Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Iron Heart MK II ❯ More Problems ( Chapter 4 )

Legal Stuff:

I don't own any of the characters in this story except for Metal Sonic 2. The others are the properties of their respective owners.

Author's Notes:

Things are about to get problematic...but don't take my word for it; just keep reading!

Chapter 4: More Problems

The early hours of the morning were calm and peaceful in Knothole, and everyone slept well. Robotnik finished his project and decided to get some sleep himself before using it. This left time for the residents of the underground village to awaken and start their days. It was still fairly early when Sally came to check up on Sonic and Tails. She lightly knocked on the door, not sure of what she'd see.

The door opened, and Sally found that it was Metal-2 that let her in. She nervously and quickly walked past the machine, and looked around the room. Almost immediately, Sally saw Tails asleep on the couch, with a blanket over him and a pillow under his head. She slowly approached the fox, and gently rubbed his head for a moment before turning around and seeing Metal-2 watching.

"You missed your chance to kill them." Sally said solemnly. Metal-2 stepped forward a bit.

"I have no intention of harming any of you." The robot replied, trying to sound as truthful as possible. "But you should know, Robotnik knows that I've betrayed him, and he'll be coming soon."

"But he doesn't know where we are...does he?" Sally asked worriedly. The robot thought for a moment, and then looked back at her.

"No, but if I do not leave, that may change. I'm equipped with a homing beacon. It's a problem I'll fix as soon as I can, but for now I should go." Metal-2 answered, and began to head for the door.

Sally stopped him. "Metal..."

He halted, and looked over at her. "Yes?"

"Thanks...for not lying. I'm sorry about treating you so badly before." She sadly, looking at the ground. Metal-2 considered the statement, and replied.

"Think nothing of it. You were merely protecting your interests, and are not at fault." He answered reassuringly. The robot then put his hand on the doorknob, but paused before turning it. He faced Sally again. "Would you mind doing me a favor?"

"That depends." Sally said. "What is it?"

"Could you please explain me to everyone? I don't think they'd hang around long enough to listen to me." He asked, hoping.

"I'll take care of it." She answered, and Metal-2 nodded. He activated his holo-projector, and took on the appearance of Tails. Sally shuddered slightly, thinking. "I'll never get used to that..."

The robot left the hut, closing the door behind him. The sound from it woke Tails up. He opened his eyes slightly, and searched around the room. He saw Sally, and then noticed the blanket and pillow.

"Hey, I didn't have this stuff when I went to sleep..." He said to himself concerning the blanket and pillow. Sally looked down at him, wondering. She then thought of Metal-2 and smiled slightly "That robot really does want to help."

There was another knock on the door, and Sally opened it to reveal Bunnie. The rabbit entered, speaking to Sally. "Hey, there, I just saw Tails goin' down the street, and-" She stopped when she saw Tails lying on the couch.

Sally chuckled. "Bunnie, there's something I need to tell you..."

Several minutes earlier, in Robotropolis...

Robotnik circled the work table for what must've been the hundredth time, looking down on it. On the table was a blue robot, a rebuilt version of the original Metal Sonic. Robotnik knew that this machine wouldn't betray him, and planned to use it to subdue Metal-2. He held in his hand a small device with a large red button on it. He reached under the back of Metal Sonic's head, and hit a tiny switch. The robot activated, its red eyes appearing. Metal Sonic sat up on the table, and faced his creator.

"Welcome back, Metal." Robotnik said to the machine. "I don't have time for any fancy greetings, so that will have to suffice. I have a job for you." Robotnik handed Metal Sonic the device.

"And that would be?" Metal Sonic asked.

"I need you to locate Metal-2. Use the data I've given you to track him down. Once you've found him, try to stay hidden." Robotnik answered.

"And then?" Metal Sonic inquired, eagerly.

"Use that device to override his programming. It will force him back onto the path of evil temporarily. Lead him back here where I will make repairs to his system. Understand?" Robotnik finished, and Metal Sonic nodded. "Good. Go immediately."

Metal Sonic got off the table and left Robotropolis. He flew in the direction that Metal-2 was last seen heading in, and kept his scanners open for the robot's homing beacon. He finally located Metal-2 nearby, and stopped, hovering in the air. He was about to press the button on the device he was given when there was a scream from down below. Metal Sonic looked down, and saw a pink hedgehog in a small clearing of flowers. "That little brat is going to give away my position!" The robot realized, and flew downwards.

Metal Sonic arrived on the ground almost instantly, and rushed towards Amy, tackling her. Amy cried out in pain as the robot forced her to the ground. Metal Sonic put his hand over her mouth to silence her, and was about to deliver a deadly stab with the pointed fingers of his other hand when a blue blur shoved him away and into a tree.

"S-sonic?" Amy wondered, but was surprised to see Metal-2 standing in front of her.

Metal Sonic recovered from the hit, and rushed at Metal-2 vengefully. Metal-2 backed away a bit and pulled his right hand behind him. He curled the hand into a fist as Metal Sonic drew nearer. Metal-2 swung his fist around, putting his whole weight into a devastating punch that impacted Metal Sonic's face, denting it inwards and cracking the robot's visor. Metal Sonic was thrown to the ground by the hit, and lie there motionless.

"Metal! You saved me!" Amy cheered, and the robot turned around and approached her.

"Amy...Are you all right?" The robot asked, and felt the same odd twinge as before when he saw her. Metal-2 extended a hand and helped her up, and was caught off guard when she jumped into a tight hug.

He wasn't sure how to react, but didn't have long to think about it because Amy suddenly stopped in her cheering and pointed at the battered Metal Sonic. "Metal! Look!" She shouted, and Metal-2 turned around just in time to see Metal Sonic's hand press the button on the control device. The arm dropped back down, and Metal-2 felt a sharp piercing pain in his mind. His eyes glowed extra-brightly for a moment before returning to normal as a new aura came over him.

Metal-2 couldn't figure out why, but he felt the urge to do evil. He grabbed Amy, who was surprised by it, and took off into the sky.

"Metal...What are you doing?! What's going on?!" She asked, beginning to worry.

Metal-2 gave no answer, and just kept flying. Amy cried out, but was unheard. The two returned to Robotropolis, and were welcomed in. Robotnik soon realized that Metal Sonic had been in a fight, and knew he needed the control device back. So, to give him the needed time, he ordered that Metal-2 and Amy both be electrocuted until they were unconscious, and thrown in a holding cell at the edge of the city.

As time passed, Robotnik recovered Metal Sonic and the device, and word of Metal-2 spread throughout Knothole. In the holding cell, Metal-2 was the first to come back online. He looked around, adjusting his focus to see the room more clearly. He no longer felt evil.

The robot stood up off the ground, and saw Amy still unconscious nearby. "We have to get out of here..." Metal-2 thought as he approached Amy. The robot knelt down next to her, and felt a strange warmth inside. He gently shook her shoulder, and the hedgehog's eyes soon opened, and she saw Metal-2. Amy quickly backed away into a corner and shrunk down into a ball, trying to avoid Metal-2.

"No...Please, don't hurt me..." Amy pleaded as Metal-2 walked towards her.

"Amy...I'm not going to hurt you. I don't know what came over me before, but what you saw wasn't who I am." Metal-2 explained. "I think it has something to do with that device that Metal Sonic had."

Amy forced a peek up at him. "Are you okay now?" Was all she could say.

"I'm fine now. Please, you have to believe me." The robot replied.

"I...I don't know what to believe anymore..." Amy mumbled, and hid her face in her knees, crying. Metal-2 couldn't stand to see her this way. He put his hand on her head gently.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you before...But whatever came over caused me to lose control. I'm sorry, but it wasn't my fault." He said, soothingly as he knelt down in front of her. Amy looked up at him through tearful eyes.

Amy began to cry more deeply, her whole body shaking with it. She fell forward into Metal-2's arms, and cried on his shoulder. Metal-2 couldn't figure out why, but he knew what to do. He lightly hugged her, rubbing the back of her head.

"Amy, please...stop crying...I can't bear to see you like this..." Metal-2 said quietly. Amy slowly calmed down, tears running down her cheeks.

"Metal...I'm so afraid..." She told him, and let Metal-2 hold her close. "Are we going to make it out alive?"

"I'll make sure of it." Metal-2 said, confidently. When Amy relaxed more, he stood up and approached the outer wall. It stood between them and freedom, and Metal-2 decided that he would change that. He stepped back away from it. "Amy, get behind me." He warned, and she did so. Metal-2 focused on the wall, and began to charge up the lasers that were mounted near his shoulders. Two bright orbs of energy gathered in front of him, one in front of each laser, and after building up a substantial amount of power, he unleashed twin laser beams into the wall. They progressively blasted a hole in the wall until the path to the outside was clear. The lasers fizzled out as the last bit of wall fell away.

"Metal, that was amazing!" Amy exclaimed after seeing the damage.

"Thank you. Now let's get out of here." He said, and faced her. "May I carry you?" H asked?

Amy thought for a moment. "Well...okay, sure. Just try to be more careful than the last time."

"I will." He said.

Metal-2 reached down and pushed his arm into the back of her knees, and put his other arm against her back. Amy fell into his arms, and put her hands around his neck. The robot turned around, facing the hole. He ran out through it, and then took off into the air. He had to fly using just his leg jets since Amy was in the way of his body jet's air intake. They made their way back towards Knothole, and Metal-2 noticed that it was already almost noon.

"Amy...What were you doing in that clearing this morning?" Metal-2 asked, making conversation.

"I was picking some flowers...for my hero..." She answered.

"Your hero? And who might that be?" Metal-2 wondered.

Amy looked up at him. "...I'm...not sure anymore..."

They headed back to Knothole, and finally arrived. Metal-2 set Amy down next to the entrance, and they went in. Metal-2 had forgotten to activate his disguise, but it was too late. Fortunately, the majority of the residents had taken Sally's word that Metal-2 wasn't evil, and didn't panic when they saw him. Still, they were a bit surprised as he and Amy walked to Sonic's home. They were welcomed in by Sonic himself, and everyone sat down.

"Everyone, we have a problem." Metal-2 began. "Metal Sonic has been rebuilt, and Robotnik has a device that can force me to be evil."

"It's true." Amy continued. "He saved me from Metal Sonic, but then that weird control thing was turned on and Metal here kidnapped me. The next thing I knew, we were in jail together. He broke us out."

"This isn't good. Metal me is one tough cookie." Sonic thought out loud.

"But now we've got our own robot!" Tails stated happily. "Metal can help us."

"I will do whatever I can." Metal replied. "But first I'll take care of that pesky homing beacon of mine." He turned to face Tails. "I'll need your help, though."

"No problem!" Tails answered.

"Even if our robot can handle his, we still have that control device to deal with." Sally reminded them. "Metal, is there any easy way to deal with that?"

"Not that I know of." Metal-2 responded. "We'll need to destroy the device."

"Wouldn't he just make another one?" Sonic asked.

"He's right." Sally said. "Instead of destroying it, let's try and capture it. Then maybe we can study it and find a way to keep future control devices from working."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Amy replied.

Meanwhile, in Robotropolis, repairs on Metal Sonic were finally complete. Robotnik was furious when he found out about Metal-2 and Amy's escape.

"Next time," He swore, "I won't fail." The scientist then prepared his flying ship. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself..." He grumbled as he got into the machine. Holding the control device in one hand, he took off with Metal Sonic not far behind. He went off toward the area where Metal Sonic had encountered Metal-2, and planned to follow the homing beacon from there.

Little did he know that at that moment, the beacon was being removed. A large silvery panel of armor on Metal-2's top quill slid out of the way to allow access to the internal circuitry. The beacon was installed near Metal-2's computer core, and Tails carefully reached in with a special tool to remove it. The others anxiously watched as the fox performed the brain surgery, and finally pulled out the beacon.

"Got it!" Tails told them while proudly holding it up.

"Cool, but now what do we do with it?" Sonic asked.

Sally provided the answer. "We get it as far away from Knothole as we can."

"I'll take care of that." Sonic said, smiling.

Tails handed Sonic the beacon, and he rushed out the door. The blue hedgehog accelerated as he left Knothole, and the forest, and out into a wide open field where he and Tails would race every now and then. Sonic really poured on the speed, becoming a blur as he went along. He kept going until he reached the ocean, and saw a large rock formation that would serve as a perfect quarter pipe. The hedgehog dashed up it, soaring into the air.

"Bon voyage!" He shouted as he threw the device far out into the water where it promptly sank. Sonic then made his way back, arriving near the entrance just in time to see Robotnik and Metal Sonic nearby. Sonic hurried in, and kicked up dust all the way home.

"Guys, we've got trouble! Robotnik is knocking on Knothole's doorstep!" A frantic Sonic reported. "And Metal Sonic's with him!"

"What?! No!" Sally shouted. "We have to get him away from here!"

"Let's go, Metal!" Sonic said to Metal-2.

"On my way." The robot replied.

The two blue fighters hurried out of the secret entrance, and hid in the trees, watching Robotnik. The scientist was confused at the moment; he couldn't get a reading on the homing beacon. Metal Sonic then noticed something moving through the trees.

"Sir, something's down there..." He started. Metal Sonic scanned whatever it was, and discovered it to be Sonic. "It's the hedgehog!"

"Take him out!" Robotnik ordered, and Metal Sonic moved in to attack.

Sonic saw the robot coming toward him, and knew that he and Metal-2 were in for a fight...

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