*PenofOneAnswer819 does not claim rights to any Sega Enterprises or Sonic Team patented characters or material presented within this work of fan-based fiction: All copyright reserved for the rightful and respective owners.*

Metal: ...

PoA: So, how are you feeling? Anything I can get you?

Metal: Acid comes to mind.

PoA: No prescriptions are yet available. Wait another two elections or so.

Metal: You need a prescription for a battery? B-but... *Sniffles* Life is so unfair!

PoA: I never said anything about... Listen, Metal, we're going to run a little exercise: Now, what do these feelings make you want to do?

Metal: Shut myself in a room; blasting all who dare to enter.

PoA: "All"?

Metal: Give Silver a single warning, shut myself in a room; blasting all who dare to enter.

PoA: "Silver"?

Metal: *Groans* Hug the Tails Doll good night, give Silver a single warning, shut myself in a room; blasting all who dare to enter.

PoA: "Tails Doll"?

Metal: *Snarls* Replace Sonic's shoes with lead, hug the Tails Doll good night, give Silvia a ki-eh-uh-S-S-Silver a single hug warning good night on a dare-UGH! STOP CONFUSING ME!

PoA: Ah, I see.

Metal: Tch, damn thee, baleful apparition.

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Instinct

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Stay calm, he tried very hard to just stay... calm.

Nothing too bad had happened yet: Evading capture was no big deal. Releasing a hybrid mech girl was bone chilling but manageable, even if said girl was able to serve super-heavyweight Eggman guards up extra crispy. Not even trapping the scary lightning bolt girl was that awful, despite how royally pissed off she would be when the dummy stun rings finally wore out.

Well, at this point it was either take it like a fox-man, or curl up into a ball while crying "Oh geez, oh crap, oh God, why me?"

Saying that last thought out loud was the least worrisome worry on Tails' very worried mind. An escape route through the ventilation shafts would have been lovely, had the trigger happy duo and silver girl not melted and collapsed enough debris to make this method unviable. Worse yet, many of the nearby capsules had been ruptured, and were starting to leak soon-to-be electrified fluids. A fire or dose of unwanted shock therapy impending, Tails quickly gathered himself up and made a flying dash for the main door.

He only jerked around mid-retreat when he caught sight of the presently paralyzed girl. Granted, her display of combat skills and transformation had been sickening to say the least. It even had occurred to him that this was possibly not the same girl he saw earlier, as this one seemed intentionally and meticulously created; battle prowess was one thing, but shape-shifting was not something you graft onto an unsuspecting test subject at the last second.

Thus, in the next few moments, he didn't really know why he did what he did: He didn't know why he swooped down before the energized liquids could touch her. He didn't know why he held on to her relatively heavy frame as he made his escape. He didn't know why he took the time to check to make sure she was still breathing.

Yet between the rational choice of leaving her behind and the logically insane choice of risking himself, Tails found he had no choice at all.

"Is this how you feel all the time?" The fox wondered, pondering all the times Sonic had made suicidal dives for even single stray animal, out of a prison egg of twenty others. Always on the move, the only thing that could stop him was when others were in danger. It was like an instinct of his that Tails had never fully understood,

Maybe it was silly to think like this, now of all times, but it was the best the fox could do to steady himself as he zoomed around for the nearest exit.

Alarms wailing throughout the tight corridors served to remind just how little time he had left.

L

*Metal / E-99 POV*

L

One way in or out; even 99 knew how poor their odds were. The base commander also knew they had little time left before the door gave way.

"Well, Metal, looks like this might be our last stand." Leave it to 99 to state the obvious, yet he had a valid point. No amount of firepower would be enough to clear the armored cavalry headed their way.

"Cut the whimpering, general! No more than one of those Sentinels can fit through at a time. If this is to be our last stand, let's at least make the body count something to be proud of." Metal cruelly suggested, his systems seemingly whirring to life with glee. In the face of their life or death scenario, Metal seemed more excited than 99 had ever noticed before.

Intrigued, but as disturbed by this as a heartless machine could be, 99 commented "Pretty optimistic there, soldier. You always in a hurry to die, or do you just like the thought of scrapping your own kind? I hate ask it, but really what is your major malfunction?"

Due to Metal not possessing a mouth, 99 could not tell if the alloy plated hedgehog would have been smiling devilishly or frowning dejectedly as he replied "I'm built for the purpose of killing, 99, and nothing else. It's at the core of who I was designed to be."

85, hearing his words, still realizing the need to take cover, wished he could have seen her shaking her head; 99 did so as well, albeit for reasons of disappointment. The truth of his words was undeniable, but grating as 99 knew it applied to him too.

Facts notwithstanding, 99 was still bothered by how easily Metal accepted dispatching his own men. While not equal, weren't they all servants of the Master? Yet how disposable they were when it came to betrayal. 99 understood loyalty better than most, and so he had no qualms about executing traitors, but riddling Sentinels and honorable troopers with his arsenal somehow seemed... wrong?

No, he had no concept of right and wrong, but still...

"Hey, snap out of it! Here they come!" Metal barked an order, and somehow caused the proud general to posture up in compliance. Both robots readied their arms as the door finally slid open.

"NOW!" Metal shouted, charging in first with a bladed spin dash.

Too quick for his own good, Metal never registered 99 shouting "Hold it, you fool!" before he connected with his target: The rather pent-up, but otherwise harmless, E-33, who had simply been responding to 85's call.

Initially proud of himself, Metal hastily looked around for another brain case to crack, until he noticed the badly dented assistant lying crumpled at his feet.

Stunned as everyone else − 99 with his blocky mouth agape and 85 with white hands over her own − Metal cleared the hall for hostiles before shrugging with a sheepish "Well, the ah... threat has been neutralized?"

85 quickly hurried over to the injured 33's side. 99, meanwhile, deactivated his mini gun and missile side arms, before asking the obvious question "Then, if not us, who are the real targets?"

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*Tails' POV*

L

Thankfully, though somewhat bizarrely, an emergency stairwell was available in the base. Tails had sworn Eggman had said something about "Banning those abominations" when referring to Station Square's mall escalator. Sadly, he understood why, as a turtle could likely bite its way up a flight of normal stairs faster than Eggman could ride an automated set.

"Oh, huh? Well, that figures." Shrugging, the fox got his explanation in the form of equally automatic steps, but with a rather large belt harness strapped to the railings. Fortunately, no rider was required, so Tails sped above and around the expertly designed U-turn capable steps with ease.

Losing his grip little by little, Tails wondered if he should risk the roof. This base's airport, or Sky Port, would be grounded and wide open, but it would also leave him a sitting duck for every single Egg drone's concentrated fire. The roof would provide better clearing, but with the chance of a deathly fall if he lost his hold on the girl. Given her 'modifications', she might be durable enough to survive, but reclaiming her would be a lost cause.

"Either way, we're not going to make it." He bemoaned, trying to fight back a sniffle. Chewing on his tongue and lower lip in sheer apprehension, Tails didn't even notice he was starting to cry, until he saw a small tear droplet land on Silvia's pained face.

Sick to his tight stomach and clenching his gloved hands, Tails swallowed a gulp of acidic spit. He had to be strong, or she would be tortured by Eggman again. Whether she was a real mobian or not, now or ever before, he owed it to her to try. Robots couldn't help what their masters made them do. Even the worst of them all, the dreaded Metal Sonic, was no exception. Somehow, machine or not, terrifying power and all, Tails knew she was innocent.

"No matter what, I won't let go." He ordered himself, commanding his quaking fingers to clamp down. Avoiding the door to the Sky Port, Tails kept ascending until he hit the rooftop. Swinging the door open, his heart jumped a full beat when heard a menacing voice shouting far below "Block the exits, don't let the fugitives escape!"

Fiddling with the door for a moment, Tails hit it with a weak punch "Crap! No lock." He cursed, knowing he wouldn't be able to stall them.

Instead, he tried his best to take a quick look around to get his bearings. If he could get a handle on the local geography, he might be able to estimate the base's location. As long as he wasn't on a island, all was not yet lost.

That last thought hadn't offered any comfort, and the door bursting open behind him was no help either. Just a basic scan around also proved to be of very limited use: He saw mountains to his right and a stretch of plains to his left; neither entirely devoid of life, but unfamiliar all the same. It was certainly not anyplace near the Mystic Ruins, and he had no time to calculate how far away he was from civilization.

"The mountains will have to do!" He decided, choosing the towering precipices in the distance. Not only would they provide better cover, but he briefly saw what seemed to be a body of water beyond the grassy hills. Praying he wasn't stranded, Tails took his decision and flew with it.

"The Prototype is being stolen! All units, aim for the fox! FIRE!"

"No, no, no!" Tails grunted, doing his very best to dodge the barrage of careless gunfire. Despite their orders, the team of robots must have been terrible shots, as all Tails saw was a wild hail of randomized explosions. Truly, either they had no sense of caution, or simply didn't care because their loaded shots were landing close enough to hit either of them.

Boxed in by the deafening cracking in his ears, Tails tightly held the girl he had tried so hard to save and started to sob "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be!" A voice called out, even the though the fox could not hear it "I'm the one who got here too late!"

He had no idea why the robots had stopped shooting his way, but was exceedingly glad for their short range and poor aim. A miracle though it was, it did seem odd that their shots had suddenly started missing altogether. Bad marksmen as they were, their shift in accuracy was incredibly sudden; it was like they had found a new target.

"Tails! Hop on!" Again, he hadn't heard the voice, but he soon saw the red wing of an unforgettable plane. Still ungracefully unprepared, his lack of awareness saw him splat painfully against the aircraft's left wing. He gritted his teeth at the sudden jolt of pain.

"Aw, crud! My bad! Oh man, it's been too long since I flew this thing." The blue hedgehog apologized, fiddling with the yoke as the two made their escape.

He went on to ask the fox a number of questions, especially about the new face he had brought aboard. Yet seeing how disoriented the kind kitsune was, he wisely chose to save it until he found a place for them to land.

Tails, meanwhile, wearily comprehended and smiled at two things: One, the face of a friend he had been desperately longing to see. Two, the fact that the girl was still in his arms; safe and sound as she could be.

Looking at his big brother with the same grateful smile, now lined with happier tears, Tails laughed and said "I-I did it! I held on, Sonic. I... held on."

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End of Chapter Thirty-six

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It's high time I had this plot moving forward. Explanations will come of course, but in smaller, more manageable doses.

Until next time!