~Operation~

Sniper returned with the others. "Alright, bro, we're ready to go!" he assured.

"Good, now let's get the hell out of this wretched place," Metal responded, flying upwards.

"Where are we going now?" Cheryl asked.

"Anywhere that has no vegetation, apparently," Sniper replied, taking hold of her and flying upwards after Metal.

Silver used his powers to float up with EMMI by his side. He looked at her with a warm smile.

EMMI smiled back.

"Hey, you two! Stop goo-goo-eyeing each other and get a move on!" Sniper shouted, flying off beside Metal.

Silver blushed, looking at EMMI.

"Let's just go," EMMI laughed.

"Alright," Silver agreed, flying off after them.

EMMI flew beside him.

…

Eventually the group ended up at an old, abandoned mine.

"This place looks good enough," Sniper stated.

Metal entered the mine without saying anything.

"And here he goes with the silent treatment again!" Sniper narrated.

"Let's just go and see what the place is like inside," Silver said, heading in.

EMMI followed him.

Sniper and Cheryl were the last ones in.

"Whoa… This place is huge!" Sniper acknowledged. He ran over to a mineshaft and jumped into the mine cart. "Hey, Cheryl! Give me a push!"

Cheryl ran over to him. "Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Sniper questioned, rocking the cart forwards and backwards while in it. "Come one, this'll be fun!"

"If you're sure…" Cheryl responded, pushing Sniper's cart as hard as she could.

"Whhhoooaa!" Sniper yelled as he fell down a drop.

Cheryl heard his voice get further away down within the blackness.

"Woohoo!" Sniper could last be heard cheering with a drone, until there was silence.

"…Sniper?" Cheryl asked after two minutes had passed. She then heard a crash from behind. Quickly, she turned around. From the exit near the ceiling, Sniper had fallen from his cart, crashing to the floor.

Cheryl quickly sprinted to see if he was alright. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" she asked, worried.

Sniper was dizzy at first, but shook his head quickly and sat up in an instant. "That was awesome! Let's do it again!" he answered.

Cheryl sighed, laughing a little.

…

Metal looked up, seeing beams to support the high ceiling. Looking at these beams gave him that flashback again.

…

(Flashback)

"You…!" Metal exclaimed.

"Yes. Me," Mecha replied, kicking his hand.

Metal used his other hand to hold on, but that one was kicked, too. Metal fell into the lava below.

…

"Damn that Mecha Sonic…" Metal growled, looking for somewhere to rest. He wanted to be away from the others and in the darkness.

…

Sniper and Cheryl were outside the mine, looking at the forests over the grassy hills.

"So we get a free home and a sweet view. Cool," Sniper announced.

Cheryl giggled.

Sniper chuckled with her.

"Hey, Sniper, have you ever wondered what makes forests and jungles so different?" Cheryl asked.

"Jungles are tropical with much life in it, forests are not tropical and have a different type of wildlife habiting in it," Sniper answered.

"What does tropical mean?" Cheryl questioned.

"Well, it means…" Sniper responded, but then buzzed, cringing.

"Sniper? Are you okay?" Cheryl asked.

"I'll be fine!" Sniper assured, putting up his thumb, before falling onto his back and cringing even more. He was groaning painfully.

Cheryl wasn't sure what to do. "Sniper, what's happening!" she demanded to know.

"I don't know…!" Sniper replied. "Get my brother…!"

Cheryl nodded, running into the mine to find Metal.

…

Metal was still looking for a decent place to rest, until hearing Cheryl shouting for him.

"Metal! Sniper needs your help!" Cheryl cried. "He's suddenly started twitching weirdly and he looks like he's in pain!"

Metal looked at her. "Where is he?" he asked, concerned.

"I'll take you to him!" Cheryl replied, running off and to the exit up the number of steps.

Metal flew ahead of her, picking her up on the way past her. She put her down once getting outside, seeing Sniper holding his head and near screaming, buzzing. He was definitely in pain.

Metal appeared beside his brother, supporting him in his arms.

"Sniper, what's happening?" he asked.

"I… I… don't… know!" Sniper struggled to say. "Metal… Help me…!"

Metal scanned Sniper for anything, before he looked a little surprised. "That's not good…" he stated.

"What…?" Sniper asked painfully.

"Eggman planted a device in you to kill you painfully and slowly," Metal revealed. "My theory is that he did this in case you failed your mission to retrieve me."

"Then I'm… putting the blame on… you!" Sniper confirmed.

"I'll help you get it out," Metal assured.

"Yeah… well if I die because of this I'm gonna kill you!" Sniper responded.

Metal shook his head at his statement, picking him up. "Cheryl, come with me."

Cheryl followed Metal back into the mine, worried.

EMMI and Silver saw Metal returning with Sniper. EMMI gasped.

"What's happening to him?" EMMI asked, panicking.

"This is Eggman's doing," Metal answered. "There's a device inside him which we're going to have to remove quickly."

"Will he be alright?" EMMI questioned.

"Guys… I'm bloody dying here…!" Sniper reminded. "Of course… I'm not going to be alright…!" He then suddenly screamed in agony.

"Sniper, the more you talk, the more pain there is," Metal reminded.

"I don't give a damn!" Sniper quickly snapped to get it off his chest.

Metal sighed. "Is there any sort of workbench in here?" he asked.

EMMI looked around. "Over there!" she pointed. "It's a table and there are some tools around it!"

"Man… I do hate tools…" Sniper growled painfully.

"If you want to suffer a slow and painful death, be my guest," Metal offered.

Sniper cringed in pain, groaning. "Okay… Okay! Just… help… me…!"

Metal carried Sniper over to the wooden table. Sniper was looking at the tools – a drill, a saw, a chainsaw, a glue gun, a fuser, a ripsaw and a hammer. He really didn't like the look of them. Metal placed Sniper down on the table carefully.

"Sniper, I need you to keep your eyes on me at all times, okay?" Metal instructed.

"Why wouldn't I… stare at you? After all… you are extremely attractive!" Sniper responded sarcastically.

"I also need you to be quiet," Metal continued.

"How can I be quiet if I'm freakin' dying!" Sniper yelled.

Metal sighed. "I need you to shut yourself down," he commanded.

"But what if… I don't come back online?" Sniper asked, worried.

"You will come back online, I promise," Metal promised.

"What does that mean, Metal?" Cheryl asked. "What does he means when he says if he won't come back online? And the shutting down thing?"

"Shutting down is like going to sleep," Metal answered. "And online is a way of saying waking up."

"So when he says he might not come back online… he means that he won't wake up?" Cheryl questioned.

Metal nodded. "But I'll make sure he wakes up."

"Helloooo! While I'm here dying… it would be helpful if you at least tried to help me…!" Sniper interrupted.

Metal turned his attention back to his brother. "Alright. Just shut yourself off until I finish this procedure," he stated.

"But I might… die while… you're working…" Sniper reminded.

"You won't," Metal countered. "Just shut down."

Hesitant, Sniper shut himself down.

Metal watched his eyes go off slowly, waiting until he was definitely shut down. He then picked up the ripsaw, beginning to cut into Sniper's chest in the centre, where the lightning bolt was painted.

"You know what you're doing, right?" Cheryl asked.

"I'm a robot, Cheryl, we're always accurate," Metal replied.

"But why?" Cheryl questioned.

"I'm trying to concentrate, now be quiet," Metal demanded while he worked.

Cheryl decided to sit quiet.

Metal had eventually opened up Sniper's chest, finding a black cuboid-shaped device with a red blinking LED, linked up to his wires. He had to use his ripsaw again, carefully removing the device by cutting it of the wires, Luckily Metal managed to fix these wires without using any tools. He then passed the device to EMMI. "EMMI, take that outside and dispose of it at once," he commanded.

EMMI nodded, running outside.

Metal then began using the fuser to weld Sniper's chest back together. Still, even the littlest things like using fusers reminded him of that time he fell in the lava…

Metal had then finished fixing Sniper, putting the fuser down. He nudged his brother once. "Sniper. You're fixed," he announced.

For a moment there was no reaction from Sniper, until his orange irises switched on. He sat up, looking at Metal, his expression obviously showing that he was happy. He tried to thank him, but all that came out was a bleeping sound. Metal had accidently messed with his voice.

Metal laughed a little, which wasn't a very common thing for him anymore.

EMMI returned. "The device has been disposed of," she assured, noticing that Metal was amused by something. "What's going on? Have I missed something?"

"I'm just entertained by Sniper's silence," Metal responded.

Sniper bleeped again as if trying to say something to EMMI.

"Silence? Really?" EMMI laughed.

Sniper put his hands on his hips, attempting a frown as he bleeped again.

EMMI, Silver, Metal and Cheryl all laughed.

"You know, I think we should keep him like this," Metal stated.

Sniper bleeped loudly as if annoyed.

Metal looked at him. "Don't worry, I'll fix you when I'm in the mood, bro," Metal assured, almost mocking Sniper.

Sniper attempted to sigh, which again came out as a bleeping sound. It was going to be a while until everyone calmed down from this 'hilarious' situation.

…

At least Sniper isn't dead :D but he's got no voice. Yay! I mean, how sad (lolz). Well, Eggman failed to achieve his goal (again), Sniper's alive, the gang have a *decent* place to stay and Metal's finally getting a sense of humour. And since Sniper and Cheryl are the same age, who thinks they look good together? :3 See you next chapter!