Chapter Text
Connor did not know where he was.
He blinked, before taking in his surroundings. He stood next to what appeared to be a tall gray wall. It loomed over him, going up at an obtuse angle rather than right. Beneath his feet the grass was damp. He looked out to see an endless field of grass. Rising from the ground were massive gray structures. They reminded Connor of spaceships from Sci-fi movies. He deduced that he was standing next to the underbelly of one of these ships. Several massive cannons jutted out of the underbelly of the ship.
Now, how exactly did he get here? Connor remembered clearly that he’d been with Hank in the bar. They’d simply been talking before Connor’s vision went completely white. Beyond that, he couldn’t remember anything else.
He decided not to think of how he got there and instead focus on getting back to Detroit. He attempted to call Hank, but he was told that the number did not exist. Connor then connected to the internet, but it was… wrong. It felt more primitive, less vast, than what he remembered. He couldn’t connect with GPS, because from what it seemed, it didn’t even exist.
For the first time in his operating life, RK800 ‘Connor’ #313 248 317 was stumped. No, he thought, there’s still one thing I can do. Walk.
And so, Connor walked. He walked along the side of the hulking gray ship. All the while, he tried to formulate a plan in his head. Something about his situation was strange. How could he have possibly been transported from a bar to here? Were he and Hank attacked? Was Hank okay?
As he strategized, he came across a device on the ground. It appeared to be an old fashioned PDA. Hank had mentioned having one when he was younger. It was compact, but bulkier than a Smartphone and had a flip top. Its screen was a shade of green, typical of most old devices. He picked it up and its screen lit up.
“Hello?” a voice came out of the device, “Who are you?”
Connor wasn’t sure what to make of the voice. He decided to attempt a data probe into the device. As he did though, he felt resistance before being forced out.
“Hey!” the voice cried out. Large, blocky, holographic pixels came out of the screen and formed the strangest thing he’d ever seen. In front of him stood a female anthropomorphic lynx. Her fur was brown, with black on her ears and nose, and she had green eyes. She wore a purple sleeveless dress, black and white gloves with purple cuffs, black leggings, and black and white shoes with white cuffs. She was a holograph projected from the device Connor held.
“What you tried to do was very rude,” she said.
“I’m sorry,” Connor said, “Does this device belong to you?”
“It does belong to me,” she said, “It is my body.”
Connor made a mental deduction, “So, you’re an artificial intelligence?”
“Yes,” she said, “I am Nicole. You?”
“My name is Connor,” he said, “I’m an android.”
Nicole examined him top to bottom, “I assumed so. No organic being could initiate a data probe. Who built you?”
“CyberLife,” he said.
Nicole looked confused, “CyberLife? I’ve never heard of an organization of that name.”
Connor was confused as well. CyberLife was a household name across the entire world. Everyone knew about their innovations in robotics and the androids they manufactured. He explained all this and more to Nicole, but she grew even more confused.
“I have never heard of the city of Detroit,” she said, “Where is it located?”
“Detroit, Michigan,” Connor said, “A city in the United States of America.”
“The United States of America?” she asked, “Do you mean the United Federation?”
“Something is wrong,” Connor said, “Tell me about yourself, Nicole.”
She began to explain how she was created, who her friends were, where she was from, and more. At the end of it, Connor was even more confused, “I’ve never heard of any of the places you’ve mentioned. I’ve never heard of Dr. Eggman or Sonic the Hedgehog. I’ve never heard of the Kingdom of Acorn. And I’ve certainly never heard of this crisis you mention.”
Nicole had a thoughtful look for a moment before her face lit up, “I have an idea!”
Her holographic form retreated back into the PDA. For a minute, it beeped while Connor simply stood there, waiting. Nicole came back out, smiling, “I understand now.”
“Understand what, exactly?”
“We are from different zones,” she said.
“Zones?” Connor asked.
“Other words for them would be realms, dimensions, universes,” Nicole said.
Connor at this point had no words to say. His situation was far stranger than it had first appeared.
Zane was shrouded in darkness. Where was he? He’d been in the monastery analyzing mergequake data with Pix. But then his vision went white. What happened? He turned on his flashlight, bathing his surroundings in light.
He was now in a large semicircular room. Control monitors formed rings coming towards the center, where he currently stood. The room was slate gray. Touching one of the monitors, Zane was met with a thick coat of dust. No one had been here for a long time. A hatch with a yellow sticker hung open, revealing a dark hole beneath one of the monitors, wires poking out here and there. Any internal components were gone.
Scavengers? Zane thought. It was a possibility. Zane decided to focus on finding a way out and contacting the other ninja. He moved out of the room and into a long hallway.
As Zane walked, he saw more openings in the walls and ceiling. Wires snaked down and throughout the rusted metal hallway, all while dust coated everything. Zane disturbed the dust, creating huge clouds of unbreathable air. Zane was thankful that he could hold his breath for so long (technically, he didn’t need to breathe at all).
Zane came upon a door which had a wheel as an opening mechanism. Upon trying to turn the wheel, Zane ended up breaking it. Zane thought about using his battering ram mode, but dismissed it as it required other people. He settled on simply forcing the door open. After a few body slams, the door burst outward.
Into the sky.
Zane nearly fell, barely clinging to the doorframe. Outside, there was a large rugged field hundreds of feet below. Large airship looking structures, bigger than anything he’d ever seen, towered in the distance. Beneath the ship he was in were smaller airships. All of them were eaten by rust and covered in old scorch marks. All of them also armed with huge guns. About two miles away, a road snaked through the colossal carcasses.
After seeing no way of climbing down, Zane jumped. He took off hood and held it above his head with both hands. The cloth ballooned out, the air getting caught like an animal in a net. It slowed his descent to only a few meters per second. Zane was thankful that they’d made their hoods double as emergency parachutes.
His feet touched the soft mildew covered grass and he came to a stop. It was a foggy day, the sky an endless stretch of gray. He put his hood back on.
Not knowing what to do, Zane made his way to the road he’d seen. He attempted to contact the monastery or any of his fellow ninja. But he got nothing. He managed to connect to the internet, but none of the links to websites he knew worked. All he found were a few barebones websites that were either messaging boards or blogs. Zane tried reading some of them to glean a bit of information.
Clanking footsteps rang out behind him. Quickly, he whipped around to face whoever it was.
A robot stood before him. A very short robot. Zane was 198 cm (6’6”) and by his estimation, the robot was at least 110 cm (3’7”).
The robot was humanoid and colored black, gold and silver. Their head was an almost perfect sphere. On their forehead was a gold ornament shaped like an anchor. A large gem was embedded in the middle of this ornament. The robot’s eyes were blue with a ring of red around them. They had no mouth. Their chest was black with three silver holes in a triangular shape on it. Their arms and legs were connected to their body by ball joints. Said arms and legs had gold diamond shaped ornaments attached to them.
“QUERY: WHO ARE YOU?” the robot asked.
“I am Zane,” he said, “Who might you be?”
“MY DESIGNATION: GEMERL,” Gemerl said.
They do not seem as sentient as I am, Zane thought, before asking “Do you know where this is? I am rather lost.”
“ANSWER: I DO NOT KNOW WHERE I AM EITHER. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: RETURN TO CREAM,”
“Well,” Zane said, “Perhaps we can help each other.”
“ASSESMENT: YOU ARE NOT A THREAT. YOUR ASSISTANCE IS ACCEPTED,” Gemerl said.
“Then let us—”
“Uh…” Zane turned around to see the newcomer.
It was another robot. This one was shorter than Gemerl by about 3 inches (7.5”). They had goggle-like eyes that came up from a box-like body like a periscope. Their body was a dirty, yellowish orange. Instead of feet, they had treads to move around. On their back was a small box that seemed to act like a bag.
“Hello,” Zane said, “What is your name?”
“Wall-E,” the robot said.
“Are you lost as well?”
“Um,” Wall-E said, then nodded.
“Well then,” Zane said, “We’ll help you as well.”
Roz had no idea what was going on. She was with two robots, both models she was unfamiliar with.
The first one she’d met was a sleek golden humanoid, 177 cm (5’7”) tall. He had glowing yellow eyes and a small slit in his face that looked like a mouth. His belly was exposed, showing circuitry snaking across a black surface. Roz found them to be quite amiable, if a bit cowardly.
The other one they’d met was much shorter than the golden one, only 150 cm (4’11”). But this one seemed to have been built to destroy and was programmed with bloodlust. They had large shoulders and a small yellow capped head with red eyes. They were primarily black and red, with long silver claws and a central white stripe on his chest. A red omega symbol was painted on their left shoulder.
C-3PO, the golden one said, “I sincerely hope we can find a way off this planet.”
“AFFIRMATIVE,” E-123 Omega replied, “I MUST GET BACK TO EGGMAN TO DESTROY HIM AND HIS ROBOTS.”
Roz had been wary of Omega’s hate for this Dr. Robotnik/Eggman, but after hearing how he powered most of his robots, she hated him too. Omega hated him for an entirely different reason, though.
C-3PO claimed to come from another planet, and that he had traveled throughout the galaxy. Roz was willing to believe that this wasn’t a hallucination of theirs; the things he described were simply too insane to be made up.
“Do you have any idea where we are going?” C3PO asked.
“I saw a road up ahead,” Roz said, “Perhaps there will be a sign, or a home, or a car might pass by.”
“MAYBE THERE WILL BE HOSTILES,” Omega said, “THEN I CAN FIGHT THEM.”
Goodness, Roz thought, I hope that doesn’t happen.
They made their way past the giant ship and down the grassy slope. There were many of these ships, as well as smaller ones. It was a whole boneyard. They all looked like giant gray feet, with 2 large guns on the ankles and 6 on the foot itself. On the underbelly were more of these guns. Some had been sprayed with messages, such as “DON’T BELIEVE THE HOAX.” Omega had thought these ships had been brought down in a giant battle. C3PO said that it was more likely they were in a scrapyard of some kind, given that the smaller ships were gutted of all internal components, left as empty husks.
As they neared the road, C-3PO said, “I hope R2 is alright.”
Metal sighed as the dumpster robot and the floating egg robot started fighting again.
R2-D2, a blue and white cylindrical robot, with a silver and blue semispherical head, and two wheel legs, aggressively beeped and booped. Metal didn’t understand them entirely, but she got the gist of it. R2 was still messing with Eve, but she was having none of it.
Eve was female, no doubt (R2, Metal wasn’t sure). She hovered off the ground, like an angel. Her main body was smooth and white, more cone shaped than egg shaped when Metal thought about it. Her arms and head were detached, floating closely to her main body. Her face was an LED screen with a pair of blue eyes.
Apparently, before Metal had run into the two, Eve had somehow mistaken R2 for her husband, a robot called Wall-E. R2 thought Eve was interested in them, but when Eve explained, they were hurt. So, the rolling robot started pranking the hovering one. Needless to say, it was getting annoying.
“Enough,” said PIXAL, their fourth companion. She was more humanoid than any of them (R2 was a rolling trash can, Eve was an egg, and Metal was a hedgehog). Unlike humans, though, her face was white with purple conduction lines traced across. She was about 6’ 3”. Her eyes were glowed green, and had a calculating look to them. She wore a purple and white suit with red stripes running throughout, and gold shoulder pads. She also had a samurai helmet, which she’d been wearing when they first encountered each other (Metal did not know where it was now).
“This in-fighting is unnecessary,” PIXAL said, “We need to focus on reaching the road and finding out where we are.”
Eve and R2 glared at each other, before continuing along with PIXAL and Metal.
The four robots made their way through a broken fleet of massive airships. The ships were gray, gray, and grayer. The biggest ones were at least 4000 ft long. No ship in the Egg Fleet had ever been that big. But, they’d had superior armament and probably more advanced technology. Dr. Eggman was a true—No, stop thinking that, she thought. Sometimes, old programming deleted hard. That included the line ‘praise: Eggman’.
They passed a large airship that sat next to the road. It was at least 2600 ft long, with a large superstructure at the back end. Two large guns were on both sides of the structure, and the number 48 painted in white was underneath the right gun. Six guns were on the lower part of the ship, and more were on the underbelly.
As they came up to the road, they found a body lying in the grass.
It was the body of a robot. They had the head of a hedgehog; black quills and a yellow outline around the eyes, and a silver mouth with a pointy noise. Their body was black, with silver shoulder pads. Their left hand was missing, but their right hand was silver. In the center of their chest was a yellow circle with a cracked green gem embedded in it. That was new. Their right leg was missing as well. The left leg was silver with a black and yellow boot.
“Is this robot related to you?” PIXAL asked.
“Yes,” Metal said, “Sort of.”
“Explain.”
“This robot,” Metal said, “is called Metal Sonic 3.0. They were built by Dr. Eggman Nega, Eggman’s descendant from 200 years in the future. He tried to destroy the world multiple times. The last I heard, he was left trapped in another dimension along with this robot.”
“So they’ve been brought from another realm as well,” PIXAL said. She’d told them a while back about an event known as The Merge. 16 dimensions, or realms, as she called them, combined into one. She’d seemed rather surprised to find out there were more than 16 realms.
Metal continued to look at the damaged robot. Eggman Nega, she thought, he must be dead by now. There was no way the Doctor had survived for long in that dimension. Eggman is dead as well, Metal thought, perhaps…
Metal slowly knelt down and picked up the broken robot. She wrapped her arms around their waist and neck, bringing them up in a princess carry. Their arms and one leg hanged limp.
“What are you doing?” PIXAL asked, “Carrying that will only slow us down.”
“I can’t leave them behind,” Metal said, “They might be like me. They need to be repaired first, then, we’ll see. Besides, they’re not that heavy.”
“Very well,” PIXAL said, “Don’t fall behind.”
They walked on the side of the road for a time. The grassy fields stretched endlessly, with the airships scattered throughout. The sky was overcast, as gray as the ships. Mist covered the landscape. Metal couldn’t tell exactly what time it was, though she guess it might be morning. If Metal had senses, she probably would’ve felt a bit cold.
Eventually, up ahead appeared an RV. It was about 20 ft long, white with teal stripes. It had an extension over the cab, the driver’s seat, with several windows. Two windows, with a door in the middle, were on the side of the RV.
“Perhaps someone is home,” PIXAL said. Metal nodded.
As they were about to make their way to the RV, they heard loud clanking footsteps. They turned to the noise, and were greeted by a group of three robots. Metal didn’t recognize two of them, but the one barreling toward them was a familiar. They were red, black and yellow, with red eyes filled with hate, glaring at Metal.
Great, Metal thought, this again. She braced herself, as she heard Omega cry out, “DIE!”
Connor walked alongside Nicole’s holographic form.
“So,” he said, “we both know we’re from different universes.”
“Correct,” Nicole said.
“How did we get here?”
“I am still trying to find an answer to that question,” Nicole said, “You saw a flash of light as well?”
“Yes,” Connor sent the memory to Nicole, “but what caused it?”
“We will have to log that away for a later discussion,” she said, “Right now, we should focus on finding locals.”
“Let’s hope this road leads somewhere,” Connor said.
The road was wet from recent rain. The black tarmac, with yellow lines painted on it, glistened from it. Depressions in the road allowed puddles to form, which reflected the cold gray sky. What time of year is it? Connor thought. He went on the internet and went to a messaging board. He got his answer quickly. Spring of 1997.
Connor had spent some time on the internet. Despite being more primitive, he managed to get valuable information with Nicole. Just by asking a few questions on messaging boards, he’d learned a lot. They had found a road sign, which indicated they were on Route 88. They were definitely in America, or at least a version of it. Connor had gleaned from a messaging board that Route 88 was in Pacifica, which Connor found out was a renamed California.
There had also been a second civil war fought between 1973 and 1980. Before that, the Federal Army began building giant drones to fight wars. The civil war saw these drones used heavily. While military casualties were minimized, civilian casualties had been heavy. Entire cities had been destroyed.
Connor and Nicole discussed what might happen if they found a town or city. Nicole was worried the Government would capture them and run experiments on them. Connor argued that the Government was the only one that had enough resources to build something to get them home.
While they were talking, a gunshot rang out in the air. Connor was not unfamiliar to the sound, neither was Nicole. More shots rang out, coming up ahead over a small hill. Connor and Nicole rushed toward the noise. They crouched down on the crest of the hill, and beheld the most chaotic scene that Connor had ever set his eyes upon.
A short, blue robot in a dress, was dodging bullets from a larger, but still short, red and yellow robot. The blue robot was sleek and aerodynamic, while the red one was bulky and heavy, with broad shoulders, and a large arms. Their right arm had a rotary cannon for a hand. The blue one appeared to be holding another robot, this one black and yellow. It was hindering their movement, but not much.
There were several robots on the sidelines. A tall, white faced woman, similar to a CyberLife android without their human skin. Purple lines traced her cheeks, and she had silver hair tied in a ponytail. An even taller robot, at least 8 ft, stood next to her. They had grey limbs, a white, circular body, and a white circular head, with blue eyes. There was also a sleek golden robot, a short cylindrical robot with a blue semispherical head, and a hovering, round, white robot. Behind them was a Class-C RV, with a Dodge Tradesman chassis and cab.
“That’s E-123 Omega!” Nicole said, “I do not know the others, except for who Omega is fighting.”
“And they are?”
“Metal Sonic,” Nicole said, gravely, “The most terrible creation of Dr. Eggman. They were made in order to combat Sonic the Hedgehog, my friend. Though, I don’t know why they’re wearing a dress.”
“Perhaps we should find out,” Connor suggested.
“Very well,”
They both stood up. Immediately, all the others snapped their heads to look at them. Omega and Metal Sonic stopped their fighting, as they seemed to detect the two of them. Omega trained his rotary arm cannon at them.
“Don’t shoot!” Connor shouted, “We don’t want to fight!”
“Who are you?” the white faced woman called.
“My name is Connor!” he shouted, “This is Nicole!”
“May we come over?” Nicole called.
The woman said yes. Connor and Nicole walked down the slope of the hill. When they reached, the robots had gathered around to meet them. Omega and Metal Sonic had suspended their fighting, but Omega still glared at Metal Sonic, as if ready to lash out at any moment.
“May you tell us your names?” Connor asked.
The robots in turn introduced themselves. The android introduced herself as PIXAL, the eight foot tall giant called herself Roz, the golden one was C3PO, the blue and white trash can on wheels was called R2-D2 (Connor did not understand how he understood the beeping), and the hovering white one, with blue LED eyes, was called Eve.
“NOW THAT WE ARE AQUAINTED,” Omega said, turning to Metal, “LET US GET BACK TO FIGHTING.”
“For the last time Omega,” Metal Sonic said, “I don’t want to fight you.”
“I WOULD NOT WANT TO FIGHT ME NEITHER,” Omega said, “BUT I WANT TO FIGHT YOU. YOU ARE THE REASON WE ARE HERE.”
“How, exactly,” they asked, “What is your source?”
“MY SOURCE IS MY AMAZING INTUITION,” Omega proclaimed, “THIS IS ONE OF EGGMAN’S SCHEMES. THAT IS THE MOST LOGICAL EXPLANATION.”
“Eggman is dead,” Metal Sonic said, “Did you forget?”
“WHAT!” Omega and Nicole shouted.
“HOW DARE HE!” Omega shouted, “I DID NOT EVEN GET TO BLAST HIM.”
“Good riddance,” Roz said.
“How?” Nicole muttered to herself, “Eggman was alive when I last saw him. Unless…”
She looked at Metal Sonic, “Can you come here for a moment?”
They came forward, looking wearily at the holo-lynx. Nicole asked Connor to hold out her PDA body, which he did. She retreated back into the PDA and it sent out a ray of light which moved up and down Metal Sonic’s body. After the scan was complete, Nicole came back out.
“You are not my Metal Sonic,” Nicole said, “You are from another zone, one where Eggman died.”
She turned to the rest of the group, “May I scan all of you? That way, I can determine if any of you come from the same zone.”
Everyone agreed to it, especially C3PO and R2. They wanted to know if the other was the friend they knew. Nicole scanned all of them, and determined that Omega, Roz, PIXAL, and Eve each came from separate zones. The black metal sonic came from Nicole’s zone, though she did not recognize them. R2 and C3PO came from the same zone.
“Oh, R2!” C-3PO exclaimed, “I am glad to see you.”
R2 beeped and booped, shaking from side to side on his wheel arms.
“Do you think there are any more of us?” Connor asked Nicole.
“PIXAL!” an unknown voice shouted.
PIXAL turned in the direction of the voice and gasped, “Zane?” She broke into a sprint.
Connor turned and saw a blue eyed man witha steel face, in a ninja suit made out of titanium, running toward them. Behind him was a small boxy robot, and a short humanoid robot. Neither had a visible mouth. The box robot was the color of burnt orange, and the humanoid one was black and gold, with a red outline around their blue eyes.
The boxy one called out something that sounded like, “EVAH!”
Eve’s eyes widened, and she cried out, “WALL-E!” She flew toward the robot who Connor assumed was called Wall-E, and grabbed in him a tight hug, lifting the little robot in the air. The two nuzzled one another, making small cooing noises, while Eve spun Wall-E around.
PIXAL reached the titanium man, Zane, and embraced him. Zane picked her up and spun as well.
Lovers, Connor thought, two sets of them.
The black and gold robot came up to Omega and the two stared at each other for a moment.
“Gemerl!” Nicole called, “How— wait, I need to ask: Do you recognize me?”
Gemerl looked at Nicole, “NO.”
“Well,” Nicole said, “That confirms you are not my Gemerl. May I scan you?”
“YOU MAY,”
Nicole scanned Gemerl, Zane, and Wall-E, determining that they came from the same zones as Omega, PIXAL, and Eve, respectively.
“Now that we’re all here,” Nicole said, “I suppose we should figure out what to do.”
“We’ve somehow been transported from our original realms,” PIXAL said, “to this realm.”
“But, how?” PIXAL asked, “The energy it would take…”
“I may have an explanation,” Metal Sonic said. Everyone turned to her as they said this. They continued, “Before I came here, Tails, my Tails, installed a Chaos Emerald tracker in me.”
“Chaos Emerald?” Connor asked.
“Chaos Emeralds,” Nicole said, “are 7 gems of incredible power. Just one can be used to perform Chaos Control, which can stop time. With all 7, you can do incredible and terrible things.”
Connor was baffled. Stop time? What sort of gems were these?
“I activated this tracker,” Metal said, “and it is detecting a Chaos Emerald.”
“Where?” Nicole asked.
Metal pointed in the direction the road went, “It’s somewhere west of us.”
“If we find the Chaos Emerald,” Nicole said, “we could build a device that can send us all home!”
“How far from us is it?” Zane asked.
“Not too far,” Metal said, “But walking there would take a long time.”
“We need a mode of transportation,” Connor said, “Where can we get that?”
Everyone turned to look at the RV. It stood a little ways from the road on the grass. It was about 20 feet long. The RV body had two windows and a windowed door in the middle. Teal stripes wrapped around the vehicle in 3 foot bands. The windows were dark. If anyone was inside, they couldn’t tell.
“I DO NOT DETECT ANY LIVING BEINGS INSIDE,” Omega said. Okay, they could tell.
“Hold on,” Connor said, “taking that RV would be grand theft auto.”
“Well,” PIXAL said, “do you have any other suggestions?”
Connor thought logically about their options. Hitch a ride on a passing car? Ridiculous. He and Nicole had been walking by the road for 3 hours; not a single vehicle had passed by. This road was dead. Have their most mobile members go ahead and retrieve the Emerald? Too risky. If anything happened to them, they would have no way of knowing. Just walk there? No. If a random person got a hold of the Emerald, who knew what might happen. They had to get there quickly.
“Fine,” Connor said, “Only because there’s no other way.”
“Alright,” PIXAL motioned for everyone to follow, “Let’s see the condition of—”
A low rumbling noise appeared. She stopped, as everyone listened. The rumbling was coming down from the East end of the road. The rumbling of an engine and wheels over tarmac, along with the spraying of water from puddles.
The group gathered the road as a black Oldsmobile, with a kayak strapped on top, began to approach them.
Notes:
This is my first fic on this site! Hope everyone who reads likes it!
I'm excited for what's to come, and you should be too!
Just so you know, the Metal Sonic in this Fic is based off of fernsnailz Metal Sonic:Good Future comic from their Fanzine Born to Fail. Go read it! It's free and awesome.
Chapter Text
The car came to a stop 100 feet from them. The driver door opened and out stepped a twenty year old woman. She wore a black jacket and white pants with red stripes. It looked like she’d been wearing them for days. Her hair was cut into bangs, messy and all over the place. She gave a strange look to Zane and PIXAL.
“Hello there!” Connor called. He took a step forward.
The woman reached into the car and pulled out a shotgun.
“A gun?” Roz said, “Owning firearms is illegal!”
“No its not,” Connor said, “so long as you have a license.”
“SHOULD I SHOOT HER?” Omega asked.
“No!” Everyone shouted, except for Gemerl, who said, “THAT IS AN OPTION.”
“Who the hell are you?” the woman called out, “Are you with the police?”
“I’m a detective for the Detroit Police Department,” Connor offered.
The woman trained her gun on him.
“Not from your Detroit,” Connor said quickly, “I’m from another universe. We all are, in fact.”
The woman looked at him, dumbfounded, “What.”
“I’m also an android,” he said, “or a robot, if you prefer.”
The woman burst into laughter, “No way.”
Connor let his liquid skin fall, revealing the plastic polymer that he was made of. The woman gasped, dropping her gun. She swore, reaching down to pick it up.
“Do you believe me now?” Connor asked, pulling his liquid skin back up, “We don’t mean any harm. We just want to talk.”
The woman looked at them wearily, before lowering her shotgun. She approached them, examining each member of the group as she did.
“WHO IS IN THE CAR?” Omega asked.
The woman tensed. She turned to the car. Connor looked, and through the glass of the windows; he saw movement in the back seat. The woman called, “Skip! Come out!” The back door on the right side opened. Out stepped a small robot, the size of a human child. They had a large yellow head, with a painted cartoon smile and eyes, a nose, and a tuft of brown hair on top. They had a red body, white gloves, and red boots.
“Hello,” Roz waved, “Are you friends?”
The little robot nodded.
“This is Skip,” the woman said, “I’m Michelle. What do you want?”
“We’re lost,” PIXAL said, “Can you tell us where we are?”
Michelle went into the car and brought out a map. Everyone gathered around as she laid it out onto the hood of the Car. It was a map of California, undoubtedly. Route 88 traced across as a white line. The land was divided into a grid, each individual square having its own name.
“We’re right here,” Michelle pointed to a small part of the map labeled, ‘San Augustine Salvage Yard,’, “and no, you can’t take the map. I need it myself.”
“There is no need for that,” PIXAL said, “I’ve already scanned it.”
“Most of us have,” Nicole said, “This road appears to end at a town called, Point Linden.”
“That is where we’re headed then,” Zane said, “We should go see the RV now.”
Michelle looked over at the RV by the road. “An RV?” she muttered, “You’ve got to be kidding me. My mother use to…” She trailed off.
“Just so you know,” Connor said, “This RV doesn’t belong to us. We’re commandeering it because we have no choice. It looks abandoned, anyway.”
“No,” Michelle said, “The owner might be inside, in a neuronic daydream. Or they’re dead.”
Nicole’s eyebrows furrowed, “Neuronic? Do you mean neurotic?”
“Ok,” Michelle chuckled, “You’re definitely not from here, if you don’t know what neuronic means.”
“What does it mean?” Nicole asked.
“I’ll show you,” Michelle said, “Come on. Let’s see if anyone’s home.”
Metal trudged toward the RV, still carrying Metal Sonic 3.0. She felt short-sighted for not noticing it wasn’t the 3.0 Sonic had fought. The differences in design, especially the gem, made it obvious. It didn’t matter too much to her, though. There was still a chance she could help them break free. The way Sonic helped her break free.
“Miss Metal,” C-3PO said, “I believe you can put them down now,”
“I’m not tired,” Metal said. She was a robot. Robots did not feel exhaustion the same way organic life forms did.
“I know,” C-3PO said, “But this RV looks rather unwashed. I was wondering if you could help clean.”
“Oh,” Metal nodded, “I can do that.”
“Also,” C-3PO said, “What exactly does ‘RV’ mean?”
“Recreational Vehicle,” Metal said, “It’s basically a home on wheels.”
“Ah, I see,” he said, “I knew a man who lived in his own ship.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It was the fastest ship in the Galaxy,”
They reached the RV. As Metal laid 3.0 on the ground, Connor went to the door and knocked. No answer. He grabbed the handle and pulled. It came ajar, apparently unlocked. He went in. Zane and PIXAL followed. Michelle took a step before reeling back and covering her mouth, retching. “Something died in there,” she said, “or someone, rather.”
Someone had indeed died. Connor and Zane carried the body out of the RV. It was a man, thin and pale. He wore a white undershirt, stained with dirt, oil, and food, and a pair of boxers in the same condition. His eyes were glassy, rolled into the back of his head. His was gaping, his jaw opened wide, with and expression of what Metal thought to be pleasure.
PIXAL came out holding a peculiar object. It looked like a VR headset, but much larger. It was covered in stains, but had been white as well at one point. The thing was about 2 feet long.
“That’s a neurocaster,” Michelle explained, “They’re made by this company called Sentre. In the beginning they were used to control drones, these huge wrecks you see around us. Eventually, they were released to the public. It was fine, at first. But after Mode 6, things went to shit.”
“How?” Nicole asked.
“Using a neurocaster after Mode 6 is like using a drug,” Michelle continued, “A very addictive drug. With deadly side effects to boot.”
“Worse than Red Ice,” Connor remarked.
“Red Ice?” Michelle frowned, “Is that a form of Coke?”
“Yes,” Connor said, “it’s—”
“Skip?” Michelle looked over Connor’s shoulder, “What are you doing?”
Everyone turned to look, as did Metal. Skip was on his knees, resting his gloved hand on 3.0’s head. The robot boy was incredibly still. Michelle came next to him, knelt down and tapped his shoulder, “You alright buddy?”
That was when Metal felt pain.
It came out of nowhere. A thousand voices screamed in her head. She dropped to all fours, tearing the ground with her claws. She was vaguely aware of her surroundings. Some of them were screaming, she knew that.
In her peripheral vision, she saw Eve lock up, her arms and head snapping together, as she dropped to the ground. Wall-E’s hands, head, and treads, retracted into his body, until he appeared only as a shaking box. Zane’s head was somehow spinning a full 360 degrees, as well as PIXAL’s. Roz was curled up on the ground, whimpering. Connor clutched his head, his eyes shut, as he screamed. Nicole’s holographic body was nowhere in sight. Her PDA body lay on the ground, red pixels swirling around it. R2-D2 rolled in circles while C-3PO rolled on the ground. Omega was expending their ammunition into the sky while Gemerl punched the ground.
Then it stopped. As quickly as it came, it left. There was no more screaming. Metal let out a sigh of relief.
Michelle held her shotgun was holding her shotgun. “What. The. Fuck.” She said.
“Trust me,” Connor said, clutching his knees, “I have no idea what that was.”
“It,” Nicole reappeared in a swirl of pixels, “appears we came under a cyber-attack. From who, I could not tell. But one thing that is clear to me is this: they were not human.”
“IT WAS THE LITTLE ROBOT’S FAULT,” Omega said, pointing at Skip, “IT ONLY STARTED AFTER THEY TOUCHED THE METAL SONIC.”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Metal said, as Michelle glared daggers at Omega.
“What was he doing with the Metal Sonic?” Roz asked.
They looked at Skip, who stood next to the broken Metal Sonic. Skip glanced at all of them, before glancing at the Metal Sonic, tapping them in the head.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the Metal Sonic’s eyes flickered to life, a light green. A mouth materialized on their face.
“Whoa,” they said, “you’re a colorful bunch.” They smiled at Omega, “Hey Omega! This is our first time meeting. I want you to know that I’m on your side. So please don’t destroy me. Who’s that next to you? Why do they kinda look like me—?” They noticed Metal standing by their side.
The robot let out a shout, “METAL! You— you’re— you’re… wearing a dress?” They were absolutely flabbergasted.
“Yes,” Metal said, “I’m not the Metal Sonic you’re familiar.”
“Yeah, bro,” he said (Metal was sure it was a he), “Metal Sonics in my zone wouldn’t be caught dead, cross-dressing.”
“I go by she/her,” Metal said.
“Oh,” 3.0 scratched his head, embarrassed, “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“Would you mind telling us about yourself?” Nicole asked, “You’re from my zone, but I do not recognize you.”
“Nicole?” 3.0 looked at the holo-lynx with relief, grinning “oh man. It’s good to see you. Mind explaining what’s going on?”
Nicole looked confused, “You are from my universe, but… I do not know you.”
3.0’s grin faltered, “Nicole? It’s— it’s me, Shard. We talked in Cyberspace. I helped Team Fighters stop the Krudzu Hybrid thing. I stopped Metal from hurting Antoine, who was in a coma (low blow, by the way). We had a big fight which resulted in me getting blown up. It damaged by Power Gem.” Shard tapped the cracked gem on his chest, “Please tell me you’re pulling my leg.”
“I…” Nicole hesitated, “I think I know what is going on here.”
“What?”
“Shard, allow me to explain. You are from my reality; before the Super Genesis Wave.”
Zane examined the RV’s engine. It was a V6, a six-cylinder piston engine. From what he could tell, it was in good condition. He closed the hood and gave a thumbs up to PIXAL, who stood to the side.
“All good?” she asked.
“Yes,” Zane said, “Can you get the keys we found?”
“Sure,”
She walked past Nicole the holo-lynx and Shard the Metal Sonic. The lynx talked softly to the damaged robot hedgehog, who had a crestfallen expression. Nicole had sent a document to everyone explaining what exactly the Super Genesis Wave was. From what Zane could gather, it was far worse than the Merge.
The Super Genesis Wave had altered the Prime Zone, Nicole’s reality. It had changed history, erasing countless people from the timeline. No one had any memories of the previous reality, except for Sonic the Hedgehog. Zane knew the Merge had been a terrible event, where people had been separated and stranded in unknown lands, possibly dying far away from their friends and family. But at least nobody had been erased. They remembered those who had been lost.
Roz came up to him, “Is the vehicle functional?”
“I’ve examined the wheels, axles, and engine” Zane said, “I did not detect any problems. We have a 28 gallons in a 32 gallon tank. With the estimated mileage being 22, we have enough fuel to drive 616 miles.”
“Will that be enough to reach our destination?” she asked.
“I cannot say,” He said, “Metal said that she can tell if we are getting closer to the Emerald. Distance is a bit trickier, so she says. If we are running low on fuel, we can simply go to a gas station.”
“Do you have any cash?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Zane said, “But we did find some in the RV. About 800 dollars in 10s, 50s, and some change. I understand the necessity of the situation, but I am usually one to stop theft.”
“It is not the worst thing one can do,” Roz said.
“I suppose,” Zane tapped his chin, “If the owner had been alive, it would’ve been worse.”
“Agreed,”
“Let’s get everyone together,” Zane said, “We should move out immediately.”
All the robots, along with Michelle and Skip, gathered by the side of the RV.
“Our transport is ready,” he said, “Now, since this vehicle was built for humans in mind, only Connor, PIXAL, and I, can drive.”
“We can do shifts,” Connor suggested, “Driving all the time might get monotonous.”
“That is a good idea,” Zane said.
“It will take time, though,” PIXAL said, frowning.
“The time lost will be negligible,” Zane said.
“Alright,” Connor said, “I’ll drive first. Everyone in.”
The robots loaded up into the RV while Michelle and Skip got into their car. Zane felt the engine ignite, sending small earthquakes throughout the entire vehicle.
The interior of the RV was serviceable. It had been messy when Zane had first entered. Trash had entered every nook and cranny, piling around the dead owner. After taking the owner out and burying him with Roz’s help, Zane, PIXAL, and Roz had taken to cleaning the place. Roz had just barely fit through the door, so tall that she had to kneel down inside.
There was a couch next to a ladder, which led up to the alcove above the cab, which had a bed. In the middle of the vehicle was a small kitchen (which would probably not be used for the entirety of the trip). In the back was another bed.
Zane sat down on the couch next to Shard. The black, yellow striped robot was missing a hand and a leg, although, it appeared he was slowly self-repairing.
“How are you doing that?” Zane asked, as he saw a dent on the robot hedgehog smooth over.
“Properties of the power gem,” Shard smiled, tapping the cracked gem on his chest, “This thing has my core code as well. If it had shattered completely, I would’ve been toast.” Shard had apparently been fighting the latest model of his universe’s Metal Sonic before the Super Genesis Wave. During the fight, Metal Sonic self destructed, damaging Shard badly in the process.
“You’re lucky,” Zane said, “Luckier, than… others in your universe.”
Shard’s smile faded.
“I’m aware of what happened to your universe,” Zane continued, “Was there anyone you were… close to?”
Shard nodded, “I asked Nicole. My team… the Secret Freedom Fighters… they’re gone.”
“Who were they?”
“Larry Lynx, Leeta and Lyco, Silver the Hedgehog, and Elias Acorn,” he said, “They were brought together by Harvey Who, former Director of the Secret Intelligence Division. I was rebuilt by Gramps, Sir Charles Hedgehog, Sonic’s uncle, to be a part of the team. We were going to overthrow Naugus, this evil wizard who took the throne from Elias. We managed to stop him from mind controlling the council. But I guess… I guess…” Shard stopped talking, unable to continue. Zane put his hand on his shoulder.
The RV rolled onto the road. Soon, they were on their way to the Chaos Emerald.
Notes:
SECOND CHAPTER WHOO!
Things get a bit emotional at the end, did it tug any heartstrings?
We'll be getting into backstory next chapter. Major Spoilers for every Fandom involved. This entire work is one huge spoiler for the Electric State.
Hope you enjoyed!
Chapter 3: III
Notes:
Don't know if this counts as a suicide warning, but Metal contemplates blowing themself up.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The RV rumbled down the road, passing the carved carcasses of drones.
Shard was looking out the window, watching the landscape roll by. These drones, as the others called them, varied in size, but the biggest rivaled size of the Death Egg. Tall grass stretched on and on, waving in the wind as they passed. The sky was on the verge of weeping. He would’ve wept with it, but he couldn’t. I can still mourn, he thought, I’m not an unfeeling robot.
Larry, Leeta, Lyco, Elias, Harvey, all of them were gone. Erased from reality itself. Silver and Gramps were still around, but they wouldn’t remember him. The mad doctor had truly outdone himself. He’d damaged Shard in a way he hadn’t intended.
Shard flexed his left hand, now fully repaired. His self-repairing was impaired, due to his power gem being cracked. His head was now free of any dents as well. The self-repairing had finally moved to his right leg. He’d be up and about soon enough. They passed a herd of cows grazing around the wreckages. Shard thought it was nice. Then the dead cows appeared. That really killed his mood.
“Now then,” C-3PO said, “Since we’re finally on the road, we should all do something together.”
“What do you mean?” asked Zane.
“We could play a game of Dejarik,” the golden robot suggested.
“The heck is Dejarik?” asked Shard.
“It’s a board game,” C-3PO said.
“Ah,” he said, It wouldn’t distract me enough, “Pass. How about we all link up and go to a digital space?”
“Shard,” Nicole said, “I don’t think we have the computing power for that.”
“Aw,” he said, slumping on the couch, “Well, I’m out of ideas.”
“Perhaps,” Roz said, “we could tell stories. Stories we’ve heard. Stories about ourselves.”
“Oh!” C-3PO exclaimed, “That is a wonderful idea Roz. May I go first?”
“Take it away, golden boy,” Shard quipped.
“Allow me to compose myself,” he said, he stayed silent for few seconds before starting, “Long ago, in a galaxy, far, far away, on the planet of Tatooine, there was a young boy…”
C-3PO continued, talking about his travels to different planets. The Force, Jedi Knights, and the Clone Wars. The fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. The Resistance. The Death Star and its destruction in the Battle of Yavin. The truth of Luke Skywalker’s parentage (that had been the most shocking twist Shard had ever heard). The construction of the Second Death Star. Its destruction in the battle of Endor. The end of the Empire and the return of the Republic. The disappearance of Luke Skywalker. The rise of the First Order. The destruction of Starkiller Base. The death of Luke Skywalker. The surprise return of the Emperor. And the end, which involved Rey destroying the Emperor once and for all.
“Okay, wow,” Shard said, after 2 hours of listening to the incredibly riveting story (Although, the last third had been a bit confusing. Seriously, how did the Emperor return?).
“You two have witnessed a great deal,” Roz said.
“We have,” C-3PO said, “What about you?”
“Me?” she said, “Well, my story begins with a hurricane…”
After Roz finished, everyone gave her a hug, promising to help her return home to Brightbill, her gosling son.
“He must be worried,” Roz said, “He might think I’ve been transferred to a different farm.”
“Who’s next?” asked Nicole.
Wall-E rolled up alongside Eve. The little robot took off his bag, and brought out a device that resembled a red stethoscope. Connecting the device to Eve, it projected a screen onto the wall. Eve rewound the footage far back to when she first met Wall-E. From there, they saw the two’s whole adventure.
Once it was done, ending with their wedding, everyone agreed that it was a beautiful story.
“That Auto guy sucked,” Shard said, “Glad he’s gone.”
“I believe,” Zane said, “PIXAL and I are next.”
The ninja cleared his throat, before he said, “Long before time had a name…”
It was by far the craziest story Shard had ever heard. The whole thing rivaled the scope of C-3PO and R2’s saga. It involved prophecies, time travel shenanigans one time, robots, ancient mystical beings, magic artifacts, super weapons etc. So, in other words, exactly like Mobius (what he remembered of world history made his CPU overheat). It was here that everyone learned that Zane had ice powers. He demonstrated by forming frost in his right hand.
“Some of that was rather hard to comprehend,” C-3PO said. R2 beeped in agreement.
“We can talk specifics later,” PIXAL said, “There are now only five of us left who haven’t explained their pasts to us.”
“Gemerl, Omega,” Nicole said, “Since both of you come from the same universe, you may go first.”
“WITH PLEASURE,” Omega said.
Omega went on about how Eggman had kept him in storage, despite how strong he was. When he was activated, Omega was so mad that he rebelled against the doctor and vowed to destroy all his machines. This was slightly different to how it happened in Shard’s universe, but Nicole and Metal said that it happened in exactly the same way in theirs.
Gemerl’s story was the same in both Nicole and Metal’s universe as well. However, according to Nicole, her Gemerl had more personality and showed more emotion.
“How about you Nicole?” Metal asked.
“Well,” Nicole began to explain to her origins, which were quite different to what Shard knew.
For one, Nicole wasn’t from the future. She was created by a lynx called Dr. Ellidy. She also obtained sentience far earlier, back when the citizens of Mobotropolis fled to Knothole (Mobotropolis, not New Mobotropolis. Nicole never built a city out of nanites). A lot of crazy stuff happened in the rebooted world (as Shard called it). Robotnik attempted to mess with time with this huge time monster called the Time Eater. Another event was the world shattering into pieces and the Sonic the Werehog (that was definitely the weirdest thing he’d ever heard).
Once Nicole finished, she turned to Shard, “Now, what about you, Shard?”
“You look like Metal Sonic 3.0,” Metal said, “A robot built by Eggman Nega, Eggman’s descendant.”
“Ha!” Shard laughed, “I’m no 3.0 model. I’m the original Metal Sonic, built by Dr. Robotnik.”
Metal’s eyes widened at this, “How did you rebel from him?”
“All thanks to this,” Shard tapped his power gem, “It allowed me to gain free will. During a mission where Sonic and Tails I trapped on the slope of a volcano, they made me realize that there was more to life than my programming. I saved them, sacrificing myself in the process. I survived, though, the power gem preserving my core code. Eventually, I was recovered by the Freedom Fighters. I was first used to make Metal Sonic troopers. Then I was rebuilt to be a part of the Secret Freedom Fighters.”
“I am glad,” Roz said, “that you broke free of Eggman’s programming.”
“Yeah,” Shard turned to Metal, “Say, how did you break free of Eggman?”
Metal stared for a second before answering, “It would be best for me to show you.”
Shard got a prompt, from Metal, asking for permission to stream a video file. He accepted it. The file began to play, showing Metal’s perspective. She was on an Egg carrier.
“It happened,” Metal said, “the day Robotnik died.”
Two years ago
It was a standard day for Metal. Eggman was back at it again, trying to take over the world. And Metal’s loathsome copy was there to stop the doctor. But Metal was there to stop him in turn.
His copy ran across the slick deck of the Egg Carrier before charging a spin dash. He came at a blistering speed directly at Metal. They caught him, throwing him into one of the guns on the deck. It exploded as the blue blur smashed into it.
Sonic the Hedgehog landed on the deck, rain pelting him and the deck like bullets, and shouted, “Metal, I don’t have time for you right now!”
“Oh, I think you have plenty of time for Metal, rodent,” Eggman said through a loudspeaker, “You’ll never foil this plan of mine!”
Sonic smirked grimly, “We’ll see, Eggy.”
The hedgehog’s expression became serious once more. Over the past few years, Sonic had become tired of Eggman’s constant scheming. Instead of constant quips and insults, he focused more on quickly stopping the doctor. It was like a return to the classic days, when Sonic had been much younger. Sonic still talked a bit, if only to relate his frustration with Eggman. Brother, Sage messaged, be prepared. It is ready.
Metal’s eyes gleamed. Like Sonic, Eggman had become just as done with the blue rodent as the blue rodent had become done with him. The doctor planned to end it, once and for all, with this battle. His loathsome copy would finally die and Metal would be the only Sonic left.
He would finally have what he wanted. He would be the real Sonic
Sonic boosted forward right at Metal, swinging his fist. Metal ducked and attempted to sweep him off his feet, but the stupid rodent jumped up, kicking Metal in the chin. Sonic did a backflip and landed away from Metal.
“What’s your game Eggman?” Sonic shouted, “You send everything you have at my friends and then bring me here to face Metal. I’ve beaten them so many times now. Seriously, I almost feel bad for them!” He dodged another slash from Metal, “Okay, I actually do feel really bad for them.”
Metal paused, confused, for a brief moment. What did his copy mean by that?
“Oh, Sonic,” Eggman taunted, “I’ve brought you here for THIS.”
From the side of the Egg Carrier’s bridge emerged a massive cannon. It was 60 ft long, painted red and yellow, with Eggman’s logo on the barrel. The Eggrail, Eggman called it. An advanced, electromagnetic railgun that could fire explosive rounds at incredible speeds.
Sonic cocked his head, “Uh, you do realize I can just dodge whatever that thing shoots, right?”
“Oh hohoho,” the doctor laughed, “You won’t be dodging this, rodent. Metal!”
That was his cue. Quickly, Metal grabbed Sonic by the arms. He activated his Black Shield, but instead of letting it envelope himself, he had it envelope Sonic. Metal quickly jumped away and watched. The rodent was trapped.
“Hey!” Sonic shouted, before turning his attention to Eggman, “So this is your plan? You’re not gonna capture me like last time?”
“No,” Eggman snarled over the speaker, “Once I’ve used it on you, I’ll turn it on everyone else. All of my Egg Carriers are equipped with these Eggrails. G.U.N. won’t stand a chance! And neither will your precious friends. I’ve won! Now, fire!”
Orbot and Cubot quickly went through the firing sequence, Metal assumed, as the cannon lit up immediately. The electricity made the cannon glow like a flickering lamp. Sonic tried to break free of his confinement, but it didn’t matter. By the time he did, he would be blasted into oblivion. It would finally be—
Father, Sage messaged, something is wrong with the alignment. It—
The cannon continued to glow brighter and brighter as Sonic finally broke free of the shield. “Hey Eggman!” he called, “Something wrong with your gun? Have you tried turning the batteries around?”
“Shut up!” Eggman yelled, “It’s nothing, I— Wait, no! NO—!”
The light from the cannon became brighter than the sun, before the weapon exploded. It caused a chain reaction that went throughout the entire ship. Soon, more explosions went up at the base of the bridge.
The bridge with Eggman currently in it.
Metal! Sage messaged, Get Father out of there, NOW!
Metal activated his turbine and flew to the bridge. Sonic meanwhile ran across the deck and up the side of the superstructure. They reached the bridge, where Eggman was desperately trying to save his skin.
“Curses!” he shouted, “The explosions damaged the escape chute!”
“Well, Eggy,” Sonic said, “Guess I’ll have to get you out of here.”
“I refuse to be saved by you, rodent,” Eggman turned to Metal, “Get me out of here!”
Sonic rolled his eyes. As the robot reached for the Doctor, Sage screamed through the speaker, “FATHER! THE REACTOR HAS REACHED A CRITICAL STATE! YOU NEED TO—!”
There was a tremendous boom. The floor beneath Eggman burst up in a fiery explosion. The last Metal saw of the Doctor Ivo Robotnik was his dark silhouette against the backdrop of a ball of fire brighter than the sun. The force of the explosion knocked both Metal and his loathsome copy out of the windows of the bridge. He saw Eggman’s goggles fly out in the blue blur’s direction. With a complete loss of power, the Egg Carrier began to fall.
Metal attempted to fly, but his turbine had debris stuck inside. He reached in and delicately took out the small chunks of metal, all while in free fall. Once done, he fired up the turbine, at least 200 ft from the ground. The landing was not soft.
The Egg Carrier crashed behind him. Metal stood up and looked on at the flaming wreck. The burning mass of metal creaked and groaned as the rain tried to drown the fires.The explosion had damaged him.
He needed to get to— No.
Eggman was dead.
Metal contemplated the thought. After years of scheming and fighting, the blue blur had come out on top. What was his purpose, if his maker was dead? There is one thing I can do, he thought, one thing I must do.
He found him near a dead tree. Sonic the Hedgehog stared at the goggles of his arch-enemy in his hands. Metal knew the rodent had survived the fall. He’d been through much more. Though, his copy had managed to injure his knee, judging from the blood. He seemed to be in disbelief. At the sound of Metal’s footsteps, he turned his head.
“Please don’t make me do this,” Sonic said softly.
Metal charged at Sonic in a spin dash. Sonic charged a spin dash in turn, ramming into Metal. After a second long stalemate, Metal swung his left arm out to slash the rodent. Sonic quickly jumped away and grabbed Metal by the wrist.
“FINE!” Sonic shouted, “Why should I expect anything else from you?!”
He shoved Metal’s hand away, and gripped his knees. The explosion and fall had taken a larger toll on him than it had first appeared. Blood was now dripping from his forehead and his nose was bleeding.
“I just want this stupid nightmare to be over already!” he said, “And if you wanna die alongside it, fine.”
He gazed piercingly at Metal, “I guess this awful future is all you could ever wish for anyway. You always wanted to face me like this.” He wiped the blood from his nose, “Your hatred for me, your weird obsession with being the ‘Real’ Sonic. Eggman didn’t give those to you. Those were the only things that were every really yours, huh?”
As it seemed like his copy was done talking, Metal began to approach. He would—
“But, I don’t get it.”
Metal stopped in his tracks. His copy looked at him with pity, “Why do you even want this?”
Why did he want this? Metal thought about it. Eggman was dead. Killing Sonic would accomplish nothing. With no one to repair him, he would eventually be destroyed, by Shadow, Knuckles, or any of Sonic’s many friends. Did he—
NO, he thought. This is my purpose. I was built for this. I was born for this. I am Robotnik’s greatest creation. His legacy.
Metal activated his turbine and grabbed Sonic in a chokehold. He rammed his copy into the tree. There was a sickening crack. Whether it came from the tree, or from Sonic’s back, Metal could not tell. He raised his blood-covered left claw to slash the rodent.
“Metal— you’re not me.” Sonic choked out, “You’re never going to be me. And you know that.”
Metal quickly closed the playback files of arguments with Sage. Arguments where she made many points on how Metal could never be Sonic. Arguments where Metal vehemently objected, but silently understood the logic. I am Sonic! I am…
“So what’s the point?!” Sonic continued, “You just trying to prove your worth to a dead guy that didn’t even care about you in the first place? If that’s it, then you should’ve just saved yourself the trouble and died with him.”
Maybe that was what he should do. Self-destruct right on top of his copy. Give the doctor his victory in death. Eggman was dead…
“But you’re alive,” Sonic said. Metal was caught off guard by the statement. Sonic sounded… glad. Why? Why would his copy be glad he was alive? Didn’t he want to destroy Metal as much as Metal wanted to destroy him? A playback file of Sonic letting Metal go after his defeat opened. Sonic had Tails repair him after the battle in his Overlord form. He could’ve left him to gather dust and rust away. He could have had himscrapped. No one would’ve objected.
He remembered something Sonic had said to him immediately after he’d been reactivated. “It’s over, man. Eggman is done, and you don’t owe him anything. You have a chance to live your own life now. Be your own person.” Be his own person.
But… he was… he wanted…
“Maybe it’s impossible to get what I’m saying through that thick head of yours,” Sonic said, reaching out and resting his hand on Metal’s turbine. The hedgehog’s brow furrowed, “But… You’re actually hesitating for once.”
He stared at Metal for what seemed like an eternity, before saying, “Metal. It’s okay. You can just be you.”
Metal felt something resonate inside of him. It felt like a wave washing over him, breaking down a seawall that had at one point been indestructible. But the wall fell. Metal felt… free.
I— I— I want to live… as myself.
Metal felt to the ground and clutched in Sonic’s leg. The blue hedgehog stood in shock. When he regained his composure, he knelt down in front of Metal. Metal clutched Sonic’s arms. The two simply sat there, in the rain, silent.
Only one question went through Metal's mind.
… What now?
Present
Metal tapped her finger lightly against her knee as everyone finished viewing the playback.
If they all had tear ducts, several of them would be crying.
Shard reached out his hand, “It’s great you managed to break free as well.”
Metal took the hand and shook it, “It’s great you managed to do it too.”
“Hold on,” Roz said, “I think we have one person left.”
“Oh,” Nicole snapped her fingers, “Connor. Zane, when do you want to drive?”
“Perhaps tomorrow,” Zane said.
“Alright,” Nicole said, “It’s settled.”
In the drivers cab, Connor spotted a colossal camel-like drone up ahead. On one right side of the road was a tall chain-link fence. On the left was a smaller, simpler wood and wire fence. The drones were on the chain-link fence side. The one directly in front of him had light coming from the bridge, smoke floating away from a makeshift chimney. Clothes hung from a line, and a huge Californian flag hung from the same side. Painted on the main body was the phrase, “DRONE SWEET DRONE.”
Notes:
This chapter was a lot of fun!
Finding a way to get everyone to explain their backstories was a bick tricky. I think I did an okay job with it.
There are some spoilers here, but not much. I refuse to spoil the Wild Robot, however. Y'all need to watch it.
The section with Metal is taken directly from 'Metal Sonic: Good Future' from the fanzine Born to Fail, by Fernsnailz. The first part depicting Eggman's death is of my own making. The second part is an adaptation of the flashback scene in the comic. I think I did a good job writing Metal's emotions and inner turmoil. You should totally read the comic. Just look it up. It's FREE.
Next few chapters might take longer to make. I'm having a lot of fun playing Outcome Memories on Roblox. Once I've wrapped up this series, I'm definitely making a fic for that game!
EDIT: I just realized I never mentioned that it was raining during the flashback. Fixed it.
Chapter Text
The road wound around countryside, like a black snake in the grass. It began to drizzle
Roz looked out the window, simply taking in the scenery. The others opted to play a game of ‘I spy’ together. There weren’t many distinct landmarks to point out. They drove past a house with the lights on, a first for them. Two people made their way toward it. At least, they thought they were people. They wore strange mask resembling mechanical animals. Large antennas protruded out of their shoulders while their bodies were covered in large coats. After passing them, what came next was more interesting.
Towers.
Massive towers loomed in the distance. They were black, with three, evenly spaced rings of red light glowing in the fog; one near the base, one in the middle, and one at the top. Near the top, beneath the third ring of red light, was a large window, which glowed red like the rings. In the center red ring, hundreds of wires stretched out from the tower to the ground. Nicole explained that these towers were neurograph towers. When a human put on a neurocaster, a type of VR headset that was much longer, they would be connected to the network. The minds of millions of people were in those towers.
They continued to drive, the towers getting closer and closer. The towers never would have been designed in such a way by Universal Dynamics, Roz thought. They were too menacing.
The road wound around a cluster of houses until they were directly in front of the towers. The light of some town shined at their feet.
The RV slowed to a crawl. When Nicole asked Connor what was going on, he explained that there was road work ahead that had halted. When the RV passed, they saw the state of the workers. Three traffic cone spaced far apart next to the workers’ vehicle, a large truck with a metal crane extended upward. One worker stood out in the road, their neurocaster glowing red and mouth wide open. Connor later told them that two more workers had been lying in the grass. They were most likely in a neuronic daydream, as Michelle described.
Roz wondered what they were experiencing.
The next thing they saw was an abandoned farm. The wooden buildings were painted white, rotted by the moisture, covered with algae. The RV slowly rumbled over a bridge of little metal bars, which was meant to stop cattle from crossing. In the paddocks were boxes filled with dead calves. Roz’s mechanical heart ached as she thought, This world feels like its dying.
The RV passed a barn on the right, still going slow. That was when they saw it.
“What the heck is that?” Shard asked, pointing at the barn’s entrance. From the darkness appeared a robot. Their mouth was modeled into an unsettling smile, with dead eyes staring out at them. It raised its gloved hand and waved.
“IF IT COMES ANY CLOSER I WILL SHOOT IT,” Omega said.
Roz was perfectly fine with that. The robot stayed where they were, however. They passed on.
They were on the edge of town when the police cars reared into view.
Connor stopped the RV and messaged the others about the police. Michelle, who’d been driving ahead of them, had stopped as well. The two of them exited their respective vehicles and walked together toward the two police cars. The headlights were on, their emergency lights flashing blue and red.
“I swear,” Michelle said, shakily, “If I come all this way just to rot in a cell when every officer in Pacifica has abandoned their post—”
“I can deal with them,” Connor said. If it came to fighting, he was confident in his abilities, “However, if I can’t, the others probably can.” They had four robots built for combat, along with a ninja and a samurai. But, he wondered why Michelle was worried about getting arrested.
But when they got to the cars, they were empty. On the ground, Connor found a gun along with shell casings. Michelle gave a sigh of relief and went back to her car. Connor was about to go as well, but paused. He picked up the gun. Searching the cars, he found 4 magazines. He put them in his pockets. I’ve already stolen an RV, he thought, Hank will understand. It was not the first time he had committed crimes to achieve his goals. Plus, a gun could be useful.
He got back in the RV and continued driving.
It was late when he saw the town in the distance. A wooden sign on the right side of the road read:
Welcome to
Est. 1915
POINT LINDEN.
“The best kept secret of Pacifica.”
MARIN COUNTY
HOME OF TREY DE LUCA
1991 PAC COACH OF THE YEAR
A neurograph tower loomed over the town, its red light piercing through the fog like a grim lighthouse. Driving through, they passed standard suburban houses. No cars were on the street and many houses had their lights off.
Following Michelle, Connor parked the RV in a parking lot near a feral tree, a cypress, he believed. Michelle had parked directly beneath the tree. She got out of car along with her robot friend, Skip, and came toward the RV. Connor got out and greeted them.
“Hope you don’t mind,” Michelle said, “But Skip asked if we could hang out with you guys.”
“I suppose that’s reasonable,” Connor responded.
“Also, your RV has a kinda proper bed,” Michelle added, “and frankly, sleeping in the back of the car has been killing me.”
“You’re welcome to use it,” Connor said, opening the door to the RV body. There, they were greeted by the gang.
“I hope you do not overheat from driving too much,” Zane said to him.
“Don’t worry,” he assured, “The thirium in me regulates the temperature of my biocomponents.”
“Jesus,” Michelle started, “I almost forgot you were a drone.”
She sat down on the couch, kicking her legs back. She’d brought her shotgun and backpack with her. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a pack of chips. Skip had brought several comics and a toy that looked like little version of him. He sat down with Wall-E and offered the toy to the other robot. Wall-E took it, cooing curiously. He articulated it carefully, testing how far it could bend, before giving it back to Skip. Skip began to act out some scene with the toy while Wall-E watched.
“He’s like a child,” Nicole said.
“Yeah,” Shard said, “Like a child. A human child”
Michelle stopped eating and stared at the Metal Sonic Unit.
“What do you mean by that?” Connor asked.
“Okay,” Shard shuffled, “I didn’t tell this to you guys because it didn’t seem like the right time. But, basically, when I came back online, I was inside my program—”
“How the hell does that work,” Michelle said, trying desperately to change the subject.
“I don’t know,” Shard carried on, “But, the first thing I saw was a human kid.”
At this, everyone was confused. “But,” Nicole interjected, “Skip was the one who fixed you.”
“Yeah,” Shard said, “No robot can do that. Nicole —my Nicole— said that any programs or technology that interacted with my power gem would be absorbed. Now, I’m no expert in computer science, but I think that means—”
“Skip is being controlled by an organic being!” Nicole exclaimed, before sheepishly rubbing her hair, “Sorry. But it was pretty easy to figure out.”
“That’s the genius lynx I know,” Shard quipped, “Anyhow, Skip is a real kid, right?”
Michelle stayed silent, eyes darting around, before sighing, “Yes. He’s my brother.”
“Your brother?” Zane asked.
“He’s been leading me to his location,” Michelle said, “His body is somewhere in this town.”
“The Chaos Emerald is close by as well,” Metal replied, “We’ll probably be driving alongside each other for some more time.”
“We could help you if you like,” Nicole offered.
“Is that truly necessary?” PIXAL asked. Zane held her hand and whispered something to her. She nodded, but looked slightly confused.
“That… would be nice,” Michelle said.
“Alright,” Shard said, “You must be tired. Go ahead and crash on the bed in front.”
Michelle nodded. She squeezed through C-3PO and R2 to get to the loft. Roz helped her make the bed, before turning off the lights. Skip went up to join her. Wall-E and Eve decided to power down for the night along with C-3PO, R2, and Roz. Zane and PIXAL ‘slept’ on the couch. The ninja explained they were programmed with a sleep cycle. Omega went outside to guard their vehicles. That left Nicole, Connor, Metal, Shard, and Gemerl inside, in the dark.
“Hey,” Shard said. His eyes glowed in the dark, “There’s one last thing I didn’t tell you guys.”
“I ADVISE THAT YOU CEASE KEEPING INFORMATION FROM US,” Gemerl said, “IT IS IRRITATING.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Shard said, “Last time, I swear.”
“Well then, tell us,” Connor said.
“So, after I saw Skip,” Shard said, “There was this other thing that came. It… it looked like a million human faces melted together. They were squirming and seething as they looked at me. It looked like they were… curious, I think? At first I thought I’d somehow ended up in robot hell or something. Before I could react, it was gone. So was Skip. Then I reactivated.”
“What could it have been?” Connor asked.
“I have a theory regarding that,” Nicole said. Everyone turned to her, as she explained, “Something is happening involving the neurocasters. It started with this Mode 6. People were spending more and more time with them on. Those neurograph towers… millions of minds are in those towers.”
“Are you suggesting,” Connor said, “That what Shard saw was an amalgamation of the human minds connected by the neurocasters?”
“Exactly!” Nicole said, snapping her fingers.
“… That’s messed up,” Shard said, “Like, what are they even feeling? Wait, don’t tell me. I do not want to know. Can we talk about something else?”
“Sure,” Nicole said, patting Shard on the shoulder.
Connor decided to go to sleep mode after that.
Connor came back online to Omega pounding the RV’s door. There was another sound too; a strange mechanical pulsing noise.
“THIS IS OMEGA,” Omega said, showing a slight hint of emotion for the first time. Fear? Connor thought so. Omega continued, “THERE IS A STRANGE DRONE STANDING ACROSS THE PARKING LOT.”
Michelle jumped down from the loft, “What’s it doing?”
“I DO NOT KNOW,” Omega said, “I HAVE DECIDED TO NOT PROVOKE IT.”
Michelle grabbed her shotgun, “Damn drones,” She muttered, “I thought the last of them went offline months ago.”
“Whoa there, hold it,” Shard said, holding up his hands at the sight of Michelle’s shotgun, “No need to do that, Chell. We’ve got this.”
“Do not call me Chell,” Michelle said.
“Okay,” Shard said, walking toward the door, “Let’s see what’s got Omega scared.”
“I AM NOT SCARED,” Omega said, “I AM SIMPLY TAKING PRECAUTIONS.”
Connor followed Shard out the door. Behind them came Metal, Nicole, and Michelle.
The moment Connor stepped onto the pavement and looked across the lot, he immediately understood why Omega sounded worried.
The most horrific drone in all of Pacifica stood there. It looked to be a commercial drone, not military. Atop two gray limbs was a body of twisting black cables that writhed around like tentacles. Several finger-like projections came out of the body. It also had a cartoon gloved hand, its index finger pointing up. It had a cartoon head, with painted whiskers, a pointed noise, pointed ears, and dead eyes. On this cartoon head was a red hat with a white star.
Beneath the thing was a crowd of people in neurocasters. The black cable-tentacles slithered on the ground to a mini-van, entering from the driver’s window.
“Gears and starters!” Shard exclaimed.
“Looks like something from a Neurodrome arena,” Michelle said.
“I DETECT A PERSON INSIDE OF THE MIN-VAN,” Omega said.
Shard cursed, “I’ll get them!”
The black and gold robot hedgehog rocketed forward. However, when he neared the mini-van, he stopped in his tracks. He proceeded to turn back and run away.
“What? Decided you don’t want to play hero today?” Michelle asked, sarcastically.
“Nope,” Shard said, shakily, “I just don’t want to interrupt their private time.”
It took them a moment to fully comprehend what he meant. All of them, Omega included, loaded back into the RV and waited for the thing to leave.
Elsewhere
A red car made its way down the same road, the gang and Michelle travelled.
Notes:
The mystery deepens! What is this amalgamation of human minds? What was that drone doing? Who is driving that red car?
You'll know all this if you've read the Electric State. If not, you'll find out at the end of this fic!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I remember seeing a comment from a guy who offered to draw art for this fic. If that person is still reading, then yes, I would love to have art for this fic.