Flip Card 2: Metal Sonic

"This is so wrong." Espio sighed angrily, but he found that neither Vector or Charmy were listening to him.

"Our new client must be really rich, sending a robot to meet us you know?" Vector lowered his eyes away from his pair of binoculars. You could almost see dollar signs in his eyes. He chuckled loudly before continuing to watch. With Espio's invisibility cloaking them, they remained undetected by the large military base before them on the desert plain. From their perch on a large sand dune, they watched the planes flying in and out of the many different hangers along the bases length.

A large complex with two gigantic sets of runways, each with the number 99 painted on the far end. Fighter planes and other types of high tech weaponry, copied from Eggman's own technology sat, almost on display in neat rows. "Wonder why he wants intelligence on this base?" The young bee asked, looking slightly bored, drawing circles in the sand. Espio shrugged, giving Vector a side glance.

"Don't know, suddenly it became our policy not to ask questions when we're down to our last dollar." Vector ignored him and continued watching.

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Area 99 was high alert with Air force one landing within moments, a large platoon of Hot shot Walkers stood outside the bases perimeter in case of any surprise terrorist attack the Eggman Empire could make. Topaz, a human female with fawn hair and violet eyes, dressed in a watched from the control tower as the Presidents plane made it's approach from the west.

"I do hope you've done something that's going to please him." She said, looking back over her shoulder toward Rouge. Who was sitting on top of a table with her legs crossed, a pleased look on her face.

"We just took down a major Eggman Empire operation, not to mention attaining some…" Her smile widened. "Bonuses."

Two long lines of armed guards saluted when the president, a man whose anatomy near matched Eggman's, departed from plane, followed by his personal assistant, Christina Cooper. A tall, tan skinned women with chestnut brown hair.

"Minister of defence reports Walker production has risen from last months number by more than 400." She announced as they descended the stairs from the plane. "If Eggman launches an attack, we should be ready for it."

"In the meantime though we're stuck wondering just where and when he'll strike." He replied, his arms behind his back. The Eggman Empire was proving far more of threat than he'd originally expected. They were already squabbling like cats and dogs down at the united nations.

As he reached the large hanger doors that marked the main entrance to the pair, two large laser hunters saluted him before pulling the doors aside. Waiting on the other side were the elite spies currently monitoring the Eggman Empire problem. Rouge the bat, a brilliant espionage specialist and one of the few none human agents. Standing next to her was a mysterious agent from intelligence agent, known simply as Stuart. A tall human with violet eyes and blond hair. A small pair of glasses helped him with his poor eye sight. Topaz, although not exactly an agent, was still a high ranking military official with contacts throughout the Government.

"I do hope you've got better news than I've been receiving all morning." The president groaned as he joined them, shaking hands with Topaz and Stuart.

"Not much on my end unfortunately." Stuart admitted. He gave Rouge a side glance. "Although from what's been said around here, Rouge did manage to dig up something useful." The president blinked in surprise.

"Well, have you?" He asked the bat, who simply smirked at him.

"Follow me." She managed to say while surprising a giggle. The main command centre of Area 99 was a large pit like room, the arena of which was engulfed in computer terminals, receiving intelligence information from all around the world. Presently, all the attention was turned on locating the Eggman Empire, although they hadn't had much luck. A large screen stood against the wall on the far hand side rom the entrance, segmented into several different sections. A think metal rail ran around the edge of the pit, some men in loose white shirts exchanging large piles of paper work.

The president and his personal assiant didn't have much time to take it in however as the moment they stepped through the door they were greeted by an alarming sight.

"Oh my…" The President exclaimed as Omega towered over him. A red and black titan, it's head and shoulders standing at least seven feet above the supporting troop of soldiers. Sitting on his shoulder was the black and red Hedgehog that had, reportedly, been killed during the classified ARK incident.

"Target designate, recognised as the leader of force opposing Eggman Empire." The robot announced, leaning over slightly to get a better look at him. "As such, you have my alliance." There was silence for at least a minute as the president stared directly at the two of them. During that time, Shadow got bored, hoped off Omega's shoulder and talking away with his hands behind his head.

"ROUGE!" The president shouted out load, staring straight ahead. Almost imminently the white bat appeared at his side, a wide smile on her face. "You mind elaborating please."

"I just thought we could with a helping hand, the these two seem to be more than willing."

"Unit codename, Omega. I am a state of the art Eggman Empire attack drone. ID number 5594. I have several advanced weaponry systems already built it. I have the fire power to match a dozen of your currently Laser hunter units. I await your instructions." The President was stunned.

"Er…" He hesitated, not sure of what to say, or to think for that matter. "Good. Nice to have you…with us." Omega did not reply to this. The president gained a nervous smile, before side stepping toward Rouge. "Excuse me for one moment." He turned toward the bat.

"Rouge, this is an extremely dangerous situation you may have put us all in." Rouge simply brushed off the presidents warnings with a flick of her wrist.

"Oh you worry too much…. You should have seen what Omega did to some of Eggman's other clunkers when we were escaping. Nothing I'd ever seen before unleashed that much firepower." The president sighed, before turning to give the two of them a long hard stare.

"That isn't who I think it is… is it?" He eventually asked, gesturing in Shadow's directly. Shadow had his back turned to them so he didn't notice. "I was under the impression that he did not survive the ARK?" Rouge smiled.

"Looks like he did, but don't worry. He isn't going to start off on anymore insane bids for vengeance anymore." The president looked past her toward Shadow for a moment, a very uncertain look on his face.

"Well, keep it that way. But let's keep him a secret from the rest of the Government officials, I don't want to see something that I assured them was dealt with come back to haunt us, understand?"

"Don't worry about it, whatever Eggman did to him has completely wiped his mind. He don't remember a thing." Rouge smiled, watching the black hedgehog. "I almost pity him really." She crossing her arms behind her head. "In any case, with these two protecting our flanks Eggman doesn't stand much of a chance." The president's frown deepened.

"I'm afraid the situation is far more desperate than that." He president said gravely. Instantly the large screen at the back of the command room switched on, revealing a taped news report, chronicling the graphic detail the horrific defeat Sonic defeat at the hands of his metallic copy. Shadow blinked, there was something vary familiar about that blue hedgehog, but whenever he tried to remember exactly what he came up with nothing.

"Target recognized as Sonic the Hedgehog, well known adversary of the Eggman Empire." Omega announced loudly. "I am surprised that one of Eggman's own was able to defeat him so easily." The President nodded grimly.

"Yes, and so is the general public and the United Nations. Alliances with our European and Asian allies are beginning to dissolve. If this situation is not resolved quickly, I fear for global stability."

"Then our choice of action is clear, Eggman's empire must be exterminated as quickly as possible." The president looked back toward Omega.

"Indeed, but it's been hard to locate it. I was hoping you may be able to help us there." Omega stood perfectly still for a moment.

"Unfortunately, since I was decommissioned I was unable to link with the main computer systems. The information I have may be out of date, but I will tell you what little I can."

Rouge noticed Shadow staring at the recording, watching it without even blinking. She walked up beside him.

"I'm not an agent am I?" He asked, his voice low enough for the others not to hear. Rouge blinked, then nodded, looking down at the floor sadly.

"I only said that so Omega wouldn't blast us again." Shadow said nothing for a good few moments, his arms crossed on the metal rail that lined the platform.

"Then what am I?" He finally asked.

"I don't know." Rouge replied quickly.

"Don't you?" Shadow turned to give her a sideways glance. "I know perfectly well you found me there, inside this Eggman characters base. I didn't come in with you. Where you sent in there to retrieve me?"

"No." Rouge turned away, folding her wings around her arms defensively. Shadow chuckled.

"So my discovery was by accident." He looked displeased with the inevitable conclusion of the conversation. "Then Eggman knows what I am." Rouge knew she could say something, could tell him about the ARK, about Maria, about his insane desire for revenge. But instead, she simply nodded and hoped for the best. Shadow let out a loud sigh and tilted his head back so he stared up at the ceiling. Perhaps it was best that he not know, like the President suggested. Not just for the worlds shake, but he was probably better off without all that angst running around inside his head.

"Liar." Shadow muttered to himself, giving her a side glance.

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"Froggy!" The voice of the large purple cat echoed throughout the streets of Station Square. People stopped to stare at him, this gigantic feline with large flapping ears and grasping a fishing rod in one hand. He was lifting cars and trucks up, looking underneath before dropping them back down with a large thud. He was peering in through shop windows, frightening the customers within then they looked out, expecting to see a view of the central park, only to be meet by a pair of staring yellow eyes. "Froggy…we're are you?" Big was not in the best of moods. Froggy had disappeared again and he'd been following his trail for the last hour, when it suddenly went cold in the city.

"Rippit!"

"Froggy!" A green tree frog with red stripes running down it's back hoped out from under a mail box and began jumping away from him. Big managed to haul himself up onto his stubby legs and run after him. Big's physique however did not allow him to run very fast and so he found Froggy gaining distance. In mid jump however, the frog was caught by a pair of gloved hands.

"Hello Mr. Big." A child like voice greeted the large cat, who hand to peer down to see who was speaking to him. It was Cream, holding Froggy in both hands. Cheese the Chao was hovering around her left shoulder. A bright red bow tie around his neck. Vanilla, her mother was standing nearby, talking to a women who was handing out leaflets.

"Froggy, why didn't you say you wanted to go exploring?" Big asked his amphibian friend and Cream handed him back. The frog crawled up his arm and nestled itself into the fur on his shoulder, croaking an apology. "Thank you very much Miss Cream." He said with a smile in that slow voice of his.

"Ah, you must be Big. My daughter's told me a lot about you." Vanilla said with a smile joining her daughter's side. Big went to lift his hat in respect, put ended up lifting Froggy up instead, who gave a surprised croak. "I saw you fighting at the Emerald tournament did I?" Big titled his head to the side, a characteristic blank look on his face.

"You know, Ella was chasing you with a frying pan during your match." Cream stated. Big scratched the side of his head.

"I remember the banshee women with the frying pan…" Vanilla and Cream looked at each, exchanging worried glanced.

"Is he always like this?" Vanilla asked as Big bean talking with his frog again. Cream nodded.

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"Think he can hear us?"

"Who knows."

"I hope he can. Sonic…It's me Amy."

Amy……

"You see that… I think he did heard you."

Chris….

"Sonikku, your alright!" Amy exclaimed, nearly flinging herself at him as he opened his eyes. Sonic however was preoccupied with others things. He tried to move his legs, harbouring some fear that whatever paralysis he had experienced before lingered. Intense relief filled him when he found that they responded loyally. Sighing out load, he pulled himself up to a sitting position. His eyesight clearing, he discovered himself sitting in a hospital bed. Half closed curtains allowed a thin shaft of morning light to come in, falling directly on the bed. A small tube was jutting out from a small hole in his right arm. On either side of the bed were two of his friends, one a pink hedgehog girl and the other young human boy with blue eyes and chestnut brown hair.

"Oh thank god!" Chris said with relief. "We were worried about you Sonic, the doctor said you'd almost lost the use of your legs. Sonic narrowed his eyes, a gloved hand resting on his forehead. The human standing over Chris' shoulder, a tall man with a black moustache and head hair A large pair of glasses resting on his nose nodded once. Sonic gave him a hard stare. He looked a lot like a thinner version of Eggman, after dying his hair.

"You were lucky, if you'd taken any harsher a beating I doubt you'd have woken up at all."

"Don't remind me…." He paused to make himself slightly more comfortable, and to take in the room in detail. A great view of station square could be seen just through the crack in the curtains. The walls and ceiling were a pale cream, dimly yellow with the light. The floor was black and white tiled. Sonic had never really liked hospitals, so a soft unrest was festering within him.

"I think you should be fine in a few days, but I'd like you to get a lot of rest in the meantime." Sonic was ignoring him, moaning in frustration as he tried vainly to piece together exactly how he'd lost the fight with Metal Sonic.

"How long have I been lying here?"

"About a day." Amy replied, putting her hand on his and to her delight he did not protest. "Dear god, I thought for a while you weren't going to wake up." Sonic rested his other arm around her shoulders, winking at her with a characteristic grin.

"You know me Amez. Takes far more than this to bring me down." Amy however was not convinced.

"I'm being serious Sonikku, you really scared me!" Sonic blinked, realizing exactly how upset she was.

"Hey there, Amez. Look, I'm sorry about that." He said apologetically, drawing her into a light hug. She sniffed, wiping away a tear and smiled at him. Chris stared at them, mouth hung slightly open. There was something he'd never thought he'd seen, a spark of romance passing between the two of them. Then again, he'd seen stranger things when Tanaka declared love to Rouge's friend Topaz.

He coughed to get their attention. Sonic blushed suddenly, realizing what he was doing. "Oh…er right!" Amy's smile deepened. She'd finally gotten Sonic to blush. An accomplishment she was beginning to think she'd never achieve. It was a small victory but it was start to her ultimate goal.

The door on the far wall opened and Tails poked his head in. His eyes widened his joy once he saw his old friend awake.

"Sonic!" He exclaimed, quickly advancing into the room.

"Hey buddy." Sonic replied. Tails opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it, then looked down at his shoes in shame.

"Sonic...I'm sorry." Sonic looked surprised.

"For what?" Tails tried to find something to catch his eye so he didn't have to look his old friend in the face, ending up focusing his attention on a small crack in the wall.

"I should have helped you, but Metal Sonic…" He didn't need to finish the sentence, Sonic understood in a nano second.

"It's cool bud, you think your scared of him? The guy terrifies me." Everyone stared at the blue hedgehog, rather caught of guard by the confession. "Yes I know." Sonic sighed, holding his arms out in front of himself. "I hate to admit it, but he' s better than me." An anger frown crossed his face. "But I'm not going to let that stop me!" Without another word, he tore the plastic tube from his arm, suppressing a grunt of pain.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Chris asked, standing up suddenly. Sonic threw the covers off himself and flipped out of bed. Parts of him still ached, but quite frankly he didn't care. He had a job to do. He started doing stretches, testing the strength of his legs.

"That's dangerous, get back into bed at once." The doctor managed to splutter.

"It's time to take Eggman down once and for all!" Sonic replied, ingoring the doctor. He looked back over his shoulder. "You with me buddy?" He added, looking in Tails' direction. The fox stared at him for a few moments, lost for words. Then, he smiled.

"Of course!" He exclaimed, joining his side.

"Don't think your leaving me behind on this one!" Amy stated, coming up on the other side. Her Piko Piko hammer in her tight grasp. "I'm not sitting on the sidelines this time." Sonic gave her a stunned stare. She winked at him. "What you say?" Tails and Sonic gave Chris a side glance, who shrugged his shoulders at them.

"What can I say?" He smiled. "Let's crack that Eggman wide open!"

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Metal Sonic stood perfectly still as the new data flowed freely from the computer into his own systems and he wasted no time in processing it into new tactical information. Once he was finished however, in a fit of rage, he violently tore the wires connecting him to the computer from his own body. Eggman watched his creation from across the far side of the room, one leg perched on the other, an amused look on his face. Becoe and Bocoe stood on either side of his large chair, partially hiding themselves behind it. They were beginning to think staying in Prison was probably wiser than allowing their master rot rescue them. Most of Eggman's robots were terrified of Metal Sonic, he was different from the rest of them. He was faster, stronger, more powerful. But that wasn't all. He possessed a sadistic streak that he turned on whomever he wanted.

"Temper temper." Eggman said absently, tapping his thumbs together. Metal Sonic snapped his head to the side to look at him.

He wanted blood, and Eggman had deprived him of his first taste.

"Why didn't you let me kill him?!"

"Because I did not want him dead just yet, I want him to suffer, I want to draw his fate out as long as possible." Eggman pushed himself off his seat, his moustache bristling under his nose.

"Short sighted fool!" Metal Sonic hissed low enough for Eggman not to hear.

"It's quite simple really, you see Sonic has few weakness and up until now I've been unsuccessful in exploiting them.

Sonic has never been defeated before, never humiliated like that before. It will completely destroy his confidence, his ego will shatter into pieces.

I've introduced something far more potent than pain into his life." Eggman clenched a fist, a wide smile spreading under his large moustache. "Fear!"

While he ranted, he didn't noticed Metal Sonic studying him carefully. His sensors were examining Eggman's anatomy, mapping his large bulk. Emerl's copying system, taken from the fallen android came online. Only this version was highly more advanced and did not just copy the skills of the target, it copied them completely. Metal Sonic, after analysing the data he had taken, was sure of one thing. Eggman was a waste of space, a parasite on the Empire. The only thing keeping him in command was a control program, which to Metal Sonic's delight was easily overridden.

If the Empire expected to prosper, then the reigns of power had to be removed from his hands. But the time was not right for such a move. "But since your so eager to serve me, I'll indulge you." Metal Sonic brought his attention back to the conversation as Eggman turned to face him. "Continue tearing up Station Square for a while, death, destruction, genocide. That sort of thing. I doubt Sonic's going to be there after the beating he took, but let him watch it all on the twelve o lock news."

"Adding insult to injury?" Eggman smiled at Metal Sonic's blunt statement.

"Ah, your learning fast." Metal Sonic's eyes glowed brightly and he turned to leave, but one his way out he muttered to himself…

"You have no idea."

(In Chris' voice)

Events are in motion, Eggman's about to make his move, but can Sonic stop him. Alone, probably mot., but this time he'd got Tails, Knuckles and Amy going with him! Sonic X, Heroes answer the call. Don't miss it!

(Authors notes. Amy isn't taking Knuckles' place on team Sonic. But a note there before I get some miffed reviews. )