A New Enemy, A New Ally: Part 2

All Sonic characters are copyrights of SEGA, DIC, and Archie Comics. Cody and Lily Hedgehog are copyrighted by me, as is Silver the Hedgehog. Metal Sonic is based after NetRaptor’s version of him.

A New Enemy, A New Ally: Part 2 of 2

Part 2: An Unlikely Ally

Sonic shot straight at Metal Sonic, then curled up and went into a spindash. But Metal Sonic dodged to the right, sticking his leg out and catching Sonic in the left side. Sonic went crashing to the ground, pain shooting through his midsection. Metal Sonic fired his engine, charging the grounded Sonic. But Sonic pushed off the ground with his speed, shooting him in the air and causing Metal to fly right under him.

"Nice try, bolt brain!" yelled Sonic. Metal's eyes flashed an even brighter red, anger taking over all other emotions. He whipped around, engine still on full power, and shot straight at Sonic. Knowing that he same trick wouldn't work twice, Sonic revved up and blasted away from the blue robot.

Suddenly, overwhelming pain shot through the left side of his hip, right where Metal had connected with his metallic leg. He was only running about half as fast as he normally could, not even coming close enough to the sound barrier to even feel the push of it trying to stop his progress.

*Great, I can't run any faster or I might seriously hurt something, and that robot was already fast enough! I'd better try to find somewhere to hide,* thought Sonic as he raced through the streets, Metal close behind. Sonic looked behind him and saw the bright blue light created from Metal's engine exhaust. *Well, first I need to lose blue, fast, and deadly. Then I need to figure out how to either disable or destroy him.*

Metal poured on the speed after seeing Sonic was injured. This was going to be a lot easier than his master had ever made it out to be. Heck, it only took him a few seconds to do what Robotnik’s Swatbots had been trying to do for years. Scanners still trained on Sonic, he was confident that his organic counterpart would be his in a few mere seconds. But as soon as Sonic rounded the next warehouse, he disappeared from Metal’s scanners. The robot came to rest around the corner of the warehouse that Sonic had just ran around. He then widened his ground scanners to cover a half mile, but still couldn’t find Sonic anywhere.

**********

*Oh, why must he be so stubborn!* thought Sally as she looked back behind the dragon at the two hedgehogs charging each other as they flew at top speed from the city. She knew that Sonic was determined not to let this robot version of himself survive this time, or else it would start a whole new set of problems for them. But she wished she would have stayed behind with him, help out in some way. Dulcy would have made a great form of offensive power with her fire and ice breathing powers.

But she had to think about the safety of her friends before her own personal wishes, and she knew that Sonic had known what the best course of action was. She heaved a sigh as she turned her attention to the open plains of Green Meadow below. She gazed at the landscape, taking in the site. How beautiful it was, all green and lush. If only they could find a way to reverse everything that Robotnik had done, make everything living once again. She was concentrating so much on these particular thoughts that she didn’t take notice when a glitter from light hitting something metallic flew by underneath them, going well over three hundred miles per hour.

**********

Mecha-Sonic had wasted no time in leaving Knothole and heading towards Robotropolis. But he never knew he could travel at this kind of speed. Rotor must have modified his foot thrusters while he had been repairing him, even though he hadn’t detect the power increase. He’d have thank him later. He reached the edge of the forest going about three hundred miles per hour, and gaining speed every minute. He looked about Green Meadow and it’s beautiful green fields.

He couldn’t help but smile. When his mind had been trapped by the mind control chip, he had never come to appreciate the beauty of nature or the gentle coloring of a flower. How wonderful it was to be able to enjoy the things that he had before becoming a robot. He returned his gaze to the front of himself just as a shadow passed by over head. He looked back to see Dulcy flying towards the forest, Sally and Bunnie riding on her saddle.

*Looks like they found out what was going on, but where’s Sonic?* thought Mecha-Sonic as he stopped in mid flight. He looked back towards the city, but saw no sign of Sonic following. Figuring he must still be in the city, Mecha-Sonic fired his foot thrusters full blast and shot towards the city as fast as he could.

**********

"Come out here and face me hedgehog!" cried Metal Sonic as he continued to scan the area. Sonic looked down at the robot from his perch on a window ledge. He had figured that Robotnik wouldn’t have told Metal about all of his tricks, seeing as he had tons of them at his disposal. He looked down to see the robot continually rotate in the same position. He sighed and leaned back onto the boarded window. He could go down and fight the robot, but he was injured and didn’t have the speed right now to outrun him. Maybe he could sneak by Metal and escape unnoticed. Sonic immediately dismissed that idea.

Metal was scanning the whole area on the ground, and would pick him up the instant he set foot on the polluted soil below. He just couldn’t figure out a way to evade Metal without getting caught, and he couldn’t hold his own against the robot right now. What’s a hedgehog to do? But then, Metal made Sonic’s choice for him as he looked up at the building with his scanner, finally figuring out what had happened. Sonic tensed when he heard the sound of Metal’s engine powering up. That was it, he’d have to fight.

"Okay. If it’s a fight he wants, it’s a fight he’ll get," whispered Sonic under his breath. Metal blasted towards the window, confident that he was going to have his prey in a matter of seconds. But he was suddenly caught off guard as Sonic shot out the window in a spindash, bounced off a nearby building, and slammed right into the back of his head. The force of the blow caused him to do a full 360 degrees flip in the air. This gave Sonic the time he needed to fall to the ground and run a good distance away from his new robot double. Metal cursed to himself as he shot off after Sonic, angry that he had let his guard down so easily.

Metal was sure he would get Sonic in the end, no matter what kind of tricks he pulled. Sonic was already injured and unable to outrun him, and he didn’t require rest like living creatures. Plus, he still had two aces up his sleeve if Sonic actually got the upper hand later on down the road. Allowing himself to smile, he accelerated even more, intent on catching his quarry.

**********

*This place seems so…deserted,* thought Mecha-Sonic as he traveled through Robotropolis. He had been through about a fourth of the city so far and had not even seen a single Swatbot or hover-unit. It made him nervous. Either that being who attacked the Command Center was overconfident that he was safe without guards, or he was incredibly stupid. He chuckled inwardly at the latter. If that person had pulled off an attack against the city with such ease, then there was no way he could be stupid.

He continued through the city, flying by factories and warehouses left and right. It wasn’t anything new. He had spent most of his life as a robot in this city, and knew where everything was. A warehouse here, a factory with Roboticized Mobians working there. He suddenly jerked to a stop when he saw the robots working like mad in the factory.

He thought about how he had spent most of his days since the coup doing the same kind of things. But there was something familiar about this factory in particular. But what was it? It looked just like any of the numerous factories strung throughout the city. He continued to think about it, but didn’t make the connection until he saw a certain Roboticized hedgehog working one of the coal carts.

"Wait a sec! That’s…it can’t be…Lily!?", he whispered. He enhanced his vision, zooming in on the Roboticized hedgehog. It looked like her, a slight shade of red to her metal, and what appeared to be long, metallic hair flowing down her back. He returned his vision to normal before blasting full speed towards the factory, not even realizing that in her present state of mind, she would more than likely try to hurt or capture him instead of thinking rationally.

Trying not to attract the attention of the other Workerbots, Mecha-Sonic waited outside the entrance of the factory until Lily came back outside with the cart to refill it. He fired his thrusters, flying right at Lily, who had no clue what was going on. He scooped her up in his arms and flew about a hundred feet from the factory, landing with a struggling Lily in tow. She was growling angrily as she tried to escape Mecha-Sonic’s grasp. But even her robotic strength wasn’t a match for Mecha-Sonic’s enhanced strength.

"Lily! Calm down! It’s me, Cody!" he cried, trying to get her under control. But she continued to fight his grip, constantly growling the whole time. He became desperate as he continued to try and calm the bucking robot, but he couldn’t get her to calm down. Then an idea hit him. Maybe he could jog her memory, much like his thoughts of her had released his mind for that short time in the cave.

"Lily! Think about your life before becoming a robot! Try and remember Mobotropolis and the home we made together," said Mecha-Sonic. Lily started to relax as she tried to register what this robot was telling her. Mecha-Sonic smiled, knowing that his idea was working. But her brief calm didn’t last long, as she resumed her struggling. Thinking fast, he thought of the one thing that had finally freed his own mind.

"Listen closely, Lily! Think about that night fifteen years ago. That night almost a year before the coup. The night that I proposed to you," he said. Lily calmed down again, but this time she looked like she was in pain as she fell to the ground, grabbing her head with both hands. Mecha-Sonic knelt down and put his hand on her shoulder. "Please, try to remember!", he begged. Lily’s pain seemed to increase, then she collapsed. After about thirty seconds she sat up, blinked a few times and turned around to face Mecha-Sonic.

"I…I…remember. Oh Cody, I remember that night. The night I promised to spend my life with you," she said, looking into Mecha-Sonic’s eyes. She had never seen this robot before, but she could see past his physical appearance right into her husband’s mind that resided within.

"Oh, thank the heavens, you remember!" cried Mecha-Sonic. Both of them embraced in a hug. Lily broke the hug, then turned back towards the factory. Regret in her eyes, she turned back towards Mecha-Sonic.

"Cody, I can’t leave this place," she said, her voice heavy with sadness. Mecha-Sonic looked shocked. Here he had just freed his wife from the mind stealing properties of the Roboticizer, and she wanted to stay!? But she explained her reasons why very well. "There are many Workerbots all over the city. If I stay, maybe I can help free some of them like you have me. But we will be together again, my love. When this war is over, we will finish what we began fifteen years ago. Until then, I’m needed in this city more than anything else." Mecha-Sonic nodded, understanding fully what she was thinking.

"I trust your feeling, my dear. Stay here and help those you can. Like you said, we will be reunited again someday for good. But that doesn’t mean you should have to stay in labor like this. I promise to find you a place here in the city where you can live without fear of Robotnik finding you. A place where you can help the other Roboticized citizens and live a live free of you never ending suffering," said Mecha-Sonic, taking Lily’s hand. She nodded and they embraced again. Then they gave each other a kiss before parting ways.

Mecha-Sonic looked back as his one-and-only returned to her endless labor. Sighing, he turned his attention to the block of road in front of him. It just so happened that at that same time, Sonic and Metal were racing past with Metal gaining on Sonic. Mecha-Sonic watched the two blast around the corner of a nearby factory and out of sight.

"Well, looks like Sonic found that little intruder," said Mecha-Sonic as he flew up to the top of the factory they had just rounded. Turning his scanners on max, he tracked the two of them as they raced about the city.

**********

Sonic ran through the streets of Robotropolis as fast as his legs could carry his injured body. But Metal was still faster by far as he continued to gain ground on him. The two of them raced further into the city, coming across the same junk yard where Mecha-Sonic and Amy Rose had met for the first time.

*Oh man! This isn’t good,* thought Sonic as he saw the numerous piles of junk blocking almost every part of his route. Then he recalled what he had been doing just before arriving at Sally’s hut that morning. *That’s it! It’s just like my game!* Sonic began to race around each of the piles, just as he had dodged around the huts and people in Knothole. Metal, on the other hand, wasn’t built to handle such tight turns. He would try to follow Sonic around a pile and instead go crashing into the side of the pile, knocking things off left and right, having to avoid getting hit with the falling objects. This caused Sonic to get a good lead on the blue robot, but he was getting very close to his record of 15 objects well before he was even half-way through the junk yard.

*Oh boy, I guess this game just became life or death. I crash, I’m caught. I get through, I’ll have a good lead on Metal.* thought Sonic as he continued to race around the piles, passing by his record and still going. Metal, figuring that this was a stupid way to catch Sonic, flew up and out of the junk yard, still following Sonic, but having lost about a good quarter mile to him. Growling angrily, Metal blasted full speed after Sonic, closing the gap rather quickly. Sonic looked back to see Metal gaining rapidly.

*Darn robot, doesn’t he ever give up? Better try losing him again cause all this running on an injured hip is really starting to hurt,* thought Sonic as he dashed around another corner and up the side of the building just like last time. But Metal knew what Sonic had done the moment he had disappeared from his scanners. Smiling to himself, he decided it was time to play one of his two aces. Knowing full well that this would drain a good deal of his energy, but wanting the element of surprise, Metal activated his cloaking device. His entire body began to become wavy was the power of the device flowed over him. He then completely disappeared from view.

Sonic watched the street below from his perch on another window outcropping. But he became suspicious when the blue robot had failed to appear on the ground below like last time. Searching the ground intensely for Metal, Sonic didn’t hear the low hum that Metal’s engine created as the now invisible robot hovered just a few feet above the unsuspecting head of Sonic.

"Surprise, hedgehog!" shouted Metal as he deactivated both his cloaking device and his engine. Sonic looked up to see a rapidly dropping Metal Sonic fall feet first into his face, knocking him off the building and towards the ground below. Metal reactivated his engine and watched the helpless Sonic fall the full ten stories to the ground below. Sonic landed hard on his back, pain shooting through his entire body.

Metal then charged his engine to full power, blasted off, and flew straight down towards Sonic at top speed; intent on ramming Sonic into the ground with the force of about a two ton weight being dropped on top of him. Sonic saw the robot charge and knew right then that this was going to be the final fight that he would wage against Robotnik. He tried to stay conscious long enough to see this through, the injuries to his body beckoning him to the call of the eternal rest. Metal was laughing with triumph now as he drew even closer to the ground.

"You are finished, Sssonic the Hedgehog!" shouted Metal at the top of his voice. Sonic eyes fluttered, then closed. Metal was almost there, just a few meters away.

"Nooooo!" cried out a voice as a figure flew right into Metal, knocking him out of the way as both it and the blue robot went flying straight into the wall of a nearby warehouse. The force of the sound caused by the two crashing was just enough to wake Sonic up from his unconsciousness. He turned his head towards the warehouse to see a smoking hole where the two had collided. Then the sound of metal striking metal could be heard as the figure that had tackled Metal Sonic came flying out of the warehouse. Sonic immediately recognized the figure as non other than Mecha-Sonic.

"Mecha…what are…you doing…here?" asked Sonic, very labored in his breathing. Mecha-Sonic quickly rose to his feet, keeping his eyes on the hole in the wall, waiting for Metal to come flying out of it at breakneck speeds.

"Hey, can’t let you have all the fun, can I," said Mecha-Sonic as he saw the shadow of Metal rising inside the warehouse, his two red semicircle eyes shining bright. Metal blasted from the hole in the warehouse straight at Mecha-Sonic, who in turn fired his thrusters and shot towards the approaching robot.

Both crashed dead center of each other, knocking themselves to the ground. Mecha-Sonic was the first to recover, charging the blue robot with claws ready to slash. Metal leaped to his feet just in time to block the silver robot’s claws with his. There they stood, hands locked in a grip that could not be broken. Sonic watched in agony as Mecha-Sonic continued to fight with nothing but pure strength against Metal Sonic.

"You’re…quite strong…sliver robot. But you don’t…have the same abilities…that I have," said Metal as he continued to struggle with Mecha-Sonic. Metal Sonic hated to play his last ace, as he had wanted to use it against Sonic before he died, but with this new robot, he had no choice but to play it.

Mecha-Sonic had no clue what Metal had meant by his statement. His answer came to him a second later when he was suddenly knocked head over heels from his spot to the ground about ten feet away. As soon as he felt the jolt, he knew he had just been hit by a powerful blast of electricity. His whole body felt like he had just touched a live wire from one of the power generator’s main reactors.

"You are a fool for coming back to this city. Now you will meet the same fate as him," said Metal, pointing towards Sonic. Mecha-Sonic tried to stand, but his servo motors in his legs were fried from he electricity. Metal walked over to the fallen body of Mecha-Sonic and placed his right foot on his chest plate.

"You will go first, then the hedgehog. Then the other Freedom Fighters one by one as they come back to the city. In the end, there will be no more resistance. No more Freedom Fighters…anywhere," said Metal in a chillingly evil voice. Mecha-Sonic cried out in pain as another blast of electricity went surging though his body.

Sonic, despite the enormous pain that coursed through his body, stood up. Using the last of his strength, he went into a final spindash and charged Metal, who had no idea that Sonic was even capable of standing, much less spindashing. Sonic slammed into Metal’s head, knocking the robot into a nearby pile of scrap metal. Sonic fell to the ground about fifty feet away from Mecha-Sonic, totally unconscious now, his life hanging on by a thread. Mecha-Sonic tried to stand, but the electricity had totally paralyzed his circuitry.

"That…was a huge mistake…hedgehog!" cried Metal as he rose out of the scrap heap, engine flaring bright blue. Mecha-Sonic looked up from where he was laying. There was Metal about twenty feet in front of him, preparing to charge Sonic; and he couldn’t do a thing about it. He looked around desperately, trying to find something, anything to attack Metal with when he got close enough. His hand reached behind his head and brushed against a steel rod. A smile worked across Mecha-Sonic’s face as he grabbed the rod in his hand. He had only one shot at this. He missed, Sonic was done for.

"Now, you DIE hedgehog!" shouted Metal as he blasted from his position, rapidly closing the gap between him and Sonic. He was so intent on crushing Sonic into the side of the nearest building that he didn’t notice Mecha-Sonic bringing the steel rod as far in front of his battered body as possible.

"I think NOT!" cried Mecha-Sonic as he thrust the rod forward just as Metal reached him. The steel rod connected with the fans of Metal’s engine, lodging itself in the intake of the engine. The fans groaned as they tried to snap the rod in half. Metal let out a cry of terror as he went flying widely in the air. Mecha-Sonic watched as the blue robot did somersaults and back flips as the damaged engine tried desperately to restart. Then he went into a power dive as his engine died. Spiraling down, he slammed into the side of an abandoned building. He fell to the ground, engine sparking. He started to rise, but the part of the building he had slammed into came loose and fell right on top of the blue robot, trapping him underneath.

"Sonic, we got him," said Mecha-Sonic as he crawled over to the unconscious form of Sonic. Mecha-Sonic gasped when he realized that Sonic had almost stopped breathing. He tried to stand, but the amount of damage to his systems was too great. All that electricity he had been shocked with had shut down the lower half of his body, and the top half was almost completely shut down as well.

"Well, looks like I’ll never get the chance to prove to your friends that I have changed. But you gave me another chance at this thing we call life, and the chance I needed to redeem myself. I can’t thank you enough for it…Sonic," said Mecha-Sonic as the last of his power cells gave out and he collapsed in a heap next to Sonic.

**********

As Mecha-Sonic collapsed, an ecstatic Robotnik nearly fainted from the sheer fact that he had final defeated Sonic. He was practically dancing about the Command Center, chanting over and over the Sonic was no more. But then his expression changed from glee to confused as the screens showing Sonic and Mecha-Sonic on the ground started flickering, then went into complete static.

"Stupid equipment, what’s wrong with you!" he shouted as he started punching in override commands that had no effect.

**********

Back at the scene of the two fallen hedgehogs, a flash of blinding light shown in the air for a few seconds, then died down. Standing just a few feet away from the two hedgehogs was the figure in the cloak, still holding onto his green gem. The figure knew why the Command Center had lost visual and audio contact. He had used the jewel’s power to disrupt the data flow between the spy-eye watching them and the Command Center’s receiving equipment. The figure ran and slide on the ground up to the two hedgehogs. He then examined both of them.

"This isn’t good. Sonic’s vital signs are fading and Mecha’s back-up power is failing. I guess I have no choice but to get them back to Knothole with this," he said, looking over at the gem. Taking the two hedgehog’s hands in his, he raised the gem high above his head. He then chanted two words, almost totally inaudible. He still didn’t want to give away himself or the gem’s power to Sonic or Mecha-Sonic just yet. All three of them became engulfed in the light that flowed from the gem’s core as they vanished into thin air.

Everything seemed quite after that, but then there was a loud crash sound as the pile of rubble Metal was buried beneath was blown from its resting place. Metal Sonic emerged from the pile, barely functioning. His left leg was bent 45 degrees up and towards the left, and he was sparking in several places. He tried to activate his engine, but the metal rod was still in place, causing him incredible pain when he had tried starting the engine. Growling loudly, he yanked the rod from his engine intake.

"You will pay for this, silver robot. But especially you, Son…Son…hedgehog," said Metal as he activated his engine, which at this point only had enough power to allow his damaged body to hover a mere meter above the ground. He slowly began his journey back to the Command Center.

**********

"What do you mean Mecha’s gone!?" cried Sally upon hearing Rotor’s news about what had happened. Rotor looked pale as he backed up a step.

"Sally, I couldn’t stop him. I guess I repaired him too well. But I was able to remove that mind control chip from his head. He had said something about you guys falling into a trap of some kind after I had removed the chip," said Rotor. Sally knew right away what trap Mecha had been talking about. He had known that Robotnik and Metal Sonic were the ones, and he had let them go ahead anyway. She shuddered when she though of what would happen to Sonic if Mecha joined forces with Metal. She dashed from her hut, looking everywhere for Dulcy. She finally found her suspended upside down from a tree with her tail, sleeping.

"Dulcy, wake up!" cried Sally. Dulcy screamed and dropped from the tree, landing on her head.

"Five more minutes, Ma," said the stunned dragon. She then regained her senses as she looked down at Sally. "Oh, hi Sally. Is Sonic back yet?" Sally shook her head.

"No, you and I are going back to Robotropolis to find him," said Sally. Dulcy knew better than to argue with Sally when she sounded this serious, so she lowered down so Sally could get on the saddle. But then the whole block of the village was lit up by a blinding light. Everyone covered their eyes as the light started to fade. Sally was the first one to see what the light contained within it. She gasped as she made out the battered figures of both Sonic and Mecha-Sonic.

"Sonic! Rotor, it’s Sonic and Mecha! Get Dr. Quack and grab your tools, Mecha’s in bad shape too!" she shouted. Rotor quickly dashed off to find Dr. Quack and gather his tools. Sally leaned down to Sonic, checking for a pulse. There was one, but it was very weak. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she cuddled Sonic’s head in her arms. Dr. Quack came running towards them with his bag, Rotor following with his tool box. Both of them started working on their respectable patients, but they had no clue if they were already too late.

**********

It had been a whole week since the return of Robotnik and the fight between Sonic and Metal. Life in the village was still trying to adjust to the changes, especially the change of having a certain robotic hedgehog wandering about the village since two days ago. Some still gave him stares, but most had eased off him after hearing Sonic’s tale of Mecha rescuing him from Metal. Today was the day the whole village had been waiting for, as news that Sonic would make a full recovery spread about the community. Mecha took this news to heart as he headed to Sonic’s hut to talk to him about something he had remembered Snively talking about during his ramblings when he had been under his control.

**********

Sonic was resting nicely when he heard a knock at his hut’s door.

"Come in," he called. The door opened and Mecha-Sonic walked inside and took a seat on a stool near the kitchen counter.

"So how you holding up, Sonic?" asked Mecha-Sonic. Sonic shrugged. He had grown used to having the robotic hedgehog visit him regularly since the attack. The Freedom Fighters outlook on Mecha-Sonic had made a complete 180 degree turn about. Even Sally was starting to ease up about having him around the village.

"Oh, just the usual. Resting and eating all the chilidogs I can eat. How about you, you really haven’t said very much during these visits?" asked Sonic. Mecha-Sonic smiled as he walked up to a picture of a much younger Sally that was sitting on a nearby dresser.

"Well, I do have one thing to show you," he said as he placed his fingers on the edge of the picture. Sonic started getting nervous.

"Hey, put that down. With those claws of yours, you’ll shred it!" cried Sonic. Mecha-Sonic ignored him and moved his fingers across the picture in one quick swipe. Sonic covered his eyes, not wanting to see the claw marks on his only surviving picture of Sally before the coup. He could hear Mecha-Sonic chuckling slightly. Risking seeing the claw marks, he removed his hands from his eyes. But what he saw shocked him even more. There were no marks at all on the picture.

"But…how?" asked Sonic. Mecha-Sonic chuckled slightly again as he handed Sonic a stick from outside.

"You’ll see, but first throw that stick at me," said Mecha-Sonic.

"What!?" said Sonic, sure he had misheard the robotic hedgehog. Mecha-Sonic shook his head yes as he brought his hand behind his back. "Okay, what ever you say." Sonic threw the stick as hard as he could at Mecha-Sonic. But Mecha-Sonic shot his hand out and sliced the stick into six separate pieces. He then lifted his hand to show Sonic.

"Retractable claws. A little present from Rotor. Now I can touch anything without fear of cutting it to shreds," said Mecha-Sonic, flicking the claws in and out of his fingers.

"Cool," said Sonic, relaxing back into the pillow against his back. Mecha-Sonic’s face become one of seriousness that Sonic had never seen the robot express. Mecha-Sonic sighed, then looked up at Sonic.

"Listen Sonic, your Uncle, Sir Charles Hedgehog, was Roboticized, right?" asked Mecha-Sonic. Sonic nodded, not quite sure where this was going. "Well, I heard Snively saying that he wished he knew how you freed him from the Roboticizer’s mind stealing properties. But yet, I have never seen him in this village. I’m guessing he is still in the city, doing spy work for you guys." Sonic’s stomach turned to ice when he heard what Mecha-Sonic had just said. Surely, the robotic hedgehog didn’t actually know that his uncle was still in the city, but why else would he bring this up.

"Well, if this is true, I have a request to ask of both you and your uncle," said Mecha-Sonic. Sonic looked a little shocked, but nodded. "I have someone that is very dear to me that is Roboticized herself. I freed her last week just like you freed you uncle. But she wanted to remain in the city and try to help the other Roboticized citizens. I promised her to find someplace in the city that was safe, and I think that if you uncle has been in the city for this long, then there would be no safer place."

Sonic looked like he had just been slugged by Metal’s fist when he heard this request. Then it was like Rotor had said. This robot actually has a free will all his own. And not only that, but a girlfriend or possible wife. Sonic tried to make sense of it all, but he knew right away what both he and his uncle would have the same answer.

"Sure Mecha. I would be happy to have you friend live with my Uncle Chuck. First thing when I’m better, will go and take her to him," said Sonic. Mecha-Sonic smiled a smile that Sonic wouldn’t have though possible for a machine designed for combat, but he knew the feeling of love for towards loved-ones as much as anyone else.

**********

One week later, Sonic had recovered enough that both his speed and his attitude had returned. They had met Lily early in the morning when the Swatbots were low in numbers. They had then proceeded to Sir Charles hidden base in the junk yard. After the usual password chime that Sonic tapped into a certain pipe, the door to the hideout opened and they dashed inside.

"Hello, Sonnie!" said Uncle Chuck as he and Sonic embraced.

"It’s good to see you too, Uncle Chuck," said Sonic. Uncle Chuck had received a letter from Sonic stating what was going on, and he had been happy to allow Lily to stay with him.

"So this is Lily," said Uncle Chuck as he shook hands with her. Lily smiled and shook his hand back.

"Are you sure she’ll be safe here?" asked Mecha-Sonic as they prepared to leave.

"Don’t you worry. I’ve been out here in this one spot for over six years now. No way they will find her," assured Uncle Chuck. Sonic and Mecha-Sonic both waved goodbye to them before heading back to Knothole. They had to make the visit a short one because Sally had told them to be back by 1:00 for an announcement.

**********

"Friends and fellow Freedom Fighters! Today marks a new war against a new enemy! Robotnik has returned, along with a new robotic version of Sonic, known as Metal Sonic!" said Sally from her standing position on the stump near the center of the village. Most of the villagers began talking loudly after hearing this news. She waved her hands until the crowd quieted down again.

"But amongst the bad news, we have some good news as well! Today will also mark the initiation of a new Freedom Fighter! One who has proven himself in both heroics and character! Someone who has, not once, but twice saved Sonic from certain death! Would you please come up here, Mecha?" said Sally. Mecha-Sonic flew up onto the stump, then bowed to Sally. He then rose and faced the crowd.

"Mecha, for your bravery in saving Sonic from the jaws of death at the risk of losing your own life, I am very happy to make you the newest member of the Freedom Fighters!" announced Sally. A roar of cheering rose from the crowd gathered in the village center. Mecha-Sonic looked speechless as he gave Sally his deepest bow. He then turned towards the crowd, now waving his own hands as he calmed them back down.

"I don’t know exactly what to say, except…thank you. Thank you all for giving me a second chance," said Mecha-Sonic. The crowd went into another roar of cheering. Mecha-Sonic waited for a few moments before quieting the crowd again.

"I also have one more thing to say. To keep this name of mine, Mecha-Sonic, would mean that I still hold onto part of my past. I can’t live having a name that reminds me of my time under the service of a horrible overlander, nor can I keep it for the sheer fact that I am not a copy of Sonic, but an individual in both mind and body. So, from now on, just call me…Silver, Silver the Hedgehog!" said Mecha-Sonic. Yet another roar of cheering sounded from the crowd. Sonic joined Silver and Sally up on the stump as he shook Silver’s hand.

"Silver the Hedgehog, huh? Sounds like a winner to me," said Sonic.

**********

Watching the crowd below from a nearby tree, the figure with the cloak watched as Silver joined Sonic and Sally in walking off the stump and through the crowd. Sighing, he looked back at his green gem.

"The time has arrived, Sonic. Now is the time that I must show myself. Tonight, you will learn of your destiny, and start the quest to fulfill this destiny," said the figure. It then raised the jewel above it’s head once more, and chanted the same two words, disappearing in the flash of light that followed.

THE END

Finally, this story is finished! Metal’s just received the beating he deserved, Mecha became the newest Freedom Fighter and changed his name to Silver the Hedgehog, and Lily is now safely living with Sonic’s uncle. But what about that figure in the cloak. What did it mean when it said that Sonic will learn of his destiny? Find out in my next fic, "Shadows in the Night".