Author's Notes

Well, I was right. My train did explode from all the spiffy new Sonic games. Shadow and Riders are fun. XD That, and I went to Tokyo for 3 weeks in January (sooo much fun… despite being sick the entire time and catching the flu x.X). So those're my excuses for not updating. n.n; Ironically, I wrote this entire chapter in about two days, heh. ¬.¬; Well, just think of it as an Easter present. The POV of this chap is related after all. (grin) For those who thought the last one was too depressing, there is a little bit of humor in this one. Read on and enjoy!

Chapter 5

Defeated.

For once, a statement not in reference to myself.

This time, it applies to him.

My long-time nemesis, that blue hedgehog that's always stood in my way.

Finally… defeated.

No more will that meddling hedgehog destroy all my lovely machines, my marvelous bases. No more will he confront me with cocky insults and his infuriatingly carefree attitude. No more will Sonic the Hedgehog play the hero.

I should be happy, right?

Now having that spiky little pest out of my hair (metaphorically speaking, of course), one would think I'd be bouncing with glee.

Yet, I'm not.

It's true that I've wanted nothing more than getting Sonic out of my way.

I just… never planned for it to happen in quite this way…

Some would call me a madman, an evil genius—but I am by no means cruel. To deal with Sonic, permanent imprisonment or perhaps a hero's death in the heat of battle would be a suitable solution in my eyes. As for Metal Sonic's method…

I wouldn't wish that on even my worst enemy.

When Metal approached me with his plan, I was skeptical. After all, how could my subordinate's plan succeed where those of his genius creator's had failed? Of course, he neglected to mention some of the little details, merely assuring me that it would work. Had I known what his true intentions were, I would have flat-out refused him.

Although, if I had known what he was capable of, I might not have dared to stand in his way…

At any rate, I decided to go along with it. If it worked, wonderful. If it didn't, it would at least put Metal in his place—teach him to try to outdo me.

The plan was simple: capture one of his friends to lure him into a trap, send some badniks to keep his the others occupied, and Metal would "take care" of the hedgehog. They say hindsight is 20/20, and looking back I realize I must have been blind not to have seen it sooner.

I programmed Metal Sonic with one main objective: defeat Sonic the Hedgehog. However, as his AI evolved over the years, so did that objective. Somehow it grew into a hatred for his organic template—far surpassing any sentiments I hold for him, much less anything I programmed into Metal. Now I see that it wasn't Metal's intention to kill Sonic.

It was to completely and utterly destroy him.

To make him suffer in the worst way possible.

Judging by the screams I heard that day, I'd wager he did a fairly good job of it.

Of course, that was only the half of it, I'm sure. After all these years fighting Sonic, I'd have to say I know him fairly well. At least enough to know that he lives for adventure, speed, and freedom. A blow like this… I'm not sure even he can recover from.

That, I am sickened to say, is what Metal wanted.

And if I'm completely honest…

…it frightens me as well.

What have I created? He's evolved so far beyond my original design that I'm not even sure I can control him anymore. Is this how my grandfather felt when the Biolizard and Artificial Chaos went berserk? Or when so many people aboard the ARK—his own granddaughter included—were killed because of his experiments?

Now, I've lost control over weapons before. Chaos was… well… chaos. Shadow… was never entirely stable I suppose, wanting to blow up the world and all. Then again, I suppose one could argue that wanting to be Emperor of the world is a sign of mental instability as well. But Metal… if he had an organic brain I'd say that he was clinically psychotic.

And having a psychotic killing machine in the same base as you is a very dangerous thing indeed.

Now that Sonic is… out of the picture… I'm not sure what will happen. This would be the perfect opportunity to launch another plan for world domination, while his friends are distracted by his predicament. Yet… I just can't bring myself to do it.

I have a great deal of respect for Sonic. I always have, despite the many times he's thwarted my plans. He's been a truly admirable opponent, and—to be quite honest—not a small reason why I keep on trying again and again. He continually pushes me to the limit, and the challenge is highly stimulating. He is the only opponent who ever could and possibly ever will provide such a challenge.

But now that's over.

I may very well be able to succeed in conquering the world. But somehow I don't think victory will taste as sweet.

And of course, this is all assuming that Metal doesn't turn and kill me in my sleep now that Sonic's out of the way…

…Actually, he'd probably take more pleasure in killing me when I'm fully aware, kicking and screaming.

What a pleasant thought.

And that's the thing… I have no idea what he'll do next. He's effectively fulfilled his original objective. If he has created another objective for himself, there's no way of knowing what it is. Perhaps he will dedicate himself to tormenting Sonic for the rest of his life. Or maybe he'll decide to conquer the world for himself. There's always the possibility that he'll stay the loyal servant I intended him to be and aid me in the establishment of the Eggman Empire…

…A phenomenally small possibility.

So, here I am, at a loss of what to do as I contemplate my life and how much longer I may have to live it.

An alarms sounds, and I'm snapped out of my reverie to check the security systems from the terminal in front of me. The sensors show an intruder breaching what's left of my defenses at an alarming rate. There's only two living creatures I know capable of moving that fast.
Well… one, now.

And as I see the dark fury through the surveillance cameras, I realize that my lifespan just became dramatically shorter…

Author's Notes

Gee, it seems like I end every chapter with a cliffie. XP I blame Yami Chibi. She's evil.

-I AM THE POCKY NINJA! FEAR! (throws Animal Crackers of Death at the readers as though they were shuriken)-

See? What'd I tell ya? ¬.¬

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed thus far. I really appreciate it. n.n To those who want SonAmy… I didn't really intend for this story to focus on that relationship, although I am a SonAmy supporter. I just think that putting too much of that in here would detract from what my original aim was. However… k0m0d0, you gave me an idea for an Amy chapter that could lead to some one-sided SonAmy-ness… and plenty of angst, of course. XD So that may come in the near future, though it won't be the next chap. After all, we have a cliffie to resolve. :P Though I could just leave it hanging for a while and leave you all in suspense… (runs from the angry readers as Yami Chibi lays down Pocky cover fire) Thanksforreadingandpleasereviewbye! (poofs)