"How is that thing not showing up on the radar?" Sonic asked.
"I dunno, but good job spotting it!" Tails said. "The bases we've raided haven't provided any leads, but if the Egg Fleet is still performing maneuvers, they must be getting orders from somewhere." he said and handed her something. "Take this, connect it to the first computer you find, and down- load all you can. Hopefully we'll get some answers once I analyze the data."
"I'm not really a computer girl. What do I plug in? What button do I push?"
"I customized it to have universal WiFi accessibility! Just hit the "go" button."
"You think of everything!" she said and jumped off the Tornado and onto another plane.
"Well-well- well! What a surprise!" someone said and she turned to see Eggman. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up to spoil my fun. I just didn't realize you'd come all the way up here to find me." he said. "But no matter- you're still too Late! The gears are already turning! My latest genius plan is-!" he started but was cut off.
"Whoa-whoa- whoa! Save the rant, faker."
"Faker?"
"I've seen the Doc. He's fine-and he's not here. You've got his act down pat. So who are you really?"
"Hmph. Of course you'd even ruin my feint, my loathsome copy..." he said and turned into Metal Sonic.
"Metal Sonic?!"
'Shit.' she thought.
"Neo Metal Sonic."
"Oh, yeah... the new name to go with your new look. You tried to take over the Eggman Empire. But me and the boys kicked your butt and turned you back to normal."
"Lord Eggman repaired me. Removed the rebelliousness from my coding. But you know this- we've clashed since then. He decided to upgrade me to this form once again. I was to be his greatest weapon in the final battle." he said. "But I was completed too late. The war was lost. You had ruined everything once again. I was given the Doctor's Bio-Data. His genius. His frive, his vision. But I serve the Eggman Empire. The only one who can truly rule it is Dr. Eggman. I decided I would use his persona to ensure his reign remained unbroken. I will conquer the world for Eggman as Eggman. And you will tell me where he is so I may hand over control to him."
"Mm-hmm. Adds up. Explains why I Ended up fighting your phantom instead of you. Just one teeny-tiny problem with your grand, evil scheme."
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"I'm gonna whoop your spiky butt before you conquer anything." she said and they fought. "Ha! How do you like that?"
"I like it just fine. Sonic The Hedgehog Bio-Data- successfully copied."
"Oh. Right. You copy people's abilities. Forgot about that." she said. "Do over?" she said and Metal attacked her.
'M'Kay. Battleship? Sure, I can handle that on my own. Full company of Badniks? A little dicey, but doable. All that and Señor Starfish-head? Nope. Time to bail.' she thought.
"Yow!" she said.
"...What?" Metal asked and Sonic attacked. "Coward!"
"Shows what you know."
"All batteries on the landing strip- Fire!" he said and they started firing.
"Whoa!"
"All hands on Deck! Full armament! Surround and disable- But I want her alive!"
"Got a funny way of showing it..." she said and attacked the robots.
When she was done she smirked but was punched by Metal and held by the neck.
"No more games. Tell me where my master is. Now." Metal said.
"Grk! Kill me and you'll never know!"
"I have your Bio-Data. I have my original plan I will sift through the worlds ashes to find him if I have to." Metal said. "Tell me or fall."
"I never fear the fall." she said, kicked Metal and jumped off.
"Fool. Now I am the one, true Sonic." Metal said then the Tornado came and Sonic was standing on it. "Helmsbot- All guns on the Tornado! Blow them out of the sky!" he said and shot but they got away. "Well played, Sonic. I should expect nothing less from my double." he said. "But I have won today. I know Eggman is alive while you have learned nothing of my plans. Keep us in the air and on course. We rendezvous with the fleet on schedule."
Later, at Resistance HQ.
"And then Tails saved my butt. The end." Sonic said.
"Can't say I'm happy about that. Regular Metal Sonic is a big enough pain." Knuckles said with his arms crossed.
"Neo Metal Sonic!" Amy said. "Did you get a chance to download any data? Did Neo Metal Sonic say what her plans were?"
"Nope and nope. Sorry, but things escalated pretty quickly." Sonic said.
"Yeah, but we know it's not Eggman at least." Knuckles said.
"Right. Instead of a mad genius, we've got a mad genius with Sonic's abilities and limitless stamina." Tails said.
"Savor the small victories, Tails!"
"I'm sorry! You're right!"
"I'm not going to settle for that." Sonic said and got down. "Eggman's bases may not have any intel on current troop movements, But Maybe we can Find a Record of his old plans."
"Sure! Maybe we can find out what left over plan Neo is trying to finish." Knuckles said smirking.
"I'll put out the call to the rest of the Resistance. Hopefully with all of us looking, we can find out what's going on before it's too late!" Amy said smiling.
"Yeah! Ol' Metal- Head may be fast, but I'll always be faster! Bring it in guys!" Sonic said and they put their hands together. "One! Two! Three!"
"Victory!" they said together.
Back with Metal.
"Bring all ships into formation. Begin the docking procedures. Take all the time you want, Sonic." Metal said. "I've already won."