What If...Sonic and Metal Sonic Switched Places?
A Fanfiction by Stoney
A word of caution before you start reading this chapter: My take on Rouge's personality is one whose language is, unfortunately, rather blue in shade; if you are offended by such content, you might want to ignore her dialogue. Also please note the fire exits at each end of the theatre while you watch the show. Thank you, and enjoy.
Chapter V
Memory
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Mecha gritted his teeth for the umpteenth time that day as another errant thought broke his concentration. His new, organic mind was so unbelievably frustrating to deal with, it made him want to scream. But since that would be a Bad Idea at the moment, he settled for clutching at his head and growling deeply, instead. "Arrgh! Stop it!"
Thoughts were popping up in his mind with no order or relation to one another at all. It was completely random, the perfect representation of chaos. He couldn't focus on one thing for any great length of time without his mind drifting to another topic.
And to make matters worse, thinking in this body was so slow! As a robot, he had been used to processing information faster than Sonic could run; within the span of picoseconds. Now he was discovering with dismay that organic minds took considerably longer to do the same task. How was Sonic able to perform his high-speed stunts when his thought processes took so long to finish?
He shook his head furiously, blocking out the other thoughts vying for his attention and re-focusing on his mission yet again. He slowly, carefully poked his head out of his cover between two large garbage piles. The shadows there helped camouflage him, but the effect wasn't complete. He knew that in this place stealth was of the greatest importance--which was the reason why he'd worn a black cloak, also.
Two buildings down and across the street from him, was one of the G-3. He guessed that Robotnik would want the highest possible security at this location (mainly due to the infinite potential for it attracting unwanted attention thanks to its large size). That said, it was logical that he'd put Sonic around there as part of the defenses.
Irrational fear broke past the mental barriers Mecha had put up. What if Sonic wasn't there, but instead there were hundreds of SWATbots? What if he, Mecha, were just walking into a trap? He wasn't very good at using this body yet--he didn't dare run for fear of tripping and hurting himself--and was uncertain how he'd manage in a fight. Robots were much more versatile than biologics, after all; repairing a machine took mere hours, whereas repairing an organic took weeks, maybe months. He was used to this, and had in fact relied on it at more than one occasion. He no longer had that advantage, now.
Determination flowed through him anew. Well, he'd just have to cross that road when he got to it. He wasn't giving up now, not when he was so close to his objective. He'd get his true body back, or he'd destroy the body he was currently in and remove its threat to Robotnik's plans forever.
Confidence strengthened, he stood up and quietly slipped off into Robotropolis's dank, cloudy roads.
--------------------
Two eyes narrowed as they watched the gleaming blue hull of a hedgehog-robot pass by below. What is he doing here?
He glanced over his shoulder at the entrance he'd come through, cursing inwardly as he finally located a nearly-invisible security camera posted across the street, watching everything silently. Why hadn't he noticed it before?
He scowled, gritting his teeth angrily. Great, I've been spotted. If he was to complete his mission, he'd now have to move more quickly than before. Quietly he sat and watched Sonic, who appeared to be searching for him without success. With a grim smile, he stealthily slunk along the beam to a spot above the robot. If he was lucky, he could subdue Sonic with no problems.
Unfortunately, he'd forgotten what excellent trackers machines are.
As soon as Sonic had entered the building, his radar had detected an unusually large heat signature belonging to the stranger poised above him on a horizontal support beam. Based on the relative build of the creature, he'd finally concluded it must be a male. After deciding to try catching the intruder unawares, he had pretended to still be looking around cluelessly as he waited for whoever-it-was to make his move.
After a couple moments of tense silence the stranger's heat signature started to shift position, indicating movement. Sonic continued to wait patiently for the intruder to move into an area that would provide him with a clear shot. Whether this person was fighting against Robotnik or not, he was taking no chances.
Slowly the intruder crept along a beam directly above Sonic, probably planning an ambush from above. It was now or never.
Sonic's arm abruptly shot up, hidden plasma cannon revealed as a piece of metal plating lifted and slid out of the way faster than the human eye could blink. He fired a single, intense beam of energy that entered the stranger below the torso, carving a vertical path through his body, erupting out the top of his skull, and melting various internal organs into an unidentifiable puddle of loose protein strings.
At least, that's what Sonic had planned on doing.
In reality, though, the intruder had leaped out of the way with surprising swiftness just before the laser struck, burning a circular hole through the support and the ceiling above it. Sonic cursed mentally and glared at the area where the intruder had fled. "Come on out, I know you're there." He snapped, angry he'd missed.
In the shadows of a niche in the wall, the intruder mentally debated whether it would be a wise move to follow this demand. It's not like it really mattered now; he'd already been discovered and his cover was blown. Besides, it would make Sonic happy if he knew. However, that meant he wouldn't be anonymous anymore; there would be a chance Robotnik would find out, and that would ruin everything.
Finally, he made his decision. Slowly emerging from the darkness, he stood defiantly in the light of multiple fluorescent bulbs that shone from above. Upon seeing the creature, Sonic's circuits froze up with shock and disbelief. His CPU, unable to comprehend the illogic it was processing, abruptly switched itself off. As a result, his systems lost all contact with his central processor. His jaw, no longer receiving a signal to flex the muscular fiber-optic cables that kept it shut, hung open loosely. He swayed on the spot for several moments before his systems finally concluded that the lack of input must be a malfunction and set the self-repair nanobots in his circulatory fluid to work on fixing the error, while automatically sending him into recharge-stasis.
The intruder knew none of this; He just watched quietly as the robot's eyes blinked off and it fainted, unconscious before it even hit the floor.
--------------------
Muscles screaming, feet pounding furiously against hard, unrelenting pavement. Rapid inhalation, gathering breath after piercing breath into his lungs to fuel his superhuman pace. Limbs pounding with adrenaline, eyes half-closed to shield them from the wind, arms pumping back and forth in a steady, yet quick, rhythm. Forceful gales sweeping through his blue fur, tossing the massive spines at the back of his head about like a bizarrely-shaped kite. Green pupils focused intently on the track in front of him, the dazzling multicolored lights of a city passing by in a hazy blur, all sound lost except for the whistling air passing him by and the pounding heartbeat in his ears.
At that moment, one thought and one thought only was on his mind.
I will not let him win.
The bitter smell of exhaust fills his nostrils, the whine of an approaching engine stabbing into the cool night air. All other sounds are nearly lost in the roaring wind; the distant crackling of flames, the hiss of hydraulics, the whirring and clanking of moving parts, and a soft, malignant laugh. A laugh formed from a steely robotic voice, mere feet behind him.
His arms tuck in close to his chest for protection, his legs lengthening their stride little by little, gradually releasing their reserve energy; the energy he'd carefully rationed throughout the race to keep from tiring himself out too early.
I will not let him win!
A twisted, metallic reflection coasts up next to him, staring at him as it rides the wind on a self-fueled rocket booster installed in its back, its engine whining as power was supplied to the cooling fans and booster cells within. Spiked yellow hands stretch forward, anticipating the moment when they would cross the finish line at last.
And those eyes...
Dark, bottomless pools of hate and revulsion, sucking in light and all positive emotions while releasing an aura of intimidating fear upon their hapless victim. The pupils glare at him, bright blood-red and glowing like two mature stars, burning with the eternal, damnable flame of evil. Their gaze was heartless.....soulless.....emotionless.
He keeps his view locked ahead, refusing to look at his adversary's eyes. To do so would mean losing his nerve for sure. And that was something he couldn't risk at this point.
I will NOT let him win!
The finish line is now visible at the end of a final, straight stretch, marked by a large yellow arch that curves above the track's entire width. That arch, he knew, had a hidden metal door in it that would close immediately after the first racer got through, sealing off the exit and forcing anyone from second place down to take a detour around it. Beyond the arch lies Amy Rose, tied hand and foot with thick cords of rope. The young, pink hedgehog is near to hysteria with tears streaming down her face, as she helplessly watches the racers draw closer and closer.
His stride becomes considerably longer as he releases the last of his reserve strength for one final boost of speed, sparks beginning to fly from his body as he nears the sound barrier. Knowing that breaking the barrier would mean activating a time-warp in this place, he carefully keeps his speed below Mach 1.
His opponent is smart enough to do this also as it puts all it had left into a mad dash for the finish, engine screaming from the strain. Its eyes flare with determination, determination that still holds strong even as his opponent increases his lead by half a foot.
He glances over his shoulder at his reflection, half a yard away. Still too close for his liking; it was time for his Last Resort Maneuver. Below, his legs spin into a blur that slowly forms the symbol of infinity; a figure 8 on its side.
I WILL NOT LET HIM WIN!!
Everything becomes a single, solid mass of light, color, and sound around him, mixing together at the edges and becoming blurry, indistinct, like the colors of a painting; sound becoming one solid, roaring mass; wind tearing into him as he grits his teeth against the pain it inflicts against his face; the sparks fly faster and more frequently, and he feels the sound barrier tugging at his arms and legs like an invisible wall, holding him back--
.....I.....
--the machine struggles to match his sudden jump in speed, refusing to give up even now--
.....WILL.....
--he clenches his eyes shut, to keep them from being torn open by powerful gusts--
.....NOT.....
--Amy lets out a gasp of horror as they both hurtle towards the arch--
.....LET.....
--far, far behind them, a large figure smirks from his lofty position in a round, metallic hovercraft, confident in his robotic creation's abilities--
.....HIM.....
--five feet away, three feet, ONE FOOT--
.....WIN!!!
THUD.
Before he could register what was happening he was through the arch, leaning all his weight backwards and slowing down with a screech of burning shoe soles. The archway door, five feet thick and a solid iron, had just dropped forcefully into place behind him.
The robot's eyes go wide upon seeing the door close, mouth twisted into a horrible snarl as it realizes there is no possible way for it to change its present flight path and avoid a collision within a space of five feet. As this fact registers in its systems, it utters one single syllable of rage and disbelief.
"No--!"
The door rushes forward, and the machine knew no more.
Amy suddenly finds herself caught between wanting to cheer her hero and weep thankfully for her rescue as he finally skids to a halt, smiling wearily for her sake. She settles for doing both at once as he gently unties the ropes that bind her. As soon as her limbs are free, she jumps to her feet and hugs him tightly, refusing to let go for the life of her. He can feel the warm wetness of her tears slowly trickle down his abdomen as she buries her face in his chest and cries out the emotions she'd experienced in the past few hours.
Unfortunately, his legs pick that moment of all times to collapse from sheer exhaustion. He crumples into a heap, accidentally pulling Amy down with a surprised yelp, as well. She isn't scared, though; merely surprised. Understanding his need to rest, she reasserts her previous position snuggling up close to him and closes her eyes, continuing to cry even as she smiles for the first time in days. Normally he'd protest her close proximity to him, but is currently too weary to care. So he allows her, just this once, to hold him as he slowly succumbs to the sleepiness at the edges of his brain, forgetting about the familiar round hovercraft, its moustached occupant, and the deadly laser on its bottom that had been chasing them throughout the race...
As his eyes close, a pleased sigh escapes Amy's lips, carrying with it one word; his name.
"Sonic..."
Her voice changes, becomes deeper in pitch, and rising in volume.
"Sonic!"
The voice echoed from somewhere far away, piercing his dreamlike flashback and tugging him back to consciousness. He struggled to lift his eyelids, but every movement is difficult.
He was so tired.....all he wanted was to rest.....
"SONIC!"
Finally, his eyes miraculously obeyed his mental commands to open--and stared above him into a pair of red pupils.
If he'd still been organic, Sonic would have paled. Nonetheless, his limbs went numb with stunned paralysis as he recognized the face inches away from his own. It was the last face he would have expected to see, one he had thought to be vanished forever.
Until now.
The ebony fur around it was thinner than Sonic remembered it being, but it had already begun to grow back to its original state by this time. Red highlights streaked up the top portions of two identical pairs of spines, which themselves curled outward and up like four sharp horns. The pointed, red flaps of skin at his upper eye corners made his expression seem more menacing than it would usually be, and his fleshy muzzle, smaller than Sonic's own and containing a mouth pulled into a worried frown, completed his facade of mystery and hidden power.
The hedgehog leaned back a bit, relief evident in his posture as he spoke, confirming Sonic's instinctive suspicions of his identity with his recognizable voice. "I thought you'd died for a second there. Are you okay?"
To say Sonic was shocked would have been a gross understatement. He was beyond shock, beyond disbelief, beyond any word that might try to describe the raw emotion surging through his circuits. Long ago he had calculated the possibility of this hedgehog's survival from an orbital-altitude freefall into Mobius's atmosphere to be so low as to not even be worth considering. And yet despite the overwhelming odds, here that very same hedgehog now stood, as alive and healthy as ever.
The edges of his mouth twitched up in the barest hint of a smile as he folded his arms across a white patch of fur on his chest. "Something wrong, blue hedgehog? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Sonic finally managed to speak, his words slow and stammered. "Shadow.....?" He whispered, hardly daring to believe the question as he spoke it. "Is that you?"
"Nice to see you too, Sonic." He bobbed his head once in acknowledgement.
The last word of Shadow's sentence registered in the metal hedgehog's neuronic matrix, leaving him thunderstruck. "You know--?!"
"About your body swap with Mecha? Yes." Shadow stood and lent Sonic a hand as he unsteadily rose, trying to make sense of the situation. "I've been spying on Robotnik ever since I first arrived here months ago. I saw what happened with your little mad science experiment when I reviewed the security tapes of the incident; I knew something weird had happened to you two, but couldn't prove it until later." He arched one corner of his mouth; it was the closest Sonic had ever seen him come to a genuine smile. "I know what you're thinking.'How can I be sure?' Well, I'd had plenty of time to study the true Mecha and how he acted up to that point. My suspicions were confirmed when you began to act differently, starting right after I rescued Mecha from here and packed him off to Knothole."
Sonic blinked, stunned speechless. This had to be the longest monologue he'd ever heard Shadow give. The black hedgehog stared evenly at him. "Before you ask, yes, I was indeed the one who rescued him. I still thought you were in that body at the time and had no idea that I was unwittingly leading your worst enemy straight to the Freedom Fighters' base. For that, I apologize."
Questions sped through Sonic's mechanical mind faster than sound could travel through air. How'd he survive? How'd he spy on Robotnik? Where'd he go to keep hidden all this time? Did anybody else know he was still alive? Mecha was at Knothole?! He finally spoke up. "I never told you where Knothole was. How'd you know its location?"
Shadow folded his arms mysteriously. "I didn't. For that, I needed to enlist the help of someone who did."
"But then why didn't--"
"Look, we don't have time for this." Shadow suddenly interrupted him, tone impatient. "You've been out for over five minutes now; Snively is going to start wondering what happened to you and come looking if he hasn't already, and I want to be far away from here before that happens. Both he and Robotnik think I'm dead just like you did, and I can't afford to blow my cover just yet by getting caught early."
Silence extended between them for several seconds before Shadow inclined his head in a farewell gesture. "I think I have some idea on how to reverse the mind-swap process using the Chaos Emeralds, but I need a little more time before we try anything. I shall see you again soon, Sonic. Until then, please don't inform anyone of my presence here."
He tossed Sonic something small and yellow, which he caught easily. Sonic stared at it in surprise. The Yellow Chaos Emerald? He looked back up at Shadow, who merely arched an eyebrow. "It's the fake emerald. I used it to escape. Give it back to your friend with my thanks."
Sonic opened his mouth to let out an exclamation of surprise when his internal radio crackled to life. Snively's nasal voice emerged from it, sounding faintly irritated. "Metal, come in already! Don't try the silent act on me again; you remember what happened last time! What is your status? Over!" This, of course, was intermixed with several other muttered words that don't bear repeating.
Sonic was silent as he continued to stare at Shadow, which made Snively uncharacteristically furious. He began to shout a string of curses aimed at the robot and his nonexistent mother before Sonic finally turned away to answer. "Metal Sonic here, over."
"Finally! Took your sweet time, didn't you?! Over!"
Sonic almost replied with a snappy retort, but held himself in check--he wanted to see the little jerk's face before he tried angering him on purpose. "I apologize, but I was knocked offline by a falling piece of roofing." He spoke carefully. "This place could stand to have some repairs done." He added. "Over."
"Oh, never mind," Snively growled in disgust. "What of the intruder, over?"
Sonic thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't programmed to tell the truth. "Condition green, intruder has fled the premises. Nothing of value has been damaged or stolen, over."
Snively's relieved sigh was highly audible to Sonic's honed auditory receptors. "Very well, then. Return to the Command Center and give me a full report when you arrive. Snively out."
"Affirmative. Mecha out." Sonic cut the connection before any more could be said. Opening a panel in his chest, he carefully placed the fake emerald inside and closed it. He glanced back over at where Shadow had stood, but found nobody there. Confused, he looked around for any sign of Shadow's recognizable form, but received none. Like an early morning fog swept away by a breeze, the hedgehog had vanished without a trace. All that remained in the factory was a troubled organic mind, trapped within a body of silicon and metal.
But not for long...
--------------------
Mecha slowly crept up to the heavy metal door, cautiously opening it just wide enough to slip through sideways. For a moment he was almost glad that this body was so much thinner than his robotic one, but quickly squashed the thought in feelings of newfound anger when he reminded himself who the body in question belonged to.
He looked up, checking the area for any possible guards. It was a large machine room; several still and silent conveyor belts ran its length and disappeared through numerous short but long holes in the walls and floor. Countless machines designed for more delicate wielding and building than organic hands could produce hung silent alongside them, deactivated for now. Mecha carefully picked his way between them, keeping to the shadows and only entering the direct light filtering through the room's windows when absolutely necessary.
He was glad for his knowledge of Robotnik's security, he thought as he ducked behind another oddly-shaped machine. He knew all the pass codes he'd need to get in and out of the building undetected, and where they needed to be input. Eyes darting around, he finally decided the coast was clear and left his spot in the shadows, making a beeline for a nearly-invisible panel at the far wall.
"Well, look who we have here." A feminine voice whispered in Mecha's ear.
Mecha didn't know for sure what exactly happened; all he knew was that his muscles suddenly moved of their own accord, spinning him around, grabbing the intruder, and completing a 360 degree spin to slam them against the wall underneath the panel. Mecha blinked as he suddenly returned to his senses. What was that? Reflex? Instinct? He blinked again as he got his first good look at who he'd caught.
Something inside him knew this individual. She was a bat whose fur was a bleached white on her head, but fleshy-colored from the neck down. Her arms and wings were separated, the latter attached just above her shoulder blades; her species had apparently evolved that way after hundreds of thousands of years. She wore a pink heart-shaped blouse over her full bosom and a skintight black leather jumpsuit on her torso that did nothing to hide her shapely figure. Her legs were covered by white steel-toed boots with decorative hearts at the knees and toes--her arms were covered with long white gloves that came up to her elbows. She was currently blinking at him in startled surprise from underneath a heavy layer of eye shadow and makeup, stunned that he'd managed to react so quickly.
Her appearance produced a name in his mind; Rouge. Her name was Rouge. It also produced something else, from that spot deep inside him which somehow knew her.....before he could register what was happening, Mecha was swept away by a memory, vivid yet not his own.....
"You!" Knuckles growls, brandishing his shiny shovelclaws at the bat that had lightly dropped down from the ceiling in front of us. "Don't you ever give up?"
I look back and forth from him to the bat. "Hey Knux," I whisper with a nudge to his side and an impish grin, "I didn't know you had a girlfriend! You old charmer, you!"
He whirls to face me, suddenly furious. He bares all his pointy white teeth with a growl. "Stuff it, Sonic. You have no idea what she's put me through! This is nothing like that, at all!"
"Suuure it isn't." I reply teasingly, unable to keep the grin off my face. "Come on Knux, you ought to be proud. She's quite a catch!"
Knuckles' eyes flare and he takes one menacing step towards me. He looks like he's about to punch my face in. Oh yikes. Maybe I went too far. Just in case, I back off a bit, holding my hands up in a sign of peace. "Whoa there man, chill out. I'm just trying to lighten the mood, s'all."
He frowns, then shrugs and grunts, turning back to the bat. "What do you want?"
He yelled and released her, stumbling back and clutching his head as the onslaught of images and sounds continue. What is this?! What was going on??
She didn't appear to have noticed our little conversation; indeed, she seemed on the verge of tears, weakly struggling to hold them back and put on a brave front. "It's all over for us," She chokes out in a trembling tone, leaning a hand on the wall as if her legs could no longer support her. We stand silent, waiting for her to continue. She does.
"I just received a message from my boss.....the ARK has currently left its orbit, and is approaching Earth at a terrible velocity. It probably..." She pauses at this point, passing a hand in front of her eyes and taking a shaky breath to steady herself. ".....it probably will impact Earth."
My eyes go wide. "Say WHAT?!" I exclaim, my voice more panicked than I'd like to admit. "We're gonna turn into meteors??"
Even Knuckles was taken aback, his former begrudging attitude vanished. His face was pale, and he looked just as scared as I felt. "Are you sure?"
Eyes tightly squeezed shut and unable to speak, she can only nod. Something in me--my heart, I guess--sinks clear to my soap shoes at the gesture. I can almost feel it sloshing around in them as I whirl at the sound of another, more unfamiliar voice echoing across the room.
"Look!" Knuckles exclaims, pointing at a large TV monitor above the room's controls. "Who's that?"
Finally the memory faded, leaving him shaking and swaying on his knees, with Rouge frantically trying to get his attention. "For Chaos' sake Sonic, get up!" She pleaded, shaking him by the shoulders. "Hurry and get out of sight, before you're..."
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SEARCHING...TARGETS_FOUND
QUANTITY: 2
EXECUTING_PROGRAM=IDENTIFY...
SCANNING...SCAN_COMPLETE
SEARCHING_DATABASE...2_RECORDS_FOUND
TARGET1=MOBIAN, ALIAS: ROUGE_THE_BAT, OCCUPATION: BOUNTY_HUNTER
STATUS: ACTIVE
ACTION=IGNORE
TARGET2=MOBIAN, ALIAS: SONIC_THE_HEDGEHOG, OCCUPATION: REBEL
STATUS: ACTIVE
ACTION=PRIORITY_HEDGEHOG_DETECTED
EXECUTING_PROGRAM=HEDGEHOG_HUNTER...
STARTING_BATTLE_PROTOCOLS...DONE
ALERTING_SECURITY_NETWORK...DONE
TRANSMITTING_CURRENT_POSITION...DONE
CALIBRATING_WEAPONS_SYSTEMS...DONE
WEAPON_STATUS=ARMED
PLAY_AUDIO: "Hedgehog, priority one! Surrender or be destroyed!"
EXTERNAL_AUDIO (TARGET1): "...seen."
EXTERNAL_AUDIO (TARGET2): "Huh?"
EXTERNAL_AUDIO (TARGET1): "SWATbots."
WARNING=TARGETS HAVE ASSUMED BATTLE FORMATION
ACTION=NEUTRALIZE
EXECUTING...
--------------------
"HEDGEHOG, PRIORITY ONE!" Blared a droning monotone, as alarms begin to activate around them. "SURRENDER OR BE DESTROYED!"
"...seen." Rouge finished the now-useless sentence in a sigh while several familiar security robots ran up and formed a circle around them.
Finally Mecha blinked, recovering his senses again in time to look up and see her frowning face. He meant to ask her what's going on, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a weak "Huh?"
"SWATbots." Was the grim reply, as she helped him to his feet. Although he still didn't feel completely okay, he turned and faced the bots anyway. If he was gonna go down, it would be with a fight.
---------------------
Blaring sound suddenly overloaded Sonic's auditory receptors. The abrupt shutdown caused a slight power surge within his neural net, resulting in a series of spasmodic movements among his limbs. He quickly applied pressure to the problem area to decrease the power flow as compensation for the error, simultaneously switching off visual reception to conserve energy and reroute it to his self-repair nanobots.
In other words, he recoiled a bit and clamped his hands down on either side of his head, clenching his eyes shut. When his receptors finally clicked back on at 22% volume pickup 3 microseconds later, he discovered that every alarm in the factory had simultaneously gone off.
He switched his internal radio on again and set it to the frequency of this area's SWATbots, cursing under his breath as he did so. "SWATLeader, this is Commander Metal Sonic. What is your status? Over."
Instantly a droning voice replied, "Priority Hedgehog has been detected in sector 3. Self-unit's Squadron is in pursuit as we speak. Over." The SWATbot leaders had been graced with a more advanced version of AI to help them direct their troops, although it was nowhere near the intelligence Sonic's new body had.
Speaking of Sonic, he couldn't help but jump slightly at the words 'Priority Hedgehog.' That didn't make any sense! HE was Priority Hedgehog! They must have spotted somebody who looked like him, he concluded. A creeping coldness suddenly settled in the pit of his rocket engine, located roughly where a biological organism's stomach would be.
Somebody who looked like him...such as Shadow.
"SWATLeader Delta, continue pursuit of Priority Hedgehog, but shoot to stun." He snapped. "Do not kill, I repeat, do NOT kill Priority Hedgehog. Over!"
"Understood, sir. Anything else?"
"Yes. Give me the coordinates of Priority Hedgehog's last known position, and update me whenever he is seen again! Over!"
A list of numbers was relayed, and Sonic looked through a digital image of the factory's blueprints in his mind. Let's see...that would mean Shadow was in sub-basement 2A of Complex Omega, the second of the three interlinked buildings. How'd he get over there so quickly? Chaos Control? Doesn't matter now, the SWATbot was telling him some more coordinates. Shadow was heading due east, towards an elevator...another list of numbers came over the radio. Scratch that, he'd arrived at the elevator and was going up to the first floor. Sonic turned around. He was only a few minutes away from them, if he hurried.
Hoping he wasn't too late, he activated his rocket booster and turned it to full thrust, a dangerous move at the best of times due to its almost incontrollable power. "Come on, work, please work," He mumbled as the machine in his backside began powering up with a whine. 5, 4, 3, 2...
FWOOM!
Sonic had no idea what happened. A surprised gasp was torn from his iron lips as the world seemed to melt into a puddle of blurred colors, speeding past him in an incoherent streak. He could feel the momentum lift his feet off the ground entirely, snapping his arms and head back. Had there been anyone watching at the time, they would have seen a glow of the purest white color imaginable emanate from the depths of his engine as it released two highly flammable chemicals in front of a mini flamethrower. A split-second later those same witnesses would have been incinerated by its massive backlash, a fireball that filled the entire corridor with its size as Sonic took off at near the speed of sound.
Sonic wasn't concerned about his lift-off at the moment however, far too focused on trying to steer with 200 pounds of liquidized oxygen burning on his back. There was a blinking red dot in his mental blueprints-map that indicated his own position. It now began to move, quickly picking up speed. Terror balked his circuits as he looked at the map and saw a turn in the tunnel rapidly approaching. Unfortunately, the inertia had not yet lifted enough to allow him to tilt his head forward, so his view was limited to the ceiling rushing by above. Depending on the map for navigation, he lunged all his weight sideways and took the corner blind, barely managing to avoid oversteering into its inside wall by swerving back on course.
After a few minutes of some such creative flying, the inertia gradually released its hold on him and let his head face forward. Now able to see what he was doing, he resumed his chase to Shadow's position with earnest.
--------------------
"Oh, this is just perfect." Rouge growled sarcastically, glaring at the five SWATbots surrounding her. "How come everyone always picks on me?"
"Must be your animal magnetism." Mecha replied back without thinking from his spot behind her. He paused. Wait a second, had he just made a joke?
The SWATbots' lasers began to warm up in preparation for firing. Rouge grinned nastily.
"Well, too bad for them, this girl's taken already. Bring it, boys!" She yelled at the 'bots, dashing forward and plowing through them like a battering ram. At the same time, Mecha crouched into a low sweep kick, knocking three of the bots down and allowing him time to get up and follow Rouge.
"And just what was that supposed to do?" He asked angrily as he caught up with the bat. "The SWAT's are still alive!" He pointed at the five robots that had by now regained their footing and were resuming the chase.
Rouge's glare was acidic. "Gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't know you WANTED them to escort you to the roboticization chamber. Look, there's a nice little dead-end over there; why don't you let them catch up with you and capture you and torture you? Don't mind me, I'll just leave and stay alive, thanks."
Mecha did nothing except glare in reply. Numerous thoughts were randomly popping into his mind again; Rouge's perfect hourglass figure was causing his body to react in a way that completely disgusted him. He shook his head rapidly to re-focus on the task at hand. "What I meant was, why didn't you just fly us out of there? You've got wings!"
Rouge rolled her eyes. She stopped to hit the 'open' button on an elevator door and duck inside, slapping the 'close' button on its interior as Mecha followed. Finally she answered, speaking in a tone that informed Mecha how stupid his question had been. "Because they would've turned us both into swiss cheese with those lovely little lasers of theirs. I can't fly very fast while carrying someone, you know."
The elevator gave a pleasant 'ding' as it arrived at the top floor of the G-3, opening to reveal about a dozen lasers pointed at their heads. Rouge jumped a little, suddenly realizing there was no way out from under the robots' fire. "Ah, shit!" She howled. "I HATE getting trapped!"
Mecha frowned. He hadn't planned on getting anybody else involved in this--it was a private matter between him and Sonic. Somehow, he knew it wasn't right to drag someone else into this that didn't deserve it. He could feel a small pang of something--conscience, maybe? Was he actually redeveloping his sense of right and wrong? He staunchly folded his arms and jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Get out of here; I'll distract them."
She glared at him as if he'd claimed to be a stalk of celery. "What?!"
"Save yourself. Go tell the others." He waved a dismissive hand at her as she opened her mouth to protest. "Don't worry; I'll be fine. I've gotten out of worse before." This was a lie, and he knew it--he knew next to nothing about how to perform the techniques that Sonic had used to defeat him in previous encounters. But there was something about the thought of Rouge getting hurt that he strongly disliked, and it was this something that made him want to spare her any undue harm. Again he could feel that pang within him. It was starting to get annoying.
Instead of reassuring Rouge, his statement only seemed to make her madder. "Like HELL I will!" She growled, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him roughly. "I've gone to all this trouble to get you out, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let it be for nothing!"
Jerking himself out of her grip, Mecha stared her down. "You're making a mistake," He warned her calmly.
"Screw that. I'm saving our asses, that's what I'm doing." She snorted before diving into the incoming mass of robots, feet darting out like twin sledgehammers. Mecha shook his head and sighed, then realized that several of the SWATbots were still aiming their lasers at him. His eyes widened. "Uh oh..."
"SURRENDER OR BE DESTROYED," The robots droned. "RESISTANCE IS FUTILE."
As cliché as this warning was, it got a reaction. Deep down inside Mecha, something suddenly snapped into place. Before he could think about what he was doing he'd gone into a quick spindash, slamming through the 5 bots. They went down like bowling pins, their lasers firing erratically.
Mecha uncurled and stumbled back to his feet, panting and wondering what the heck had just happened--
--when he halted, coming face-to-face with himself.
Not his present form, mind you: it was Sonic, stuck in Mecha's robot body. Right now, he looked about as startled as a robot without many facial features can get as he burst through a side door into the hallway, his rocket booster at max. Mecha couldn't help but wince a little--he knew from personal experience that using the booster at top speed was a Bad Idea unless you had a good football-field-sized distance to slow down in.
He was right. Sonic shut off his booster and tried to stop his momentum, but his feet still weren't touching the ground. Unable to do anything, he sailed right past Mecha while staring at him with a comical look of surprise. (To this day, Mecha has never forgotten his mental image of that moment; it was simply priceless.) Half a second went by before Sonic hit a door on the corridor's opposite side, ramming it open and skidding into the room beyond with a shriek of grinding metal.
Mecha paused, head uneasily darting from Sonic staggering back to his feet to the several SWATbots at the elevator who were doing the same thing. Indecision tore at him. What lousy timing! Should he stay and confront Sonic, or run and catch up with Rouge? Which, which, which?
Luckily, his decision was made for him as Sonic turned and approached at a limp, eyes shining with some hidden emotion as he stopped at less than two feet away. "Mecha…..?" He whispered, slowly starting to understand. "…..Is that you?"
"DUCK!" Rouge screamed, plowing into them and knocking all three to the side as several lasers shot overhead. She roughly hauled Mecha up by the hand and took off running, with several robots following close behind. "If you're gonna stand there for target practice, then I might as well leave you here." She growled. "Keep moving, keep alive, okay?!"
Mecha balked against her grip for a second. "No! Wait! I have to talk to him! Let me go!"
"Who? Metal Sonic?" Rouge demanded with a roll of her eyes, running faster and practically dragging Mecha along. She's a lot stronger than she looks, he realized. "What're you gonna do, ask him which brand polish he uses? Give it up. He'd rather shoot first before chatting."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that." A robotic voice sneered above them.
Rouge screeched to a halt with an oath as Sonic landed two feet ahead of them, rocket engine shutting off with a slow whine. "So," He glared darkly at Mecha, "I was wrong. Robotnik didn't roboticize me after all. You and I just switched bodies, instead."
"Say what?!" Rouge demanded, glancing at Sonic. "What's he talking about?" Then, the robot's last sentence registered. "…..wait. Switched bodies?" Her eyes widened and she abruptly let go of Mecha's hand as if it was red-hot, quickly backing away. Mecha didn't even notice, his glare centered squarely on Sonic.
"What of it?" He replied, face impassive.
"Give it back." Sonic's voice was a low growl.
"How?"
"The same way you took it in the first place, you thief!" The robot exploded, shaking his fists in the air furiously.
"What are you talking about? YOU stole MY body!"
"How DARE you accuse me of something like that!" Sonic roared. "I wouldn't want to be a robot if-"
"TIME OUT!!"
Sonic and Mecha both stopped their tirades and blinked at Rouge, who looked mad enough to cause a volcanic eruption. She stood between them, her hands held out to fend them off from each other, breathing hard as she shot each of them looks of disgust and righteous anger. "First of all, I'M the thief around here, thank you very much. Secondly, could someone please explain just what the hell is going on here, preferably after we've lost the bot brigade??"
Sonic turned to face the incoming robots and sent a silent radio signal to them: Mission failed, target has escaped. Resume normal activities. The bots fell back at once. "Done." He turned to face Mecha. "Now give it BACK!!"
"Sonic, I don't know how! It was an accident--"
"What bull."
"I'm serious!" Mecha's voice was starting to become a little desperate. This wasn't at all how he'd planned their confrontation...
"SO AM I!!" The robot roared at maximum volume, fists clenched.
Rouge growled loudly, hands pressed over her head and eyes shut tight. She was making a monumentous effort to control her irritation and not smack both Sonic and Mecha a good one upside the head. "All right, let's just think for a second. How'd this happen?" She asked calmly, trying to comprehend what was going on.
Sonic stabbed a claw in Mecha's direction. "Ask him! HE'S the one who did it!"
"I am NOT!" Mecha protested hotly.
"Just answer the question, willya?!" Rouge snarled at them both.
"An electrical discharge." Mecha guessed. "Sonic was shocked by one at the same time as I."
There was a pause.
"Well, I still think you did it." Sonic muttered.
Rouge waved a hand, deep in thought. "Wait, wait, wait. I think I have an idea." She turned to face the living hedgehog next to her. "Er, Mecha, what started the discharge?"
Sonic opened his mouth to angrily answer her question, but Mecha beat him to the punch. "It was an experimental tube in Dr. Robotnik's laboratory."
"What did it use as a power source?"
Mecha looked at her oddly, then understood her intent. "It ran off energy previously siphoned from the Chaos Emeralds."
Rouge's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You mean Robotnik's got the emeralds right now?!"
"Negative on that. We took the energy earlier, before the emeralds were reclaimed by Knuckles and taken back to his island." He gave Rouge an intense look. "Are you suggesting we ask him for help?"
"I'm not sure." Rouge admitted. "I know a lot about the emeralds, but I've never heard of anything like this happening before. It could work, I suppose."
Sonic hovered quietly. "So THAT's why he said he'd found a way..." He muttered softly. "He's probably gonna try to get Knux's help, too." He looked up at them, engine already prepped for take-off. "Then what are we waiting for? Knux'll help, he still owes me one for saving his tail after the ARK incident. Come on!"
"Grab hold," Rouge instructed, holding her arms out. Mecha nodded seriously and locked wrists with the bat, who slowly began to lift off the ground as she beat her wings furiously. Although she was distinctly weighed down more than usual, she still managed to get them airborne within a couple minutes. Sonic consulted his uplink to Robotnik's satellites and spotted Angel Island's familiar shape on one of the maps.
"Looks like we're in luck-the island's not too far away." He pointed in an easterly direction and began to fly that way, Rouge following him slowly so as not to drop her passenger.
Half a minute after the trio had taken off, a blob of darkness detached itself from a nearby alley. Two eyes gazed intently after the retreating dots for a long moment. "I guess Sonic's smarter than I give him credit for." Their owner mused before adding, "I sure hope they know what they're doing."
Unseen, the shape darted away in pursuit of the three.
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