Because We're Sonic Heroes
Chapter 24: What I'm Made of
Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles stood in a far safer area, only able to watch as the other three teams battled hard to buy them some time, holding off Metal Sonic's transformation until an opportune moment to strike presented itself. Tails and Knuckles were on edge, shifting around anxiously waiting for their turn to battle as well, but Sonic simply had his back turned, hand rubbing the back of his neck while lost in thought.
"This is all my fault…"
"What's your fault, Sonic?" Tails asked, hearing the words that Sonic had accidentally spoken aloud. Sonic knew he was cornered and wouldn't be able to shirk away his response… so he sighed and turned to Tails.
"I mean this whole disaster…I'm the one Metal was really after, and everyone else, even Eggman and creatures like Froggy and Chocola, were dragged into this…"
"You can't blame yourself for that," Knuckles scoffed. "He was programmed to go after you, and designed to try and replace you. It's his fault that he took the guise of the one man everyone despises and is the number one target for butt kicking!"
"Maybe…but that's just it! Everyone, even us, was pulled in by Metal's trick…and as we speak, they're fighting just to give us a better chance at fighting. Who's going to give them a better chance?"
"They just want to help too," Tails defended. "They didn't come all this way just to sit on the sidelines, just like us!"
"Erm, we're on the sidelines right now," Knuckles pointed out with a cough. Tails gave him a look.
"You know what I meant." He turned to face Sonic again, arms folded and looking prominent. "Look Sonic, there's no way you could've defeated Metal Sonic by yourself. Everyone's fighting together so you don't have to give yourself up for us. The only way to stop Metal is to hit him either with combo attacks or a simultaneous strike by at least three people. You by yourself, even as Super Sonic, couldn't take him down alone…"
"I don't want to put anyone else in the way of danger for me though," Sonic protested, clenching his fists. "I…I almost lost you two, and I don't want to put you in danger again…you warned me about Eggman's letter and I dragged you two into it…regardless of what you say, if either of you two get hurt out there, I won't be able to forgive myself…"
"It's true I may not have wanted to have come in the first place," started Knuckles, taking a low breath. "But if Tails and I let you fight Metal Sonic alone, we won't be able to forgive ourselves…"
Tails was only able to nod in agreement before the whole fortress began to shake, upon the launch of Metal Sonic into the storm above. Sonic deterred from the current conversation to groan at the turn of events.
"Great, even Metal can fly…but regardless, I guess it's time for us to kick it into high gear, eh?"
The three of them proceeded to nod, Sonic extending out his fist in preparation to transform. Tails placed his hand over his, and Knuckles plunked his massive palm on the top.
Things seemed to spin around the triple threat as the Chaos Emeralds themselves were spinning. They swirled around the trio, slowly but surely giving the group their powers just for this occasion. Eventually, Sonic could feel the Chaos Energy bursting within him, so he crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and released it all in one go. He shot up from the ground like a firework, hovering a small distance above the others. He spread his arms out just as a golden glow coursed over him, raising his quills so they were pointed upward. His eyes shot open to reveal ruby red irises, reflecting the immense power gifted to him. Sonic's powers extended to Tails and Knuckles, Tails looking overcome with the supremacy while Knuckles easily accepted it and was just ready to go.
Super Sonic turned to his just as super friends to see if they were ready, and once they confirmed it, they flew off to confront the Metal Overlord once and for all.
. . .
"Long time no see, Sonic…my loathsome copy…" Metal Overlord greeted the team once they were within distance. The Super team continued to advance toward the monstrosity, with Sonic simply smirking.
"Long time, indeed…did it take a few years to recover from your last butt kicking from me?"
"Of course not. I was placed into unfortunate circumstances…but in that time, I have been able to formulate this flawless plan to exterminate you and take over what should be mine!"
"If this plan was flawless, we wouldn't be about to blast you to pieces, genius," Knuckles scoffed. "Seriously, I think you should've tried harder to get rid of us."
"Don't give him any ideas, Knuckles!" Tails winced, lighting and thunder in the background choosing the wrong time to announce their presence. Metal threw his head back and chortled, beginning to charge up a powerful beam.
"Well, in that case, allow me to give you a taste of what I'm here for…HRRRAAAAGH!"
In a dramatic display, Metal lurched forward and fired the beam, a highly concentrated amount of bright blue power aimed at the trio.
…And rather than casually dodging out of the way at the speed of light, Sonic flew right into it, coming out the other side completely unscathed, if not feeling a bit stronger.
"Well, Metal, you were right. Great idea!"
Tails and Knuckles snickered as Metal threw an angry fit, rapidly firing the blasts in the form of small bursts. Once again, Team Sonic barreled through them all, shattering through them like glass and gaining power from it.
"Hey," Tails realized. "If we increase our strength just enough, we'll be able to combine our powers and strike together!"
"That was the plan all along, no?" Sonic asked with a wink.
"Yup, but now Metal's practically handing us his defeat!" laughed Knuckles.
"Just keep blasting through his Crystal Attacks," Tails explained. "…since he apparently hasn't caught onto the fact that it's helping us more than hurting."
The trio barreled through three more Crystal Attacks, building up enough power to really do some damage to Metal. Tails charged, Knuckles charged, and Sonic charged, performing a Super team blast that involved all three homing in on Metal and attacking everywhere they could strike. Just as Tails had predicted, not even Metal could stand up to the triple power of a trinity strike, falling through the clouds with a defeated roar.
Knuckles gaped and scratched his head.
"Um, there is no way that could be the end already…"
"I dunno," shrugged Sonic. "He already seems easier than Perfect Chaos, and I only had to strike Chaos like, six times!"
"Do you really think a Mad Metal Overlord is going to go down that easily?" Tails questioned, pointing down at the thunder clouds where Metal had descended. He rose back up, an entire fleet ship in his hand, and hurled it at the group, the three of them splitting up and avoiding the craft soaring straight at them. Knuckles whistled.
"Yikes- he can pluck aircrafts out of the sky and chuck them at us? They look like twigs compared to him!"
"And meteors compared to us!" cried Tails.
"Just relax guys," Sonic assured, floating around and waiting for another opportunity to open up. "He can't hurt us if we just focus! If we can dodge massive ships and punch through blasts, we might as well be able to do anything!"
Tails and Knuckles silently agreed, with Metal glaring at them in the background.
"Sonic…I was created for the sole purpose of destroying you…I am the ultimate weapon of destruction!"
"So, wait…you were referring to yourself in that letter you sent us?" Sonic asked. "Wow, and people say my ego is big."
"Because it is," Knuckles butted in.
"No matter what I've tried, whether because of Eggman's constant failures getting in the way or whatever else, I can never seem to defeat you! That is why I transformed my own body, with my own hands!"
"And you're calling me a copy of a robot who looks absolutely nothing like me at all aside from the color? Yeah, nothing's wrong with that picture," grumbled Sonic.
"You can transform into the ultimate weapon and Sonic will defeat you anyway, especially with his friends helping him!" exclaimed Tails. "You'll end up back on your knees and begging for mercy, beaten by Sonic once again!"
"Not this time! That will change tonight! Once you and your friends are out of my way forever, I'll restore the Egg Fleet and continue my conquest!"
"Good to see that robots can have aspirations," Knuckles sighed.
"Hey, Omega's is apparently to wipe out Eggman's robots," pointed out Sonic. "We'll help him out by turning this one into a tin can!"
Metal launched more Crystal Attacks, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles absorbing the power from all of them. However, Metal then launched spines from his back, causing the heroes to quickly maneuver out of the way. However, this distracted them from the real threat, which was spikes flying out of Metal's hands. One struck Knuckles and encased him in a crystalline prison.
"What the- that was cheap!" Knuckles roared, punching from the inside of the prison. Tails saw more hand spikes coming their way and grabbed Sonic, performing Thunder Shoot to knock the spiny missiles out of the sky.
"Good work, Tails," Sonic said, giving a hard kick to the back of Knuckles' encasement to free him. "Nice use of Thunder Shoot!"
"It was more instinct than anything, but thanks!"
"He's going to pay!" Knuckles roared, starting to fly at Metal in a blind rage. Sonic rolled his eyes, grabbed Knuckles, and reeled him back in.
"We don't have enough power yet, Knux. All we have to do is counter his attacks instead of directly going after him, and then you can get him back."
Knuckles nodded and once again waited for Metal to strike, who luckily for them didn't take very long at all. After absorbing more energy, Sonic lead the next attack on Metal, the super-powered gang striking all Metal's weak spots and beating him further.
"Here we come again! You guys ready?" Sonic smirked, a bright spark in stark contrast to the pitch black sky, only illuminated by the lethal lightning bolts that struck ceaselessly.
"Of course!" exclaimed Tails.
"We're with you 'til the end!" Knuckles shouted triumphantly.
"And the end is closer than you think!" roared Metal Overlord. Metal dipped into the clouds once more and flipped up another ship, but instead of dodging, Knuckles flew in front of the group and slammed his fist into the huge hunk of metal hurdling at them. His fist shattered it upon contact, which slightly surprised Metal.
"Hmm, you and your friends are strong, to be sure…but not as strong as I've become! MY transformation guarantees me victory!"
"Hmph," scoffed Sonic, not at all amused by Metal's aggrandizement. "You actually thought you could defeat me, by turning into a monster? ! I've defeated 'monsters' far worse than you by a long shot!"
The trio powered through more Crystal and Spine Attacks, as Metal continued to deride and degrade them in the process.
"But that was the past, with all of your previous victories, including that first one against me…but now, you're just a speck of dust to me!"
"Ah, a speck of gold dust, to be specific!" snickered Sonic. "Much more valuable, and a much more accurate description!"
"Clearly Metal's only obsessed with Sonic, as to be expected," Knuckles realized.
"Same as ever," Tails chuckled nervously. "But, he can't help that he was programmed that way. Obviously, giving a robot the goal of destruction eventually manifests into hatred! It's actually pretty interesting!"
"Now's not the time to whip out blue prints and look into this further- we've got more crystal what's-it's to crash."
"Right, right."
They assisted Sonic in barreling through three more Crystal Attacks, which was enough to grant them a third Team Blast.
"Ready anytime!" Sonic exclaimed, gesturing forward at Metal. Tails and Knuckles exchanged a nod and blasted forward first, Sonic being the one to trail behind them. Once again they weakened Metal, Metal really starting to feel worn down now.
"No…my defeat will not be at your hand…my defeat will be at no one's hand!" Metal howled, absolutely enraged now and farther from morality than he'd ever been. He threw two fleet ships at the crew, both of which Knuckles deflected. He unleashed a storm of spines onto them, only for them to be shot down by Tails. When he made the mistake of using his Crystal Attack again, it only gave Sonic another opportunity to kick his butt.
"Blast away!" Sonic yelled, striking like lightning against Metal. Tails and Knuckles let out battle cries as well, flying right into Metal, and Tails even threw himself into Metal's face. The robot elicited a howl of extreme proportions, irritating the ears of the heroes and all their friends waiting back on the Final Fortress.
"Metal certainly is a piece of work…" Tails trailed afterward, seeing that Metal still wasn't down for the count.
"Of course I am…" Metal susurrated lowly, rising above the trio with a disgruntled air about him. "I was Doctor Eggman's prized creation…but once I lost to Sonic on more than one occasion, he scraped me…and Sonic himself, always striving to prove he was better than me…"
"Nuh-uh," protested Sonic. "I don't like the thought of there being something trying to be me as much as you do!"
"There you go again, trying to put us on even ground…we are not on even ground! I am the one that's better- I am Sonic!"
"And there you go again with your false beliefs," sighed Sonic, shaking his head. "I don't care what you're thinking as you turn to me, because what I have in my two hands is enough to set me free!"
He spread his arms out and released a surge of energy, his aura and the aura of Tails and Knuckles beginning to glow brighter. Tails and Knuckles quickly flew next to Sonic, ready to attack if necessary. Metal just sneered and hurled another warship at them.
"I was held back form my true purpose for so long…I suppose I could fight the feeling to resist going after you, over time…but when it's just too much to take, I'm sure you'd do what I did and sneak up from behind!"
"Yeah, that was a dirty trick," hissed Knuckles, punching right through the warship as it flew at him. "Disguising yourself as Eggman just to draw attention to yourself…"
"And so he could copy our data," Tails added with a frown.
"Lot of good it's done him, hasn't it?"
Metal didn't even bother to reply, opting to launch several devastating spines at the two of them, hoping to punish them for their doubt. Tails saw them coming and instantly grabbed Knuckles, throwing him at the projectiles with Thunder Shoot and knocking them out of the sky. Sonic saw him preparing to fire more spines, so he flew in front of his friends and scorned back at his doppelganger.
"You leave them alone!" he shouted, ready to take the attack if needed. "It's me you say you're looking for, so why'd you drag everyone else into this mess? Wasn't getting rid of me, rebelling against Eggman, and taking over the world enough for you? Why do more work than necessary?"
"Your defeat wasn't enough for me!" Metal roared in return. He continued with a second spine attack and Sonic found himself being used for Thunder Shoot along with Knuckles once again. "Robots are seen as nothing but tool for you organic creatures…can you blame me of being tired of taking failing orders from Eggman, being defeated by someone like you, whose strength has no comparison to mine…I don't even understand why that Omega sides with the likes of you- destroying others like him along the way…it's disreputable!"
A Crystal Attack emerged out of Metal in his anger, with Sonic swooping forward and taking care of all the blast.
"Millions of faces that I've recognized across this planet…will one by one become a number as they fall! They'll be nothing more than black marks on the floor!"
"Not if we can do anything about it!" Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles cried back, charging up another Team Blast and propelling forward to strike. "Here's another taste of we have in store!"
They flew in to attack Metal, but Metal seemed more amused than worried. In fact, he almost welcomed the attack.
"You can try to reach inside of me…you can try to drain my energy, but you'll never bring me down!"
"This is simple curiosity, but… what makes you so sure that we can't take you down?" Sonic asked, he and his friends buzzing around Metal like golden bees and "stinging" him in everywhere. "I mean, I've done it before, and that was mainly by myself!"
"For the same reason that makes you think you can."
Metal was prepared to elaborate, but a devastating strike to his head by all of them cut him off, and the sound of crunching metal echoed over the sound of the stark raving mad storm. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles just gasped and watched as Metal's head was thrust back, and the several shades of hatred on the robot's expression suddenly became very vivid. He up righted his head, with his eyes even more blazing red that they'd been before, and a feeling of dread washed over all the heroes.
"I…will…CRUSH YOU!"
Metal thundered over to the team, flying down and knocking all three of them away in one swoop. Before the team could recuperate, Metal's eyes began to glow brightly as he spread his arms and shouted, "CHAOS CONTROL!"
"He copied that from Shadow!" yelped Tails.
"Uh, he could've taken it from me too, you know," Sonic huffed.
"He copied a lot of things from you Sonic," Knuckles coughed. "Not to point out the obvious or anything."
"You guys have to be careful!" Espio yelled from below.
"If you're stuck in Chaos Control for too long, the amount of time you have left in your Super transformation will deplete considerably!" cried Rouge.
"It'll go down faster if you take damage and lose rings!" added Amy.
"WHAT!" Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles just about screamed, but they could do nothing to defend against the warped powers of Chaos Control. They were frozen in time, but still able to hear Metal's mechanically maniacal laugher and see him prepare an onslaught of dangerous attacks.
And they could do nothing but stand by and witness it happen.
They succumbed to swoops, ships, spikes, and spheres of crystals, and just as their friends had warned them about, their ring supply and their time in super form were quickly running out. When Chaos Control finally wore off, Team Sonic was just as miffed as Metal was.
"Man, he's got a lot of nerve!" growled Knuckles.
"Is he invincible?" Tails wondered, feeling really weak.
"It's not over yet!" Sonic barked. "I bet one more hit will do it! We just have to charge up and strike before we run out of time!"
"See me as I am! No longer afraid of anything!" boomed Metal, sending out homing spikes again. Tails used Knuckles and Thunder Shoot to fend them off while Sonic grinned dangerously at Metal.
"Dude, that totally means you confess to being afraid of me before!"
"No it doesn't!" hissed Metal, grabbing another ship and throwing it Sonic's way. "I've never had a reason to fear you!"
"Not even after I delivered you a beating in a box with a bow on top?"
"Your childish mocking does not faze me, Sonic! I shall become the ultimate overlord, ruling as the world's most supreme being! Back off now and I won't blow you to pieces…just a smoldering pile of ashes instead!"
"Nah, giving up leaves this really bad taste in my mouth and I just can't stand it. Perhaps I give you a brutal beating instead? It'll be quick, painless, and for the common good of all!"
"Now you're just stalling. Die, you lowly copy of the true original!" Metal bellowed, firing Crystal Shots. Sonic, joined by Tails and Knuckles, plowed right through, shattering through Metal's offense and using it to charge up.
"Why would I stall? I'm about to fall out of the sky at any given moment now," Sonic continued. "If I were you, I'd keep throwing those Crystal Attacks at me so you can hurry the process!"
"You've just sealed your fate. Be honored to fall at my behest!"
"Heh, idiot," chortled Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles simultaneously.
Metal unleashed an overload of crystallized attacks at the group, falling right into the bait and allowing Team Sonic to seal Metal's fate. It didn't take long for them to fully charge up again, but then again, they didn't have much longer to last in their super powered state.
"All right you guys!" Sonic exclaimed, joining hands with his friends. "Let's show this creep what we're made of!"
"With the power of teamwork?" Knuckles asked, raising an eyeridge.
"Exactly!"
"At least it's not the 'power of friends'," Tails mumbled under his breath. "I can totally picture a spinning rainbow."
"Hey, we can throw that in there too, little buddy! Rainbow and all!"
"No! I mean, no, no…teamwork suits us well!"
"Heh, okay then. Ready…"
All three rocketed towards Metal, ready to sock it to him and land the final blow.
"GO!"
The trinity strike nearly paralyzed Metal with how devastating it was, combined with the wearing down done to Metal previously. The blow rattled Metal to his very core, shaking his newly acquired parts loose and causing others to simply begin to implode.
"Noooooo! Why? ! I had it all!" Metal bellowed, no longer able to function properly. He began to tumble out of the storm-filled sky, falling to uncertainty. "I am the ultimate overlord, Metal Sonic! I am the real Sonic!"
"Yes, we did it!" cheered Tails, unable to contain his excitement.
"That was kinda tough," Knuckles said, rubbing his head.
"And we might've brought him down now, but he'll take another try at getting to me…a lifelong try at that," Sonic smirked smugly, fist bumping Tails and giving Knuckles a high five. "It's too bad it's all over, though. I was just starting to have fun!"
He and his team slowly began to descend back down to the fortress' deck. Their radiant super forms were beginning to wear off, but that was all right, because the sky clearing itself of the clouds and revealing a brand new day was bright enough of a sign for everyone.
Well, believe it or not, we've reached the end...and originally I was skeptical about writing this the way I did, but it turned out better than I could've imagined. I'm glad that you guys enjoyed it, and thank you all for your support. ^^
...And it's probably weird to say that this might be the first fully completed Heroes adaption that doesn't involve OCs or anything or the sort. :P