Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Still don't own Sonic and co.never did, never will.

As I wove my in and out of the maze of trees, my sensors indicated that there were many other life forms close by. I slowed down, and approached the area cautiously. I hid in a dense clump of bushes and peeked through. I saw a clearing, with many small huts made of some organic substance, as well as other larger buildings that were made of stone. There were many different looking people in the village, going this way and that. Some were playing, while others were just standing and talking with one another. This must be Knothole Village! I thought. I should be able to find Sonic here. That's what Robotnik said, anyway. Then I shall put an end to his evil ways for good. Suddenly, I spotted three figures walking toward the forest. One was an orange, two-tailed fox. The second was an echidna, crimson red, with a white torus encircling his neck. I noted that he had overly large knuckles, and looked more like he was serious about anything. But it was the third figure that drew my gaze the most. He was blue, but different than my own dark metallic blue. He was more of an aquatic blue. He had spines projecting from his back, and had red-and-white shoes. He looked an awful lot like me. Then it clicked. This was Sonic, my target. Finally! I thought. I meet my foe. If I sneak around to the right, I can ambush them. I withdrew from the clump of bushes, only to trip backwards on a tree root, sending me to the ground with a loud CLANG! "What was that?" they said in unison. Good going, Mecha, you just gave away your position! I cursed myself. Now they will come and check to see where that noise came from. Perhaps I can use that to my advantage. I silently withdrew my blasters and activated my boosters to low power. I floated up to the branch of a near-by tree, waiting for when they passed underneath me, and then, I would strike! I then heard voices that sounded as though they were heading my way. I listened with great intensity. "Should we check it out?" asked Sonic. "We should be careful," said the echidna. "It could be a trap." "Aw, Knuckles, you worry too much," said the two-tailed fox. Ah, so the echidna has a name. I thought. I wonder if the fox does, too? "Tails, you can't ever be too careful," said Knuckles. Such pitiful names, but they suited them well, especially the echidna. I smiled, because I knew that they would be no match for me. I would take them all out, one by one, and freeing Robotnik of them, forever. I shifted slightly, so I could see them, but they couldn't see me. I saw them come around the corner. I froze, and watched them like hawk watches his prey, silent yet deadly. "I'm beginning to wonder if I even heard anything at all, or if I just imagined it," Tails said. "All three of us imagining we heard the same thing? Quite unlikely," replied Knuckles. He turned his gaze to Sonic. "What's wrong?" "I'm not sure," he said. "But I've got this creepy feeling like we are being watched. And I think," he added, "whatever it is, is in that tree." He turned and looked directly at my hiding spot, and the others' gazes followed his. "I don't see anything," said Knuckles. "There is no way anything could have gotten up that tree without us knowing about it. Come on, let's go back. The noise was probably just a fallen tree branch. Hey, Tails, I'll race you back to Knothole!" "You're on!" cried Tails, and the two of them took off toward the village, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake. Sonic stood there and watched them. Perfect, he is alone. This is my chance to strike, I thought. It's time to have some fun. Sonic took one last look at the tree I was perched in, then muttered to himself, "No tree branch when it falls sounds like metal.huh? What the." TESEWWW!

At that exact moment, I fired my lasers, jumped to the ground. Sonic dodged my blast by millimeters. "Who are you?!" he demanded. "I am Mecha Sonic," I told him. "I have been sent by Dr. Robotnik to destroy you and all of your friends." Somehow, when I said this, I felt uncomfortable. Like this was wrong, somehow. I shook it off, for I had a job to do. "Oh, yeah? Well, we'll just see about that!" he exclaimed. Then, without warning, he attacked! I dodged, and retaliated with a laser blast. Miss! He's good, I thought. But I'm better. He circled around to come at me again. "Let's see how you like my 'Spin Blade' attack!" he cried out, whirling himself into a spinning blade, much as I had done to escape the chamber I had been earlier. Without even thinking, I fired my thrusters and shot into the sky, clear of the treetops. I noticed that Sonic had targeted me like a homing missile, and was following. "Well, two can play at that game," I said to myself. I went into a steep dive, and pulled up just before I hit the forest floor, and began to weave in and out of the trees. Let me tell you, there is nothing more exhilarating than going over 500 mph through a densely packed forest. To my left, tree! To my right, tree! I had about a millisecond to react before I smashed against a tree, and ended up as a pile of scrap metal. My sensors indicated that Sonic was still following me, but he was gaining! Why? I chanced a look behind me, and then I knew. As a blade, he could easily weave through the trees, whereas I had to go around them. "Argh, this isn't what I had expected," I said to myself. "Perhaps there is another way." I changed my course and headed straight for a tree. In 5 seconds, I would hit it! 5.4.3.2.1.I veered just in the nick of time, and Sonic, just as I hoped, slammed headfirst into the tree. "Aahhhhh!" Searing pain shot through my head. I clutched it in pain, wondering what happened. Nothing had hit me, I was sure of it. I shook my head, and the pain subsided a bit. I saw that Sonic too, was in pain, but he had no mark to prove so! After smacking into a tree like that, he should have at least had a bruise on his head, but no! Not a scratch! This is weird. He smashed into a tree, and comes out without a scratch. Then, for some reason, I feel as though I'm the one who ran into it, when there is nothing around me but him. This doesn't compute. "Ohhhh, my achin' head! What hit me?" he said groggily. "You ran into a tree, fool," I snapped. "You may be fast, but you aren't very smart." His head jerked up in my direction, his eyes ablaze with hatred. "You!" he cried out. "I'll get you for that!" He shoved himself to his feet. "Bring it on, Mecha! I don't fear you!" "Very well," I said. "Wouldn't you say this area is a bit too crowded for our fight? Let's go somewhere else. Somewhere a little more.open." With that, I took to the air, and streaked toward this clearing I saw earlier, making sure that Sonic followed me. He did. I reached the clearing first, and landed gently on the far side of it. Sonic stopped at the other side. We stared at each other for a few moments, neither of us saying anything. I finally broke the silence. "Let us fight here," I said. "Prepare to die, Sonic!"