Knuckles roared and sent everyone backward several miles from the pure burst of power as he
called upon the powers. Mina was also blown away. She rushed to Sonic's side in fear.

Mina: "What... IS he?"

Then looking at the ephigy of power she was clinging to...

Mina: "What are YOU??"

Sonic continued to stair intently at Knuckles, who was still powering up.

Sonic: "I am Knux's worse nightmare. Metal, THIS is the kind of thing to truely proove worth!"
Metal: "You vs. Knux. You'll be finished. Me vs. Knux. I'll be finished. You and me vs. Knux...
he'll wish he was never born! But I must still proove that I am the better Sonic!"
Sonic: "Being Sonic is not about power. If you were to gang up with me against Knuckles, you'll
be the better man of the two of us."
Metal: "What makes you say that?"
Sonic: "Because I really don't like you one bit. I'd rather take Knux on alone."
Metal: "Even if you KNOW you can't handel him?"
Sonic: "...."
"I'd be willing to try it. A fight isn't over until it's over. I'm still faster than him, maybe I could
keep him off balance long enough for me to hit a weak spot."
"That's a million to one odds, the kind of odds you like. Heh, your like me, always looking for
the challenge, looking to test yourself, in that, we are alike Sonikku."
"I guess . . . . so, ya coming . . . Metalla?"
"You couldn't keep me away Sonikku!"
The two super-charged unlikely partners charged at the powering echidna bouncing off an
invisable force field.

Mina: "I keep trying to tell you! Positive chaos vs. positive chaos is only a matter of who's more
powerful. You two are seperated, so it isn't working as well as if you were one. Your powers
hate each other!"
Sonic: "So what do you suggest, Mina?"
Mina: "Either I give you all my negative energy or you and Metal must join into one being."
Metalla and Sonic looked at each other.
"Ok Mina, how would we join into one person. Or how would you transfer your power into us?"
Asked Sonic.
"How did you know my name?" Asked Mina surprised.
"Long story!" Retorted the hedghog.

Mina: "Well for you to join with Metal, you'll need to both touch me without toughing each
other. Then -"

Knuckles interrupted with a huge blast that Metal caught, struggled with, and finally threw aside.

Metal: "We're running out of time, Sonic!"
Sonic: "Well Mina?!!"
Mina: "And for me to transfer my power, same thing. The difference is -"

Another blast. Knuckles was closing in...

Mina: "I don't know if my power is connected to my life force or not.
Sonic: "I'll join with Metal!"
Mina: "But if you do, there's a chance you may never be seperated again!"
Metal: "Then I'll take your powers!"
Sonic: "No you won't!"
Knuckles: "Look at you silly worms! Can't decide who the enemy is because you're so caught up
in yourselves!"
Sonic: "Metal! We don't have time to argue! If we merge, we will be the perfect being! But
according to what Mina said... it's only a CHANCE that we may never seperate!"

"So be it." Whisperd Metalla.

Holding hands with Mina, the two had their powers fused. It was an awesome sight. Blinding
even to Knuckles! But within a few moments... there was the fused being with Mina behind it.
She appeared to be very exausted, but the new being was pretty ready for action. Red and yellow
electricity and energy swirled around the new being as it looked at it's hands. I looked like some
kind of metal / bio monstrosity, but plenty like Sonic in the way that Metal and Sonic looked.
But it was blue all over with no yellow or red as skin. It's very movements were buckling space-
time and causing earthquakes for the sheer energy. Then it looked at Knuckles. Knuckles could
feel the energy flowing through the area. And for once... the echidna knew what fear was...

"Last chance Knuckle-Head." Said Metalla and Sonikku. "Reliquise all nations that you've
conqured. Withdraw your troops back to Angel Island, (the floating island's REAL name). Give
all non-edcidna, dingos included, full citinizship, And release all of you prisoners of war. . . . Or
we make you."

Knuckles straightened himself out and thought to himself that this was either NOT happening or
it was simpley something he could surpass.

Knuckles: "Make me!"

"You don't want us to." Said the warrior cracking his knuckles. "I did that just so the history
books wouldn't say I didn't give you fair warning. . . . . Knuckle-Head."
"Ahhh!" Said Knuckles sucking more power from the already drained master emerald to incress
is own.
Then Sonic sensed it as did Mina, something, something like Mina's power, forcing it's way out
of the master emerald. Thoughts in simple words. ~~ Revenge. Avenge. My Chao! Must Be
FREE! ~~
Metalla/Sonikku looked at Mina senseing what Knuckles was doing.
"Mina! You can teleport we've seen you. The emerald chamber is just below the legeon building,
keep the master emerald from shattaring no matter what! Or we'll trade one devil for another!"

Mina: "Gotchya"

In a moment, Mina disappeared. Sonic/Metal then looked to Knuckles and charged with a testing
blow that Knuckles easily took. Knuckles gave a knuckle-sandwitch to Sonic/Metal that sent him
flying. Sonic/Metal suddenly disappeared and reappearing next to Knuckles with a hit square in
the nose. The hit was so hard, that even as powered as he was, Knuckles's eyes formed tears.

Knuckles: "UUUUGGG!!!! Stupid tears!"
Sonic/Metal: "Ha! Cry, baby, cry! Stick you finger in your eye!"

The two (or three) duked it out. Sonic/Metal intended on both keeping Knuckles from powering
up further and were testing to see how powerful he was already. It seemed Knuckles was at
LEAST on parr with Sonic/Metal... things were looking grim. Sonic/Metal thought to himself "I
thought our combined strength was supposed to be more than enough..."

I hope Mina can keep Chaos from escaping. Or with all our chaos engery ,we'll be on his main
dinner menu.
"Knuckles! The more power you suck from the Master Emerald the closer you bring YOUR
people to exstermnation!"
"You threaten me!"
"NO! I am not the one who will do it! I am warning you!"
"I don't fall for suck childish tricks!" Knuckles so wrapped up in himself and the battle he didn't
sense Chaos's attempts at freedom.
Reply
Sonic/Metal thought to himself that no matter what, this can't be allowed. Although the Metal
side of him desperately wanted that question answered as to who was better, both sides agreed
that sacrificing their lives for the sake of the universe was well within reason... But was it
necessary?

For the evil, taking another life was simple, and taking your own life hard except under
cercumstance like people wanting to get back at you for all you had done.
But for good it was harder, your own life was perious, to throw it away was beyound immoral,
and take another life, unforgivable, but was it somethings nessary?
There wasn't a shread of deceny in this Knuckles. He was tyrant and a murderer though and
though.
"Knuckles . . ." Said the warrior in the voice of decison. "Pray to the walkers for mercy, because
you die now . . ."
Knuckles and the warrior clashed in both power and fist de cuffs.
Knuckles wanting to crush this enemy to his power once and for all, the other because unless the
power Knuckles keep suck was cut off, Chaos would be freed.
While all the fighting was going on, Mina approached the master emerald with fear as she saw
the liquid formation oozing from the emerald. "I must help in any way I can" she thought to
herself. So she touched the emerald and started to make a power barrier. The one thing she could
do for Sonic/Metal now was to keep knuckles from absorbing any more of it...
Chaos struck against the barrier but the master emerald was already healing itself and would
soon be repaired, and he and Tikal would be place in their eturnal confinment again.

Knuckles suddenly felt drained like a machine with it's power cord cut.
Sonic sensed it, Chaos was now no longer breaking free, and Knuckles link to the master
emerald had been broken.
"Now we'll fight with only the power we ourself contain Knuckles no more outside forces
altiring the outcome. This is your last chapture Knuckles, I'm just glade your family never lived
to see you become the devil."
Knuckles: "You fools! I CAN NOT LOOSE!!!"

The fight was finally on the side of good. Sonic/Metal could hear Mina's voice in his head...

Mina: "The master emerald is healing and I've set up a barrier. With luck, if you can beat him
without completely vaporising him, I can also send his chaos energies back where they belong.
Pleasse be careful!"
"Enough talk . . 'let's get this finnished before we die of old age." Said the Sonic/Metalla.
"I agree." Said Knuckles, they launched into each other, niether having any intention of retreat,
surrender, or withdraw.
To two clashed into each other with surprising amounts of control over their powers! It appeared
like they were less powerful than the fight between Sonic and Metal, but the fact is, neither side
wanted to destroy their surroundings. Knuckles because he believed himself to be the goodguy;
and Sonic/Metal because is IS the goodguy. But every hit packed WAY more punch than the hits
in the previous clashings of Sonic and Metal!
It was like two great hammer of the gods smashing into each other again and again, neither
giving up, niether tiring out, Knuckles fuled by his anger, and Sonic/Metalla by the need to
finnish this once and for all.

Then Sonic/Metal heard Mina.

Mina: "Is he finished yet?"
Sonic/Metal: "He's as unstopable as we are it seems. There's no bringing him down."
Mina: "Well he'll be finished soon. I broke through his defences that he arrogantly left behind
and found the sword of acorn. I'll be over soon."

Sonic and Metalla were discussing things inside their skull.

"There's no way Knux will stand still long enough for the sword to work we'll have to hold him."
Said Sonic,
"You do realize that if she uses the sword while we're holding on to Knux our power will get
drained too?"
"And we'll be able to have our deul, fight to our best, and not worry about blowing up the
planet."
"Point taken."
Mina materialised and Sonic/Metal grabbed Knuckles before he could see that Mina had the
sword.

Mina: "Wow! It's like you read my mind. Of course... I should have expected quick thinking
from you."
Sonic/Metal: "Well quickly absorb!!"

Mina touched Knuckles with the sword and just as Sonic/Metal predicted, their powers got
sucked WITH his into the sword.

Both hit the ground with a thud, in a flash Sonic and Metalla seperated.
Before anything else happened Sonic grapped hold of Knuckles by the collar of his now dirtied
uniform.
"Now that were the same, I can do this without holding back." Sonic punched Knuckles in the
face with all the stength he could muster.

Knuckles: "Yeah. Me too!"

Knuckles hit Sonic back with his wall-crushing knuckles. But like Knuckles, Sonic knew how to
roll with the punches. Mina in the mean time was a glowing efigy of power with a burning
sword.

Mina: "Stop!"

Her voice quaked the area and yet did not deafen the three.

Mina: "I knew I could put an end to the fighting. Knuckles, you are evil and wrong. Face it. Turn
from your wicked ways or have two very considerable fighters beat the stuffing out of you."
Knuckles: "Fools! Even at my weakest, I am-ACK!"

Sonic gave Knuckles another blow.

Sonic: "That hurt, didn't it? I'd say that's week all right! Now do as the girl says!"
Metal: "Sonic! Don't be foolish! Without the emeralds power, he may not be much. But he still
has the chaotix and a whole city at his disposal. So dispose of him before he disposes of them."
Sonic: "You... have a point... but... I.. can't. I can't just... kill him."

Sonic dropped Knuckles.

Metal: "Then I WILL!!!"

Mina, having heard Metal's words and taking them to heart that Knuckles would kill millions if
he was about to die, just watched Metal without stopping him.
"We finnish our duel once and for all first!" Sonic shouted baring the way. "You want that more
than anything! So let's get to it!"
"At last!" Metalla hissed in joy and antispation, either in victory or death, he would have The
Answer at last.

It began! Metal and Sonic only having speed as a special power. It was the classic fight. Mina
returned to observe the fight.

Mina thought to herself: "I still don't get it. Boys..."
"Mina . . ." Said Sonic, "Distory the Sword of Acrons."
"Wha . . . ?"
"I said distory it! Don't let any monsters like Knuckles ever com into this world again!"

Mina took the sword and braced herself. This was no ordinary sword. And just breaking it would
mean it could be repaired. Hiding it meant it could be found. But banishing it's powers... that
was a different story.

Mina: "I will do as you say!"

Mina smashed the sword! She kept smashing it until it's pieces were almost as fine as dust!
Then, she used her power to draw what was in the sword's now-weak pieces and sent the powers
in several directions deep into space. Then, with one final bout of power, she banished the
sword's ability to absorb power. It was done. Nobody would ever mis-use the sword again! Mina
was drained from the experience.
"Admirable." Commented Metalla. He looked at Knuckles, so helpless, so dangerous. "But it
changes nothing. If you to save the life of that low life tyrant then you need to fight me and win
Sonic. And if I ever THINK your holding back. I"ll self tirminate and end it."
"But then-"
"But then Knuckles will be dead. I seriously doubt many people will spit on my grave if I take
him to Hades with me."
Sonic: "Stop being so scared and cruel. I already agreed to give you what you want. And you
know my thoughts well enough to know I'm being honest about it. Besides... if you self
terminate, you lose. The makes me the better one and you the quitter. Now let's get this show on
already!" "I agree," Said Metalla, "The the people reading this in the history books must be bored
out of their skulls by now waiting for us to finnaly get it down." Metalla charged up his retros.
Metalla glaced at Mina, he had what he wanted so badly, a witeness, no one would say he killed
Sonic in an unfair fight.
Sonic knew that hitting Metal wouldn't be so effective unless he were a demi-god. So he kicked
like before, knowing that he must fight Metal with metal. Mina watched and was able to follow
their movements for a chort while before the rest of her power drained and she was more or less
normal again.

Sonic: "What are you talking about? Don't you remember the fight we had before the
inturruption?"
Metal: "But now it's just you and me! No help from emeralds!"
Sonic: "Changing your tune because you're so impatient, huh?"
Metal: "It runs in the personality."
Mina blinked, even without the emeralds, there speed was blazing, found herself geting dizzy
from trying to keep track of there movments.
She had ititally thought it would be like watching a person fight a mirror, it was more like two
grand masters becoming fustrated over their inability to harm the other. Her heart skip a beat
when she saw they were smiling, they were enjoying this!

note: To make him fast enough eggman made Metalla out of a material that sonic CAN manged
with his spin attack.

Note: Nevertheless, Metal is hard enough for Sonic to prefer not hitting him with his fist. Like I
said, kicking and sutch...

Mina decided to stare forward and not try to keep up with them so much.

Sonic was pinned! Metal had pinned Sonic and was now using his weight (he wasn't much
heavier than Sonic at all, but still heavy enough) to hold Sonic. He started headbutting Sonic.
Mina wanted to help, but knew that Metal would only have it this way and no other.
Sonic then returned the favor smashing his head into Metalla's face cracking his scanner, Metalla
cursed in pain. Then two kick to his steel gut and Metalla went flying backward on the wet sand
both were in a fighting position before Mina could breath and both were streak of blue across the
beach.

"Even if I tried to help", Mina thought to herself, "It's not like I can."

And the two speed-demons kept at it, but were getting damaged quick unlike in the titan battle
where they seamed invincible. Within a matter of minutes, they both had to stop for a moment.
Sonic to catch his breathe. Metal to gather his where-with-all and re-focus. It seamed so
pointless! All this and the two of them are getting to their answer so quick? And maybe they'll
both deliver a killing blow.
Well, Metalla though, he would at least have his answer then. His armor was beat up and his left
shoulder pad was so dented it restrected his movments, grunting in fustration he ripped the
useless peice of armor off allowing his arm free movment again.
No broken bones, good, Sonic though, at least he had that going for him at he moment.