(I do not own Sonic…etc)
Flip Card 2: Maria

Nazo gritted his teeth as a distant laughter, as low as the rumble of thunder began to rise in the air. The sea far below him slowly beginning to churn, before the large bulk of Metal Overlord hauled itself out of the water, highlighted by a green flare, a giant spout of green smoke lancing out of it's chest, occasionally dimming and escalating with a loud thumping noise. The colossal metallic bird was only a few feet out of the water, before it's feathered wings lanced out either side of it's body, casting great threads of water across the surface. It's shark like head reared up and bellowed, a beam of green light erupting from behind it's teeth and screaming toward the white hedgehog. Nazo grunted his frustration before back flipping in the air, the edges of his blaring white quills caught in it's path. Using the momentary distraction, Metal Overlord's wings carried it up into the sky and level with the white hedgehog. To Nazo's horror, the colossal machine didn't seem to have a single scratch on him. He'd hit him with the most powerful attack he could muster, and nothing?! His thoughts were interrupted when Metal Overlord's tail swung around, nearly impaling him on the large spikes.

Nazo tried to contour attack with a flying kick. Metal Overlord simply dodged around it, before launching his jaws forward, ready to snap shut on him. Nazo narrowly missed, so much so he caught a sight of his reflection in the metal teeth. He tried to attack again and again, but found Metal Overlord easily either deflected or dodged them.

This repetitive scenario was brought to an abrupt end when one of Metal Overlord's four limbs came souring around, smashing him from underneath, throwing him upwards. Another came down from above, connecting with his back with a loud smash. The remaining 2 limbs came from the side together, catching the white hedgehog in a painful clap. Metal Overlord's giant face sneered as he pulled his hands apart and let the white hedgehog fall.

Nazo's eyes were completely blank as he spiralled down toward the flagship, his flames slowly dying out, his fur changing from a brilliant white to an ugly grey. To the intense horror of everyone watching, he didn't right himself in time to prevent a crash directly onto the deck of the flag ship, landing in a tangled heap before Eggman and the other onlookers.

From above, Metal Overlord watched. Sadistic pleasure in his eyes as Nazo did not get up again. His giant wings beat a few times, before angling themselves upwards, allowing the metallic creature a slow decent.

"See Eggman?" Metal asked as he landed on the deck, two of the large limbs propping himself up, one of the parallel eyes turning directly toward the fat scientist. "I've finally achieved the one thing you could never achieve." It's attention turned back to the life form grey form lying motionless before it, looking as fragile and delicate as a rag doll. Slowly, Metal Overlord raised it's claw, the flame thrower barrel inside it lancing out slightly, a small flame dancing on the tip. "The destruction of Sonic the Hedgehog." Before he could lower his claw to attack, Every missile, bullet and other forms of ammunition Omega had inside his being and weaponry rocketed forward, crashing into Metal's limb, making him recoil with a loud roar. The two large machine guns in Omega's arms rattled loudly, complaining that they were out of ammunition, their barrels smoking. Metal's tail swung around, batting the battle machine away. Hardly ariel mobile, Omega was thrown through the air and over the side of the Flag ship. Had he not grabbed hold of the edge with his large metal talons, he would have fallen into the ocean with little to no hope of rescue.

"Omega, hold on!" Rouge cried, pushing Knuckles helping arm away and racing toward the battle machine, forcing herself to forget her own injuries. Before she could come anywhere close to the edge, Of Metal Overlord's large hands came down sharply, blocking her way.

"I never realized toying with your enemies could be this fun." He stated, before flicking her away with one finger, straight back into Knuckles, knocking the two of them over.

Omega had managed to pull himself up slightly, so now he had a better grip with both arms, stared up at the towering metallic dragon-bird above him. One of his red optic eyes had been smashed in, parts of the glass falling away, revealing the optic devices behind it. There was suddenly a white flare from somewhere behind him and Metal Overlord hesitated, before turning to look back. The limp form of Nazo had regained it's fire, only now it's were a thousand times more intense than before. His skin rippled for the grey was replaced by pure white. The light was too much for Metal Overlord to bear, he shrieked in discomfort and hide his eyes. The flames spouted towards, becoming a pillar of white light that stretched up high into the sky. Slowly at first, Nazo's body began to twitch. Then he blinked, opening his eyes. Finally he got to his knees and then to his feet. Once standing his tilted his neck to the side, hearing a loud snap.

"Thanks for the distraction Omega, I needed the recovery time." Metal Overlord snarled, spreading its wings and souring into the sky, out of reach of the pure beams of light now radiating from Nazo's body. Within a second, the white hedgehog was up in the sky again, hovering in front of the colossal titan, his fire burning brightly. "Ready to go if you are metal boy." Metal Overlord's face was set in an angry frown, teeth bared and eyes narrowed into silts. This three fists and one lobster like claw shaking in rage. Why was it that every time he based his hedgehog down, he just got back up again? Why wouldn't he just stay dead? He closed both vertical eyes for a moment, before snapping them both open. Now they were filled with a strange madness.

"You don't know when your beat do you?" He asked, if it were possible for a sadistic sneer to cross his metal face, it would have done. Nazo simply grinned. "You've struggled longer than I expected, but your miraculous or be it, annoying revival has changed nothing."

"You talk too much." Nazo put in with a yawn. "Are we gonna do this thing or not?"

Their clashes took them into the storm clouds above, all that became visible of the fight from below were the occasional flashes of light from somewhere beyond the vial of clouds and the loud rumbling that couldn't possibly be thunder. Nazo's power had never been so concentrated, so focused. As the clouds soured around him, he kept the red eyes of Metal Overlord in sight. Their pulsating glow was an instant give away to his location. Energy attacks were exchanged, some missing, some cancelling each other out and others hitting home. Metal Ovelord searched as one hit him directly on the chest, making his squeak and quiver involuntarily. Nazo noticed this, finally a weakness. He would never have admitted this out load, but he was beginning to think that his opponent didn't have any weakness to exploit. Now he had a plan, only problem was that he needed to be in close proximity to the Metal Overlord for it to work. Which, as he expected, was not easy. In fact, it was near downright impossible. Metal Overlord was too alert, too attentive to Nazo's movements to allow such a manoeuvre.

What Nazo really needed was a distraction, he though to himself, racing in and landed a flying kick directly in Metal's face, forcing the machine backwards, roaring in anger. Something to hold his attention for the few seconds needed.

Metal's tail swung around and Nazo swung upward to avoid it, taking hold on the tip with his left hand. Using the momentum from the swing, he landed himself right side up and started grinding down it toward the wings and multiple spikes on the back. Metal roared and tried whipping his tail to shake him off, but Nazo managed to keep his balance and before Metal could stop him, he was amongst the spikes. Take hold of one in each hand, he directed currents of chaos energy away from his body like rippled of electricity. Metal screamed, withering back and forth as visible bolts of white lighting coursed down his body. Small explosions began happening here and there on the metallic birds body.

"Get off me!" He screamed, diving down towards the ocean. Nazo just kept inflicting more and more damage, his eyes closed in concentration. Metal flipped himself over so that he wad flying upside down once he was level with the water, dipping his spikes into it, trying desperately to shake the white hedgehog off. Nazo managed to look up in time to see the floor of water come rushing at him and let go, flying of before Metal noticed that he wasn't there anymore.

"Missed me!" He shouted down. Metal turned his head around, snarling in rage. A few beats of his wings and Metal soured upward. It was then that Nazo saw an opening, something he could use, but it would require spilt second timing to pull off. If what he'd seen was correct, then Metal Overlord couldn't stand the light. Nazo simply hovered there, his arms by his side, his flames simply dancing around him.

Metal Overlord actually hesitated for a moment. Why was he just floating there? His rage got the better of him at that point, and without thinking he soured at him, mouth slowly beginning to open, a low rumbling in his throat heralding the arrival of another energy attack.

"Just a little closer." Nazo whispered to himself with his eyes still closed. The low rumbling turned into a loud roar as a purple glow began to pulsate out of Metal Overlord's mouth. Suddenly, the white hedgehogs eyes snapped open as it was as if the sun itself had suddenly arrived. The light was so blinding Metal Overlord shrieked in pain and recoiled like a cat whose tail had been trodden on. He was withering around in the air, completely blinded.

Nazo could see that there was never going to be an opportunity this good. Still strode in light, Nazo soured forward, dodging around the giant limbs that began writhing and twisting pain and furstration. Metal Ovelord closed on of it's eyes and stared around, now apparently immune to the light's blinding effects. Suddenly, he became aware of a presence and stared down, face transfixed in horror as he saw the white hedgehog hovering directly in front of his chest now, arms crossed in front of himself, the fire surrounding his body beginning to intensify ten fold.

"This is where it ends." Nazo said plainly, closing his eyes as bolts of white lightning began dancing wildly around his body, more and more joining them with each passing second. Metal Overlord hesitated and tried to pull back, but by now it was already too late. Nazo's eyes napped wide open and he spread his limbs out wide with a loud scream, simultaneously the aura surrounding his body rippled like water on the surface of a pond before rocketing outward. A solid, expanding ball of intense light that engulfed the Metallic-bird within a single moment. Eggman looked up as this ball of light began expanding and expanding, its luminous form getting closer and closer, engulfing everything in it's path.

"Chaos Control!" He had had time to scream before the light swallowed the flagship and all those onboard. It kept growing, washing over the ruined Station Square like a wave. The Mystic ruins on the other side of the bay was engulfed next, followed by the desert to the south. The entire planet earth began, fore a few moments only, a giant ball of light, it's luminous rays lancing out into the darkest regions of space. The same, soft melody they had all heard before still hanging in air.

Then, with a giant explosion, the light came to an end and reality was restored. The shock wave of the explosion knocked the flag ship sideways a good couple of meters, forcing everyone off their feet. Chuck, who had been shielding his eyes with his arms was the first too look up. The sky was clear above them. The storm, the rain, the thunder and lighting was all gone. The only remains of the titanic battle were a few whisps of smoke in the air.

Nazo was thrown from the air, spiralling down toward the ocean again. Every ounce of his strength was gone, his skin completely grey now. There was a quick flare of light, and the grey hedgehog disappeared, replaced by two separates ones. Both fell lifelessly into the sea with a quiet splash.

"LOOK!" Knuckles cried, pointing up toward the sky. Still floating in the sky was Metal Overlord all four arms and wings spread wide. But he was far different. Every part of his body was scorched black and crumbling, large pieces of his form falling from his being. His mouth hung open in astonishment for a single moment, before his jaw fell off. His arms and wings became black ash and began to disintegrate. His red eyes dimmed, becoming purely black, before the giant form tilted forward and he started falling. As he fell, more and more parts of him broke off so what eventually make contact with the ocean was only a fraction of his original size.

"He did it!" Vector yahooed, high fiving Charmee. From the city on the shore, loud happy, deliriously happy cries began to drift over. Even those members of G.U.N, still in their pilot able robots and tanks were cheering.

On the beach before Station Square, where the golden sand lay on a stretch of coast for miles, where large pine trees stood attentive on the edge near the road, two limp forms washed themselves up on the golden sand. Everyone had gathered at the docks to watch the battle so no one noticed them lying there, the waves gently lapping at their legs. The gentle sun on their backs.

"You ok?" Sonic asked, his head face down in the sand, his quills so water logged they didn't stand up anymore. Shadow, who was in a similar state gave a quiet sound that Sonic guessed meant, yes.

The blue hedgehog managed to find some strength in his arms and he pulled himself to his knees, spitting to rid his mouth of the foul salty taste. He shook himself down, ridding his fur of the sand, splattering Shadow unintentionally. Sonic flipped himself over so he was lying on his back. It was obvious that he was physically depleted and exhausted. But through his eyes, one could see a boundless energy lying untapped inside.

Shadow managed to roll over, showing his front was covered with sand and a large piece of seaweed resting on his shoulder. They both looked out toward the Flag ship, clearly viable from the shoreline, a graveyard of Egg fleet ships behind it. Already choppers from the rescue services and the military were beginning to arrive. The ships which had backed off when Metal Overlord first reared its head had finally plucked up the courage to venture forth.

"You think a Chaos control warp in his face was such a good idea really?" Shadow asked, pushing himself up to a sitting position. Sonic blinked at him, before looking back up at the sky as a soft white cloud passed overhead.

"Probably not, but you know as well as I do it probably the only thing we had capable to breaking through its armour." He leaned back, putting his arms behind his head and closing his eyes with a wide smile. "Oh well, it worked anyway." Just he finished his statement, his ear twitched as he managed to hear a metallic scrapping coming from nearby. He opened his eyes and nearly jumped out of his skin.

Standing over him, Red eyes glowing was Metal Sonic, although he had reverted back to his orginal form, the one Sonic fought him first as. The white stripes on his quills were gone, as his large bracers had shrunk back down to their original size. His metallic skin was cracked and compromised and half of his right ear had been broken off. The glass over the left half of his visor was cracked as well. One of his large arms was limp and missing it's lower half.

"Holy shit!" Sonic exclaimed, despite his fatigue on his feet in a second, leaping back a few space. Shadow glanced that way, then did the same, his hands held out in front of himself, despite the fact he hadn't the necessary to launch an attack. The robotic hedgehog didn't move. He simply stared at them, before swaying like a tree in a breeze and toppling forward, landing with a loud thump on the sand. He remained motionless there, face down in the sand.

Sonic and Shadow cast each other a nervous glance for a moment, before the black and red Hedgehog edged his way forward cautiously. He picked up a loose piece of drift wood and prodded the android. There was no response.

"Maybe he's…run out of power or something?" Sonic asked, stepping closer. Both jumped back however when Metal Sonic's good arm twitched several times, then helped to push the machine up. There was a second crack in his visor now and the glow from his eyes was gone, in fact it was hard to see the red discs at all now.

"I…don't understand." He stated, managing to push himself onto his back, showing that his legs were no longer capable of supporting his weight. "I had the Master Emerald, the most powerful source of Chaos Energy in existence. I am the ultimate machine, perfect in nearly every detail. How could I loose to you?" Sonic hesitated only for a moment, before approaching. He knelt down beside the robotic hedgehog, staring down toward its broken face with a stern glare.

"Perfect? I don't think so Metal." He said simply. "No ones perfect, not even a machine." Metal Sonic looked up, puzzlement in his eyes. "Think about it Metal, you've been telling us that you've risen past the requirements Eggman had for you. Yet, all you've done to prove it is try to destroy everything, the very job Eggman built you for." Metal, for once, actually understood now. He'd wanted so badly to be more than he was, to improve himself. Sonic was right, although he was loathed to admit it, the blue hedgehog had shown him that he was still little more than a Eggman Empire robot. Hardly the being of greatest he kept telling himself he was. Shame burned in him, how could be have been so stupid? The answer to his desire for evolution had been there in front of him all along, and he'd been foolish enough to fall back into the old style way of thinking that evolution came only with the increase of power. "Well, ta for now Metal." Sonic added, standing up. "Perhaps I'll see you later huh? It'd been fun to find you again, just for kicks if nothing else." Metal stared up at him, the red tint to his eyes slowly beginning to diminish. Before it went out all together, Metal Sonic managed to mutter…

"Challenge accepted." His visor went completely black and his head went limp, falling back into the sand. Sonic sighed, almost with an angry tint to it as he stood there staring down at Metal's body. The tide came in and water began to

"So what now?" Shadow asked, joining his side. Sonic looked up for a moment.

"I'm going to have Tails and Chuck repair him." Shadow stared at him with wide eyes.

"You're not serious!" Sonic grinned, showing his teeth. Shadow groaned and slapped his forehead. "Right, of course you are."

"So what about you Shadow?" Sonic asked, butting in. "What's next for you then?" Shadow paused. That was actually a good question. His quest for answers had been fruitless, not to mention time consuming. His heart simply wasn't passionate about it anymore, and besides, what Rouge had said had really given him something to think about.

"I dunno really." He said, kicking a large clump of sand into the sea. He looked back over his shoulder toward the ocean. "Looks like your friends are coming." Sonic blinked and looked back himself. A large boat was makings it's way from the flag ship to the shore, he could already see Amy waving and yelling from here. He waved back at her. "Well, see you around blue hedgehog." Shadow added, beginning to walk away. Sonic turned back.

"Where you going?" He asked in surprise, to his amazement, Shadow actually looked back with a smile.

"Here and there, I need to be alone for a while, to think. Oh and tell Rouge…" He hesitated, trying to find the right worlds. "Tell her I'll look in on her sometime." Without a nothing word, he began skating away, reaching the top of the beach and onto the hot road, skating away into the distance. Sonic was tempted to run after him for a moment, but then thought better off it, putting his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, I'll see you around Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Well." Vector began, leaning back into his chair. The boat they had all managed to pile onto was a small ferry and bopped up and down in the water. Knuckles who didn't have any sea legs to speak off, was leaning over the side with a green complexion. Rouge was sitting near him, making jokes at his expense. Omega, who was still in a state of disrepair was being looked over by Chuck. Amy was up front, waving to someone on the shore. "I guess that's it for this case, boys." The Chaotix were at the back of the boat, Espio sitting on the edge letting his long tail trail in the water.

"Guess so." The chameleon said with a sigh, flipping a Shuriken like a coin between his forefinger and thumb, a bored expression on his face. Charmee, who was sitting on Vector's shoulder, looked up suddenly remembering something.

"There's just one thing." He began. Vector made a quizzical noise, opening the eye nearest to him. "What about our money?" Vector and Espio paused, then cast each other a stunned glance. A moment later, there was a loud booming sound. Everyone looked back toward the Flagship as a hidden door on it's side opened up and a small escape rocket with the Eggman Empire's symbol on the side lanced out.

Eggman, finally managing to squeeze his round bulk inside a seat belt, was sitting in the cockpit with Decoe and Becoe in the back. He flipped the final two switches and prepared for take off. into The defeat of the Egg fleet wasn't a total loss. He would win out eventually, and then the world would be his. But for the time being at least, the chance of profit was gone, and therefore, so was he. The rocket remained stationary for a moment before rocketing forward into the sky, becoming a dot on the horizon within a moment.

"WHY THAT SLIMEBALL!!!!!" Vector screamed, all his teeth bared; thumping the side of the boat with both fists. "THAT OBESE, SHORTCHANGING, FOUL SMELLING LOWLIFE SON OF A…" Espio simply stared, wide eyed for a moment, before he started chuckling. Then that chuckle turned into a fully fledged laugh as he fell back into his seat as his comrade began ranting and raving.

(In Chris' voice)

What a battle! So everything back to normal now? Hardly! Amy and Sonic still have some unfinished business. Find out what happens, Next time on Sonic X, Epilogue. Don't miss it!