It's been a very long while, huh? To make it up to you all, here is my longest chapter ever! (3,385 words, not counting the author's note)
Welcome back, everyone, to The Blur! Last time, Sonic and Tails tangled with the somehow still-alive Dr. Robotnik in a brawl that, unfortunately, destroyed Oil Ocean.. Now, our heroes find themselves in Metropolis. Can they deal with the fallout of the battle?
Anyhow, time for some reviews!
andifnot: Yep, oh indeed!
Where's This: Yes, I do! I apologize for the long wait, however.
'Explosion in Oil Ocean Zone, hundreds dead.'
An explosion. Hundreds of people, just minding their own business- extinguished suddenly and violently by a madman who shouldn't even have been alive to begin with.
This and other thoughts plagued the troubled mind of Sonic The Hedgehog as he walked dazedly down the streets of Metropolis. He'd given some rings to Miles and told him to get something for himself, and soon the fox was tagging along, hungrily digging into a bag of french fries and occasionally snapping a few photos with his slightly damaged but still usable camera when he thought no one was looking.
However, the two-tailed vulpine was only barely acknowledged by the blue hedgehog, who was completely engrossed in his distressed musings.
Back on South Island, Sonic's numerous encounters with Robotnik usually involved some form of collateral damage, be it the roboticist intentionally or inadvertently torching up the plantlife, going after civilians just to put set hedgehog on edge, pulling apart a bridge, blowing up the surroundings with bombs attached to Badniks and so on and so forth.
The blue hero had always done his best to prevent or at least contain the worst of the evironmental damages, but... this?
This was something else entirely.
Sonic The Hedgehog was supposed to be a hero, wasn't he? He was supposed to save people, was he not?
Now, he had gone on a wild goose chase to beat his arch-nemesis, dragging along a little kid who should've just stayed at home, and as a direct result of their "heroic superhero-supervillain battles" had gotten many, many people killed.
Adding to that was the fact that he didn't even remember what transpired before he woke up in an alley. According to Miles, he had supposedly turned yellow, dismantled Robotnik's machines, and flown off after Robotnik had shot a laser into the ocean of oil, dragging along the fox as he went.
'It looks like I didn't do a good enough job at the dismantling part, then,' the very much blue hedgehog thought, bitterly.
The thought of his biggest failure wasn't the only thing that troubled him either. The hedgehog could faintly feel the presence of the six- no, seven Chaos Emeralds on his person, which he fortunately had gotten after the altercation. Truth be told, the hedgehog wasn't even aware that there was a seventh one to begin with- it was generally agreed among people that there were only six of these things, and besides, the hedgehog had collected the six emeralds during the South Island incident, with no sign of another one.
The hedgehog supposed it did make sense. Seven made a perfect set, after all.
So, seven gems of limitless power all in his posession. To tell you the truth, Sonic was surprised that the emeralds hadn't just dispersed into the far horizon like they did on South Island. Maybe it was because the seventh stabilized them, Sonic didn't know.
Now, having caused and escaped a zone-wide catastrophe, owning seven gems in hand, and finding their way through an unfamilliar city, one question made itself apparent.
'What do we do now?' thought the hedgehog, letting out a haggard sigh.
"Sonic?" came Miles, still chewing on a french fry. "Are you... okay?"
'No, I'm not.' thought the hedgehog. Instead, he just said, "Yeah, kiddo. Let's just get moving after you're done."
The kid didn't seem too convinced, but he nodded and ate another French fry as the two walked through the streets. Metropolis Zone was quite a bustling city, with streetlights and skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. The hedgehog had, however, heard that at the center of the zone was a huge and confusing labyrinth, filled with lava, gas hydrants strong enough to send you flying twenty feet in the air, and giant bolts that served as transportation.
Sonic wasn't completely sure if it was true and he wasn't very sure of whether he wanted to find out, either.
At any rate, the hedgehog-fox duo kept their pace for a while, until:
"Miles?" asked Sonic.
"Yeah?" Came the response.
"Can we talk for a second?"
Now the fox's gaze was fully focused on him. "What about?"
The hedgehog exhaled as they stopped in an empty alley to ensure some privacy. It was a hard decision to make, but after everything that had happened, Sonic decided that the kit didn't deserve to go through more life-endangering episodes.
"I'm going to send you back. To Emerald Hill." There. He'd said it.
Miles's eyes widened in shock.
"What-?"
Sonic's distress made the normally non-vocal hedgehog's voice rise, "Look, these adventures aren't fun, kid. People die, like they just did today. Or they get captured and used as a battery for whatever machine that madman comes up with! At least at Emerald Hill you don't have to worry about it!"
"But-"
"You're safe there, Miles!" He interjected again, trying to hammer the point into the kid. "I don't need another death on my conscience. Besides, this is my mess to take care of. I should never have dragged you into this."
At that, the fox just didn't respond, looking down on the ground with his features crestfallen. As much as it broke the hedgehog's heart to do this- he had come to like the fox boy and his radiant enthusiasm- Sonic knew it was for the kid's good.
"Look, I'll give you some rings so you can be well on your way for a bit. I'll even escort you back to-"
"Just listen to me, alright?!" The statement came so forcefully that whatever Sonic was going to say died up in his tongue.
"You didn't drag me into anything," said Miles, his voice gentler than it had been a few seconds ago, "I saw you back in Emerald Hill. I decided to follow you. Besides, you need me!"
Despite everything, Sonic found it in himself to raise a brow.
"Hey- I can fly and help you get to areas you normally can't, remember?"
The cobalt Mobian wanted to protest, but couldn't. The kid had given him crucial help on several occasions.
"That still doesn't change the fact that you might potentially get harmed or die." he retorted instead, putting his hands on his hips like a stern parent.
"So then I won't," parried the fox, stubbornly, "Again, I can fly- I'll be outta harm's way!"
"Like the time you got shot by an arrow in Aquatic Ruin?" deadpanned the blue speedster. The fox glared at him.
"That was one time, Sonic! Besides, it was just a graze wound!"
"And I'm saying that you might get much, much, much worse than a graze wound if you continue to follow me, kid."
"Yeah? Well what about you?"
The hedgehog blinked, the question taking him by surprise.
"You're always worried about everyone's safety, but you need someone to watch your back as well, Sonic! That's why heroes have sidekicks!"
Ignoring the fact that Miles had inadvertently equated himself to being Sonic's sidekick, the hedgehog had to admit, the young fox had a point. On his numerous encounters with Robotnik, Sonic had gotten the occasional injury from a badnik ambush gone awry or a tough battle against the doctor himself; One of the reasons being that he was still a single, vulnerable person trying to stop a madman and his machines alone.
"You're really adamant about tagging along, huh?" The blue hedgehog conceeded, a wry smile pulling at his lips. The young fox just smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"Alright, fine. You can come with me," He finally conceeded, turning away from the kid's beaming grin. Stepping out and continuing his walk through the zone, with Tails practically skipping along to follow him, he asked, "What do you know about this Zone, besides it's name?"
"Well, it's the largest zone on Westside Island, and also one of the only actual city-type zones on Westside, the other being Casino Night. Further inside the Zone is this huge labyrinth with lava, giant bolts you can run on and transport tubes-"
"Wait. That actually exists?"
"Yeah," confirmed the kit, fishing into his bag for more fries, "People used to live in there, then someone must've complained that it was too dangerous, so they all moved out and built the city around it. I think it might be some kind of power plant now, but I'm not too sure."
"Huh." The hedgehog merely responded, looking up at the sky as he weaved past some pedestrians. There were feral birds in the sky, a few clouds as well but not nearly enough to cover the sun, and what looked like some sort of flying rock moving towards the center of the city.
Wait a minute. That's no rock.
Sonic's observation was correct, for as he squinted at the sky, he could make out a very familiar flying hovercraft soaring through the air.
"Miles, we're going to have to run."
"What? Why?"
The hedgehog's gaze hardened.
"We have a doctor to chase."
Miles Prower flew up and landed on the ground just in front of a corkscrew, wiping the sweat off his brow.
The past few minutes had been eventful- the team of hedgehog and fox had promptly raced off to catch Robotnik, and had trailed the human through the city and into the not-power plant. From there, they had quickly figured out exactly why people had moved out of the maze.
From the confusing layout to the constantly switching platforms- over lava of all things, the fox wasn't sure whether this place also had deathtrap in its list of qualifications. Even worse was the robots, who ambushed them at every turn and were placed in the most inconvenient positions possible. At this point, the kitsune was now keeping an active tally of how many times he had almost faced death because of these things- eleven so far.
The pitter-patter of steps on metal alerted him that Sonic was approaching behind him. A quick glance behind and sure enough, the hedgehog had just skidded to a stop behind him.
Deciding to take the initiative, the fox approached the transporter, getting ready to jump on the the bolt.
That is, until a starfish-like robot appeared on the wall in front of him.
Thankfully, Sonic had been faster on the uptake and the hedgehog- in a pounce that would make most foxes proud, pushed the kit out of the way of the needles that shot past where we once stood.
Make that twelve.
The hedgehog got up and Miles could have sworn that he had seen a speck of yellow on his blue pelt. The fox had no time to deliberate on that, however, before Sonic lunged and obliterated the starfish with a well-placed kick.
Miles got to his feet, watching as the feral rabbit that had been freed hopped away.
"This place is a deathtrap." he remarked, shuddering at the needle that had embedded itself in the floor. Sonic nodded, sending him a sympathetic look.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Robotnik made another base," he agreed, "Do you have any rings left?"
Miles felt around his person, focused... And managed to bring out a single ring. Oh well, it was better than nothing, right?
"Catch." Sonic stated, tossing the kit five more of the shimmery golden objects, which Miles promptly absorbed. He had gotten much better at it since the time they had investigated that strange hidden palace.
"Thanks."
"No problem. So, basically, we jump on these things and run on them?" the hedgehog asked.
"Yep. Whether you go up and down depends on whether you move clockwise or anti-clockwise." replied Miles, already climbing the bolt and tentatively getting into a standing position.
"Got it." said Sonic, jumping and landing on top of the bolt. "Couldn't you just fly me up, though?"
"Nope. Too high."
The blue hedgehog gave a one-shouldered shrug, evidently figuring that they'd have to make do with what they had.
Taking that as his cue, the kit began running in place, and so did the hedgehog, with their unusual elevator ascending to meet the higher ground.
After jumping off and successfully landing, they took a transporter tube- Miles had Sonic take the lead to prevent any starfish-related accidents- and took off running down a hallway.
That is, until something slammed into the hedgehog, sending him flying a full yard away and almost crashing into the fox whilst he did so. Panicked, the kit shouted the hero's name before whipping to his assailant- a crab robot that was in the process of reeling in it's extended arm.
The fox turned to the hedgehog, who's eyes were tightly closed in a pained fashion and nursing a rapidly growing bruise on his chest. The puncture wounds from being hit by the mace-like appendage of the crab automation were already starting to bleed.
Miles' gaze frantically alternated between the two. Was he to have a go at the bot first or help the hedgehog?
The metallic crustacean could definitely pack a punch, that was for sure, but seemed to delay in extending its arm before attacking again. So if the kit could just avoid the mace, he'd be fine as long as he could pounce attack immediately after.
On the other hand, Sonic may have needed some help, and maybe, if Miles could just get the hero to get up, they could figure out a better plan of attack.
The fox considered these and this time decided to take the more proactive option, figuring that they would still have to deal with the crab anyway. Getting into what he thought was a battle ready stance, Miles turned one last look back at Sonic...
And found himself staring into red spirals.
Within the blink of an eye, the wounds on the hedgehog's body closed up, his fur became yellow, and his quills began to stand upright. Petrified, Miles could only stare as the golden-yellow thing Sonic had turned into back in Oil Ocean prised itself from the ground.
The fox blinked, and suddenly the golden creature was in front of him and just a few feet in front of the crab bot, silently daring it to take its best shot.
Sure enough, the machine reared up for a punch and sent its mace-appandage flying at the yellow hedgehog, who merely sidestepped, the thing narrowly missing the hedgehog.
The kit yelped and ducked, narrowly avoiding getting clobbered in the face just in time for the juiced up Sonic to sever the arm with a lightning-quick chop.
Without even blinking, the golden being gripped the steel end of the severed mace and swung, scoring a perfect hit on the crab and sending it flying at terminal velocity into a wall, breaking apart upon impact and leaving a sizable dent in the steel and linoleum.
The hedgehog then turned to the kit who stared in shock at the dent and the force of the attack- even the Flicky inside the crab was dizzy.
"Come on now, kit. Don't tell me you are afraid now." the hedgehog said, in a voice not unlike that of the blue hedgehog. Something about it seemed... different, however, but the fox couldn't put his finger on it.
"S-Sonic? W-what-?" Miles stammered out.
"I'm afraid your blue friend isn't around." Replied the golden thing, rubbing the underside of his nose with his gloved finger and still clutching the severed robot limb with his other hand.
"Not around"? Then..
"Who are you?"
"I am a being born of the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds." he stated, matter-of-factly.
Miles didn't mentally respond, his train of thought still navigating a maze of confusion. The voice merely continued, "Your friend- Sonic, I assume, used the power of the seven emeralds together, creating me in the process."
"How come you chose this moment to appear now?"
"I am awakened from my slumber whenever Sonic experiences great distress." the yellow hedgehog explained. "Your friend has had a lot of stress this past day. Combined by the hard hit he took, it's easy to see why I was disturbed so early."
"So, let me get this straight," spoke Miles, trying to make sense of the situation, "You're some kind of Super Sonic that appears in bad situations?"
At that, the yellow hedgehog paused in thought. "Super Sonic. A bit derivative, but simple and has a ring to it. I like it."
Almost as an afterthought, the newly christened Super Sonic noted, "And to answer your question: Yes, that's a way of explaining it."
The yellow hedgehog stretched, walking down the corridor. "The egg-man and his machines were an easy challenge, but still a good warmup. Pity the zone got destroyed, though."
The fox glared at the other's seeming unconcern, tails whipping in indignation. "Hundreds of people died!" Super just half-turned his head to look at him.
"You mistake the lightness of my speech for nonchalance, kit." He simply said, walking to the transporter tube. "Now, try to keep up."
The next eight minutes was spent with Miles and Super Sonic nagivating the hallways and corridors of the inner Metropolis Zone.
Or, more accurately, Super went on a rampage through the surrounding area, destroying almost everything that moved in his wake as Miles struggled desperately to keep up.
Following the yellow hedgehog's movements was like following some kind of kamikaze missile- the yellow hedgehog's movements were often chaotic and unpredictable and due to the hedgehog's ability to survive hits that would instantly kill any other living being, he generally settled for flying straight through any enemies they came across or bashing them with his crab-mace.
Miles had spent the better half of the time just struggling to keep up with the yellow hedgehog, but somehow, he'd done it and they had settled on a platform which was currently carrying them past an expanse, Super having evidently decided that the kit could use a break.
"Truth be told, I didn't think you'd make it this far." The golden being uttered, hands folded as he stared ahead. "Your persistence is impressive."
Miles sat down and made himself comfortable, not sure how to react.
"..Thanks, I guess." said the fox as he watched the intricate pipeworks dotting the zone.
The platform floated the two across in silence for a while before Miles spoke up, ever the inquisitive one.
"Super?"
"Yes?"
"Um, how does it feel to share a body? With Sonic, I mean."
"Not as bad as you may expect- I'm dormant most of the time until something happens to that hedgehog to sufficiently disturb me from my slumber and I have to take over, apparently."
"So, no fighting to take control over his body?"
"No; at the moment, he is not even aware of my presence in his subconscious."
Miles just hummed, not sure what to answer to that. So basically Sonic had two different minds in his body? That seemed kind of trippy.
The orange Mobian didn't even get the time to ruminate on that before they noticed a familiar hovercraft up ahead.
The platform at that moment stopped and they jumped over to the next piece of land. Robotnik's back was turned to them, evidently distracted by something else.
Super Sonic smirked and exchanged glances with Miles before clapping his hands once.
Almost immediately, the hovercraft whirled around, showing the doctor within.
Or rather, a robot with its torso painted in colors akin to that of Dr. Robotnik's usual red-yellow garb.
"Lifeforms detected." The automaton stated, in a voice akin to a distorted version of the doctor's.
"It seems that I have been discovered."