Chapter 19: Final Flashback
Sonic the Hedgehog raced across the aerial walkways suspended over the burning ruins of Eggmanland. The road was collapsing behind him at an increasing rate, giving the hedgehog a chance to enjoy the thrilling experience of having to outrun a deadly drop into the far-reaching inferno. Anyone else would've been worried - Sonic was loving this.
Smoke billowed from the damaged engine of the eggmobile, making it hard enough to keep the craft airborne, let alone steer it. Dr. Eggman could see the distant blur of speed getting closer. This time it didn't look like he was going to be able to make a last-minute escape as his plans for world domination fell apart all around him. And to think he'd come so close to finally achieving all of his goals. Eggmanland had finally been realised, GUN had been rendered helpless against his most formidable robot army ever created, and the leaders of the world had stood powerless to resist the might of the Eggman Empire! How...how could a victory so complete be turned to dust by one single hedgehog?
Sonic reached the end of the road paved across the sky, and leapt over the edge. Controlling his descent, the hedgehog steered towards the erratically-flying hovercraft bouncing back and forth above a sea of molten metal. Driven by fearless confidence Sonic landed on the Eggmobile, his sudden weight throwing the vehicle way off course and causing it to fall towards a melting doom.
"You insane hedgehog, what are you trying to do-aaaarghh!!" Dr. Eggman yelled as Sonic grabbed him by the collar and jumped, pulling the doctor along with him.
Through cracked glasses, Eggman saw the glowing redness come closer, adding to the terror of free-falling from far too high up in the air. The hedgehog must truly have lost his mind, unless...
"Woo-hoo!" Sonic shouted, as he aimed towards the broken tower lying diagonally in the molten metal.
Sonic hit the very edge of a broken metal outcrop, breaking off a tiny board-shaped section at the edge, using it as a skateboard as he landed on top of the tower sinking slowly into the lava-like substance. Eggman screamed and covered his eyes, as he was dragged along for the ride, shooting way too fast down the length of the tower. Right when it seemed too late, Sonic forced the makeshift skateboard towards a piece of wall twisted outward, and launched them both into the air from the ramp.
The hedgehog made a graceful landing on the cooling asphalt while Dr. Eggman hit the ground bottom-first with considerably less dignity.
"Now that was some sweet action!" Sonic declared, punching the air and spinning around once on the spot.
At the age of twenty-one, Sonic hadn't changed at all. The same could not be said for Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik...
"You alright, doc?" Sonic asked, looking at the nerve-wrecked old man with the concern that a dear old rival deserved.
"I'm getting too old for this," the weary Dr. Eggman declared. The streaks of grey dominating his once-red mustache were evidence of the fact.
"Aw, don't say that, Eggman. I'll be happy to kick your butt next time you try to take over the world."
"No...it's over. My utopia, my Eggmanland. I've tried so hard to create the perfect society. One where corrupt leaders could never condemn a genius working to make the world a better place. Logical, controlled, and safe..."
"But without freedom," said Sonic.
"No freedom to abuse..." Eggman sighed. "I should've seen it from the start. Everything I create strives to be free. If robots won't let themselves be controlled, then how could I ever expect people to submit? Even if you hadn't destroyed the reactor citadel, my robots would probably have rebelled against me sooner or later."
"I can't believe what I'm hearing here. What happened to the never-give-up Eggy I know so well?"
"He's stopped fooling himself," Dr. Eggman responded sadly.
Sonic gave his lifelong adversary an odd look. "You sure this isn't just another one of your scams, doc? Sheesh. I'm not sure what I'd do without you around to liven up the party."
"You can always die!" a metallic impresonation of Sonic's voice called out.
Metal Sonic stepped out of the smoke, approaching with an air of vengeance. The blue of his paint was all but scratched off, the glass covering his eyes was covered in cracks, and sparks issued from his jet engine torso as he moved.
"You're...STILL alive!?" Sonic burst out, sounding more disappointed than surprised.
"Until your blood is on my claws, I will never be stopped!" Metal Sonic proclaimed.
"We'll see about that! No more games, no more rematches, buddy. I'm gonna make you pay once and for all for what you did to Tails!" Sonic shouted. The happy-go-lucky attitude he expressed with Eggman was gone now. The evil twin had gained true enmity in the last 24 hours.
"'Tails'? Shouldn't you be calling him 'Tail' now? Hahahahaa! Why not thank me for curing him of his twisted mutation?"
That did it. Sonic jumped at Metal with the intent to destroy the robot once and for all.
-
Nega had programmed his Metal Sonic to protect its master above all else. Before Silver could stop his newly-acquired servant, Nega Metal threw itself into the fray. Like watching a game of cups played by a professional hustler, Silver lost track of which one of the Metal Sonics was the good one almost immediatelly. The echidnas were fighting the robots with incredible ferocity, already succeeding scrapping several of the robots.
Silver and Blaze had no choice but to join in the fight, not just to save themselves but also to keep their one chance of shutting down all the Metal Sonics alive. Getting into the middle of it all was the best way, because the only certain way to tell which one was Nega Metal, was to look for the one robot that wasn't attacking the good guys.
"Hey, isn't that the Commander?" Blaze shouted suddenly, pointing towards a white bat running down the corridor.
"Where's she goi- NO NOT THAT ONE!!"
Silver had to use his psycho-kinesis to push one of the Angel Echidnas out of the way before it punched the Metal Sonic that'd just attacked a different Metal Sonic a second ago. Before he could run to grab Nega Metal, another combatant got knocked into Silver, causing him to lose sight of his servant again.
Trying to simply call to Nega Metal was futile, as the echidnas not only fought viciously but also very loudly, as if their vocal chords played a necessary part in the delivery of Fist A to Robot B.
SMASH!
Whether it was an echidna or a Metal Sonic copy that did it, Silver or Blaze would never know. They weren't even able to tell what had happened until several minutes after the fact, when it became disturbingly apparent that all of the robots left intact were focused on fighting the animaloids and the GUE soldiers. In the aftermath, when Sergeant Terkal ripped the head off the last Metal Sonic, it wasn't even possible to tell which of the wrecks had been Nega Metal.
While the GUE forces ran past them, heading towards the central chamber, Silver and Blaze stood behind, looking at what was left of their shattered hope.
"It...really was a good idea of yours. It probably would've worked," Blaze said to break the silence.
"Now we'll never know..."
Silver punched the wall angrily. "I don't care!" he yelled. "Even if we don't have Nega Metal anymore, I'm not giving up! We've come too far to quit now, so let's go after the others and show that villain that we're not going down without a fight!"
"I agree," said Blaze, steeling her resolve.
Before Metal Sonic gained all this power, back when Blaze was still in the hospital, Silver had decided that he'd fight Metal Sonic with everything he had even though he had little faith in his ability to defeat the robot. Since then absolutely nothing had changed.
-
Sonic and Metal chased each other through the crumbling robot factories of Eggmanland, dodging falling debris and leaping over conveyor belts that now ran into twisted death traps.
Damaged as he was, Metal Sonic compensated by fighting dirty through every means possible. Followed by a hedgehog that was finally, and for the first time, willing to fight to the death, Metal threw obstacles into Sonic's path, destroyed fragile walkways as he went, and did everything in his power to throw Sonic into the flames and molten metal devouring everything around them.
Both of them were so focused on defeating the other that neither one noticed the ominous sight visible through a break in the blood-red clouds above.
A small distance away, standing on relatively safe ground, Dr. Eggman looked up to see a web of purple light blotting out the dawning sun.
-
Metal Mastermind let the image on the screen focus in until his past self and his ultimate prey both came into view, racing through the smouldering ruins of a destroyed technological paradise.
"My destiny beckons," he said. "The deviant timeline has been erased. True history begins now!"
-
Sonic slid underneath the girder thrown by Metal Sonic and kicked upwards into the robot. As Sonic intended, Metal fell down to the main factory level and landed on the pressure pad of an hydralic press. Before the robot could react, the gigantic hammer slammed down on top of him...
The all-encompassing web of the Ultimate Overlord emitted a single pulse of energy.
Perhaps later Dr. Eggman would locate the remains of Metal Sonic and put them in safe storage inside his old shut-down base built atop the mesas of Rail Canyon. Perhaps the pieces would lie safe there until their rediscovery 200 years later.
Wrapped in a glowing aura, Metal Sonic caught the hammer and easily lifted it off himself with enough pressure to cause the machinery to whine loudly then give out.
Super Metal Sonic stood up, and glared at his wide-eyed enemy.
"O...kay. Did not see that one coming," said Sonic.
Next: The Final Chapter.