A/N: Hey lads! Thank you so much for sticking around through this thing, I really, really appreciate it (and you!) And to quickly clarify in case it wasn't clear in the previous chapters, any dialogue in italic is Metal using his coded speech rather than speaking "normally." Now, on to some more robot brain rot...

Before the rising sun, the robot may have only been a silhouette, yet as its rays, golden and strong, touched his armour, he was every colour he was made to radiate. Hues of robotic copper from the sun, the blazing red lights in his eyes from the sky, and hints of silver and white from the fresh clouds.

Neo made a noise resembling a scoff. He could practically hear Silver Sonic already, telling him how melodramatic this was. A robot, trying to relate to a sunrise? Something completely natural, untouched by machines? He had to laugh at the strange peace and cynicism that were battling each other within him.

It was funny, too, how not too long ago he had called these observations trivial. Useless data, in fact. It was all trivial when all he could focus on was facing that hedgehog again. His attention turned inwards. So many conflicting emotions ran at the forefront of his CPU, still. How could they not? These were not simple programs that he could choose to shut off as he pleased. They were the results of his experiences, many of which would be considered traumatic for an organic being to go through.

Neo found comfort in applying organic labels to his experiences - his organic life data demanded it. In a way, it helped him to feel more real. Not only had he been destroyed time and time again, but he had experienced some kind of psychosis and identity issues, much like an organic after trauma. For a time, it had broken him completely. Figuratively and literally... Lightning hitting you will do that. Now it was just time to put those pieces back together.

Neo straightened his posture and lifted his head. "Stop scanning me."

From behind him, Mecha lowered his hand to his side. "I apologize."

"No need."

The violet robot moved to stand beside his brother, looking straight ahead with him. "I made an observation. Are you available to listen to it?"

Neo turned his head slightly. "Go on."

"You do not appear to be angry about the corruption of your primary speaker."

Neo visibly tensed a little before relaxing again. "No. My voice, while it is mine... It reminds me of him. And I do not wish to resemble him any further than I must. And that hedgehog is not deserving of my w-" As if by some cruel irony, his vocalizer cut out completely and he was cut off. Frustrated, Neo clenched his fists at his sides.

Mecha gave a nod in reply to what he had said and rested one hand on the smaller 'bot's shoulder plate. "Affirmative. But, no matter. Regardless of your physical traits, you remain my sibling in my registry."

As always, Mecha's voice, though monotone as it always was, lifted him from the dissociative fog he so often found himself in.

Neo looked at the heavy hand on his shoulder, then up to Mecha. "You know... That is the most human you have ever sounded."

Mecha hesitated for a second as he processed this. "Understood. Do you recommend that I delete this interaction from my data banks?"

"What- No, it was just an observation. A neutral one."

Mecha slowly nodded. "Affirmative. Your observation has been logged for further scrutiny."

Neo looked out to the sunrise again. Neither of his voice modulators would boot up this time, but he made sure to not get frustrated as quickly. He looked down at his hands, turning them so that his palms were upright. Suddenly he was struck by an idea, and he turned to Mecha, signing to him instead. "Organic trait not bad."

Mecha watched carefully, tilting his head to one side in thought. He flipped through his language processing programs, which took several moments, before finding one that matched what Neo had been doing. He nodded in reply, not finding much else to say in return. After a few moments, though he looked thoughtfully at his hands for a moment, and then pointed at the door behind them before signing, "enter?"

Neo patted Mecha's shoulder before walking by him and gesturing for him to follow.

The sun bid the two brothers a farewell before dipping behind the clouds.

Upon the door closing behind them, a familiar young robot jumped out from behind them and wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders.

The force pushed Neo forward slightly, while Mecha stayed completely still with how heavy he was.

"Good morning, my fellow oversized calculators!" Silver proclaimed with his usual grin plastered on his face.

"Greetings, Silver Sonic II."

"You are the most insufferable, outdated dishwasher to ever exist."

"Mecha, what did he say?"

"Nothing."

Silver pouted, flicked Mecha's ear, and sidestepped around the two. "The Doc wants us to go out today, so you better get ready. We're meeting him in the office ASAP."

Neo straightened and stared after Silver.

Silver paused for a moment to let his older brothers catch up. As he waited, he took note of the blue 'bot's stiffened body language. "Don't get your wiring in a twist, Metal. It'll be fine if we're all there."

Neo glared at him and pushed past him roughly. What did Silver know about any of this? He was still practically fresh from the construction table!

"Touchy, touchy. You'll permanently damage your circuits if you keep frowning like that."

Neo revved his engine as a warning. He couldn't deny that he was growing fond of his younger brother, but sometimes he was so... Like the hedgehog. And it pissed him off on a subconscious level. But what he wasn't willing to tell either of them was that he was scared. Of course, he wanted to be out in the field again, using his power and speed for something. But now things were different. He had a family. And they could be in danger if he failed. The responsibility gripped his very core. He wanted to be selfish, to only think of himself like he used to, but... He was learning that there was more to "living" than being a weapon. More to life than himself and his own experiences.

Mecha slung his arm around Silver and pulled him close to slow the younger 'bot down. With Silver in his grasp, Mecha deliberately slowed his pace to keep them a safe distance from the stressed blue robot up ahead. "I advise that you cease this line of interaction with him."

"Yeah, yeah..." Silver sarcastically replied with a pout. After a short while of walking with the taller robot, Silver Sonic slowed his pace deliberately to let Neo walk further ahead of them. Mecha took note and slowed down, too. He looked down to Silver Sonic curiously.

Silver Sonic met his quizzical gaze with his own. "So... how is he?"

Mecha tilted his head. "That is a vague query. Elaborate."

Silver Sonic deflated in Mecha's grasp before replying, "Oh, right... I-I dunno, I just mean... Is he better? You're the only one he'll talk to about any of this right now and I know you guys were just talkin' about stuff."

"He is..." Mecha stopped to test out the next word in his head first, unsure if he was using it right, "hurting, in ways that I cannot comprehend. But I will not cease learning until I do comprehend it."

Silver Sonic smiled up at him. "You're a good guy, you know? And don't just say that being good is-"

"The idea of "goodness" is an organic concept."

Silver playfully hit Mecha in the side with one fist. "Knew you'd say that old-timer. C'mon, try to take it seriously."

Mecha took Silver's fist in his hand and put it back at his side. "Correction: I am serious. It is in my programming to be as such." He slapped his other hand on top of Silver's head a little too hard, causing him to jump forward with a yelp. "That, too, was serious."

"Serious my metal ass! Anyway, I don't know, I just..." Silver paused, considering his next words with a somber expression, "I don't know how to help. I thought opening up about how I ended up here might help, but..."

Neo stopped and spun around to face them from up ahead. As loudly as he could, but in the code that only Mecha and Neo could understand, he yelled, "I CAN HEAR YOU!"

Silver flinched in surprise and stopped in his tracks. Meeting Neo's glare, his surprise dissipated into an odd kind of shame.

He desperately wanted to get closer to the other robot, but... Neo wasn't making it easy. Not in the slightest. And it didn't help that he couldn't understand his speech right now, either. All he knew was that Neo was pissed at him, and he didn't really get why that was yet.

"I- I don't understand." Silver dipped his head in defeat. "I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what you're saying and I wish I did. I don't know how to talk to you, figuratively or literally. And I want to help, but you just kinda shut me out when I try... I don't get what I've done."

Neo held his stance and glare, his viciousness causing Silver to retreat a few steps. Had he gone too far? Overstepped some invisible boundary? Slowly, though, Neo's bristling stopped, and his aggressive composure slipped into defeat. Why did he get so angry when other people wanted to help him? For once, he made a conscious effort to analyze this. Maybe it was because he hated being so defenseless and vulnerable. Like he was to the hedgehog who would never understand him.

The connection made itself very clear.

Silver Sonic was like Sonic in a few ways. And Neo hated being seen as defenseless, especially in the eyes of Sonic. His processor had made the connection without him consciously deciding to. But the problem was, logically, the younger robot clearly wasn't the hedgehog. And whether he meant to be or not, Neo was being unfair to him.

Maybe he should change that now that he noticed the behaviour? Maybe change like this was part of something. That seemingly impossible calculation for redemption. He wasn't ready for that Sonic conversation yet, but he could at least make an effort to be less of a jerk to the robot who practically saved his life.

A sudden spark of inspiration struck him. Neo decided to try out signing again. Silver might understand that, right? Placing one closed hand on top of his open palm, he started the sign closer to Silver before bringing it towards himself to signal, "you help me." He paused, adding "sorry", before turning around and continuing on his way. Neo made a note, privately, telling himself to use sign more often to include Silver in conversation. The only problem with sign was... they were all made for combat, and the language wasn't the most practical to use in the field. But it would have to do, if the situation ever came up.

Silver picked up the pace and caught up to his older brother, walking beside him. "Don't be." He paused, mulling over what to say now that Neo had finally opened up to conversation with him again. "I'm sorry, though. I don't mean to be so intrusive. I just get worried, and, well, I don't want you to hate me."

Neo sped up a little so that he could walk ahead of Silver, turning to sign back to him where he could see, "need personal space."

"Yeah, got it." Silver affirmed this with a thumbs-up and a smile. "If I overstep just... punch me or something."

"That is a dangerous proposal." Mecha piped up from behind them. "Are you fond of sustaining damages to your frame?"

"Mecha!" Silver spun around, feigning offense at his brother's words with a hand over his chest. "I am not a masochist!" He then scrambled to cover his arms with his hands. "And don't you dare scan me to try to prove otherwise, weirdo."

Mecha shook his head and said plainly, "I do not wish to obtain any data such as that in question. Let us proceed to our objective without further delay."

Silver was too engrossed in the interaction to realize he was about to walk backwards into the door. Neo rolled his optics, grabbed his younger brother by the shoulders, and physically stopped him before he did. He then spun Silver around and pushed him through the door. Behind them, Mecha let out the briefest chuckle.

Mecha stood to attention ready for a command, while Silver and Neo seemed disengaged, for differing reasons. He noted their attitudes and physically pulled them closer to on either side of him to get their attention. Neo folded his arms and looked away, secretly anxious but masking it with disinterest, while Silver sheepishly grinned over at him and waved. Mecha shot Silver a warning look and batted his hand away, brightening his visor at him as he did to convey authority.

"Are you three quite finished?" Eggman finally spoke, spinning his chair around to face them. He raised an eyebrow at the trio, getting a nod from Mecha and a thumbs-up from Silver. Neo signed "yes" with one hand afterward, only meeting Eggman's gaze a few moments later.

"I'm trusting you to work together. You asked for this, so I'm letting you try this once. Now..." Eggman pulled a familiar red crystal out of his pocket and tossed it up and down a few times. "... I trust that you all know what this is!"

Neo and Mecha both straightened at the sight of the chaos emerald. Both of them had super forms, so of course, they knew its energy well. They exchanged knowing looks.

"Metal, I hate to bring up your little misadventure, but I'm sure you remember that most of my Shadow Androids were destroyed. I ordered them to be destroyed so that you couldn't take them. Which means... I need to rebuild them. But I did some thinking. Those androids... All believe that they are the real Shadow. I can't make that mistake again. Not after how it affected you." Eggman paused, moving focus to Neo, who uncomfortably shifted in place. "No more of you are going to suffer that fate. That is my gift to you. But to cut to the chase, I need more emeralds to instill them with chaos energy again."

Eggman finished by tossing the emerald to Mecha, who caught it with mechanical precision.

Silver watched him catch it in silent awe. Mecha could be so cool sometimes and he didn't even know it.

Neo, on the other hand, noted that Eggman hadn't entrusted the emerald to him. How curious. He made eye contact with Eggman without turning his head, conveying a sense of suspicion to him. Eggman held his gaze for several moments, acknowledging the robot's silent question but not giving an outright answer to it. They both knew why it wasn't given to him. No words needed to be exchanged.

Neo hadn't exactly proven himself to be stable enough for so much power yet. Mecha, on the other hand, was the most responsible and practical of the three. If anyone could be trusted with it, it was him.

Eggman then leaned back in his chair and gave his attention back to all three of them. "Well? Get me those emeralds and we can make big changes. I'm counting on you boys to make this work."

To everyone's surprise, Mecha chose to toss the emerald back. Eggman caught it in one hand and raised a brow questioningly.

"One unit alone attracts enough attention. If you intend to send three, the addition of a chaos emerald will draw more unwanted attention." Mecha plainly explained, before turning to leave. "I calculated the risk and it is too significant."

"Very well." Eggman placed it back in his pocket, amused and impressed by Mecha's disagreement. "Good luck, boys!"

Neo scanned the horizon. Nothing of importance as far as the optic could see. Nothing but grey rocks jutting out of the ground from a mostly flat plane. The only splashes of colour on the devoid surface were Neo, Mecha, and Silver themselves. Their bright blue, violet, and silver colours stuck out painfully and would definitely be a hindrance if their mission relied on any sort of camouflage... and Neo was the only one who could shapeshift.

Just looking at the open landscape sent something like adrenaline through Neo's metal body. Knowing that the emeralds, for sure, were out there somewhere within the emptiness made him just want to blast through the air at full speed to cover more ground.

"So," Silver finally spoke up, breaking the silence. He turned to his older siblings. "Where are we headed? The rock over there?" He lifted a hand and pointed. "Or maybe that slightly rounder one way over there?"

Neo rolled his optics and signed "wait" by holding both of his hands up and off to the side a bit, gesturing with his fingers. His attention was focused on his internal map, which he decided to project in front of himself for his brothers to scrutinize.

Silver peered over Neo's shoulder at the projection. He pointed with a finger. "So we just follow those red dots, right?"

Neo squinted one optic slightly and shook one hand to convey a "sort of" reply. He paused for a moment, scanning the landscape once again before continuing to speak. He signed for "no", then tucked in his middle and "ring" finger and moved his hand diagonally across his body, "flight."

Silver gave him a concerned look. "What makes you say that? Wouldn't it be quicker if we did?"

Mecha shook his head, agreeing with Neo. "We are highly visible in this environment. The noise level and dust that we would produce would be visible to other parties. As such, it would be advisable to keep a lower cover." Neo nodded in agreement to support Mecha's notion. "There are likely to be several organizations looking for us after..." He stopped, looking to Neo for any sign of resentment. The younger robot simply nodded again, with less conviction this time.

Silver relented to them pretty quickly with a shrug. "Yeah, that makes sense." The sun glinted harshly off of his shiny armour plating as if to seal the point being made. "Well, when you're ready, lead the way. You seem to have the most accurate map, Metal."

The robots walked in silence. With walking speed slower than what the robots were used to, and not much to look at, their processors began to wander - all except for Mecha, whose attention was solely invested on where he was going.

"How about a game of I-spy?" Silver Sonic's voice derailed Mecha's focus.

Mecha's reply was straight-to-the-point as always. "How about I declare that you win and we do not do that."

Silver grinned and looked ahead. "Oh, but aren't you curious to find out what could be grey? Here's a hint, it's not that rock over there. It could be that other one. Or is it?"

Neo stayed focused on his mission, following the blip on his internal map. But, his scanners started wandering, subconsciously hoping to pick up any sign of the hedgehog. He unconsciously stepped ahead of Mecha and Silver to "protect" them - from what, he wasn't sure.

"Tough crowd... Okay, here's another fun one for you. I call this game 'let's get to know each other', kinda like 21 questions."

Mecha simply turned and scanned Silver's frame, getting a yelp and a recoil from the younger robot. "Hey! No, that's not what I meant."

Neo jabbed both of them with his elbow and signed, "FOCUS."

Silver chuckled to himself, "somehow you did that in all-caps. Impressive."

That earned a swift middle finger from Neo, who made a point of stepping away from the two to perform a wider scan of their surroundings as they walked. Their slow progress was making him restless already. Not only could he move at breakneck speeds in an instant, but being so slow left him vulnerable to...

He froze on the spot, body rigid.

Mecha stopped and held out one arm to block Silver from going any further. He gave priority to his scanners and performed a wide sweep. But, his software wasn't as up-to-date as his younger brother's.

"Uh, why did we st-"

Without exchanging any words, Mecha knew what to do. He grabbed Silver's wrist and yanked him close, moving to stand against Neo's back. With the two close to him, Neo activated his black shield around the three of them. Mecha slapped a hand over Silver's muzzle plate before he could speak.

They were not alone.

And the enemy had evaded everybody's scanners. And somehow tracked them.

How.

Silver Sonic was the newest hedgehog-series model out of the three. Had he picked this up and just not told them? Had he sold them out? Was this some kind of setup? Questions and accusations jumbled Neo's CPU with anger, and then anxiety. But the anger ruled above all else. It sent red hot sparks of impulsivity through him. Mecha sensed the other robot's surface temperature rising behind him.

"Brother-"

In a split second, Neo deactivated the shield and shot into the air.

A sonic boom cracked the air with the sheer speed he moved at and his engine verged on the edge of V. Maximum Overdrive already. Just as quickly as he left, Neo found his closed fist making contact with the hard metal plating of Diablon - a G.U.N robot. The speed and power combined sent Diablon back a couple of feet. Neo only needed a second to figure out that it had been too easy to land that blow and the machine most likely needed to recharge its barrier. Before it could fully charge it again, Neo struck another harsh blow, this time cracking the machine's centremost plating. This sent Diablon packing down to the barren earth below.

Neo's engine was already smoking from the strain on it, but he didn't care. He glared with all the hate he had at the enemy below as it gathered itself back up again. As soon as his engine had recovered just a fraction, Neo practically threw himself back into the fight without a second thought. This time he came at Diablon just a few seconds slower than last time. Diablon clocked on to this loss of power and launched a gigantic fist at its target, hitting its mark. This time it was Neo who lost ground, falling to the rocky terrain where he bounced several times before finding his feet again and skidding to a halt. His silver claws dug into the earth as he came to a stop, and he used this leverage to launch himself right back into combat, spraying dust and debris behind him as he went.

But what he made contact with this time felt lighter and oddly familiar. Neo was sent back down onto his backside by the force of the interception. When the dust cleared, Neo found that it was Mecha above him, holding him by one arm. Neo practically snarled at him, furious that Mecha had stopped him. He tried to yank his arm away, but Mecha held on tighter.

If you are about to lecture me in the middle of combat, I swear to Chaos... Neo spat the code at him and glared with frustration and urgency.

Unphased, Mecha pulled Neo closer to him and was practically nose-to-nose with him. "No. This enemy unit is a decoy and you are being fooled. Look clearly at the situation."

In front of them, Silver Sonic kept Diablon busy whilst Mecha talked sense into the irate Neo. It had been so long since Silver had a chance to use his weapons that it almost excited him to try each one out. He flew circles around Diablon, throwing laser beam emissions and missiles from his fingertips as he went - and he could, quite literally, do this all day without tiring. Silver's apparent enthusiasm was enough to put even more doubt in Neo's processor about him.

Neo's optics shifted to Silver, then to Mecha. He narrowed them accusingly.

Mecha practically shook Neo as if it would shake some sense into him. "Look clearly. The enemy utilizes an electromagnetic barrier to mask its signal. That is why we were unaware of its presence until it descended. This unit is a mere prototype... It is not our true enemy." He paused, mulling over his next conclusion. "I propose that our enemy sought to distract us and test all three of us."

Neo nodded slowly in agreement. Mecha was probably right - he usually was. But he still had to wonder how the enemy knew they were coming. Something wasn't right.

At similar times, the two older 'bots seemed to sense the same thing, Mecha realizing just seconds after Neo. A familiar signal flagged up in their scans and they both stood to attention, back to back once again.

"The Egg Emperor..." Mecha announced to himself.

An all-too-familiar mech stared down at them from above. The machine was golden, fitted with thick armour, sharp teeth, and a massive lance to go with its shield. This was one of Eggman's strongest mechs - capable of flight, capable of withstanding massive cannon fire, and equipped with missiles and destructive energy waves.

A sense of dread and regret filled Neo's systems. All of the machines he had piloted during his reign, he had left behind for anyone to take... too focused on killing Sonic and overthrowing his creator to give a shit what came of the technology. Now, G.U.N had the leftovers in its possession. Not only that, but the reminder of his downfall and lowest mental point were unsettling. This was the machine he had controlled right before he really fell off the deep end.

The ice-cold dread caused Neo to glitch at the worst time. Like so many times before, he suddenly felt unfocused and disconnected, seeming to forget everything he had just been doing. Mecha noticed this but decided to focus on the immediate threat for now. There was no time to waste.

The Egg Emperor fired the first missile. It screamed through the air, hurtling straight for the two brothers with clear intent.

"MECHA! METAL! LOOK OUT!"

Mecha met the threat head-on. He took several steps forward and locked on to the target, calculating where it would make contact easily.

He caught the projectile square with both hands, unfazed. The power and force behind it pushed him back but he resisted. He kept pushing back until his systems were strained - not a problem. The second his arms started to give way, he just let the momentum of the missile continue into his hands, where he turned in a circle and threw it as hard as he could back at Diablon to finish it off. Only then did he turn his attention to Neo, grabbing his arm to get his attention. "Compose yourself. We are easy targets if we continue to stand here."

Neo snapped out of his daze upon feeling the pressure directly on his arm. He went to sign "sorry", but Mecha slapped his hand back down and pulled him out of the way behind a boulder. Silver darted over and joined them, luckily barely scratched from his own fight so far.

"So, uh... We got a plan, boys?" Silver questioned with a sheepish smile.

Mecha and Silver both looked to Neo, whose optics widened in disbelief and then narrowed in resolve. He was the one who had piloted the thing before, so he knew its weakness was the glowing section in its chest - he knew its schematics like the back of his hand. With fresh determination and focus from feeling in control, Neo went on to explain this in sign as quickly as he could, getting nods of understanding from the two. Now, with a better grip on his volatile emotions, he stood and pointed to the enemy with fresh authority. Silver and Mecha both took off at the same time by his command. Neo revved his engine, jumped to a hover, and then blasted off to bring up the rear behind them.

While Silver distracted the Egg Emperor by approaching to the left, Mecha came around the right just as it swung its lance towards the smaller 'bot. This confused whoever was piloting the Egg Emperor and it instantly tried to swing back to the right to take Mecha out. The two distractions left the golden machine open to its most ironic opponent - the very 'bot who had piloted it just days ago. Neo pushed his engine to the limit and broke into V. Maximum Overdrive, tearing straight through the mech's weak point with frightening ease.

He paused in a hover, allowing his engine to recover once again. Silver and Mecha quickly joined him, checking to see if he was still functioning well enough. His new power source hadn't exactly been tested in combat yet.

A sinister laugh from behind took them by surprise.

"You really thought we would keep that little weakness intact?"

The three spun around at the same time to face Egg Emperor, which, too, had turned to face them tauntingly.

Was that the G.U.N commander?

Neo narrowed his optics at the piloted robot with a scornful expression. The hole he had made clean through its torso clearly hadn't slowed it down in any way. He searched the machine for any other weakness wordlessly.

"You're the one who tried to take over the world and maimed innocent citizens. It's time to settle this once and for all." With that said, the gold-plated machine pointed its lance directly at Neo. "Finally, justice will be served!"

A sick feeling churned in Neo's tanks, threatening to override his focus. He was remorseful for how he had behaved during that time and all of these reminders were putting him back on edge. But, rather than flying off the handle again, he feigned confidence - it's what Mecha would tell him to do, right? Instead of getting worked up and lashing out impulsively, he simply placed one claw tip on the tip of the lance and pushed it to the side, challenging the commander wordlessly.

"You dare mock me, you putrid machine? The military will have your head!" As if to emphasize the last word, the Egg Emperor leaned forward and held up its shield.

That was when the reinforcements came into view. Several R-1/A Flying Dog units approached from different directions. Mecha clocked them at 160mph, but Neo was infinitely faster - the speed was practically irrelevant to them. But something else entirely snatched Mecha's attention. He turned to the Egg Emperor with fresh urgency.

"If you order your units to attack us we will defend ourselves." Mecha warned him, holding his hands up. "If humans are piloting those units, they will surely die." Always the balance and voice of reason, Mecha held his ground even when the lance shifted to point directly at him. This time, the Egg Emperor jabbed at its target's chest plating threateningly. Mecha didn't budge. "They will die. Do you not comprehend this information? I am giving you the opportunity to leave this confrontation without harm coming to your-"

Critical errors took over his visual field.

"...Family."

Mecha looked down, confused.

Speared straight through his chest plating was the deadly lance. Small sparks of electricity crackled around the point of entry.

He didn't react, but Silver and Neo flinched in shock.

"Why? I warned you..." Was all Mecha said. He closed one hand around the lance and ripped it clean from his plating, leaving behind a hole. "I warned you and you did not listen. Now you risk your lives." His engine stuttered and began to smoke with the effort of keeping his flight up. Critical errors continued to fire up in his HUD, threatening a system reboot if he did not see to them soon.

"You make a hole in my robot? I make one in yours." The commander replied, tauntingly matter-of-fact about it.

As quickly as he could, Neo signed to Silver, "protect him." Silver nodded with a serious expression and took Mecha's arm, about to fly him to safety.

Neo desperately tried to keep calm, to not get fired up again, but it was so difficult and every part of him was screaming to just go all-out and not care about what it did to his systems and mental state. How dare anyone lay so much as a finger on his brother. Especially when he had been trying to prevent the conflict from getting worse! Why him, of all units? For what gain? The more he thought about it, the more he hated humanity.

"You hateful little machines are a scourge on this world." The G.U.N commander taunted, swinging Egg Emperor's shield at its target - Silver Sonic, who was distracted by his older brother's injury. But before it could make contact, Neo placed himself between the shield and his younger brother and caught it with both hands. With a rev of his engine, Neo pushed back, giving Silver plenty of time to lead him to safety higher above. As he went, he couldn't help but look back at the blue and white 'bot below with worry. He just hoped Neo wouldn't lose his head and get himself seriously hurt, too.

Meanwhile, Neo boosted himself right up to the machine's face and hovered menacingly, flexing his sharp claws with intent. He could see the commander from behind the glass of Egg Emperor's eyes.

Rage flowed through his body, exquisitely corrosive. Hate, he soon came to remember, was pleasurable; it was fury and was the basis of power. That need for others to fear him resurfaced in an instant, sharp and spiteful. If he could scream and shout at the disgusting human behind the machine, he would. Of course, something as cowardly as a human had to hide behind something much stronger than itself. He hated that. And he hated that it reminded him of his own overcompensation.

"Go on. Say your last words, little robot, I dare you." The G.U.N commander sneered from behind the Egg Emperor's glass. "Or has Sonic got your tongue?"

Neo's optics brightened dangerously. How dare someone mention that hedgehog's cursed name in front of him. And the implication that Sonic had been the one to rob him of his voice during his downfall was obviously incorrect, but only served to rile him further. He wasn't going to waste time communicating with this pathetic flesh bag. He let his fist do the talking. Without needing to think about it, Neo punched the glass in one swift motion and had the human by the collar.

Now face-to-face with the commander behind the machine, Neo glared with all the venom he had.

He drew back his fist with clear intent, and...

Missed?

It was moments later that he registered that his hand had been blasted clean off at the wrist joint. In his surprise and rage, Neo jumped back and hovered in the air again, looking around angrily for the source of the attack. Judging by the heat and precision, he determined that some kind of homing laser had been used... The backup Flying Dog units. Of course. He had been too focused on his revenge to focus on them!

Neo looked over his shoulder with a murderous glare. He couldn't spare any more time getting his revenge on this human, but the few glass shards that had grazed and cut him brought him a sick kind of satisfaction. But a strange feeling gripped him as he analyzed this.

This wasn't what Mecha wanted. He was making this about his own feelings, again. He looked up to Silver and Mecha and his rage mixed with guilt. Shooting one last death glare at the mech behind him, Neo turned his attention to the Flying Dog units. He lifted his remaining hand and charged an electricity bolt. Not high enough voltage to kill a human, but enough to cause damage to the aircraft, forcing them to at least evacuate.

But once again, he was intercepted.

Neo saw blue, and then red, before his engine cut out and he lost his flight. He dropped almost instantly to the ground, but landed expertly on his feet with a loud clang.

What.

He couldn't believe it. He swore his CPU had crashed and rebooted.

Sonic.

The two hedgehogs, one flesh and blood, one metallic, stood up at the same time and stared each other down.

Neo desperately wanted to shout. To scream. To tell him to get the fuck away from here. To tell the hedgehog that he wasn't being the hero he thought he was being by stopping him from taking the shot. But his vocalizer failed him every time he tried it. All that came was static.

"Metal. Short time no see, huh?" Sonic spoke first, offering a cocky smile as he always did.

Neo looked up at his brothers again, momentarily watching Silver defend Mecha by himself. He stared at Sonic. Then his brothers again. He watched Silver take a hit from the Egg Emperor and flinched, both angry and panicked for them.

As much as his killer programming wanted, no, forced him to want to kill that cursed hedgehog right now... there was something more important to him. But just as he activated his jet boosters again to go and help them, Sonic hit him with another spin dash, sending him tumbling backwards with a series of heavy clangs.

Neo was getting desperate now.

He couldn't scream for Silver and Mecha to get out of there. He couldn't tell Sonic that he didn't want to fight him. His whole body started to shake with panic and rage. He stood again, only to be knocked down as quickly as he rose. His panic got worse. He looked at Sonic with almost pleading optics, slower to rise this time.

Sonic held his gaze and hesitated for a second before steeling himself and coming at him again. "I have to stop you, Metal. You won't ever give up hurting people, will you?!"

Neo's engine stuttered with his conflicting emotions and the damage to it. He dug the claws of his hand into the dirt and lifted his head to glare at Sonic. He didn't care if Sonic didn't understand him, he couldn't stay silent any longer. "LET ME STAND, HEDGEHOG. I HAVE TO PROTECT THEM!" He punched his fist into the dirt and let out a static hiss.

Sonic recoiled in surprise. He understood. How could that be?

It was that moment of surprise that gave Neo the chance to scramble to his feet and shoot back up into the sky. I'm coming, just hold on...

But he was too slow.

As if in slow motion, he watched as the Egg Emperor fired a missile at Silver and Mecha. He pushed his engine to the limit in a blind panic. He didn't care what happened to his own body at this point. Sonic could watch him fall apart again for Mecha for all he cared. It wasn't like he hadn't already seen, no, caused that. It wasn't weakness or vulnerability. It was something else entirely. It was love.

With just a few seconds to spare, Neo shoved his siblings out of the way and took the hit himself, activating his Black Shield just a moment too late. The pain was white-hot, but he didn't care. It was nothing compared to the rage, the sorrow, of seeing those most important to him injured - and Sonic bearing witness to that and doing nothing to help them. Just like how the hedgehog had stood there and watched Neo suffer before. His side took the brunt of the impact, now dented and blackened - but it was too much strain on his systems, and he blacked out a few seconds later.

When he came to, Neo sluggishly registered that he was moving at a high speed. His optics onlined suddenly in panic, then anger.

Silver Sonic was carrying Neo by his underarm, holding him as close as he could. A grim look was on Silver's face as he looked down to meet Neo's angry stare, easily picking up the sound of Neo's motor systems coming back online.

"I... I'm sorry. I know you're gonna be mad." Silver began, his own vocalizer seeming to struggle to force the words out. "They got Mecha. I tried to save him but, they... When you..."

Neo frantically looked over his shoulder, hoping for any sign of his older brother. But there was nothing but the barren, empty landscape. Slowly, his anger crept back in, and he glared accusingly at Silver. But the more he glared, the more scratches, dents, and defacements he registered on Silver's plating. His ire towards the young robot turned to frustration and regret. It was clear now that Silver had put up a good fight to protect them all, just as he had done.

Neo felt sick to his tanks. Why hadn't G.U.N just killed him if they claimed to want justice? Why did they have to hurt Mecha?

And why hadn't Neo been strong enough, again? He wanted to turn back and send them all to oblivion. To turn their machines to scrap. To get revenge on the humans responsible, to crush them... But his damages just would not allow it. Pitiful.

"We'll get him back. I swear it," Silver continued, picking up the pace as he spoke, "but we gotta get fixed up and think up a plan. Between two supercomputers I'm sure we can do it." There was an uncharacteristic seriousness to his voice and expression.

The two looked at each other, sharing the anger and hurt.

Mecha was gone, and all would pay.

Especially Sonic.