domi|note Dammit! I cannot find the orange juice! Is this becoming a reoccurring reoccurrence? I bet it was the bloody fridge goblin's fault.

Warning; Increased use of elements from Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, most of the information mentioned will be explained in a future chapter, but if you're curious, then you can look it up at a Sonic Wiki.

If you want more of an explanation, I'd recommend reading It's a Technician Thing Chapter 46, because the explanation for the flight ability isn't coming until a later date. The transformation looks like it does in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, when you reach a Gear Change. Go and Youtube it, if you're that curious. And there's a sketch on my Deviant Art depicting what Wave looks like with wings.

Thanks to HalfWright, The Guy in the Background, LordCooler, Metalshadow1909, Exploder, SmallSpek and DaddlerTheDalek(And I'd thank you too Welsh but you're already co-writing) for reviewing the last chapter.

Enjoi.

And so, to the end of history, murder shall breed murder, always in the name of right and honor and peace, until the gods are tired of blood and create a race that can understand. ~George Bernard Shaw, "Caesar and Cleopatra."
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Anthem of Our Dying Day
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Chapter Eleven
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"And I've got to fill the blanks in the past with a verse, and we could sit around and cry but frankly you're not worth it anymore."
...
Written by WelshScot

A small bluebird was flying against a cloudy backdrop, soaring amongst the wispy, fluffy clouds. It soon dropped out of the mess of darkening clouds, its beady eyes fixed upon a long stretch of tarmac. Stopping for a rest, the bluebird landed evenly upon the artificial ground. It ruffled its feathers, unleashing a pure, sweet sounding bird song, the kind you would hear on a bright summer's morning. Its rest complete, the small bird opened its wings... just as an Extreme Gear came out of nowhere. Though the camera angle changed to a close up of a blonde, celebrity-like person's face, Welshscot distinctly heard the sound of a certain bird's head being smashed.

"...Do people really watch this garbage?"

Having spent the past six or seven years skipping to the news or a music channel, this was the first time he had tried to follow today's brand of advertising and programs. And he already hated it. The hybrid doctor raised the remote and flicked to the next channel; desperate to escape the badly made Grand Prix commercial. Then he did the same for the sports channel, thinking, they still have too much moustache in the soccer. And then vacations advert. What kinda idiot would believe Eggman would open an Interstellar Amusement Park?

But then his thumb hovered over the next button; his grey eyes widening at a small documentary on the Dreamcast channel. The screen was split in half, the right side showing the Cathedral of Solaris while the left depicted a badly drawn necklace of bones; along with a single, black metal symbol of the sun. In the middle of the screen was an Arabian woman, who wore a greying dress and had a ridiculous pink hairstyle.

Welshscot had arrived halfway through the program, but he had been in time to catch Shahra, a historian who worked at the Metal City Library, say, "...and among the many believers who openly disapproved of the voodoo cult, The Cult of Argus, reformation to the Church of Solaris was the Dragon Mutant priestess, Marsali Scottman; ex-wife of the celebrated doctor and psychiatrist, Owen Scottman who perished in the massacre, ten years—"

The screen flickered, now showing an old music video of the 'Forget me Knots' band. The song was fast paced and exciting, but the doctor was paying no attention to it. While his mind drifted to past times, Welsh absent mind-idly dropped the TV remote, raised his uninjured hand to the opening of his shirt and pulled out a necklace that was identical to the one that had been on the screen.

He never really got on with his mother, who was obsessed with her apocalyptic beliefs of the return of the evil lowa spirit Solaris; the fire spirit who would be reborn and burn time itself. And of course the good, lowa water spirit, Argus the Imprisoner, who had saved mankind before by splitting Solaris in two; at the cost of the lives of the world's greatest civilization. She had always hated the Church of Solaris, who had gotten the two gods mixed up; Argus as the destroyer and Solaris as the saviour.

Welsh had mostly ignored his mother's advances to convert him to her voodoo religion and had spent more time with his father; determined to follow in his footsteps as a great healer of the body and mind. While he still scoffed at the idea of the lowa god's return, the hybrid had recently taken an interest in the other parts of the beliefs of the Cult of Argus. Recently meaning seven years ago, when he had first met the Tails Doll...

"I see you're a fan of the Songoose."

Welshscot whipped around, which caused his bandaged arm to flare with pain. After a brief spout of cursing, the doctor eyes soon found the owner of that remark; who had just sat down on the other side of the couch. Silver's eyes soon spun downwards and a frown appeared on his face. With a quizzical look in his eyes, he looked up at Welshscot's grey ones and asked, "Is that an Argus necklace?"

Though it did nothing but conform the white hedgehog's question, the medic hurriedly stuffed the necklace back inside his shirt. Silver did nothing for a few moments, then laughed, "Wait, let me get this straight...You're a Welsh/Scottish doctor, with a mixed Australian/Scottish/American accent who believes in Voodoo?"

He snarled at the sniggering bastard; whilst fighting a strong desire to strange him with his one hand. He settled for words instead, saying, "Whatever, 'White one'."

He immediately stopped laughing. "Will you stop calling me that?"

"Fine, Lleidr."

Silver raised an eyebrow. "Lleidr? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means 'thief'," replied the doctor; his voice crisp and blunt. Before Silver could say anything, Welshscot asked, irritated, "You don't remember me, do you?" When the hedgehog shook his head, the medic sighed and explained, "Six years ago, on the side of the Splash Cavern race track in the Underground, you tried to steal the wallet of a red headed man. He caught you in the act and started yelling Gaelic at you; with a bottle in his hand. Scarred, you used your powers and blasted him into the race track. That man, who was not even drunk, got his ribs broken, skull fractured and his limbs dislocated when he got hit by a high speeding gear. I spent six months in traction, and maybe would've died if Chaos hadn't pulled me out of the race track."

At the end of his heated rant, all Silver could say was, "...Oh..."

As a vein began to pop on Welsh's forehead, he angrily muttered, "Yea, so that's why I'm gonna call you Lleidr from now on; unless you prefer the white one?" The hedgehog seemed to deflate, making the psychiatrist victorious.

Just as he did a small victory dance on the inside, the hybrid's phone started to play the 'Team Chaotix' song. He quickly pulled out his phone, observing a message he had received from CJ, which made him smile and say, "Yes, she sent the program." He then looked at the TV, which was now showing a commercial, and pressed a button on his phone. This caused the hand held device to emit a radio frequency; designed to disrupt machines to about a six feet radius. The TV screen, to Welsh's delight, turned to static; but out of ear shot, two boards that were heading towards the sunset malfunctioned, causing two speeders to crash to the floor, yelling, "Crap! This was your idea!"

Happy with the results, the doc released the button; retuning the TV to normal. Welsh then turned to Silver, who still seemed to be down, and asked, "Hey, where does that Shadow guy sling his hoes from?"

At any other time, Silver would have made some snarky comeback. But he just huffed, dismally, "Some place called the—err Copper Domain or something..."

The hybrid thought, Great, bloody brilliant. I wonder if the guy realises he's fucking probed—

But his thoughts were interrupted, as the doc's phone rang again. After talking a swift glance at the new text message, which took only a second to read, Welshscot stated, "Why does that man always drive drunk? I swear to Argus, it'll get him killed one day!"

Silver was aroused from his sulk, while I began to grab for the remote, and asked, "Who are you talking about?"

"M Knucks," replied the hybrid; who was now flicking through channels. "He's coming over, something about a 'Cooper' and a 'shape', and judging the fact that some of the words are legible, he's riding his gear while being tipsy. He also wants me to watch the news, so something important might be going down."

Silver, decided that the others needed to see this, stated shouting for the others to 'get their asses over here'.

Welshscot finally arrived on the news channel, wondering what all the fuss was about.

domi

"How does it look, Doc?"

Amy was hovering over Doctor Quack like a stubborn cloud of smog as he inspected Tails' arm. He pressed his hands into the crevice of the elbow, eyes widening when he saw Tails wince.

"Am I going to be able to race next week?" the fox asked, rolling his shoulder to loosen the knots in his neck.

"I wouldn't recommend it," he said, scratching his head absently.

"Why? It won't be healed by then?"

"No child," he shook his head, "I wouldn't recommend it at all."

Tails rolled his eyes when he noticed Amy making an 'I told you so' face over the doctor's shoulder. She was still highly against his participation in the Grand Prix, but she was one of the only ones that were. The other inhabitants of the Black Arms either kept their opinions to themselves or supported him, which at this point, would only include Sonic.

"Think about it Miles, would your mother be proud to see her son entering in a death race?"

Tails narrowed his eyes and turned his head away from the duck, hissing quietly when the doctor made him move the bone experimentally. He sank deeper into the couch, his claws digging into the arm of the chair as he ground his teeth together.

"Am I going to be right to race, Doc?" Tails persisted, ignoring the angry glare that Amy was sending over his shoulder.

Doctor Quack sighed sadly, realising he'd crossed the line by bringing in Tails' mom, "Yes, with Chaos' regenerative abilities you should be right as rain by Monday, maybe even Thursday if you don't work on gear excessively until then. But the pain will not fade until it's healed. I wouldn't recommend using pain killers until you speak to Chaos and Tikal, or someone that's had this ceremony performed on them."

Welshscot, who had been resting on the other side of the couch said, "They've performed it on me; mild pain killers are okay."

Marine appeared from overhead, sticking her head over the balcony, "Any of ya seen the likes of Snippy anywhere?"

A collective 'No' was her response.

"Why do you need Heartnet anyway?" Tails asked.

"Folks 're askin' for 'im; someone from the Castle Town Orphanage needs him," she explained, turning her head when Silver stumbled down the stairs, he's been moving around a lot this morning.

"He's still in bed. Do you want me to relay the message?"

"If that ain't too much of a problem, Sleepin' Beauty," she grinned, earning a growl on the hedgehog's part while he turned around and trudged back up the stairs.

"Where's Knuckles and Shadow?" Marine asked.

"Shadow's disappeared," Amy said, "Knuckles has gone to work."

"What about Blaze?"

"Down in the Garage," she replied, eyes flicking over to the television which had been muted when the Doctor had come in. The Doctor bid his farewell and things quietened down after that. Amy sat herself down next to the injured kitsune, grabbing the remote and waving Marine down, "Go and get her, there's… they're doing a news report on her house."

The racoon sauntered down, breaking into a sprint when she saw what had flashed onto the screen next to the news reporter (Omochao's) head; The Jacaranda Slaughter.

Amy turned up the volume and the room turned deathly quiet, even as Silver and Caleb made it down from the top floor, still looking sleepy.

"Tragedy struck The Violet Manor yesterday when the bodies of more than fifty guards /and/ the Violet Duchess' were found amidst a sea of blood."

"Solaris…" Silver muttered, as completely astounded as the rest of the Black Arms.

Blaze opened the door the garage and stood next to Silver behind the couch, "What did I miss?"

Tails turned to regard Blaze with something akin to horror, watching her eyes glaze over as the information fazed through her, leaving her as still as a statue. He turned back to the screen, where Omochao was now flashing warnings that any young children should be sent into a different room.

Over the course of the next ten minutes, flashes of gruesome gore and dead bodies littered all over the grounds of the estate dug them further into state of deafening silence. Horror filtered through the faces of everyone in the Black Arms, especially those that had been there. Caleb couldn't take the collected horror, anguish and disgust of all the residence and promptly disappeared to be sick somewhere outside of the garage.

Tails turned away from the screen, catching sight of Welshscot in the process, who didn't seem as affected as the rest of the Garage inhabitants. Actually, whenever a new body flashed onto the screen, a sense of recognition flashed through his gray eyes.

He turned back to the report, skin crawling as the pictures would not stop, "Neighbours report that there had been a break in before the slaughter, and all communication from The Violet Manor ceased completely moments before the slaughter began."

Tails looked down at his lap, ashamed at himself. If he knew something like that would happen, he would have never destroyed the communication system. He was increasingly horrified when he saw the body of the man he had bitten as a fox kit, the man who had probably killed his mother, bleeding from his eyes and lying in a bed of wires that had electrocuted him.

"When reporters reached the site of the massacre, the few remaining guards had been stunned into shock. Only one remained able to say anything comprehensive, recalling a brown fox, and what seemed to be The Tails Doll, who left behind an mp3 with but one song on it; 'Can you feel the sunshine?' by T.J. Davis, which is considered to be the Tails Doll's signature song."

Blaze's breathing hitched and Silver wrapped an arm around her shoulder comfortingly.

"They found the Duchess' mutilated body in the study and outside, the Duke who police assume was pushed out the window. He now remains in a critical state, residing in The Royal Court hospital."

The purple cat was a royal, she did not sob, she did not wail, she simply stared at the screen like a frozen puppet as the tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Their daughter, Duchess Blaze seems to have completely disappeared. Speculation falls to Silver the hedgehog, a youth from Crisis City that is often seen hanging around The Violet Manor. If anyone has any information about either of them, please contact…"

Resonance (Instrumental) by T.M. Revolution

Blaze's breath became laboured and Marine immediately went to her friend's side, Silver turned her in an attempt to hug her, but what she did next completely shocked both of them. She raised her hand and slapped Marine way, sending the raccoon flying back. Then she elbowed Silver in the gut and punched him in the face, slugging him across the cheek.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" she screamed, voice breaking with staggered succession.

"Blaze-!" Marine tried to interject, nursing her injured face, but Blaze wasn't listening to any of it.

"If you'd told me where you were going, I wouldn't have gotten worried!" she yelled, turning to Silver who had staggered back onto his feet.

She performed a swift roundhouse kick, sending him to the ground again, "And you! If you hadn't broken me out of The Manor,supporting my stupid urges to break free, then she'd still be alive!"

She turned to Welshscot, who was innocently trying to get off the couch when Blaze's eyes locked with his gray ones, "Hey! You're rumoured to know Tails Doll!" she ran forward to grip the front of the medic's shirt, "Tell me what in Solaris' name he was doing at my home?" when Welshscot didn't answer she slapped him.

"Blaze! Stop it!" Amy shrieked.

Blaze was about to strike him again, but Tails felt like they should stop the violence and promptly leapt up from the couch to defend him, the worst mistake he could have made because he received a horrid blow to the solar plexus, stealing all his breath in mere seconds, "You stupid kit! Had to go and screw up the control room so that no one could call for help!"

Tails' legs crumpled from beneath him as he tried not to choke, lances of pain spreading from his stomach to everywhere else in an instant. Silver got up and took Blaze's hand, forcing the distressed cat to look at him. Although she wasn't making the usual crying sounds, the tears were still flowing rapidly, but she didn't seem to notice they were there.

The yellow fox looked up through teary eyes, wiping them away with the back of his hand.

Damn! That hurt.

Silver's gloves started to singe, but he held steadfast, locking eyes with her properly with a calm, sincere aura, "It's alright, Blaze. Calm down."

"CALM DOWN?" she screeched, "Where is that new sarcastic friend of yours? He deserves some broken bones just for helping you!"

"We need to talk calmly, and not act so impulsive," he winced when her grip became incredibly tight. Obviously the temperature in her palms was rising.

"Why don't you try it sometime? None of you might remember your parents properly, but I do! My mother might have been corrupt and harsh, but she protected me! She made sure my nature was kept secret so…" she shook off Silver's hand, and Tails saw that it had been burned through, and Silver's fur had been singed so badly he would need medical attention. Why didn't he just let her go? "So I wouldn't have to live like you." She might have directed it at the entire group, but her eyes were locked with Silver when she said it. Noticing the hurt and betrayal in Silver's eyes she scowled, turned and headed for the garage entrance, slamming the door.

Not ten seconds after Blaze had made her dramatic exit, Silver and Marine had gone after her. Tails tried to, but was immediately held down by Sonic and Amy, who told them that if he wanted to race he wouldn't dare try. Ten minutes after they had calmed everyone down, Amy was sent to go find Caleb if he was still near Black Arms at all, should he run into a murderous cat that wouldn't hesitate to burn him into charcoal. Three minutes after Amy left they heard commotion from downstairs, enough to bring Jet and Wave out of their collective rooms. Storm appeared from the garage door, followed quickly by a red-haired human Tails recognise instantly.

"Metal Knuckles?" Welshscot asked, trying to get up from the couch, but he still looked a little fazed from what had just happened before, "What the heck are you doing here?"

He'd stolen the words right out of Tails mouth. The fox was still behind the couch sitting on the floor, so the bionic human wouldn't be able to see him.

"Where's the little Prower?" he asked urgently, the speed making it hard to understand him properly.

"Hey-" he was about to protest the 'little' comment when Metal Knuckles found him behind the couch and hoisted him up. He grabbed onto Tails bad hand and yanked it up. The fox's eyes widened before he let out a hiss, instinctively shooting his leg out to kick the human's shin, making him let go.

"Shit-!" Tails' muscles tensed as he tried to ignore the rocketing pain shooting through his arm.

"Hey! Stop being difficult! You're in serious danger right now and we need to get you away from the Arms right now!"

Welshscot's voice filtered through his laboured breathing, a calm and slightly irritated tone evident in his words, whether that was due to Metal Knuckles stupidity or the fact that he had just been assaulted by a pyrokinetic kitty he couldn't tell, "Yes, but tugging on the kid's broken arm isn't going to speed up the process."

"'Broken' you say? Damn, sorry Miles, but we've really gotta get you away from this pla-" the human said.

"Why?" Welshscot and Sonic asked at the same time.

"-ce and get your arm in a sodding sling. Ah, what? Oh Solaris, Welsh-Doc, he told me that Cooper is going to make his move on the kid."

"Who the heck is Cooper?" Sonic and Tails asked at the same time. The Babylon Rogues broke out in hushed whispers when the name was mentioned, making Sonic and Tails the only people who didn't know what was happening.

"That's not important right now; we just need you away from The Arms right-" he was interrupted by the piercing shatter of glass as a window from the second floor broke down, and a whizzing whistling noise sliced the air. Tails heart stopped beating when he realised what had happened. Standing in front of him, with a smoking bullet in between his index finger and thumb was Metal Knuckles, who had just stopped a bullet from piercing the frozen kit's heart.

When he regained his ability to move, he looked through the window, and could find no trace of firearm holding snipers beyond his vision. He didn't need any reassurance after that, letting Metal Knuckles hoist him up from his good arm, "Wait a minute, the Black Arms! Who is going to protect Amy and-?"

"We'll handle The Black Arms while you're gone."

Well, Tails would certainly admit that he wasn't expecting that. Jet had just offered his services to benefit him. But it's not like he had any choice in the matter. Amy wasn't mutant, and against a threat like this one, he would really worry for her if she was fending for herself. At least the Babylon Rogues could handle themselves; he'd feel better knowing that they were on her side.

"Okay."

He gathered up his discarded sling and gave them one final glance before Metal Knuckles pushed him out the door. He was incredibly reluctant to leave his home, but he had never felt so scared for his friends, afraid that his presence would endanger them if he were to stay.

"We'll protect them, we promise."

Wave had never said something so reassuring before. And for some reason… he trusted her.

"Sonic, you take Prower to the Mystic Ruins Garden Centre; you could do it way faster than I could."

Sonic had scooped Tails up and zoomed off without an answer, but Metal Knuckles knew he was obeying the command.

"Welsh-Doc," Metal Knuckles said, "You said you wanted to come to the Garden Centre?"

"But the heat-!"

"'As never been as hot as it is now! Hurry the hell up, before he reaches this place!"

They both scrambled into Metal Knuckles's power type; bike Extreme Gear, buckled up and hit the gas.

Hero by Skillet

"Jet…?"

The 'Are you ready for this?' lingered on her lips for a moment before dying completely when she saw the fiery determination in his ice cold eyes. She looked to Storm, who had a mirrored look of worry on his features as well. She knew this would test Jet's emotional capacity beyond its limits, and he never did learn the difference between bravery and stupidity as well.

"Yeah?" he asked, opening the garage door and moving to the already finished gears. He took his own out of its charger stand and pulled down the edges of his gloves, revealing an intricately decorated bracelet covered in the ancient scrawl of the Babylonians. She and Storm adorn one too, hidden underneath their gloves along with their signature tattoos.

"Why did you do that?"

He knew what she meant. They'd been training for this for years, after the events of what the Solean's called 'The Crimson Night', they'd battled to reach the moment where they could meet this metal monster, but they'd never thought he'd come to them.

"Because I… because I wanted to."

She shook her head, because she knew he was lying. He needed to destroy this fiend, to ever find inner peace he needed to be blown to oblivion, brought back and destroyed twice over. She couldn't understand Jet's pain, but she would support him all the same, she'd promised him after all, just like Storm did.

Storm piped up, despite being the strongest out of all of them, he was still as scared as she was, "Boss. You don't really think?"

Jet closed his eyes and shook his head, "If you ask me honestly?... I don't think we can defeat him. But we need to know what we'll be up against… and…"

Wave watched as Jet's fist slowly closed in on itself until it was shaking violently, his teeth biting into his bottom lip as his eyebrows knitted together. He dropped his hand, casting it aside as if it was some poisoned fruit, "Go find the pink hedgehog, make sure that she's in the safest part of the building. Storm, see if you can find some fire arms."

"Boss?"

"I'll be saying 'Hello' to our metal friend from the roof top," Jet sent them a 'be careful' look before Wave took off running outside of the garage, looking for the pink hedgehog. She found her outside in the empty parking lot, gazing out towards the surrounding city absently. Wave scowled, running forward and tugging on her arm.

"What? Oh, I can't find Heartnet," Amy said.

"Don't worry about him right now, just…" the swallow scratched at her bandana-clad head a moment when Amy tilted her head to the side. "What do you suppose would be the safest part of the Black Arms?"

"Oh," Amy said, "that'd probably be the bomb shelter Tails has underneath the garage. He said we could use if it gets too dangerous."

"Good, get in there! Now, it's about to get more dangerous than you could ever comprehend."

"What? Why?"

"I'll explain everything later," the swallow snarled, hearing the sound of rockets getting closer and closer.

"But-!" Amy persisted.

"Listen Pinkie, if you don't head into the bomb-shelter right now, then you won't be able to hear the explanation, kay? So go down now, and we'll tell you when it's safe to come out," she demanded, it was a tone that she usually reserved for when Storm or Jet were being really stubborn, but she really needed to make sure this girl was safe. She could tell the hedgehog wanted to ask more information, but she decided to comply, nodding before heading inside and locating the bomb shelter.

After a moment or two, Wave followed her into the garage, snatching her Type-W Extreme Gear and a few sticks of dynamite, noting that Storm had already taken his too. She looked around the garage, spying Storm among the side of the tools that Shadow frequented more often. Her attention was ripped away however, when a crash from outside was heard, along with bullet fire. Wave threw down her gear and stepped in the thrusters, tipping the anti-gravity controls over to gain height to see what was happening.

She'd prepared herself for this moment for a long time, but the sight of him still shocked her beyond words. The metal monster moving with a set of rockets in his feet was blasting Jet with a set of guns that were built into his arms, firing like an MG 42, but only seventy-five percent its size. She didn't know a lot about fire-arms, she normally didn't need to use them. What she did know, she learnt from Jet and Storm's addicting video games. His blue armour glinted maliciously in the midday sun, red eyes unfeeling and vicious.

He was human shaped, as his previous nature would suggest, and there was a huge difference between this robot and the Blue Blur she had been sharing kitchen facilities with. He did however, have spikes running from the back of his head and down his back, his chest was emblazoned with what looked like the inside of a thruster, and the black arches around his eyes betrayed very little emotion in those piercing red rings meant to symbolise eyes. Hanging from bits of his metallic armour, were small bits of fabric that betrayed what was once a uniform, including a hat resting atop his head bearing the Soleanna Royal Guard crest.

She shot back into the garage, grabbing Storm, who tossed her a gun of her own, Hotchkiss Type Universal, a semi-automatic. She slung the ammo around her neck and turned her gear around, moving to the side of the garage so that she could sneak up on their intimidating adversary.

Wave didn't think they would be meeting him so soon.

The former Soleanna Royal Guard…

Metal Sonic.

And now; Jet's greatest enemy, even more-so than Eggman.

She didn't need to wait for Jet's commands, too busy dodging bullets himself to give her anything to work with. She stuck the wick of her weapons into her thrusters as soon as she saw Storm approach from behind as well, waiting for the second the wick would hit the stick and chucking it at the robot as Storm released open fire at him.

The result of the explosion blew all their boards back, as if they had been hit with a huge wall of wind. Not missing a beat, she reached for another dynamite stick and thrust it back into the electricity of her board, as soon as she caught a glimpse of blue in the cloud her previous bomb created, she threw again.

The impossible flash of blue sped out of the cloud and tore her down before she could even blink her eyes. He had a metallic hold on her neck that was quashing her windpipe and making her blank out as her board fell from beneath her and clattered to the floor. She knew her lungs were going to give out on her any second now if he kept this up, her eyes were bulging out of their skull before something huge and gray slammed into Metal Sonic with such a force that he managed to detach his arm.

Scrambling in the air, she detached the robotic limbs grip on her neck, noticing that she had seven seconds before she hit the floor and possibly broke her legs. She threw off her bracelet and caught it in her fingertips as her arms started to glow. The quick rush of heat that normally accompanied the transformation was a warning flare inside her body as the membrane in her arms grew and the feathers spread out to catch the wind. Three seconds from hitting the ground, she spread her newfound wings and stopped the momentum enough to cushion her fall. Her arms were still attached to her newfound wings, and she spread her hands out to steady herself before getting back up again.

She threw the bracelet back on, making the wings disappear in another flash of blinding light so she could move with her arms again, and sprinted for her Gear, getting it functional again and looking up to see what was happening. Metal Sonic was still shooting with his other arm, this time at Storm while Jet tried to knock him from the side. Unfortunately, Storm wasn't as much of a target as Wave and Jet, so the bullets were actually landing in his gear and shooting holes straight through it. She had never known a weapon so powerful. She threw Metal Sonic's other hand inside the garage to help Storm out.

His board wasn't going to take more damage; it was already smoking, sparking and swaying. Three more landed bullets put the board out of commission all together, and with that, Storm was falling from seven stories up in the air. She kicked up the speed on her board and motioned for Storm to grab the end of hers while Jet distracted Metal. When Storm had successfully caught the end of her board, it dipped from his weight a little and she turned around, pulling up his gloves and forcing the bracelet from his hands. She placed it in his giant palm as he let go and his own wings started to form.

Jet looked exhausted where he was, still dodging Metal Sonic's rounds as the robot's voice floated over the gunshots with a sickening clarity.

"You birds move in a peculiar way."

"Can it, scrap-metal!" Jet growled as Wave open fired at the robot, breaking one of the robot's shoe thrusters.

"You, little green one, hold the most familiar expression."

Shells fell in an endless wave of clinks on the cement ground beneath them, but Metal Sonic's armour didn't even dent. She had been so afraid of this moment. In her heart of hearts, she had been hoping they would be able to nullify Metal Sonic before this could have happened. She watched as Jet's features stared blankly back at the blue robot.

"Ah, I remember now. Your father held the same look in his eyes as he screamed and begged for mercy."

"You fucking monster!" Jet screeched, his battle cry rung out across the city as he let go of his board, removing the bracelet from around his wrist engulfing himself in white light. The bracelet, inscribed with the words of his ancestors, started to glow as he held it in his talons and threw his Extreme Gear at the robot with the force of a charging rocket. The force of Jet's Ark of the Cosmos astounded Wave, as she had never seen him use it for such violence before. He flapped his wings once before zeroing in on the stunned robot, who had finally achieved a dent in his armour from the impact.

"I loved the hollow snap of his wings as I crushed them in my hands."

He latched himself onto Metal Sonic's frame before he had the chance to retaliate and smashed his fist through his black rimmed eye. Their adversary regained composure and while Jet worked to hinder the robot in any way possible she lit some more dynamite, screaming at Jet to gain some distance. Jet didn't hear her however, and was too late to react once Metal Sonic's talons reached the thin membrane of his wing and tore at it maliciously.

Metal Sonic raised his right arm and aimed his inbuilt guns in between the hawks eyes, "Tell me where the two-tailed fox is, or join your father in oblivion."

"Go to hell, murderer," Jet seethed, preparing for the bullet to strike him when an amazing force hit Metal Sonic from below and launched him into the air, causing Jet to spiral out of control. Storm had thrown himself at the robot, bringing him about in a graceful arc, letting gravity take control to bring Metal Sonic to the ground with an almighty crash that rocked the foundation of the Black Arms.

Wave saw Jet's flailing body plummeting to the earth and she swore under her breath as she calculated the time it would take for his body to hit the ground. Even if he spread his wings, his injured membrane would still make him fall.

"Crap… GEAR CHANGE!"

Her Extreme Gear received the voice command immediately, shifting parts of its nanotechnology to physically change its form into an arrow-like design that made carrying two people and flying much easier.

"You will regret this, son of The Legendary Wind Master."

She caught Jet, bracing the impact right before he hit the ground, landing soundly on her control panel. She forced her Gear to make a quick landing near the small crater in the ground, only finding a flabbergasted Storm looking into the distance.

"He got away," he murmured absently, a thought that brought devastation and relief to Wave at the same time.

"What are you waiting for?" Jet demanded, trying to get up despite how hurt he looked, "Go after him!"

Storm and Wave looked at each other, wincing at the crooked value of Jet's voice, knowing how much pain he was in. They both went over to their boss and enveloped him in a hug, made warm and scratchy due to Storm's wings still being out. When he let go, he placed his bracelet back on, making the wings disappear as he hoisted the injured Jet up, who was trying to put his Ark of the Cosmos back on.

"No, no…" she murmured gently, as if she was trying to calm down a frightened child, "Do you remember what happened the last time Storm sustained a wing injury and put the Cosmos back on?"

Jet stopped struggling after that, still harbouring a dark, painful look as she let Wave take the bracelet away, placing it on her other hand so that she wouldn't forget about it, "You know as well as I do that going after Metal Sonic right now would be a bad idea. My necklace analysed all the information it could during that battle, and we'll soon find a way to take him down, Jet."

"I'm sorry, Boss," Storm whispered quietly, silently examining the blood dripping down from Jet's fist, black shards embedded into the skin.

"Me too," Wave agreed, watching as Jet placed his head in his hands. The two walked back into the garage silently, ignoring how Jet's shoulders shook as they carried him inside.

domi|note This story just isn't doing what I tell it to. I'm researching Babylon right now (not the Sonic-screwed-up version) the real one, and decided that I might be using some aspects of that culture. Very fascinating stuff. Using elements of Prince of Persia too! Whoop!

Just a teensy little bit of explanation for you'se; as you have probably already figured out 'Cooper' is Metal Sonic's real last name, just like Zackary Angel is Metal Knuckles' real name, and he was (is?) also human. All of the Royal Guards have assumed different names since The Massacre. More mystery for you! Trolllolol.

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