Chapter Twenty-Seven: Deconstruction
Everyone knew that this rivalry ended now.
The winner wasn't going to walk away with much, but the loser would either be dead or incapacitated by the time this was over. Metal Sonic knew that if he didn't destroy the others now, there was no way he'd ever take over the rest of the world, whereas the others knew if Metal Sonic powered up anymore, the damage he'd cause would reach catastrophic levels.
As it was, he was still pretty powerful. Even without any extra energy, his lasers carved a singed line into Eggman's flying machine, and it would have been a lot worse had he not swerved to the side at the last moment.
Metal Sonic swore loudly before charging the machine. Eggman pulled up, causing him to miss but also putting his back to the enemy, which was never a good thing regardless of circumstances. While Metal Sonic was far less maneuverable than he'd been before, that didn't stop him from blindly charging backward to try and ram the machine out of the air. He'd angled too low for that, causing him to fail once more, but now he was right below the others, and before Eggman could react, he fired another laser straight up.
The metal bottom was durable enough that it didn't get penetrated, but the energy was enough to blast it upwards. Everyone except Eggman (who'd been tightly gripping the controls) was thrown to the floor, and Eggman wasn't immune either- he got a face full of buttons, causing a loud horn to beep and something else to be fired. Furthermore, because of the way his arm moved when he'd been hit with the jolt, they swerved sharply to the right and then plummeted for a few perilous seconds, nearly sending everyone spilling before Eggman came to his senses and stabilized their flight.
By then, Metal Sonic had gotten behind them again, preparing for another charge. Sonic whirled around in time to see it coming, grabbing the controls away from Eggman and jerking up again. It didn't do much, but instead of being sent spinning out from a devastating hit, they were merely clipped by one of his arms, pitching the thing forward but not doing that much else.
Eggman tried to regain control, but Sonic was having none of it. Using reflexes he didn't know he had (although spending a little too much of his spare time playing video games was probably a factor) he zipped behind Metal Sonic before pressing the first button that looked like it triggered a weapon.
It wasn't a weapon- it turned out to be a booster, sending them rocketing forward and slamming into Metal Sonic. The impact was so great, it knocked him several feet away and caused something in their machine to screech for a second before short-circuiting.
Taking back the controls, Eggman swore under his breath. "You idiot! What if that was something important?"
Sonic had no time to answer, because Metal Sonic was firing lasers again, meaning they either had to dodge or get sliced to pieces, neither of which involved talking.
Metal Sonic was getting impressively angry by now- you could see more and more steam erupt from his head with each missed attack. After releasing a spout comparable to a geyser when Eggman kept the others out of the path of his lasers for the umpteenth time, something clearly went off in his head. Spewing curses at no one in particular, he charged the machine once more.
Eggman tried to drop below his path, but this time Metal Sonic saw that coming, letting several of his newly-formed arms drop to grab the machine. A loud screech of tearing metal indicated his success, and as the others struggled not to scream or panic, he lifted the thing to eye level.
"This ends now," Metal Sonic said, charging up a fatal blow.
Eggman, however, wasn't ready to die yet. Without even thinking, he pressed a button that would release the most powerful weapon he had, an explosive rocket designed to home in on its target.
The side of the machine split open, causing the rocket to do just what it was supposed to. After lodging itself in Metal Sonic's chest, right next to one of the arms holding them captive, it detonated, splitting the arm from his body and almost blowing a hole clear through him. At the same time, Eggman violently jerked the controls backward, and that, along with the ripple effect the explosion created, managed to jerk them out of Metal Sonic's grip.
Sonic, despite how focused he was, managed to sputter something out. "Thanks, Eggman."
Eggman, however, wasn't really in a position to be smug over that. Just because they were free didn't mean they were out of the woods or could even see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. Metal Sonic didn't let them forget it- he charged yet again at them, forcing Eggman to plunge under his attack this time.
Metal Sonic grabbed for them and missed. Eggman fired his basic weapon as fast as he could, managing to hit Metal Sonic with most of his shots, but only one of them (which jarred another one of his arms loose) had a lot of impact- the rest created noticeable dents and sent sparks shooting, but otherwise did nothing except make him angrier and more aggressive.
Soon, Eggman had to stop as he spun the controls back around. Rouge, however, was having none of it. "What the hell are you doing? Keep shooting!"
"I need to reload," Eggman said, "and I don't have infinite ammo. We have to make every shot count!"
While Eggman was working on reloading his weapon, Sonic took over the controls again, jerking them sharply to the left as Metal Sonic began firing lasers again. The movement threw Eggman off balance and almost made him fall into the ocean, but he flung himself backward to land on the floor of the machine. Seeing lasers cutting through the air above him and feeling Sonic performing every trick he knew to keep them from being cooked, the stress was quickly catching up to him- all of his muscles were tense, his eyes dilated, his fingers clenched.
Sonic, meanwhile, kept them out of harm's way with everything he had. However, he was clueless as to which of the many buttons fired weapons that would hinder Metal Sonic.
"Uhh, Eggman? Hate to ask this now, but unless you're taking back the controls, I kind of need a crash course on how to work this thing!"
Eggman was on his feet in an instant, saying, "I'll handle the weapons here," before grabbing the controls and jolting them to get behind Metal Sonic. However, Metal Sonic was prepared for that, and whirled around before making a move to try and grab them again. Eggman's reflexes, once more, were just a hair too slow, and history began repeating itself.
Rouge's heart rate just about went through the roof. "Eggman! Why aren't you firing that homing rocket again?"
"I only had the one!" Eggman was trying to maintain a semblance of calmness, but if the sweat beading on his face and the way he fiddled with his mustache was any indication, he was failing miserably.
Metal Sonic was laughing now, preparing to fire at the four of them one last time while they were still sitting ducks and never have to worry about anything else getting in his way again. It would have worked, if not for one simple thing.
Rouge, being the most used to high-stakes scenarios, threw herself out of the cockpit, hoping to scout Metal Sonic for weak spots. However, the same misfortune affecting Knuckles' arm had happened to her wings, so instead, she turned an unsteady double helix before slamming into his chest. However, it did provide a distraction, which was all the others needed to get out of the machine as well. When Metal Sonic did turn on his lasers and fry the machine to a crisp, the machine was the only thing that had its life ended.
Metal Sonic's nigh-impenetrable bulk proved to be an advantage here; while regular attacks to anything that wasn't a loosely-attached limb did next to nothing, it wasn't smooth and had plenty of landing spots. Eggman took the obvious one only a few feet down, just below Metal Sonic's neck. Rouge dropped to another perch right below him, and Tails helped Sonic stick the landing on a big one that was pretty far down- right above the joint connecting Metal Sonic's left leg to his body- before landing there himself.
Metal Sonic spewed even more curses, shaking himself violently to try and dislodge his unwelcome passengers, which did nothing on its own- they just held on for everything they were worth and were pretty good at that, even Eggman. Then, he threw a punch at Eggman, his nearest target. Unfortunately for him, because his fists were so large, not only was that move telegraphed a full five seconds in advance, it worked kind of like a ballistic missile- capable of tremendous damage, but nearly impossible to course-correct once its motion had started. Eggman managed to creep a few feet away before the punch made contact, meaning that not only did it miss, he also caused quite a bit of damage to himself, evident by destroyed pieces of metal detaching from his form and sparks flying from the area he'd just hit.
Eggman breathed a sigh of relief. He might have been at death's door right now, but at least he probably wouldn't go out like that. That relief was short-lived, though.
"That's it," Metal Sonic said, "You're not even getting a special death anymore. Once I get to the mainland, all you'll be is a statistic."
With that, he began speeding for the mainland again, forcing the others to grab onto whatever they could for support. No one wanted to be tossed into the middle of the ocean.
Over the shrieking wind, Sonic still managed to pose the obvious question to the close-by Tails, even if he had to shout to be heard. "What do we do now?"
At first, it looked like he didn't have an answer. But it turned out he was just having difficulty communicating, since he wasn't talking and all four of his limbs (plus his namesakes) had been devoted to keeping him attached to Metal Sonic as he flew. But then he risked taking a hand off its handhold to gesture upward, barely keeping himself attached during the process.
Then, he took on the riskiest endeavor of his life (which was saying a lot) and began to climb Metal Sonic's body.
As for those who hadn't flown after Metal Sonic- Knuckles, Amy, Sticks, and Shadow- there was surprisingly little activity going on.
Shadow had rejoined the other three after completing his call, saying, "Our employers have mobilized an attack force, they should be ready to take this thing down within the hour." However, his statement felt surprisingly hollow, like even he thought it would be too little, too late.
Their only hope was their friends, and despite how much it killed them inside, there was no way for them to help.
All they could do was watch the horizon, wait, and hope.
Tails wasn't sure how he did it, but he'd pulled himself up to the hole Eggman's rocket had created.
Metal Sonic's flight, while very straight, caused him to shake so hard the sensation reminded Tails of a roller coaster. He dropped to his hands and knees to keep his balance, slowly edging his way in as he searched for another computer.
Suddenly, he felt something warm on his back. On instinct, he swung his hand behind him as hard as possible. Once he made contact, however, he heard an "Ow!"
Once he looked behind him, he realized he'd just slapped Sonic in the face. "Oh! Sorry, I thought you were-"
"No need for an apology," Sonic said. "I just came here to help, since you look like you have a plan."
"Good," Tails replied. "Every bit counts. If Metal Sonic tries to get me again, keep him away. I'm trying again, it'll only take a minute."
Maybe he shouldn't have said that. Whether Metal Sonic heard that or it was just through plain coincidence, the whooshing sound of the air from outside began to fade, and their motion slowed down. Metal Sonic knew what they were up to- it was just a question of whether they could hold him off or not.
At that moment, Tails spotted what he'd been looking for this entire time- an intact computer, still swarming with the lines of code from his former magnum opus. Without hesitation, he darted forward, scanning the computer to make sure that the program had been reverted. Meanwhile, Metal Sonic was trying to reach in and pull Tails out once more. However, Sonic was having none of it.
"Not today, you faker," Sonic said, Spin Dashing into one of the three appendages Metal Sonic had stuck inside and bending it the wrong way. It withdrew, but it only made the other two more aggressive. Sonic repeated the process with an angry growl, swiftly making them useless as well. Meanwhile, Tails desperately coded in the background, dripping with sweat and shaking from adrenaline.
"I'm not going down that easy," Metal Sonic screeched outside them, the effort causing a slight vibration to run through the floor. Then, he withdrew the remaining parts Sonic had destroyed, replacing it with a different, blocky-looking one made of rusty metal. Sonic Spin Dashed into it again, but Metal Sonic had clearly learned his lesson after the first go-around, and instead of just thinking he could take it, he thrust it forward with no warning. While it still got destroyed, it also sent Sonic tumbling backward, banging his head several times on the floor before crashing against the wall, not five feet away from Tails.
"Oh, crap," Tails said. "Not again, I can't let this happen again!"
He typed faster, fully aware that he was running out of time. Sonic stirred next to him, but from the glance Tails dared take, he was in no condition to fight. As metal screeched against metal once more, Tails' speed only intensified. He couldn't afford to lose focus, not now.
Not when he was this close.
While Tails and Sonic had been trying to destroy Metal Sonic from the inside, Rouge and Eggman were attempting to do the same for the outside.
Metal Sonic clearly didn't view them as much of a threat. Occasionally, he threw a punch at one of them, but they always had the same problems- too large a telegraph and too hard to course-correct.
Rouge attacked anything that looked weak from wherever she could reach. Her crippled wings didn't always take her where she wanted or needed to go, but she made the best of every position she landed in. Eggman, however, was in a far less effective position- he couldn't fly and wasn't the best at climbing either, so he'd simply slipped down to an oversized piece of metal jutting out of Metal Sonic's front and attempted to rip out whatever he could with his bare hands or destroy exposed wiring. Neither, however, proved to do that much.
They hadn't seen where Sonic and Tails had gone and had no idea what the hell they were going to do at this point. However, after Metal Sonic had ignored them for an extended stretch of time, they naturally tried to figure out what the cause was.
Rouge risked turning around and thus figured out the solution first. She saw Metal Sonic surround the hole the rocket had made earlier with half a dozen nasty-looking metal parts before beginning to force them into the hole.
"That can't be good," Rouge said to herself, before jumping off her previous perch and attempting to soar gracefully to the hole. What she got, however, was an unsteady corkscrew that ended with her awkwardly landing on one of Metal Sonic's appendages right next to her destination.
"Oh, you think you're so clever, trying to help them," Metal Sonic hissed, three more appendages joining the one she was riding as he did. "Too bad, better luck next time."
Rouge let her reflexes take over as they attacked her. She ducked one device, jumped the second and the third outright missed. As they came back for the second time, she threw herself into the hole, plugged by two more of Metal Sonic's weapons, before darting into the unknown.
Sonic still hadn't gotten up when Rouge entered the picture.
He looked like at least one of his limbs had broken, and based on how many times he'd hit his head, Tails knew he had a concussion (or at least an extremely nasty headache), so counting on him for any more assistance would be a fatal mistake.
Thus, when Rouge entered the picture, it was exactly what Tails needed. While she was in no way a full replacement for Sonic, she could delay the inevitable for just a little longer.
"You can do this, Rouge," Tails yelled. "I don't need much longer!"
Rouge heeded that advice. She couldn't destroy them like Sonic could, but blocking them was good enough. Metal Sonic wasn't willing to take her and sacrifice one of his parts, plus some time, to keep her out of the way.
"Keep going," Tails said, still typing and now breathing heavily, like he was about to cross the finish line of a long-distance race.
"Trying my best!" Rouge, even with all her athletic talent, couldn't keep up with Metal Sonic for long. After fifteen breathless seconds of blocking, ducking, and dodging, she stumbled once, leaving her wide open for a hit. Metal Sonic capitalized on this, swinging one of his pieces into her and sending her careening into Sonic. She managed to stand, but with her moans and the blood flowing from a nasty gash in her head, it looked like she was out of commission.
And Tails was out of options.
Cackling with glee, Metal Sonic reached for a now-exposed Tails, who edged himself as far into the corner as possible, whispering, "Come on, not again, I'm so close…"
As the first appendage touched him, he typed the final line.
As the second one followed, he grabbed the mouse attached to the computer.
Both of them latched onto his tails and started to pull. Tails, just needing a few more seconds, held on with his left hand with everything he had while his right hand kept its grip on the mouse. Seconds passed. His grip grew strained. Fingers began to peel away from their metal handholds, with Tails cursing each one as he clicked in a frenzy.
All Tails could think as he clicked for the final time before the mouse was disconnected and he lost control of the computer was "Please work, please work, please work…"
"Not so superior now, huh?" Metal Sonic was beside himself with ecstasy. "Look at that! Everything you did, was all for nothing. But it's time for me to end this."
But before he could end anything, a shrill beep echoed through the hole, even audible to Eggman up by Metal Sonic's chest. And as Tails was pulled out into the open once more, he was still able to catch a glimpse of the computer screen, which displayed the three most incredible words he'd seen in his life.
Sonic_.exe deleted successfully.
Review Zone, Act XXVI:
Linz2: Thanks, once more, for taking the time to leave a review! And I hope you found this match suitably epic.