Story 51: His World and Our World
"Look how the mighty have fallen." droned Metal Sonic in his deep, malevolent voice at his captive "You were the sidekick of my very nemesis Sonic the Hedgehog and now you're nothing more then my novelty of amusement Miles Prower. Or should I say Tails since you do not like your real name?"
He cackled tauntingly. Tails had been restrained to the wall by laser cuffs around his wrists and ankles. He was going absolutely nowhere and he knew it. Metal Sonic had been very pleased with the fact he had captured Sonic the Hedgehog's sidekick and now he was free to do as he saw fit with him. Tails was not impressed with Metal Sonic's gloating at all, he just remained tight lipped and took the gloats. He noticed Dr. Eggman all locked up in his cage and looking very cramped indeed.
"So I take it you're not in charge anymore Dr. Eggman?" asked Tails.
"Correct." said Dr. Eggman "Metal Sonic that blasted piece of machinery thought it was funny to betray me, make the world into his image and reduce me to his little pet! I've spent the last two days in this cage and I think I'm beginning to get rheumatism!"
He rubbed his back tenderly, suggesting it ached what with being stuck in a sat-down position for so long.
"Your voice is not needed to be heard right now Eggman." snapped Metal Sonic "I'm trying to have a conversation with a worthy person."
Dr. Eggman just shut up and began to grumble to himself. Metal Sonic turned his attention back to Tails.
"I never thought you would end up attempting to try and undo all I've done for this world." he droned "I would have thought with Sonic the Hedgehog gone, your spirit would have diminished into a flickering flame that is on the verge of being blown out."
"Shows how much you know." grumbled Tails "With or without Sonic, I'll do what I must to ensure Mobius' peace and freedom returns once again!"
"And how do you plan to do that in your position?" purred Metal Sonic, grabbing Tails by the face and jamming his face into Tails'. Metal Sonic's sharp, pointed nose prodded Tails in his nose "You're completely restrained, there's no one to help you and the skunk fighter has deserted you, you have no hope of bringing peace and prosperity back to Mobius little boy."
Tails was about to retort back but he stopped himself. He had no comeback to give to Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic was completely right. There was no one to help him, Geoffrey had left him and he was bound to the wall. There was no way he could possibly turn Mobius back to normal. Defeated, Tails closed his mouth and stared down at the floor. If Metal Sonic had a mouth, he would probably be smiling right now. Metal Sonic lifted his face away from Tails and he began to chuckle darkly.
"Why is it a defeated hero is such an amusing novelty?" he said darkly "Maybe it's because they aren't being so irksome with their witty comebacks and combat moves."
"I can't believe I'm saying this Dr. Eggman." said Tails, looking over to Dr. Eggman, who was squatting in his cage and sulking to himself "But I think I preferred it when you were the only threat we had to deal with."
"You're only saying that because I'm manageable to you!" snapped Dr. Eggman "You can find a way to foil my schemes but when Metal Sonic tries to take over Mobius, you think it's all over! You must really think little of me Tails!"
"Dr. Eggman, if I hear your voice again then I'll have to eviscerate you in front of the prisoner." said Metal Sonic coldly "Silence yourself and don't talk again!"
Dr. Eggman shut up again and he folded his arms and pouted. Metal Sonic turned back to Tails.
"Now little fox, it's time I had some fun now." he purred in a cruel, sadistic tone.
"You're not gonna torture me like you tortured Cosmo are you?" asked Tails nervously.
"No." said Metal Sonic "I'm going to torture you differently to how I tortured the Seedrian filth. With the Seedrian, I was physical, with you, I'll let your binds do it for me."
He pressed a button on the wall and Tails' laser cuffs began to electrocute the poor fox with a jolt of electricity. The electricity surged up Tails' tiny body and the eight year old fox cub howled in pain. His screams echoed around the room and Metal Sonic just laughed with amusement. The tyrannical Sonic double was clearly enjoying watching Tails suffer from his evil wrath. He began to wonder what it would have been like if he was torturing Sonic the Hedgehog, his most primary nemesis instead of his twin-tailed friend instead. Metal Sonic pressed the button and the laser cuffs stopped electrocuting Tails. Tails began to gasp heavily and his head flopped down.
"What is with you…Metal Sonic?" he gasped "You've…remoulded Mobius…in your image! Is that not enough for you? You…have to…torture people…for you own amusement now?"
"Oh Tails, see it from my optics." droned Metal Sonic "I'm ruler of Mobius with my city and my servants, Mobians slave away for me and I have no opposition because Sonic doesn't exist. I have nothing to occupy myself with so I'm allowing you Mobians to live alongside my clone army so I may have some entertainment."
Tails was livid with shock.
"Entertainment?" he shrieked "You mean the only reason we're alive is because you're holding back enough for us to live? And the only reason you're letting us live is so you can entertain yourself with us?"
"Affirmative." droned Metal Sonic "I could easily erase you Mobians from existence with Eggman's Egg-Timer machine but then what would I do to keep myself entertained? You're nothing but toys for me little fox. All you Mobians are my items of amusement and once I'm bored of you Mobians, I'll just wipe you from existence and then make a new bunch of Mobians for me to toy around with Egg-Timer's unique and unfathomable power. And the best part is that no one has the power to stand against me. Anyone who steps out of line will just get erased, simple as."
Tails felt sick to the stomach after hearing what Metal Sonic had to say. He couldn't believe how evil Eggman's robot Sonic clone had become since the change. The Mobians were just toys for Metal Sonic now? How sick and twisted was this robot? Even Dr. Eggman was impressed at what Metal Sonic had said.
"I must say, I never knew Metal Sonic was THAT evil!" he blurted "I'm impressed Metal Sonic! You sound an awful lot like me you do! There's more of me in you then I thought!"
"That is why I am superior." gloated Metal Sonic, pointing sharply at Dr. Eggman "I have the body of a robot, the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog, the strength of many and the intelligence and evil of you Eggman. All this combined makes me the most powerful robot ever created and it's exactly those traits that have earned me my power and my robot kingdom which no one will ever be able to stop."
"So you think Metal Sonic!" exclaimed Tails "Someone will stop you and set things right and then you'll be sorry!"
"You are the one who will be sorry young one." droned Metal Sonic coldly.
He pressed the button on the wall and Tails soon found himself being electrocuted once again. His pained screams filled the room as electricity surged through him like a lightening rod…
Geoffrey St. John, Wilson the Dog and Mandy Mouse had all crept out of their hiding place down the sewers and closed the lid behind them as quietly as they could as they didn't want to make a noise and get themselves found out. The three Mobians began to creep as quietly as they possibly could through the metal streets of Metal Sonic's kingdom. They crouched down beside a dumpster behind a building and remained hidden as a bunch of Metal Sonic clones began to march by. The sight of so many Metal Sonic clones began to make Wilson shiver with fright. Just one Metal Sonic was bad enough but an ENTIRE ARMY of Metal Sonics was just too much. Wilson stopped looking at the marching Metal Sonic army and he sat down with his back against the wall, trying to calm down. Mandy just put her hand on his shoulder and the dog relaxed.
"Oh thanks Mandy. I needed that." said Wilson happily.
"That's what I'm here for Wilson, to drown out your fears and rise up your courage." said Mandy "So skunk boy, do we have a plan?"
"You bet your tail I do." said Geoffrey "With this bunch of EMP bombs we have, we're gonna bomb the clones guarding the palace, then we're gonna bomb Silver Sonic before he can stop us from reaching Metal Sonic and once we reach Metal Sonic, we bomb him and then we find the machine Metal Sonic used to change time and reset everything back to the way it was."
"And since these EMP bombs can take out machines of any kind, Metal Sonic is toast!" said Mandy, full of determination "When do we start?"
"When I give the command." said Geoffrey "Wait here."
He crept to the other side of the building and looked both ways. There was nothing on his left and on his right he just saw the Metal Sonic clones marching towards the Palace of Steel. Directly from behind would be the perfect time to strike. Geoffrey pulled an EMP bomb out of the bag he had around his shoulder and he tossed the bomb at the army of Metal Sonic clones. The bomb landed just behind the back of the line and shortly after landing, the bomb went off, sending a huge electromagnetic pulse sweeping through the clones. The clones wailed at the top of their robotic voices as electricity pulsed through their circuits and then they all collapsed in a heap after the shocks were finished. Geoffrey smiled to himself.
"We can start now!" he hissed to Wilson and Mandy.
Wilson and Mandy got to their feet and ran up to the skunk. They peeked around the corner and saw the knocked out squad of Metal Sonic clones that Geoffrey had just bombed.
"That's one effective EMP bomb isn't it?" said Wilson.
"It sure is." said Geoffrey "Metal Sonic doesn't stand a chance against us not while we have these bombs with us. We don't have an awful lot so we'd best keep our bombings to a minimum."
"Right." said Mandy "Let's press forward then, the fate of the world lies in our hands!"
Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy emerged from their hiding place and headed towards the Palace of Steel, the very place Metal Sonic was lurking in and the likely place the three Mobians would find Egg-Timer. As they reached the Palace of Steel, Geoffrey noticed that all the Metal Sonic clones he'd knocked out earlier were still unconscious. Maybe the bomb was more effective then they thought and it actually killed the Metal Sonic clones instead of just knocking them out. The slaves that were slaving away for Metal Sonic saw Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy heading for the Palace of Steel and they began to wonder if they would set things right and fix the world. Queen Sally Acorn and Nicole the Lynx however, weren't so hopeful. Geoffrey and Tails couldn't get through to Metal Sonic so Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy weren't likely to either. Then suddenly, just as Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy were passing them, the Metal Sonic clones began to wake up. Their fearsome red eyes returned to their pitch black visor and they all began to get back to their feet. Sally noticed this and called over to the three Mobians.
"Geoffrey! Look out! The clones are waking up!" she screeched.
Geoffrey stopped dead in his tracks and noticed that like Sally had said, the Metal Sonic clones were all getting back to their feet. Geoffrey plunged his hand into the bag to get another EMP bomb but one of the clones blasted him in the back with its torso laser and knocked him over. Geoffrey dropped the bag and a Metal Sonic clone grabbed it. Sensing what was in the bag was a danger to them, it began to swing the bag around and around as if it was throwing the hammer and then with a mighty swing of the arm, the Metal Sonic clones let go of the bag and the bag hurtled into the air. It flew for one hundred yards before finally falling down and crashing somewhere out of sight. The EMP bombs were lost now, there was no way of defeating the clones without it. Geoffrey cursed his bad luck and he got back to his feet.
"Well mates, I guess we'll have to take these blokes with brute force!" he said, getting into a battle ready stance.
"It sure does seem that way Geoffrey St. John." said Mandy, bending down in a battle ready stance.
"Are you both insane?" shrieked Wilson "We can't take on all those Metal Sonics by ourselves! We couldn't even take one of them down so what hope do we have against an ENTIRE ARMY OF THEM?"
"We're not taking them on, we're merely keeping them back so we can get into the palace." snapped Geoffrey.
"Oh right." said Wilson, pulling a capsule off his belt.
The capsule extended into his trademark spinning blade weapon and he bent down in a battle ready stance. The Metal Sonic clones surrounded the three Mobians and they all prepared to attack. Their claws were bared and they were ready to strike. Wilson struck first by throwing his spinning blade. The double-bladed pole like weapon hurtled like a boomerang through the Metal Sonic clones and any Metal Sonic clone unfortunate enough to be in the path of the spinning blade got sliced in half. The Metal Sonic clones all pounced on Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy but Geoffrey kicked them away and began to cut loose on them. Mandy leaped out of their way in an elegant somersault, leaving the clones to crash into each other. Mandy pulled a bomb off her belt and threw it at the clones. The bomb landed in the middle of their circle and the bomb blew the clones to pieces.
"These guys are a joke!" laughed Mandy "They're not even as strong as the real Metal Sonic!"
"Lucky us I guess!" yelled Wilson as he pushed a Metal Sonic clone away with his spinning blade.
One tried to sneak up behind Wilson but Wilson stabbed behind him with the spinning blade and he stabbed the clone in the torso, killing it instantly. A Metal Sonic clone dropkicked Wilson in the head and sent him sprawling on the floor. Mandy tried to help with a dropkick of her own but the clone caught her leg and threw her into the ground. Geoffrey shot the clone with a dart that stunned the clone and switched it offline. Unfortunately for Geoffrey, a Metal Sonic clone suddenly got the drop on him with a punch to the face. The punch was so hard, Geoffrey's goggles cracked and he landed painfully on his side. Then two clones tried to attack Geoffrey while he was down but Mandy kicked them both away. She helped Geoffrey back onto his feet.
"I think fun time's over Geoffrey old boy." said Mandy "Let's get in the palace before those Metal Sonic clones overwhelm us."
"Funny, I was just thinking the same thing luv." said Geoffrey "Wilson, come on! We're going to the Palace of Steel now!"
"Aw, I was having fun!" muttered Wilson, pushing a Metal Sonic clone away and impaling it through the stomach with his spinning blade weapon.
The three Mobians ran up to the palace doors only to find out they had been closed shut. Geoffrey murmured to himself.
"Dang it!" he cursed "When me and Tails ambushed the place, the EMP bomb opened the doors for us but now Metal Sonic's closed them. I bet we'll have a tough time opening them too."
"I have a sneaky feeling that the doors maybe bomb proof." said Mandy, feeling the thick steel they were made of "And I can't afford to waste any bombs, I only have a handful left and I'll need them all for the fight with Metal Sonic."
"Why don't we climb up there?" asked Wilson.
He pointed up to the balcony that was high up from the ground. Geoffrey looked up at it and thought for a moment.
"That would be a good way in." said Geoffrey "I hope my grappler can reach that high."
He loaded a dart into his arm-mounted crossbow and he fired it up at the balcony. As the dart whizzed up to its target, a rope extended out the back of it. The dart embedded itself directly under the balcony. Geoffrey pulled on the rope to make sure it was nice and tight and he began to climb up the wall with use of the rope. Unfortunately, a bunch of Metal Sonic clones began running up towards the Mobians with their claws bared. Geoffrey looked over his shoulder and gasped.
"Wilson, Mandy! Keep those blokes away while I climb this and then you climb up once I'm on the balcony!" he ordered.
"Roger." said Mandy, leaping up in an elegant somersault and landing foot first on a Metal Sonic clone.
The clone was knocked off its feet and onto its back. Wilson threw his spinning blade at the clones and the spinning blade sliced any clone in its path to pieces. While the dog and mouse kept the clones busy, Geoffrey climbed up and up the wall and closer to the balcony. He just prayed none of the clones would fly up after him or he would be mince meat. The position he was in left him rather vulnerable to attack since he would be unable to fight back as he was holding onto the rope and climbing up it and if any of the Metal Sonic clones snapped his rope, he would fall and have a not very pleasant landing on the hard ground below. Luckily, the Metal Sonic clones seemed keener on attacking Wilson and Mandy then flying up after him and stopping him from reaching the balcony. Down on the ground, Wilson and Mandy were still trying their hardest to keep the Metal Sonic clones away but despite their best efforts, they still kept coming. Metal Sonic had millions of clones after all so no matter how many clones they took down, they just kept coming back. Mandy kicked one clone away and then fell to her knees, panting.
"pant! I dunno about you Wilson but I'm getting worn out!" she gasped.
"I think we should climb up after Geoffrey." said Wilson, pushing a clone away with his weapon "And we'd best be quick or these things will get us."
Wilson turned to the wall and he grabbed the rope. He began to climb up it just as Geoffrey pulled himself onto the balcony. The skunk peered over to see what was happening and was relieved to see Wilson climbing to safety. Mandy began to climb up the rope after Wilson and since she was a very good climber, she began climbing exceptionally quickly in comparison to Geoffrey and Wilson. The Metal Sonic clones looked up at the climbing dog and mouse and they flew up after them. Geoffrey saw what they were doing and he began rapidly firing darts at them to keep them distracted. The darts all pinged harmlessly off every clone Geoffrey hit and the clones glared angrily at the skunk. Two clones flew towards the skunk but Geoffrey was ready for them. He dropkicked one clone on the head and sent it crashing into the other clone and they both began hurtling down to the ground. They whizzed past Mandy and crashed into the wall. Wilson had just made it unto the balcony and Geoffrey helped him climb onto it just as Mandy was reaching the end of the rope. Four Metal Sonic clones charged towards the mouse but Wilson threw his spinning blade at them. The clones knew what the weapon could do so they dodged it and the weapon just boomeranged back to Wilson's hand. The weapon was just a distraction to keep the clones at bay while Mandy made it onto the balcony. Now all three were on the balcony, they could ambush the real Metal Sonic and put an end to this nightmare of a present timeline once and for all.
"Come on mates! Let's go!" ordered Geoffrey, running for it.
"You don't have to tell us twice skunk boy." said Mandy, running after him.
Wilson ran after them both. Even though they didn't know where Metal Sonic could be, they had a feeling he was just around the corner and once they arrived, the heist could begin…
Tails' pained screams suddenly died down to heavy panting as Metal Sonic switched off the electricity again. Metal Sonic had been giving Tails painful shocks all the while Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy had been fighting for their lives and poor Tails was losing the will to live by the second. Metal Sonic could sense that and he didn't want to kill Tails since he was too amusing for him so he decided to hold back and let Tails recover which would take a few days at most. Metal Sonic lifted Tails' head up to his eye level with his claw and he looked him directly in the eye.
"Torturing you has definitely been worth my while little one." he purred evilly "But you are on the verge of joining the millions of deceased people so I am going to be generous enough to hold back and let you live."
"And then…you…will…torture…me again." croaked Tails hoarsely "Why don't you… just…kill me…and…put me…out of…my…misery already…?"
"Because you're too amusing for me to eviscerate." droned Metal Sonic "Of all the Mobians I've had the pleasure of torturing, you are the most amusing. Because you are Sonic's accomplice, harming you gives me a feeling of delight so I will not kill you little one."
"If I were you Metal Sonic I would do it." said Dr. Eggman "You never know when something can go horribly wrong for you and Tails might end up being your end so kill him now and eliminate a potential threat to your power!"
"What I do with my prisoners is of no business concerning yours Eggman so silence yourself and don't talk again." snapped Metal Sonic "You had your chance to be ruler but you messed it up with your incompetence which is why you are at your lowly place former master."
Dr. Eggman said nothing more. He just silenced himself, folded his arms and pouted. Metal Sonic turned back to the tortured Tails.
"Our time together is at an end for now." droned Metal Sonic "I will be back in a few of days to see if you've recovered from your injuries and then I can get the pleasure of inflicting pain on you all over again. For now, I think I'll torture the former queen of Mobotropolis, Sally Acorn I believe her name is…"
"Don't…you…dare hurt Sally!" rasped Tails weakly.
"Why not fleshling?" droned Metal Sonic in an ominous tone of voice "You're in no position to choose what I can and cannot do so you can keep your ignorance to yourself."
Tails decided not to argue back since arguing with the one being who was on top of the world right now was anything but clever. Metal Sonic turned around and began to walk away from Tails but he didn't get far for as the moment he was half-way across the room, Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy all burst in, wielding their weapons and bending down in battle ready stances. This sudden turn of events didn't shake Metal Sonic the slightest, he just stood there and didn't show any signs of surprise or shock. Tails' face brightened at the sight of three familiar faces in the room.
"Stay where you are Metal head!" yelled Geoffrey.
"We're gonna tear you apart and set things right you dictator of a robot!" snarled Mandy, her arm itching to throw the bomb she held in her hand.
Wilson, didn't seem so brave this time though.
"G-g-g-gosh!" he stammered "M-M-Metal Sonic l-l-looks scarier then u-u-usual!"
"I don't remember him looking like that. How did you manage to change your appearance Metal Sonic?" asked Geoffrey.
"I altered my appearance with the time-changing machine." explained Metal Sonic "In this body I am much stronger and more powerful then you can ever imagine. You could not stand to me as plain old Metal Sonic now you will cede to the power of Neo Metal Sonic. Do not try to resist me or I shall vanquish you all with my unfathomable power."
"Big talk Metal Sonic." said Geoffrey in a cocky tone "Is that supposed to make you sound tough?"
"Geoffrey, don't kid around with him!" snapped Mandy "He looks like he's deathly serious and if you rile him he'll disembowel you bit by bit!"
"The mouse girl is correct." droned Metal Sonic "Now my warriors of unwavering valour and spirit, leave my palace and save yourselves the grisly nature of which your deaths will be. If you do not then I will make sure you all suffer worse then my other victims."
He stood to the side so Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy could see the sate of Tails. Tails could only smile weakly at them at best. Geoffrey was absolutely horrified at Tails' state. He looked like he had been roughened up very badly. Seeing Tails' tortured state made Geoffrey feel extremely guilty for leaving him behind to get caught by Silver Sonic earlier.
"What did you do to him?" shrieked Wilson.
"I tortured him and in doing so, hopefully dampened that irksome spirit and determination of his." answered Metal Sonic coldly.
"Oh Tails, I'm so sorry I left you behind mate!" cried Geoffrey "I had no idea that was gonna happen to you! You shouldn't have had to suffer like that! I shouldn't have left without ya…"
"Geoffrey…I understand…why you…left me…" croaked Tails "You…needed backup…and you…didn't have time…to…fetch me…now you…Wilson and Mandy…are here we…can undo…all of Metal…Sonic's evil…"
"Negative." droned Metal Sonic "Skunk boy and his friends will perish by my claws."
"Oh yeah?" snapped Geoffrey "Well let's see about that shall we?"
Geoffrey struck the first blow by firing a dart at Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic caught the dart in his claws and he threw it away.
"You'll need more then primitive stun darts to bring me down skunk boy." gloated Metal Sonic.
"How about this then?" shrieked Mandy.
She threw a bomb straight at Metal Sonic and the bomb blew up in his face. Metal Sonic was surrounded by smoke and Mandy beamed in hope that the bomb would have done some damage to him. But to her horror, the smoke cleared and revealed a very unharmed looking Metal Sonic! Metal Sonic laughed at the Mobian's horrified expressions.
"Did I not mention that I am invulnerable?" he purred "When I altered my appearance, I decided to make myself invulnerable so no one can step to me. All your attempts to eradicate me are futile and if you do not cede to me then I'll kill you all in the grisliest way possible."
"We will never give up!" yelled Wilson, pointing his spinning blade at him "Let's fight!"
Metal Sonic glared icily at his challengers.
"So be it." he snarled coldly "If you're so desperate to join the deceased then I'll be very happy to make that happen."
Then suddenly without warning, Metal Sonic leaped into the air and spun around while snarling a vicious robotical snarl. He landed between Wilson and Geoffrey and he did a split kick, hitting them both on the side of their heads and knocking them other. Mandy landed a kick on Metal Sonic's shoulder but he swatted at her, sending her cart wheeling in midair and then he punched her in the stomach, sending her crashing into the wall just beside the bound up Tails. To Metal Sonic's bad luck though, she hit the control panel and her back hit the off button. Tails' laser cuffs switched off and the tortured fox fell to the floor with a heavy thump. Mandy picked herself up and smiled.
"Tails, you're free! Now you can help us fight Metal Sonic!" she exclaimed happily.
Tails looked up weakly at Mandy.
"Mandy Mouse?" he croaked "It can't be…I…thought Dr. Eggman said…he'd…killed you."
"Well he lied about my death." said Mandy, glaring angrily at the caged Dr. Eggman.
Eggman just smiled nervously at the mouse. Mandy turned back to Tails.
"All the time I've been out of action, I've been in some machine but Wilson freed me from it." explained Mandy "If you're wondering how I got captured in the first place, I was nabbed by a Tranz-Mat robot while we were fighting Metal Sonic the first time he was unleashed*."
"I…remember those…Tranz-Mat bots…" said Tails, bitterly remembering the circus park ploy he wished to forget about** "They shoot a transmat…beam at you…and they teleport…you…to Dr…Eggman."
"Yes they do." said Mandy "I'll deal with the fat man later, we have a world to set right and a Metal Sonic to deal with. Come on Tails. Let's destroy that metal monster once and for all."
Tails tired to get back to his feet. He lifted his upper body off the floor with his arms but his strength quickly gave-way and he slumped back on the floor. He tried to lift himself up again but given how much he had been tortured, he had little to no strength left in him. He slumped on the floor again. Mandy could sense Tails needed help so she tried to lift Tails up herself. She helped Tails to get up onto his feet but the moment the fox was stood up, he slumped against the wall and fell down onto his bottom.
"I…can't get…up." said Tails weakly "I'm…too weak…from…torture…to do…so."
"That's inconvenient." said Mandy "We could use all the help we can get in here and you can't help us. Oh well, I guess it's up to me, Geoffrey and Wilson to save the day."
Then suddenly Wilson was sent flying into Mandy and he knocked the mouse clean off her feet and onto her tummy. They both landed in a heap just in front of Tails whose eyes widened in surprise. Wilson got back to his feet and he lunged at Metal Sonic with his spinning blade in hand. Metal Sonic smacked Wilson in the face and sent him crashing into the floor. Geoffrey leaped in with a kick to the face but that attack only made Metal Sonic stagger. The attack didn't seem to have hurt him at all. Metal Sonic clawed at Geoffrey and the skunk ducked before he could hit him. Metal Sonic narrowly nicked him across his hair. Geoffrey then retaliated with an uppercut to the chin but all that did was give Geoffrey a sore fist due to how hard Metal Sonic's armour was. Metal Sonic kneed Geoffrey in the gut and then he pushed him down onto the floor. He grabbed the skunk by his tail and swung him into the wall. Geoffrey hit the wall very sharply and a wave of pain swept over his back and shoulders. The skunk slid slowly down to the floor and he groaned hoarsely. Wilson then sneaked up behind Metal Sonic and he stabbed at Metal Sonic's waist cloak with the spinning blade. In doing so, he embedded the blade into the floor and ended up trapping Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic pulled on his waist cloak but the blade kept him held firmly in place. However it didn't work for long. Metal Sonic grabbed the weapon and yanked it out of the floor, freeing himself. Then he threw it at Wilson. The deadly double-bladed pole like weapon spun towards Wilson and the frightened dog yelped and ducked to avoid getting hit by it. The blade missed him and it hit the wall. It fell to the floor with a clatter and Wilson grabbed it double quick. He ran up to Metal Sonic and stabbed at his chest but the moment he did, the blade shattered against his armour. Since Metal Sonic was invulnerable, no weapon of any kind would work on him. Metal Sonic laughed at him and he viciously punched Wilson in the face. Mandy dropkicked Metal Sonic in the back and knocked him over. Before Metal Sonic could get back to his feet, Mandy place a bomb on his back and the bomb went off. The bomb didn't harm Metal Sonic but it surrounded him in smoke so he was unable to see where anyone was. Seizing their chance, Wilson and Mandy both attack Metal Sonic with a pair of kicks to the head. And to add to it all, Geoffrey kicked Metal Sonic in the face just as the smoke cleared. Metal Sonic landed on his back and skidded across the floor. Despite all that, he still looked as good as new and completely unharmed. Metal Sonic leaped into the air and spun around like a drill bit. He walloped Mandy and Geoffrey while spinning but he missed Wilson since the dog leaped out of his way. Metal Sonic landed back on his feet and charged straight into Wilson. He elbowed the dog in the gut, grabbed him by the front of his combat suit and tossed him into the ceiling. Wilson hit the ceiling head first and came falling down to the floor. Metal Sonic leaped up and kicked him before he could hit the floor. Wilson was sent rolling across the floor and he came to a stop just inches away from a wall. Mandy got furious and she punched Metal Sonic in the face. The punch did no damage whatsoever to Metal Sonic. In fact, he didn't appear to have felt it. He just stood there as if Mandy hadn't touched him. Mandy immediately flinched and sweat-dropped fearfully as Metal Sonic glared at her. Metal Sonic leaped in the air and spun around like a spinning top. He spread his legs out so he could kick anyone stupid enough to be near him. Mandy tried to run away but Metal Sonic clopped her in the back of the head with his spinning kick. Geoffrey pile-dived Metal Sonic from behind and brought Metal Sonic crashing into the floor. Geoffrey grabbed Metal Sonic's arm and forced it behind the insidious Sonic duplicate's back. He then motioned for Wilson and Mandy to leap on Metal Sonic while he was down. The dog and mouse obeyed and they piled on top of Metal Sonic. The plan was to keep him pinned down while Geoffrey tried to find a vulnerable point on Metal Sonic to fire a dart at. Geoffrey considered shooting him in the neck since the neck was always a vulnerable point so Geoffrey aimed his crossbow at Metal Sonic's neck. Unfortunately, before the skunk could fire, Metal Sonic got back to his feet with the Mobians still clinging onto him, yanked his arm out of Geoffrey's grasp, grabbed Mandy by the neck and yanked her off, grabbed Wilson by the mouth with his other hand and threw them across the room. Geoffrey began desperately pounding on Metal Sonic's visor in an attempt to blind the insidious metal monster but despite his hardest pounds, he couldn't so much as crack the visor. Metal Sonic snarled furiously and threw Geoffrey into a wall. Geoffrey hit the wall and slid down to the floor. Metal Sonic lunged at Geoffrey only to get tackled from the side by Wilson. Wilson stabbed at Metal Sonic's neck with the only remaining blade on his spinning blade but he missed and hit the floor instead. Metal Sonic grabbed the blade and snapped it in two. Now Wilson's spinning blade was absolutely useless since both blades were broken. Wilson freaked and ran away but Metal Sonic blasted him with his torso laser and knocked him off his feet. Wilson skidded painfully across the floor and came to a halt on the balcony. Metal Sonic laughed ominously as Wilson tried to pick himself up. Mandy threw yet another bomb at Metal Sonic but Metal Sonic caught it and threw it away. Mandy ran up to Metal Sonic and Metal Sonic punched at her but Mandy ducked, skidded right through in between Metal Sonic's legs and kicked him in the back of the leg. That made Metal Sonic kneel down and Mandy kicked him furiously in the head. The kick was so hard, Metal Sonic's head shot forward and hit the floor with a vicious clang. That seemed to have fazed Metal Sonic a little but he quickly recovered. Mandy planted another bomb on his back so she could distract him and attack him before the smoke cleared. The bomb went off but Metal Sonic knew what was going to happed so he back-flipped out of the cloud of smoke just as Mandy leaped in with a karate style kick. Mandy was a little baffled to see her sneak attack failed and before she knew it, she was spin-dashed by Metal Sonic. Mandy skidded very painfully across the floor and came to a halt in the middle of it with a heavy groan. Geoffrey started firing darts rapidly at Metal Sonic but they all just pinged harmlessly off his armour. Metal Sonic and Geoffrey then lunged for each other, yelling loudly as they did.
Tails had watched the whole fight with despair, knowing that this fight was going to end very badly for the Mobians. He had to do something and fast but he couldn't join in the fight, he was much too weak. But he could undo Metal Sonic's evil. If only he knew where Egg-Timer was! That was when Tails looked at Dr. Eggman he had an idea. He pulled himself weakly away from the wall and he crawled feebly towards the caged Dr. Eggman. Geoffrey whizzed right over Tails' head as he crawled towards Dr. Eggman and crashed into a wall. Tails made an "Oooh, that's gotta hurt!" face and continued to crawl. He crawled ever so slowly and he felt tired just crawling a few metres but he finally made it to Eggman's cage. He collapsed weakly and moaned hoarsely. Dr. Eggman scowled at Tails.
"What do you want fuzzy?" he demanded "I can't help you!"
"Yes you…can…Eggman…" croaked Tails "You must…know where…Metal Sonic's hidden Egg-Timer…after changing…the world's appearance…"
"To your amazingly good fortune I do." said Dr. Eggman "Metal Sonic has hidden it in a large storage room. If you go through the door at the back of the room, you'll find it there."
"Thank…you Dr. Eggman…" said Tails weakly "How do I…undo this…world? Can you tell…me? Please?"
Dr. Eggman thought for a moment. On the one hand, he did not want to help one of his enemies save the world. On the other hand he didn't want to spend eternity in a cage grovelling at Metal Sonic's feet. He'd rather be on top of the world rather then being a lap dog for his own creation. Dr. Eggman knew what had to be done.
"You just simply press the reset button." said Dr. Eggman "It's a big red button marked "Reset" on the control pad. You can't miss it."
"Thank you…Eggman." said Tails "I can…only hope too much…that this…will make us…allies from now on."
"Not on your life Tails, just save the world so I can take it over myself." snapped Dr. Eggman.
Tails stuck his tongue out at Dr. Eggman and he twisted his tails around one another. He began to slowly lift himself off the ground but he was too weak to properly fly. He just sort of, hovered above the ground like a dragonfly. Tails slowly made his way over to the door at the other side of the room just as Metal Sonic elbowed Wilson in the eye and pushed him away. Unfortunately just as he was reaching the room, his strength was beginning to give way. Tails landed on the floor just in front of the door and slumped on the floor. He pushed on the door as hard as he could and the door opened. Tails pulled himself into the room. The moment he made it into the room, he was met with a sight he had wanted to see since day one of this new world. It was Egg-Timer, Eggman's time changing and time altering machine, the one thing that started all this. Tails smiled happily. Yes! He'd found it! Now he could reset the world and bring Sonic back! And maybe once he'd reset the world, he could use Egg-Timer to make a world without Dr. Eggman and bring peace back to Mobius! What a victory this would be! Tails tried to get to his feet but he couldn't bring himself to get up, he was just too weak from torture. Still, he couldn't give up while he was so close to saving the world. If he didn't take this chance, Metal Sonic might catch him and stop him before he could hit the reset button. Tails reached up to the control pad and he pulled himself up so he could see all the buttons on the pad. He just managed it and he looked at the key pad. Just as Eggman had said, there was the big red reset button just in the corner of the pad. One touch of the button and everything would be back to normal.
Outside, Metal Sonic had finally defeated Geoffrey, Wilson and Mandy and the three Mobians all lay down on the floor, grimacing in pain and groaning loudly. Metal Sonic laughed at them and he grabbed Geoffrey by the neck and hoisted him up to his height. He glared at the skunk furiously.
"Such valiant bravado skunk boy but your little gang has failed." he gloated "I have won, the world is still mine and now you die. I bet your neck will snap rather easily."
"Kill all three of us if you wish!" yelled Geoffrey bravely "You'll only rile the people of Mobius and then they'll team up against you and your army and you'll be reduced to a pile of scrap metal you cantankerous robot of evil!
"What magnanimous last words skunk boy." sneered Metal Sonic "Your death will be an honouree one indeed."
Geoffrey just kept on a straight face as Metal Sonic put his other hand on the back of his head and prepared to make the killer blow. But just before he could snap Geoffrey's neck, Tails pressed the reset button and slumped on the floor. The lower part of Egg-Timer's "mouth" slid down and its eyes began to flash orange and yellow. Then a big white beam shot out from Egg-Timer's mouth and began to expand to an enormous size, engulfing everything around it. Geoffrey smiled happily whereas Metal Sonic immediately gasped.
"What abomination is this?" he demanded furiously.
"Someone's hit the reset button Metal Sonic." sneered Geoffrey "Your world is disappearing in a bright flash metal head!"
"No! This cannot be!" cried Metal Sonic "I cannot lose! I'm invincible! I'm invulnerable! I've taken over this planet! I cannot lose it now!"
He threw Geoffrey away and he ran over to the room with Egg-Timer in. Too late. The room was engulfed with a giant white flash and the white light began to swallow up everything in it's path. Metal Sonic shielded his optics from the white light just as it engulfed him as well as everything around him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…."
Tails opened his eyes and got up from the hard rocky floor he lay on. Rocky? Rocky floor? Tails immediately began to observe his surroundings quickly. He was not in Metal Sonic's planet wide city or in the hangar bay of Eggman's headquarters fighting the four Mechas Eggman had unleashed on him, Sonic and Bunnie. He was in Dr. Eggman's underground lair with a bunch of Robians, Dr. Eggman, Alonzo and Metal Sonic! Metal Sonic was back in his original body too! YES! He did it! Everything was back to the way it was about two minutes before the world had changed! The world was saved! Funny enough though, Tails remembered everything about the world created by Metal Sonic. Shouldn't resetting the world have erased his memory of the past events he had just been through? And why did he feel like he hadn't been tortured by Metal Sonic? He felt as right as rain! Maybe Egg-Timer undid everything, including what Metal Sonic had done to him. The only thing that hadn't been reset was his memory; he still remembered everything he had just been through. As for Dr. Eggman, he seemed to have memories of the altered timeline and unfortunately, so did Metal Sonic. Tails cheered with joy.
"I did it!" he cried "The world's back to normal!"
"Yes, congratulations, we're all very proud." said Dr. Eggman sarcastically "Now run for your life before Metal Sonic gets you!"
Tails stopped cheering just in time to see Metal Sonic lunge at him in an angry spin-dash. Metal Sonic hit Tails full on in the torso and sent him flying backwards into the wall. Tails hit the wall hard and he grimaced in pain. Then Metal Sonic grabbed Tails by the neck and he pinned him against the wall. Tails stared fearfully into the robot's eyes as the robot clenched his neck tightly.
"How dare you, you insolent brat!" snarled Metal Sonic "You've ruined everything! You've ruined my glorious worldwide Metal Sonic empire and reverted Mobius to it's original timeline! I am going to eviscerate you for that you irksome little miscreant!"
"Metal Sonic please! Don't!" begged Tails fearfully as Metal Sonic bared his claws.
Metal Sonic ignored him and he prepared to plunge his claws into Tails' chest.
"Once I eradicate you from existence little one, I shall revert Mobius back to my timeline and this time, you won't be there to fix everything!" he boomed coldly.
Tails closed his eyes and waited for the killer strike. But it never came. Metal Sonic was about to kill Tails until a dagger appeared from nowhere and plunged itself into the palm of Metal Sonic's hand. Metal Sonic yelled an electronic yell of pain and he let go of Tails and grabbed his injured hand. Tails turned to his left and his face lit up. It was Espio the Chameleon! He, Mandy, Wilson and Ruben had made it to Eggman's underground lab just in time to destroy Egg-Timer and Espio had just saved Tails from a very gruesome death.
"Espio! Thank goodness!" cried Tails "I was about to die until you showed up!"
"It's a good thing I did show up." said Espio "We cannot afford to lose our comrades after all."
Metal Sonic yanked the dagger out of his hand and he threw it away.
"Not more Mobians to rile me!" he growled "I guess I'll have to disembowel you all!"
He lunged towards Tails but Mandy kicked him furiously away.
"Don't you dare touch Tails you metal monstrosity!" she yelled.
Metal Sonic skidded across the floor and stopped beside Egg-Timer. Metal Sonic got back to his feet and realized where he was. He instantly ran to the keypad and began typing again.
"Stop him!" yelled Tails "He's going to try and change Mobius again!"
"Change Mobius again? What do you mean by that?" asked Wilson "Mobius hasn't changed at all."
Tails then realized that Wilson had no memory of the altered timeline. And he assumed Mandy didn't either so he didn't dare tell her anything about it.
"Never mind that, just stop him!" ordered Tails.
Mandy could tell from Tails' expression that whatever Egg-Timer was going to do was bad so she took a bomb off her belt and threw it at Egg-Timer. The bomb landed on the keypad and blew up in Metal Sonic's face. Metal Sonic was sent hurtling backwards and the explosion had completely destroyed the keypad. Now nobody could use Egg-Timer. Metal Sonic go furious and he rammed Mandy in the stomach in rage. Wilson whipped out his spinning blade and he walloped Metal Sonic with the flat end of the blade. Ruben then stepped in with a ninjutsu kick and sent Metal Sonic hurtling into the unusable Egg-Timer. Too add insult to injury, Ruben squirted water all over Egg-Timer. Water and electricity don't mix so Egg-Timer would explode into a million pieces and eliminate any chances of being used by Dr. Eggman. Dr. Eggman immediately panicked.
"NO! Don't do that you stupid water powered Mobian!" he shrieked "You'll blow it up!"
"That's the intention." snapped Ruben "Now you can't use this machine of death not now and not ever!"
"Let's run for it everybody!" cried Espio "The machine is about to explode and we don't wanna get caught up in it!"
Nobody waited to be asked twice, they all ran out of the underground lab as fast as they could just as Egg-Timer was beginning to malfunction and overheat. Dr. Eggman looked despairingly at his greatest invention about to go up in smoke.
"Master, I think we should run too." said Alonzo.
"Good idea Alonzo." said Dr. Eggman "We don't want to be caught up in the inevitable explosion."
"But what about Metal Sonic?" asked Alonzo "He's still in Egg-Timer and he'll be destroyed if we don't save him!"
"We're leaving him." said Dr. Eggman "We're letting the traitor get destroyed for his crimes against me!"
"You what?" asked Alonzo.
Dr. Eggman was about to rage in Alonzo's face when it dawned on him that Alonzo had no memory of the altered timeline because he didn't exist in it. He was destroyed before Metal Sonic changed everything so Alonzo didn't get to experience the altered timeline.
"I'll explain later." said Dr. Eggman "Let's scraper!"
And with that, he and Alonzo ran quickly out of the lab just as Egg-Timer was beginning to whirr loudly and ominously and electricity crackled everywhere. Metal Sonic, who was still inside Egg-Timer after being kicked into it by Ruben, sat up and peered out the hole he made when crashing through it. Metal Sonic was about to climb out until Egg-Timer suddenly erupted into an inferno of flames and smoke that tore its way through the entire underground lab, engulfing him with it.
The explosion began to tear it's way up the entrance to the underground lab and down the corridors. Tails, Espio, Wilson, Mandy and Ruben had all made it into the hangar bay where Sonic and Bunnie were still fighting the four Mechas Eggman had set on them. Sonic spin-dashed Mecha Tails away and was rather surprised to see everybody running for it.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" he asked.
"We've destroyed Eggman's machine and its exploding!" yelled Espio "We have to get out of here before we're engulfed in it!"
"Sweet!" said Sonic happily "Come on Bunnie, fun time's over!"
"OK sugah hog." said Bunnie as she punched Mecha Amy into the wall.
Sonic sped off at his trademark speed, Bunnie flew after him and everybody else ran after the blue hedgehog. Just seeing Sonic again made Tails want to hug him Amy-style and cry with joy but since Sonic was erased from existence, he would have no memory of the altered world so Sonic would just wonder what Tails was on about. Still, Tails had an enormous feeling of joy all of the sudden just seeing Sonic again. He felt like this was the first time in years he'd seen his supersonic friend. All the Mobians ran for it out of Dr. Eggman's headquarters, through Robotropolis, over the gates and away from the city. Dr. Eggman and Alonzo had run into a different building just as the explosion tore up through half the side of Eggman's headquarters. One side of the quarters had been complete engulfed in flames and smoke billowed out into the air and beyond. Dr. Eggman looked grimly at his destroyed quarters.
"Darn it! And I just got the place fixed up from when Scourge wrecked it***!" moaned Dr. Eggman.
"Never mind Dr. Eggman, we can always rebuild it." said Alonzo "Pity about Egg-Timer. We could have altered the world into your image and you would have been ruler of the world."
"I know." said Dr. Eggman "Egg-Timer was pure genius. Pity Metal Sonic went rogue and remoulded the world into HIS image and made me be his pet!"
"I beg your pardon master?" asked Alonzo with a confused expression on his face.
"Metal Sonic went rogue and used Egg-Timer to remake the world into his image." explained Dr. Eggman "You won't remember because you were dead before he did so."
"Wait a minute." said Alonzo as if something was coming back to him "I remember it now. Metal Sonic grabbed you, threw you away and announced he was taking over Operation: Time-Change."
"He did and he made the world into his image but Tails reset it all." said Dr. Eggman "Now the world is back to normal, I can get to conquering it! I will not rebuild Egg-Timer though! I don't want anymore robots going rogue and remaking the world into their image again!"
"So I guess its back to the drawing board again is it?" asked Alonzo.
"It is Alonzo." said Dr. Eggman "It is…"
"So if I've got this right, you were never dead, you were placed in a pod all the time you've been inactive and Wilson freed you from it. Am I right?" asked Sonic.
Once everybody had made it back to Green Hill Zone, Mandy had managed to clear up the misunderstanding about her being dead to Sonic and Bunnie.
"That's right." said Mandy "And the very thought of Eggman lying about my wellbeing makes my skin crawl! I hate it when people lie about people's deaths and I want to make Eggman pay for this!"
"Maybe we'll get our chance." said Wilson, putting a hand on Mandy's shoulder "I've just got a message from Royal HQ. Me and you are to join General Bostock from Grand Metropolis and the Chaotix in a heist on Robotropolis."
"Really?" said Mandy happily "Great! I can give Eggman some much needed payback!"
"I wonder why Bostock picked you two in particular." said Sonic "Maybe it's because you two were the ones who saved Grand Metropolis from catastrophe the other month****.
"Yeah, Bostock's very grateful to us so he picked us two for the heist." said Wilson.
"Pity I'm not invited, I would love to join in." said Sonic "Maybe next time though."
"I think for now, we should just relax and take it easy." said Bunnie "We've just had one hectic day takin' down that big ol' machine Dr. Eggman had."
"I wonder what it was able to do?" wondered Sonic "Whatever it was, it was bound to be serious so it's a good thing we destroyed it while we could."
"I think we destroyed Metal Sonic as well." said Ruben "I kicked him into Egg-Timer and drenched the machine in water, causing the whole thing to explode. I don't think even Metal Sonic could have survived that."
"Metal Sonic's gone?" cried Sonic happily "Sweet! Now he's gone, all our attacks on Eggman will be as easy as pie! Ha, ha, ha!"
While everybody was talking, Tails had slipped away from the group to find Cosmo. Even though Cosmo had been killed by Silver Sonic in the altered timeline, time had been reset so Cosmo's death never happened. Tails didn't have to look for long though. He found Cosmo standing at a rose bush admiring its beauty. Tails beamed like a sunrise. Cosmo was alive! He was about to go nuts about it until it dawned on him that Cosmo would have no memory of the altered timeline so he kept his cool and tried to act like the altered timeline never happened.
"Cosmo!" Tails called to her.
Cosmo looked up from the roses and her face lit up.
"Tails!" she cried, running up to the twin-tailed fox.
The two embraced each other and Tails picked Cosmo up and twirled her around, earning a giggle from the Seedrian.
"So how did the mission go?" asked Cosmo.
"It was hectic but we made it in the end." said Tails "We destroyed Eggman's machine and Metal Sonic both at the same time."
"Metal Sonic's destroyed?" said Cosmo "That's wonderful. We won't have to worry about him anymore."
"I know Cosmo." said Tails "But it's only too much to hope that Dr. Eggman will be giving up on this war. He'll just create a new weapon to replace Metal Sonic and it'll be back to square one."
"Don't lose hope Tails." said Cosmo "I'm sure you'll defeat Dr. Eggman and bring peace back to Mobius. I know you will."
"I'm sure we'll bring the peace back Cosmo." said Tails "Until then, we'll have to keep fighting and hope we'll make it to the end…"
Footnotes:
*See Story 30
**See Stories 17-18
*** See Story 28
**** See Tales from Mobius: Arc 1
And that's that for this story! Yeah, it kinda sucks that Metal Sonic's great victory only lasted one story doesn't it? If I could, I would have made it longer but hey, you can't have everything. So that's the end of Metal Sonic! But when an old villain falls, a new villain rises! Join me next time as Sonic investigates some BIG trouble in little Chun-Nan! Reviews are welcome.
Thanks to Kratos Pwns, Charmyxcream14 and KunxXSu for your reviews recently. You've all been wonderful authors to me. :)
