One moved legs in a circle pattern, the sheer speed making a figure eight shape be all that was visible...
The other had (to his own surprise) a whirling come from his back, followed by a powerful discharging of a fast-moving jet that generated thrust by propulsion...
The two blue blurs bounced around the inside of the warehouse as Naruto and Sonic ran circles around the building. Every few seconds though, those blurs were replaced by a flash of sparks and deafening booms whenever the pair clashed, cracks shooting across the ground from the kickback of their impacts.
Then just as fast as it happened, they were back to running, weaving through the rubble and cargo like pro-parkour experts until they clashed again. At first glance, it seemed like an even match, with both speedsters locked in a stalemate of trading blows for a few microseconds before splitting off again.
However to the trained eye like Sally, who watched silently from the sidelines, they would see that the mechanical hog was keeping just ahead of his organic counterpart. In fact, it seemed less like he was actually fighting Sonic, and more along the lines that he was toying around with him.
"Gah?!" Or at least that was before Naruto caught one of Sonic's wrists mid-punch and slammed his foot into his gut, sending him flying into a wall. Dazed, the speedy hedgehog couldn't react when the former blonde grabbed his head before shoving him through the wall and into the forcefield on the other side with a loud crackling zap. This was swiftly followed by Naruto dragging Sonic along the perimeter at high speed, sending electricity and plaster flying everywhere. He then flung the hedgehog into a pile of crates which promptly collapsed on top of him.
"You know this whole thing is a waste of time, right?" Naruto asked dully, or at least as dully as his synthetic voice could manage, while dusting his hands off. Good thing he was a kinesthetic learner through and through...While he had no answers or any explanation for this situation, and had no idea if he could even use any of his usual techniques in this fight, he still had his training, fists, and plenty of guts...which suited Naruto just fine. He wasn't worried if Sonic was hurt since his weird robot eyes seemed to analyze everything the Uzumaki looked at (something which did remind him of the Sharingan), and told him that he was fine, a fact soon proven by a muffled drilling sound.
A few seconds later the blue blur emerged spinning like a buzzsaw that effortlessly cut through the crates. Unrolling and landing on the top of the heap once he broke free, Sonic gingerly rubbed the angry red burns covering his face. "Ow… that's gonna leave a mark…"
"Well, maybe now you'll stop being an idiot and actually-" Naruto couldn't even finish his sentence when Sonic charged him again, curling up into a spiraling ball of destruction once more as he slammed into the metal doppelganger. The former blonde held up his arms protectively just as the speedster hit, causing him to skid back several feet…
"Aah!?" "Ow!" Right through the wall behind them and into the forcefield again which promptly zapped them both.
Stumbling from the jolt as his vision flickered with static, Naruto shook it off as quickly as he could before shoulder charging a still stunned Sonic, ramming him through the wall again and right back into the pile of crates. Ok...metal body and electrical shocks did NOT mix! Then he let out a growl and turned to Sonic, he was getting aggravated with the speedster. As he did, the engine in his back whirled to life again and he shot forward at the organic hedgehog.
"Oh jeez...!" Over on the sidelines, Sally was watching the pair duel it out in concern, her eyes flickering all over. Even as used to trying to visually keep track of Sonic as she was, her eyes struggled to keep up. However, her gaze was soon drawn towards the cracks that were spreading across the smashed walls whilst debris slowly rained down. "Not good, not good at all! At this rate, those two are going to bring the whole place down on top of us."
[This doesn't have to happen, Sally. I know Sonic doesn't like to listen to others, but I was inside the one he's fighting. This model mark omega version of Metal Sonic is different than all the prior Metal Sonic units. I know that for a fact. He meant it when he offered to peacefully let us leave.]
"Well that's great, problem is getting Sonic to hold still long enough to actually explain that..." the Acorn princess groaned, looking at the handheld device she carried. While she had long-since learned to trust Nicole's input and trusted her more that anyone else besides Sonic himself, that was the problem: even if this Metal Sonic was different, Sonic didn't want to listen. The blue speedster himself admitted he only had a thirty second attention span at best when he got riled up like this.
Then again...the Metal Sonic line WERE built specifically to kill him, so it wouldn't surprise her if the hedgehog wasn't willing to hear Nicole out anyway.
Back with the fight, Sonic and Naruto had collided head on, their hands locked together as they tried overpowering one another and kept in place as their momentum continued.
'This guy just doesn't know how to quit! I respect that, but sheesh! Ok...think, Naruto, think! Mecha–me had a bunch of cool weapons, maybe this thing has some...Hey! Voice! I need options here! What can I use to hurt this Priority One target: Hedgehog?!"
[Inquiry processing...Weapons system fully operational. Accessing Options...options located. Inquiry: select weapon.]
'Something that I could blast him with that doesn't need my hands and would really hurt would be best!'
[Inquiry. Perimeters set. Accessing options. Match found. Charging weapon: Powering primary torso armament. Firing Plasma Pulse Laser.]
As the two continued to grapple, a light built up in Naruto's chest, surprising them both before a beam shot out of Naruto's torso and hit Sonic dead on, the recoil sending them both skidding backwards along the ground.
'Ok...OW!" Sonic groaned. That hurt...that really hurt! Pushing himself up with a wince, the speedster glared at his counterpart.
Groaning, Naruto sat up and shook his head. Ok...he'd been right about this body having weapons, but it was obvious that he was going to have to figure them out! Getting up himself, he noticed the peach skin of Sonic's front torso was now occupied by a large black scorch mark.
"Knew that you saying that we could just go was all a trick...shouldn't have expected anything less from a mindles killer robot. " Sonic snapped as he shook off the pain as best he could, running in place to build momentum again.
"I wasn't lying! You're the one who insisted on fighting!" Naruto snapped back, aiming the perpetual glare of his current body at the organic hedgehog. "And since you're not going to stop, that means I need to defend myself! Whose fault is that?!"
[Warning: Shield Security Protocol Activated. Self–Destruct Sequence Engaged: 00:00:03] Naruto froze mid-step when this notification appeared in his vision along with a video feed of Sally by some kind of generator, clearly the one responsible for producing the shield around the building. Obviously, she had tried shutting it down while the two of them had been fighting!
"Self...? Oh shit!" The former blonde swore to himself while deflecting a charge from Sonic, knocking him into the nearest wall instead. Spinnig on his heel, Naruto bolted as fast as the jet engine-based propulsion system in his back could carry him, ignoring the confused shout from his opponent.
[00:00:02]
"Crap! Crap! Crap! Faster!" He veered through the rubble, appearing as naught but a blue and silver blur while the world seemed to slow to a halt around him.
[00:00:01]
With a grunt, the robotisized teen slammed straight through a wall, revealing the mobian girl and the machine on the other side. Sally barely had time to even look his way before he tackled her to the ground and covered as much of her as he could with his body.
[Utilizing defense matrix] whether that was Nicole or the other voice in his head, he lacked any time to care.
[00:00:00]
The generator sparked wildly before it went up in a fireball, the flames from the ensuing explosion rocked the entire building and engulfed the warehouse in a storm of flames and concussive air as it pushed outward and unleashed further destruction, causing the building to fall in on itself, the force of the explosion sending those within flying out of the warehouse's remains as the shield around the building vanished.
"..I hate it when they do that…" Naruto said as the last remnants of the blast faded before he noticed an indigo-colored octahedral energy field with black outlines around him and the girl. Clearly a shield. A good one. While the force of the blast had expelled them, the explosion itself hadn't even gotten so much as a blast of air to reach them through it, "Whoa...talk about useful..." then it shut off, how? Naruto had no idea.
"You ok?" He asked, setting Sally down and looking the redheaded chipmunk girl over.
[Scanning...Subject: Sally Alicia Acorn; number of negative status factors: Zero.] The monotone voice in his head head.
The Uzumaki sighed, relieved at the news. Zero. Zero was good! Zero was VERY good!
She stared at him, stunned, "...You just...saved my life...?"
[My thanks as well, Naruto.] Nicole spoke up, causing him to turn his attention to the source of the familiar voice, only to see a gray colored, handheld device with a flip-top, a screen, two buttons and a small keypad. The unit also had an attachable hook stand on the top screen for something.
"Nicole?" Naruto asked, stunned.
"Huh? Naruto? Who is...?" Sally asked.
"My name." The robot-confined ninja said, getting Sally to whip her head to stare at him.
NAME?! This version of Metal had an individual identity and sense of it?! The most the past ones had of that was an insistence that they were the "real" Sonic!
" '...Different than all the prior Metal Sonic model units', huh?" Sally said, looking at the handheld device, "You weren't kidding, Nicole...this'll take some serious looking into."
"Please do. I don't know what happened to make it so I was stuck in this thing. I do want answers about how that happened, my flesh and blood body, and my life back." The Uzumaki sighed.
Sally gawked, then as her mind went a mile a minute, she winced at that. But just as she opened her mouth to speak, a groan caught their attention and they turned to see Sonic; singed, battered, bruised, and very much annoyed, pull his way out of the rubble of the building they had been fighting in.
Naruto gawked as much as he could. He'd survived?! Damn! Naruto couldn't help but be impressed. However, that ended as Sonic growled at him and shot at the robotocized ninja with a spin dash, that Naruto had to throw up his hands to block, yet it still pushed him back as Sonic kept going.
Alone now, Sally could only stare in the direction the two had gone before she ran after them. While nowhere near as fast as Sonic, she had to catch up to them. If she was right about this version of Metal...! After all, it wouldn't have been the first time the mad scientist had done something like that to an innocent person...!
[Sally...if I may, this is an opponent that may be beyond Sonic's ability to handle. This one is just as unpredictable and free thinking as Sonic but also has real combat training, honed instincts, and a combat style Sonic has never had to deal with before. Sonic's speed is a null factor since Metal Sonic's body can match it and Naruto has experience fighting opponents just as fast as him. And then there's how Metal Sonic can draw on information from past battles...]
"I know! This fight has to stop! Damned Robotnik...! We have to find a way to stop them!" Sally said as she ran. "Nicole, if you can get close enough, any way you could enter Metal...I mean, Naruto's...body again like you did earlier?!"
[I can try.]
Finally getting himself into a position to counter, the unwillingly mechanical Uzumaki punted the still-spinning blue hedgehog away like a soccer ball. Now that he was able to get some breathing room, Naruto saw where he was now that the fight had carried him and Sonic out of that warehouse.
Naruto felt himself lost in awe as he stared at the city before him, with many of the buildings towered so high he had no idea how they hadn't collapsed under their own weight. So many lights glowed brightly in the night that he would still think it was day if it wasn't for the fact he could see the moon in the sky and there were TVs bigger than most apartments plastered about showing advertisements or businessplaces. 'What... what is this place?'
[Threat Incoming.] The monotone voice said, making Naruto groan internally before he was forced to dodge before a streak of blue passed him.
"This guy...if I don't knock him unconscious, he'll never stop coming after me..." Naruto said, then fired up the jet thruster in his back again, intent on having to do just as he had realized.
Sonic and Naruto zoomed down the road of Vegas until they reached the highway with Sonic barely in the lead, Naruto barely trailing just behind him as they sped pass a "Road Closed" sign leading to a bridge. Putting out a quick burst of speed, Naruto attempted to grab the organic hedgehog, but was forced to back off to swerve around an oncoming truck.
Sonic continued to run with the robotic version of him in hot pursuit, both zooming through a traffic jam until they ran through an underground bridge. Naruto turned and used an oncoming truck as a ramp to launch himself into the air while using his engine to boost his speed so he landed right next to Sonic, who wasted no time trying to sock the Uzumaki turned badnik.
His doppelganger effortlessly dodged the sucker punch though and went on the attack, clotheslining Sonic into a car that suddenly stopped. Before he could capitalize on this though, the blue blur lashed out with a kick that knocked Naruto back into another car, cratering its side. Sonic rushed over to his metal counterpart and grabbed him before throwing him into another car, followed by a flurry of punches to the robotic teen's gut.
Unfortunately for him though, Naruto ducked under the third punch and countered by shoving Sonic into another car, smashing clean through the thankfully empty vehicle before following up with some gut shots of his own.
At least until Sonic blocked one punch and tossed Naruto into yet another car. Shaking off the impact, the former blonde boosted forward and rammed into the blue hedgehog, smashing him through a concrete support pillar and into the side of a van. Sonic kicked Naruto away into another nearby car before trying to follow up with a hook to the face but the robot copy ducked at the last second and retaliated with a sucker punch to the chin that sent the speedster skidding back out from the bridge until he managed to catch himself and speed off again.
However it didnt take long for Naruto to catch up and he punched the back of the hedgehog's head as he flew after him, knocking Sonic clean off his feet. Tumbling acrois the asphalt, the blue speedster hopped back to his feet with a grimace whule idly noting that they were now in what seemed to be in a bad part of a neighborhood. That was all he had time to take in though before Naruto zoomed up and punched him back down to the ground yet again.
"Will you just stop and listen to me, already?!" Naruto snapped and grabbed him by his right foot while looking for somewhere to take him that wouldn't be able to provide the speedy hedgehog any traction. Unfortunately, the way this city looked, only place that fit that bill was straight up.
'I wonder...' Naruto mused, then aimed so he was looking straight up and activated his jet again. He was rewarded by a quick, albeit unsteady, assent into the air. Good thing Naruto somewhat had experience with flying due to his use of his Six Paths Chakra Mode...
"Do you give up now? Can't we just talk?" Naruto asked Sonic as they kept going higher.
"Screw... you..." Sonic weakly said while flipping Naruto off.
This made Naruto shake his head as the Uzumaki turned robot then carried off Sonic to another area, trying to find somewhere unpopulated. However, the Uzumaki then had to release Sonic, who was attempting to make another attack by lashing out with a kick using his free leg.
Naruto figured this would happen and tossed Sonic away as he then zoomed after him.
Naruto chased Sonic through the streets, who was now zooming away from him with his spindash until Naruto attempted to slash him with his claws until Sonic dashed away and Naruto continued with his pursuit and then vanished as Sonic stood on top of the tallest building in Las Vegas, the Stratosphere Tower, looking for the robot.
'Where did he go?' Sonic thought to himself while keeping his guard up while looking for his robot copy.
Until he saw Naruto flying right at him and then suddenly stopped mid-air while upside down looking at Sonic right in the eyes making Sonic yelp in shock as Naruto then turned his body while still looking at him as the robot then kicked Sonic off the tallest building in Las Vegas with his left foot. Sending Sonic flying and the blue hedgehog landed in a fountain outside of a hotel.
Naruto landed in front of the fountain just in time to see Sonic splash around the water while screaming out loud "HELP ME! AHHH! I'M DROWING! I'M DROOOWWWNING! I'M- Uh?"
"Are you finished? Or should I get you the lifeguard?" Naruto asked, his synthesized voice masking his annoyance. Seriously?! THIS was the one who was the template for the body he was in?!
At that, Sonic finally saw that the fountain's water was only ankle-deep, if not slightly more; and every human around both him and Naruto were laughing while recording on their cellphones.
Sonic at least had the decency to look embarrassed, shrugging sheepishly, "It's lucky I fell into the "Kiddie Pool..." " Before jumping out of the fountain.
"You know, I don't get it, Ogilvie: You can go straight from zero to Mach Ten if you want...but you're too slow to run on water?" Naruto asked.
At that, Sonic winced at the insult to his speed. What made it worse was the use of his actual first name, seeing he always tried desperately to protect that information out of embarrassment.
"Well at least I'm not a rusty heap of spare parts." Sonic retorted.
"That's it? Pretty weak comeback, Maurice. No clever comment? I was looking forward to that."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually prefer the "Shut-up-and-murder-me" versions of you!" Sonic yelled, clutching his head in frustration! His speed and witty remarks; basically Sonic's whole identity...this junkyard find was actually throwing shade at all of it!
Naruto, however, had his focus on the people around them. Populated area...NOT where he wanted this fight to happen. And from the looks of it, nothing but civilians, not a shinobi or otherwise fighter amongst them. That just made it worse. How many people were here, anyway?
In response to his wondering that, the voice in his head spoke up again.
[Data based on projections of the latest Census estimates, the current metro area population of Las Vegas is 2,839,000 people.]
'Wait...what?! Over TWO MILLION?! Oh HELL NO! There's no way we can keep this fight here! Too much potential crossfire!'
Ok...time to mess with his head! Leaping upwards and activating his turbine once more at the apex of his jump, Naruto hovered, then leaned back and crossed his legs as he put his hands behind his head, as if he were relaxing on a chair.
"Well, Ogilvie? Weren't you going to "stop me?" Come. Show me what you're made of!" Naruto laughed, then zoomed out of Sonic's sight.
Sonic grit his teeth and had to struggle his way out of the crowd. It wasn't easy, given how there were so many people, and by the time he had managed it, his metal duplicate was gone.
"Of all the... !" Sonic yelled.
[Warning: Foreign Program Detected! Firewalls Engaged.] The big red warning sign suddenly occupied the entirety of his vision again.
'Is it the same one as before?'
[Inquiry...Inquiry confirmed. Source code signiture of foreign program confirmed identical.]
'Patch it through.'
[Aknowlaged. Access granting...]
'Nicole, this is really not a good time!' Naruto protested.
[I know! And I'm here to help. The fighting has to stop. Metal Sonic's body has all of Sonic's life experiences copied into him. He knows everything about Sonic and how he works. It's why he's so dangerous to Sonic! Access the shell program of his body and check Sonic's Life Data! There's bound to be a solution there!]
'Access Life Data?' Naruto had no clue what that meant, but then that monotone voice spoke up again.
[Accessing Life Data...Referencing...] it said, apparently taking Naruto's question as a command due to the wording. As it did, images from Sonic's life filled Naruto's mind. It felt weird—wrong, even—looking through someone else's memories, especially since he was seeing them as if they were actually his own, but as he did, Naruto noticed that other than having Aquaphobia, another main weakness for the blue hedgehog was...
Naruto's eyes would have widened if he could have as an idea struck him. That could work!
'Oi, Nicole, I need you to locate some things for me...' Naruto told her before explaining his plan.
[...Sonic isn't going to like that, AT ALL...] she voiced once she heard his idea.
'Well, if you know a better way to stop him, I'm open to suggestions! I know the guy doesn't kill, but he CAN be way too reckless in places where there can be people who get caught up in the crossfire!' Naruto protested.
At that, Nicole went silent for a few moments. [...I hate that you're right. Fine...just give me your word that you won't let him know I helped you.]
'You have my promise, Nicole.' Naruto thought, if she had gone through his memories before, then she knew he would keep his word no matter what. At that, a box with a map appeared in his vision and several lines were highlighted along with an image at the end of one of them that Naruto was amused to see was the spiral arrow symbol of his home, Konoha. Seemed Nicole really HAD looked through his memories before! Along with the map, there was a list next to it. No doubt what he would need...
'Thanks, Nicole. And I know this is asking a lot, but is there any way that you can buy me some time to get everything that I need? Have to keep fast feet busy while I get this set up.'
[If I may, I do believe I have a solution to that problem.] She replied.
After a few moments and seeing what her 'solution' was, Naruto laughed. Oh yeah...he could work with this!
"Dangit, where'd he go?" Sonic muttered under his breath as he kept his eyes peeled for his metalic doppelganger. The longer he was out of sight the more danger he could-
"Hey Slowpoke! Looking for me?" Sonic's head jerked to the side to see Naruto standing atop a nearby car, tauntingly making a come-hither motion with his hand.
"Hah! About time you stopped hiding." The speedster stated, cracking his knuckles as he revved himself up for a figure eight peeledout...
"Or wait, perhaps it's me you're looking for?" Only to fall flat on his face in surprise when he heard Naruto call out to him again, but from behind this time.
Quickly clambering back to his feet, Sonic's gaze snapped back and forth in confusion upon seeing TWO Metal Sonics facing him down.
"Nah, he's totally looking for me, dudes." ...Make that three.
Sonic stared. What in the heck?! Multiple Metal Sonics?! But Eggman never released more than one at a time! Their obsession with trying to prove they were all the "real" Sonic made them prone to infighting otherwise! So how...?!
The trio of Metals surrounded Sonic in a triangular formation as the organic speedster tensed, ready to dodge if they attacked. However, rather than assault , they seemed to be contemplating something.
"Yo, fellas! I just had a GREAT idea! Sonic is the fastest thing alive, right?!" The first one spoke up. "Then how about this: a race! Whoever between the three of us can make it so everyone knows this guy's real name is Ogilvie Maurice, is the winner and as the prize, acknowledgement as the real Sonic!
"Wait...WHAT?!" Sonic yelled.
"I got no problem with that!" The second Metal said, nodding.
"Don't you DARE...!"
"Fitting way to decide the real Sonic the hedgehog..." the last Metal Sonic agreed. "News is supposed to travel fast, after all."
"I said...!"
"Ok then, boys." The first Metal Sonic said, getting into a running position, "Ready?"
"This can't be happening! I must be dreaming! Come on, Sonic, wake up! Come on! Stop it!"
"Set...!" The second chimed in.
"Don't you scrapheaps even think about it! I am NOT letting you do this to me...!" Sonic yelled.
"GO!"" The third shouted before all three shot up into the air with their thrusters, then zoomed off in different directions.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Sonic yelled. He didn't want his dignity murdered like that! Furious, he ran in a circle, trying to decide which one to go after first. "Aargh...! TO HELL WITH IT! IF I ACTUALLY PUSH MYSELF, IT WON'T MATTER! DAMN THAT FAKE! WHY COULDN'T THEY JUST BEAT ONE ANOTHER INTO TINFOIL?!" the hedgehog yelled, then bolted as fast as he could in the direction one of the trio of Metals had gone.
Focusing on the closest one, Sonic put the lead out as hard as he physically could, the city melding into a obscure blur as he hit his very top speed. His eyes watered slightly from the sheer wind blasting his face yet he refused to blink, his gaze locked on the speeding doppelganger.
Had he'd been paying attention he may have noticed passing the same destroyed warehouse they started in, then passing it again... and again... and again...
Before he knew it the blue hedgehog had swirled around the entire city nearly a hundred times over, leaving the ground under his feet scorched black from the raw friction. Yet that damnable robot was always just slightly ahead
"Come on, Maurice! Here's your target right here!" the metal hedgehog taunted as he spanked it's own rear mockingly. "OH! I know~! I have all your life data! So how about I put it to use and...say...POST YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE OVER EVERY SCREEN IN THIS CITY!"
Sonic felt the blood leave his face at that. Post his birth certificate information on every screen in Vegas?!
"OH, HELL NO!" Sonic roared, trying to force himself to go faster, even as his vision started to blur, and his lungs ached from the starain. He could barely get his arms to move from the slipstream of his own momentum pressing against him, so he couldn't just grab the copy.
"Gotta keep up, Maurice!" Metal taunted over his shoulder, then veered into a area with an abandoned Casino, the speedster on his tail before he zoomed forward, heading for what looked like a tunnel up ahead.
But as Sonic moved to follow...
SLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMM!
"Uuuuuh..." Pushing himself up, Sonic stumbled back and forth unsteadily as he grabbed his head, the whole world looking like it was swirling and stars danced across his vision.
Pain throbbed through his semi–squashed face and winced before shaking his head, Sonic fell on his back and laid down. Once he felt his face was no longer aching, he hopped to his feet. Going up to the tunnel and pressing his hand against it, Sonic's eyes widened at what it was. A picture?! But that meant that Metal Sonic had to have been...
"A...holo...gram...? A HOLOGRAM?!" Sonic was beside himself. It was infuriating. He'd been suckered! Made to go so fast that any sudden stop at those speed would send him tumbling like a rag doll, all so he would charge straight into what turned out to be a painted canvas and slammed into the solid concrete wall behind it like a cartoon character over a hologram taunting him?!
"...I...so...absolutely...HATE...this...faker...robot!" Sonic moaned. None of the previous Metal Sonic units had been this tricky!
Throwing back his head, Sonic yelled, furious with himself for getting dooped so easily. As he did so, however, he spotted a second Metal Sonic, this one flying towards a radio station.
The intention was obvious.
"I hope you're the real one...I gotta beat more than a few dents into you...!" Sonic grit his teeth before running off after the robot as it landed.
At that, Sonic poured on more speed as he rushed towards the robot. Turning and seeing him coming, Metal Sonic couldn't help it.
"Toro, toro!" He called and Sonic slid to a halt and placed his hands on his hips while giving his double a look.
"You didn't honestly think that'd work, did you?" The hedgehog questioned and the bot looked as thoughtful as his blank face allowed for a moment.
"No, not really. Just felt too funny to resist." He admitted.
Sonic, looking annoyed, picked a small pebble up off the ground and tossed it at Metal Sonic's head. At the lack of the sound of the small stone colliding with the monocoque titanium Metal Sonic was built out of, Sonic smirked as if he'd done something clever, but he still seemed irritated.
"Another fake of the fake, eh?"
"...Killjoy...!" The hologram complained, almost pouting.
"The first one lead me to crash smack dap into a wall. You think I would just charge in recklessly?"
"...Sounds more to me like something got knocked into place, actually. You're being cautious about things. Not in your usual character, you blue daredevil." Naruto admitted, getting Sonic to look annoyed at the duplicate's words.
Ok, so he could be a reckless thrill seeker sometimes, but he wasn't THAT bad! He was just free-spirited! It was how Sonic liked to choose to live his life! Fast lane and on the edge!
Didn't mean he was stupid...
Didn't mean he was thoughtless...
Didn't mean he was ignorant to concquinces...
Just that he did things his own way!
"Anyway, seeing as how you spoiled things with this newfound caution of yours, Ogilvie; no sense in sticking around. .." the hologram waved as it vanished.
"Last one's gotta be the original.. " the hedgehog muttered. Then dashed off.
However, even at his top speed, and running around everywhere not only in Las Vegas, but all of the state of Nevada, Sonic failed to locate the final Metal Sonic.
"...Man," Sonic sighed tiredly as he wiped the sweat off his brow after hours of looking for the last Metal Sonic, only to find nothing as he returned to Vegas. "Eggman really stepped up his game with this one, I haven't had to work out this hard in a while...part of me actually feels out of shape...! Model mark Omega, huh? Hate to say it, but can see why that's the final Metal Sonic robo-me there is...!" he huffed.
Leaning against a wall for a moment as he caught his breath, the blue hedgehog idly brushed the scorch mark on his chest, dusting off the ash to reveal perfectly healthy fur and skin underneath. Accelerated healing, just one of the many plus sides that came with being a speedster like himself.
Unfortunately, a loud grumbling from his gut also reminded him of one of the larger downsides of being one, too; namely, a very big appetite.
"Ugh...what I wouldn't do for a good old fashioned chili dog right about now." He grumbled while clutching his gut with a grimace.
"Did somebody say that they want chilli dogs?" A voice called, making Sonic perk up as a food truck parked in front of him, the sides having an advertisement message on them.
OPENING: NEW FOOD TRUCK STAND. CHILLI "BEAST" DOGS. FREE SAMPLES, TIME REMAINING: 4 MINUTES.
"Hello!" Sonic paused. What was a "Beast Dog"? This got his attention. A new variant of how to make chilli dogs?! He would certainly NOT be missing out on that! He was famished anyway. The one driving the truck opened the Concession Window on the side of the vehicle.
And, steam still wafting off of it as it rested on a paper plate on the counter section of the food truck...
It was the most beautiful thing Sonic had ever seen!
Shredded Cheeses...Chopped Onions, both yellow, white, and green...Sliced Jalapenos...Banana Peppers...Pickle Slices...Nacho Sauce...Ketchup, Mustard & Hot Sauces...Sour Cream & Ranch Dressings...Chopped Bacon...Grilled Veggies and Fruits...Avocado Slices...Diced Tomatoes...Shredded Lettuce...Salsas...Corn Chips...Onion Rings...!
All of that, piled onto a chilli dog! No wonder it was advertised as a "Chilli Beast Dog"! AND it was for free?! His stomach roared in sheer NEED! Practically panting like a dog, he licked his lips. One major downside to his extreme speed that he had never told anyone was his rapid metabolism making him hypoglycemic, and could cause him to faint if he overdid it with his speed. Because of that, Sonic actually had to consume a copious amount of additional calories to keep his blood sugar stable.
Figures Metal would know that secret Sonic kept hidden, too. It was programmed using a CAT scan of his brain...! No wonder it knew things like Sonic's humiliating real name!
Rushing up to the truck's open service window, he spoke to the vendor. "I'll take the Chilli Beast Dog, if you don't mind!"
"How many ya want, then?" the vendor asked, not looking away from their work on the food.
How many did he...? Sonic burst out into a grin at the question, "As many as possible!"
"Fine. That case, I'll serve ya until I run outta ingredients."
Sonic stared, almost able to swear his eyes teared up. "Good sir...Your kindness knows no bounds! Lay ém on me!"
With a chuckle, the vendor passed the first one on the plate to Sonic, who instantly took it in his hands and started scarfing it down. No sooner did he finish than the next "Chilli Beast Dog" was passed to him.
Sonic gawked, then he grinned even wider. A vendor that could whip up these succulent beauties just as fast as Sonic could eat them?! Impressive! He wasted no time in eating it as well. Then the one after that...and after that...and after that...and after that...
"Ugh...compliments to the chef! I mean it..." Sonic groaned, rubbing his belly and giving a loud, satisfied belch four minutes later. This was totally worth the run all the way from Station Square to Las Vegas, and putting up with that soul-less copy of himself again. He'd been beaten, shocked, blasted, blown up, buried alive, humiliated publicly, and made to go on some pointless runaround against a group of illusions...and yet, by some kind of cosmic balancing of the scales of karma, here he was now; stuffed silly on a truly beautiful version of his favorite food and it was produced by someone who could dish them out as quickly as Sonic himself could finish swallowing them! It made it all worth it!
Shame the four minutes free samples time was up!
"Thanks. First time cooking more that ramen, so glad it's appreciated. Want the recipe for them when you wake up?"
Huh?! Wake up?!
Sonic suddenly felt woozy, then as his limbs tingled and his head felt heavy, the hedgehog fell to his knees, then over entirely, snoring.
"Oh. And one last thing: that first dog you ate had an additional ingredient: Two thousand milligrams of horse tranquilizer." Turning around and vaulting out the food truck's service window, the vendor had their form flicker before dissipating, revealing Naruto.
"...Glad that's over. Didn't even need that third copy. No wonder I shut the image of that one off." Naruto metaphorically sighed, then looked around. Where was that Sally Acorn girl? He figured letting her deal with things when Sonic woke up would be for the best.
"Gotta admit...the kineticism, precision and reaction time, acrobatic skills, agility, and reflexes of this body are actually pretty good." Naruto admitted, holding up a hand and clenching and unclenching it experimentally. The fact that it was tireless was also a perk. And that "hologram" stuff Nicole had brought up working similarly to both the Transformation and basic clone jutsu had really helped out in getting Sonic off his back.
Still...he wanted answers. No matter what the boons it granted, Naruto didn't like being in this body. How had he even ended up in this thing? But with Eggman gone off to who knew where, Naruto couldn't get what he wanted from the man.
As that registered with the Konoha shinobi, he clenched his—no, Metal Sonic's—fist one last time and sighed to himself. Just great...what was he supposed to do with himself now?
[...You all right...?] Naruto jumped in surprise at the voice, then he recognized it.
'Wish I could answer that, Nicole...I just...so many questions and not one single explanation for this entire mess...' he thought before hauling the sedated hedgehog up in his arms, 'Anyway, better get sleeping beauty here to Sally and find them some place to stay. Hope she knows that he's only snoozing...'
[Easily informed on, and I can trace her through my handheld, too. So I can give you the directions.]
'Thanks...' he said, loading Sonic into the back of the food truck and removed the promotional banner.