Sonic and the Freedom Fighters
Chapter 14: Overdrive

Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story, unless specified otherwise, belong to SEGA.

-Neon Skyline Zone-

It had been twenty minutes since the Freedom Fighters had split up to search for the remaining three Chaos Emeralds, and Sonic and Tails had just made it into the Neon Skyline Zone. The two briefly took in their surroundings as they raced down one of many long, suspended roads, supposedly an effect the Zone had on the architecture. The area was exactly as they expected it; countless towering buildings and huge billboards illuminated with neon lights as far as the eye could see - even the paths had the same neon colouration.

"So how much farther?" Sonic asked, deciding not to let the environment distract him from the mission.

"We're closing in on the Emerald's location. I'd say we should reach it in about three minutes." Tails replied, glancing at his radar for verification.

"Good thing we got Sal and the others checking the other locations. Saves us from having to wear ourselves thin trying to get them." The hedgehog remarked, with Tails silently agreeing. Having the Freedom Fighters around did help them in their quest to stop Eggman, but most of all, the young fox was glad to see his old friends again. Even in the relatively short time he got to know them, they had all welcomed him and treated him as one of their own, Sally especially, to the point where he viewed the Freedom Fighters as his family.

...Which, of course, eventually led to him thinking about his own family, and the fox's smile disappeared. He didn't know anything about his parents apart from what they looked like, thanks to a collection of photos that they left him, along with a letter saying that they wanted to keep him safe from something. The logical part of his mind was convinced that this was true, since they seemed so happy in the photos... but there was still a small part of him that worried that they were simply happy to be rid of him.

"Hey, Tails." His train of thought was suddenly interrupted by Sonic's voice, who was looking back at him with a concerned expression. "Something on your mind?" He asked.

"Sorry, I... I just started thinking about my parents..." Tails admitted, his head hanging slightly.

"Oh. Right." The hedgehog muttered, remembering the fox's plight from years ago.

{Flashback}

3 years ago - Acorn Archipelago

"Look, it's dangerous to be out here with Robotnik's bots flying around." Sonic said to the young, twin-tailed fox. "Let's get you back home. I'm sure your parents are worried sick."

"I... I don't live with my parents." The fox admitted. "T-They left me in a house on Cocoa Island and asked the Flickies there to take care of me. T-That's why I was out here... so I could find them..." He continued before his eyes started to well up with tears. After taking a moment to process this revelation, Sonic knelt down and placed a hand on the young fox's shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. I know how you feel." He said in a calm, sympathetic tone. "My parents disappeared when I was young as well. Apparently, the village we used to live in was destroyed overnight. My uncle was the one who got me out safely. He told me that they might still be alive somewhere." He confided.

"...And do you think that they're still out there?" The fox asked him.

"Well, that's what I'm hoping to find out, and I don't plan on giving up any time soon. And neither should you." Sonic replied. "You'll find them some day. I'm sure of it." He assured him. After a few moments of wiping a way tears, the fox looked up at Sonic with a grateful smile. The hedgehog, meanwhile, spent a few moments in thought about what to do with the young fox before an idea suddenly struck him.

"Hey, I have an idea." He exclaimed. "If you don't have anywhere else to go, I can easily take you to Knothole. It's this super secret village in the middle of the forest. You'd have a roof over your head, you won't have to worry about going hungry, and it's well protected against robot patrols." He suggested.

"Sure!" The fox responded after a few seconds of consideration.

"Awesome. Let's go." Sonic said as he turned to leave, before immediately turning around again. "Oh, right. What's your name?" He asked.

"Miles Prower." The fox answered.

"Nice to meet you, Miles. I'm Sonic." Sonic replied.

{End Flashback}

"I just wish they told me why they left me in the first place." Tails said dejectedly. "I mean, what was so bad that they felt I would be in danger if they kept me around?"

"Listen, bud. You'll find them one day, and when you do, I'm sure they'll tell you everything you want to know. Besides, I know they'll be proud to see brave young kid you've become." The blue hedgehog assured him, causing the fox to look towards him and smile.

"Thanks, Sonic." The young fox replied gratefully, before looking at his radar again and coming to a complete stop, with Sonic following suit. "The Chaos Emerald is close by. Keep an eye out for it." He said as the the pair looked around for any signs of the Emerald. Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic spotted something moving. He quickly turned his head to find his metallic duplicate, Metal Sonic, flying away from the city at high speed across a lower pathway.

"Is that... Metal Sonic?" He asked, prompting Tails to look in the same direction and see the robot.

"I guess he must have picked up the Chaos Emerald's energy signature, same as us." He deduced.

"So, why's he going that way?" The hedgehog wondered.

"No idea. Unless..." Tails replied before gasping in shock and looking back at the radar. The Chaos Emerald's signal was moving away from them - in the exact same direction as Metal Sonic!

"Oh, shoot!" Both of them exclaimed before Sonic raced back at top speed along the path, while Tails chased after him. Noticing a spring fixed onto the side of the elevated path, Sonic jumped onto it, and was sent flying across the gap and landed onto the lower path, and into Metal Sonic's path. The metal hedgehog stopped his charge upon seeing his organic counterpart.

"Alright, Metal. We know you have the Chaos Emerald we're looking for, so we can either do this the easy way, or the h-" Sonic told him, only to be cut off as Metal Sonic raced past him and flew into the air. The blue hedgehog stared for a moment before sighing. "Okay, hard way it is." He said to himself before chasing after Metal Sonic, and upon getting close enough, using his Homing Attack to crash into the robot and knock him out of the air, sending him crash-landing into the ground as the blue hedgehog landed in front of him.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY." Metal Sonic growled as he got up.

"That was kinda rude, don't you think? Didn't even bother to say 'Hi.'" Sonic remarked.

"NEW PRIORITY ONE: LOCATE AND RETRIEVE THE CHAOS EMERALDS." The robot stoically replied.

"Aw. And here I thought we had something special." The hedgehog quipped sarcastically.

"YOUR MOCKERY IS FUTILE. LAST WARNING; DESIST OR BE DESTROYED." Metal Sonic responded.

"Okay, fine, if you wanna be like that..." Sonic said before suddenly Spin Dashing towards Metal Sonic, who managed to block the attack with his arms. After deflecting the attack, the robot tried to attack with a kick, only for Sonic to dodge and counter with another Spin Dash, this time striking the robot in the torso, sending him back a few feet. Metal Sonic tried his luck again by dashing forward and swiping his claw at Sonic, but the blue hedgehog sidestepped the attack and countered with a kick that knocked the robotic hedgehog off of the pathway. Quickly righting himself, Metal Sonic tried once more to escape, but Sonic bounded off of the wall of a nearby building and rocketed himself into Metal Sonic, knocking him down onto another lower pathway. Once Sonic landed, the robot slowly got back up and glared at the hedgehog.

"OVERRIDING NEW PRIORITIES. ELIMINATING SONIC THE HEDGEHOG HAS BEEN RE-ESTABLISHED AS PRIORITY ONE." Metal Sonic growled.

"Now that's more like it." Sonic replied, unfazed. He dashed forward with a Homing Attack, which Metal Sonic easily blocked, before launching a flurry of quick strikes at the robot. Metal Sonic dodged every single strike, and when Sonic launched a kick, the robotic hedgehog grabbed his ankle and threw him off the pathway, sending the hedgehog hurtling into the air. Luckily for Sonic, Tails managed to catch up with him and grabbed him by the wrist mid-flight.

"I got you, Sonic!" The fox declared before swinging the hedgehog around and throwing him back towards Metal Sonic. Sonic used the resulting momentum to his advantage and performed a Spin Dash as he approached. Metal Sonic attempted to block the attack, but after a moment of struggle, the attack broke through Metal Sonic's guard and struck him in the torso. Sonic then swiftly grabbed Metal Sonic by the arms and kicked him full-force with both feet, knocking the robot off balance and sent him sliding across the ground, with Sonic balancing on top of him as if he were a metallic surfboard, before jumping off with a backflip and sending the robot sliding further back. Metal Sonic managed to grip his claws into the ground and flipped back onto his feet and dashed towards Sonic for another attack.

Tails, meanwhile, approached the combat from the side, and upon reaching a favourable position he pulled out a device that resembled a metallic hand, with an area around the wrist that looked like it could accommodate a Power Ring, and a trigger-like apparatus on the other end. The device was an upgrade of one of his previous inventions, dubbed the Magic Hand Mk. II.

"It's been a while since I've used this. Hope it still works." He said to himself as he grabbed the handle and aimed at Metal Sonic, waiting for a clear shot at the robot, while he and Sonic continued to dodge each other's attacks. Eventually, Metal Sonic managed to grab Sonic's wrist and throw him onto the ground. As he readied his claw to strike, Tails pressed the trigger on the device, and the metal hand launched towards Metal Sonic, connected to the handle by an extending arm, and struck the robot in the side while it was distracted. Sonic seized this opportunity and swept the robots legs and kicked him into the side of one of the buildings.

As Tails landed on the pathway, Metal Sonic recovered and dashed towards him. The young fox managed to dodge his ensuing attacks, and managed to leap back before Metal Sonic charged up for another dash.

"Tails! Over here!" Sonic called to his partner. Tails rushed towards him as Sonic leapt backwards onto his hands while Metal Sonic rocketed towards the pair. Tails jumped onto Sonic's feet and jumped as Sonic's legs swiftly extended, launching Tails high into the air. Before Metal Sonic can reach Sonic, Tails aimed the Magic Hand Mk. II downwards and fired, striking the robot in the back and causing him to crash into the ground. Sonic then swung his heel downward, hitting the robot again before kicking him into the air and using his Homing Attack to catch up with him in midair. He then grabbed onto Metal Sonic and used his Spin Dash to spin the robot around before tossing him back into the ground, causing a powerful crash.

Both heroes landed on the ground and watched tentatively for the robot to get up. Eventually, the robotic hedgehog twitched back to life and slowly got back up, appearing very much undeterred as he turned to face the two Mobians.

"CHAOS OVERDRIVE SYSTEM ENGAGED. BATTLE CAPABILITIES AT ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY PERCENT AND RISING." Metal Sonic coldly declared as sparks of energy began to emanate from his body, before lunging at the pair. Sonic immediately charged at him and the two met in a powerful collision, remaining locked in the struggle for a moment before they both rebounded in different directions, landing on the surfaces of nearby buildings and pathways before launching themselves at each other again. The two repeated this for a while, each attacking from every angle faster than the eye could follow, until Sonic leaped back onto the pathway as Metal Sonic pursued him.

Eventually, after a moment of the two blocking each others blows, Sonic noticed that Metal Sonic's attacks were becoming faster and stronger, a fact that made itself all too apparent when Metal Sonic effortlessly dodged one of Sonic's attacks and rocketed into him, sending the hedgehog flying back until he managed to land on his feet and charge at the robot with a Spin Dash. Metal Sonic blocked the attack with his claws, grabbing onto the blue hedgehog before flying into the air and tossing him downward, sending him crashing into the ground.

As Sonic struggled to get back up, Metal Sonic charged towards him again, but his assault was interrupted by a metallic hand grabbing onto one of his arms. The robot turned back to find Tails using his Magic Hand Mk. II to keep Metal Sonic away from Sonic. The robot struggled against the weapons grip before yanking his arm out of the metal hand, causing Tails to lose his balance and providing Metal Sonic the perfect opportunity to charge into him, before the robot grabbed the incapacitated fox and threw him off the pathway, only for Sonic to intercept and catch Tails before landing back on solid ground. In response, the robot calmly charged up a large amount of energy in his chest cavity.

"Oh, boy." Sonic muttered in concern, realising what the robot was about to do before he leaped onto a higher path and raced to avoid the incoming attack, carrying Tails all the while. Metal Sonic fired a large beam of energy at the duo, which Sonic observed to be larger and more powerful than usual, causing the road to crumble at the beam tore through it and forcing Sonic to outrun both the energy beam and the collapsing pathway.

-Angel Island-

Knuckles, meanwhile, was broken out of his meditative state by a mysterious feeling ringing through his mind, a sensation he recognised as the Master Emerald warning him of something. He turned to the Emerald and gazed into it, and the Emerald showed him a vision of Sonic and Tails evading Metal Sonic. In addition, the Emerald showed Sonic and Tails radiating a green and blue aura, respectively, while Metal Sonic exuded a purple aura, though this one seemed to be more concentrated.

"Is Metal Sonic harnessing Chaos Energy?!" He asked in disbelief, before stepping back and swiftly pulling out his Warp Ring, eager to not let the robot escape with the Emerald.

-Neon Skyline Zone-

Back in the Neon Skyline Zone, Metal Sonic charged up and fired another energy beam, this time aiming it along the pathway. Sonic noticed the attack coming and dodged to the side to avoid it, forcing him to jump down to one of the lower pathways. He had only managed to set Tails, who had barely managed to recover from Metal Sonic's earlier attack, back on his feet before Metal Sonic landed onto their pathway and began charging up the booster in his back. In response, Sonic charged up his Spin Dash, and the two charged at each other at the same time.

Tails, meanwhile, suddenly saw something in the air above them, looking up to find a Warp Ring had opened up, before Knuckles suddenly dived out, the ring closing behind him, and landed in front of Metal Sonic before blocking the robots charge. Upon seeing the echidna, Sonic immediately stopped mid-dash and skidded to a stop behind him.

"Knuckles?!" The hedgehog exclaimed in surprise as Knuckles continued to keep Metal Sonic at bay, even as the robot began to push him back a few inches, before suddenly throwing the robot to the side and redirecting his charge into a nearby building.

"Good to see you still know how to make an entrance." Sonic quipped, catching the echidna's attention. "How'd you know we were here, anyways?"

"The Master Emerald told me you guys needed my help." Knuckles explained. "So, what's the plan?"

"Metal's got a Chaos Emerald, and we need to get it out of him."

"Well, technically, that's not a plan, that's an objective." Tails interjected.

"First, we'll need more ground to fight on." Knuckles suggested, noticing the lack of space on the pathway. The three looked around for a better alternative until Tails looked down and spotted a rather large hexagonal platform that seemed to be used for construction purposes.

"Down there!" He called, pointing to the platform as Sonic and Knuckles directed their attention towards it, before they were interrupted by Metal Sonic bursting out of the building. The team immediately started heading down towards the platform, with Sonic jumping from pathway to pathway while Tails and Knuckles glided down, all the while being chased by Metal Sonic. Tails turned around and fired the Magic Hand Mk. II at the robot in order to slow it down, only for Metal Sonic to dodge the attack and charge towards the young fox. Luckily, Knuckles intercepted and tackled Metal Sonic, sending both of them hurtling into another path and buying time for Tails and Sonic to reach the platform.

Metal Sonic, meanwhile, swiftly broke out of the echidna's grip and retaliated, attempting to strike Knuckles only for him to block the attack and counter with a powerful punch that knocked the robot back. The echidna tried to attack again, but the robot suddenly caught his fist and threw him off the path. Metal Sonic then charged and fired another laser, but Knuckles managed to evade the attack and land on the platform next to Sonic.

"He's getting stronger." Knuckles observed as Metal Sonic flew down onto the platform.

"All the more reason to take that Emerald from him." Sonic replied.

"Okay. So how do we do that?" Tails asked. Sonic thought for a moment as Metal Sonic prepared to engage before an idea popped into his head.

"Sonic Overdrive?" The hedgehog suggested.

"Okay, but we'll need some setup time." Knuckles responded before Metal Sonic lunged at the trio. Sonic intercepted with a Spin Dash that the robot quickly blocked, and the robot attempted to slash at Sonic only for the blue hedgehog to dodge, until Tails fired his Magic Hand Mk. II at Metal Sonic, grabbing his arm and momentarily stopping him from attacking. This gave Sonic the opportunity he needed to strike the robot with a Homing Attack, causing the robot to briefly stagger back. After quickly regaining his footing, Metal Sonic swiped at Sonic again, missing once again as the hedgehog countered with a kick. The robot leaped back to avoid the attack, followed up by rocketing towards the hedgehog, but Knuckles quickly intervened and blocked him using his hands. Metal Sonic increased the power of his booster to shake the echidna off, but Knuckles used this to his advantage by gripping tighter onto Metal Sonic's head and swinging him around several times before throwing the robot away, leaving him to hurtle away from their position.

"Now!" Knuckles cried. Both Sonic and Tails rushed towards him and jumped into the air above him. Knuckles quickly grabbed onto Tails by his feet, who in turn grabbed Sonic by his feet, and the echidna began to spin around while keeping a tight grip on Tails as the trio began to build up momentum. Metal Sonic, meanwhile, had managed to stabilize himself before turning around and racing back towards the platform at top speed. As he got close, however, Knuckles let go of Tails's feet, flinging both Sonic and Tails in the direction of Metal Sonic as Tails let go of Sonic before the hedgehog curled up and Tails kicked him full-force towards the approaching robot. The resulting momentum caused Sonic to rocket towards Metal Sonic at blinding speeds and ram into the robot before he had a chance to defend. The hedgehog then turned around mid-air and struck the robot again, repeating the cycle countless times as he relentlessly attacked the metallic hedgehog, until the final hit caused Sonic to ricochet into the air. At the height of his leap, and with a cocky smirk, he used his Spin Dash technique to plummet down at high speeds and ram into the robot, sending it crashing powerfully into the platform, causing it to buckle around them. The resulting impact forced Metal Sonic to unwillingly eject the Chaos Emerald he had contained in his chassis, this one purple in colour, causing it to fly into the air until Tails flew up and caught it.

"Got it!" He cheered as he descended, while Sonic came over to him and Knuckles, the trio forming a collective high-five. Their celebration was cut short, however, by the sounds of machinery, and the trio turned around to see Metal Sonic getting back onto his feet, albeit with some apparent difficulty. Tails's grip on the Emerald grew tighter as Sonic and Knuckles stepped forward to defend the young fox. Metal Sonic glared at the three, assessing the situation before realising that he could not win given his current condition.

"THIS ISN'T OVER." He warned before igniting his booster and flying away, allowing the group to breathe a sigh of relief.

"That was a close one." Tails said.

"Tell me about it." Sonic replied in agreement, before turning to face Knuckles. "Thanks for the help, Knux."

"Don't sweat it. Used to saving your butts anyways." He joked, before turning to face the destruction Metal Sonic had caused. "Still, I never knew Metal Sonic could draw power from the Chaos Emeralds."

"Neither did we. Must be a new feature." Sonic replied.

"Another reason we can't let Eggman get his hands on either the Master Emerald or the Chaos Emeralds. If his robots can use them as a power source, he can very well put himself at an advantage." Knuckles warned, before pulling out his Warp Ring. "Anyways, now that Metal's been taken care of, I should be getting back to Angel Island."

"Oh, come on, man. You can't stay?" Sonic asked.

"Like I said, the Master Emerald needs my protection. At this stage, Eggman's likely to try and take it again." The echidna explained as he flung his Warp Ring into the air behind him, opening a portal back to Angel Island. "See ya." He said before steeping through, the portal closing behind him.

"He really needs to get a hobby." Sonic remarked before stretching his arms. "Well, that's us done here. Hope the others are doing okay on their end."

"I hope so too." Tails responded in a worried tone, staring uneasily at the Chaos Emerald in his hand. "If Metal Sonic managed to use the Chaos Energy from this Emerald, then Eggman must have managed to incorporate the same technology found in that Shadow Android into him. And if that's the case, then he could very easily do this for all of his robots." He theorised.

"Either way, he's getting desperate." Sonic noted, before turning to Tails. "Let's hurry back." He said, with Tails nodding in agreement before Sonic jumped onto a nearby road and ran towards the exit of the Zone, with Tails flying close behind as the two raced back home to determine their next move.