-Chapter 159-
Metal Madness, Part 2
Egg Fleet
The Sky Patrol landed on the Flagship, allowing The Freedom Fighters, Chaotix, and Robotnik to all converge on the tower in the center, atop which Metal Sonic stood.
"All living things kneel before your master!" he ordered.
Metal raised his hand, an electrifying plume of light launching into the sky from his palm. The clouds darkened before a massive lightning bolt came crashing down, blowing up the tower on which Metal stood. As everyone watched in horror, in a vortex of bright light and smoke, Metal attached parts of the destroyed tower to himself, his body shifting around. When it was complete, Metal was now an immense metallic beast resembling a large, blue, heavily-armed mechanical dragon, with two eyes lined up vertically on his head. He had several long spikes on his upper body and many smaller ones running down his back and his long, curved tail. He had a flamethrower as his right hand, and his left hand had four fingers with claws. Rather than legs, his lower body was attached to the Final Fortress with several thick cables. He raised his head to the sky, letting out a deafening roar.
"Now, Sonic, my loathsome copy!" he declared. "Bow before your Metal Overlord!"
They all gaped in shock.
"Um…" Mina began, "how are we going to stop that thing?"
"We can't!" Robotnik declared. "It's useless to resist. Metal Sonic has combined your data with the power of Chaos. He's completely unstoppable!"
Sonic punched a wall in frustration.
"Damn it!" he cursed. "All this time he had us on a wild goose chase, I never thought to go Chaos Emerald hunting!"
"Well, it's a good thing one of us did," Sally told him.
Sonic turned as Sally held out a brown sack.
"Did you think we were sitting on our hands this whole time?" she asked.
Robotnik pushed up his glasses. "Well, that improves our odds somewhat. But even with all seven Emeralds, our chances for victory are slim. It would take a miracle."
"You leave that to me," Sonic decided.
"I'm going with you, too," Tails insisted.
"Count me in," said Knuckles.
They both stepped forward, taking the bag.
"The rest of us will keep Metal Sonic busy while you power up." Sally decided.
"I'll aid where I can," Robotnik offered. "Grimer will stay here to help Kathryn."
A moment of silence passed before Sonic nodded, turning to Keith, who was carrying the unconscious guardian on his back. Sonic jerked his head in Grimer's direction and Keith obliged, handing Kat over to the green man. With that, Robotnik headed into the ship, clearly making for the hangar.
"Sonic, are you sure we can trust him?" Keith questioned.
"I trust that he has as much reason to get rid of Metal as the rest of us," Sonic replied.
"Good enough for us," Sally declared.
Teams Rose, Chaotix, and Dark stood at the ready as the rest of the Freedom Fighters boarded the Sky Patrol. Team Sonic got to a safe distance and began focusing on the Chaos Emeralds. Metal Sonic loomed over all, glaring at them.
"Even with the Chaos Emeralds, you'll be no match for me," he remarked. "But why take the chance? I'll tear you to pieces!"
"Negative," Omega replied. "You will try, and you will fail."
"You're going to pay for this!" Big swore.
Metal scoffed. "Am I supposed to be intimidated by the empty threats of a fat, pathetic weakling like you? HA!"
Big clenched his fists. "I may be big, and not as smart as everyone else. But one thing I'm not... is WEAK!"
Amy and Cream got into spinball formation, and he batted them at Metal. As they bounced off Metal's head, he roared in pain and rage before leaning over, the spines in his back shooting out at them like missiles. Omega shot out missiles of his own, hitting each and every projectile while it was still safely in the air.
"Well played, Omega," Metal mused. "I can see why the doctor saw you as the only one fit to contain Shadow."
"Now, I fight with him," Omega shot back. "And my new companions."
Hope climbed onto Omega's shoulders. "Omochao, combat mode!"
"Engaging Omochao Gun!"
His limbs retracted as he formed into a yellow and orange handgun, his head in the barrel. Hope took careful aim.
"Here's hoping the little time I spent at GUN's shooting range paid off…"
She fired. Omochao's head shot out, bouncing off Metal and his surroundings repeatedly.
"My turn." Shadow declared.
He ran, launching into a Spin Dash and nailing Metal in the chest. He rebounded off, coming out of the spin before forming a Chaos Spear. Wielding it in both hands, Shadow let out a battle cry before plunging the spear into Metal's forehead. Rouge jumped in as well, flinging bombs at the mutated robot. The bombs exploded, getting a roar of pain out of Metal.
"It's working!" Sally cheered. "Keep going!"
Keith and Chris stepped forward, powering on their gloves. They lobbed Nitro Balls at him as Rotor, Tekno, and Porker readied the Sky Patrol's weapons.
"Target locked on Metal Sonic!" Tekno called out.
"Fire full arsenal!" Porker ordered.
Metal was soon bombarded with missiles, copies of Omochao, lasers, a particle beam, and a Volkan Cannon. Last but not least, Antoine was fired out of the Sonic Power Cannon, his sword outstretched as he engaged the Spin Blade Ball Attack. In the end, Metal was actually forced back a step, letting out a monstrous snarl. Ray flew up, carrying Mighty as Charmy did the same for Vector and Espio. Both members threw their respective partners, Mighty coming down with a Hammer Drop as Vector pulled back, taking a deep breath. Espio performed a motion of hand signs before spinning like a top, drilling into Metal's chest. At the same time, Vector unleashed a torrent of fire from his mouth, scorching Metal.
"Vector, now you know why we keep telling you to invest in breath mints!" Julie-Su told the croc as she fired on Metal with her proton gun.
"Hey!" Vector cried out indignantly. "I'll have you know I brush and floss every day!"
Shard, Shorty, and Bunnie flew around, bombarding him with lasers as Mina dashed up, landing Spin Attacks on Metal wherever she could. All this was done while dodging shots from his flamethrower and claw/spine missiles.
"You're all useless now that I've copied your data!" Metal boasted.
His eyes turned to Team Sonic, who were still powering up. He launched a salvo of missiles at them, only for them to be detonated in mid-air by a wave of energy. All eyes turned to see a massive, gold colored mech equipped with a shield and lance, Robotnik in the cockpit.
"Ah, Doctor," Metal greeted. "Finally came to join the fight, did you? Though I question why you saved Sonic when you specifically created me to destroy him. Don't you want to be rid of him forever?"
"Only if I do it, or when you're under my control and following my orders," Robotnik shot back. "Sonic is mine and mine alone, Metal Sonic! And it's time you relearn your place and remember who's the boss of this operation!"
"Your time is over, Julian!" Metal taunted. "You have become obsolete! It's only appropriate to have a robot overlord rule a robot empire!"
"The only thing you rule over is the scrap heap I dump your lifeless shell in!"
Metal lashed out with his tail, which Robotnik raised his shield to block. He parried Metal's attacks for a while before hopping back, surrounding the lance with energy before charging forward and spearing him through the chest. Metal was torn free of his moorings and plummeted into the clouds below with a yell. They looked down, seeing no sign of him.
"...Is it over?" Hope questioned.
A triumphant cackle reached their ears as Metal came swooping back up. Much to their shock, he had sprouted a pair of mechanical wings on his lower body.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 'no.'" Shadow said simply.
"Sonic!" Sally cried. "His transformation is complete! It's all up to you!"
Brilliant light began emanating from where Team Sonic was. Metal turned to the source of the light, seeing Super Sonic, Hyper Knuckles, and Turbo Tails all rising into the air.
"Ready guys?" Sonic said.
"Ready!" Knuckles and Tails confirmed.
They flew to confront Metal, who chuckled darkly.
"This is why I transformed my own body with my own hands," he declared. "So I could finally fulfill my purpose and destroy you!"
"You actually thought you could defeat me by turning yourself into a monster?!" Sonic demanded. "Think again, Metal Head!"
Metal's response was simple. He grabbed one of the still-intact ships in the Egg Fleet and threw it at them with all his might. Knuckles charged forward, punching through it.
"No matter what you do, you're never going to be anything more than a machine!" he shouted. "A useless, worthless waste of parts!"
"But us?" Tails added. "Let us show you just what we're made of!"
Metal unleashed a torrent of flames from his flamethrower, before opening his mouth and firing a barrage of crystals at them, knocking them back.
"See me as I am, no longer afraid of anything!" Metal declared. "I shall become the ultimate overlord, ruling as the world's most supreme being!"
"And then your alarm went off!" Sonic shot back.
The attacks continued relentlessly, everyone else watching from down below. Freedom Fighters, Chaotix, and Robotniks alike all had their eyes glued to the fight. However, they could only fight to a stalemate. Eventually, Metal swatted them into a nearby ship with his tail, cackling.
"It's over, Sonic!" Metal shouted. "I'm going to enjoy utterly destroying you, just like I did that annoying little redheaded brat!"
As he cackled, the light surrounding the trio became twice as bright. Golden, red, and blue chaos energy swirled around the trio as they rose to eye level with the insane robot.
"Metal…" Sonic hissed, "you just signed your own death warrant with that."
"That 'redheaded brat' is our friend," Tails added. "Her name is Kat Winters!"
"And this is for her!" Knuckles screamed.
They all shot at Metal at speeds so fast that even Metal's systems couldn't detect their movements. They smashed into him over and over again, actually managing to pierce through his armor. Metal tried futilely to defend, but was eventually beaten senseless, his wings being torn off. As he struggled to maintain altitude, he screamed in rage.
"Why?!" he howled. "I had it all! I am the ultimate overlord, Metal Sonic! I am the real Sonic! HOW COULD I LOSE?!"
He plummeted toward the Flagship, everyone around it giving him a wide berth. "I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!"
Metal crashed down, rocking the entire flagship. He began to rapidly shrink, reverting first to Neo Metal Sonic, then to his normal state. Robotnik walked right up to the fallen robot, leveling his suit's cannon with his face.
"Goodbye, Metal." he hissed before firing. Metal was blown to pieces, leaving only his head behind. Eggatha looked on, resigned, before letting out a pitying sigh.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this…" she remarked.
Hope hugged her cousin.
"It had to be done, cuz," she said gently.
The three heroes landed, their energies dying out and returning them to normal. Knuckles looked at the head, picking it up. He then crushed it in his grip until it was as flat as a pancake.
"Feel better?" Tails asked.
"Much." Knuckles tossed the flattened head into the abyss. "Good riddance."
"I suppose I owe you some thanks for dealing with my rogue creation," Robotnik mused before turning to the Chaotix. "Agatha mentioned during the fight she hired you to save the Chao and myself from Metal's plan. You can expect your payment by the end of the week."
Vector blinked. "You're… actually gonna pay us?"
"In cash, by the end of the week," Robotnik assured. "But don't expect much more. I'm still an evil scientist."
"Didn't expect anything less, Eggman," Sonic replied.
Robotnik sighed. "I need a vacation."
He walked over to Eggatha, picking her up. "I'll collect Dr. Grimer and we'll take our leave."
He prepared to leave, then stopped, turning his head only slightly. "I hope Kathryn heals soon. The poor girl's been through so much."
Sonic perked, Robotnik's voice sounding so different as he said that. The moment passed as soon as it came. After a minute, they boarded the Sky Patrol, laying Kat down on a bed.
"I'll take her to the Master Emerald shrine once we get home," Knuckles decided. "Some Chaos radiation therapy will do her wonders."
"Can I stay with her?" Keith requested. "Please?"
"You can sit right by me," Knuckles assured. "I ain't leavin' her side."
As they flew away, Sally sat next to Sonic, seeing his thoughtful expression.
"Sal... Eggman's voice, his face when he said what he said about Kat," he said. "For just a minute, he looked and sounded like... Julian Kintobor."
"Do you think... that it's possible?" Sally asked.
Sonic nodded. "Somewhere... somewhere very deep inside of him… Julian Kintobor still lives."
He looked back out the window. "All this time I thought Julian was gone. That Eggman, for all intents and purposes, killed him. But I guess I was wrong."
Robotropolis
Later, at Citadel Robotnik, Brutus and the 6-S trembled in fear as Robotnik called them in, visibly angry with them.
"Now…" he began, deadly calm, "whose brilliant idea was it to betray me and help Metal Sonic?"
"It was rather brilliant, wasn't it?" Scratch asked stupidly.
Murmurs of consent sounded as a vein popped on Robotnik's forehead. Grounder turned his right drill into a hand, bowing.
"I thought of it!" he declared. "You can thank me!"
Robotnik stood up, cracking his knuckles before yanking his glove off, preparing both the laser and the missile launcher in his cybernetic arm.
"I'LL THANK YOU, ALL RIGHT!" he roared.
From her lab, Eggatha could hear the carnage, but paid it no mind. She was looking at a framed photo of herself and the OG Metal. She sniffed, wiping her eyes as she flipped the photo around, pulling a small flashdrive from the back of the frame.
"You turned into a monster, Metal…" she mused. "But maybe... just maybe... I can still save you."
Author's Note:
Thus, the Heroes arc ends.
And yes, that flash drive Eggatha has is a backup of Metal Sonic's CPU. You didn't think I'd kill him off for good, did you? Metal's too popular for that. But it will be a long time before he earns back Robotnik's trust and his power.
Please R&R. Until next time!
