on the design for future use."
"Affirmative." Metal said before staring at his broken arm. "I will need repairs as well for my arm has broken."
"What, how did it get broken?"
"When I was falling after the blast, I grabbed onto a branch and the speed I was falling, it was dislocated at the shoulder." Metal explained. "It was the best option for reducing any other damage I might have sustained."
"Hmph." Eggman said over the radio. "Just retrieve the Tortoise and return to base."
"Affirmative."
Metal then hung up the radio and began to scan for a signal for the Tortoise. Even the faintest signal could lead him to where it blew up.
He finally managed to find a signal, a weak one, but it was traceable.
Metal began to walk in the direction in of the signal. As he did so, he wondered what happened to his organic counterpart. From the calculated blast radius and the time in between when the energy became unstable and when the explosion happened, Sonic had an exactly 15% chance of escaping.
Of course, Metal did not have time to analyze where Sonic was before the explosion since he was knocked out of the sky. So he would have to search for Sonic on the ground.
As he followed the signal, he tried to scan for Sonic's vital signs, but none had come up.
He could only come up with two conclusions. Either Sonic had managed to outrun the explosion, or he had died.
He was going to get one of the answers soon.
He finally came across the origin of the signal, as well as two sights.
The first were the remains of the Tortoise, the explosion had ripped apart the upper half of the robot, leaving only the lower torso and some of the cylinders that contained some of the energy. Analyzing it, Metal concluded that it was salvageable.
The other sight, was downright surprising, and for a moment, Metal couldn't process that it actually happened.
Laying on the ground, his eyes closed, and not breathing, was Sonic The Hedgehog.
Metal stared at the body of Sonic a few moments, scanning him exactly 5 times just to make sure he was dead. When his scans confirmed without a shadow of a doubt that this was Sonic, Metal's next clock cycle felt one emotion.
Shock.
He was shocked that his organic counterpart was finally dead. After all the encounters with the doctor, all the battles with him, and all the times he had been sent to fight Sonic, Sonic was finally dead.
But what shocked Metal was not the fact that he was dead, but the way he died.
Metal's memory banks went back to when Sonic was running off with the Tortoise's body. He recalled how Sonic seamed to run franticly around the city until he eventually got out of it and into this forest with only 10 seconds left before it blew up.
Putting this all together, combined with seeing Sonic's body, Metal realized what Sonic had done.
He had sacrificed himself to prevent the robot from exploding in the city, which would have resulted in the deaths of hundreds.
That was the information Metal almost could not process. His enemy had run off with a robot that was about to blow up, despite knowing that he could not escape the blast with the little time he had.
Metal took a step back for a moment, he had to focus on the objective. What Sonic had done was not important to it.
Then he began to hear a sound.
"Sonic, Sonic are you there?"
Metal scanned the area, searching for the source of the voice. Finally he found a small device with a button on it.
"Sonic, are you alright? I saw the explosion from here, did you escape?"
Metal picked up the device and stared at it for a while. He could identify the voice as Tails, clearly unaware of Sonic's fate right now.
"Please Sonic." he heard Tails plead. "Say something."
Metal continued to stare as Tails began to plead for Sonic to talk to him.
He then heard Tails slowly begin to cry. "Please Sonic, you can't be dead."
As Tails cried over the communicator, all Metal did was stare at the device as he listened. Normally he would crush the device, ultimately cutting Tails off and ensuring the device would never be used again.
But as he listened to Tails crying, Metal began to feel an emotion. An emotion he had never felt before.
Pity.
He felt pity for Tails, he was slowly coming to the realization his friend, and brother figure was dead. From the interactions Metal had witnessed, it was clear that they both cared for each other, and they seamed almost determined not to let anything bad happen to the other.
But now, the moment either one feared might happened had finally come.
"No." Tails managed to say in between crying over the communicator. "It can't be."
Metal had heard enough, he pressed the button and cut the connection, dropping the device on the ground.
He approached the remains of the Tortoise and wrapped his functioning arm around it.
He then activated his radio again. "I have the Tortoise, I will return to base."
"Excellent, is there anything else?" Eggman's asked.
Metal looked at the body of Sonic, considering for a moment whether he should tell Eggman about Sonic's fate.
Metal then looked to the sky and noticed some helicopters approaching. He had to leave soon and Eggman might find out about Sonic later.
"Metal, are you there?"
"Sonic The Hedgehog is dead." Metal finally responded.
"What?" Eggman asked in a surprised tone. "What did you say?"
"I said Sonic the Hedgehog is dead." Metal said.
For a few moments Eggman was silent, almost as if he was trying to procees what Metal had said.
Finally he spoke. "Metal, return to base."
"Affirmative."
Metal turned off the radio and flew away from the blast area with the Tortoise in his arm.
Hours later, Metal finally landed at Eggman's base and entered it with the robots remains.
Metal stared at the entrance for a moment, sending a request to open the door. After a few seconds the doors opened and Metal entered.
He traveled through the hallway until he entered the room where Eggman was. His back was facing towards Metal and he was quiet.
Eggman then turned his head towards Metal. "Could you carry any other part other then the body?"
"Negative, the bottom half of the robot was the only intact part I could carry."
Metal then tossed the remains of the robot on the floor in front of him.
"Is there anything else you must know?"
"About what you said about Sonic." Eggman said turning to him. "Is it true?"
"Positive, I scanned him multiple times just to make sure it was him."
"Well maybe he was just playing dead. That rodent has tricked me before."
"I detected no vital..."
"I command you not to say another word." Eggman said stopping him before picking up a remote. "We'll have to see if you're telling the truth. If you lied, you'll have to repair that arm yourself."
Metal stared at his arm. It was true that he could repair himself on his own, but it would take a lot longer, hours maybe. Even if he managed to do it, it wouldn't be perfect.
Eggman then pressed the remote and a television screen turned on.
The screen showed a newscaster, her eyes were clearly tearing up, but she was trying to keep her face from showing any sadness from the news.
"...If you're just joining us, the worlds most well known hero, Sonic The Hedgehog, has died. Witnesses say that he was carrying a robot was emitting orange smoke. About a minute later an explosion was seen just 5 miles outside Cental City. We can all assume that Sonic sacrificed his life to prevent the robot from exploding in a populated area..."
For a moment, Eggman just stared at the screen. Since he was facing away from him, Metal wondered what expression Eggman had. He could only assume it was both shock and surprise.
After about a minute, Eggman finally spoke.
"He...He's Dead." he said, almost as if couldn't believe he was saying the words.
"Sonic The Hedgehog is dead." This time he sounded more gleeful.
Eggman then began to laugh in delight. "I can't believe it's finally happened."
"Are you alright doctor?" Metal asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"Oh, I'm in a great mood." Eggman said with glee. "You've definitely earned that repair job Metal. With Sonic gone, I've finally proven that you're better then him."
Metal through about the moment where Sonic running away from him with with the Tortoise's body. Was he really better then him if Sonic choose to gave his life to save others?
"Come along Metal." Eggman said walking away. "Let's get that arm repaired."
As he followed Eggman out of the room, Metal stared back at the television. The newscaster was now describing funeral plans for Sonic.
Metal could not understand himself right now. He should just be as glad as Eggman with Sonic finally dead. Sonic perished in the explosion, while Metal only got a broken arm that could be easily repaired.
So why did he feel sorry for the people mourning Sonic?
"Metal, do you want that arm repaired or not?" Eggman then cried out.
Metal walked out of the room and went to get his arm repaired.
Two days later, Eggman landed his Eggmobile outside of a church, with Metal landing right beside him.
Eggman had decided to go to Sonic's funeral. Metal could only assume it was to taunt him. Though from what he witnessed from funerals he'd seen, that would be rather disrespectful.
Rather then his usual outfit, Eggman was wearing a black suit and tie. He adjusted it when he got out of the vehicle.
"Am I wearing this right?" Eggman asked Metal.
Metal stared at him for a moment. "Positive. Taking in account you're stature, the way you are wearing the suit is optimal."
"Hmph." Eggman said. "I never really wear this thing often, so I just wanted your opinion."
The two of them then began to walk towards the building. As they did so, Metal stared at the building.
The Church was made of stone, with a steeple at the far end of the building. The stone looked a bit worn and old, indicating that it was built a long time ago.
At the door, a woman stood outside, as if she was guarding it. As they walked up the steps, the woman noticed them.
"Hold it right there." She said.
Metal and Eggman stopped just as they arrived at the door and turned and faced the woman.
"Dr. Eggman, what are you doing here?" The woman asked crossing her arms.
"Why, attending Sonic's funeral." Eggman said casually. "I should be able to mourn the death of my enemy after all."
"Do you have any remotes or devices that would bring an army of your robots here?" The woman asked as she threw a glare at Metal Sonic.
"Of course not. That would be disrespectful."
For a few seconds the woman glared at Eggman and Metal Sonic.
Finally she sighed and opened the door. "You can go in Eggman, but you need to leave him outside."
She pointed at Metal Sonic, who simply stood there.
"Why not?" Eggman asked.
"I feel the presence of this robot at the funeral would be disrespectful to Sonic's memory."
Eggman sighed and turned to Metal Sonic. "Metal Sonic, stay outside until it's time for us to leave."
"Affirmative." Metal replied.
Eggman then entered the church, leaving Metal alone with the woman, who continued to glare at him.
"I will go now." Metal Sonic said turning away from the woman.
"Please do." The woman said.
Metal went down the stairs. Despite facing away from her, he felt like the woman was glaring at him until he left her view.
Metal then stared at the church again. Eggman had told Metal not to go inside the church, but he didn't say anything about not being allowed in the area.
Metal figured that if he was not allowed to witness Sonic's funeral inside, he would need to view it from the outside.
First he would need a window to view it from.
Metal began to wander around the area of the church, trying to look for a window to watch from. He needed a view that would give an optimal angle of the coffin Sonic was in and the audience without any clear obstructions.
He eventually found one on the right side of the building and peeked through it.
Inside, he saw the coffin that contained Sonic body. The lid was open, but from the angle he was staring at, he couldn't see Sonic himself. Behind the coffin, was a man, presumably a priest, talking from a podium.
Metal turned to the audience to see who was there. He saw tons of people sitting in the audience. Most of them he didn't recognize, however he did see Sonic's friends in the front row.
Knuckles was sitting down, his head low in sadness. Amy Rose was trying her best not to cry over what had happened. Cream was sitting down with her mother Vanilla. Cream was looking at her mother as if she was wanted to ask her something. Shadow was sitting with Rouge and while his face didn't show much emotion, it was obvious he was trying not to cry. Rouge was dabbing a handkerchief on her eyes to clear the tears from her eyes.
He tried to search for Tails in the audience before he finally found him.
He was sitting far from his friends. His expression seamed to be almost hollow and blank, and he was looking down at the floor. From what Metal saw of Tails now and what he heard two days ago, it was obvious Sonic's death had hit him the hardest.
Metal focused on Tails for a bit. From analyzing Tails current behavior, he came to the conclusion that Tails would need tons of emotional support if he wanted to overcome his grief.
"...Sonic's friend, Amy Rose will now give a eulogy on him." He heard the priest say.
Metal turned back to the audience and saw Amy Rose rise up getting out a piece of paper. Knuckles put a hand on Amy's arm and she stared at him for a moment before nodding and going to the podium.
She stared at the piece of paper for a moment, breathing in before she finally spoke.
"Now some of you might know that I kind of had a crush on Sonic." She began.
There were a few small chuckles that resulted from that.
"He might not have shared that same affection for me, but he still considered me a friend." She continued. "And I'm more then happy for that."
"There's no doubt that he's touched a lot of people for his actions. He's saved the world, helped others in need, and in some cases, he helped others become better people."
Metal noticed Shadow give a slight smile when Amy said that.
"Now, we might not have him here anymore, but we should always remember what he did for us in his life. We should also remember that he went out doing what he loved."
Amy gave a sad smile. "He saved people, and we should all thank him for that."
"So, one more time, thanks Sonic."
There was a small applause when Amy finished her eulogy.
Amy picked up the paper with the speech and began to turn towards the window Metal was peeking through.
Acting quickly, Metal hid from sight and listened to Amy's footsteps as she went back to where she sat.
Metal then peeked through the window again and saw that the priest was in front of the podium again and was making another speech. This one being about how Sonic will hopefully be in a better place.
After awhile, he finally finished speaking and a person approached the coffin and closed the lid.
Soon after, a few more people approached the coffin, picked it up, and carried it through the gap between the pews.
Everyone then got up and followed them slowly. All except for Tails, who remained seated.
After about a minute, Metal saw Amy come back and approach Tails.
"Tails, they're moving Sonic." she said, clearly trying her best to word it as best as possible. "Are you coming?"
Tails stared at Amy for a moment, his eyes clearly filled with sadness.
"Yes." Tails finally said in a quiet voice.
"Come on." Amy said putting her arm around Tails. "It's not easy for any of us either you know."
Metal watched as Amy and Tails walked towards the exit.
Metal moved away from the window and when he was near the front of the church, he hid behind a tree to continue watching the scene that was happening.
He could see Sonic's coffin being put inside of a black car, with everyone from the funeral watching. He could even see Eggman standing there with them, with Amy glaring at him while Tails simply just stared blankly in the distance.
"I know your planning something Eggman." Amy said to Eggman. "With Sonic gone, this is a perfect opportunity to take over the world."
"Oh I won't be doing anything like that for quite a while." Eggman said with an innocent smile. "I understand you've lost a friend, you and your friends need time to recover."
Amy continued to glare at him. "Well if you ever do attack, remember that even without Sonic, we will stop you."
Though Metal could see that Amy, while she was handling Sonic's loss slightly better, she was still trying to hold back tears.
Metal could have just walked up to Eggman and simply just used is appearance to taunt Amy and Tails that he was still here while Sonic was in a coffin, he choose not to.
Metal shook his head, he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. He didn't crush Sonic's communication device when he heard Tails, he didn't feel the same joy as Eggman when he learned Sonic died, and he felt sorry for Sonic's friends and the guests at the funeral.
Why was he feeling pity for those mourning Sonic's death?
"Metal, are you there?" Eggman's voice said over his radio.
Eggman's voice snapped him back to reality. "Affirmative." He responded. "What is it?"
"I believe it's time for us to go." Eggman said. "Meet with me back at my Eggmobile."
"Affirmative." Metal then disconnected from the call and began walking in the direction of where the Eggmobile was.
About halfway there, he stopped and stared at the crowd watching the car that held Sonic's coffin drive away. As Metal began to walk away again, he could tell that while no one spoke it, everyone in the crowd were all wondering the same thing.
Who was going to replace Sonic as the hero?