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tenebraevesper · 2 months ago

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Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 62: Neo Genesis

''Like a million faces, I've recognized them all, and one by one they've all become a number as they fall (as they fall). In the face of reason, I can't take no more. One by one they've all become a black mark on the floor. Is it me, you say, you're looking for? Let me show you who I am and what I have in store... (in store)''

– What I'm Made Of (Shadow Remix) by Sonic Heroes (Zarkator Cover, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Theme of Neo Metal Sonic)

xXxXxXx

Dr. Eggman was holding a mug of hot coffee, sipping it calmly as he looked at the monitors. He had to admit that it was quite amusing to watch Ferra and Metal Sonic's plan unfolding. Technically speaking, he had nothing to do with what was going on, as all of this was planned out by Ferra and Metal Sonic. The two had actually approached him after they failed to locate Sonic due to Team Neos being away in the Surya Empire and asked him for help with a plan they had prepared, as they needed to borrow the Badniks and take control of the AR Fields. Eggman patiently listened to the two, at first a bit weary, but eventually started to agree with them on their plan, giving them access to whatever they needed. Admittedly, the plan wasn't anything grand, and it appeared that they were still struggling a little with how they would approach the situation, but overall, it was decent enough.

Eggman had to admit that hearing their plan wasn't the only reason why he let them do whatever they wanted. In comparison to Toshiro and Mephiles, as well as Dr. Starline, Ferra and Metal Sonic had proven themselves to be his most efficient subordinates, fulfilling all of their tasks with little to no complain, and although Ferra could have a snarky attitude, it wasn't anything Eggman considered outright disrespectful.

As for the plan itself, they had decided to wait for Team Neos to return and use the Egg Pawns to distract them, so Neo Metal Sonic could copy their bio-data directly and empower himself, as well as trap the two most powerful fighters of the team within an inescapable AR Field. He wanted to eventually confront Sonic in this new form and overpower him, if not outright destroy him. Eggman agreed to all of that, but he did notice that both of them were a little apprehensive, understanding well why they would feel like that.

After all, they had been dealing with Sonic the Hedgehog, and the blue hedgehog's victory always seemed to be a foregone conclusion. Eggman himself knew well that even gods capable of ending the universe couldn't stop his arch-nemesis, which is why he decided to turn this whole enemy thing into a game for himself, where he could plot the hedgehog's demise while keeping things entertaining for himself. That is why he had been waiting for so long for Sonic's appearance as an Irregular instead of conquering Starpoint Area immediately after he built his robot army. While he was certain that the military would be capable of fighting him, he never considered them worthy opponents, and if he wanted to conquer the world, he would do it properly. After all, victory without any significant struggle would be incredibly boring.

He had hoped that Ferra and, especially, Metal Sonic, would understand that.

xXx

Sonic sighed as he and Shadow sat back-to-back on a checkerboard-designed platform on the beach that was Seaside Hill, immediately voicing his frustrated thoughts, ''This AR Field is the same as Green Hill. We're stuck in a loop!''

''I'm not surprised,'' Shadow replied in a matter-of-fact tone, his arms folded across his chest and his legs crossed. ''The Doctor and Metal Sonic are well aware of the danger we pose to them.''

''I know, but I still thought that we would be able to find a way out…'' Sonic trailed off, only to perk up a moment later and turn his head towards Shadow. ''Hey, what about Chaos Control?'' Sonic suddenly asked, feeling excited. ''You could summon the Chaos Emeralds and we'd have our way out of here.''

''That's not possible unless I release a huge amount of Chaos Energy to distort the AR Field.'' Shadow shook his head, with Sonic's expression falling. ''Even if I tapped into all of the Chaos Energy I had, I wouldn't be able to do it. In order to succeed, I'd need to use Chaos Surge, and since Touka isn't around, that option is not viable.''

''In other words, we're stuck,'' Sonic said, turning his back to the dark hedgehog, with Shadow nodding. Sonic took a deep breath, staring at the bright blue sky. ''Although, I don't think we'll stay here for long.'' Shadow didn't say anything, but his eyes did flick to the side. He didn't turn around though, his ears perking as he continued listening to Sonic. ''Lucas, Touka and the rest of our friends will notice that we have gone missing and that they can't reach us, so they will do everything they can to find us and get us out. That, or Metal Sonic will attempt to challenge me, because I don't think he'd just keep me trapped here without proving himself to be the superior one through a battle.''

''So, we'll have to be patient and wait for an opportunity.'' Shadow smirked. ''Tch, good luck with that.''

Sonic narrowed his eyes, his ears twitching in ire. ''I can be patient when I want.''

''We'll see,'' Shadow responded, with Sonic pouting. The azure hedgehog folded his arms, deciding to show Shadow that he could be patient and focused on staring ahead at the sea and sky, trying to find something that would keep him entertained. His ears drooped slightly when he saw an orca swimming in the deeper waters, frowning at the memory of it chasing after him whenever he and Shadow explored the areas closer to the water. In fact, it didn't even go after Shadow, it actually went only after Sonic as if it held a grudge against him. Sonic swore to himself that he wouldn't go anywhere near the water.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the orca was the only interesting thing in this AR Field, leaving Sonic with nothing to focus on. Admittedly, he could take another lap around the AR Field, maybe find different ways to navigate through the area. It sounded like a good idea to him, but he knew that he could complete the track in a short time and he would find himself searching for new ways to entertain himself. Not to mention, he wanted to prove to Shadow that he could be patient.

Therefore, he remained sitting on the spot, trying to focus on waiting. Except, maybe a few seconds had passed until he started fidgeting. He glanced back at Shadow, the dark hedgehog having closed his eyes and listening to the rush of waves, still in the same position as earlier. Sonic pouted, wondering just how it was possible for his rival to be able to sit so still for this long. He turned around, sighing again.

''I think Metal Sonic is trying to torture me with this,'' Sonic said.

''Two minutes.''

''Huh?''

''You've been quiet for a little over two minutes,'' Shadow said, finally turning around and meeting Sonic's gaze. ''I've been counting.''

Sonic's expression fell. ''Fine. I wish there was something to do rather than just wait. I thought about going for another lap, but I have a bad feeling about the orca.''

''I believe that there is something you could occupy yourself with,'' Shadow replied. Sonic gave him a look of surprise.

''What is it?'' he asked.

''We had both been caught off guard by Metal Sonic shapeshifting into Ferra. I don't believe that this ability is something he'd usually be capable of, so how is that possible?'' Shadow responded. Sonic hummed in thought.

''Yeah, that was weird…'' he muttered. ''I guess he got some kind of upgrade.''

''If he did, let's hope Lucas and the others know what kind of upgrade it is and how to combat it,'' Shadow replied.

xXx

''Metal?''

Metal Sonic ignored Ferra, being deep in thought. He was still pondering over Ferra's question and, more importantly, what his next move would be. He had copied the bio-data of the three strongest members of Team Neos, and if he desired so, he could've gone for the others as well. But even then, he battled with a sense of self-doubt of whether he would even succeed in his plan. It was an illogical thought, especially for a robot like him; someone capable of making all kinds of calculations in a matter of seconds to pick the most beneficial outcome. But, now he was gripped with a sense of fear, the belief that he wasn't strong enough. That he wasn't good enough.

This makes no logical sense. This isn't me. Metal Sonic stared ahead blankly, his claws balled into tight fists. I should be better than this. I need to prove my superiority! Sonic is my fake, and I-!

''Metal!''

Metal Sonic was startled when he heard Ferra shouting for him. He turned his attention to her, a bit taken aback when he saw the look of concern on her expression. He didn't understand why she gave him that look. He hadn't shown any behavior that it would require such reaction. Or, did he?

''What's wrong?''

''You don't look well,'' Ferra replied. ''In fact, you looked like you were about to fry a circuit.''

Metal Sonic fell silent once again, only for a moment later to respond, ''I was trying to find an answer to your question.''

''I think there's more to it,'' Ferra said in a calm, but firm tone. She took note of Metal Sonic's puzzled gaze, well aware that it was still a bit difficult for him to understand how she was even capable of reading his mood given how there wasn't much of a way for him to emote. However, considering how much time they had spent together, it shouldn't be too surprising that Ferra would be capable of understanding him. They were partners, after all, and developing a deep bond was part of it. ''I think it would be better for you to tell me what it is before you make any move you're going to regret.''

''…'' Metal Sonic glanced at her, before staring ahead. ''It's self-doubt, and I hate it.'' He stepped ahead, melting into a silver liquid and emerging as Neo Metal Sonic, the black cape around his waist swishing as he suddenly turned around, his voice growing louder. ''This is my grand scheme, but despite being ahead of my loathsome copy in terms of power, I still feel like I'm being held back!'' Neo Metal Sonic shouted in frustration, his right arm stretched out behind him, pointing upwards, while the other was clenched into a tight fist. ''To make it worse, there is no outside obstacle that is holding me back, since I can easily destroy any obstacles placed in my path. Instead, I'm dealing with something inside me that keeps me chained from unleashing my true potential, and I absolutely hate it!'' Neo Metal Sonic's eyes flared up in a dark red colour, glowing in rage as he continued, ''All of my calculations have confirmed that I have enough power to destroy my rival, yet I cannot even force myself to take that crucial step, and I don't understand why.'' He lowered his arms, his fists shaking. ''I concluded that it had to be self-doubt, and I want to erase that emotion from my programming, but I can't. Why? What do I have to feel like this?!''

Ferra kept silent during this whole rant, deciding to wait for her partner to be done. She then asked him in a kind, gentle tone, ''Have you always felt like this?''

''Insufficient, inadequate, defective, incomplete… I had these thoughts since the very start,'' Neo Metal Sonic responded in a matter-of-fact tone. ''Their intensity varied from time to time, but they never left.''

''You felt that way because of Sonic,'' Ferra said, her response being a statement rather than a question.

''That hedgehog is the bane of my existence,'' Neo Metal Sonic responded, his voice being a chilling balance of tranquility and fury. Ferra tilted her head slightly, giving him a curious look.

Ever since she had first found him, Metal Sonic's goal had been to destroy Sonic, so he could not only prove his superiority over his biological look-a-like, but replace him as the real Sonic the Hedgehog. Ferra had wondered from time to time whether Metal Sonic believed he was the real Sonic, but didn't care much about it, as she was only there to support Metal Sonic in reaching his goal. Nothing else mattered to her. However, she understood that she would have to address this at some point.

''Say, Neo…'' Ferra started, drawing Neo Metal Sonic's attention. ''I know that you have been driven by the desire to destroy Sonic once and for all, but is that all?'' Neo Metal Sonic gave her a serious look. ''I mean, do you understand the truth about your connection with Sonic…''

''I have looked into my origins once you told me about them,'' Neo Metal Sonic responded. ''I had been programmed for the sole purpose of destroying Sonic using abilities superior to his. I am the better Sonic in every way, since I possesses the best performance, a tireless body, and plenty of other factors that should make me unbeatable. I understand that I was created after Sonic, but that won't stop me from proving my superiority. However, I also know that is impossible because my copy will always win, no matter what I do. This paradox drives me into madness!''

''That is the video game lore…'' Ferra muttered, a relaxed smile spreading on her lips. ''However, this is the real world, and from what I've seen, you have proven yourself.'' Neo Metal Sonic gave her a confused look. Ferra simply continued, ''Didn't Sonic experience defeat during The Starfall? You had him on the ground, and the only reason he was still alive was because we had to leave at the time.''

''Indeed, but…'' Neo Metal Sonic fell silent as he reflected on that memory. Back then, he had celebrated this victory, believing that it was a sign he was better than Sonic. How could he forget about it?

It appeared that Ferra knew exactly what was going through his head, as she gave him a sympathetic look, adding, ''No offense, but perhaps this upgrade also resulted in this sense of self-doubt and ego becoming stronger. You are more powerful, that's true, but you still keep comparing yourself to Sonic, reflecting on his accomplishments and fearing that you will never be on his level.'' She then gave him an encouraging look. ''How about reflecting on your own accomplishments instead? After all, you had managed to not only copy Sonic, Shadow and Silver's bio-data to make yourself more powerful, but you also trapped Sonic and Shadow in an inescapable AR Field. Besides Dr. Eggman giving us access to the Badniks and AR Field, this was all you. I'd say that it's quite impressive.''

''But, it's not enough…'' Neo Metal Sonic's red eyes suddenly stopped flaring, and he gave Ferra a determined look. ''Unless, I decide what is enough.''

''So, what do you want to do?'' Ferra asked, placing a hand on her hip. She felt quite relieved that she had managed to help her partner restore his confidence. ''Should we still go after Team Neos as a whole as we planned initially?''

''They're not important, especially since they shouldn't even have any access to the AR Field,'' Neo Metal Sonic said. ''However, you should keep an eye on them. I have no doubt that they will attempt to interfere.''

''Don't worry, I'll take care of that,'' Ferra replied in an assured tone, with Neo Metal Sonic nodding in response. He then held up his hand, his eyes glowing as an AR Field opened before him and then closed after he entered it.

Ferra sighed, reaching for the hoverboard that was lying on the ground. She had hoped that Neo Metal Sonic knew what he was doing.

xXx

The AR Field was changing. Sonic and Shadow had only mere seconds to even react when their entire environment had vanished and they found themselves standing instead onboard a predominantly gray and red, whale-shaped warship. There were various floating platforms over the skies that were heavily guarded by tough Badniks and cannons, and were connected by yellow, glowing grind rails. This warship, the Final Fortress, was flying over an area surrounded by rough, stormy weather.

The strong winds whipped the hedgehogs as they tried to make sense of their surroundings, their eyes squinting at the sight of lightning and their ears twitching at the sound of thunder. Suddenly, a powerful bolt of lightning struck Shadow, the dark hedgehog crying out in agony as he got electrocuted in the most brutal way possible.

''AAAAAAGHHHH!''

''Shadow!'' Sonic could only watch in horror as his rival fell over, his fur charred and smoking. The dark hedgehog wasn't moving, seemingly lifeless. Sonic's heart raced as a chilling sense of panic set in. ''No no no, Shadow!'' Before Sonic could even move to aid him, he was met with a cyan barrier that stopped him in his tracks. The same cyan energy then enveloped Shadow's lifeless body, throwing him off the warship and into the depths of the dark sky. ''Shadow!!''

Sonic's scream of anguish was drowned out by the boom of thunder, followed by heavy raindrops. Sonic turned around, trying to find a way to leap after Shadow, but what caught his attention was the figure standing on top of the warship. He could recognize that it was a familiar blue robot, the cape billowing in the rough wind.

''Metal…'' Sonic breathed, staring at the robot in disbelief.

''That is Neo Metal Sonic to you, my loathsome copy!'' Neo Metal Sonic responded, leaping from the top of the warship and landing right before Sonic, who managed to snap out of his stupor and quickly ran over to the edge of the warship, but saw nothing but dark clouds below him. Sonic turned to Neo Metal Sonic, a furious gaze on his expression.

''What have you done to Shadow?!'' he shouted.

''I have removed him from the battlefield. This battle is between you and me,'' Neo Metal Sonic responded coldly. Sonic gritted his teeth, feeling pressure on his chest. He had no idea whether Neo Metal Sonic just removed Shadow from the AR Field or outright killed him by throwing him off the warship, and he didn't want to think about it. He knew that there was nothing he could do in this situation, forcing himself to focus on defeating Neo Metal Sonic.

''Fine,'' Sonic replied, his eyes narrowed. Neo Metal Sonic gazed back at him, feeling almost amused that Sonic even considered fighting him like this. This wasn't a battle he could survive, he didn't care, something the robot had acknowledged a long time ago as he confronted Sonic.

''Let me show you just what I'm made of!''

xXx

''It is fortunate that everyone has gathered,'' Ferra muttered under her breath as she observed the group that was standing on the street. Besides Team Neos, there were also the Vector, Espio, Charmy, Rouge, Omega, Big, Froggy, Cream and Cheese, discussing the recent Badnik attacks and trying to make sense of them, as well as talking about Sonic and Shadow's disappearance. ''I suppose that it is kind of ironic that Team Sonic, Team Rose, Team Chaotix and Team Dark, sans Sonic and Shadow, but including Silver, are present for this.'' Ferra sighed, knowing that, while Team Neos and their allies had no clue what was going on, they would eventually figure things out and set up a plan to counter them. ''So, the best move here is to interfere and keep them busy as long as possible until Neo is done with Sonic.''

Tapping on her AR Visor, she activated the AR Field. She observed the group as they were dragged into the field, finding themselves in a highly advanced city, not unlike Neos City, consisting of tall, green skyscrapers and a massive factory. This area was known as Grand Metropolis, and Ferra choose it as her own battlefield due to the easy access to an army of Badniks. The robots drew the attention of the group, with Ferra leaping down from the building she was standing on, using the hoverboard to cushion her fall. She smirked, meeting Lucas' gaze.

''Ferra, what is going on?! What have you done to Sonic and Shadow? What is Dr. Eggman up to?'' Lucas demanded, glaring at the teenager.

''First of all, the Doctor is not involved in this,'' Ferra responded, surprising the group. ''As for Sonic and Shadow… I suppose you will find out soon what happened to them. Lastly, does Sonic Heroes sound familiar to you?''

Lucas' eyes widened in shock, as this wasn't the answer he had expected. He was clearly familiar with that video game and its events, but why would Ferra even mention them… Then, it clicked. ''You mean, this was all for Neo Metal Sonic?''

''Bingo~!'' Ferra replied in a sing-song voice. ''I may not know the exact details of what Neo wants to do with Sonic, but I know that my task is to keep you away from them. Badniks, attack!''

The group was met with a horde of the Pawn Series of robots, ranging from Egg Pawns to Egg Hammers to Egg Spears, and were immediately forced to use Chaos Surge, so the human partners could fight them off. The only ones who had to stay out of action were Lucas and Touka, whose respective partners were missing, but fortunately for them, Omega was more than delighted to take their place as he changed his cannon arms into machine guns and started firing at the Badniks.

''This is the best day of my life!''

''Good to know that at least someone is enjoying this,'' Touka said, standing next to Lucas. ''What should we do?''

''The obvious answer would be to find Sonic and Shadow, but considering the situation, it is possible that they aren't even in Grand Metropolis, but instead in a different AR Field, most likely fighting Neo Metal Sonic, who has not only absorbed Silver's bio-data, but possibly theirs as well. The worst case scenario for them would be dealing with Metal Madness or even Metal Overlord,'' Lucas explained, gritting his teeth in frustration. They had no way of communicating with Sonic and Shadow, nor had access to anything that would allow them to cross between the AR Fields, like the Chaos Emeralds. The only way of reaching their partners would be to force Ferra into letting them through.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Their friends were fighting through the hordes of the Badniks, and even though they destroyed a good chunk of them, the natural environment of the AR Field allowed for their data to be reconstructed, causing new Badniks to spawn. This became evident when Amy and Big, joined by Makoto, had to knock down an Egg Spear Cream and Cheese had already taken down, the Badnik getting revived and attacking again. Even breaking their cores, something Vector, Espio, Charmy and Warren attempted to do, has proven to be futile, as the Egg Hammer they faced stood up once again. Omega and Rouge were doing their best to take down group of Egg Pawns, with Rouge engaging in melee combat alongside Minami and Lily, while Omega acted as the support unit, spraying a barrage of bullets at every Badnik that came close to them. Lastly, Silver took Sonic's spot, leading Knuckles and Tails against a Super Egg Pawn, which proved itself to be much more durable than the average Egg Pawns. It was chaos all around, with Ferra standing on the other end, observing the madness before her.

Lucas wanted to move towards her, hoping to catch her off guard, but he got distracted by Touka's loud gasp. There was an interference within the field, with a dark figure appearing on the ground, lying there motionless.

''Shadow!'' Touka quickly ran, kneeling on the ground as she picked her younger brother into her arms, devastated to see him in such an awful condition. She lowered her head on his chest, breathing heavily as she felt a sense of relief when she heard his heart beat, and turned to Lucas. ''He's still alive…''

Their attention turned back to the dark hedgehog when he stirred. The damage was so great that it took all of his strength to open his eyes even slightly, feeling relief to see Touka and Lucas. ''Sonic and I were ambushed… at an Eggman warship…'' He tried to sit up, but his whole body felt like he was on fire, the pain spreading through it in waves. He could feel Touka's grip around his body tighten, the warm sensation of the BioEnergy colliding with the agony. ''I need to…''

There was a soft glow when Touka enabled Chaos Surge, allowing Shadow to breathe easier as the process started healing his injuries.

''We know Sonic is fighting Neo Metal Sonic, but we don't know how to get to him,'' Lucas told Shadow, whose eyes narrowed. He understood now why he was targeted, as in this condition, there was no chance for him to summon the Chaos Emeralds.

The guilt hit him like a wave washing over him.

xXx

Sonic felt a dreadful, chilling sensation spreading through his chest as he fought against Neo Metal Sonic, dodging the bolts of lightning, which were weaker than the ones the robot used on Shadow, but not less lethal. He ran across the deck of the warship, trying to escape Neo Metal Sonic's relentless attacks. There was a sudden clap of thunder, colouring the dark sky in white, and multiple bolts of lighting shot downwards, one of them finally hitting the azure hedgehog.

Sonic cried out in pain, agony shooting through his body as he fell on the ground. His nostrils were hit with a smell of charred fur, and even though it wasn't as strong, he felt almost paralyzed by the attack.

''Is this all you can do? Pathetic,'' Neo Metal Sonic spat in disdain, with Sonic trying to get up, the wind whistling in his ears and his eyes slightly blurry due to the rain.

''You haven't seen… anything,'' Sonic took a breath, only for Neo Metal Sonic to charge at him using his own super speed, punching him straight in the face. He was sent flying, landing hard on the deck as he felt a metallic, tangy fluid in his mouth. He wiped it off, his eyes widening in horror as he realized that his robotic rival managed to draw blood.

''You are nothing,'' Neo Metal Sonic said in a cold tone, observing Sonic as the latter sat up, trying to catch his breath. ''You are all alone, with no friends to help you in this fight.''

''Truth to be told… I don't want to put them into unnecessary danger,'' Sonic said, with Neo Metal Sonic suddenly launching Chaos Spear-like projectiles at his biological counterpart, with Sonic charging towards him, managing to dodge the energy bolts and getting close enough to Neo Metal Sonic to get into a melee fight. He landed a hit on the robot's head, followed by another on the side, followed by a punch to the chest and culminating in sweeping Neo Metal Sonic off his feet, then curled into a ball and finished him off with a spin-attack.

Breathing heavily, Sonic stepped back, his chest hurting and his lungs burning. He felt cold, his body ached, and he knew that he was injured, but he needed to defeat his robotic rival if he wanted to escape this place and go back to his friends. Suddenly, his body was surrounded by cyan energy and he was thrown hard into a nearby cannon, leaving an indent and flopping over as he fell on the ground, only one thought crossing his mind.

That's Silver's power.

It seemed as if Neo Metal Sonic had read his mind, because when he approached the azure hedgehog, he said, ''I have scanned Silver, Shadow and your bio-data, which allowed me to copy and replicate all of your attributes and abilities flawlessly. So, don't be too surprised when I use them.''

''Is that so…'' Sonic muttered. The reckless side of him wanted to continue and show Neo Metal Sonic that he wouldn't be defeated so easily, but his common sense prevailed, reminding him that if what the robot said was true, his chances of defeating him were zero to none. He knew from first-hand experience just how powerful Silver and Shadow were, and unless he had a proper way to counter Neo Metal Sonic, he was done for. There was one thing he could do, but he wasn't sure how well it would even work. However, it was his only chance.

To Neo Metal Sonic's surprise, Sonic suddenly ran off, leaving the former wondering what his counterpart was up to. He found Sonic standing on the far end of the deck, with the azure hedgehog taking a running stance and suddenly dashing towards his robotic counterpart. Somehow, his speed was even greater than before, with Sonic utilizing his Boost, surrounded by blue energy as he became a destructive high-speed projectile. He then curled into a ball, combining it with the spin-dash, alarming Neo Metal Sonic. The robot managed to raise a protective barrier resembling the Black Shield, shocked when Sonic managed to push him back, with small cracks forming in the barrier as the hedgehog desperately tried to break through. Directing his own energy from the barrier, Neo Metal Sonic made the snap decision to fire a bolt of lightning at Sonic from up close.

''AAAAAGHRR!'' Sonic screamed in anguish, feeling as if his whole body was on fire, only to have his air supply be cut off when Neo Metal Sonic grabbed him by the neck and slammed him brutally into the ground, dragging his claws across his chest and causing red lines to appear across the skin, droplets of blood staining the peach fur. He then lifted Sonic up, still holding him by his neck.

''It is satisfying to see you writhe in my hands, weakened and helpless, unable to stand up to me,'' Neo Metal Sonic said, his red eyes glowing as he met Sonic's defiant gaze. Despite his injuries, he wasn't willing to give up yet, with the robot leaving a cut across his cheek. ''I could finally fulfill my purpose of destroying you…''

''Then, why don't you do it?'' Sonic asked through gritted teeth, blood flowing down his cheek. Neo Metal Sonic was strangely silent, merely staring at him in curiosity.

''I have already proven my superiority,'' Neo Metal Sonic said, his tone cold, but also interlaced with a sense of elation as there was a boom of thunder. ''I will grant you this mercy and let you live with that knowledge.''

He then threw Sonic over the warship, the hedgehog falling through the clouds, his desperate screams growing faint as he disappeared into the darkness. Neo Metal Sonic was standing on the deck, observing his rival vanishing and feeling a sense worthiness. He had finally achieved his desire, feeling complete for once.

He had won.

xXx

Ferra blinked in surprise, staring at the message she had gotten from Neo Metal Sonic. She then smirked, realizing that her own mission was over. She stared back at Team Neos, who were still involved in a futile battle, and then turned the AR Field off, causing them to find themselves back at the same street in Neos City, then quickly left.

Lucas was just as stunned as the rest of the group when the AR Field deactivated, but there wasn't any time for discussion as he spotted a blue figure lying on the ground of what used to be the battlefield.

''Sonic!''

He ran over to his partner, cradling the hedgehog in his arms and feeling horrified when he saw just how badly battered and bruised he was, not to mention bleeding from his chest and muzzle. Fortunately, Sonic was still breathing, but the sight of him being so heavily injured set all alarms off in Lucas' head, and he felt as if someone threw a bucket of ice cold water over him.

Sonic, what had happened to you?

xXx

Dr. Eggman was laughing mirthfully, enjoying the show he had been watching. Seeing his arch-nemesis, Sonic the Hedgehog, being defeated and humiliated by Neo Metal Sonic made him feel excited. It was amazing from start to finish, and it was another win for the Eggman Empire. Even if Eggman himself hadn't directly participated in it, he still counted it as a personal victory since Neo Metal Sonic was his Enforcer.

It took a bit, but sure enough, Ferra and Metal Sonic showed up at the Egg Base, with Eggman greeting them with a glass of champagne in his hand, while Orbot was holding a bottle and Cubot held another glass for Ferra.

''Congratulations on your, well, our victory!'' Eggman said proudly, with Orbot and Cubot poured a drink for Ferra, who shook her head.

''Don't worry, it's ramune, not champagne,'' Orbot told her, with Ferra accepting the glass.

''Hah! That hedgehog saw nothing coming! You have managed to execute your own plan flawlessly!'' Eggman praised them, with Ferra and Metal Sonic giving him a confused look. Usually, Eggman never praised anyone, but it appeared that he was in a good enough mood to give them credit for their accomplishment. Eggman then gave Metal Sonic a curious look. ''Although, you not destroying Sonic for once and all makes no sense.'' The response was just beeping and buzzing noises. ''Huh? Haven't I upgraded you to talk?''

''Metal Sonic decided to revert to this form for his own comfort,'' Ferra explained to the bewildered Eggman. ''As for why he hadn't killed Sonic, he had come to the conclusion that leaving him alive would give him the opportunity to fight him again and defeat him in an even more brutal fashion. If Metal Sonic had to live with a sense of inferiority for so long, then Sonic should experience the same kind of humiliation.''

''Hm… That is an interesting approach,'' Eggman said, smirking. ''Regardless, well done you two! I hope that that rodent will be haunted by his defeat in his nightmares, ho ho!''

Ferra and Metal Sonic exchanged glances, both proud of what they achieved and looking forward to their next battle.

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squeiky · 8 months ago

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OLDIES AU LORE DROP #2:

(Images below are just doodles of (Neo) Metal Sonic redesign.)

At some point Eggman had been killied, causing the eventually uproar of all his machines. Free from his command, some turned to a peaceful life, some just continued their preivous tasks as if nothing happened, other self destructed or got destroyed, others fought for power, and others began what i call "The Badnik Event" in which TONS of badniks went absolutely rabid. Destroying towns, homes and putting everyone in unnesecary amount of danger.

Part of this was caused due to an inner heirachal war within the structure of the eggman empire, with many robots attempting to replace the missing gap in their usual status quo.

So, heres where (Neo) Metal Sonic comes in.

See, during one of the battles, Eggman had fell into his own creation and effectively died. This caused Metal Sonic to go absolutlety rabid with rage, but unlike the badniks who partaked in the "Badnik Event" his rage, greif, (hell, even joy) was centered on one person only- SONIC.

Now, this also happens to be the time were he had straight up adopted a kid (its Luca. And later, Alberto). So its quite the understatement to say that it was a very stressfull time- where he couldn't just jump around careless like he used to (cause yknow, he has someone to return home to that needs him.)

As the Badnik Event progressed, Metal Sonic had (somewhat easily) claimed his position at the top of this bot-hierachy, and took over what Eggman once had, creating his version of the "eggman empire"- aka: "his robot kingdom." (Doesnt rhyme but i dont have a fancy name for it yet.)

He'd eventually drive the Badnik Event to a semi-hault, and became the next "big bad" for Sonic and Co.

During this rein, a familar face had arrived, that being Chaos (yes, THE Chaos.) At first it was mostly to slow the progression/ prevent any possible chances of disaster that he had sensed.

This, onbviously caused friction between the two (and partially Knuckles as well) but eventually they had came to a somewhat consensus. Where Metal Sonic would avoid attempting to deploy any tactics that might result in another, much more worse, "Badnik Event" and Chaos wouldn't try to get in his way again.

Of course, as the Event would eventually settle down and cease, Chaos would end up just casually staying/living with (Neo) Metal Sonic.

(If your wondering, Omo-chao also gets to hang with Chaos now. And Metal is still trying to get used to the concept of Metallic Chao types. But is otherwise neutral to the little, strange chao fellas that come by once in awhile.)

Neo Metal sonic remains an antagonist, but hes much more chill compared to the excentric and loud Eggman (unless hes got something to show, and i mean that- he has a really good taste for spectacle and pizzaz!)

Their relationship as of now? I dont think theres any definite label to put on it. As of right now, i'd say something like a "signifigant other" or some sort. They're similar to Shadow's & Sonic relationship in the lack of labels, but it can be what you make of it.

#oldies au #metal sonic #neo metal sonic #sonic chaos #sonic chao

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idwsonicmegareview · 7 months ago

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The giant robo-dragon is heading straight for us! – Volume 3: Battle for Angel Island (#9-12)

The last two volumes have set the stage for a major battle the likes of which we usually only see at a game's climax! It's going to take all of Sonic's friends and allies working together to pull this one off.

Neo Metal Sonic, acting as the temporary head of the Eggman Empire, has seized the opportunity to occupy Angel Island and with it, he's taken control of the Master Emerald.

Sonic and the Resistance rally to save Angel Island, and the whole world, from the robotic monstrosity's machinations.

Story

The stage is set. Metal Sonic sits on a literal throne on top of the Master Emerald, self-assured that his victory is now inevitable.

Sonic and Amy rally the Resistance as well as outsiders like Silver and Blaze, newcomers like Tangle and Whisper, and even wildcards like Shadow and Rouge. They lay out a plan for a three-pronged attack focused on disabling the Egg Fleet, neutralizing the badnik ground forces, and of course getting the Master Emerald out of Metal Sonic's control.

Not one to be out-done, Knuckles volunteers to go after Metal Sonic while Blaze the Cat volunteers to take out the Egg Fleet on her own with her super form, Burning Blaze, and the Sol Emeralds.

The plan immediately goes off the rails when the team's airship takes heavy fire and everyone has to bail out on Extreme Gear hoverboards, plus Shadow completely ditches the Resistance and goes straight for Metal Sonic.

Sonic and Knuckles break into the "throne room" and rush for Neo Metal Sonic, who uses the Master Emerald to charge up into a super form, baiting the heroes to "show me what you're made of." Neo then easily overpowers both Sonic and Knuckles and is only stopped by a surprise attack from Shadow.

Coming into contact with Shadow allows Metal Sonic to copy his data, however, giving him the final piece he needs to transform into his monstrous form: Metal Overlord, a giant robotic dragon abomination.

The Resistance rallies together to help the boys fight off Metal Overlord and in the melee, Knuckles is able to remove the Master Emerald from the robot's chest and get it back to the shrine on Angel Island before the island could crash into the world below.

With Metal Sonic neutralized, the team celebrates their victory. Meanwhile, Rough and Tumble return and they're sent by a mysterious Dr. Starline to kidnap Mr. Tinker. Starline uses hypnotherapy and electroshock to try and restore Dr. Eggman's memories to no avail.

Sonic and Tails reactivate Metal Sonic in his original form, minus his weapons. Sonic offers him a truce and asks if they can coexist in the wide world. Metal Sonic, of course, rejects this offer and runs out on them, only to rejoin with Eggman and trigger his awakening, restoring the Doctor who plans to unleash a new terror on the world in retribution for his defeat at the hands of Sonic and the Rookie.

Review

Characters

We have an embarrassment of riches in this story arc when it comes to characters both new and old. While the video games have been content to strip the cast down to as few as possible for years now, the comics shine by giving everyone a role in the big climactic moments like this.

Seeing Amy take on a leadership role in the Resistance was a surprise when I first read this one, but it makes sense the more I've thought about it. The games have needed to do some serious reworking with Amy's character for years now that it's no longer acceptable to just make the girl character's entire personality her infatuation with the male lead. In a world where girls are looking up to more complex characters like Princess Bubblegum and the Crystal Gems, Amy can't just be Sonic's stalker anymore. Plus moving her into a leadership role fixes another problem: Knuckles.

It never made sense for Knuckles to be in charge of the Resistance since his number one priority is and always has been the Master Emerald, as its guardian. Now, Knuckles is free to go back to Angel Island and the status quo has been restored.

Shadow and Rouge are still a little out of character in this volume but it's not as bad. Rouge has gotten involved in team ups like this in the past, but usually while following Shadow's lead, so when they get separated at the beginning of the battle I thought it was strange that she stayed to help Amy and her group.

Shadow charging in to fight Neo Metal Sonic almost felt forced in order to get us to Metal Overlord, but I could buy it either way.

Even our new supporting characters, Tangle and Whisper, had some screen time in the fight but they weren't in this arc very much. More like a reminder that they're around while the main cast took the lead on this one. I definitely didn't expect Rough and Tumble to ever come back, let alone for them to be the ones to get Eggman back into the villain game!

Artwork

Battle for Angel Island has some of the best spreads we've seen in IDW so far. From the Resistance charge against Metal Sonic to the full-page spread of Neo Metal giving his villain monologue while sitting on the Master Emerald.

Especially in issue 11, I noticed that artwork duties were swapping between Tracy Yardley and Evan Stanley from page to page, but I felt that their styles were coexisting nicely. I think they met somewhere in the middle on how they stylize these characters so it didn't distract from the flow of the story.

That said, I actually started to prefer Evan Stanley's art here with the shape of the eyes, the fangs on some characters' teeth, and the expressiveness she brings to the characters.

Writing

Overall I think writer Ian Flynn does a good job of keeping the pace of the battle moving forward. While the scenes cut back and forth between different fronts of the battle, it does so to show us interesting moments like Blaze firing a kamehameha at the robotic wings attached to Angel Island. It's not just cutting back and forth for the sake of it.

I did think the "missing piece" part of Metal Sonic's plan needed to be explained a bit better. I haven't played Sonic Heroes since 2003 so I didn't recall him needing Shadow's data in order to transform, so I felt like the gravity of his mistake was lost on me when it should have been a shocking moment.

The Verdict

We've now finished our first story arc of the IDW Sonic comics. We've seen Metal Sonic's rise to power and the culmination of his plans in an epic showdown that united the entire Sonic cast, something we haven't seen in the game continuity in a long time!

IDW has a talented team of writers and artists who are taking care of this brand and keeping these stories going. I think fans owe a lot to the work these people have put in over the years.

And the story only continues from here, because Dr. Eggman has a new plan ready to go and this next story arc is even longer and the stakes only get higher!

Next week we'll be reading the 2019 Annual, which covers some of the aftermath from this arc and sets us up for what's to come. It might seem optional since it's not in the main Sonic book, but the Annuals are essential reading for fans of the series!

#idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #ian flynn #tracy yardley #evan stanley #sonic comics #metal sonic

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egg-emperor · 2 years ago

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Eggman constantly junks his creations if they outlive their usefulness or simply don't meet his standards. While the average badnik has the average intelligence of a Roomba and probably wouldn't even care about scrapped, but can you imagine how devastated Metal Sonic would feel when it's his turn to hit the junkyard, especially since he's eggman's Magnum Opus? He faithfully served eggy for years only to eventually get punted into the junkyard.(He would probably be all like "No master no, I can still serve you")

I mean probably Metal dreamed of Eggman creating a wonderful Robot Kingdom (Eggman Empire) where he faithfully rules at Eggman's side as his second-in-command/general where robots live in splendor and glory. Imagine how confused he felt in the Bad Futures of Sonic CD where his robot brethren live in squalor, slowly rusting and turning into scrap🤖💀

It definitely depends on the robots' level of intelligence for how badly they'd be affected but there are ones that would recognize they were used and then thrown away carelessly. Metal would be one of those and would probably expect that Eggman would never permanently rid of him, he thinks he'll always come back for him and repair him and keep him because he's been loyal to him for as long as he can remember. (As Eggman would erase the memories of times he tried to betray him.)

But his time would be up eventually, I imagine after Sonic is dead and gone and every other major threat to him and his empire is eliminated, possibly with the help of Metal. Then he's the last reminder of Sonic's existence that Eggman would enjoy giving everyone for a while as he's no more while a superior version created by himself remains. But eventually he would want to have all the focus and power to himself alone, so everyone only things about him and nobody gets to bask in his glow.

So once Metal has fully served his purpose, Eggman would stop giving attention and focus until he wears down and breaks and isn't repaired ever again and decides his time is up and tosses him. He doesn't hesitate or feel remorse and Metal would certainly be surprised by it. It would finally be Eggman's turn to betray him like he has to him more than once, to make sure there's no chance of it ever happening again as now that every other threat is gone, he won't risk the smallest chance of Metal becoming another.

It certainly seems like Metal expects he'll be a part of the picture in Eggman's victory and they'll be a glorious robot kingdom. As long as he's loyal he only wants to be at his master's side, continuing to serve him well. But everyone and everything is temporary and are mere tools to Eggman to use until they're no longer needed and then he throws them away like they were nothing. Nobody is supposed to share a fraction of his spotlight and power, he's too greedy and power hungry to ever allow it.

Maybe one reason Metal betrayed Eggman those times is due to how he treated him, seeing glimpses and warnings of his behavior and mindset. Also through his treatment and the conditions of other robots when they end up in a bad future CD type state. So he decided he'd take the reigns, which is why as Neo Metal he said it would be fitting to have a robot ruler for a robot Kingdom. He saw himself as the rightful ruler because his human creator is cruel and uncaring to him and fellow robots.

Eggman probably erased those memories from him so he wouldn't remember and get any ideas of trying to betray him again. Though Metal would eventually realize the same harsh truth when he succeeds in dominating the world and starts to leave robots to waste like bad future for real and is careless when they're broken down and suffering as they're just machines made to serve him until they're done. But this time Metal doesn't get the chance to betray him after realizing this because Eggman acts first.

Plus Metal is now programmed with less ability and freedom that he had back then in the right position to betray him like he could back then. And now he can't even speak to beg him for mercy and promise him he'd be good and keep working hard for him if he spares him. Not that it would change Eggman's mind if he could anyway and would find his attempts as amusing as he finds him not being able to say anything at all. Once he's decided he needs to go, he won't change his mind.

So it's off to the junk pile for the last reminder of his fallen enemy he now wants to be forgotten entirely and his last possible subject of betrayal eliminated. As impressive and useful of a creation that Metal was, there's no way he was going to risk the chances of losing everything he's fought so hard for, even if the chances of him turning on him again are low. And he wants it all to himself even without loyal underlings too high and powerful alongside him, there's simply no place for them in the end.

#asks #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #dr. eggman #headcanons #my post

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mothfinite · 1 year ago

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okay okay okay here we go: what my s/is are doing during the different idw arcs!!!!!!!!!!

part 1 (just moth for now) cuz this post turned out way longer than i thought it would

some stuff definitely varies when factoring in different ship timelines but im just gonna do a general run down of things that happen no matter what

moth !

fallout / battle for angel island - the first half of the arc, theyre definitely doing some r&r after the war. they probably show up after sonic saves spiral hill but before mr. tinker is introduced. since they live just outside of their hometown, they go out to help when a badnik attack happens. sonic, catching wind of the attack, arrives to help moth defeat it. theyre later called in to help in the fight against neo metal.

metal virus saga - this one heavily varies depending on the ship timeline, but regardless of ship, moth narrowly escapes when their hometown is overrun with the virus and meets up with sonic, worried for his well being due to his affliction. they immediately join the efforts to evacuate different cities and towns, using their powers to avoid zombots as best as they can. they manage to last until the incident happens with restoration hq, where they get lost in the chaos and backed into a corner, fighting like hell and swinging their flail to no effect, creating a bubble shield with their powers that will only last for so long. amy is distracted by saving cream, and doesnt notice them. espio sees their bubble and tries to reach them in time -- but before he can make it, the bubble shatters and the horde swarms them. in the shuttle, when amy performs a headcount, espio delivers the news that moth also didnt make it out just before vector turns as well. their next appearance is in the horde of turned friends that swarms angel island, where theyre also cured like the rest.

tangent: bad guys - they ONLY show up here in the mimoth timeline where theyre basically persuaded by starline to see mimic again. they spend most of their time glued to mimic's side cuz hes basically the only one they have even a fraction of trust in. they disappear halfway through, when starline kidnaps them.

chao races & badnik bases - regardless of timeline, by the time this arc starts theyve been kidnapped and project luna v2 is well underway. they dont show up in this arc aside from a luna cameo/mention at the VERY end

test run - no mentions or cameos here

zeti hunt! - theyre semi-mentioned, but not by name. theyre at starlines lab for the time being

trial by fire - with surge and kit being sent out to Cause Trouble, luna is sent out as well, to different areas. the chaotix is handling their missing persons case, and are recieving multiple calls from different towns in response to someone who looks eerily similar to the person on the posters. they try to investigate, but get caught up in the other cases related to the power surges.

impostor syndrome - this is the first full appearance of luna v2. they're fully under starlines control at this point - not really having the same ""free will"" (heavy quotations) as surge and kit.

battle for the empire - luna is initially with starline until eggman attacks, where theyre then sent off to make sure surge and kits missions are going successfully. they end up stumbling across belle and metal and start to follow them. this leads them to witnessing starlines death. they have to be pulled away by belle, eyes remaining locked on the rubble as they run. they finally get brought back home in the end and start their recovery arc

overpowered - moth's brainwashing is effectively reversed, but its made clear that theyre not fully themself. their memories are scrambled and fuzzy, and their personality is just off. theyre recovering during all of the main stuff so they dont have much of a big role in this arc.

urban warfare - if they were Real there would probably be a mini-arc juuust before this arc to show their recovery. they convince the team to let them come along when sonic calls for backup. they help out as much as they can in their condition!

and thats everything up to the current misadventures arc!

#꒰ kitty is typing... ꒱ 💌#oc x canon #self ship community #self insert #self ship #💤moththeragdoll.zip #I LOVE S/I LORE!!!!!!!!!! RAAAAAHHHH

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fstbmp-a · 1 year ago

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@scumbag-the-hedgehog replied to your post “I hardly get to write Metal Rose and that's a...”:

pls infodump

Okay, so before Surge & Kit, Starline had the idea. Similar to the idea that led to the two: Sonic's so strong because of a partner, right? So, the original plan? An auxiliary Metal Line of Super Badnik: Metal Rose.

She's a tanky bitch, meant very much to be a support unit. While Metal Sonic is a little light on defense for speed, Metal Rose could take a right hook from Knuckles and headbutt him for trying. The drawback being she's heavy and slow. Combat isn't even her main function.

It's the portable factory in her. She's meant to enter a battlefield, in support of either M. Sonic or other Badniks, and provide supplies. If ammunition is low, she's capable of crafting new cartridges on the fly. If a part breaks, she'll build the replacement in moments and it will be exported from her torso for use. The limits are only as vast as her imagination.

Which, given she's based off Metal Sonic (we've all seen Neo Metal Sonic right) means that they're quite low. She could replicate powers herself, albeit she'd have to make the parts to do so rather than the sleekness of Metal Sonic.

Essentially she was Plan A, when Starline was given the actual leeway and supplies of the Eggman Empire. Metal Sonic would suddenly have the edge that Sonic always had that led to his defeat, and suddenly, well, there wouldn't be an edge anymore. The superior would win!

Though Starline never got to finish, because each rendition, while more impressive than the last, came with the annoying drawback of replicating Amy's personality to the best of his abilities leading to a more pacifistic machine than he wanted. Altering it too much would defeat the purpose of it, so it never got finished before he lost access and Metal Rose was just collecting dust in a long since forgotten Egg Base somewhere.

#My Kingdom ;; OOC #None of This Is Real ;; Metal Amy #Take Some Strawberries ;; Metal Amy HCs/About #i could go more into her abilities but most all of them should be listed.#but yeah! she's the adapting support to Metal Sonic that was meant to give him an edge #and just a support unit in general #she could even craft whole badniks on the field if she really had to #and was more than capable of combat on the off-chance it was needed #scumbagthehedgehog

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neobadnik · 3 months ago

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An ask blog for the Neo Badnik Empire, once known as the Eggman Empire.

For more information, we have an external information page with a short 'About Us'.

The Empress is currently open to questions.

// -- -- //

This is a fan-run blog telling an AU story, which takes place after a time skip. Doctor Eggman had passed away very recently as of the beginning of the blog, and Xenon (once known as Neo Metal Sonic) took over as ruler of his orphaned Empire.

"Rules" for asks are currently: 1- Use your discernment and be polite. 2- Keep it reasonably SFW. 3- "Magic anons" cannot affect story canon. 4- You may still direct questions to characters who aren't stated to be active; that just determines who is most likely to respond at the moment.

Active Characters: Empress Xenon Cubot

#ask blog #sonic ask blog

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dnfinite123 · 5 months ago

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(What if) MEET OVERLORD THE METALLIX

STORY-an AU Metal Sonic where "Sonic Heroes" was his winning ticket to conquering the world. Once said body is complete, his first order of action is killing Dr.Eggman (he succeeds) and takes over the Eggman Empire. After Sonic Heroes, Neo was stuck in his Metal Overlord form. Despite being invincible for the most part, he didn't want to take any chances and transmitted his coding into the Egg-Net. Seeing as most badniks obey his command during the time, he reuqests a new body be built And now is that Overlord took Sonic after the final fight, had him de-limbed, and kept him alive as a trophy for his victory. He wants Sonic to watch everything crumble before him and now he's a Universe hopper after he took over the main Universe, he was introduced to the idea of other worlds, otherother universes. How he achieved this ability is still being worked on thought it'd be interesting to see him interact with other AUs and how he'd effect them.

CONCEPT ARTS

SUPER FORM

PLUSHIE

SCREENSHOTS

OVERLORD THE METALLIX FOR FORTNITE

A.U not done by me big shoutout to a Twitter username Steel_Plated200

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universalzones · 5 months ago

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"Well that's, different. Pretty sure Neo had a super deeper voice and was all 'I'll destroy you all for the Eggman Empire' when we fought." Tangle wasn't sure what to make of it.

"I suggest we hang back, observe the situation." Whisper knew there are rare chances of a badniks program glitching and forming their own will. If this was happening to Metal Sonic then they had a chance to turn one of Eggman's greatest weapons against him, or at the very least convince him to stay away from him.

Suddenly a huge gust of wind would fill the shuttle as the door had been hoped, everyone turning to see Kit having hacked the door open with Surge standing in front of the open hatch.

"Surge! Stand down RIGHT NOW! We're a team and have yet to decide what to do." If both Tangle and Whisper think something is off then hanging back would wise.

Surge would just glare back at Lanolin. "Nah, I ain't gonna sit here and watch. We a group that deals with the boiled eggs threats, right? Me and Kit will have this wrapped up quick. Come on Drippy," the tenrec said before jumping out of the shuttle.

"Yes ma'am," Kitsunami said, following Surge in jumping out of the shuttle. The fennec swiftly catching up to the falling tenrec and grabbing onto her back.

"You know, I'm pretty sure Sonic would be doing the same thing right now. Maybe not so ready so smash Metal Sonic though." Tangle herself would be joining Surge and Kit, though Whisper was smart and currently had a hold of her tail.

"Ordesr?" It was too late to stop Surge so might as well see what course of action Lanolin wishes to take as Whisper wasn't in too much of a rush to help the tenrec.

"We'll go with your plan just with a few changes. Observe the situation while Surge and Kit fight Neo. If they need help, we jump in, though try to keep the shutter as far away as possible." Lanolin knew Neo could absorb ships if he had enough energy. Not to mention Surge had a point that her and Kit did beat Metal Sonic, so maybe they could handle Neo on their own.

The swerving made an unmistakable noise, alerting Emerl to their position. Oh great, was this from those people in the city? Were they trying to chase him now?! He didn't even do anything, they just freaked out and threatened him!

"Hey! Whoever you are, leave me alone!" He calls out. "I don't wanna fight, which is saying a lot considering it's me! So, unless you wanna get your butt kicked, I suggest hightailing it back to wherever you came from!" He orders. His voice was nothing like the Neo Metal Sonic the others might have known. It was...strangely youthful and energetic, almost like Sonic's.

#travelers-of-the-multiverse #Tangle the Lemur #dangerous adventurous lemur #Whisper the Wolf #silently sweet wolf #Lanolin the Sheep #stressed musical leader #Surge the Tenrec #speed of lightning brawler #Kitsunami the Fennec #nervous shaking water #rp #ic #IDW Sonic #Sonic Comic #Sonic

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sage-nebula · 2 years ago

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STH — Beyond Oblivion, ch.1

Notes: Six days ago I made this post, wherein I talked about being inspired by @chaoxfix's works (specifically "build away and away and away", which is fantastic and you all should read it) to think of a world where Sonic didn't exist, and so Eggman raised Tails instead. I couldn't stop thinking of the idea, and so here we are, the first proper fic I've written in a while. Thank you, Chaofix, for the inspiration; it feels nice to really write something after so long.

This is still rough; I'll probably clean it up later before putting it on AO3. But until then, here's chapter one. Fic title comes from this song from the Neo: TWEWY soundtrack.

Summary: After an accident with what is believed to be a fragment of the Phantom Ruby, Sonic is catapulted into a world where he never existed, leaving Tails to be raised by the one person who should never be put in charge of children.

— — —

“Wow. That’s the biggest chunk of ugly red rock we’ve found yet. Think it’s real?”

“Not sure. I’m scanning its composite signature now so we can compare it to that of the real ruby. We should know in a few minutes.”

“Gotcha. Thanks, li’l bro.”

“No prob—hey, did you see something move over there?”

“Huh? Where?”

“On the other side of the—isn’t that Shadow’s chao?”

“Shadow’s chao? What’s that doing her—hey, stop!”

“Is it trying to take the ruby?!”

“Not if I have anything to say about—”

“Sonic, don’t—!”

Sonic’s eyes shot open.

Above him was a dismal grey sky thick with clouds, a stark contrast from the clear blue of before. Under his back was dying, yellowed grass, scratchy against his quills and so different from the sweeping green plains he and Tails had found the Phantom Ruby chunk in moments before. When he closed his eyes, Sonic could see the chunk of ruby glistening in the dirt, the tiny black paws of Shadow’s chao reaching for it. Sonic could see his own hand reaching out, pushing the chao back . . . and his knuckles swiping across the gleaming, glowing stone.

Sonic snorted as he opened his eyes again.

Well, that answered the question of whether the ruby chunk was real or not.

He sat up, and rolled his shoulders to work the stiffness out of them. It felt like only a second had passed, but the throbbing through his body suggested otherwise. There wasn’t much around him; a parched plain stretched for miles in any direction he could see, barren trees dotting the landscape here or there and what looked like a rocky mountain range in the distance. It was . . . wrong. Sonic didn’t know where he was, but he knew that it was wrong. The grass, the trees—they shouldn’t look like this. And the wind, growing stronger by the second, stank of exhaust even though there weren’t any cities around for—

Sonic jolted to his feet as a foghorn blared, setting his every quill on edge. For a half second, he had no idea where it came from; but as the rank aware gusted around him in a cyclone, he finally turned his eyes back up to the dismal sky, and felt both recognition and revulsion at once.

“Huh,” Sonic muttered. “Didn’t realize he put it back in commission.”

Eggman’s airship—the Flying Battery.

A gargantuan mass of steel and gunpowder, the Flying Battery was, at one time, the military flagship of Eggman’s would-be empire. Boasting more cannons than badniks, the Flying Battery was meant to rain unrelenting missile fire onto the world below, and smog into the sky above. Not that it had much of a chance, of course; Sonic had wasted no time (but had plenty of fun) ripping it apart from the inside out before he sent it careening to a fiery demise.

Yet here it was again, leisurely wading through the clouds as it trailed smog and—Sonic realized, the ground pulsing beneath his feet—bad music behind it. Because the throbbing he had felt before wasn’t coming from inside him, but from inside the ship above his head; a pulsing beat radiating over the empty plain.

Sonic frowned, and tapped his foot.

He didn’t know where he was. He was only vaguely sure of how he got there. And one look his wrist communicator, which flashed a dead signal message back at him, told him he wasn’t going to be able to call Tails for a lift back home any time soon. But no matter where he was, there was never a bad time to bring down a megalomaniac’s prized warship.

Sonic grinned, and sped off after it.

- - -

Hitching a ride on the Flying Battery was as easy as it ever was, if a bit slow for his tastes. All he had to do was wait for it to pass by the mountain peak where he waited, and then take a flying leap. Easy as pie, none of the security sensors so much as twitched a cannon in his direction.

If he was honest with himself, Sonic would say he was a little disappointed.

The Flying Battery was much as it had been before, albeit with a few more clucks guarding the corridors than he remembered. The curious thing Sonic noticed as he smashed each and every one to bits was that not a single one had an animal powering it. As yet another technosqueak broke apart against the wall, not a single flicky or ricky scampered out. And they weren’t concussed, either, as sometimes happen when a bot bash was particularly rough; Sonic took care to pick through the pieces of broken machinery, and found not a strand of fur or loose feather for his efforts.

Weird. But not unwelcome.

The badniks were sparse, anyway. It was how it had been in the past, too; the Flying Battery boasted traps and cannons, with badniks being put to use as shock troops and foot soldiers down on solid ground. It was for this reason that Sonic was able to make his way to the engine room pretty quickly, even for him, leaving a trail of smashed cannons and broken badniks in his wake. He roughly remembered where it was from the last time he was on the ship, but even if he hadn’t, it wasn’t hard to find; the thumping bass audible from the earth below only got louder the deeper into the ship he went, and outside the engine room door it was so powerful it rattled his ribcage from the inside out.

Sonic grimaced. His ears were going to hate him for this later.

The second the door to the engine room slid open, the pounding bass transformed into blaring EDM. On instinct to protect his hearing, Sonic clapped his hands over his ears and scanned the room. The engine room didn’t look much different from how he remembered it. The engine itself was situated dead center, taking up most of the available space, and the music was blasting from a speaker in the upper right corner of the room. But as much as his first instinct was to throw a couple quills through the center of the speaker to shut the noise off, what caught his attention in a lightning-fast vice grip wasn’t the music at all, but instead the fluffy orange fox tails poking out from behind the engine.

Sonic slowly lowered his hands from his ears. “Tails? Is that you?”

The tails—Tails’ tails—twitched, but otherwise there was no movement from behind the engine. Before Sonic could call out to him again, though, the music’s volume jumped up another few decibels. Sonic’s eyes widened, his jaw dropped a little in indignation.

Did Tails seriously just turn up the music to drown him out?

Sonic scanned the room, but there was nothing immediately available that suggested a control for the speaker. That being the case, he settled for the next best thing; in two bounds he cleared the room and up the wall, and with one solid yank he pulled the cords connecting the speaker to the wall loose. The music cut out instantly with nothing but a sputtering crackle for its efforts, and in the newfound silence in the room (and ringing in his ears), Sonic heard metal clang to the floor behind the engine.

“Ugh, are you serious?” Tails—and that was definitely Tails, Sonic would recognize his voice anywhere—snapped. Sonic hopped back down to the floor as Tails, lying horizontal on a metal scooter, slid out from behind the engine. “I swear, there better be an emergency for you to—”

Tails’ voice died in his throat as he sat up and looked in Sonic’s direction, and Sonic didn’t need to see the eyes behind the welding goggles to recognize Tails’ shock. He grinned, and raised his hand in a wave. “Hey buddy.”

Tails said nothing. He moved his welding goggles up to the top of his head, and continued to stare at Sonic for a moment, his expression uncomprehending. Then, before Sonic could do or say anything to break Tails from his stupor, Tails frowned and bounded up off his scooter, circling Sonic with a look of intense concentration.

Sonic raised his eyebrows, bemused, as Tails poked one of his quills. “Uh, bud—”

“What are you?” Tails asked, and before Sonic had a chance to laugh at the ridiculousness of the question, he continued, “You’re definitely not a robot, or at least not one of the Doctor’s models. You don’t look like one of Dr Starline’s either, unless . . .” Tails, now standing in front of Sonic again, frowned as he met Sonic’s eyes. “Are you a cyborg? But no, that doesn’t make sense. There’s no way his experiments have progressed to the prototype stage yet, especially since I’m supposed to be—”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down.” Sonic held his hands up, and Tails, still frowning, took a step back. “I’m not a robot, and I’m definitely not a cyborg. I’m 100% pure hedgehog.” As Tails’ dubious frown deepened, Sonic patted his hand over his heart. “Tails, it’s me. Sonic. Don’t you recognize me?”

The moment the name Tails left Sonic’s mouth, Tails scowled, his hackles raising slightly over his teeth. “I’ve never seen you before in my life. And you’ve obviously never met me, otherwise you’d know my name is Miles.”

“Well, yeah, your first name is, but . . .” Sonic frowned as Tails turned back toward the engine. “Wait, what are you talking about, you’ve never seen me before? I’m your best friend.”

Tails scoffed. “I don’t have friends, much less a best one. You’re thinking of someone else.”

Sonic opened his mouth to point out how ridiculous that was, but closed it a second later. Now that he got a better look at Tails, something was definitely wrong (and that was an understatement considering Tails had been working on the engine of one of Eggman’s warships, but besides that). He was Tails, unmistakably, but with differences, like he was one of those “spot the differences” picture puzzles. His fur was orange, but grimier and matted in a few different places, such as clumps behind his knees and around his elbows. His eyes were blue, but the right one had a strange, glassy look to it, and caught the light oddly depending on how Tails tilted his head. More alarming was the chunk that was missing from the outer edge of his left ear, as though something had jammed straight through it and ripped a piece off. His gloves were black with red trim, and instead of sneakers he had donned a pair of work boots. Which, whatever, if he was working instead of running—but Sonic had never seen him wear boots like that once in his entire life. And considering Sonic himself had practically raised him, that was saying something. This was Tails, but it wasn’t Tails. Which meant—what? Had the Phantom Ruby sent him to another dimension? But couldn’t it only do that when used with the Chaos Emeralds? And it wasn’t even the whole ruby, so why—

Tails groaned, breaking Sonic from his thoughts, and rubbed his forehead between two fingers. “I have a headache. And what did you do to the speaker?” Before Sonic could answer, he looked up in its direction, scowling at the dangling wires. “Did you just rip them out?”

“Yup,” Sonic said, and popped his lips on the “p”. Tails turned his indignant stare on him; Sonic stared unrepentantly back. “And it’s a good thing I did, since the ear-shattering volume you had it on is probably why you have a headache.”

Tails rolled his eyes. “No, I just haven’t had a chance to eat today. And now that I have to fix the speaker on top of the modifications to the engine, I won’t be able to eat until even later. So thanks.”

“The speaker and the engine can wait. Food comes first, always.” Sonic put out a hand to stop Tails from making it to the toolkit open beside the engine, but Tails batted his hand away.

“Maybe wherever you come from, but not here.” Tails paused, and scrunched his nose as he looked back up at Sonic. “Where did you come form, anyway? How did you get up here? If you're not a robot or a cyborg, there’s no way you made it up here. Am I hallucinating?”

“Do I look like a hallucination?” Sonic asked, and before Tails could answer, he poked Tails’ cheek. Tails swatted his hand away again. “Nah, I just jumped on when you passed by those mountains down there. Easy-peasy.”

“‘Easy-peasy,’” Tails repeated flatly. Sonic nodded, grinning, and Tails shook his head as he knelt down beside his toolkit. “Well, go jump back down onto the mountain, or wherever else you can go that’s not here. I’m busy.”

“And leave you here? Yeah, no dice,” Sonic said. Because Tails might not have been his Tails, but there was no reality Sonic could think of where he’d just leave Tails by himself on an Eggman warship. “What are you doing here, anyway? And what happened to your ear?”

“I work here,” Tails said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. His left ear twitched when Sonic mentioned it, but he otherwise ignored the question as he pulled a pair of wire cutters out of his toolbox.

“For Eggman?” Sonic barked a laugh. “Come on, get real.”

Tails shot Sonic a weird look before he spun his tails to gain altitude, hovering up near the broken speaker. “Who’s Eggman?”

“Uh, the megalomaniac who owns this warship?” Sonic said, and when Tails gave him another strange look, spread his arms wide. “Big guy. Bald head. Orange mustache. Makes a lot of ugly robots and tries to take over the world with them.”

“Oh, you mean Dr Robotnik.” Tails used the wire cutters to clip away one of the broken cords of the speaker, and tossed it onto the floor. “Why’d you call him ‘Eggman’?”

“Beeecause that’s his name?”

“No it’s not.”

“Well, it is where I’m from.” Sonic crossed his arms and tapped his foot as Tails dropped another clipped wire to the floor. “But whatever, doesn’t matter. You can’t seriously be telling me you work for that guy.”

“I can and am, because I do. Have since I was like, four.” Tails scowled at the back of the speaker. “Could you have done a worse job on this? You tore part of the connector off halfway. This is going to be so annoying to fix.”

“That’s the least of my concerns right now,” Sonic said, as Tails dropped back down to the floor. He reached out a hand to steady Tails as Tails stumbled, but once more Tails ducked under his hand and made his way to the toolkit. “What do you mean, you’ve worked for him since you were four? Where was I?”

“I don’t know, where were you?” Tails quipped, as he dropped the wire cutters back into the box. Sonic fought the urge to roll his eyes, and channeled his energy into tapping his foot instead.

“Look, Tails—”

Tails whipped back around to look at him, gaze burning. “Miles.”

Sonic returned his stare in kind. “Look, Miles. I don’t know what’s going on here. Frankly, I’m not even from here and from the looks of things so far I don’t wanna be—”

“Then leave.”

“—but this whole situation?” Sonic gestured to Tails, and then the engine room at large. “Is messed up. And I’m not leaving here without you.”

“Then I guess you’re not leaving, because I’m stationed on the Flying Battery at least until it docks tonight, and probably even later if I don’t finish the engine modifications by then.” Tails dug a few black cables from among the loose parts in the bottom of the toolkit. “But you should know that Dr Robotnik is going to be waiting at the dock so he can check over my work, and if you’re here he’s not going to be happy since I’m the only sentient thing authorized to be on the ship right now. So it’d really be better for both of us if you got out now, or at least within the next hour.”

“‘Sentient thing?’ I think the word you’re looking for is ‘person,’” Sonic said, but Tails ignored him, still rummaging through the toolkit. “But sure, I’d be happy to leave. I finished just about everything I wanted to do before I came in here anyway. So once you’re ready to go, just say the word.”

“Everything you wanted to do?” Tails furrowed his brow, and then sat back on his haunches as he looked up at Sonic. “What do you mean? Why are you up here, anyway?”

“Oh, you know,” Sonic said vaguely, and he folded his arms behind his head as he grinned. “Seeing the sights, trashing the place. The usual.”

Tails snorted, and turned back to his toolkit. “Yeah, okay. Good joke.”

“I’m not joking,” Sonic said, and when Tails made another disbelieving sound in the back of his throat, added, “I smashed every cannon and badnik on the ship before I made my way back here. I went through every room. You can go see for yourself if you’d like.” And then, as soon as he was in the open air, Sonic would grab him and jump ship. Not that Tails needed to know that, of course.

“Yeah, sure. And then you can get a good laugh while I waste even more of my time looking at a perfectly in-tact warship.” Tails peered at another pair of cables before evidently deciding they weren’t good enough and dropping them back in the box. “No thanks.”

Sonic couldn’t help it; he laughed. “I’m not—”

“Look, I don’t know you. And I know you don’t know me.” Tails finally stood up from the toolkit and looked back at Sonic, who once again felt an uneasy swoop through his stomach at the odd way the light glinted off his right eye. It was almost as if it wasn’t— “But I’ve been a sysadmin of the Robotnik Empire since I was four, and chief mechanic for almost as long. I’d know if something was going wrong on this ship. I installed all the sensors and alarms myself.”

“Then you might want to double-check ‘em, because either they didn’t work or your music drowned them out,” Sonic said flatly, fighting against the bristle in his quills at Tails’ stated life story. “Because I’m telling you, I trashed the whole ship on my way here, and had a good time doing it, too.”

Tails rolled his eyes. “You’re lying—”

“I’m not,” Sonic interrupted. “I would never lie to you.”

Tails watched him for a second before he sighed, and shook his head. “Okay,” he said, and gestured for Sonic to follow him as he looped around the front of the engine. “Come here, then.”

Sonic followed, and watched as Tails brushed his fingers along the metal countertop jutting out of the left wall. Instantly, the steel paneling in the wall flared to life, revealing itself to not be paneling at all, but a wall of computer monitors, ten in total. The countertop gleamed with a luminescent keyboard, across which Tails’ fingers skipped as he entered in a username and password.

“This is the central processing mainframe of the entire ship. All of its artillery, security systems, and defenses are controlled through here,” Tails explained. He didn’t once look back at Sonic as he did so. “And if something happened to damage any component of the ship, not only would I be able to see it from here, but alarm would have . . . been . . . trigg . . .”

All ten monitors connected to a different security camera around the Flying Battery, and while each one focused on a different area of the ship, each one showed a similar level of carnage. Pieces of badniks were strewn across the corridors. Cannons smoked feebly where they had been destroyed. Lights were shattered and dangling from the ceiling by half-torn cords.

“This . . . this can’t . . .” Tails switched the feed on a few of them, tapping into different cameras around the ship. More than one of them returned nothing but static to their feed. Sonic examined his fingernails.

“Told ya,” he said, as Tails frantically opened another program on the computer. “I’m very thorough.”

“I didn’t hear it,” Tails whispered, staring in horror at the list of ignored warnings and alerts his security program now displayed. “The security system did go off, it did alert me, but I . . . I didn’t hear it, I didn’t notice.”

“See, that’s what happens when you play your music too loud.” Sonic tsked his tongue. “I’ve told you before, buddy, you’re gonna blow your ears out one of these days. Music is just as enjoyable at a normal volume. Maybe even more so.”

Tails wasn’t listening. He splayed both hands next to his keyboard, leaning forward with his head bowed. “It’s gone. It’s all gone. Everything, destroyed. The whole ship is destroyed. I haven’t finished modifying the input-output ratio of the engine, but that doesn’t even matter because the artillery and defense systems and everything on the entire ship has been destroyed and I—I just let it happen, I didn’t even notice, someone infiltrated the ship and destroyed it and I didn’t even notice—”

Sonic frowned. Tails’ breathing was shallow and quick, tremors starting to wrack through his body. “Whoa, Tails—”

“And now it’s wrecked, and—and—and destroyed, and in pieces and we dock in an hour, in less than an hour and I have nothing—I have a—have worse than nothing to show for it, because at least if I had nothing it would be at the—at the baseline, sa-same as it was before, and that wouldn’t be great but it would be better than having less than nothing because everything is destroyed and broken and ruined and this isn’t possible or acceptable and he’s gonna be furious—!”

“Tails!” Sonic grabbed Tails’ shoulders, in an effort to ground him, to steady him, but Tails flinched and yanked himself out of Sonic’s grasp, stumbling back against the countertop. “Stop, okay? Breathe. You’re gonna be—”

“I can—!” Tails’ voice broke off in a squeak, and then violent coughs; he doubled over, and wrapped his arms around himself as choked over gulps of air. Once more Sonic reached out to steady him, and once more Tails stumbled back, away from his touch. “I can’t—I can’t—I ha-have to—”

“Breathe,” Sonic said, and when Tails’ eyes flicked to him, he took a slow, deep breath, and then exhaled it just as slowly. “Just like that. In, and out. Nice, slow, and—”

Tails screwed his eyes shut, and yanked his ears down against his head, squeezing them tight. “Don’t—don’t tell me what to do! This is your fault! You did this! You—you broke everything, and wrecked it, and we dock in an hour and Dr Robotnik is going to see it and I—”

“You aren’t going to be here,” Sonic said firmly, even as Tails shook his head, releasing his grips on his ears to tug one of his tails around him instead. His grip on it was like iron. “Egghead can think whatever he wants, but he can think it far away from you. We’re leaving.”

“No.” Tails continued to twist his tail in his fist, in a way that honestly looked like it would be painful to Sonic, and chewed hard on the fingers of his other hand, his eyes darting around the room. His breathing was still quick, and Sonic noticed punctures in Tails’ glove now that looked like they’d been made with his own teeth. “No, no, I can—if I work now, and have a boost, then I can—I can fix it, or at least most of it, at least the actual structural damage to the ship before we land, and then he never has to know that I screwed up and ruined anything and that I’m not useful anymore—”

“Tails—”

“—and—and everything will be, it’ll be, I can do it, I can, I can—” Tails flew the short distance back over to his toolkit, and unceremoniously dumped it over, spilling tools and loose parts over the grated floor. A peal of frantic giggles escaped him as he picked a vial of glowing magenta liquid off the floor, and tossed the toolbox over his shoulder. A shiver raced up Sonic’s spine. “Yes, yes, this can work, it can—I can—”

“Wait, Tails—stop a minute, okay?” Sonic grabbed Tails’ wrist, and as if on instinct Tails threw his entire body weight to the floor, twisting to get out of Sonic’s grasp. Sonic didn’t let go. “Just—stop. What is that you have? It looks like the junk from Eggman’s chemical plant.”

Tails gave Sonic a baleful stare. “It’s a performance enhancement serum developed by Dr Starline. If ingested orally or intravenously, it shuts down pain receptors, heightens muscle strength and elasticity, and enhances adrenaline output to—hey, what—what are you doing?!”

Tails’ voice broke off in a shriek as Sonic swiped the vial from his hand and threw it hard against the opposite wall. The glass shattered, and its contents oozed down the wall and onto the floor.

“Nothing made by Starline has any business being anywhere near you,” Sonic said, fighting to control his own temper as Tails stared in horror at the ooze on the wall. “Shutting down pain receptors? Enhancing whatever? Were you listening to yourself?”

“It’s the only way I can fix anything,” Tails said in a tiny voice. Sonic’s anger started to fade as he felt Tails shaking in his grasp. “It’s the only chance I have and—and you—you broke that, too—”

Sonic sighed. “Nothing here needs to be fixed, aside from the fact that you’re still here when you really shouldn’t be. Come on, we’re bailing.”

“No.” Tails threw his weight hard against Sonic’s grip as Sonic tried to pull him up from the floor. Sonic gritted his teeth, and swallowed down any guilt that started to well up at the tears that started to pool in Tails’ left eye. “No, you’re not—you’ve done enough, stop, stop trying to make things even worse—”

“I’m not making things worse, I’m trying to help—”

“You’ve destroyed and ruined everything—!”

“I haven’t—”

“Just stop and let me go, let me go, let go, let go, let—!”

“No, I—ow, Tails—!”

Tails kicked Sonic hard, the sole of his boot connecting with Sonic’s knee hard enough to make him stumble and loosen his grip. Tails didn’t waste a second; he twisted free of Sonic’s hold and dodged around him, sprinting for the door.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Tails barely cleared the doorway before Sonic was on him. Sonic wrapped his arms around Tails in a bear hug, and in an instant Tails thrashed in his hold, kicking both feet back against Sonic’s legs and twisting around as hard as he could manage it.

“Damn it, Tails, just listen—”

“No, let me go!”

“So you can try hiding in an air duct or something? Not likely. We’re leaving.”

“No! You can’t make me!”

It was so childish Sonic might have laughed, were it not for the way Tails was digging his elbow into Sonic’s ribs. “Wanna bet?”

A wordless, furious growl escaped Tails instead of an articulate response, and for just a moment, he slowed his struggling. Sonic loosened his grip a tad, hoping that maybe Tails had tired himself out and was going to see reason—only for Tails to twist around and sink his teeth into Sonic’s arm.

He bit him. He actually bit him!

Sonic yelped and released Tails, who dropped to the floor in an undignified heap. But he once again wasted no time; he scrambled to his feet and took off down the hall, tails whirling to boost his speed.

Oh, that was it. Sonic’s patience was officially gone.

He tore down the corridor after Tails, who—despite using his tails to increase his speed—only managed to make it around one corner and halfway up to an air vent in the ceiling by the time Sonic found him. Sonic snorted. Predictable. Tails whipped around as Sonic neared, and held the vent cover between them like a shield.

“For what it’s worth,” Sonic said, “I really don’t want to do this. And I’m sorry in advance.”

Tails narrowed his eyes. “Don’t want to do wha—?”

Before he had time to finish his sentence, Sonic zipped under and behind him. And before Tails had a chance to turn, Sonic skirted up the wall and knocked his elbow into the pressure point at the base of Tails’ neck, near the top of his spine. The vent cover clattered to the floor as Tails went limp, and Sonic caught Tails in a bridal carry just before he hit the floor.

“Sorry, bud. But this is for your own good.” Sonic shifted Tails into a more comfortable position in his arms, and after a millisecond of consideration, placed a quick kiss to his little brother’s forehead. Then he set off to find a parachute, so they could leave the Flying Battery behind them.

#sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #unbreakable bond #fic fix #if you're wondering: Rouge trained Shadow's chao to steal jewels behind his back #so that's what Shadow's chao was doing there. smh you ask Rouge to babysit your chao for ONE day & look what happens #Tails' trauma disorder symptoms pulled from my own lived experiences #& the performance enhancement serum was also directly inspired by Chaofix's fic #although it is wholly different from the Miles Electric Juice mentioned therein #and probably won't show up again after its brief appearance here #anyway here is this. i'm now going to eat and watch the newest ep of TOH #sth

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tenebraevesper · 2 years ago

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Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer, Issue #50: Battle for the Empire

Welcome to Issue #50 - The Battle for The Empire Arc - one of the most intriguing Issues of Sonic IDW. Here, we will witness the final battle between Surge and Sonic, Kit and Tails, and Starline and Eggman and honestly, you are not prepared for this. Hell, I wasn’t prepared while re-reading it.

This battle may not be grand as the Metal Virus Saga finale, but it is very personal. Two sides are facing against their counterparts and each of their interactions and fates led to some of the most epic and controversial moments I’ve witnessed from Sonic IDW.

So, prepare yourself for a wild ride!

We start off with Sonic, Tails and Belle racing towards Eggperial City, talking about the Badniks being summoned and assuming Eggman is gathering an army. Sonic is a little suspicious though, pointing out how something flashy like this usually comes along with a declaration. He also adds that it is not too late for Belle to sit this one out, but Belle replies how she needs to see through this, solidifying her resolution to finally cut ties with her origins and the man whom she used to know as Mr. Tinker.

We then cut to Starline sitting on Eggman’s throne, Orbot and Cubot readily serving him. Orbot informs him that Sonic, Tails and Belle are approaching the base, and Starline tells them to send word to Surge and Kit to engage. He is elated to see that his plan is coming to a fruition after he spent so much time carefully planning and calculating his every step. Not only does he have Surge and Kit, who should be able to counter Sonic and Tails, but he also has a Badnik army to back him up and destroy any resistance. Yet, despite all of that, despite being on the top, he still wants to go back as Eggman and let his idol accept him as his equal.

“Excuse me, Doctor... you’re in my seat.”

Starline suddenly looks up in horror, sweat dripping down his face as he comes face-to-face with the Egg Emperor piloted by Eggman.

Now, that’s how you make an entrance! In this case, it is literal, as Eggman shatters the window, forcing Starline to use a Speed-Fly-Power Core Combo to fight back, all while praising Eggman’s entrance and noting how he hoped it’d never come to this.

Eggman wonders if that’s because he knew Eggman would destroy him, but Starline replies how he just doesn’t want to embarrass his idol. I gotta hand it to Starline, he’s really got a nerve trying to fight back Eggman and landing a hit on the Egg Emperor. I respect him for that.

Meanwhile, Sonic, Tails and Belle observe Eggman as he attacks Starline, only for Belle to see Metal Sonic, who has been fried earlier by Surge and Kit. Sonic wonders what is going on today, with Belle deciding to fix him, saying how she couldn’t save Motobud, but she isn’t going to abandon another robot in need.

I admire Belle’s resolve here, and I’m fairly certain that she has no clue just how dangerous Metal Sonic is, so it is no wonder she wants to fix him.

Sonic tells her that she understands her motivation and that she should be careful, since Metal is dangerous. Tails reminds him how Sonic had told him to repair Metal Sonic after the whole Neo Metal debacle, and Sonic responds that this was back when they thought Eggman was done and they had no clue that Starline existed, and they also de-weaponized him. Tails reminds him how he still had the metal claws and the turbine torso, but when Sonic attempts to make his point, he suddenly disappears in a literal flash of light.

Okay, I will have to stop here for a moment to address something. I had seen people disliking this scene and Sonic’s seemingly condescending tone and ignorant attitude towards Tails’ concerns regarding Metal Sonic. From my understanding, Sonic was fine with Belle repairing Metal Sonic, but acknowledges the danger Metal Sonic still poses, and Tails compared this situation to the one post-Neo Metal fight, with Sonic reminding him that this situation and the post-Neo Metal one are completely different - at the time, Metal Sonic was not a threat, and even if he did attack someone, Sonic would just rush in to deal with him.

Now, I’m not saying that letting Metal Sonic go was a good idea; far from it actually, but the point I want to make here is that Sonic was making a decisions based on the information he had, as well as his own philosophy of giving people a second chance, even to one of his greatest enemies. He had been putting good faith in that Metal Sonic, without Eggman, would change and follow a different path, like Omega. He saw him as an individual, rather than a robot programmed to follow Eggman’s word, and while that did backfire terribly on him, he still owned up to his mistake (and for those who have a sick sense of irony and wanted to see Sonic being “punished” or whatever for this, I hope you were satisfied with watching him brutally suffering from being slowly consumed by the Metal Virus, unable to sleep due to he constant paranoia of becoming a Zombot, and have to watch his friends one by one becoming infected and suffer as well, while also realizing that, if he gives up now, the world will be destroyed).

The point I wanted to make here, and one that I had been talking about from the start of this analyzer, is that Sonic shouldn’t be treated like some perfect paragon of goodness who knows best. He makes mistakes, he owns up to them, he is a character who has his ups and downs and I had been calling him out on his jerkass behavior (e.g. bringing up Shadow’s past during their confrontation over Mr. Tinker or how he behaved towards Belle when he met her). I had been observing his actions through the course of this comic and honestly, the complaints still don’t make sense when you boil Sonic to who he essentially is.

He is someone who saves people because he wants to. It isn’t his job to be a hero, it’s his choice and if he truly didn’t care about his friends, he would’ve just abandoned them. Yes, I agree that what he says and does oftentimes makes him come off as hypocritical, but I also think that’s the point - he doesn’t have a set code of what he’s allowed to do or not. It doesn’t matter who is wrong or who is right, if Sonic sees someone in trouble, he’ll save them. If he sees someone with the potential to be redeemed, he will give them a chance. Yes, he can be a jerk, and yes, he will make the wrong decisions or say the wrong stuff, but I don’t think he’s as awful as people claim he is. He doesn’t need to have complex morals or wax poetically on the difference between good an evil or be the judge, jury and executioner for his enemies (the latter being downright the most idiotic demand I read). He inspires people to grow and learn by simply being himself. He is not supposed to be relatable (else his little brother wouldn’t be arguing with him right now), but he’s here to bring out the best out of people. He has flaws and makes mistakes, but he’s here to have fun and go on an adventure, not on a crusade to end all evil. He will do less heroic stuff as means of protecting people, something we’ve seen in the video games. He is someone who will extend your hand to you and accept you as his friend (and honestly, the power of friendship is an important theme in the Sonic lore).

I’m not done with this yet, but let’s move over to the next part. We see Tails looking around, wondering where the hell Sonic had gone to, only for water whips to grab him as Belle screams for him. She then turns back, realizing she’s surrounded by Badniks.

As for Tails, he comes face-to-face with Kit, who uses his hydro coils to keep Tails in place. Tails manages to break out, clearly confused about who Kit is and why he’s Kit’s target, saying how this has to be some kind of misunderstanding. Kit replies how there is no misunderstanding and basically describes how he plans to kill Tails by drowning him. In all honesty, they really nailed the Creepy Child aspect of Kit’s character.

As for Sonic, he had been grabbed by Surge, whose first move was to separate him from Tails so Kit can deal with his counterpart. She then throws him against the guard rail inside the base, and honestly, I absolutely love the third panel here as Surge comes to a stop while Sonic hits the guard rail. I really wish this was animated.

Anyways, Sonic is obviously confused, having no idea who this new challenger is, asking her if they met and introducing himself. Surge is disgusted, replying how she knows Sonic, which is also all she knows; which is a problem for her.

Surge tells Sonic that she is his fault! Sure, Eggman and Starline had a hand in her creation and who she is, and they will pay for that, but she mainly blames Sonic for everything that happened to her. If he hadn’t taken them out, she wouldn’t have been made. Or, if that went against his precious “moral code” he should’ve rolled over and quit. But no! He keeps on fighting and giving the idiots the freedom to repeat their awful mistakes, and this keeps going and going and going...

Sonic suddenly disappears, having ran off behind Surge during her rant as she turns towards him, saying how the whole world loves him for his actions. Therefore, she’ll be ending all of it. Him, the doctors, the world - all of them will get what they deserve.

Okay, there is a lot to unpack here. This is basically what Sonic has been criticized for since the whole Mr. Tinker debacle. This is what Shadow was furious about too when he confronted Sonic. This is why Zavok laughed at him when the Zeti were shown mercy. He let Eggman and Starline run free and now she’s suffering because of it, so she wants to end everything in existence.

Now, I will let you know one thing; I agree with Surge being furious over what had happened to her. I agree that she had been screwed over and that her reaction to everything that happened to her is understandable. Hell, I even agree with her points of blaming Sonic for letting Eggman go (Starline is a different story; that one was on Eggman, and Sonic couldn’t prevent Starline from escaping at White Park since he focused on making sure everyone was safe from the avalanche). Surge has strong points here and her feelings are valid.

As for Sonic’s response... Honestly, it’s one of the most realistic responses I saw in this comic. Sonic is clearly (and justifiably) confused, and he doesn’t want any conflict. Instead, he wants to talk to her, introducing himself again, obviously trying to figure out what is going on and why Surge is hellbent on killing him.

Surge... doesn’t take it well to say the least. She charges up, introducing herself and attacking Sonic, saying how his “speed of sound” cannot match her “speed of light”.

Sonic, however, manages to dodge each and every of her attack, fighting back. There are no taunts, no banter, just a wordless battle between the two.

Back with Eggman and Starline, Starline has retreated after managing to get a crack in the Egg Emperor. Eggman tells Starline how he has finally figured out that the platypus was behind what happened in Bad Guys, noting the brazen viciousness of Starline’s methods and asks him why he’s hiding now and to come out. Starline is not giving into the taunt, telling himself not to panic and that the situation can still be salvaged. He figures that Eggman had an escape hatch ready and that the hangar with the mechs must be somewhere close, using the Speed Core to find it. Clever move, Starline.

Eggman is pissed off that Starline won’t stay still for him to atomize the latter, only to get grabbed from below the ground by another mech piloted by Starline - the Super Eggrobo.

What follows next is absolute awesomeness in the form of Eggman and Starline duking it out with their respective mechs.

The two lock arms, with Starline begging Eggman to listen to him, saying how his plan will work and they could rule the world together. Eggman, as we all knew, replies how he if Starline really understood him, he would know that he wouldn’t set for less. It is all, or nothing, and Starline is nothing before him.

While everyone’s fighting, Belle has managed to escape the Badniks and bring Metal Sonic to safety inside the building. There, she has almost finished fixing him, only to realize that the signal would also affect Metal Sonic. She then pauses, realizing that she could act as a router and use the Zeti Zapper to block the signal to Metal Sonic, and when he comes back online, she panics, having seemingly forgotten that Metal is a killer robot by default.

Uh, Belle? Sonic told you that a few minutes ago. Something that surprises me is that while everyone is pissed off at Sonic for keeping Metal Sonic around (even though he was technically harmless), yet no one is complaining about Belle fixing Metal Sonic (who isn’t harmless this time around). Are there some kind of standards I’m not understanding?

Metal Sonic suddenly gets up and, as Belle cowers in fear, she realizes that Metal Sonic protected her from the Motobug that was about to attack her. She realizes they’re connected and accesses his files, noting how he recognizes her as Eggtech and that his connection to the Eggnet allows him to find Eggman. She decides to use this opportunity to follow him to Eggman, as she still needs to have a conversation with her “father”.

We check back with Tails and Kit, with Tails trying to escape Kit and dodging one of his attacks, complimenting him on his powers. Kit is surprised that he likes it, and Tails, realizing he got Kit hooked, continues how he hadn’t seen any of this kind of tech in a long time and how his gear is so cool. Kit is thankful, only to reply how it’s not his.

Tails responds how, even if Kit didn’t create the backpack, it still takes a lot of skill to control it and compliments him on it. Kit is suspicious, wondering why Tails is so nice to him while he’s trying to destroy the latter. Tails responds how he’s right, but he wanted to find some common ground, calling his talents impressive and how not everyone appreciates his uniqueness. Kit remains suspicious, so Tails adds how he knows a thing or two about being different, showing off his twin-tails, and how it wasn’t easy, but he had support thanks to his friends, offering to help Kit. Kit replies how he doesn’t need any friends.

Tails replies how that’s fine and he’s okay with competitive rivalry, wondering if they could work towards that. We see Kit cracking under the pressure of the question, replying how Surge is not here and that he doesn’t know what to do, or rather, how to respond.

Now, here’s where I’ll make another observation. We know that Kit had been programmed by Starline to follow Surge’s every command. While he might be cunning, having been the one to come up with the plan to back-stab Starline, he is still following the preset programming of doing what Surge (or Starline) wants him to do. If Surge isn’t around to give out commands, he gets conflicted. What happens here is Kit literally receiving an error message. He cannot make decisions on his own, at least not ones that directly conflict with his programming. He needs Surge to make those decisions, something Tails notes and decides to handle this carefully. He asks Kit to join him and calls for truce, to which Kit reluctantly agrees. Again, he doesn’t know how to respond because his own programming conflicts with itself.

Kit was created to be support, not an individual.

Tails joins him, asking Kit what is going on with the Badniks. Kit replies how Starline had summoned them, and Tails responds how Starline attempted to kidnap him once for something awful, asking Kit if he’s hurt. Kit answers that he is (SOMEONE, PLEASE GIVE KIT A HUG!!), and how this has happened repeatedly, and how Starline made him forget and made him happy it happened (I REPEAT MYSELF, SOMEONE GIVE KIT A HUG!!).

Kit then screams how he hates Starline, causing water spikes to burst all around him.

Tails is startled by the outburst, but quickly composes himself, saying how he also wants to stop Starline, and Kit is surprised that Tails is willing to help him. Tails assures him that he will, and Kit wonders what will happen then. Tails responds how they should take it one step at the time and the most important thing now is to stop Starline, something Kit agrees with. What he doesn’t agree with is finding Sonic. His programming once again kicks in as he glares down at Tails, telling him how Surge has to destroy Sonic and that this is what she wants. He will not let Tails stop her.

We then cut to Sonic and Surge, who are fighting against each other, clearly evenly matched, although Sonic appears to be excited about the fight, while Surge is pissed off.

I guess this is also a good time to bring up a point I read somewhere: why doesn’t Sonic talk to Surge the same way Tails talked to Kit? Well, as we clearly established earlier, he did in fact try to talk to her, but Surge had none of that. So, if words won’t get to her, then he is going to fight. Not to mention, you all just saw what happened when Tails mentioned Sonic to Kit. Do you really believe that Sonic has the debating skills to talk Surge out of her frenzy?

Yeah, I don’t.

Sonic stretches, noting how it’s been a while since he tussled like this and hopes that Surge is having fun. This triggers Surge, who screams back how this is supposed to be a duel to the death.

I have to say, I love how nonchalant Sonic is, and it makes sense for him to be so calm. Compared to Surge, he’s a veteran who has dealt with all kinds of opponents (including literal gods), and he has figured out that she has the type of “the world has wronged me so they have to pay” backstory - something he literally went through with Shadow.

Surge screams back how this is who she is, closing in on Sonic, who remains calm, noting how he appreciates that, he really does.

He then makes his move, dashing away and knocking Surge down. As she looks up, she spots Sonic standing on debris high above her, with Sonic telling her how he doesn’t know her full story, so he can’t really judge. However, he isn’t going to let her hurt anyone. Surge tells him to end the battle, but Sonic refuses and decides to give her a chance to rebound. Surge wonders if he can really be this naive and Sonic replies how he likes to keep things simple:

“I live for the moment. I want to see the world, find all its thrills and adventures, and enjoy them.”

‘‘I want everyone to have the freedom to do that, too.”

“And you wouldn’t get the opportunity if I took that chance away from you.”

“I’ve made peace with enough enemies to know there is a better way.”

“So I’m willing to chalk this up to ‘a rocky start’ and let us have a do-over if you will.”

So, this is the dialogue people had been so much in uproar about, huh? Upon re-reading this... I really have no clue why people were so pissed off, because from the reactions I’ve read, it sounded like Sonic was a heartless bastard towards Surge, not giving a damn about her pain and going on a long monologue on how his morality is superior. Did... did we all read the same comic or am I missing something here?

I mean, let’s dissect what Sonic just told her. He explains how he lives in the moment, how he wants to go on adventures and enjoy life, and that he wants everyone to have the same freedom to do that. Obviously, she wouldn’t have the same opportunity if he took it away from her, noting how he experienced something similar with other enemies (again, Shadow, Knuckles, Merlina... the list is long). It is clear that Sonic is hoping that Surge is the same has the people he had befriended, someone who is just lost and needs to figure things out, so he offers her to have a do-over so he can get to know her better and help her.

Not to mention, what he says is basically the interpretation of It Doesn’t Matter, which describes his philosophy:

Well, I don't show off; don't criticize I'm just livin' by my own feelings And I won't give in, won't compromise I just only have a steadfast heart of gold I don't know why I can leave though it might be tough But I ain't out of control, just livin' by my word Don't ask me why; I don't need a reason I got my way, my own way, yeah!

Honestly, Sonic is literally doing what he has always been doing, so why is this moment so controversial? I assume it might have something to do with the the way the panel has been drawn, with Sonic standing above Surge and light shining down upon him... which is kinda hilarious, not gonna lie. You know what I think? I think that we’re supposed to see Sonic from Surge’s perspective. Surge hates him, so she sees him as someone condescending.

In any case, Sonic’s explanation of his lifestyle? It’s something that has always been a thing and that’s not going to change. I had spent the whole Analyzer explaining why Sonic is not morally superior, as he’s just doing what he thinks is right.

Moving on to the next part, Surge wonders if he’d have a do-over with her “just like that”. Sonic agrees. Yes, that also includes the doctors (and we saw that one - Sonic would be willing to work with Eggman if the latter had even a shred of remorse and decided to turn around).

Surge huffs, asking Sonic whether he means that she should reinvent herself, choose who she wants to be. Sonic replies that that’s the idea. Again, I see nothing wrong with that. Sonic is basically suggesting that violence doesn’t have to be the answer and offering a more peaceful solution. He still doesn’t know her full past, but he would be willing to work with her towards a goal that doesn’t involve others getting injured.

“See the world-”

“Yeah!”

“-that rejected me?”

“Yyy- No. What?”

At first, Sonic is hopeful that Surge gets what he wants to tell her, only to have his own words turned against him. I’m not gonna lie, I love this twist. I love how Sonic’s smile fades as Surge takes his words to heart, but then goes into the opposite direction. I love how Sonic’s own philosophy is backfiring against him, but not because I’m tired of it (like many others are, going by the amount of complaints I’ve seen). It is because this is Surge’s choice.

Again, Sonic has no clue regarding what she’s been through, so it is no surprise that he’s caught off guard by Surge’s response. She, on the other hand, replies how if she had volunteered to work with Starline, then her life wasn’t that great to begin with. If she was kidnapped, then no one cared enough to search for her (although I guess she didn’t realize that Starline may have “silenced” whoever did search for her; on the other hand, knowing Starline, he would probably kidnap someone he knows nobody would search for).

Therefore, she made her choice, and her choice is to destroy Sonic; something Sonic himself accepts, agreeing that they should do it her way. After all, it had been established that Sonic respects other people’s choices and wants them to have the freedom to make the choice, even if he disagrees with them.

Surge charges up and attempts to kick Sonic, yelling how he should give her the freedom to do as she pleases. Sonic dodges her attack, replying with a solid “Nope!”, kicking her back.

Again, Sonic is all for giving out second chances, but the moment someone shows to be a threat or, as Sonic puts it, attempts to take that freedom of choice away from someone else, he will fight back. If Surge chooses to be a problem, then he will deal with her.

Surge charges at him, screaming how she was built to end him; his morals, his friends, his world.

“I’m burning it all down and dancing on the ashes!”

While Sonic and Surge have their little debate on freedom of choosing who you want to be, Eggman and Starline have their own fight with their respective mechs. Starline yells how he’s doing this all for Eggman, while Eggman replies how he’s just wasting his time, wrecking his stuff and ticking him off. He’s not wrong, you know.

Eggman manages to get the upper hand, destroying Starline’s mech, and Starline compliments him for being the superior pilot (duh, Eggman was the one who created those mechs; they obviously weren’t there just for display), but notes how Eggman chose the wrong machine to face him.

Starline uses the Tricore, pointing out how this is exactly how the Egg Emperor had been defeated in the past (aka Sonic Heroes), and he manages to destroy it with the Tricore Blast, noting how this is what happens when you don’t plan for contingencies and looking tired.

Gotta admit, this was really badass!

However, the next part manages to top Starline’s supposed victory over the Egg Emperor.

Eggman emerges from the wrecked mech, only a shadow-like outline with his smile visible, giving me the chills. He explains to Starline how he’s wrong, and the Egg Emperor was chosen precisely because he realized Starline raided the Power Cores.

He walks up to a panicking Starline (just look at Starline’s expression - that’s pure horror), saying how he knew that Starline’s obsession with his past exploits would give Starline tunnel vision. He knew that he would use their power, utilizing them at their fullest extent and deplete them just to make his point.

Not gonna lie, Eggman is frigging scary here, and he’s right. Starline’s rigid line of thinking really caused him tunnel vision and no contingency plan can save him now.

Starline agrees that Eggman had played him, but he then uses the hypno-glove on Eggman.

However, this backfires when Eggman simply pulls his goggles over his eyes, reminding a perplexed Starline how he had told Eggman everything about his inventions, asking him whether he really thought he wouldn’t take some kind of precaution against it.

Starline is shocked that Eggman actually listened to him, even though he never acknowledged anything he said, noting how Eggman had never shown this much foresight.

Yeah, I’ll stop here to note something - of course Eggman wouldn’t share any knowledge of his with Starline and be prepared for whatever the platypus might use against him. He’s already used to being betrayed by people, so obviously he’d have countermeasures at the ready.

Eggman then proceeds to stomp on the ground, ranting how he made his mistakes, and one of them was tolerating Starline. Starline is pissed off, refusing to lose when he’s this close.

He attempts to use his spurs on Eggman, only for Eggman to easily dodge it, grab Starline’s leg and then SLAM HIM INTO THE GROUND!

LIKE, GODDAMN, THAT WAS BADASSS! KUDOS TO EGGMAN FOR THAT MOVE!

Eggman then crouches, grabbing Starline’s glove and throwing it away, asking Starline what makes him think that he has any choice in the matter. Again, I had been saying how Starline lacks the experience Eggman has. While Eggman’s plans aren’t always solid, he knows how to adapt to the chaotic world he lives in, while Starline refuses to do that. Had Starline realized that, as well as abandoned his pursuit of being Eggman’s equal, he wouldn’t have been defeated like this. This is what Zavok has warned him about.

Before Eggman could make another move, he suddenly hears someone calling for him and turns around.

This person is revealed to be Belle, telling him how she had found the letter from when he was Mr. Tinker, from before Starline ruined their lives. While Eggman agrees that Starline causes a mess of things, he replies how Starline didn’t make a mistake by bringing him back to his senses (I’m pretty sure Sonic and everyone else would disagree with that).

Belle replies that she knows that this is how he feels and she can’t change that, so she simply came back to say goodbye. Her father is gone and she moving on. Honestly, I love how Belle’s has come a long way, facing Eggman like this.

Eggman looks thoughtful, wondering why Belle and Starline are so clingy, and then walks up to Belle and Metal Sonic, telling Belle that, if she’s not with him, then she’s against him. He wonders if she plans on dueling Metal Sonic, but Belle replies how she fixed him and how she’ll do the same with all the robots he abandons. It’s a solid goal.

Suddenly, debris starts to falling, with Eggman asking Belle how she managed to bypass the control signal. Belle replies how she used herself as a secure router... and Eggman grins, realizing how she interfaced with Metal Sonic’s code directly, saying how that’s splendid.

Yeah, remember Amy’s reaction to Belle’s fortune back in Trial by Fire? Now look at Eggman’s reaction here; it’s clear he’s going to use this information to his advantage.

Eggman then tells Belle that, since she had done such a good job, he’ll give her the choice to join him as his mechanic or she can go back to Sonic and his friends. Belle chooses Sonic and Eggman and Metal Sonic leave, with Eggman being quite amused and telling her he’ll see her.

A falling pipe and debris startles Belle and she realizes that the whole place is falling apart. She spots Starline, who has come to, yelling at him to move and how everything is caving in.

Starline, however... Oh, boy... This part....

Starline doesn’t hear her, suffering from a mental breakdown, still in disbelief to how his plans could’ve failed. He did everything he could, accounted for every contingency, and he still lost, being destroyed in mere minutes. He calls himself a failure, an utter, disgraceful failure...

Belle stares at him in horror as more debris falls and runs away. Starline, who has refused to move, and probably accepted his fate, is crushed by the falling debris. He’s dead.

Yeah, let me repeat that - STARLINE IS DEAD!

Holy Hell, I did not expect this to happen when I first read it! Ian Flynn confirmed that Starline has indeed died shortly after this Issue came out, but if fans demand to see more of him, he might be brought back. However, for now, this is the end of his story.

I gotta say, Starline has been one of my favorite IDW characters, and I understand that his story has been ended, and I have come to terms that we won’t be seeing him again. Seriously, I’m fine with that, as he was an entertaining villain while he lasted. His death is also quite poetic, and he died as he lived - by being an idiotic genius and Eggman fanboy.

We cut to Tails, who spots the street below falling apart, only to get hit by Kit. Kit tells him that he cannot evade him forever, and Tails agrees, but adds how Kit should be running out of water about... now!

Kit is shocked when he does indeed run out of water, frantically trying to collect whatever little water there is on the ground, saying how Surge will be mad and crying for her help as Tails turns the backpack off before he can refill it.

Now, this is a really weird scene. At first, I thought that Tails somehow shut Kit down, but I think what actually happened is that, once Kit heard Tails shutting off the backpack, he suffered from a mental breakdown. He was programmed to serve as support, but now he cannot provide any.

Surge and Sonic are still fighting, with Surge yelling at him to fall, but Sonic won’t quit. Surge attacks him once again, but Sonic dodges her attack, only for Surge to fall off the edge of their battlefield.

Fortunately, she manages to grab onto a metal rod, dangling over the abyss. Sonic quickly runs up to her, offering her his hand and a ten-second truce so he can haul her out, so if Surge wants, they can continue their fight. Surge’s eyes spark and she zaps Sonic, smirking as she notes how she got the last hit.

Sonic and Surge are suddenly startled by the falling debris and Sonic dodges it, before crawling over to the abyss, screaming for Surge. No answer.

Dejected, Sonic notes how this is a problem with giving people a choice - you can’t stop them from making the wrong ones. Again, this is a life fact I’m sure people had to deal with before. Sonic wanted her to make the right choice for herself. He wanted to save her, but when she rejected his suggestion, there was nothing left for him but to fight her.

He gets up, solemn, and walks away, muttering to himself how he needs to find Tails and Belle, wondering what else is going wrong today. You really had to jinx yourself there, Sonic.

Sonic gets outside, worried for Tails and Belle. Fortunately, Tails answers, carrying Kit, explaining how he had prevented him from helping Sonic. Sonic, crestfallen, explains how he tussled with Surge before she fell off. Tails wonders if he’s sure and Sonic notes that, while she was tough, there was no way anyone could survive that.

They’re then joined by Belle, who’s glad to see them safe.

Tails wonders how she managed to prevent the Badnik she’s riding on from attacking her, but Sonic wants to know where Metal Sonic is. She replies how she fixed Metal and how he left with Eggman. As for the Badnik, she modified it to not attack her. Tails adds how Dr. Starline was behind Surge and Kitsunami, and Sonic rubs his temples, frustrated that Starline was behind this and decides he’ll deal with him too.

Belle interrupts him, wanting to tell them what happened, but they then get interrupted by Eggman. While Belle and Tails are startled, Sonic looks absolutely done with his life. He’s already lost Surge, he thinks Starline is somewhere out there, Metal Sonic is back with Eggman, and now Eggman’s coming to make an announcement. Yeah, I’m pretty sure Sonic has enough of this place and just wants to go home.

Eggman tells the three how his Eggperial City wasn’t ready for visitors, and that the late Dr. Starline had made a mess of the place; all while overlooking the repairs. Nevertheless, he decides to be a gracious host, so please, allow him and his ludicrously massive swarm of Badniks show them a proper welcome.

The last we see is Sonic, Tails, Belle and Kit being surrounded by Badniks.

Sheesh, that was a long and exhausting read. Nevertheless, I really had a lot of fun with it and I really loved it. Issue #50 was really something unexpected and I’m looking forward to the next part of this arc. Trust me, we haven’t seen the last of Kit nor Surge....

...or Starline for that matter.

Links:

#Previous Issue

#Next Issue

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer #sonic idw #sonic the hedgehog #surge the tenrec #miles tails prower #kitsunami the fennec #dr eggman #dr starline #belle the tinkerer #metal sonic #orbot #cubot

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thesurfaceofthelight · 3 years ago

Text

After All This Time

"Oh, sheesh! I hope I'm not too late!" Tangle bolted towards the torn down opening to Barricade Town. Fire and smoke filled the sky above it. It was another Eggman attack. This one seemed far more devastating than anything Neo Metal Sonic or Starline could ever do. It was an assault that seemed almost as bad as the ones during the war. Members of The Restoration looked weakened, and while they were holding off Badniks, it was uncertain of how much longer they were going to last. At least there were no dropships. It was a grounded army attack, and any fliers would be after Tangle was done. "Alright, good, there's still time." She smiled confidently, smashing robots to pieces with her tail. Whether it be throwing them at one another or simply smashing them to pieces, Badniks were broken. "Huzzah! We got backup!" One of The Restoration members cheered, causing a small group to rally morale. "You bet your bottom dollar!" She finger gunned to her fighting allies. "And it's still coming! So keep on doing great! Don't give them an inch, but keep yourself from pushing too hard!" She encouraged the others. Whether they were fighting or retreating, progress was being made. The latter advice was particularly effective. They likely wouldn't have even considered fleeing if they weren't told not to overexert. After smashing together more Badniks and blowing them up in chains, Tangle, in a search for more, took notice of something in the distance. It was red and unusually glowy, perching itself atop the barricade. She squinted her eyes at the sight. "Why would something be all the way over there instead of out here?..." She asked herself, gasping upon having an idea. "What if it's charging up a big laser that'll blow us all up?!" She gasped, beginning to run to the barrier. "But how am I gonna make it up there? It doesn't look like I can climb up..." Tangle looked around the town, noticing two lampposts close together. They were too far away from the barricade to be of any use, but... "...That's how I get up there." She opened a palm, putting her fist down on it as she hatched an idea.

Infinite stood on top of the barricade surrounding Barricade Town, overlooking the destruction that was being made. “It’s just like I remember it…” He mumbled to himself, looking at his hand. “But… I can’t keep doing this forever… can I?” The jackal asked himself. He took note that the empire was being shoved back, frowning. "I still have work to do, it seems. I can ask myself later." Out of the blue, something shot at the Phantom Ruby sitting on his chest. It cleaved the jewel in two, the half outside of his chest falling to the floor. He looked in the direction of the shot. Whisper stood with her Wispon in hand, infused with the Cyan Laser ability. A tense silence filled the air as the two stared at each other. “…I remember you.” Infinite spoke, breaking the sound of nothingness. “You were the spark of hope the rabble held dear. And yet, you… vanished after Sonic took center stage once more.” "How did you return? Why are you still doing this?" Whisper questioned, demanding answers. Somehow, she kept her quiet nature while questioning. "Straight to the point, I see." Infinite commended, clapping his hands. "Unfortunately... I don't have the answers for either of your questions. I'm searching for those myself." The jackal explained, crossing his arms. Whisper altered her position, making a slight shuffling sound thanks to her gear. "The war has been over. I'm not letting you reignite the fire." She warned, her finger just above the gun's trigger. The wind blew harshly in the background. "I'll sift through the ashes of this world if I have to. You'll lose it all in the fire." He beckoned for her to come forth, motioning with his hands. "Now, come. Show me what you're made of." The female wolf took no chances, immediately drawing fire with her Laser Wispon. The male, masked figure evaded the shots. He left behind a trail of red afterimages in his image as he evaded the attacks as a red aura glew around his body, allowing him to deflect the final laser shot. Infinite brushed himself off in a condescending manner as he finished. "You've barely improved." He taunted. An angry, yet concerned frown was worn underneath Whisper's mask. Laser was no good and Spikes was likely too slow to hit him. Cube and Drill were close ranged weapons. Infinite formed two cubes in the palms of his hands, firing them at the ground. He hasn't changed much either. Hypocrite. Whisper rolled out of the way as they exploded, shifting to the Orange Rocket power and firing immediately as she finished the roll. Infinite was forced to evade the attack, drifting away from the missile. Infinite surrounded himself in a crimson colored atmosphere, launching himself directly at Whisper's position. In a flash, she changed to her Cube Wispon. She bludgeoned his face into the barricade they were battling on top of with the hammer formed. Cracks were created from the impact, an aura of distortion appearing around Infinite as he let out an unearthly howl. He teleported away and reappeared behind the wolf. However, she easily smacked him in his sides with the Cube Wispon almost immediately as he came back around. For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped. His left eye visibly twitched as he disappeared once again, this time reappearing further away from the wolf. "No, no, no!" He cursed to himself, angrily muttering. "Stop underestimating your opponent you idiot! That's what nearly got you killed in the first place!" Whisper took this opportunity to shift over to the Cyan Laser power, carefully aiming while Infinite had his breakdown. "...No more mistakes." She fired, only for the jackal to leave behind a copy of himself to take the blow instead. Multiple copies of Infinite appeared before him, the Phantom Ruby in full glow now. It sparked with distorted energy, red lightning spewing across the area. The jackal had them fly at her, almost like they were living missiles. Whisper took out small, light blue crystals and tossed them into the air. They were sent forwards before stopping in place. The female wolf fired a laser at one of them, refracting off of each crystal and taking out the illusions with utmost ease. They created dust as they exploded, to which the real Infinite launched himself right at Whisper, claws in front of him. It looked as if he was wearing see-through armor that took his shape. Whisper shifted to the Yellow Drill power, thrusting her weapon forwards only for Infinite to grab ahold, causing it to screech in an unhealthy manner. His claws dug deeper into the weapon, damaging it further. "H- He's tearing into the Wispon!" The wolf gasped. "At this rate, the Wisp inside-" Before she could think any further, Infinite kicked the weapon into the air. During this time, he grabbed ahold of the girl by the neck, raising her up and slamming her onto the ground below. She let out a pained whimper, the jackal repeatedly bashing the back of her head against the ground. A Drill Wisp popped out of the Wispon, returning it to it's normal form before it hit the ground. It clattered upon impact. The yellow alien attempted to charge right at Infinite, utilizing it's power to attack him only to be backhanded by the masked, male figure. It cried in pain and landed on the ground with a thud, Whisper reaching out to the Wisp. The others appeared from 'behind' her, ready to help defend their friends. "Insolent little worms!" Infinite growled, slightly raising up the wolf once again. "Accept your fate, lie down and die! No more mistakes!" Before he could make another move, he was raised into the air, letting go of Whisper and was slammed against the ground. The female wolf gasped for air, holding near her chest. "Who dares?!" He demanded to know who was behind all of this. "I dare! And pretty easily, at that!" Tangle had the jackal wrapped up in the grasp of her tail, slamming him against the ground. "If you like hurting people that way, why don't you try it, jerk!" She insulted him. He disappeared from her grasp, floating in the air before the crowd of an angry Wisps and one determined girlfriend. He held his chest, the Phantom Ruby's power diminishing. "All of you... hate... you earned hate... my hate..." He babbled nonsense, pointing a finger at them. "All of my hate... you... regret..." With those... words spoken, he took off. A faint, red aura surrounded him as he departed. The Wisps assisted Whisper in standing up, Tangle holding her fists in a fighting position, watching him leave. She flinched upon a realization, quickly running over to Whisper. "Are you okay?!" She frantically asked, seeing her weakened state. "That jerk's lucky he's wearing a mask... if I saw his face again, I'd cave it in! In fact, I'm gonna do it anyways, despite the fact that he's hiding behind a mask!" Tangle swore. "He... He's still out there..." Her already, near, inaudible voice was even quieter. Tangle had to lean a tad close to process this information. "I... I can't risk it..." "Risk what? Who is that guy?" Tangle asked. As she asked the question, she looked around the barricade. Getting down was not going to be as easy as getting up... and that in of itself wasn't so simple. If she could just run on walls, then...

"His name is Infinite." Whisper was resting on a bed in Spiral Hill Village. Tangle, Jewel and her Wisps were by her side, ensuring she had everything she needed. Even Sonic was there, listening to the wolf. "You two have no idea how glad I am that you're both alive. And that you even chased him off, brownie points to you, Tangle." Sonic complimented, trying to lift the mood a tad while sharing his concerns. "I'm surprise you don't know who he was... Infinite was a BIG deal." Jewel added, replacing Whisper's ace wraps with cleaner ones. "During the Eggman War, he played a large part in helping Eggman conquer the world." Tangle looked as if she had finally realized what they were talking about. "Oh... that event..." She recalled. She was a prisoner until the big 'Death Egg Prison Break', in which she helped win back Spiral Hill Village. Seeing Sonic lay a smackdown on the Zavok faker still brought her a smile to this day. "I was... incarcerated for a while." "Yeah, same here." Sonic chimed in. "Infinite caused untold amounts of damage... he's not like Mimic, not one bit." Whisper shook her head, contrasting the two. "Infinite isn't afraid of a fair fight. He doesn't ambush. That's not his style." "And all of that damage is gonna come right back at his face!" Tangle pounded her fist against her open palm. The idea of Tangle going up against Infinite seemed... well... bizarre, but, hey, they were there to brag about the fact that he fled, mumbling nonsense. Speaking of which... "...Why did he retreat?" Whisper questioned, making eye contact with the ground. Wisps carried in drinks and food for her, often snuggling right up to the wolf. She would comfort them in return. Sonic looked for the door, crossing his arms and frowning. "I'm not sure of what's going on, but I'm sure of what I'm gonna do."

Author’s Note: Hello everyone. I didn’t have any plans to post, or even write this, but a very special friend of mine was feeling down, and I felt obligated to do this. They are a massive Whispangle fanatic, and I like Infinite a whole lot. In fact, Infinite and Whisper are quite similar. Both of them are masked canines with an air of mystery around them, except one of them was written good. With Infinite being a massive part of Forces, you can bet your bottom dollar Whisper would not be happy seeing him again. This is my first time writing Whispangle, and I’m hoping I did the ship justice, even if it’s not the primary focus. Thank you guys for reading as always and I will see you all next time. Sayonara.

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic idw #infinite #infinite the jackal #whispers #whisper the wolf #tangle #tangle the lemur #sonic forces #jewel #jewel the beetle

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