cutegirlmayra
Prompt:
In the Classic Dimension, Sonic has discovered that Dr. Robotnik has collected 'Phantom Shards' that carry the same basic principle abilities as the once intact Phantom Ruby. However, seeing how unstable they are apart, he's created a gooey substance that puts it's trapped target to sleep and creates their dream-clones!
Wanting to target Sonic's friends, Dr. Robotnik places them into a sleep that the Phantom Shards then make into their worst nightmare!
Fighting off these nightmarish realities, Sonic has successfully awakened Tails through a data-bit thunderstorm zone, dodging bolts as they try to electrocute him.
Faster than sound also means speedy close-calls, and Sonic learns from rescuing Tails that his friends' greatest dreams seem to be the key to destroying their nightmares.
For Tails, he had to believe in himself, that he could be just as brave and cool as Sonic was as a hero.
This desire manifested as the X-Tornado, that ghost-piloted Sonic towards the antidote after defeating a flying Egg-boss.
After taking the antidote, Tails awoke and immediately began looking into these Phantom Shards, and their antidote for waking up.
Sonic also saved Knuckles, who's nightmare was failing in protecting the Master Emerald, leading to the end of the world. Dr. Robotnik greatly underestimated the Phantom Shards power, and as the world fell into chaos, Sonic discovered Knuckles's greatest dream was to create world peace.
This manifested as the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald giving Sonic the necessary power to turn Super, even if they were just dream-clones of the actual emeralds.
Saving the day yet again, Sonic was surprised to learn Dr. Robotnik still had one prisoner left over… and could fathom who that could be…
Sonic darted into the room and the metal doors quickly slid shut, he looked to see that from the far right corner was what appeared to be like a giant water chamber that resembled the steampunk diver's suit head.
He saw Rosy the Rascal floating in her sleep within the goo… much like his other friends.
He zoomed up to the glass and began banging on it, trying to look in more but a strange optical illusion was keeping him from seeing her well enough.
Then… flying down directly behind him… was Metal Sonic.
Sonic turned around and put his fists up, but Dr. Robotnik came down from a chute with… Another Metal Sonic!?
He laughed his typical way, then seemed to state that Rosy's worst nightmare was indeed, Metal Sonic!
He stated that Sonic may have defeated his greatest creation previously… but two of them!?
Phantom Metal Sonic and Metal Sonic then spread out to come at Sonic from different angles, and it was a tricky fight to maneuver.
However, Classic Doctor Robotnik wasn't able to predict the feuding robotic spirit that the real Metal Sonic had. Wanting to be the one to fight and end Sonic, it would constantly get cut-off or crash into the Phantom dream-clone, causing Sonic to wind around them and set-up some intercepting collisions.
He defeated the real Metal Sonic, having had a miniature explosion that knocked him to the right into some consoles… making him slide his metallic, heavy body off and hang with his arms still crooked up on the consoles but his head down.
The dream-clone of Metal Sonic was also looking like it'd short-circuit… twitching in the with sparks, but glared menacingly over to Rosy's water chamber.
Without the antidote, she would remain asleep… and taking her out of the goo with the Phantom Shards inside would be risky… So Sonic didn't see this coming.
In a last effort to remain permeant in this reality, Phantom Metal Sonic dived and slashed open the glass fisheye effect of the holding water chamber, gushing out the goo that Sonic had to dodge, least he'd be put under a sleep paralysis as well.
Dr. Robotnik started biting his nails, faking his concern for Sonic, before laughing at the predicament he was now in.
Rescue the girl and risk falling to the Phantom Shards' nightmares? Or continue fighting a never-ending struggle?
Sonic had to think fast, grabbing the Miles-Electric that Modern Tails had gifted him, he remembered that Modern Tails had told him he had an 'app' of sorts that could reprogram one Eggman robot to do one specific task. But it would only work for a short period of time.
Looking to see the real Metal Sonic struggling through sparks to rise and fight again, he rushed over to him and turned the Miles-Electric upside, clicking the app and quickly typing in his commands with his tongue out on the other side of his mouth.
A lightning static traveled between the two orbed points, and he shoved this into Metal Sonic's head, the electric waves now traveling through his metallic shell and into his computing processes.
Enraged at the 'cheating' Dr. Robotnik hollered and stomped in his Eggmobile, seeing Metal Sonic retrieve Amy from the Goo and wipe it off her.
In his eyes, Tails's logo showed the downloaded processes completed, and he stared at her as though wondering what he was doing.
She looked so small and frail in his arms… immediately, he accessed what his new programming was.
The timer was set… and the command: Be her replacement hero while I'm busy, help her to learn to rely on her own abilities but with your aid, protect and make her unafraid of you anymore.
He was twitching at the loathsome command, the new objective was so humbly sickening.
Of course this frail creature should fear him!
He felt his claws twitching before finally, Sonic sped over after distracting the dream-clone and held her, showing he was still actively fighting but glared back at the dream-clone.
The Phantom Metal Sonic suddenly stopped and began to shake again, finally exploding as he saw Sonic protectively shielding her.
In a humorous quip, Dr. Robotnik concluded that Rosy's greatest dream must be that 'Love conquers all' and then opened the metal doors for Sonic to come and face him… The greatest of all fears!
Sonic rolled his eyes, watching him disappear up the chute and then handed Rosy back to Metal Sonic, giving Metal a condensing pat on his heat as though rubbing in the harsh truth of his new servitude to her.
Absolutely unacceptable..!
Sonic took off as Metal Sonic was left to babysit the sleeping girl, and his face revealed every bit of malice he felt towards the situation…
For the first few minutes, he just monitored her heart beat.
In the next, his eyelids began to soften from their cold-stare and turn to a neutral look as he noticed her getting cold and began to regulate a heat through his engine, making sure not to scratch her as he did so, but heating her soggy form up to dry.
When she sneezed in her sleep, he felt his whole systems freak out as her heart momentarily adjusted to the increase in body pressure and decrease blood flow back into it.
Even though it was a mili-second of change, the fact that her body's output had slightly altered sent him into a panicked frenzy.
Not knowing how to handle that, and seeing she was back to recovering health and stable levels, he lowered his eyelids as though frustrated with the fact that now… this once 'greatest creation' that could compete with that of even Sonic, invented to be the better of his organic trash, was suddenly now the nursemaid.
Infuriating!
She breathed lightly.
Insulting!
He adjusted her headband that was slightly slipping off from the slippery goo in her quills.
… Revolting…
He lightly pushed her up more towards his chest so she wasn't sagging limply in his arms, and giving her the heat necessary for her chest and the rest of her clothes to dry and stay warm.
… Pathetic little thing…
He sharp, silvery claw shone as he lifted it to her bangs, moving them with a waft to the side.
He recounted the humiliating memory of another instance, where he had crashed into a sliding metal door while Sonic had successfully made it to her, tied up and hanging from a pole.
His sharp quills had freed her at once with a low-turning spin-dash, and she had hugged him in gratitude while Metal Sonic was incinerated by a frustrated Eggman.
His memory was downloaded into another Metal body, upgraded but relatively looking the same.
… And yet, Sonic didn't want to burden himself by taking her along to fight Eggman.
He even chuckled at the scene of Metal holding her.
He wanted her to conquer her greatest fear… Him.
Metal Sonic looked up a moment, his new programming trying to come up with ways that she wouldn't be afraid of him anymore.
Although he didn't like the programming, nor any living-organism,… he still contemplated ways to achieve his newly downloaded goals.
Sonic finally returned, and as he did, gave Rosy the antidote.
Upon waking up, she was teetering, but her enthusiasm over Sonic's face made her want to run to him. Instead, she lunged forward and Metal Sonic had to catch her before falling.
Once her eyes adjusted, she noticed Sonic still chuckling with a hand over his mouth as her eyes blinked over to being in Metal Sonic's hold…
She immediately summoned her hammer and started to bash him.
Sonic takes off as Rosy tries to follow him, still scared and whining out about the loyal, puppy-like Metal Sonic tagging along behind her, but when he knocks one of Eggman's missiles away from hitting her… using all his jet-strength to propel it in a new direction… she stood amazed.
He flew down to her and just stared at her…
She tried to walk back but he zipped at sonic-speeds to place his hand to her waist and pull her back.
She blushed in fright but looked back to see him pointing to a muddy puddle, showing she would have stepped in it.
He let her go as she marveled and covered half her face with her hands… bundled into fists at her shyness.
She begins to defend herself and learn how to fight the Eggman robots while under the careful, chaperone eye of Metal Sonic.
As she runs up a loop-de-loop, he's there to assist her.
When she swings and misses a robot, he annihilate it before she can open her eyes, so she believes she hit it and destroyed it.
With her confidence rising, she learns self-reliance, and finally catches up to Team Sonic as they prepare for the last few zones of battle.
Dr. Robotnik put himself into the dream-goo, so his greatest dream might come to pass! Switching the concoction around, his Phantom Empire was glitching into existence everywhere.
Metal Sonic didn't mind…
But his eyes turned to Rosy, who was fearful of these images…
He immediately decided he didn't like it, and glared threateningly towards the metal statues and structures.
However… He didn't notice the timer… had finally concluded.
Not wanting to leave her side, he fought as the Eggman objectives began to successfully override Tails's software update, and rebooted him.
As he stepped away, hoping to move as far away from Rosy as possible, he gripped his head as Eggman's logo began to flash and show the rebooting process downloading up.
When the others realized this, Rosy threw out her hand, stopping them. She wanted to be the one… to defeat him.
It was emotional, seeing the once helpful friend turn into a fierce, villainous robot once again.
But she wasn't afraid of him anymore.
She couldn't deal the last blow, and as she fell to her knees and cried over his sparking form, he lifted a metallic claw up…
Sonic quickly moved her out of the way of his attempted slash, as his claws lengthened to try and deal further damage to her.
Rosy softly cried as Sonic moved away from her, spun to give one last finishing blow and kicked him into the sky.
As he exploded, Rosy reached out to him, crying out as Tails and Knuckles had to hold her back.
She was so saddened to see him go… she vowed that if she ever found a nice robot, she could preserve it, no matter what the cost.
Her outstretched hand… withdrew into a shaking fist, full of conviction.
She wasn't afraid of robots anymore…
She wanted to help them.
Although Metal Sonic had reverted back to his original form, forgetting all about their adventures together… her silent knight in dark blue, metallic armor that would let her practice in safety… swinging her hammer… as he then almost swiped her away after his programming changed…
She sobbed quietly into her hands, still shaking in anger at how Eggman could create such terrifying robots… but amazed at how Tails could reinvent them into loving friends.
"You really shouldn't have made him so nice, Sonic. Then, Rosy wouldn't have formed such a strong attachment to him." Classic Tails commented, putting his hands to his hips and leaning towards the culprit.
Sonic just shrugged, looking back at Amy and wanting to comfort her, but feeling that she needed to cry over it a little bit longer.
Metal Sonic had completed his objective, after all… and Sonic smiled to see that, but quickly frowned as he closed his eyes, folded his arms, and waited for Rosy a distance away…
She balled over Metal Sonic's deactivated head… unable to, in the end, part with it.
It took several minutes… and some could argue, still more time later for her grief to mend… but that's where her love of reforming others came into play, along with her independence… she would never forget when she first got so excited over completing the zone that she reached a fist up for a light pound of comradery.
Realizing he was her greatest fear though, she hesitated and pulled back slightly, but he immediately, robotically, advanced up to her and without blinking or removing his eyes from her, directly faced her and lifted his own hand up.
Slowly, he curled every finger into a fist and lightly knocked her bundled hand in the show of 'Good job, congrats on your first–kinda–solo run.'
She would never forget it… and holding her hand close to her heart… she would never forget what lessons it gave her.
About robots. About people…
She looked to Sonic, who–as though sensing her inquisitive gaze–looked back over his shoulder at her…
Some robots could be even warmer than people…