~Fears~
"So it's likely that Iblis rises in a volcano or something," Silver finished after a quick theory while walking with the others.
"Well then, you're going to have to do that part on your own," Metal clarified.
"Why?" Silver asked.
"First reason, because I might push you in the volcano purposely and the second reason, I hate lava," Metal answered.
"Gee, you really are a grouchy robot, aren't you?" Silver mumbled.
"Don't push your luck, hedgehog," Metal warned.
"Again with the species thing!" Sniper interrupted.
"That also goes for you, brother," Metal added.
"Well, excuse me for trying to improve your language skills!" Sniper reacted in a bratty tone of voice, putting his hands on his hips.
"Mr Metal Sonic, why do you hate lava so much?" Cheryl asked.
…
(Flashback)
Metal was helping his creator fix the lava chamber. Some of the beams had broken somehow, possibly a freak accident of some sort.
"Metal, try not to fall into the lava," Eggman warned as he was fixing the control panel, while Metal was crawling along the beams like a sloth, repairing them.
"I'm trying not to," Metal replied, continuing the repairs on the beams without even looking at Eggman.
"Good," Eggman replied, continuing to work on the control panel. However, the wrench he was using snapped. "Grr! The damn wrench again. You keep on fixing those beams while I go fetch a new one." And so, Eggman left the room.
Metal continued wielding the beams together, still hanging like a sloth, until footsteps could be heard coming along the beam he was on. That was when he saw the robot he thought had been dismantled years ago, meeting eyes with him. "You…!" he reacted.
"Yes. Me," the robot, Mecha Sonic, responded, kicking one of Metal's hands to cause him to lose grip.
Metal was using his other hand to hold on to the beam, until that one was kicked, as well. Metal watched as Mecha walked away along the beam, feeling himself be engulfed by the boiling hot substance. He was struggling to keep himself from being dragged under completely. "Master!" he shouted, sounding a little fearful. Eggman didn't come, so it was useless to even bother shouting. Metal could feel himself melting, sinking lower into the lava until only his hand was raised above it. Luckily, someone managed to grab it and pull him out of the lava.
…
"Callie…" Metal said to himself sadly.
"Huh?" Cheryl reacted.
Metal snapped out of his flashback, looking at her. "…There was an accident. That is all," he eventually answered.
Suddenly, his head began to feel weird. He held it with his hand.
"Metal? Metal, what's wrong?" Cheryl asked.
Metal could barely hear her as he saw a black hedgehog figure in the shadows of some trees, staring at him with lime green irises. Immediately, Metal knew who it was before passing out.
…
Metal found himself in pure darkness. Around him were just clouds of darkness. Immediately, Metal jumped to his feet. He knew that this was Mephiles' doing.
Mephiles appeared in front of him, laughing evilly. "It's been a long time, Metal Sonic…" he greeted.
"You know very well that that's not my name," Metal stated.
Mephiles just laughed again. "You have changed since we last met," he pointed out.
"That's because my best friend died because of your lies!" Metal yelled at him angrily. "If it wasn't for you she would still be here!"
"And she would have been captured by GUN," Mephiles concluded. "They were after you and Callie – they wanted you destroyed and Callie as their prisoner."
"Well, their mission failed altogether," Metal finalized. "I escaped alive, and Callie was killed."
"Their mission failed, but mine didn't," Mephiles stated.
"What do you mean by that?" Metal questioned, suspicious.
"You see, Metal Sonic, I become more powerful when someone dies because of my doing, but not when I do it myself," Mephiles explained. "For example, Callie's death was my fault, but when people look at the story: 'Girl killed by GUN aboard Death Egg', they wouldn't expect a failed GUN experiment to be involved, and even if they did think that, it wouldn't be classed as a murder."
"In my eyes, you will always be a murderer," Metal growled.
"I'm more known as one who manipulates," Mephiles corrected. "That is how I gain my power. I can manipulate people through their future that I make to happen, or through their fears." The dark hedgehog then disappeared, leaving Metal in the darkness for a moment before the setting changed.
Metal was standing on a small foothold in an endless sea of lava. His red irises shrunk.
…
"Why isn't he waking up?" Sniper asked.
"Well, one theory is he's out of charge, another is that he's just fainted in fright or something, and my final theory is that you've been hitting him with that stick too hard," Silver theorized.
Sniper looked at the large, chunky stick in his hand, which could easily knock someone out. He threw it away quickly, standing as if he hadn't done anything.
"We've gotta get him somewhere," Silver stated. "He might wake up soon."
…
"Tell me, Metal Sonic, are you afraid?" Mephiles' voice echoed.
Metal didn't even answer. He didn't want to admit that he was frightened.
Mephiles' laugh could be heard from around, echoing. "I also forgot to mention that I gain power from people's fears, which means I'm basically becoming stronger by the minute. The more fear one has, the more power I receive."
"I'm not afraid…" Metal answered eventually.
"That will soon change," Mephiles replied.
The foothold that Metal was on gave way, causing it to slant, half of the foothold sticking out, which Metal was now balancing on.
"I can tell that you are afraid, Metal Sonic. Not all robots feel fear, but I know that you do," Mephiles antagonized.
"Leave me the hell alone…" Metal snarled.
Mephiles laughed again.
The foothold Metal was on suddenly sank before his eyes, but before Metal could make contact with the lava, everything went black again.
…
Metal jumped up suddenly, finding himself in a tree. He saw Cheryl, Silver and Sniper sat on different branches.
"You had us worried for a moment there, bro," Sniper stated.
"…Sorry," Metal apologized. "But I have some news."
"What is it?" Silver asked.
"Mephiles has returned," Metal answered.
…
You can probably guess why I've made Metal afraid of lava. If you can't, here is a hint: OVA. That's all I'm going to give you. Or, alternatively, Issue #87. Hopefully you would have figured this out by next chapter, where the adventure may truly begin…