-Chapter 69-

Unamused

Death Egg Mark II

Up in her lab, Eggatha was circling the bound Bunnie, checking the joints where metal met flesh. Unexpectedly, she was treating the half-Robian like a doctor would a patient rather than an experiment.

"Do you feel anything at the joint?" she asked. "Any pain or rejection of the limb?"

"Not really," Bunnie replied.

"I'd still keep an eye on it," Eggatha warned. "The interruption of the process could have been harmful. You're lucky it didn't get farther than your limbs."

"Believe me. I know." Bunnie said.

At that moment, the door to the lab opened and Metal entered. Bunnie scowled, while Eggatha just smiled.

"Hello, Metal," she greeted. "Can I help you?"

"Put the prisoner in her cage," Metal ordered. "We're needed."

Eggatha nodded. "Yes, of course."

Metal left, and Eggatha turned to Bunnie.

"Play nice, please," she asked. "He's right outside and he'll be much less nice than me."

Bunnie nodded, allowing Eggatha to unstrap her and going to the cage without a fight. As the door closed, she looked up at Eggatha.

"Can you please tell me how my friends are?" she requested.

"I wish I could, but my Uncle made it clear there was to be no communication between you guys," Eggatha told her, not unkindly. "I'm sorry."

Bunnie winced before sighing.

"At least that means they're alive and not…" she trailed off, raising her metal arm for emphasis.

Eggatha nodded before exiting the lab, seeing Metal there.

"The Doctor is waiting in the throne room," he informed her.

They headed there, seeing Antoine performing an awkward-looking clomp dance (1).

"Agatha, Metal, you've come," Robotnik greeted.

Eggatha snickered at Antoine's dance before turning to her uncle. "What do you need, Uncle?"

"Against all odds, Sonic has escaped the Special Zone," Robotnik explained. "He destroyed the Egg Serpentleaf at Sylvania Castle, and is headed straight for the old White Park in the mountains."

In the midst of his dance, Antoine let out a triumphant noise. A single blast at his feet via Metal cut him off.

"I will intercept Sonic there," the robot assured.

"See that you do, and take Agatha with you," Robotnik ordered. "She's made noises about wanting to go to an amusement park with you."

Metal nodded. "Very well, Doctor."

They turned, preparing to go.

"And Agatha?" Robotnik piped up, getting her attention. "Sonic's escape doesn't leave this room."

"I know, Uncle," Eggatha assured.

With that, they departed.

"You know you won't be able to keep it from the others forever, Robotnik." Antoine told him.

"Well, that's a bridge I'll have to cross when the time comes," Robotnik said casually.

He reached behind his throne, pulling out a top hat and cane before tossing it to him. Antoine blinked.

"Where did you get these?" he questioned.

"Not important," Robotnik snapped. "Dance!"

Antoine sighed, putting on the hat and performing a soft shoe dance routine while twirling the cane like a baton (2). Robotnik cheered, clapping his hands in tune with his footsteps.

White Park Zone

Meanwhile, Sonic was racing across the Sylvanian Landscape, his eyes glued to the Miles Electric.

"Come on, where's that fourth Emerald?" he demanded. "I'm wasting time here!"

The signal led him to the foot of a mountain. He looked up, seeing snow atop it.

"More snow," Sonic deadpanned. "And me without my thermal underwear."

Still, he pushed onward, determined not to let anything stop him. Making his way through a forest of pine trees, he soon found himself standing before an old amusement park. A sign, faded but readable, read "White Park". From just inside, he could hear the sound of carnival music, as well as childish laughter. His curiosity peaked, Sonic went in, stopping short to see Eggatha on a working merry-go-round. She was riding around, smiling and laughing. Metal was at the controls, his claws embedded in the machine and clearly powering it. As she finished a circuit, Eggatha spotted Sonic and perked.

"Metal!" she cried. "Sonic's here!"

Metal turned towards the entrance, ripping his claws out of the controls. The merry-go-round ground to a halt.

"You… having fun with kids," Sonic let out in surprise. "Just when I thought I'd seen it all."

"Part of my duties is to protect Agatha and keep her happy," Metal insisted, clearly in denial. "That is all."

"Sure, whatever you say," Sonic replied. "So, you wanna keep up your perfect record and get your can kicked by me a fourth time, eh?"

"You greatly overestimate your power," Metal shot back. "And you're also alone. No one will come to aid you."

"I don't need help to pound you into scrap," Sonic retorted. "I did it by myself before, I'll do it again!"

"Ah, but I wield the power of the Fregosi Sapphire now," Metal raised his hands, lightning sparking between them. "This time, my victory is assured."

"Pull out any new tricks you want, Metal," Sonic told him. "You'll never be a match for the real deal, original Sonic!"

"We'll see about that," Metal swore. "Agatha, seal yourself in the ticket booth and stay there."

Eggatha obediently hopped off the merry-go-round, making a beeline for the ticket booth. The second the door shut and locked, Metal launched himself at Sonic. They clashed furiously, trading punches and Spin Attacks. Metal focused his power, electricity arcing from his fingers as he created a massive sphere of lightning.

"Nice little light show," Sonic noted before surrounding himself with Chaos lightning. "But you're not the only one who can play with lightning."

Metal just threw the lightning ball as Sonic rushed him. He darted to the side to avoid it and made to punch his doppelganger, but the robot grabbed his wrist, throwing him into one of the derelict games. This one was one of the test-your-strength games with the bell on top, which Sonic hit hard enough to shatter the bell.

"Looks like I win," Metal quipped.

Sonic snatched up the mallet. "Here's your prize!"

He charged forward, swinging it right at Metal only for the rotten wood to shatter on impact with his head.

"Was that supposed to hurt?" Metal questioned.

"Well, I thought it'd hold out a bit longer." Sonic replied simply.

Metal grabbed him by the throat. "Pathetic."

He drove him into the dirt, summoning another lightning sphere.

"Don't worry, Sonic," he began. "You'll be seeing your friends on the other side soon enough. I'll be sure to tell them how pathetically you met your end."

He brought the ball down, but Sonic's hand shot out, grabbing his wrist and stopping it in mid-fall.

"I don't think so…" Sonic declared, his voice strained.

Metal began pushing harder.

"Why do you resist? It is over! You and yours have lost! Your friends are slaves and experiments, and you are a mere hedgehog! What hope is there for you?"

"Even the smallest chance of victory is a reason to keep fighting! And hope may be frail, but it's hard to kill!"

He shoved Metal away, the bot skidding backwards as Sonic plowed into him, sending him flying back into the support beams of a large roller coaster. Metal got up, sending pillars of electricity flying at Sonic, who darted around them before pummeling Metal into the ground, his lightning remaining blue.

"All that power from the Fregosi Sapphire, all those new tricks you learned just don't matter," he boasted, hitting his copy with a Homing Attack. "Doesn't matter what you try. Doesn't matter where I am or how badass you think you've become. 'Cause you know what? I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. I beat the bad guys."

Sonic then held out a hand, the lightning from his body channeling itself down his arm and into his palm (3). "And you'll never beat me."

He threw the ball. Metal was unable to dodge as the ball collided with him, sending him across the park and skidding across the ground. Thankfully, he stopped just before he could plow into the ticket booth where Eggatha was hiding. Seeing Metal almost hit her, Eggatha came out at that.

"Metal, enough!" she insisted. "You're not gonna win this one! Let's cut our losses and get out of here!"

Metal looked between Sonic and Eggatha, then vented as if growling before pointing at his rival.

"You won this round, Sonic, but we'll meet again very soon," he swore. "I will battle you as many times as is necessary... until I finally succeed at destroying you."

He grabbed Eggatha and flew away. Sonic watched them go before his hands suddenly twinged with pain. He looked down, seeing his gloves were singed and smoking slightly from the lightning ball.

"Ouch…" he winced. "Note to self: have Honey make me some insulated gloves."

He stuck his head in the ticket booth, hoping to find a first aid kit. However, he ended up finding something even better: the purple Chaos Emerald. Sonic grinned, snatching it up.

"Looks like I'm on a roll," he boasted, letting the Emerald's energy heal his injured hand.

He held up the Miles Electric, looking for the next one.

"Oil Desert…" he noted. "Well, better get moving."

He tucked the emerald in his pocket, then sped off. "Hang on, guys. I'm coming."

Author's Note:

(1) : Think like Pennywise's dance from the 2017 It movie.

(2): A kind of tap dancing performed in soft-soled shoes, popular in vaudeville. Bugs Bunny did it a lot in his cartoons.

(3): Yes, taken from Barry Allen's power in the Arrowverse shows.

Well, there we have it. Sonic's tapping into more of his power, and sent Metal packing… for now.

Next chapter, we go into the Oil Desert Zone, as the chase continues.

Please R&R. Until next time!