Chapter 21: Mechanical Melee

Amy was nearing unconsciousness when Metal Sonic stepped between Silver Sonic II and her. However, she was startled awake by his appearance. She had a couple of bruises from where Silver Sonic II had backhanded her, and she thought a few of her lower ribs might have been broken by the robot's high-velocity assault. Metal Sonic did not turn to address her, but he said, "Do not fear, Ms. Rose. He shall not cause you any further harm."

Amy's surprise was more than understandable. Metal Sonic had told her himself that he had abandoned their friendship, that they never even had a friendship, that he was not programmed to feel emotions, so he never had feelings for her. He had told her that the desire to protect her life no longer obscured his objectives. If that was the case, then why was he here now? He could be here to finish her off himself. That was the first thought that crossed Amy's mind, but he said not to fear. Was he really saving her life? Did their friendship really mean something after all?

Silver Sonic II's remaining eye identified Metal Sonic. "Subject: Sonic the Hedgehog. Species: hedgehog. Classification: enemy. Threat level: maximal."

Metal Sonic spoke directly to Silver Sonic II, "The object inhibiting your vision has caused a malfunction in your identification system. I am not Sonic the Hedgehog. I am Metal Sonic, a more recent model of you. The real Sonic the Hedgehog is currently combating Dr. Eggman in an area northwest of here. Do not bother yourself with killing this insignificant organism. Follow your programming and assist Dr. Eggman in destroying Sonic the Hedgehog."

Silver Sonic II said, "Initiate advanced combat protocol." A jagged razorblade extended along the right side of Silver Sonic II's right forearm.

Metal Sonic lamented, "He does not listen well." He turned to address Amy. "Do not fear. He is incomplete. He is the second model of Silver Sonic, my first prototype. Dr. Eggman built him as a replacement for the first Silver Sonic, but he was scrapped after Eggman designed the original Mecha Sonic. His strength and density surpass mine, but I am faster and smarter than he. Like me, he does not have a personality or sense of emotion, but by the looks of him, I would assume that he has not yet been given proper logic and self-awareness programming. He is capable only of simplistic, combat-based thinking. I will obliterate him with ease."

Amy wanted to talk to Metal Sonic. She wanted to ask why he was doing this. She was overflowing with curiosity. Unfortunately, she was in too much pain. Regardless, she managed a single word, "Why?"

Metal Sonic did not answer her question. He only repeated, "Do not fear, Ms. Rose. He shall cause you no further harm."

Silver Sonic II rocketed toward Metal Sonic with its right arm at the ready. Metal Sonic flew at Silver Sonic II with equal speed. Metal Sonic aimed for Silver Sonic II's blind spot, and he performed an experimental uppercut to Silver Sonic II's jaw. Like Metal Sonic expected, the uppercut had virtually no effect. Silver Sonic II countered by backhanding at Metal Sonic. This backhand was accompanied by the razorblade in Silver Sonic II's arm. Metal Sonic advanced further into Silver Sonic II's blind spot in an attempt to dodge the attack, but Silver Sonic II's blade still managed to slice off Metal Sonic's right arm. Metal Sonic kept his footing as he skidded onto the ground. The blue robot's automatic repair system reconstructed his right arm. Metal Sonic had cleverly positioned himself in Silver Sonic II's blind spot, so Silver Sonic II did not find him until it turned its head. By that time, Metal Sonic's right arm had been fully rebuilt. Metal Sonic armed the laser guns in both of his arms, and he shot a barrage of lasers at Silver Sonic II. Again, the attack had no effect. Metal Sonic's speculation was correct. Silver Sonic II was too heavily armored to be destroyed by any of his normal attacks. He would have to get creative.

Metal Sonic looked around the area. Although the roof of the upper half of the Egg Narwhal had collapsed when the airship crashed, many of the metal walls from the upper half were still standing to an extent. Silver Sonic II rushed toward Metal Sonic again, but Metal Sonic jumped out of the way. Metal Sonic landed in front of the remains of the thickest wall in the immediate vicinity. He took a firm stance there. Silver Sonic II crushed the ground where Metal Sonic had been standing. Metal Sonic was no longer making an effort to remain hidden in the silver automaton's blind spot, so Silver Sonic II located him immediately. Silver Sonic II wasted no time in attacking Metal Sonic with another high-velocity assault. Metal Sonic leaped over the metal wall behind him. Silver Sonic II punched the wall where Metal Sonic had been. The wall was severely dented by the impact, but Silver Sonic II's attack did not go through it because of its thickness. Instead, Silver Sonic II's fist got stuck in the metal wall. Metal Sonic flew away from the wall. Then, he flew toward it at maximum speed. He hit the back of the wall, which fell over on top of Silver Sonic II. Metal Sonic landed next to the collapsed wall and said, "That should finish him."

Amy smiled. Her vision was still blurry and her awareness fading, so she could not see the details of the fight. Nevertheless, she was clinging to consciousness desperately to watch the outcome of the fight that could determine whether or not her life would end today. When Metal Sonic cleverly crushed Silver Sonic II, all Amy could do was smile.

Her smile did not last. The silver automaton broke through the wall that was crushing it. Its automatic repair system was mending the damage done to its body. Silver Sonic II noticed that its battery was dying. It needed to recharge. Silver Sonic II's remaining eye detected a suitable energy source within "Sonic the Hedgehog."

Silver Sonic II rushed toward Amy. The helpless hedgehog winced and closed her eyes. However, again her death did not come. She opened them, and Silver Sonic II was directly in front of her with its sharpened right arm sticking down into Metal Sonic's torso. Silver Sonic II announced, "Recharge protocol initiate." Silver Sonic II raised Metal Sonic into the air. A thin pipe extended from the left side of Silver Sonic II's right arm. The pipe injected itself into Metal Sonic's glowing, spherical power core, and it began to drain his energy. A tear dripped down Amy's face. This was exactly like when Metal Sonic died while fighting Saturn. Amy could not bear to watch this again, yet she could not bear to close her eyes.

"Do not fear, Ms. Rose," Metal Sonic said, much to Amy's surprise. "I will admit that I underestimated him. His logic skills are more advanced than I anticipated. He has information about the relationships between Sonic and his friends in his database. He has mistaken me for Sonic, so he predicted that I would interfere if he attacked you. Apparently, his personality is not as incomplete as I thought either. He has been programmed with a single personality trait: cruelty."

Amy coughed, and she managed to say, "You—don't have to do this—for me…"

Metal Sonic responded, "Yes, I do." The blue robot activated the laser gun in his right arm, and he shot Silver Sonic II's left eye. The silver robot was now completely blinded, but its automatic repair was fixing this problem. However, before Silver Sonic II could recover, Metal Sonic used his left hand to grab the head of Amy's Piko Piko Hammer, which was still lodged in Silver Sonic II's face. Metal Sonic removed the hammer from Silver Sonic II's head by ripping it through the right half of the silver automaton's visage. Then, Metal Sonic shot Silver Sonic II's left eye again after it repaired to blind his foe once more. Metal Sonic grabbed the razorblade on Silver Sonic II's right forearm, and he yanked it away from the silver appendage. He used the blade to slice off Silver Sonic II's right arm to stop the automaton from draining his power core. Then, he completely decapitated Silver Sonic II before its face could be reconstructed. Silver Sonic II's automatic repair system was now trying to wholly rebuild its head and right arm. While the system was still working, Metal Sonic used the razorblade to cut a massive gash along Silver Sonic II's torso. He switched the laser gun on his arm to rapid-fire, and he shot a barrage of lasers at the exposed wirings and mechanisms inside of Silver Sonic II's chest. The automaton's robotic innards burst into a series of explosions. Its automatic repair system had finished rebuilding its head and arm, but it was now working to repair the massive amount of damage done to its chest and internal mechanisms. Unfortunately for Silver Sonic II, Metal Sonic's lasers were destroying its internal machineries faster than the automatic repair system could fix them. Silver Sonic II used the last of its spare parts. Metal Sonic continued to shoot until the silver juggernaut fell to its knees and collapsed.

Metal Sonic disarmed his laser gun. The fight was done. Amy relaxed. She allowed herself to slip further into unconsciousness. There was a bright light. Metal Sonic picked her up hurriedly and carried her away from it at high speed. The light was getting more intense, but they continued to fly away from it. Amy fell asleep.