1 Year Ago
5:56 p.m.
Another explosion is made, causing dust and debris to go into the air, making it difficult to see in the surrounding area. The blast creates a sudden gust, which the nearby citizens who are just out of harms way can feel sweeping over them, forcing them to move their hands to cover their eyes before they can look back at the ongoing battle.
On the other side of the battlefield the doctor narrows his eyes behind his goggles, trying to see what moves both combatants will do next.
Metal moves his eyes towards the left, scanning for his copy before leaning his head backwards, just missing a hit on his right. He retaliates by grabbing the outstretched arm, twisting his body counterclockwise, and throwing his opponent over head before launching himself towards his foe, aiming a punch of his own to the other's chest.
The moment Sonic lands on his feet, he sees his metallic copy rushing towards him and quickly drops to the ground, kicking his feet at Metal's in a sweeping motion, successfully tripping him over. Unfortunately for the hero, Metal instantly recovers and uses his right hand to grab Sonic's throat before using his momentum to slam the hero on the ground.
"Okay then," Sonic grabs a hold of Metal's hand, trying to pry it from him, "-you got my attention Eggman. So how about we make a deal."
The dust finally settles, allowing the onlookers to finally see the scene.
Eggman keeps his eyes narrowed for a moment before turning his attention to his left, seeing the young deer girl tied and hanging over a ravine before letting out a breath. "Sonic, you're clearly in no position to be bargaining with me right now."
"No?" Sonic uses his other hand to grab Metal's arm only for the robot to tighten his hold, slightly choking him. "Oh come on… I thought this was…" he moves his left leg to the side only for Metal to press his own knee against his thigh, successfully pinning him down. "-just between us… Why involve… everyone else…?"
Eggman hears the straining of the hero's voice before returning his attention to him. "It is between us, at least, that's what I would like to say." He turns his gaze towards Metal. "But this is a test more than anything."
"A test?" Sonic chokes out, turning to attention to the doctor with narrowed eyes. "You'd risk… their lives… her life for… a test?" Something about this doesn't sit right with Sonic. Normally Eggman would be gloating over the fact that Sonic is in a dire situation, yet he seems off. Like he's almost bored with what's going on at the moment. 'What's going on with him? Never mind that, I need to save her now.'
The rope holding the hostage is starting to snap. "Someone please! Help me! Sonic!"
"Metal," Sonic tightens his grip on the arm, only to feel the hand tighten more around his throat. "-move! She's going to fall!"
Red eyes flicker before he digs his legs deeper into the hero, making the latter wince a bit.
"Metal… get off…!" Sonic tries to twist his body but can barely move and to make matters worse, he's starting to lose air.
Eggman places his chin in his hand, glancing from the scene in front of him before turning to see the hostage, hearing the rope tear some more before returning his gaze back to the hero. "Tick tock, Sonic. She's going to fall in a few seconds if you don't move."
Ignoring the burning in his throat Sonic closes his eyes raises his quills up, slightly raising himself off the ground. In doing so Metal's right leg just slips off of Sonic's, allowing him to bring his leg up to his chest and kick the robot off from him. Not a second sooner does Sonic run towards the captive only to stop when a laser blocks his path, forcing him to skid to a stop. Looking to his left, he sees Metal bring his hand down before launching at him once more.
Not a second sooner does the rope finally tear, dropping the young deer into the ravine. "AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
Sonic blocks the attack and grabs Metal's arm, throwing him overhead as Metal had done to him earlier before rushing towards the ravine. Before a second can pass he dives down in it, with his arms at his sides so he can fall faster.
Metal reaches the edge of the ravine and just watches, observing how his copy finally made it to the hostage and is grabbing her before finding a small ledge to land on before they fall any further down.
"Metal," Eggman slowly makes his way to his creation, "-why are you just standing there?"
Metal just merely glances at his creator, knowing what he'll ask of him before he turns his attention to his double. He just simply narrows his eyes at Sonic.
"Metal!" Eggman slams his fist on the dashboard to his Egg Mobile. His irritation at his creation is starting to surface now. For a while, Metal Sonic had been hesitant to comply with his mission. No, hesitant isn't the proper word but for whatever reason the doctor has to yell at him to get him to move lately and it's really starting to irk his nerves. That's why he's doing this little "test" to try and factor out any reason Metal is acting the way he is. "Go and finish him, now!"
A second glance to the doctor is made before Metal dives into the ravine, holding out his right hand to charge another blast.
Sonic is about to ask the deer if she's alright but when he sees a bright light he scoops her up and jumps to the opposite wall landing on an even smaller ledge. They make it and he turns his head just in time to see the previous ledge get obliterated. Glancing up, he sees Metal charge his hand once more.
"Hey," he looks at the deer, "-don't get weirded out on my but I need you to hold on to me, okay?"
"Wh-what? But w-why-" She doesn't register another beam coming there way as Sonic quickly grabs her arms and wraps them around his neck as he jumps towards a lower ledge. Instinctively, she wraps her legs around his waist midair, wanting to make sure she doesn't fall off of him.
Sonic lands on the ledge and lets out a breath, shaking his head. "I need you to stay perfectly still, alright?" He looks down and see her giving him a questioning gaze. "I'm… gonna do something that will most likely make you sick if you decide to look around, so," he flashes her a quick smile, "-you might want to keep your eyes closed for this, m'kay?"
She quickly nods her head before shoving her face into this chest, clenching her eyes shut.
Sonic rolls his eyes and stifles a chuckle. Within the next second he jumps upwards to where the ledge he was previously at and with some difficulty does a spin dash towards a now gaping hole in the wall, just missing a third blast from his copy. Once he makes contact with the wall he digs his wall in and maneuvers his way upwards.
He's not the biggest fan of doing a spin dash underground, especially when there's someone clinging to him but he's not going to complain since both their lives are in danger at the moment. 'Man, cleaning the dirt from my quills is going to be such a chore.'
Turning himself to another angle, he's finally able to break the surface of the ground and within the next second he lands on his feet with the girl clinging on to him for dear life.
Sonic gently taps on her shoulder waiting a few seconds before she looks up at him. He gives her another smile before feeling her unwrap herself from him and he gently sits on her the ground. She moves to stand up but he shakes his head.
"You're better off there for now." He turns around and starts making his way towards Eggman before looking back at her. "You don't wanna puke your guts out, right?" He flashes her a grin before heading back towards the doctor.
She faint blush reaches her face before she nods her head. "T-thank you Sonic!"
He waves his hand at her before turning his full attention to his foe, seeing Metal land next to the doctor several yards away. "So, about that deal," he cracks his knuckles, still making his way towards the duo.
Eggman pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs before using his other hand to wave the hedgehog off, making the latter abruptly stop and confusing him. "I told you, rodent-"
"-Hedgehog." Sonic places a hand on his hip.
"-this was only a test." He looks over at Metal only to see him staring at Sonic. Shaking his head he turns his attention back to the blue nuisance.
"What kind of crap-"
"-test." Eggman corrects.
"-crap are you dong to put lives in danger like that? I mean seriously," he shifts his weight to the other side, "-if you wanted to do some crap like this at least do it somewhere isolated where no one will get hurt. Or at least tell me to meet you somewhere." A smirk reaches his face. "I would've been more than happy to oblige."
Eggman is silent for a moment before a smile reaches his lips. It's the first time he's smiled since this entire encounter. "Oh, but what fun would it be if there were no risks involved?" He sees the smirk leave the hero's face. "Besides if I could've taken you out with some helpless cattle-"
"Deer." Sonic corrects.
"-don't care, it would've made me happy, but alas," he turns and starts to make his way out of the area, "-you were not my main priority right now. Metal was."
Sonic directs his gaze at Metal and just sees a cold glare staring at him, unnerving him just the slightest. Metal has been a little off recently. It's no wonder the doc wanted to see what was up, but still, this was too risky for innocent lives.
"Metal, come. The test simulation is over, now let's go." The Egg Mobile raises in the air and starts leaving the area. Eggman looks back at Metal only to see him standing in the same spot, infuriating Eggman. "Metal! We're leaving! NOW!"
Metal takes a few more seconds to glare at Sonic before taking a step back, and floating in the air, to be by his master's side and the both of them fly off.
Sonic continues to look at them disappearing into the horizon. 'What's going on with Metal? And why does he keep staring at me, it's freaky.'He shakes his head and turns back to the village a distance away. "Never mind them, they'll be back for another round, and I'll get my answers then. But for now, let's go check and see if everyone's alright."
6:18 p.m.
As Sonic reaches the village he's quickly swarmed with Mobians, the deer girl he saved being in front of everyone.
"Oh Sonic," she hugs him tight around the neck, "-thank you so much for saving me!"
He lets out a chuckle and awkwardly pats her back before noticing more people, mainly females, making their way towards him. He turns his attention back to the deer, gently unwrapping her arms from around him. "Just part of my job, is all." He gives her a smile while discreetly taking a step back.
This is the part he can do without. Sure, he appreciates gratitude from others when it's given but he can do without the advances. All of the batting of the eyelashes, the pressing against his body, not to mention the flirty tones in their voice. Yeah, he's gonna have to get out of here fast.
She takes a step towards him, trying to close the gap. "Is there anything I can do to repay you?" She asks, batting her eyelashes.
'Annnnd, there it is.' A small chuckle leaves his throat. As much as he just wants to say "Yeah, keep your hands to yourself" and leave, he's not gonna be a jerk about it.
"Nah, I'm good. Just wanted to make sure you guys were all okay," he glances over the citizens to see even more people around him and the sad part is that none of them are kids. They're just teenagers and young adults, much like himself, with a few middle-aged people here and there. 'Great..'
"Nonsense," Another deer girl places her hand on his shoulder as she presses her body against his left side. "-you save my little sister. There's something that we can do to repay you."
And this is were it gets a little tricky; him prying her hand off from him discreetly. 'Man, this would be sooo much easier if I were a jerk.'
Another chuckle leaves his lips as he uses his right hand to pat the top of hers before he grabs it. He sees her have a confused look on her face before he smiles at her and he gently pulls her hand in front of him, making her move from his side before he twirls her around and she stands in front of him. With everyone in awe about the little spin they don't realize that he finally got his personal bubble back, albeit it's a small bubble, but he has one nonetheless.
"Aww, you're such a gentleman." A penguin says as she holds her hands over her heart.
"Yeah he is." A finch agrees with her friend, her eyes sparkling at the dazzling hero in front of her.
Sonic just rubs his neck and keeps smiling. With the way they're googling at him, he's gonna have to make a run for it before they jump him. It's happened before, and was quite terrifying. Having all of these ladies on him, and they even ended up taking most of his clothes off before he could get out of there. Amy, Sally, and Antoine were laughing so hard after he told them that they ended up puking their guts out. 'Serves them right.'
Recalling that memory brings a small but genuine smile to his face before he hears more "Awww's" and "He's so cute~" "Cute? More like hot!" snapping him out of his memory. A sweat drop run down the back of his head seeing how close they got, again.
'Really should pay more attention to right now.' He glances to the side to see if there's any openings but unfortunately for him, there's not.
Before anyone can take another step, there's movement from the back of the crowd.
"Hey, watch it!"
"Stop pushing, you jerk!"
"Schnock, move!"
"Hey! Don't touch me there!"
"Get away, you drunk!"
A raccoon makes his way through the crowd of women, bottle in hand, and he wobbles his way towards the young hero. Sonic eyes the bottle in the raccoon's hand and notices that it's mostly gone before looking back up at the approaching man. A hiccup is heard over the sound of angry women as the raccoon finally stumbles in front of Sonic.
"E'ya sexy-hog. *hiccup*" He places a hand over Sonic's shoulder only for the hero to move to the side, still trying to not be a jerk.
"It's Sonic." Sonic says and he narrows his eyes at the guy. He's never dealt with a drunk before so this will be new for him and will probably scar him in one way or another.
"Ooooh, Shonic," the raccoon walks over to the hero's right side and wraps his arm around the shoulder, trying to bring the hero in close, "-you shaved the town, eh? *hiccup*"
Sonic brings his left hand up to cover his nose. The smell of alcohol is way too strong not to mention that he's never been a fan of it. Heck, he's never even tried it and after this, he's most likely never going to.
"Kinda hard to shave the town with no razor," Sonic jokes, trying to lighten up the situation some.
"HA! You's a funni guy! I likes ya!"
The raccoon take another swig of the bottle, giving Sonic enough time to unwrap the arm from around him and take a step to the side. "Yeah, I get that a lot. So, if ya don't mind, I'm gonna be head'n out. Gettin' late, ya know?"
A trail is liquor runs down the raccoon's mouth as he stops drinking. He uses his free hand to grab Sonic's, forcing the hero to stay in place. "Oh, I kno, dat'sh why I'm invitin' ya to shtay at my plash for da night."
'And there it is.' Sonic sees the look of need in the guy's blue eyes, and quite frankly, it's a huge red flag. The way that they're getting darker by the second and just staring at him like a kid that stares at their birthday cake before they devour it. 'Yeah, that's not happening.'
"Sorry bud," Sonic pulls at his hand only to feel the raccoon's grip tighten, making Sonic glance at the hand before looking back up at the drunk, "-but no can do. I got some business to attend to."
The raccoon takes a step closer to the hero. "Aw, come'n babe,"
'Babe?!' Sonic's left eye twitches at the name.
"-that can wait til the morn'n. Beshidesh," he grabs the bottle with his tail and uses his now free fingers to run under Sonic's chin, which causes the crowd to gasp and Sonic to take a step back.
"I can't believe Schnok."
"How dare he touch Sonic like that?"
"Do you think Sonic's into guys?!"
"If he is I'll just turn him straight!"
"Who cares! He can be bi for all I care! I just wanna piece of him myself!"
"Lexi!"
"What? You don't?"
"I mean… yeah I do, but you didn't have to voice it so loud o/o"
"Isn't anyone gonna get Schnok off him! He's clearly uncomfortable!"
"-I can sho 'ya a real good time." The raccoon runs his thumb against Sonic's jaw line, making the hero jerk his head away out of reflex.
Sonic does not like what he's hearing from everyone, except for the little chicken gal, she's cool in his book for being concerned about it. 'Okay, looks like I'm gonna have to be a jerk then. This is getting way too outta hand right now.'
Sonic uses his free hand and pushes the hand away from his chin. "Look, dude, I'm flattered, really I am, but I'm not staying with you. Besides, you're gonna have a really bad hangover if you don't get some rest right now-"
"Aw," Schnok places his free hand on Sonic's hip which the hero instantly moves the hand off from him. "-yor' conscherned 'bout meh. You' ta shweet." He takes another step closer to the hero.
Sonic instinctively balls his hand into a fist before releasing it. There is no way he's going to hit a civilian. Even if said creep is starting to cross a line,
In front of other people…
Huh…
Maybe he can make an exception-
'No, don't hit him. That's not the right thing to do.' Sonic shakes his head to get the idea out.
His eyes snap open when he feels hot, foul breath wash over his face. 'When did he get so close?'
"Come on babe," Schnok takes a step closer, "-let yor'shelf have fun for a night…" he whispers.
It takes everything for Sonic not to cover his nose. The stench of the alcohol is bothering him.
"There you are Big Blue!"
Everyone turns their attention to the white bat flying in the sky, making her way towards the center of the crowd. Once she lands next to Sonic, she grabs his shoulders and pulls him out of the drunk's grip, which Sonic mentally hugs her for.
"Rouge," he grabs her shoulders and has the biggest smile on his face, "-what're you doin' out here?"
Rouge glances at the raccoon behind the hero, raising an eyebrow and shaking her head before turning her attention back to her friend. "G.U.N. needs you to come on a mission with me, so I was looking for you. Although," she sees the raccoon make his way towards them. "-it looks like I was interrupting something." She turns her attention back to Sonic. "Long lost lover?"
Sonic just stares at her in disbelief before he breaks out into a laughing fit which she quickly joins in.
The crowd is just staring at the pair, completely confused.
"Nah, he," Sonic points his thumb at the drunk, "-just wanted to have a sleep over… of sorts."
"Any yor' moar than welcome to join ush, hot shtuff." Schnok grins as he looks the bat up and down, licking his lips.
Rouge resists the urge to roll her eyes and plays along. She places her hand on her hip and uses her free hand to point at her body. "Sorry hun, but you wouldn't even know how to handle any of this."
Sonic is biting his lip to keep himself from bursting out in laughter seeing the look on the raccoon's face. It's a mixture of confusion and anger. After a second he turns back to the crowd of onlookers and waves at them. "Hey, I'm glad you guys are all safe. I'll check with you all a little later but like you guys heard, I gotta mission to go on."
He turns on his heels and starts to walk away with Rouge smirking at them before following his in a low flight.
"Bye Sonic! And thank you for everything!"
"Make sure you come back soon!"
"Sonic! I love you!"
"I wanna have your babies!"
"Lexi!"
"What? You don't?"
"You'll scare him away!"
"…now he's never gonna come back."
"… good job Lexi…"
"… hot-hero-scarer-awayer…"
Once the duo is away from the village they both just stop, look at each other, and break in to laughter.
"Oh my Chaos, Sonic the stud, huh?" Rouge wipes a tear from her eyes as she shakes her head.
"Ugh, don't remind me." Sonic places a hand on his head and takes a deep breath. "That was so annoying."
"First time getting hit on by a drunk?"
"Hopefully it'll be my last."
"Ha! Don't count on it." Rouge grabs Sonic's hands and starts flying upwards, knowing it'll be faster than the walking pace they were just going. "You're too attractive to not be hit on like that."
"Hey," He looks up at her, "-I can do without thinking about it."
"Hun, what are you, 17 now?"
"18" Sonic puffs his cheeks out and looks to the side.
"Anyways," Rouge looks down and see the look on his face, letting out a soft chuckle before continuing. "-you're gonna have to be more aggressive if you don't want pervs to get all touchy on you."
He directs his attention to the sunset to his left. "… you want me to punch them?"
"I didn't say that."
"Cause I was actually thinking about it."
"Oh," She looks back down at him, "-that's not like you Big Blue."
He glances at her before looking straight ahead. "I know, that's why I didn't do it." It's not just that, but it's been more frequent that people have been hitting on him and not just that, but they've been getting a little too touchy for his liking. He could ask Rouge about it but he doesn't want to bother her if there's a simple solution that he hasn't thought about yet.
Rouge can feel the sudden tenseness around Sonic and lowers her ears slightly. She knows that he's been getting more attention lately, but she doesn't know just how bad it is. If it's anything like what the drunk did then that can lead to some trouble for the hero and he clearly doesn't know how to handle it.
Sonic decides that this'll be a topic for another time. "So, I'm going on a mission, huh? With just you or you and Mr. Sunshine?"
A smile breaks out of Rouge's face. She's glad to know that this situation hasn't changed him at all. "Oh, it'll be you, me, and Mr. Smiles."
Sonic rolls his eyes and laughs. "Oh joy, can't wait to see how cheerful he's gonna be on it." He rolls his left shoulder a bit, trying to get comfortable with the flight as the fly over a rocky canyon, seeing Acorn Kingdom in the distance. "When are we leaving?"
Rouge starts to descend. She's not going to take him the whole way seeing as she's not particularly favored in the kingdom. A few five finger from the treasury got her in a bit of trouble from the princess and even though she wasn't jailed for it she did have to make it up to the royal family.
"It's in three days, but I'll get you in two."
Sonic lands on his feet and stretches his legs, making sure that his muscles and nice and warmed up for the run to the kingdom. "Guess I'll see you in two, Rouge."
"Alright, Hun, you take care of yourself," she takes off into the air as he turns to the kingdom. "-and remember," she waits until he looks at her. "-you can say no to drunks." She winks, laughs and takes off.
He looks at her in awe before shaking his head and taking off towards the kingdom, laughing in the process. "Rouge, I owe you big time for that save.