Chapter 2. Seeing Ghosts
Minutes Earlier
He looked down at the basket. Scanning each of the items and comparing them to the list that was currently displayed to the side of his vision. The list contained various screws, bolts, wires, and cleaning supplies for various tools and metals. As he scanned each item parts of the list became highlighted green, confirming each item on the list. Soon every item on the list was highlighted.
Satisfied, Metal Sonic walked over to the counter and placed the basket on it. From behind, the store clerk stared at him before examining the contents of the basket.
"Guess he needed some supplies." The clerk said as he started taking them out and scanning them.
"He overestimated how much he had remaining." Metal Sonic stated. "He sent me to retrieve them."
"Though I'm not surprised he ran out a bit more quickly than usual." The clerk said as he continued to scan the items. "Considering he now has to work on you occasionally."
Metal considered what he said. It was true that since becoming both the new hero and Tails's new surrogate brother, it had brought them both new responsibilities. One of which being Tails having to repair and perform maintenance on him every now and then. After all, he was not an organic being like Sonic was, any damage he sustained remained there until it could be repaired. Tails found out how often he was going to have to do that when he started repairing Metal after various battles and soon found that he was going through various tools to do the job.
And the clerk was correct. Trips to stores have become more frequent thanks to the maintenance Tails now had to do. With cleaning supplies being the most frequent purchase.
"It is an adjustment to him." Metal said. "It was inevitable that he would need to learn to care for me."
"To be honest, I'm surprised you're the one picking this up." The clerk said as he scanned the last of the items. "I expected the fox to be here."
"He could not come here today. He was busy with a project that required him to keep an eye on."
"I see." The clerk said as he rang up the price of the items. Seeing the price, Metal got the money out to pay for it.
"How is he doing by the way?" The clerk asked as he started to bag the items. "I know it's been a year since…you know. But how's he holding up?"
Metal paused for a moment, thinking of some of his interactions with Tails over the past year before responding. "He is fine. There have been times where he misses his brother, but he has handled those moments well."
"Just making sure. I knew what happened was hard on him, it was hard on all of us, but he seemed to be the most affected during that time. I don't blame him considering how close he was with Sonic."
The clerk then took the money and held the bag out. "Here you go."
Metal was about to take the bag when the sound of an explosion came from outside the store. Everyone inside stopped what they were doing and looked towards the entrance of the store. From outside they heard the sounds of robots marching and panicked screaming and a second later, a few people burst into the store.
"It's Eggman." One of them said as they entered the store. "He and his robots are attacking the town."
Eggman. His former master turned nemesis. He was attacking this town whose civilians were simply going about their day. Of course, since leaving the doctor, he had seen how cruel and petty he can really be.
Turning to the door he could see robots roaming the streets. Some were slightly obscured by the cars while others hovered just above them.
"I'll hold this for you." The clerk said holding up the bag. "You can do your thing."
Metal nodded and ran out of the store, ready to confront the robots. As soon as he was out, he spotted several Egg-Pawns with blasters roaming around the street, blasting any random building they saw. There were also a few Buzz-Bombers flying just above them, scanning the area around them.
As he stared, Metal marked bots that were priority to take down. Starting with the Buzz-Bombers, as their weapons could potentially damage himself and any innocents from above. The latter concern due to his knowledge of how inaccurate the shots from the Buzz-Bomber could be. The Egg-Pawns were more accurate, but he could use that to his advantage in the fight.
Metal ran onto the street and leaped into the air, using his thruster engine to give himself a boost to get on the level of the nearest Buzz-Bomber. He then grabbed its wings and tore them off causing it to fall to the ground, twitching as it tried to fly. Metal then stomped on it with both feet as he landed.
At that point, the robots had gained his attention and were aiming their weapons at him. Various warnings were being displayed in his visions of incoming shots. As they began to fire Metal dodged the shots, moving towards them as he did so. A couple grazed off him, leaving black marks on his chassis. Reaching the nearest Egg-Pawn he brought an arm back and punched through the robot, instantly deactivating it. Kicking it down, he dodged a shot from another Egg-Pawn before leaping up to a Buzz-Bomber. The Pawn aimed its blaster at him before it fired just as he was above the Buzz-Bomber. Metal quickly grabbed the bee robot and put it in front of him, the shot hitting the buzz bomber. Tossing it aside, he activated his thruster and flew towards the Egg-Pawn with his arm outstretched. He grabbed onto its head and slammed the robot into the ground before gripping the head tighter, crushing it and deactivating.
He was then hit in the side, knocking him to the ground. Turning his head he saw one of the Egg-Pawns hiding behind a car, having flanked around while he was dealing with the others. Quickly getting up, he charged towards the bot, vaulting over the car roof and grabbing the arm with the blaster, forcing it to aim away from him as it charged. It fired harmlessly past him and Metal used his other arm to smash through the robot's chest, finding its processor and destroying it.
There was only one robot left now, a lone Buzz-Bomber who was now trembling as Metal turned his attention towards it. He then rocketed upwards, grabbing it and throwing it to the ground, the force of the impact smashing it as Metal landed in front of it.
Metal scanned the area, detecting no other robots in the area. However, Metal did not let his guard down. Eggman was likely nearby if his robots were here. Wherever he went, his robots were sure to follow.
Scanning for any signals of his robots in the area, excluding the ones he had destroyed, he detected a few others. But to his confusion, they were all deactivated. The Doctor could not have accidentally shut down his own robots. Then he caught one active signal coming from nearby. Just a few meters from where he was.
He started to follow the signal, activating his booster to get there faster. As he got closer, he heard the sounds of fighting. He did not know who was involved. From the chaos caused by the robots, it was unlikely to be from a civilian as they would likely go to safety in the chaos. He also did not recall seeing or detecting any allies when arriving at the town.
Allies…
Even though he had grown accustomed to it, it was still strange to refer to Sonic's friends as that. After fighting them for so long before.
He rounded a corner and stopped when he saw what was happening.
It was Silver Sonic, he was fighting someone who was quick enough to dodge a majority of his attacks while Eggman was watching. Metal watched in astonishment for a moment. Fighting Silver Sonic was a tricky task as he was designed to be capable of combating both him and his allies. Yet whoever was fighting him was managing to keep up with him.
Then he saw Silver Sonic knock his combatant down and lifted up into the air, the combatant getting up and looking around for him. It allowed him to get a clearer look at who Silver Sonic was fighting and Metal froze when he saw who it was.
It was Sonic The Hedgehog.
Metal stared at him, wondering how this was possible. Sonic was dead. He saw him die. He witnessed his funeral. How was he even standing here?
He watched as the seemingly resurrected hedgehog looked around for Silver Sonic before noticing him start to descend from above him. The hedgehog only had time to get out of the way of a direct hit before the robot hit the ground, the shockwave knocking him back before Silver Sonic then changed forward to grab him by the throat.
Continuing to watch, he watched Sonic struggle against Silver Sonic's grip as it looked like he and the doctor had a conversation. As he watched Sonic's eyes widen in response to what Eggman said, Metal did his best to tune his hearing to listen to the conversation. Managing to catch what Eggman said.
"You died once before. I'm just correcting that error."
He watched as Silver Sonic appeared to tighten his grip on Sonic, the hedgehog struggling harder to escape to no avail. Soon his movements became slower as he began to run out of air.
Metal knew he could not let the mysteriously resurrected hedgehog die. He needed answers and if he died, those answers would be lost.
Activating his thruster, he propelled himself towards Silver Sonic. As he got closer, he targeted the arm choking Sonic so he could free him. Once he was close enough he brought a fist forward and it hammered on the arm, freeing the hedgehog from the silver robots grip. In addition, Metal put his other hand on the head of the robot to shove him away from the hedgehog.
Silver Sonic went flying a few feet, bouncing off the pavement a couple times before skidding to a halt in front of Eggman. As it got back up, Metal took a quick look back at Sonic.
Now that he had a closer look, he could see the hedgehog recovering from his attempted strangulation. It was indeed Sonic, blue fur and quills, tan arms, and green eyes. Though he could see that his attire was different as his gloves and shoes seemed to be plated with gray steel. Something he could not recall seeing Sonic wear during his life.
"You!" He heard Eggman say, anger in his voice and Metal turned his attention back to him.
"First that blue rodent comes back from the dead to spoil my fun, now I have to deal with the one who betrayed me after he died."
"Okay, I am super confused now." He heard Sonic say between breaths as he recovered.
Metal Sonic glared at Eggman. "You were threatening the lives of civilians in the town. I was not going to tolerate such an attack on them."
Eggman growled in frustration. "If only you hadn't turned on me after he died." He muttered before pointing at him. "Silver Sonic, destroy him!"
Silver Sonic charged towards Metal with arms outstretched, while Metal braced himself for the hit. Silver Sonic hit him, with Metal grabbing the hands of the enemy robot. As they hurtled away from the doctor and the hedgehog, the two grappled, with Metal trying to break free from Silver Sonic's grip. Metal then planted his feet on the ground and activated his thruster, slowly skidding to a halt.
When he came to a complete stop Metal pulled Silver Sonic towards him, tossing the silver robot behind him and causing it to stumble. Metal then tried to punch it from behind, but Silver Sonic dodged to the side and turned around to respond with its own punch that Metal blocked. He countered with another punch, which connected to the other robots head.
The robot stumbled away from him and Metal used that opening to use his thruster to propel towards it and tackle it into a wall. With the enemy robot pinned, Metal drew a fist back to try and punch the robot, but Silver Sonic managed to free himself enough to move his head to the side away from the punch, causing Metal to hit the wall instead.
Silver Sonic then headbutted Metal hard enough to cause him to stumble back. He then kicked Metal to the ground and onto his back. Silver Sonic then jumped in the air, using his thruster to get higher before descending down feet first towards Metal, intending to stomp on the blue robot. Metal rolled out of the way before it hit him, with Silver Sonic's slamming into the ground. Metal meanwhile, used his thruster to quickly get back up on his feet. He saw Silver Sonic turn towards him, propelling a fist towards him which he dodged. Giving the silver robot a kick to the side. Metal aimed his fist towards its chest, where its processor was located. However, Silver Sonic recovered and grabbed his arm before slamming his face first into the ground.
Before Metal could get up, he felt something stomp on his right knee joint. An error flashed across his vision, notifying him that the lower half of the leg was now non-functional. Moving out of the way he struggled to his feet, which was not easy due to his now damaged leg. Once he got up, he looked down on it and tested it. The upper half of the leg was still functional, but it hung limp below the knee.
It was clear that with the damaged leg, dodging, countering, and fighting Silver Sonic was going to be more difficult now. He had to come up with a new strategy if he was to beat Silver Sonic. He just needed to hold off for a bit until he figured it out.
Silver Sonic lunged at him and he used his rocket booster to evade to the side, causing Silver Sonic to move past him instead. Metal punched at the back of the silver robot and connected, knocking it to the ground, though the swing caused Metal to stumble thanks to his damaged leg.
Silver Sonic got back up and tackled Metal to the ground. He used one arm to pin him to the ground and the other to start punching him, putting dents in his chassis while he attempted to dodge his blows. Only able to shift left or right to avoid the punches.
At that moment, something flashed across his vision. Reading it, he saw that it was a way to defeat Silver Sonic quickly. He knew he had to use it now before he sustained any further damage.
Grabbing Silver Sonic's shoulders, Metal headbutted the robot, stunning it and allowing him to shove Silver Sonic off of him. Using his thruster to quickly get up, he activated it again to charge at the silver robot. Just as he grabbed him, he piloted himself towards the sky. They flew up for hundreds of feet before Silver Sonic attempted to use his own thruster to try and force the other back on the ground. Metal increased power to his own in response.
As they struggled, Silver Sonic started to punch Metal in the torso, attempting to pierce his chassis in order to disable his thruster. Meanwhile, Metal scanned the silver robot's torso, looking for the part inside that enabled his own thruster. Soon, he detected it on the right side of his robot.
Bringing his arm back, his palm straight, fingers towards Silver Sonic, he targeted the middle torso of the robot. When the notification that the target was confirmed came up, he thrust his hand to the area. It pierced the silver robot's chassis, tearing the metal on impact. Metal gripped something inside the robot and ripped it out. Almost immediately, Silver Sonic's thruster died and the two were in the air for a moment.
Metal then grabbed the silver robot and activated his own thruster and propelled himself towards the ground, with Silver Sonic beneath him. He watched as the ground hurtled towards them, the road in the town becoming closer with each second. Silver Sonic struggled to escape his grasp, but Metal held firm.
They slammed into the ground, dust briefly obscuring them from anyone who was watching. A second later, his vision cleared and he saw how Silver Sonic fared.
He was laying on the ground, his arms and legs splayed out, and his optics were dark. The force from the impact had likely hit had enough for him to deactivate him. Though he had protected Metal from the same fate due to him shielding him from the fall.
Slowly looking up, he saw that he was back in front of the doctor and Sonic, who was watching him with awe having apparently witnessed the fight. Though the doctor wore a look of anger at his face.
Getting up, careful not to put too much pressure on his damaged leg, Metal gripped the body of Silver Sonic and tossed it towards the doctor, landing with a clunk in front of him.
Eggman glared at him in response, shaking in rage from within his shuttle.
"This isn't over." He finally said coldly. "You and that hedgehog may have foiled my plans today, but I will be back."
He pressed a few buttons in the shuttle and an arm extended from it and picked up the body of Silver Sonic. After he pulled it close to the shuttle, he turned and flew away. Metal watching as it disappeared into the distance.
Once he was gone Metal ran a diagnostic on himself to determine the damage he sustained during the fight. It came back telling him that there were a few parts within him that were damaged, but they could be easily fixed with his self-repair systems. Though there was damage such as the dents and scratches that would need to be fixed by Tails. Most critical was the leg, he would need to have Tails fix that as soon as possible when he returned to him.
He then turned his head to Sonic. First things first though.
He walked over to Sonic, dragging his damaged foot as he walked. As he approached, the resurrected hedgehog began to speak. "Thank you for saving me from that robot, but do you mind answering some questions right now. Because I have a…"
Metal grabbed the hedgehog, bringing him up to his face and used his arm to pin him against the car. Gently doing so to not damage his throat any further. "You are supposed to be dead." He stated.
"I've been getting that a lot here, and yet nobody is bothering to explain that to me." The hedgehog replied back.
"Tell me how you are alive." Metal continued, wanting information from him. "What is the last thing you remember?"
There was some hesitance in Sonic's face. His mouth opened and closed slightly as if he wanted to say something, but was not sure if he should really say it. After a few seconds he eventually answered.
"I woke up in a forest not far from here. I have no idea how I got here."
Metal had a feeling that Sonic was not telling him everything, his hesitancy to speak told him that. But it was clear he was telling the truth with what he said.
In addition, he was starting to realize that there was something off about Sonic. The confusion of his being told that he was dead was expected, but there were other things as well. He did not seem to recognize him that well, while the Sonic he knew would have known him on sight. In addition, while it was clear he recognized the doctor, the way he looked at him seemed like he was surprised to be there.
Lowering his arm he let go of Sonic, who rubbed his throat a bit. Sonic looked at him like he was surprised by the action.
"Look, I don't really know what's going on in this shatter-space." Sonic said to him. "It looks like my home, but it isn't. I really need someone to explain what's going on."
Metal did not recognize some of the words Sonic spoke, but he saw that Sonic clearly needed help. He seemed confused and lost and needed some answers. The best solution to this would likely be to take him to Tails.
He paused at that thought. Wondering whether it was a good idea to bring him to his brother. While Tails had clearly gotten over Sonic's death, there were times where he mourned him. Signs that he still missed his deceased brother.
How would he react if Metal brought his brother, miraculously resurrected, back to his home? Would it reopen some old wounds?
He looked back at the hedgehog. It became clear that if he was going to get answers, he was going to have to risk Tails's reaction to seeing Sonic again. Though he counted on Tails being able to handle it. The fox was far tougher than he looked.
"I am taking you to Tails." Metal said. "He may help you with the answers you need."
There was a look of surprise and hesitancy on Sonic's face, which was odd considering Sonic was quick to ask about him whenever he was brought up, before he nodded. "Yeah, that should be fine."
Metal nodded in acknowledgement, activated his thruster, and moved away from Sonic down the street.
"Hey, where are you going?" Sonic asked as he moved away.
"I need to pick up something I was getting for Tails before the doctor attacked." Metal explained. "I will be back for you shortly."
He then flew back to the tools shop to pick up the items.
After Robo-Him, that's what he was calling him for now, had returned with a bag, he had grabbed Sonic and lifted the two into the air with his thruster where they flew to where Tails lived. As they flew, it felt weird to Sonic to be held by Robo-Him. Either he held onto Tails or Tails held onto him whenever his brother flew, but it was always from under. Here Robo-Him pretty much carried him under one arm, forcing him to look down at the ground below.
He was still reeling and confused by the nature of the shatter-space. On top of being exactly like his old one and him having existed here but dead, a robot copy of him was doing his job in his place. And he still hadn't gotten any answers to what exactly was going on.
He was hesitant to accept Robo-Him's offer, unsure of if he should go to Tails considering what recently happened with Nine. But quickly realized if anyone had a chance to explain what was going on, it would be his brother's counterpart in this universe.
Just don't get too attached to him. A part of him thought. It's not really him.
Eventually, a forest came into view and Robo-Him began to slow down and descend. Sonic saw that there was a clearing with a runway and a small hanger and house that was nearby. Robo-Him quickly descended to the ground on the clearing. He let go of Sonic, causing him to stumble a bit.
Now that he was on the ground, he had a closer look at the house. He saw that it was one story with windows and a door in front, with a large, seemingly windowless, portion that was slightly taller than the house. Looking a bit closer at the hanger, he spotted a familiar looking plane inside it. The Tornado.
Tails must really be here. He thought as he looked at it. He was moving towards the house when Robo-Him's hand shot out to block him.
"You will stay outside." He stated.
Sonic blinked in surprise. "What?! You wanted me to see Tails and now you don't want me to see him?"
"He is not aware of your return yet. If you enter the home before he is prepared to see you he may react…." Robo-Him paused for a moment, considering what he may say next. "Poorly."
"Because I'm supposed to be dead?" Sonic asked. "I'm certain he'd be glad to see me after that."
"You did not see him grieve." Robo-Him argued. "It is possible your presence, unprepared, could reawaken unwanted emotions in him."
Sonic didn't respond, simply staring at Robo-Him.
Robo-Him turned towards the house. "I will let you know when you can come in." He stated.
He then walked towards the house. Limping due to his damaged leg. He'd give Robo-Him this, he was less annoying than the last one he encountered. Though he wasn't sure being super serious was a good trade-off. As he entered the door, Sonic wondered how often Robo-Him returned like this if he was living with Tails. Obviously Tails was smart enough to repair a robot.
He waited outside for a while. Each second growing more impatient. He didn't like waiting around for things. He wanted them to happen or to get there as soon as possible. And the fact that he had to wait frustrated him.
Deciding not to stand around, he walked near the windowless portion of the home. Pressing his ear to the wall, he heard muffled voices. One sounded robotic, definitely Robo-Him, and another sounded younger, likely this shatter-space's version of Tails.
Moving around the house, he tried to look for a window through the larger portion of the house, but any he found were too high up for him to allow him to see through. So he wasn't going to be able to spy in to see what was going on inside.
He walked over to the front door. He figured he could maybe sneak inside and look around the interior. He stopped in front of it, his hand hovering over the doorknob, hesitancy running through him and questions in his mind.
How different was this Tails going to be? Even though this world looked similar to his own he hadn't encountered any of his friends yet. Were they going to be robots like Robo-Him? Would they even trust him when they saw him? The counterparts tried to attack him the previous times, why should this be any different? Did he really exist here or was everyone lying? Why was he expecting this to play out any differently than in the other shatter-spaces?
He gripped the doorknob, trying to calm himself. He needed answers to what was going on here. And right now, this was the best chance he had. Figure that out now and he can figure out what to do after.
He turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door, trying his best to not make any noise as he did so. He then stepped inside the house and looked around.
Inside was a small living room with a couch with a table and tv in front of it. It was connected to a kitchen that looked tidy. With all the utensils hung and counters clean, and the plates and bowls neatly sorted when he checked the cabinets. Near the kitchen was a hallway with two doors that presumably led to a bedroom and a bathroom. Looking to his right away from the hallway, he saw another door. Behind it he heard the sounds of various tools being used and conversation he had heard before.
Must be Tails's workshop. He thought as he listened. So one thing is the same as the one that's mine.
He turned back to where the living room was, noticing various pictures hung on the wall. Walking over to them, he took a closer look at the contents.
On them were pictures of him with Tails. He saw that the Tails in the photos looked exactly like the one at his home. Not the angsty kid that Nine was, or the ferelness that was Mangey, or a pirate like Sails. Just the normal Tails he knew and cared about. The pictures showed him and his own counterpart around various locations of the world, some Sonic recognized, smiling and having a good time. Sonic reached towards one of them, depicting him hugging Tails as he seemed to try to playfully escape from him.
I really did exist here. He thought as he placed his hand on it.
Turning his head, he noticed one on the wall that looked far more recent. Walking over to it he saw that it was a picture of Tails with Robo-Him. Tails giving a smile while Robo-Him gave a thumbs up. He supposed that was one way you showed some happiness without a mouth.
Staring at it he wondered, if he really was dead, how Tails handled his death. Robo-Him probably helped in some way, but how did he initially handle it? It was likely that his friends here were also like the ones he knew, so did they help him as well? How did his death affect them? It began to sink in that even if his friends looked like the ones he knew, his death had likely affected them too and may not be the same ones he knew. So he still couldn't trust them regardless
Not like I've gotten used to that at this point. He sadly thought to himself. He reminded himself to not get attached to these versions of them. Once he figured things out, they wouldn't matter.
"I told you to stay outside."
Sonic looked behind him and saw Robo-Him standing there glaring at him. The door to the workshop open behind him.
"Well forgive me for not wanting to stand around outside while you got repaired." Sonic retorted. "I'm not exactly one to stand around. You should know this since you apparently knew me."
"I expected you to at least have some patience. Enough for you to at least take a run outside while I did some of my business."
"Hey, I have zero idea what's going on here, so sorry for wanting to investigate myself."
Robo-Him looked like he was about to speak when a voice from the workshop spoke. "Metal, who are you talking to?"
A figure walked through the door, and Sonic froze at the sight of him.
Tails emerged from the workshop. Like the photos he just saw, he looked like how he remembered him. He watched as he looked around for a moment before his eyes fell on him. He froze at shock at the sight of him, letting out a gasp.
For a few moments, neither of them moved. Just staring at each other in shock at each other's presence. Sonic wondered what was going through Tails's mind as he looked at him considering the supposed circumstances of this world he was now in. Tails has presumably spent a year thinking his counterpart was dead, so seeing him here must be a shock.
Finally, Tails slowly turned his head to Robo-Him. "Metal." He said shakingly. "Is he really there?"
Robo-Him nodded. "Affirmative. He is there."
"But….how?" Tails asked, still staring at Sonic.
"I am uncertain. But there are some oddities I saw when I met him."
"Like what, since I know he has never worn those gloves and shoes before."
"He was surprised by my presence, did not seem to know who I am, and while he recognized the doctor he appeared to be surprised by his presence."
Tails looked at Robo-Him, blinking in surprise. "He didn't know you? Could it be that he has some amnesia?"
"He does seem to know you, but I have not gotten much info from him to determine if that is the case."
"Then how is he here?" Tails asked again. "Since he was buried in the ground last we knew."
As the two talked, Sonic saw that Tails was relatively relaxed about talking to a robot copy of him. In fact, it was like it was normal for his brother. Watching the two, he wondered what happened to make these two close to the point where it was similar to him and Tails back at his home.
At the same time though, his questions were still not getting answered. And he was finally losing his temper at being told he was dead with no explanation as to why.
"Maybe we should at least ask him." Tails said. "Figure out what else he may remember."
Sonic was about to speak up, but Tails turned towards him and started asking questions. "Where did you wake up?" He asked him.
Sonic blinked, taking a moment to register the question. "I woke up in the forest near the town where Robo-Me found me." He answered.
"What was the last thing you remember before you woke up?"
Sonic froze, not wanting to answer that. Not because it would mean telling this Tails that he wasn't his Sonic, but because he didn't want to explain to anyone what happened before he woke up here. It was still too fresh in his memory.
"Do you remember what happened before the blast?"
The blast, what did he mean by that? It certainly wasn't when the Paradox Prism shattered.
He knew that this Tails had to eventually know. "Tails, I'm not actually you're Sonic."
Tails blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Look, whatever you think I remember, I don't. None of what you're thinking has ever happened to me." He explained.
Tails was about to speak, but Sonic interrupted again. His voice steadily got more annoyed and frustrated as he spoke. "I have no idea what's going on here. Everyone keeps telling me I'm dead, and no one is explaining to me why that is. I want answers to that, and I want them now!"
Tails and Robo-Him stared at him for a few seconds. Both exchanged glances, as if they were unsure whether to give him the information. Eventually, he saw Robo-Him give a nod to Tails.
Tails let out a sigh, as if what he was about to say was going to be difficult for him to say, and for Sonic to hear.
"About a year ago, Eggman attacked a city. You fought his robots and Metal was there as well." He began, indicating to Robo-Him on the last part. "Eggman had a new robot that ran on a new power source. It ended up rupturing when you fought it, risking a massive explosion. You ran out of the city with the robot and….."
Tails stopped and looked down. Sonic saw a couple tears well in his eyes and noticed a tremor in his hands. He then let out a breath.
"Are you okay, Tails?" Robo-Him asked.
"I'm fine." Tails replied before looking back at Sonic. "I think it would be easier if I showed you."
He then walked towards the workshop, Metal following him and Sonic soon joined them. Inside the workshop, he saw a workbench with various tools hanging on it. Ranging from hammers, screwdrivers, and drills. There was also a blowtorch and welding mask on there, with some sheet metal not far from it. In the middle of the workshop was a table, a screwdriver on it. Likely where this Tails repaired Robo-Him.
Tails walked over to a computer that was nearby. It had a large monitor that took up a part of the wall and he saw a keyboard attached to it. Tails sat on a chair that was facing it and began typing on the keyboard.
Sonic watched the screen, waiting for whatever Tails was going to show him. From what he saw when Tails tried to explain what happened to him, it was clear it was hard for him. He knew his counterpart's death had emotionally affected him, but what exactly had happened?
After a few seconds of typing and searching Tails paused for a moment, as if preparing himself to relive this moment, before pressing a button.
Sonic watched on the screen as a reporter behind a desk appeared. It was clear in her face that she was struggling to hold back tears. She let out a shaky breath before she started to speak.
"For our breaking story tonight, a devastating death. Sonic The Hedgehog, who has helped protect our world for many years, is dead. Information is still coming out about what happened, but we can confirm the cause of his death. He has died from an explosion from outside Central City. Witnesses from that city reported him fighting Eggman and his robots before running out of it with a robot in hand. It is reported that the robot had a ruptured power source that threatened to level the city."
She let out a sigh, steadying herself. "It is unknown why he was unable to escape the blast, but it is speculated that he may have had only enough time to get the robot out of the city. We will continue to provide…."
Sonic felt the weight of his fate in this universe begin to dawn on him. He stumbled back in shock, staring at the reporter as she continued to speak, but it felt muted and far away. All he could think of was the truth that he could no longer deny.
He really was dead in this universe. And from the looks of it, Eggman was the one who did it. From the report, it sounded indirect, but it didn't change the fact that he had somehow done it.
Sonic felt the world begin to sway around him, the only sound he could hear being his breathing. It all felt too much, the shattering of the prism, the creation of the shatter-verse, finding the state of his home and friends, Nine's betrayal, somehow landing here, and now finding out he really did exist in this shatter-space but was dead.
Robo-Him turned his head towards him and said something, but Sonic couldn't hear it. He watched Tails turn and get up from his chair and run towards him as he began to fall.
"SONIC!" He heard him yell as he fell down.
He didn't even feel himself hit the floor as everything went black.