Chapter 9

Sins of the Father

He knew these corridors like the back of his hand, day after day he'd walked them while anxiously waiting for his next assignment. Each and every time his master had called him, he'd dared to hope it was to be given the order to attack his hated template only to be met with bitter disappointment when it was just a scout mission or to move something only he could. In retrospect it seemed pointless for him to even be capable of getting anxious or impatient as it served no functional purpose, but then again perhaps it was just him adapting and advancing on his own. He'd done plenty of that, and his new look and name was a sign of his self improvement, yes, self improvement upon the most advanced systems and designs ever created.

Neo Metal Sonic was technological perfection personified.

Making his way down the corridors of his creators latest base, Neo stepped into the various blind spots in the security systems and morphed his shape into one generic, unassuming badnik after another, he couldn't gamble with the possibility that Eggman was actually looking at his monitors for once, and no doubt a single badnik making it's way to him would seem suspicious even for the careless scientist.

Perhaps only Neo knew of these blind spots, he was certain the doctor didn't, no he was too proud, to arrogant, too foolish to even consider checking for flaws or weaknesses in his constructs. That had been why he'd gone rogue and upgraded himself, so he would no longer be forced into failure by his creator's ignorance. He also imagined his hated template and his friends didn't know about these weaknesses either, if they did surely they would have destroyed this base by now…wouldn't they? No. No they wouldn't. Sonic and his friends were far too merciful and laid back for their own good, but then again he had to admit they had every reason to be. Most of their battles had been with a foolish scientist who barely presented any actual threat to them. Only a handful of times had they faced an opponent that actually came close to killing them and required actual effort to defeat. He'd been one of them, yes he had been the first, followed by the original guardian of the master emerald Chaos, then the prototype of the so-called ultimate life form created by the doctor's grandfather, and finally the planet destroying Metarex. Yes, the Metarex, they were why he'd returned to this base in the first place. Those alien conquerors had come close to killing the accursed heroes than even he had, and the doctor had stockpiled some of their leftover technology. He needed that technology, he will have it, once he's added it to himself, his evolution will jump even further. Then there was also the bio data requirement, there were no Metarex left. Fortunately he'd learned the Metarex had simply been rogue male members of an alien race called "Seedrians", these rogue males known as "thorndrigans" had attempted to wipe out all non plant life in the universe. To that end they'd begun by wiping out all of the females of their race the "petali", or so he'd thought. Yes, there was still one petali left, and thus one seedrian left for him to acquire the bio data he needed. He'd seen her in the city with Tails, this girl, Cosmo would be very beneficial to his plans, especially given she had apparently regenerated from near total annihilation. Yes, her bio data would serve him well.

Finally coming to the grandiose and over-decorated door leading to the doctor's main lab, Neo paused for a moment before entering in the pass code and stepping through. Last time he'd been to cocky, too impatient, and thus had failed to take into account the power of the emeralds. This time however he would not only have Metarex technology and bio data that had proven to be able to rival even Super Sonic and Super Shadow in power, but he'd also found a power that would dwarf them. He would not only surpass his template, he would surpass ALL things.

Stepping through the door he heard his creator ranting in his usual fashion.

"It doesn't make sense! Fox boy has never been so violent! And he's certainly never physically assaulted me!" Eggman ranted

"Well to be fair doctor you were trying to kidnap Cosmo, considering what happened back at coordinates 000, he was likely overcome with emotion at the thought of losing her again" Decoe reasoned

"Yeah, probably not your smartest move to go after her so soon after her return" Bokkun chimed in carrying his usual teasing tone.

"NOT MY-!? YOU LITTLE PILE OF SCRAP! I'LL-"

Enough of this.

Walking up to the doctor, close enough to shake his hand, Neo continued to remain in disguise, particularly as an average egg pawn like the ones he'd used during his brief takeover of the doctors forces, how he loved using cruel irony on others. Beeping to get the fat mans attention he waited.

"What's this? Where did this egg pawn come from?" the doctor asked aloud bending over slightly to more closely examine the robot.

"I-I don't know doctor, there were no signals sent to recall any" Bocoe answered, feeling a strange sense of dread towards this pawn.

"Hey wait a minute, didn't you stop using that model after the whole thing with Metal-?" Bokkun began.

"NEO Metal Sonic" he finally spoke, beginning to shape shift back to his true self. Looking at the other occupants, he took pleasure in their shocked and terrified expressions. The three lackeys were looking ready to flee, and probably didn't only because they knew it would do no good. Their fear was understandable, for they had helped the doctor to send information to the Chaotix during the time he had imprisoned him. And as for the fat man himself, he looked like he could fall over dead from the shock, after all, he'd tried to deactivate him and scrap him, and now he held no control over him with now one anywhere near by who could possibly save him. This fear alone made the return to this place worth it.

"Hello, doctor, you have something I want"

Meanwhile, at Tails and Cosmos home, the young couple were in the backyard, prepping it for a garden as Tails had promised Cosmo. The two were not working on this project alone however, as Cream (with Cheese) and Amy had both arrived to help. Tails, having cared for Cosmos tree for five months, was glad he could actually be of assistance with plant care, Cream having learned from her mother (and having taught Tails what he knew) was the secondary expert besides Cosmo, and Amy…well she had grown a FEW flowers in the past…but had mistaken them for a different kind and eventually killed them. But its the thought that counts right?

At the moment, Tails had just managed to clear a spot that Cosmo said would be perfect for a certain type of flower, and she and Cream were tending to the soil to prepare it for seeds.

"This is so wonderful! I never thought I'd have the chance to care for a garden on a planet" Cosmo said, beaming at the new opportunity.

"Didn't you have a garden on the Blue Typhoon Cosmo?" Cream asked

"Well yes, and I had one on the colony ship but…its just not the same, no genuine sunlight, only pots of soil. All we had was the few plants we'd managed to keep from Greengate and the artificial sunlight to help them grow"

"That..sounds really sad" Amy interjected, bringing a watering can and the seeds Cosmo had picked.

"I tried not to think about it too much at the time, but yes I suppose it was. Because of this I spent most of my free time in the central chamber with my mother just taking in the artificial light with her"

"gentle, but also a bit sad" Tails said absentmindedly as he walked over.

Looking up, Cosmos gave a slightly surprised look.

"yes! How did you-?"

"you said so before-you know"

"Oh"

For a brief moment, both were slightly downcast and the air became slightly grim at the unintentional mention of said tragedy, thankfully Cream noticed and reacted quickly.

"So Cosmo, what was your mother like? And what was her name? I don't think you ever told us"

This seemed to work as the two quickly perked up.

"Oh! Well, my mothers name was Hertia, and as for what she was like, well though I couldn't really talk to her in a normal sense I could still hear her and respond"

"Sounds like you could speak with her telepathically like your people can do with non sapient plants" Tails offered.

"Yes that seems right. Anyway, my mother was so kind, so gentle, so wise, whenever I was worried or upset and Galaxina wasn't around, I'd go to mother and she always knew what to say"

"I forget, why did you have to speak with your mother telepathically?" Amy asked.

"Mother had entered the final phase and became a great tree before I was born, much like I did, and she could communicate in much the same way I did too. Because of this, I'd only ever seen her as she was before in that video you found on Greengate and when she spoke to me during the final battle"

"I'm..sorry you had to go through that" Tails spoke, looking concerned

"it's okay Tails, I may not have gotten to see her like that or be held by her in life but I know she love me and that wherever she is she's happy"

"So what was the deal with seedrian transformations anyway? I remember you saying Hertia made those amulets to stop them" Amy asked as she helped Tails move a particularly large piece of metal that had been left laying in the yard as a byproduct of his former mood.

"Well yes, mother did make them for that reason, though I don't believe I need one now, but the point of them and why the functioned the way they did was something of a point of debate amongst the seedrians, the females, the petali's transformation was believed to be for the purpose of jump starting regrowth and renewal"

"And the males?"

Cosmo lowered her head slightly.

"The thorndrigan transformation, mover mode, was meant to be used only as a last resort to ensure the survival of loved ones since it was fatal to any who used it"

"And yet they wanted to keep using it to fight off whoever was attacking your planet right Cosmo?" Cream asked

"Yes, yes they did, that's why they Dark Oak and the others stole the planet egg, they were trying to use it to power the transformation so they wouldn't die from it"

"Even then, it wouldn't have worked"

Looking up, Cosmo, Cream, and Amy looked at Tails who had a somewhat thoughtful expression on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, even with how advance seedrian technology was, the power of a planet egg is so great that a single beings body couldn't possibly handle it. That's probably why Dark Oak and the other two metarex kings changed the way they did during the final battle, they had to adapt. I imagine that had Hertia and the other petali not killed most of the thorndrigans before leaving, they would have died anyway from prolonged use"

The three girls stood there for a moment in shock, they all understood what Tails was saying, but it had never occurred to them that such a thing could have happened.

Cosmo spoke up first.

"I..I never thought of that. I suppose that makes sense, considering the metarex never used the form against us"

"Yeah, how in the world did you figure that out Tails?" Amy asked still dumbfounded that they'd never thought of that.

"Well, I just went over what data I could get from Greengate's archives, including the recording of Hertia and just kind of pieced it together" Tails replied modestly, though his namesakes were wagging slightly.

"Tails, you make it sound so simple! But you'd have to be a genius to just "piece together" something like that! How you do it I'll never know!" Cream spoke waving her hands in frustration at how almost no one could understand how he figured such complex things out so casually.

"Dunno, maybe I got it from my parents or something, in any case I'm just glad I can be helpful" Tails shrugged.

"Your parents? I don't believe you ever spoke of them on the typhoon. Are they around?" Cosmo asked

"No, actually I never really knew them, they…I guess disappeared or something happened to them before I was old enough to remember. I didn't really know anyone personally until I met Sonic"

Noticing how casually Tails had said this, Cosmo assumed Tails wasn't bothered by this, at least not anymore.

"Come to think of it, Cream is the only one of us with any known parents" Amy chimed in.

"Really!? None of you knew your parents? But..but that's so sad!" Cosmo replied in shock.

"None of us are really bothered by it, besides we kind became each others family" Tails said

"Kind of like we did for you Cosmo, and I'm sure that works perfectly for you and Tails" Amy said, adding the teasing comment on the end just for kicks.

To Amy's disappointment however, Though the two blushed a little, they didn't shy away, in fact they looked at each other, smiled, and took each others hands. Oh the jealousy.

"It does" Cosmo simply said.

Moments passed and just as Amy thought the two were about to lean in and kiss, Cosmo turned to Cream.

"Oh! I just realized! Cream, I don't think I've met your father, is hey away?"

Amy and Tails, knowing the circumstances regarding Cream's father (in that he had "Vanished" when she was still a baby and Vanilla didn't like to talk about him) expected Cream to become sad and struggle to answer but to their surprise, she kept the same cheerful demeanor and politely responded.

"No, actually he vanished when I was still a baby, my mother doesn't like to talk about him, but it's okay because I don't need to know him"

"Oh. Oh! I'm sorry Cream! I didn't mean to bring up a sensitive subject!" Cosmo replied having noticed Tails and Amy's reactions.

"It's okay Cosmo, I understand! You couldn't have known."

"Thank you for understanding Cream"

A slight pause passed, and it became clear the garden preparations were almost complete.

"Cosmo, speaking of which, wasn't your father that Lucas guy?" Amy asked off-offhandedly.

At this Cosmo tensed up, while she had assumed Tails knew who her father was, she wasn't sure if the others knew that Lucas and Dark Oak were one and the same.

"Y-yes Amy, though I don't really think of him as my father"

"And thinking of it, Hertia was the leader of your people, so something like a queen"

"...In a sense yes" Cosmo hesitantly replied, where was she going with this?

"So does that mean you are a princess?"

Oh. That was where.

"I guess you could look at it that way, but really I'm not a princess of anything anymore, thanks to Lucas, I'm the only seedrian left and though the return of our planet egg will allow the planet to regrow, there are still no life forms there" Cosmo explained exemplifying her point by planting a seed and covering it with soil and watering it in a symbolic manner.

At this Tails spoke up.

"I don't really think of it that way, sure at the moment you're the only seedrian, but I wouldn't say the last, but the first as a rebirth of your people"

Cosmo smiled at him. "Thank you Tails, I suppose that is a better way of putting it"

Cream then decided interject. "Cosmo, you said it was because of "Lucas" that you're the last seedrian, does that mean Lucas was Dark Oak?"

Oops. She should have watched her wording. Cosmo cursed herself inwardly for being so careless.

"Y-yes Cream, as much as I hate to admit it, Dark Oak was my-my father!"

"Don't be sad Cosmo, you can't help what he did. His mistakes and actions are his alone, and you gave everything to stop him" Tails comforted his girlfriend.

"Yeah, just because he was bad doesn't mean you are. If anything you take more after your mother" Amy added.

Recomposing herself, Cosmo bowed thankfully and smiled.

"Yes..thank you, all of you. I'm sorry if I get like this every now and then"

"Don't worry Cosmo, we understand and I-we still love you" Tails caught himself, his shyness somewhat returning.

Amy snickered and even Cream and Cheese had somewhat coy smiles. Well, at least Cosmo's smile was genuine and not teasing.

Eventually the silence and stares of the rabbit and hedgehog became to much and the fox blurted out. "Hey look! We finished! What do you think Cosmo?"

"It's really pretty Tails, thank you so much" Cosmo answered before stepping up and kissing him. Apparently she was becoming less shy faster than he was.

At this Amy took one last jab. "ooooooooooh!"

"Amy! Stoop!" Tails cried out, blushing furiously, to which Amy burst into laughter, Cream and Cheese muffled their own laughter and Cosmo quietly giggled.

Meanwhile at Eggman's base.

As he was thrown through the security door he'd been forced to open, Dr. Ivo Robotnik pondered to himself how his more advanced creations kept going rogue, at least Gamma hadn't come for him specifically! But this one, Metal Sonic, he was the reason he'd locked E-123 Omega in the basement!

"You think I'm just going to let you do this to me!? I made you! I'm your creator! You exist because of me! You don't get to just disrespect me and assault me in my own base you ungrateful metallic copy!" the doctor angrily ranted as the metallic hedgehog passed by him without a second thought and his three robot lackeys cowered in the doorway. Useless scrap heaps!

At the insult "metallic copy", Neo Metal Sonic turned sharply from his target and slammed his fist into the wall just inches from Eggman's head, causing the fat man to yelp loudly and a deep dent to form in the wall.

His red eyes glowing menacingly, Neo spoke in an eerily calm and chilling tone.

"Copy? I am NO copy! I am the improvement! I am superior, better!"

"y-you're mad! I made you to kill Sonic using his powers and skills against him! Your my creation gone insane! You're Metal Sonic!"

Backing away from the doctor slowly, Neo spread his arms outward as the pieces of Metarex technology were drawn to him and started merging with him. As this happened his form began to glow as he began to change from the self upgrade.

"No Doctor, I am Sonic the hedgehog. Perfected."

Oooh boy is that ominous? Well, step one of Neo Metal's plan seems to be complete. What comes next and how does it involve Tails and Cosmo? Next chapter folks. Next chapter. See ya!