All Sonic characters are Copyrights of SEGA, DIC, or Archie comics. The names Cody and Lilly Hedgehog is copyrighted by me, GuGoomba (my On-line name), Mecha-Sonic (my fanfiction.net name) and Mecha Sonic2001 (my geocities and my website’s name)

Author's Note: There is one disclaimer at the end of this fic that I couldn't say right now, or it would give away the best surprise.

A New Enemy, A New Ally

Part 1: The New Enemy Has Arrived

Outside an abandoned warehouse near the edge of Robotropolis, a lone figure moved about the shadows. Its stealthness betrayed its size as the figure darted around corners, avoiding the ever-watching eyes of the Swatbots and hover-units. As it neared the warehouse, one of the Swatbots saw the movement of something in the shadows. It raised its finger light towards the shadow, only to be blown back by a laser shot to the head. The other patrol units became active as they began scanning the area. Unfortunately, the figure had already made it inside undetected.

"Stupid machines. Why I ever put up with their ignorance is still giving me headaches," the figure said to itself as it walked about the warehouse. Then it spotted what it was looking for. A containment tube much like that of the Roboticizer’s, only the tube was constructed of metal, not plastic like the Roboticizer’s. The figure walked up to the tube and began looking at all the indicator lights on the shell of the tube.

*All green, it must be ready,* thought the figure. It walked up to a hidden panel on the wall next to it. The figure pushed a button, causing half the wall to flip 180 degrees, revealing a control panel. The figure pushed several of the buttons on the panel as the tube began to hum. The figure chuckled a low toned laugh as he looked over at the tube.

"Now, the one that caused my confinement in the Void will be sorry he ever crossed me!" shouted the figure. Finally, the tube finished opening, revealing a Mobian sized figure inside. The figure made no sound as it stepped out of the tube and walked up to the figure.

"But first, my friend, we shall retake what is rightfully mine," said the figure. By now, the Swatbots had finally decided to actually look inside the warehouse. They entered at a run, finger lights shining bright.

"Ah, here comes your first test. Destroy these pathetic robots," said the figure. The being from the tube slowly rose into the air, almost hovering. Then it shot forward at an incredible speed. The Swatbots tried to target and shoot the thing before it reached them, but it was too fast. There were several sounds of metal hitting metal as the being flashed back and forth between the Swatbots. It finally stopped, hovering about a meter in the air.

"Well done. Now we shall put your skills to the test. I order you to go and reclaim Robotropolis’ Command Center," said the figure. The Mobian sized creature nodded, then turned and flew out of the warehouse, the other figure laughing hysterically.

**********

Two days had past since the incident at the warehouse, but the Freedom Fighters had no idea what was going on in Robotropolis. But that can be expected, considering that no missions had taken place since Sonic’s return nearly a week ago. As for right now, they were all relaxing and having fun just talking and playing with the youngsters. Tails was particularly happy, because Sonic had finally taken him up on his challenge to a hockey game. The two of them had played for nearly three hours, slapping the puck back and forth. Of course, Tails had won. He had been practicing the game for years, and he didn’t let Sonic use his speed. All seemed normal, or at least, it seemed.

**********

Sonic raced through the village of Knothole, avoiding people here, dodging a tree there. He though of it as kind of a game. How many objects could he avoid in a straight line. He had reached a record of 15 objects, but never could top that. The last time he had tried, he had plowed right into a tree. But today wasn’t going to be all fun and games. Sally had just called him to her hut. It was probably some new mission, but he didn’t care. He needed to get out of the forest and get into some old-fashioned trouble. He reached the hut, almost not stopping in time. The gust of wind following him was enough to knock some papers off the top of Sally’s table.

"Sonic, I do wish you would stop doing that," complained Sally as she started picking up the papers.

"Stop doing what," he replied innocently. Sally shook her head, slightly giggling, then walked over to her nightstand and took Nicole off of it.

"The reason I asked you to come is that Nicole has been picking up some kind of distress signal for about two hours now. The signal’s weak, but it’s definitely coming from the edge of the Great Forest," said Sally. Sonic just shrugged his shoulders.

"Probably just glitch in the old computer brain," said Sonic.

"I doubt it. Nicole’s never received a fake signal for this amount of time. But what has me worried is that the signal is not used by any of the Freedom Fighter units that we know about," said Sally. Sonic didn’t look worried. In fact, he looked rather calm about the whole thing.

"So what do I have to do with all of this?" asked Sonic, getting impatient as he started tapping his foot.

"Well, I want you to check out what’s causing the signal. If it is someone in need of help, then you can bring him or her back here faster than anyone else," she said.

"And what if nothing’s there?" he asked, annoyed about having to go on what was probably a wild goose chase.

"Nothing. At least you get some time out of the village," she answered, giving him Nicole so he could track the signal’s source. Sonic sighed, then walked towards the door.

"I guess you’re right. At least I’ll get out of here for a while," he said. With that, he revved up and blasted from the hut, the gust of wind created blowing the papers back to the floor.

**********

*Man, there’d better be someone there. I hate wild goose chases,* he though as he raced through the forest. Nicole started beeping louder and faster the closer he got to the edge of the forest. He was about there when Nicole started a constant beep, indicating that he had found the source. He looked around, but didn’t see anything.

*Stupid computer, can’t even tell you the right spot,* he thought. He was about to head back when a slight spark of electricity flashed from behind a tree. He leaped away from the tree. Then, keeping his distance, he began walking in a circle around the trees to see what had caused the spark. He was thinking he would probably find some old transmitter or something, but he almost fell to the ground from the shock caused by the site he saw.

Sitting with his back against the tree was Mecha-Sonic. But he looked like he had gone up against a lion and lost. He was slashed in several places, wires sparking from many of the claw marks. His right arm was just barely connect to his body by a few cables, which were sparking from the joint. His eye lights were barely functioning, flickering on and off constantly. And one of his metal ears was bent. Sonic was at a lose for words. Not even when he had given Mecha-Sonic his most powerful spindash had he left marks like that.

*Man! What in the world happened to him!?* thought Sonic. He cautiously walked up to the barely functioning robot, unsure what it would do in its condition. As he got closer, Mecha-Sonic slowly raised his head. Sonic stopped, half-afraid that he would jump and strike in his weakened state. But he didn't move anything but his head.

"S…S…Son…Son…ic?" asked Mecha-Sonic, his voice terribly labored. Sonic immediately dismissed all his thoughts of a trap and ran up next to the fallen robot.

"Mecha. What happened?" asked Sonic. The robotic hedgehog tried to answer, but his power reserves were so low at that point that all but his emergency operating systems shutdown. Sonic looked at his robotic double, trying to decide what to do. He then turned away for the robot, his expression one of anger.

*Well, why should I help him. He's tried to kill me several times. He gets what he deserves,* thought Sonic. He started to rev up to leave Mecha-Sonic behind, but his conscious told him otherwise. Sonic stopped and listened to his rational mind. And what it said made sense. If he left him here, he would be no better than him. And besides, Mecha-Sonic had saved his life only a week ago.

*Oh man, what do I do? If I bring him back to Knothole, Sal's going to hang me for treason. Not to mention the others,* thought Sonic. He looked back at Mecha-Sonic, who in turn sparked brightly from his arm joint. *Who cares what Sally thinks, I'm doing what's right.* Sonic picked up the fallen form of Mecha-Sonic, making sure that the arm wouldn't fall off from the wind caused by his speed. He then blasted towards Knothole, running as fast as he could.

**********

Up above in the trees sat the same cloaked figure that had been following Sonic undetected for the past two years. As usual, he was holding onto the green gem with the glowing core. But there was something different about him this time. The figure's eyes weren't filled with joy or thoughtfulness like usual. This time, the red eyes of the figure were almost blazing like fire as they looked towards the city of Robotropolis.

"The time has come, and your greatest quest is coming very soon. The great evil has arrived, in the body of a being from the past; and one from the present," said the figure. It then raised the gem up to its eyes as it stared into it. Inside the glowing core appeared six other differently colored gems that looked identical to the one the figure had. But one of the gems wasn't glowing like the others. This one looked no different from a normal rock.

"I see that I'm not the only one in possession an emerald. I fear that evil has the power of one, and if this is so, you will need more than just your speed in order to defeat the evil at work, blue hedgehog. Use the knowledge that you have and will gain to your advantage. Rely on your friends and not just yourself, or you will never survive the evil at hand," said the figure. It raised the gem high above its head, and chanted two words, the glow from the core shinning bright for a mere second, then vanishing along with the figure.

**********

"You did WHAT?!" cried the voice of Sally from her hut. The yell had been so loud that many of the passerby's had stopped and looked over at the hut, wondering what in the world had set her off. Only Rotor knew the real answer, but he was too busy working on his 'patient' to pay attention to Sally's yell.

"Now hold on, Sal. Don't do something you'll regret later," said Sonic weakly as he backed into a corner, Sally approaching him with a lamp from her nightstand.

"Oh, I'm not going to regret this, Sonic Hedgehog," she said coolly, raising the lamp over her head. But Sonic was one step ahead of her as he curled up and spindashed out of the way, just missing Sally's swing with the lamp. He rolled over to the door and uncurled, turning back to face Sally.

"Chill out, Sal! I had my reasons for doing what I did!" he cried, losing control of his temper.

"Name one reason…one good reason for bringing him here," she asked, obviously close to losing her own temper again.

"I can name two. One: He saved my life. I owe him at least the same chance for living that he gave me. And two: If I had left him there to die, I would have been no better than him," he said. Sally looked like she had been hit upside the head with a 2x4. She couldn't believe what Sonic had just said. It was the first time that she could remember Sonic being right about something when she had been wrong.

"I guess…those are good reasons," she said, lowering the lamp and looking away from Sonic towards the floor. Sonic saw the look of defeat on Sally's face, then calmed down himself, his expression turning to that of tranquility.

"Look. Even though he's been our enemy for about a year now, it doesn't mean that we have the right to treat him like he would us. I had to bring him here to recover, if only to repay the debt I owe him for my life," said Sonic. Sally looked up at him, but she looked worried.

"But what if he records Knothole's location. Tells Snively about where we are. Then that's it for us," she said. Sonic had taken that possibility into account, and that had almost caused him to leave him behind.

"Don't worry. I can have Rote erase his memory before we let him go," said Sonic. Sally gave him a hug. As they finished hugging, Rotor came bursting through the door, panting.

"Sonic, he's awake, and he wants to see you and Sally, but no one else," said Rotor. Both Sonic and Sally looked at each other. Then they got up and began to follow Rotor to his workshop, where Mecha-Sonic waited for them. Rotor began to explain in detail what he had found out.

"His circuitry is unlike anything I've even seen before. He has some kind of…emotional control…chip inside his head, but it looked like it had been damaged beyond repair from whatever it was that attacked him. And I had to replace several circuits and wires. He's only operating on minimum power, so don't get him excited or anger, cause it might cause him to overload," warned Rotor as they reached his workshop.

Rotor opened the door to reveal a collection of junked robot parts that probably would never work again, but were great for replacement parts. Among the numerous workbenches sat Mecha-Sonic, he's power core plugged into a socket in the wall. When he heard the sound of approaching footsteps, he had looked up to see Sonic, Sally, and Rotor standing in the doorway.

"I'm going to be right outside if you need me," said Rotor as he walked out, closing the door behind him. Sonic wasn't at all afraid, but Sally had seen Mecha-Sonic in combat before, and wasn't very comfortable having the robotic hedgehog within striking distance.

"Ah, Sonic, good to see you again. And you as well, princess Sally," said Mecha-Sonic. Sonic stopped. There was something different in the tone of voice he had just used. It sounded…diluted. He shrugged off the thought and started walking towards the robotic hedgehog.

"I must say this. You sure know how to take a beating and keep on ticking, Mecha," said Sonic. Mecha-Sonic chuckled slightly.

"Yes. Snively did do a good job of constructing me, didn't he," said Mecha-Sonic. "Speaking of which, did you happen to see him in the forest with me?" Sonic shook his head.

"I didn't see him. Why? Did something happen to him?" asked Sonic. Mecha-Sonic nodded slowly.

"Yes. The whole city was attacked. Someone…or something broke through all of our defenses and attacked us. I don't remember too much about what happened. My memory from that day's damaged, so I can't really piece together too much. But I do have a short video file from that day," said Mecha-Sonic. He pointed his head towards the only clear wall in the workshop. He motioned for someone to hit the lights, which Sally got. He then activated the video file.

At first, nothing but static came from the video, but the image cleared up, showing the inside of the Command Center. The whole room was flashing red, emergency lights flashing throughout the complex. Mecha-Sonic's viewpoint switched back and forth from the computer console to Snively, who was pacing back and forth nervously. Then his view switched quickly to the door blocking off the Command Center.

Mecha-Sonic's view changed to suggest that he had gone into a defensive stance. The metal doors began to open as two metallic hands began to open the door with strength that had to at least match, if not exceed, Bunnie's. When the door was forced open, two red semicircles appeared in the shadows of the doorway. Mecha-Sonic dashed at the figure, only to have the figure shoot forward at an incredible speed, metallic claws ready to slash Mecha-Sonic to shreds. Then static followed.

"What in the world was that thing?" asked Sonic, amazed at the speed that the thing had moved. Mecha-Sonic turned towards the two Mobians, no expression evident on his face.

"To tell you the truth, we actually thought it was you who was invading the city," said Mecha-Sonic, looking over at Sonic. "The last thing I can remember was that figure standing over me, red eyes burning bright. And hearing some other voice in the room saying something about retaking what was rightfully his." Both Sonic and Sally looked at each other. Surely it couldn't be who they were thinking of, but who else could claim to own what Snively did.

"Sonic, whatever that thing was, I'm willing to bet that it's not on our side. We have to find out who of what that thing was," said Sally. Sonic seemed in deep thought.

"I know. And we have to find out who that other person was," he agreed.

"Now if you two don't mind, I've got some manual repairs to commence," said Mecha-Sonic as he powered himself down, activating his auto recovery system. Sonic and Sally left to leave Mecha-Sonic to his repairs as they prepared to put together a plan of action.

**********

Roughly about four hours later, they had put together a plan to get Sonic inside the Command Center while the others would draw the attention of the patrol units. As they packed their packs with diversion equipment, they heard the sound of metal crashing to the floor from within Rotor's workshop. Both Sonic and Sally looked towards the workshop. Sonic was the first to head towards the workshop, running flat-out to the door. He nearly collided with Mecha-Sonic as the robotic hedgehog tried to emerge from the small workshop.

"And just where do you think you're going?" asked Sonic. Mecha-Sonic had no intention to answer Sonic's question, yet still acknowledged him.

"I don't think, I know where I am going," he replied. Sonic grabbed his arms, forcing him to stop. "Let go, hedgehog! I've got something I need to do!" He struggled as hard as his still recovering body could, but Sonic had a firm grip and wasn't about to let go. But Sonic was still using every bit of strength he had to keep Mecha-Sonic in his grip.

"Bunnie! Help! He's going to get free!" shouted Sonic. Bunnie leaped down off of Dulcy and ran over to them. She ran behind Mecha-Sonic and grabbed him around the tops of his arms, pinning his arms to his sides. She then lifted him off the ground, causing him to lose all form of mobility. He tried to fire his foot thrusters, but they were still off-line from the amount of damage his body still had. He finally quit struggling after about three minutes, coming to rest in Bunnie's overpowering grip.

"I do declare, for being this banged up, you sure do put up quite a struggle," said Bunnie.

"I guess we'll have to restrain him while we're gone," said Sally. Rotor walked up to the group, ready to offer a suggestion.

"Well, I can watch him. I've got a restraining table in my workshop. We'll just put him in that. It should hold him until you guys get back," he said. All three of the Mobians thought about it for a moment, then they agreed to put him there, despite the renewed struggle caused by Mecha-Sonic's rage at having to be restrained. Rotor looked up at him with a small hint of curiosity in his eye.

"Don't you worry, I can get you up and running in no time," he said. That only made him struggle even more, causing Sonic to help Bunnie keep him in check.

"I don't want to be someone's experiment!" cried Mecha-Sonic. Rotor looked kind of surprised. He didn't mean to take him apart to experiment. Must be that damaged mind control chip, he thought.

**********

After having to be put in reinforced restraints, Mecha-Sonic gave up all hope of escaping. He had tried to relax when Rotor had started to fix the more delicate circuits that his auto repair system couldn't handle, but what little of his programming that survived his attack was fighting desperately to will his body to make a break for it. After a while, he had finally settled into a state of peace when he had realized that Rotor wasn't going to take him apart or anything. He shut off his eye lights, trying to block out the feeling that he was being repaired by a Mobian, a being he was programmed to kill. After a while, Rotor finally worked up the courage to talk to the robotic hedgehog.

"Boy, you sure are the most complex robot I've ever seen, much less worked on," he said as he welded a replacement chip into his chest plate. Mecha-Sonic reactivated his eye lights, then looked down at the walrus. Had that been an insult, or a compliment? He chose to take it as the latter.

"Thanks, I guess," he answered. Rotor looked up from his welding, half surprised that he hadn't bitten his head off.

*What is up with this thing? It acts almost like it has a mind of its own. But that can't be possible,* thought Rotor as he returned to welding another chip into place. He then looked up sharply as an idea came to him. What if that mind control chip was blocking a free mind, maybe like the Roboticizer's side effect of causing the victim to lose control of their free will. Maybe, he could take the chip out and test the theory. He stood up and took off the welding goggles he was wearing and set them on a stool. He then walked behind Mecha-Sonic's head and opened an access panel located just above the first part of quills that mimicked Sonic's quill du.

"Okay, now there's one chip in here that I'm going to have to have you deactivate yourself before I can remove and replace it," said Rotor, even though he knew he wouldn't replace the damaged chip. Mecha-Sonic looked up at him. Surely Rotor didn't mean it, but that look in his eyes suggested he wasn't lying. After about a minute, Mecha-Sonic sighed and deactivated himself. Rotor took his tools and very carefully removed the damaged control chip from its housing.

**********

Even thought Mecha-Sonic's body had deactivated, his mind had not. He wondered what Rotor was doing to him, but he wasn't that worried. He had read from some old Mobian records from the main computer that Mobians tended to be quite professional when it came to repairing things. He let his mind relax, let it wander for a little while.

Then, his mind suddenly snapped to attention. Some barrier within his mind had just been shattered. He sent a link to this new opening in his mind, careful not to enter it if it was some kind of virus. But when he connect to the opening, he felt like he had experienced this part of his mind before, but only for a second. Yes, back in the Rockies' cave, when he had first come across that image of the red, female hedgehog.

This set off a series of mental pictures about the red hedgehog, the walls that had confined the free will finally being destroyed with the removal of the mind control chip. There was one of her sitting at a café. Then another one of her dancing. Yet another one of someone kneeling before her, opening some kind of container; the hedgehog covering her mouth with her hands, then shaking her head yes.

It was with this last mental picture that Mecha-Sonic finally realized why he had felt a connection with the red hedgehog before. He remembered her, the one that he had vowed to share his life before the reign of Robotnik. That hedgehog…was his wife…Lilly. And he was once her husband, a well-respected mechanic from Mobotropolis. His name…Cody Hedgehog, but he had no relation to Sonic or his uncle. He could almost feel his free mind becoming clearer and stronger with each passing second. Another series of pictures flashed through his mind. Lilly sitting on the beach, with his gaze towards her. Another one of them sitting around a group of friends, laughing and joking about trivial things.

But something else came to his mind. He turned his thoughts to Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters. He then remembered the pain he had inflicted upon them, especially Sonic. But then the image of the figure that had attacked him earlier flashed through his mind. it was then that realization hit him.

*They let me go! I was the bait to draw them to Robotropolis! I've got to get to warn before it's too late!* he thought. Not caring if he startled Rotor or not, he reactivated his systems, which seemed to be in better shape than before. Good, he'd need that extra strength to break those restraints if necessary.

**********

Rotor had just finished replacing the last of the computer chips in Mecha-Sonic's head when the robotic hedgehog's eye lights came back on, this time on full power and not just running off his reserve power like before. Rotor looked up to see Mecha-Sonic awaken from his deactivation. Rotor wondered if he had been right about the chip in Mecha-Sonic's head. But Mecha-Sonic looked more desperate than ever to escape his bonds. If Rotor had looked a little closer, he would have seen that Mecha-Sonic's eye lights had changed color from red to yellow.

"Rotor! Listen to me. Sonic and the others are walking into a trap! You have to warn them!" cried Mecha-Sonic. Rotor just chuckled as he began to check Mecha-Sonic's laser cannon, making sure not to activate it.

"Yeah, like I'm going to leave you hear and allow you to escape," said Rotor as he replaced another microchip in the laser. Mecha-Sonic knew that Rotor would never believe him. He had been too distrustful in the past to be trust under his right mind. He sighed, then started to gather his strength in his arms and legs.

"Okay, if that is your attitude, then I will just save them myself," said Mecha-Sonic calmly. Rotor looked up just in time to see Mecha-Sonic snap one of the restraints free of its housing. He slowly rose and started backing up as Mecha-Sonic snapped the other arm free, then proceeded to free his legs. Rotor turned and ran out of the workshop, heading towards the warning bell in the center of the village.

Mecha-Sonic ran out of the workshop and leaped into the air, firing his foot thrusters and blasting from the village at top speed in the direction of Robotropolis. Rotor reached the bell, but stopped himself from ringing it when he saw that Mecha-Sonic had reached the edge of the village and there was going to be nothing that would stop him from leaving the forest and entering the city.

**********

Sonic raced around another corner as laser blasts from Swatbots lighted up the space right behind him. He looked skyward to see Dulcy carrying Sally and Bunnie, both hanging on for dear life as Dulcy dodged laser blasts from two pursuing hover-units. They had only been a few blocks into the city before they had been spotted by the Swatbots, and thus the chase had started and continued up to this point.

Another laser blast whizzed by Sonic's head as he broke into a dead run, accelerating as fast as he could. He then felt the familiar drag of the sound barrier, but ignored it and continued speeding up, breaking the barrier open with a sonic boom. Up above, Dulcy had flown in a figure eight, ending the maneuver with the hover-units in front of her. She then breathed a blast of ice at both of them, freezing them solid.

The two units began falling towards the hard ground below. Sonic looked behind him as the units collided with his own pursuit. He then motioned for Dulcy to land somewhere nearby. The dragon went into a power dive as usual. Sonic couldn't watch as Dulcy slammed into the pavement in between two buildings, almost throwing her two passengers from her back. Sonic ran up to them, skidding to a stop.

"Okay. I think this plan needs some revising. You and I will go to the Command Center," said Sonic, pointing to Sally, "Bunnie and Dulcy will stay here and be ready to make a hasty retreat. I'll blow this whistle if something goes wrong. I blow it, you come flying, Dulcy." Sonic held up a dog whistle, which only Dulcy and Tails could hear. All of them nodded. Sonic scooped Sally up in his arms and blasted from the alley and towards the Command Center. But what they hadn't seen was the spy-eye watching them about a block away.

**********

A lone figure watched Sonic and Sally head in the direction of the Command Center. As the figure watched Sonic, a wave of hatred spread through him. Even though he had never even seen Sonic before now, he still felt almost uncontrollable rage towards him. True, he had not been programmed to actually have feelings, but that extra time in the containment tube had given him time to modify his systems somewhat. Another view of Sonic flashed on the screen as he watched the supersonic hedgehog blast through the city, and another wave of hatred flowed through him.

"Anxious to challenge him?" asked a voice from behind the figure. The figure turned towards the giant command chair that sat in the middle of room. The chair was turned with its back to the figure, but the voice was still powerful enough to be heard with it facing that way.

"Yes, master. That hedgehog needs to be exterminated," said the figure. From in front of the chair, a metal arm became visible to the figure.

"True, my metallic friend, but don't give yourself too much credit yet. While you are fast like the hedgehog, you can't break the sound barrier. I've seen stronger things than you fall to that hedgehog," said the voice from the chair. The figure turned back to the console, the two semicircles of red glowing brighter than before, evidence of his anger. True, he had been made to be the perfect thing to take on the hedgehog, but his speed left much to be desired. He formed a fist with his metallic claws. Yet one more reason that he hated that hedgehog. But all that would change, for he would make that hedgehog suffer and then die.

**********

Sonic blasted through Robotropolis at full speed, not wanting to have to build up speed if he was attacked again. By now, he had reached the same block that the Command Center loomed on. He skidded to a stop and let Sally off.

"You know, this place sure doesn't look any different no matter who's running it," said Sonic, frowning up at the building. Sally took Nicole from her boot and placed the small computer on the access panel of the door.

"Nicole, bypass access code for security door," said Sally. Nicole started beeping, but stopped a full ten seconds earlier than usual. Normally, this would have raised a flag in her mind, but Sally just shrugged it off. They both walked inside, only to be greeted by four Securitybots, the cannons on their pods training their sites on the two intruders. Sonic reached over and grabbed Sally's arm, blasting from the space they were occupying just as the laser cannons charred a hole in the floor right where they had been.

"Guess they weren't expecting visitors today," said Sonic as he raced further into the complex, leaving the Securitybots behind in his dust. Sonic reached the main elevator that would go up to the main control center, where ,more than likely, their mystery enemy would be waiting. Sonic let go of Sally's arm and walked up to the door of the elevator.

"Don't worry, Sal. I've done this before," said Sonic as he curled up and went into a spindash, striking his quills at the small slit in the door. After a few seconds, the door opened. Sonic looked up the shaft, not seeing any sign of the elevators moving.

"I'll open up the door right on the main control room floor, then come back and get you," said Sonic. Sally nodded as Sonic took a few steps backwards. He then dashed forward at top speed, entered the shaft, and continued up the side of the wall. He ran up about thirty stories before he found the right floor. He went into a spindash and bounced off the wall, striking the silt in the door with his quills. This one opened as easily as the first. He then leaped onto the edge of the floor, then looked down the shaft to see the distant head of Sally watching him.

He sighed, not telling Sally he had never actually gone down before, but it couldn't be any different than going down the side of a cliff. He curled up and began speeding down the side of the shaft, almost zooming past the floor Sally was on. He leaped out of the shaft and came to a stop.

"That wasn't so bad," said Sonic. But he then noticed four figures heading in their direction. He groaned, realizing they were the Securitybots. He motioned behind Sally, who turned and gasped as one of them trained its laser right at her. Sonic shot forward and scooped Sally up in his arms, just barely missing the laser blast that followed close behind. He turned around, then blasted into the shaft, running up the side, When he reached the right floor, he pushed off with his legs and tried to cover Sally as much as possible in case they landed wrong. They exited the shaft, Sonic skidding on his quills.

"Man, that stings!" cried Sonic after Sally had gotten off him and he had stood up. They started walking along the corridor, not realizing that a pair of red semicircles was watching them from the shadows. By now, they had reached the entrance to the main chamber of the Command Center.

"You ready," asked Sonic, looking back at Sally. She nodded with confidence. Sonic nodded back, then went into a spindash. He charged the door, his quills striking the slit of the door. After about a minute, the door slid open to reveal…nothing but the dim lit Command Center. There was no one there, not even a Swatbot.

"Well, this is certainly not something you would expect," said Sonic as he walked into the chamber.

"Where's that thing Mecha-Sonic was talking about?" asked Sally, searching the room from a headlight on Nicole's front end. The tiny beam of light traced around the room, showing nothing more than the consoles and monitors. She pointed it towards another dark corner, then froze with fear. She tapped Sonic on the shoulder, making him turn his attention towards the corner. His eyes went wide with shock. Standing in the corner was a Roboticized being. But it wasn't a Mobian. This one was…human. And they knew exactly who it was.

"It's Snively!" exclaimed Sally as she ran over to the Roboticized human. The robot seemed to pay her no attention as it stood there, completely lost in the trance of the Roboticizer's effects.

"What happened to him?" asked Sonic, looking over Snively from head to toe. It was then that a shadow appeared behind them. A big, almost gigantic shadow. Both of the Mobians slowly turned around, both turning pale with fear when they saw the thing's silhouette. Sally slowly trained the light from Nicole up the front of the figure. A pair of boots, a red and black suit with yellow stripes, one real arm, the other a robotic one. Sally froze before reaching the face, not wanting to believe who stood in front of them. Sonic was shaking his head slowly, eyes wide from disbelief.

"It…can't…be," said Sally shakily. The figure's arm suggested her to raise the light to his face. She did more slowly than maple syrup on a cold day in December. An evil smile, an orange mustache, red eyes, and no hair on his head. The figure laughed slightly. Sonic finally worked up the courage to speak.

"It's you…Robotnik," said Sonic, almost at a whisper. Robotnik reared back his head, laughing hysterically.

"So, you do remember me, hedgehog," he said, grinning. He walked away and got into the command chair. "Do you like my newest servant?" He motioned towards Snively. The robot human just looked up at his master, awaiting his next task. The two Mobians ignored the question.

"How is it that you're here? We saw your ship explode from your contraption's explosion," asked Sonic.

"You Freedom Fighters are all so simple. Did you really think I wouldn't have had a back-up escape plan? I had my craft installed with a miniaturized version of my Void technology. By using it just before the blast hit my ship, I was able to escape into the Void," said Robotnik. Sally suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Robotnik noticed, then laughed slightly. "Don't worry, princess. I wouldn't dare go anywhere near your father, but only because he resides with Nagus." Sally's composure became more relaxed, but she still wasn't totally convinced that he hadn't tried to do something.

"But how could you survive here after so long in the Void," asked Sonic, remembering how King Acorn and Nagus had begun to crystallize when they had tried to leave the Void. Robotnik reached into a pocket and pulled a glowing white gem from within.

"This is why I survived coming back here. I came across this emerald some time ago, but never really understood its amazing powers. But with its power, I was able to stop the crystallization process, and I hope to discover more about it," said Robotnik, turning the gem around in his hands. Sally's eyes suddenly had a hope that Sonic had not seen for ages. He knew what she was thinking, but there was no way they could get that jewel from him without risking getting either himself or Sally hurt. He motioned for Sally to forget the idea. She looked crushed, but she knew why he had done that for the same reason.

"But where are my manners? I have a little welcome home present for you, Sonic. Now where could it be?" he said calmly. Sonic went on the defensive, expecting anything. He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the door behind him open. The hallway behind the door was at least twice as bright as the control room was, blinding Sonic for a moment.

When he had regained enough of his vision, he looked up to see the silhouette of a Mobian sized figure standing in the doorway. Two red semicircle eyes stared emotionlessly at him, the figure standing completely still. By now, Sonic's eyes had recovered enough to let him get a good look at the thing. He gasped as he realized what he was looking at.

"Oh man! Not another one!" cried Sonic. The figure walked into the light, revealing it's full form. It stood about four feet tall, and was a stunning dark blue, with the claws, nose, and mouth being a shining silver color, and the feet being bright red. In it's chest was what appeared to be a miniature jet engine from a jet plane. The figure turned out to be none other than another robot version of himself. The figure walked up next to the command chair, eyes glowing softly. He then turned to Sonic, who could tell the robot was both angry and pleased to see him at the same time.

"Hello, hedgehog," said the robot. Robotnik laughed quite loudly, then stood and put a hand on the robot's shoulder.

"Here's that present I was telling you about earlier. I would like you to meet my greatest creation ever! I call it, Metal Sonic!" cried Robotnik. Sally looked like she would pass out with fear, while Sonic stood strong by will alone, his body refusing to move from the fear he had.

"I'm sure you remember the late robot version of yourself that my nephew had built. It was nothing but a pathetic copy, not even coming close to the power that Metal Sonic possesses. Metal is everything you are, hedgehog. Fast, cunning, and totally evil in every way," said Robotnik. He then stepped back from Metal Sonic, then sat down in the command chair.

"And now, his skills shall be put to the test. Metal Sonic! I order you to destroy Sonic the Hedgehog!" Metal Sonic's eyes started glowing bright red as the engine in his chest started to hum quietly, signaling that the robot was going to charge him. Sonic grabbed Sally' arm and pulled a Power Ring from his pack, absorbing the energy into his body. He then handed Sally the whistle, which she blew at the top of her lungs. Sonic then blasted from the control room with a supersonic boom, followed a few seconds later by the sound of an engine' flare as Metal Sonic shot from the room as well, only a lot slower than Sonic had, Robotnik's laughter following after the trio.

**********

Down in the alley, Bunnie paced around nervously as they waited for the return of their friends. Dulcy was seated on a dumpster's lid when she suddenly jerked upright.

"Bunnie! I hear the whistle!" she exclaimed. Dulcy jumped down off the lid and knelt for Bunnie as she leaped onto the dragon's saddle. Dulcy took to the air in a flash, flying as fast as her wings would take her in the direction of the Command Center.

**********

Sonic burst through the entrance to the Command Center at full run with Sally in tow. He searched the sky for Dulcy as he raced around the blocks leading away from the center, hoping that the robot wasn't as fast as Robotnik had claimed it to be. He spotted Dulcy flying towards them, and he waved energetically, finally getting the dragon's attention. She went into another power dive, but she didn't try to land. Instead, she straightened herself out at the end and glided towards them. She then stopped and hovered as Sonic placed Sally up on the saddle.

"Dulcy, fly back to Knothole as fast as you can. Don't come back until I came back," said Sonic. Dulcy nodded, then she started to fly away.

"What are you going to do, Sonic!" cried Sally.

"I'm going to make sure this one doesn't survive our first encounter," said Sonic. Dulcy flew in a circle for a second, then turned and blasted from the city as fast as she could. Sonic waved what might be his last goodbye to his friends. He then heard the familiar sound of a jet engine approaching him. He turned just in time to see Metal Sonic land about 100 yards away.

"Time to get down to business," said Sonic under his breath. Metal Sonic made two fists with his claws, then started to charge up the engine blast full speed at Sonic.

"Now you will die, Sssonic the Hedgehog!" cried Metal Sonic as he started to rise from his standing position. Sonic revved up and shot straight towards Metal Sonic as he blasted forward from his spot on the, both of them unwilling to back down…

END OF PART 1

Author's note: First off, this fic is the crowning achievement of my fanfictions! And part 2 still hasn't even come yet. I must give a disclaimer for Metal Sonic's personality to NetRaptor. Me Metal Sonic is based after hers. Now Part 2 is the showdown between the new Metal Sonic and Sonic. Who will win? Has Robotnik finally found the one thing that could be Sonic's downfall. And what became of Mecha-Sonic? The answers in the second half of this story, "An Unlikely Ally."