Ch. 18: In a Scrap

It is now a standoff. On one edge of the forest clearing are The Metal Mobian Squad, Metal Sonic standing in the front, Mecha Sonic to his left, and Silver Sonic and Mecha Knuckles on either side. On the opposite edge is Eggman Nega and his minions. Eggman Nega sits atop his Eggmobile, with Johnny, the "Sultan of Speed", a green robot beside him, and Metal Sonic 3.0 nearby.

"Hmm, seems you want a kerfuffle then," Eggman Nega says, sighing as he presses a button on his console. "3.0, if you would," He says, gesturing off to the side.

Metal Sonic 3.0 turns on his heel and rockets off into the woods.

Mecha Sonic watches him go and then looks back at Eggman Nega, "Why would you do that? You just threw away-"

Metal Sonic turns and flies after his future counterpart.

"Oh… that makes sense," Mecha Sonic says, watching the team captain race out of the clearing.

Mecha Sonic turns to Silver Sonic, "Please go after him,"

Silver Sonic looks at Mecha in acknowledgment before blasting off into the brush.

"Now gentlemen, doesn't deux et deux seem fair to you?" Eggman Nega says with a grin, watching as half of the opposition leaves his view.

"We still have our orders," Mecha Sonic says, staring intently with his solitary orange visor.

Mecha Knuckles enters an offensive stance, prepared to attack at a word.

"Ahem, Johnny, would you be a good lad and show these gentlemen why they're working for the wrong Eggman?" Nega says, leaning over his console with a grin.

"Ha! Gladly," Johnny smirks, punching his hand into his palm.

"Mecha Knuckles, you take the green one, I'll take Eggman Nega," Mecha Sonic says, looking over at Mecha Knuckles.

Mecha Knuckles glances at Mecha Sonic before wordlessly running straight at Johnny. Mecha Sonic runs straight at the Eggmobile, staring Eggman Nega straight down. Eggman Nega just smirks and leans back in his seat. Mecha Knuckles jumps up and brings his fist down on Johnny. But Johnny just turns on his heel and suddenly vanishes from his position. Mecha Knuckles lands on the ground, hitting nothing but air, Mecha Knuckles looks back and forth, but suddenly a green blur emerges from the trees and smashes Mecha Sonic in the chin, sending them spiraling. As Mecha Sonic draws close to the Eggmobile, he raises an arm to strike it, as Eggman Nega remains absolutely still, a grin plastered on his face. Just before Mecha Sonic strikes, Mecha Knuckles comes flying into him, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Eggman Nega chuckles gleefully, clapping as Johnny floats beside him. Johnny does a little bow, crossing his arms.

"Now who's just "the green one" punk?" Johnny taunts. "I'm the fastest, I'm the Sultan of Speed!" He declares, pointing his thumb at himself.

"Change of plans," Mecha Sonic says, dirt falling off his frame as he rights himself. "I'll take the green one".

–

Metal Sonic chases Metal Sonic 3.0 through the foliage. Metal Sonic 3.0 seems to be taunting him, letting Metal Sonic get deliciously close, before suddenly finding a burst of speed and leaving his reach. 3.0 leads Metal Sonic in a wide circle before settling in a patch of clover. Metal Sonic slows as well, setting down. The two stare each other down.

"Whether I'm the real Sonic is debatable," Metal Sonic says, thrusting forward an accusatory finger to hide his insecurities. "But I have complete certainty that I am the real Metal Sonic!"

3.0 stares blankly for a moment before tilting his head down and to the side. Metal Sonic groans, hoping for at least a little bit of banter.

"Clearly some things were lost between versions," Metal Sonic says sarcastically, with a slight edge of disappointment.

Metal Sonic attempts to scan his opponent, but as he does, his vision begins to blur before red streaks invade his whole view. The words "SCAN INTERRUPTED" flash dramatically across the red and black glitches. Metal Sonic is blind, but he feels a heavy blow to his chest, sending him spiraling back, slamming into something with an audible CRACK. Metal Sonic hopes it was just a tree. Metal Sonic throws up his black shield, hoping to protect himself. Metal Sonic curls himself up in the fetal position, desperately rebooting his visual sensors as his vision goes black. Metal Sonic focuses on his audio sensors, expecting to hear some blows slamming into his black shield. Instead, he hears the sound of rockets as the words [REBOOT COMPLETE] flash across his vision. Metal Sonic's visuals come back up just in time to see Silver Sonic, face to face with 3.0. Silver Sonic has their rocket jets at full blast, but 3.0 is holding them by the forehead like a toddler. 3.0 rotates his hand 90* on Silver Sonic's face, and without even a squeak, he flings Silver Sonic spiraling head over heels back into the brush. Metal Sonic sets back down on his feet, shaking off his surprise at being blinded. 3.0 stares for a moment, before emitting a few angry beeping noises and beginning a march towards Metal Sonic. 3.0 begins slowly starting up his engine, simultaneously, a bead of red energy forms in his chest. Metal Sonic, in response, straightens his posture and does the same, walking forward with his engine spinning, charging up a laser blast. The two speed up simultaneously, lifting off the ground until finally, they both release a laser blast. The two beams collide in the air, releasing a burst of energy that disperses a plume of white smoke into the air. Both robots fly into the smoke, the only indicator of their foe being the glow of the other's red eyes. 3.0 goes for a claw swipe, but Metal Sonic pulls up the BioData of Knuckles. Metal Sonic's hand grows larger and two spikes protrude out. Metal Sonic throws a blind punch, connecting with 3.0's claw swipe. Metal Sonic's punch knocks 3.0's attack aside, and Metal Sonic's punch strikes 3.0 in the left shoulder/neck area, sending him back out of the smoke. 3.0 rotates about 180* in the air, his nose now pointing directly away from Metal Sonic. 3.0's face smashes directly into a raised root as he falls, making a loud cracking sound, but 3.0 readjusts, flipping back over again and landing on his feet, putting down a clawed hand to slow his momentum, dragging it through the dirt. But Metal Sonic hasn't stopped, he continues forward, the power of his engine dispersing the smoke cloud behind him.

"Pathetic ripoff!" Metal Sonic says, flying forward.

3.0 has a large crack along his visor from smashing face first into the root, but he pulls himself forward, reactivating his engine, he accelerates to Metal Sonic's velocity in about half the time, until they slam into each other, locking hands in a clash as they push their engines further and further. As they do so, they both turn their heads as they hear the sound of whipping blades as Silver Sonic spindashes towards them.

–

Johnny jumps back into the air, both fists forward in a Superman pose as he goes for a dead-on charge at Mecha Sonic. Mecha Sonic just barely twists out of the way as Johnny rockets into the trees. As Mecha Knuckles runs as the Eggmobile, Eggman Nega's hands fly across the keyboard, causing several hidden compartments to open. Out of most of them, missiles streak out, aiming square at Mecha Knuckles, and out of the bottom of the Eggmobile springs a laser gun, which trains on Mecha Knuckles while it charges. Mecha Knuckles looks up, watching the paths of the missiles as they form their next course of action. Johnny comes flying back out of the woods, but this time, Mecha Sonic stands his ground. Using his superior reach, Mecha Sonic grabs onto Johnny's shoulders as he flies at him. Johnny starts to push Mecha Sonic back as his feet dig large divots in the dirt.

"You're… surprisingly good…" Johnny says, pushing his thrusters up to max.

"I train against faster opponents all the time," Mecha Sonic states. "And I'm not exactly slow either".

Mecha Sonic kicks on his thrusters, stopping his backward movement and stopping Johnny in mid-air. Johnny continues to struggle, thrusters on full blast, squirming in Mecha Sonic's oppressive grip. The two stay locked like this for a moment, until, suddenly, Mecha Sonic kicks up with his legs and curls into a spindash. By doing so, he tilts Johnny upwards and releases him.

"What are you- waaah!" Johnny shoots up into the air like a bottle rocket.

Mecha Sonic rotates in the air for a while, thrown off balance by the force of Johnny flying by. Mecha Sonic hits the ground, his currently rounded form digging slightly into the ground until his internal gyroscope rights itself. Mecha Sonic pops out of a ball, looking out of his little crater for Mecha Knuckles. Mecha Knuckles is nearby, running back and forth to avoid missiles fired by Eggman Nega. Mecha Knuckles jumps up, pulling back his fist to strike the Eggmobile. At the last moment, Eggman Nega fulls back on the control handle, pulling the Eggmobile back, but also tilting it upwards, pointing the laser on the bottom right at Mecha Knuckles. Right before Mecha Knuckles makes contact, Eggman Nega fires the laser, striking Mecha Knuckles in the chest and sending him arcing back in the opposite direction. Mecha Knuckles lands, a stream of black smoke coming off their chest. A wide smile slowly cracks across Eggman Nega's face. Mecha Sonic hops out of the pit, staring at his downed teammate. But gradually, Mecha Knuckles stands, the wicked simile falling from Eggman Nega's face. A large silver patch has been revealed where the laser destroyed his artificial fur.

"Disguise compromised" Mecha Knuckles croakes, his magenta fur exploding off of him.

Mecha Knuckles now looks completely robotic, all dark and light gray metal, a hinged jaw, and two segmented red bug-like eyes. Mecha Knuckles unhinges their jaw and spits out a large missile, aimed right at the Eggmobile. Eggman Nega swiftly presses a button, two counter-missiles shooting out. The three missiles collide in the air, creating a magnificent explosion in the middle of the clearing.

"Hooray," Mecha Sonic says, raising a fist in the air.

But suddenly BAM! A green object impacts the dirt right in front of Mecha Knuckles, sending them into defense mode, and jumping back. Now Johnny sits crouched in the dirt like an Olympic runner before blasting straight into Mecha Knuckles, who hadn't landed yet. Johnny tackles Mecha Knuckles around the waist, carrying them into the air above the clearing. Mecha Knuckles elbows Johnny twice, leaving small dents in his head, before pulling back for a punch. Seeing Mecha Knuckles attack, Johnny lets go, already having carried them to a significant altitude. Mecha Knuckles flips backward once before stabilizing into a glide. Although not as fast as Johnny, Mecha Knuckles turns to put themself on a crash course with him. Noticing this, Johnny puts out his thrusters in front of him. Mecha Knuckles, needing to maintain a gliding posture, is unable to stop Johnny as he kicks Mecha Knuckles in the side. The kick doesn't do much damage but sends Mecha Knuckles into a sideways roll. Mecha Knuckles puts out his arms, stabilizing themself right above the tree line, before Johnny suddenly appears right in front of him. Johnny rotates his entire body up and around, seeming to grin as he brings his ankle down right on Mecha Knuckles' forehead. Mecha Knuckles' right eye explodes into shards of red glass, and their whole body is sent shooting downwards. During this entire exchange, Mecha Sonic and Eggman Nega have just been staring up at the sky, watching the battle. Mecha Knuckles crashes into the grass, sending up a spray of dirt.

"Mecha Knuckles, status report," Mecha Sonic says, running towards them.

Mecha Knuckles struggles to stand, one hand steadying themself, while the other feels the dent in their metal skull. Eggman Nega snaps out of gleefully watching the carnage and fires his laser once again. Mecha Sonic has to stop and focus on dodging the laser. Just as Mecha Knuckles manages to barely stand, Johnny swoops down like an eagle after its prey. Johnny grabs Mecha Knuckles, one hand on their neck, the other grabbing their chin. Mecha Knuckles attempts to fire a missile, but Johnny forces their mouth closed. Johnny takes Mecha Knuckles to the edge of the clearing and slams them into a tree, going straight through in a shower of splinters. Johnny takes Mecha Knuckles on a path around the perimeter of the clearing, smashing them repeatedly through trees. One of the trees, having been completely punched through at the bottom, falls on Mecha Sonic. Mecha Sonic holds up his hands, as he catches the tree, he crouches down under the weight but springs back up, hurling the tree at Eggman Nega. Eggman Nega, not missing a beat, fires a barrage of missiles, completely disintegrating the tree. Bits of metal fly as Johnny smashes Mecha Knuckles through a few more trees, coming to a stop next to Eggman Nega. As the smoke clears, Mecha Sonic is left in shock, as Johnny, almost grinning, tosses the dismembered, dented dome of Mecha Knuckles onto the ground between them. Mecha Sonic watches as the head of Mecha Knuckles rolls to a stop in front of him, its jaw hanging open to show an unlauched missile.

"Guess magenta there couldn't handle his fiber," Johnny taunts, surveying the smashed and fallen trees forming a barrier around the clearing.

Mecha Sonic pauses for a moment, slowly kneeling down to pick up the wrecked remains of his friend.

Eggman Nega smirks and Johnny puts his hands on his hips, seemingly pleased with himself.

"What? Nothing to say for your dearly departed? That's ok, he didn't have much to say either," Eggman Nega says with a tone of false sympathy.

Mecha Sonic says something quietly through his speakers.

"What was that? Speak up dear boy," Eggman Nega says, leaning in as if it'll help him hear better.

Mecha Sonic stands slowly.

"I'm sorry," Mecha Sonic says, before dropping Mecha Knuckles' head and kicking it with enough force to create a deafening CLANK.

The head flies, the missile dangling from its jaw. Johnny's smug expression fades as he jumps back, but the head flies instead at Eggman Nega. The head smashes into the Eggmobile, the missile detonating on impact.

–

As Silver Sonic spindashes at 3.0, the black robot side steps while also activating an ability. A red aura appears around 3.0, and instead of Silver Sonic flying right past, their path curves, drawn in by 3.0's magnetic ability. 3.0 swings his arms around, changing Silver Sonic's trajectory straight at Metal Sonic. Silver Sonic exits their spindash but is still hurtling towards Metal Sonic at a considerable velocity. Metal Sonic in his mind quickly justifies the fact that moving Silver Sonic out of the way is necessary for the completion of their final objective so that the obedience programming won't stop him. Metal Sonic then slaps Silver Sonic across the face so hard that it cancels their forward velocity and sends them sideways. Silver Sonic collides with a nearby tree. Metal Sonic watches with great amusement until he starts getting pulled forward by 3.0's magnetic field. Metal Sonic turns his focus back to 3.0. Metal Sonic fires a ball of energy from his chest, and 3.0 stops his magnetic aura to put up his black shield. The ball of energy disseminates across the surface of the shield. Dropping the black shield, 3.0 jumps up and does a 360* spin, firing two black spines at Metal Sonic, which instantly regrows. Metal Sonic curls up and spindashes, knocking the spines aside and closing half the distance to 3.0.

"Copied that from Silver Sonic? What a pathetic ability," Metal Sonic says, drawing some extra power from his core.

Yellow electricity begins to crackle across Metal Sonic's limbs. Simultaneously, 3.0's hands begin to glow red hot. Right as Metal Sonic jumps off the ground, bathed in a yellow glow, 3.0 thrusts his red hands upward. Metal Sonic zooms forward faster than ever before, but runs right into a wall of magma as it erupts from the ground. Metal Sonic barely has time to let out a noise of terror as the wave of magma falls on him. The molten liquid quickly cools, leaving a wavy surface of dark rock 3.0 stands for a second before turning in the direction that Silver Sonic went flying in. Silver Sonic is wedged in a tree but saws their way out with their rotating quills. As 3.0 takes a step to face Silver Sonic, suddenly a fist explodes through the black rock, like a baby bird hatching from an egg. The red eye of Metal Sonic peers through the hole.

"You didn't think it'd be that easy?" Metal Sonic says, pulling apart chunks of rock to widen the hole he made.

Silver Sonic charges at 3.0, blasting through the foliage on his rocket skates. As Silver Sonic approaches, 3.0 pulls back his foot, curling his leg almost all the way back before unleashing one of the most devastating kicks ever administered. 3.0's foot connects with the right side of Silver Sonic's chin, sending them onto one foot. 3.0 then claws Silver Sonic, leaving four hollow marks across the left side of Silver Sonic's face. Then 3.0 pulls back, curling into a ball and smashing into the already disoriented Silver Sonic's chest, knocking them back onto the ground. Metal Sonic rises from his black stone prison with his signature expression: A scowl. The left side of Metal Sonic's head is fused to a chunk of black rock. Metal Sonic hears an explosion from over where the clearing is and looks at Silver Sonic's prone form.

"Silver Sonic, you're only a hindrance, go back up the others," Metal Sonic commands, pointing a clawed hand back where they came from.

Silver Sonic stands as 3.0 and looks back at Metal Sonic. Without a word, Silver Sonic turns and begins rolling hastily back toward the clearing. 3.0 pays them no mind as they stare Metal Sonic down.

"Let's finish this, you wretched bootleg," Metal Sonic says, reaching up and tearing the chunk of black rock out of his plating.