Metropolis had always been a busy city. Massive in size and population, it was in a constant state of bustling vehicles, clattering footsteps, and unintelligible music and chattering. Some claimed their city life plagued them, others say it kept life exciting. Buildings and structures were placed everywhere with narrow streets between the tight spaces they left. You could walk out of a stout single-story diner and look beside it to see a towering twenty story building, only to be dwarfed by gigantesque skyscrapers that loomed over all.
Species of all kinds mixed and mingled everywhere, whether it be sharing stories or reuniting with close friends, or simply just brushing shoulders with a stranger. Everyone had their busy lives going on, stressed by the daily rush and worrying over taxes and insurance.
It was a city teeming to the brim with life, some trying to make it through the daily grind, others looking for a new start.
Magnificently colored vehicles of varying sizes and shapes sped past each other in the skies, zooming around and giving the afternoon Sun a hard time shedding light on the lower class that drove simpler wheeled vehicles on the smooth black roads. Traveling tended to be much slower down here; constant traffic jams gave way to road rage for many hurrying hard workers and civilians.
Inside of a relatively decent blue car, a middle aged lynx sighed and rolled his head back against his seat, crossing his arms and turning his head toward his teenage son, who sat in the passenger seat resting his head on his hand. He was looking through the windshield glumly, wishing the fat van in front of them could speed ahead. That wouldn't be possible for a long time; there was a long line of cars to their left, right, back, and in front of them.
The father reached over and put a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled cheerily at him. He was also tired and was making his way home after picking up his son from school, which lasted only half the time that the upper schools lasted. After eating lunch with the boy and his wife, he would go back to work for the whole day, arriving home late after midnight. Both his wife and son would be asleep by then.
The teen glanced at his Dad and gave him a lazy lopsided smile before returning to his gloomy state. He hated traffic jams, and dealing with them every day wasn't any fun.
"Damian, thought of anything you want for your birthday?" His father asked trying to lighten him up a little.
Shrugging, the boy curled his lip. "Dunno, how about a car?" He chuckled a little to himself, knowing all too well that they couldn't afford a second car.
His dad didn't laugh or joke with him though. He was silent for about another minute, and Derek began to regret joking about it until he heard his father say, "How 'bout after I teach you the basics on Saturday, we swing by the dealership to pick your poison?".
Derek's eyes brightened up at the sound of this. He sat up and turned to his beaming father. "H-Huh?! Really Dad?!"
"You bet, kiddo. You bet." The man replied with a quiet but reassuring voice. He knew he would have to seriously talk it over with his wife, but why not get the kid something nice? They would just have to spend very little for the next year or so, but it was worth it so long as his son was happy with it. He grinned widely and patted Derek's shoulder. He loved him dearly. And Derek loved his father just as much.
Then, they both turned their heads as loud panicked screaming was followed by scampering footsteps ahead in the barricade of cars. They both looked out their windows with faded smiles as several people abandoned their vehicles and ran for their lives.
Derek looked at his father with growing unease. The adult lynx shot him the same look, giving no comfort for either of them. Then, Derek looked forward and gasped, pointing a shaky finger. "D-Dad look!"
The man turned his head just in time to see a wave of fire uplifting the empty cars ahead of them and sending a rolling barrage of death towards them. He instantly thought of his son's safety and threw his arms and upper torso over Derek as their own vehicle was swiped off the ground a few feet and tossed back, somersaulting twice and landing upside down with the horrific crack of glass and banging of bent scraped metal.
Derek had shut his eyes and was panting uncontrollably. He slowly wrenched them open and looked around. Fire surrounded them outside of the broken windows, and his dad hung upside down groaning and opening his eyes as well. He looked right over at his son and panted, "Derek! You okay?!".
The boy felt tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to nod, but stopped and stared out the shattered window on his father's side. The man tracked his eyes and looked to his window.
Two metallic red shoes stepped down on broken shards of glass and cinders, crunching them underfoot. The lynx's jaw dropped in a mix of disbelief and terror as the feet stopped and crouched down.
Both father and son went totally quiet as Metal Sonic bent down and wiped black ash off of his right shoe, glaring down with those infamous red eyes. Neither of them could comprehend it. There were millions of people in the city. Out of all those people, they were going to die by the cold metal hands of the blue demon. They'd only heard of stories about this reaper; about how Sonic and his friends used all they had to drive him away multiple times, but they weren't here now.
By some miracle, Metal Sonic stood back up without looking at either of them and continued walking down the fiery road. The flames danced all around him like a rhapsody of demons, welcoming him home in his old destructive ways.
And he had the whole city to play with, Eggman had told him.
…
It was a dreamless sleep for Tails. He woke up in bed feeling awake and alive. Sonic must've brought him to his room after falling asleep at the table, and he wondered if the hedgehog was still in his house.
Tails slid out of bed and slipped some shoes on. He preferred the quiet style of life on the much less populated outskirts of Metropolis. He could work on everything in a non-stressful environment.
He hurried out his bedroom door and came out to the living room to see Sonic hunched on the couch, glued to the TV screen. Tails was relieved to see him. They had a rough night after what happened, and he just wanted to spend time with his friend now. He could worry about Metal Sonic later.
"Hey, Sonic. Didn't know you were still here. How about some breakfast at Gino's? I hear they have some awesome. . ." Tails' voice trailed off as he saw what was on the screen. He watched in dead silence as a news chopper caught explosions and collapsing buildings deep in Metropolis. Somehow he already knew who was causing the mayhem.
The camera zoomed in and managed to get a glimpse of the blue demon levitating skyward amidst black smoke and rubble. He looked straight at the camera with doom in his eyes as the chopper began flying off, hopefully to reach safety in time.
A part of Tails died on the inside. It was like watching your own child spiral off into madness after putting so much love and care into them. He didn't want to believe Metal was hurting those people.
That wasn't the robot he knew.
"Just barely turned the TV on. . ." Sonic muttered as he stood up and turned his head to Tails. His eyes were dark and serious, but he wasn't angry. Tails had seen that look in his eyes before. It was a dire time to act, and once innocents were involved, Sonic was going to use everything he had.
"Sonic, wait. . ." Tails began.
"No Tails. I'm not gonna let him escape or let you keep him or anything like that." Sonic interrupted to shut Tails down shaking his head.
"I'm not saying that. . ." Tails pleaded as he looked at Sonic with honest begging eyes. The hedgehog frowned at him, waiting to hear what the fox had to say.
"Just. . .let me try to talk to him. There's always a chance that he-"
"No! You crazy or somethin'?!" Sonic exclaimed as he raised his hands in disbelief. "Did you SEE that thing? He's got new stuff we've never seen before! You won't even make it 50 feet before he blows you to pieces!"
Tails was in no mood to argue. He shook his head, now sporting a frown as he sighed. "I'm gonna try. . .it's worth a shot."
Maybe it was how calm he sounded, or maybe it was how dedicated Sonic could see that he was, but he didn't argue back. They were wasting precious time, and every second they weren't at the city, someone could be dying.
". . .Soon as something goes wrong, you get outta there. . ." Sonic muttered as he turned towards the door. Normally, he gladly accepted Tails' help in these fights, but they were dealing with something they'd never seen before. Metal Sonic was back and reloaded with all new terrors. "And Tails. . .try not to die."
The fox smirked just a little at this. Sonic shot a subtle grin at Tails before heading to the door with him and speeding off towards the city. This was going to be a hell of a fight.
…
Debris all around. Smoke rising in the distance. People currying for their lives. It was all so familiar with Metal Sonic.
He flew through the streets. All the flying cars and vehicles once in the sky were all gone now. They'd either retreated home or were knocked down to the streets or into buildings by Metal.
The Sunlight reflected and gleamed off his shiny body. Except this time, he couldn't enjoy the warmth. He felt nothing; no interest, no care, and no appreciation. He was only doing what his master had ordered him to do; nothing more and nothing less.
In front of his computer screen, Eggman grinned looking over the red dot on the map. Metal Sonic was tearing the city apart at such a rapid pace. He knew it was a good idea to install far deadlier weaponry, and the results showed great promise.
"That idiot hedgehog will run right after Metal and try to stop him in the city. . .if only he knew how wonderfully this was going to plan!" Eggman thought gleefully to himself.
Helpless civilians scattered throughout the city screaming, some racing to their families, others running for the outskirts, but many also hid in buildings hoping to be unnoticed.
As Metal Sonic turned a corner, countless people that had been running were coming right towards him. There was an uproar in shrieks of terror as they all skidded and turned right around, running to escape death. They were so unfortunate to have run right into the very thing they were trying to evade.
The machine lifted his hand as the plate of steel over his palm slid inwards. A mini vulcan with six barrels extended out from the empty palm and revved up, preparing to unleash a hailstorm of bullets.
But before he could open fire, a young boy's voice called to him from the street to his left.
"Stop! Metal, stop!"
It sounded desperate and passionate. The voice was almost pleading with him. Metal Sonic turned his head and saw a small yellow fox with two fluffy tails behind him wavering around. The moment he laid eyes on him, he felt something jolt in his head like a swift slap.
Tails had both his hands out, and they were trembling. He had reason to be afraid. Slowly, he took timid steps towards the death machine. Oddly enough, a saddened smile spread across his face. Metal Sonic was gleaming in the late noon sunlight like an angel. It seemed wicked that such a holy looking sight was tarnished by the now despicable nature of Metal.
"Look at you. . ." Tails began. "I don't wanna believe it's gotten to this point. . .but it has."
Metal Sonic stared at him as he gradually lowered himself to the ground, landing on his feet and standing still. Tails stopped walking for a moment, then carefully proceeded. "You probably don't even remember me, and I'll bet your just waiting to kill me. . .but if you really were, I think I'd already be dead."
Walking towards Metal Sonic, Tails lowered his right hand, keeping his left palm open with the same sorrowful smile. The robot felt something again. He felt as though he'd seen this exact thing before.
Eggman listened, going quiet and hearing the voice of Tails speak as he thought to himself, "Why hasn't he dealt with that kid already? Finish it quickly and move on! Sonic could arrive any second!"
Tails could see something close to a reaction in Metal's eyes. He nodded slowly with a more encouraging smile. He was now just 5 feet away from the mech. "That's it. . .come back, Metal. . .it's time. . ."
Something inside was telling Metal Sonic to raise his right hand to correspond with Tails' left. The robot slowly elevated his right arm, shaking lightly as he opened up his palm. Tails walked forward, closing the small gap between them and felt his heart warm a little, seeing his hand so close to Metals' again.
Then their hands touched.
Tails felt a wave of pity as he watched Metal Sonic's head tremble. His red eyes were blinking now, and the fox could see just how desperately Metal was trying to break free. He knew he was still in that empty blue shell. And he wanted out.
He knew that the beauty of life would overcome anything to be free.
So close, yet so far.
Metal Sonic's right palm suddenly slid open and revved up his right vulcan. Tails stopped smiling and gasped, stepping back. He couldn't run. Metal Sonic was going to gun him down right here and now.
The robot took aim and fired.
That was the moment Sonic acted. He'd been waiting out of sight for Tails to try and communicate with Metal Sonic, and even though it seemed it was working, he'd been ready to spring into action, and thank goodness he was. Metal Sonic immediately knew it was the hedgehog when he saw a blur of blue zip by him just as he fired, bullets speeding into nothing but air.
Sonic skidded to his feet holding Tails in his arms. The fox looked around wildly, barely able to process what just happened. He was set down and looked up at his rescuer just as Sonic shook his head and said, "Can't say I wasn't expecting it buddy.".
He turned back around and saw Metal Sonic glaring at him, standing with his legs shoulder width apart. He was going to kill his target now that he'd revealed himself.
Tails scrambled to his feet sputtering, "Sonic! Please don't completely destroy him, he's still alive in there!".
"I can't make any promises Tails. I gotta worry about him not completely destroying me first." Sonic growled, standing completely aligned with his opponent. They were about 20 feet away from each other, squarely focused. Now it was just a matter of seconds before one of them attacked.
Sonic made the first move.
He ran straight at Metal Sonic and grit his teeth, spinning into a ball and pummeling his feet against his enemy's chest, resulting in the same situation he found himself in before. Metal's feet scraped across the cement of the street as he caught Sonic's ankles with his hands, clenching onto them.
This time, he didn't hesitate at all. The robot swung his arms up and around, tossing Sonic behind him. The hedgehog soared through the sky and seemed to be totally out of control, but he'd gained arial composure as he descended and landed safely on his feet, kneeling down and letting out the air he'd been holding in.
Immediately sensing himself to be in danger, Sonic kicked one foot on the ground and leapt far to the right just as Metal Sonic's vulcan unleashed a stream of hot bullets. They sparked on the ground harmlessly where their target had just jumped away from. The robot refocused his aim at Sonic and momentarily met eyes with him. He fired up his jet engine and rocketed towards the hedgehog.
"Persistent, as usual!" Sonic thought to himself as he lowered his head and stuck out his arms, zipping off down the empty street with Metal Sonic hot on his tail.
Tails had been watching, worried sick for both of them. He knew Sonic had to put an end to Metal's devastation, but goodness. . .what if he was destroyed beyond any hope of saving him? He wanted his friend to come out of this in one piece, but. . .Sonic could be utterly annihilated. Twirling his tails, he went off after them, hoping he could keep up a least a few hundred feet behind.
Up ahead on the road, Metal Sonic had opened fire once again, flying about 10 feet above Sonic and around 7 feet behind him. His bullets set the road steaming with hot lead, damaging the heated cement the hedgehog's rapid footsteps were nearly setting ablaze. He was aiming directly at Sonic and was going around the exact same speed, but his ammunition was hitting the road beneath. The blue blur was going too fast for the bullets to even reach him.
Sonic still had his head lowered, clenching his teeth as everything whizzed by. He could hear the loud scream of Metal Sonic's machine gun and the constant crack of lead hitting cement and concrete. He would need to do something before his pursuer caught up with him or he ran into a building, both of those leading to a gruesome end.
Metal Sonic gradually began closing in on Sonic; red eyes locked dead-on. Soon, he'd be close enough to see and hear bullets ripping through flesh and watch as the body would collapse and tumble across the road.
But suddenly, Sonic used all the strength in his leg muscles and jumped up, curling into safety as Metal Sonic's head slammed into him. The noise was a loud clang of metal that echoed through the street, and the impact was enough to cause Metal's vision to flicker as he plummeted down to the road. He skidded along the ground for about 40 feet, leaving a trail of sparks behind his scraping steel body and tumbled to his backside whirring loudly.
Sonic still had the momentum and lunged upward, spearing down towards the robot with his feet and intending to crush him. He let out a brief yell of energy as he made the descent.
But the robot was already prepared. He rolled out of the way just as Sonic crashed down to the earth, smacking his shoes against the road rather than the steel he was expecting. Wasting no time, Metal Sonic raced forward like a jet and tackled him, grappling the hedgehog in his arms and immediately boosting up into the air.
Sonic felt the air knocked out of his lungs and gasped at the impact. He felt himself being lifted up slowly at first, then at ultra high speeds the next second. The road and buildings beside him began shrinking from view rapidly as Metal Sonic ascended skyward.
Then, Sonic felt Metal's cold grip completely release. He still ascended up by himself for just a few feet and managed to catch a terrifying sight of the city from above. Metal Sonic was floating and watching him evilly as Sonic let out a panicked shout, falling down as fast as he'd been going up. He was going to crash into the road below and die instantly.
The skyscrapers beside him seemed to rush up to meet him as he plunged down, zooming right past them and yelling as the road waited below to catch him in a hard, fatal embrace.
And then he wasn't falling anymore.
It happened with no prior warning. He felt his shoulders pulled back by something as he suddenly drifted to the right at an upward angle. A second after, he grinned gratefully and panted, "Still the best, buddy!".
Tails maneuvered around in a spiraling circle as he ascended and half smiled. What would Sonic ever do without him?
He'd risen to the height of the skyscrapers now. He looked across at Metal Sonic and felt his heart jump. "S-Sonic look!"
Both watched in stricken silence as Metal Sonic gazed at the sun above, forgetting about the battle and his objective. His eyes were bright and wide, and Sonic could've swore that he saw them flicker a cream-colored yellow for a second.
"What's he doing Tails?!" Sonic exclaimed suddenly. He was totally lost and tense.
But Tails smiled a little and watched, saying with a softer voice, "H-He likes sunsets. . ."
Metal Sonic watched the orb of light sizzle in the sky for a few moments more, as if observing it like a lover. Then, he suddenly snapped away and let out an ugly low growl as he glared at Sonic and Tails, flashing bright red eyes. He was definitely more determined now then ever.
Sonic gave a quick glance around. He was still several hundred feet in the air, held by the flying fox. An idea formed in his head; a very old and reliable technique. "Tails, you know what to do buddy. . ."
Tails' smile didn't disappear when Metal Sonic turned back to them with malice and murder in his eyes. He wasn't as worried now. It wasn't quite sunset just yet, but it would only be a matter of time. "Yeah, Sonic. . ."
There was hope for all of them after all.
