Bad Future Chapter 2

[Accessing memory file...]

The machine's optics whirred to life as the bright light of the workshop filled his vision. He scanned the area, finding the room lined with tools, until he found the wide grin of his creator, Dr. Eggman.

"Hah! My genius truly knows no limits." The doctor's wide grin spread ear to ear, basking in the moment. "My creation, you are my finest piece of work yet." He grabbed a rag and wiped a bit of oil from the machine's cheek. "Now then, let's get you a snazzy paint job to match your deadly aesthetic." The doctor stepped back as automated airbrushes spray the machine with sleek gunmetal gray and a deep blue with gold accents.

"There we are, you look magnificent. Now to give you a name..." The doctor leaned back, stroking his chin introspectively. He looked around the workshop, inspecting the various screens. His eyes fell on the project file holding the code of the machine. [Metal_Sonic] "Hmm... Not bad... Alright then! It's decided! Your name will be..."

Chapter 2: Heart of Chrome

"...Metal Sonic? Metal Sonic?" Silver waved a hand in front of the machine, snapping its focus from its memory file to him. Silver sighed in relief. "Thought we'd lost you there..." Silver turned away. "...Or maybe you'd changed your mind on helping us."

Omega's head, strapped to Silver's back, scanned the machine. "Observation: You are reminiscing." Metal Sonic turned away, almost as if it were angered by the statement.

"I didn't think robots could experience that kind of thing." Silver tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Then again, I heard from Sonic that you were pretty expressive during the whole Neo Metal takeover. I kind of wish I got to see you in action. He said you even talked and everything."

Metal Sonic looked to Silver and then away again, mimicking embarrassment, or perhaps bashfulness. "Observation: Metal Sonic is not used to having fans." This angered Metal once more.

"Oh, heh, sorry." Silver scratched the back of his head. "I guess I kind of just nerd out when Sonic tells me about his adventures. He speaks of you very highly. Well, I guess as highly as you can talk about a robot that tried to kill you." This appeared to calm Metal down once more.

Surge, who'd been watching this interaction play out, decided to speak up. "So... how long have you three been traveling together."

"A few hours." Silver saw the shocked reaction Surge let out. "W-well, me and Omega have been traveling together for a lot longer, but I didn't even know Metal Sonic was still operational until he found us a few hours ago."

"So you and Omega found each other first?" Surge asked.

"Not exactly. So remember when I was telling you about our... failure at Angel Island... A-anyways, I started searching for a cure, and the first place I thought to go was Tails' lab. Unfortunately, the place was swarming with Zombots, so it took a few weeks before I actually had a chance to get in there. Unfortunately, the place was smashed and out of power, so I had no luck there. I did see though on one of his 'Miles Electrics' that he headed to Restoration HQ. When I got there, well... the place was also overrun. It took a lot of careful maneuvering, but I managed to make it into the control room. Again, nothing. I was about to leave when I heard Omega harassing the Zombots. He was just a head then, and he still is now, but I figured taking him with me was better than leaving him there."

"And has that worked out for you?" Surge asked.

"Well..." Silver looked away, knowing that Omega would just begin complaining again.

Like clockwork, Omega began, "I would be more efficient with a body, but you are not a mechanic. I calculate the addition of Metal Sonic will increase our efficiency upwards of forty percent, eighty if he knows the whereabouts of an E-series facility."

"Whoa, I didn't even think of that." Silver beamed. "We might actually be able to get you a working body."

"Observation: You are an idiot." Omega stated. Surge busted out laughing.

"Baha! You two are quite the team then." She laughed.

Silver rubbed his temples. "Yes, we work so well together." He shook it off. "But I'm really excited to have a traveling companion that isn't a robot. I can't believe you were cooped up in there for that long."

Surge shrugged. "Eh. I wasn't really conscious for any of it. Starline was testing my electricity hardware he installed in me, and said he needed to put me under so he could tweak it. Next thing I knew, you three were standing there telling me the world ended."

"Yeah... Speaking of that, you seem to be taking it in stride." Silver spoke.

Surge shrugged again. "Meh, I didn't really have anything going for me before things got like this. I think I volunteered for Starline's experiments." Surge saw Silver's horrified expression. "What? It's not like I can remember anyways! And if anything, I should be giving you weird looks. Who shows that much optimism in times like these?"

Silver looked taken aback. "W-well, I guess I hadn't really thought about it before. I've always been an optimist before, and after the fall, I kind of just had to come to terms with it. I don't know if I would've made it if I was bummed the whole time."

"But surely you have some regrets, or unresolved feelings?" Surge asked.

"Well, yeah, I'm not exactly thrilled about our current situation. But there isn't anything I can do about it now. The chaos emeralds are missing, and without them, I can't even think about trying to fix this. I've just gotta do what needs to be done." Silver concluded.

Metal Sonic put a hand on Silver's shoulder, causing him to jump. "M-Metal?! I didn't know you cared." Metal Sonic shook his head and pointed upwards. "O-oh... Oh!"

The three looked up at what Metal Sonic was pointing at. Flying above was a massive Egg Carrier, still fully operational despite the decay the world had experienced. The massive mechanical ship was flying on its automated path, gently soaring above.

"Metal, is that where you've been all this time?" Silver asked. Metal nodded. "Do you have something up there that can help us?" Metal shook his head. "Then why..."

"Observation: That vessel carries the necessary parts to fully repair E-123 Omega." Omega stated.

"Wait really? Metal you said there wasn't anything up there." Metal Sonic put his hands up, almost nervously. "Oh, I guess you can't know everything."

"That's nice and all, but how are we getting up there?" Surge asked. "Can you get us all up there?"

"Not exactly..." Silver spoke nervously. "I can float myself and Omega's head up, but I can't grab us all."

Metal walked around behind Surge and grabbed her, firmly, but not uncomfortably. Surge jumped in protest. "H-hey!"

"Oh! Good idea Metal Sonic! You can fly her up there no problem." Silver said, flashing a quick thumbs up.

"Oh..." Surge reddened slightly. "So what, you're just gonna baby carry me all the wa-AGHHHHHHH!" Her musings were interrupted as Metal Sonic blasted off towards the Egg carrier. His turbine whirred as he flew through the air. Surge felt the wind whip her hair around, feeling the exhilaration of soaring through the sky. "YAHOO!" Surge found herself giggling in Metal Sonic's arms, her own arms outstretched to express her excitement. Metal landed first, setting Surge down next to him as Silver landed shortly after.

"That was awesome! Can we do that again?!" Surge asked excitedly. Metal gave Surge a nervous look.

"Well... We have to get down somehow." Silver trailed off. Surge pumped her fist in success. "First things first though, we need to look into fixing Omega."

The three (and Omega's head) walked down the landing strip of the carrier in relative silence, the only audible noise being Metal Sonic's turbine. Things were peaceful up here, a stark contrast from the dangers that lurked below. Traveling through the interior of the carrier was a challenge, but thanks to Metal's guidance, they made it to the bridge in no time.

The room was lit up with hundreds of screens, all automated and humming. "Wow Metal, you've got a pretty nice set up." Silver commented.

"Set up is irrelevant. Our only objective should be to repair me to maximum operating efficiency." Omega stated.

"Omega, let me have this." Silver groaned. The crew looked over the screens. They appeared to monitor the entire ship, with hundreds of cameras watching every corner of the massive ship. "Isn't this kind of surveillance overkill? I mean, I get wanting to be secure, but no one ever actually sneaks onto these things."

"Correction: Rouge used to sneak onto these things all the time. Deduction: Eggman installed tighter surveillance to prevent this from happening."

"Oh, that makes sense." Silver replied. He turned to Metal. "Omega said there were parts here he could use to repair himself. Do you mind leading the way?"

Metal turned and hovered off. Silver was left to assume that meant he had to follow. Him and Surge followed Metal down the halls, taking care to follow every turn. Along the way, they could swear they heard some crashing noises coming from down one of the halls. Metal turned the opposite direction, and the two reluctantly followed him. Finally they arrived at a massive assembly line, where dormant machines lie waiting to repair and rebuild E-Series robots. Metal stuck out his hand expectantly, and Silver reluctantly placed Omega's head in his metal claws.

Metal inserted Omega into the repair dock, and then flipped a switch, activating the machines that began to assemble Omega's parts. "It's pretty convenient that you have this lying up here Metal. I'm actually kind of glad we ran into you." Metal's red eyes darted to Silver's yellow. Silver felt a bit uneasy being stared down by the machine. "Then again, you are still a terrifying killer robot."

"Make that two terrifying killer robots." Omega stated, brandishing his shiny new body. His bulky metallic form looked pristine and polished, he looked good as new, even supporting the Omega brand on his shoulder. "Systems operating at maximum efficiency. This unit is ready to destroy all Eggman robots."

"It's good to have you back buddy." Silver said with a smile, putting a hand on Omega's shoulder.

"We are not friends. This is solely a matter of convenience for the two of us." Omega corrected.

"Oh..." Silver slumped. Metal Sonic put a hand on his shoulder. "...Are you sure you don't have some empathy in your systems?" Metal shook his head and pointed behind Silver. "What are you... Wait a minute, where's Surge?"

A scream from down the hall put some urgency into the trio. Metal blasted off, with Silver following close behind him. Omega brought up the rear, testing out the new mechanical body. The trio arrived where the sound came from, seeing Surge lying on her back, drawing panicked breaths. They followed her gaze, seeing three glass cells. The middle was empty, but the other two...

"No way... Sonic!? And Shadow too!? I knew they turned into Zombots, but how did they get... here..." Silver turned to Metal Sonic, his face morphing into anger. "Metal what are they doing here!?" Silver wreathed his hands in his psychokinetic energy, teals aura flowing off them.

Metal Sonic in turn began running defensive processes, his turbine whirring to life as he prepared for a fight. "Metal, explain yourself right now!" Silver shouted. When he didn't receive an answer, he reached to grab Metal with his powers. Metal in turn dodged, and grabbed silver by his face, dragging him out of the room. He threw him against a wall, waiting for Silver to recover. Silver in turn sent a wave of his psychokinesis at Metal, who dodged out of the way, speeding through the facility. Silver barely managed to keep up with him, following the metallic hedgehog through the twists and turns of the ship. Finally they arrived in a computer room.

Silver reached to begin flinging things at Metal, but the machine grabbed Silver's arm and twisted it behind his back, causing the hedgehog to cry out in pain. With Metal's other arm, he yanked Silver's head back so that the hedgehog was facing the screen. "Ow, what the-" Silver cut himself off when he saw what Metal was making him see. In big bold letters on the screen, the words Cure Research were displayed. A constant feed of Sonic and Shadow's vitals were displayed, as well as their consciousnesses.

"Metal, all this time, this is what you've been doing?" Silver asked, feeling the machine release him from his claws. Silver's eyes narrowed as he observed the data more closely. "No way... They're still alive under there!?" Silver asked incredulously. Metal nodded his head. He typed something into a computer, pulling up another display. This one monitored the brain activity, displaying the Zombot's thoughts in real time. "They're... suffering. Oh chaos, I thought they just turned into mindless Zombots." Silver could feel his heart break for them.

Metal put a hand on his shoulder. Silver turned, expecting the machine to show him something. Instead, the machine left his hand there as an offering of comfort. "You do have some empathy programmed in there, don't you." Metal maintained his gaze with Silver. They heard Omega and Surge burst into the room.

"Preparing to fire upon Metal Sonic." Omega stated, his hand replaced with an automated turret.

"Omega wait! Metal is on our side!" Silver shouted. Omega's turret hand remained spinning, but did not fire.

"Specify. Quickly." Omega said dangerously.

"Metal has been researching a cure. Sonic and Shadow are still alive under there." Silver said. "Have a look for yourself." Silver showed Omega the screens, letting the machine process for himself.

"Sonic and Shadow are not Eggman robots after all." Omega stated. Silver sighed in relief when he heard Omega's understanding.

"Okay, but what do we do with this information?" Surge asked. "It's not like we can help them up here, we don't have a cure." Metal Sonic responded to this by pulling up some more files for the group to look at. The screen displayed Metal's findings.

[Fake hedgehog and ultimate weapon react strongly when exposed to chaos energy. The power of the chaos emeralds seemed to burn off some of the Metal Virus. I suspect that, when exposed to two or more emeralds, the body will be able to reject the virus entirely. Synthesizing a cure from emerald power is unsustainable. The chemical reaction from the energy depletes too rapidly to be viable. Without another two emeralds, this my research is at a standstill. I cannot risk removing the emerald powering the ship, lest I let it fall.]

"Whoa, Metal, you've been busy. And you have a chaos emerald." Silver commented. "But we don't know where the emeralds are. They were lost when we failed to go super at angel island. I imagine they've been scattered across Mobius by now."

The group collectively stopped to think. Surge interrupted their thought processes. "Hey, what's this about speed energy?" She pointed to a different part in the file. They read on.

[Fake hedgehogs speed fought off the virus for quite some time. My copy's speed seemed to burn off the virus, albeit temporarily. The sustained speed allowed him to fight off the virus for quite some time. However, the virus mutated to match his speed. Because of this, the fake hedgehog is a biohazard, possessing a much stronger version of the virus. No less than the seven chaos emeralds themself could revers the effects. It is for this reason that I have contained him.]

[I find it interesting that ultimate weapon fell to the virus. A being with that much power should've easily been able to reverse the effects of the virus, and yet, he seemed to fall first. Regardless, ultimate weapon reacted to the chaos energy the strongest. The power of two emeralds should be enough for him to convert back to normal.]

"Why do you call Sonic fake hedgehog. Aren't you the robot copy of him?" Surge asked. She saw Metal Sonic's eyes flare dangerously. Omega stopped him from going on the attack. "Jeez, did I say something wrong?"

"Metal has always been touchy when it comes to him and Sonic." Silver commented in a hushed tone. "Ignoring that, this is really good news. We might be able to cure Shadow with just one more emerald."

Metal shook his head, holding up two fingers.

"You said it in the logs, you have an emerald already powering the ship. If we can get our hands on one more, we can use them both to cure Shadow. We might not even have to remove the emerald from the power core of the ship. Just Shadow being in proximity to the two should be enough. We can even lure him there!"

Metal Sonic rubbed his chrome chin with a clawed hand. Eventually, he gave a thumbs up, approving the plan. "Great. We've still got a problem though." Surge spoke up. "We have no way of actually finding another emerald."

"I might have a plan for that!" Silver said excitedly. "Remember earlier when I told you that Tails left behind his Miles Electric in his lab? I remember Sonic talking about how they used to use those to track down the emeralds. I'm willing to bet it's still there, though it might need a change of batteries."

"We have an objective then. We will retrieve the fox's device and use it to track down an emerald." Omega stated.

"We can do this! We can actually save them!" Silver said excitedly, doing a flip in the air with his powers.

"Never pictured myself to be the world saving type..." Surge trailed off. "Meh, might be fun. Let's do this!"

The gang got ready for their next course of action. Together, they would figure out a way to save the world.

Don't expect this to be a weekly thing, I just happened to have this done by this week. I got about halfway through the chapter over the weekend before I realized I had no idea what to do going forward. Now though, I'm pretty excited to see where this story leads. I'm gonna address some inconsistencies that might come up so you guys can have some context.

Did the emeralds do that in the original comic? No. But we never got to see them in action past Sonic and Silver going super. I also didn't want to use the emeralds as a device to reintroduce Sonic to the story. If he has any plot relevance, it wont be until later.

Surge doesn't really have anything to do, why is that? Surge wasn't introduced until after the Metal Virus, so she's not who she becomes in the comics. Instead, she's going to discover who she is and who she wants to be during the story.

Why are you calling it Mobius? I grew up reading Archie, and that's what it was always called then. That said, this takes place firmly within IDW. I know they don't really have a name for the planet in this continuity, but I get to call it what I want.

If you have thoughts about the story, I love to see feedback, so don't hesitate to leave a review. Your favorites and follows fuel my passion, and I love to see them on my story. Until next time!

-Tomato