Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Iron Heart MK II ❯ Rescue Mission ( Chapter 3 )

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:

Metal-2's out to earn the trust of the others...let's see if it works...

Chapter 3: Rescue Mission

Metal-2 made his landing just outside one of the city's gates. Security forces had been tracking him ever since he was in range. Upon the robot's landing, Robotnik was informed. Clearance was given, and Metal-2 peacefully entered Robotropolis. He made his way through the maze of streets and factories until he came to the control tower. Deep in its underbelly, he knew, would be Sonic. After a trip through several hallways, doorways, and elevators, Metal-2 finally arrived in the room. Sonic seemed to be asleep, as it was a little past midnight now. Robotnik had gotten to the room to greet Metal-2 shortly after hearing of the machine's arrival.

"It's good to see you again, Metal-2. Tell me, why didn't you report Knothole's location?" Robotnik asked, quickly getting down to business.

"I ran into some problems, and was unable to transmit the data." He replied plainly.

"Well, why don't you just give it to me now?" Robotnik responded, eagerly.

"That's one of the problems. I was attacked after losing my cover, and some faulty programming lost the village's location. I have since corrected the latter problem." Metal-2 answered, again without feeling.

Sonic had been awakened when Robotnik had entered, but had played possum since then. He listened to every word of their conversation, and was relieved to know that the village's location was safe. "But what about the villagers?" he thought, wondering. "Are they safe, too?"

Robotnik considered what the robot had said, and realized something. "If your cover was blown, then that means they know that Sonic is missing...and they'll be sending someone."

"That someone is me, you tub of lard..." Metal-2 thought to himself. He was a little surprised that he had just made an insult, but hid the feeling. "Why don't we just execute the hedgehog now, so they can't possibly get him back?" He asked, making a plan. "I could take him outside and get it over with right now if you want."

Robotnik looked down at him. "That sounds like something Snively would say." He quickly brushed the thought away, and answered. "Because he would make a valuable slave. No, we won't kill him; not exactly. We'll roboticize him before whoever they send even gets here."

"Before someone gets here?" Sonic thought. "Maybe Buttnik's got a brain after all..." He nearly laughed, but managed to keep up his sleeping charade. The gravity of his apparent situation quickly occurred to him. "What am I saying?! I'm about to become a mindless drone!"

Robotnik's response wasn't exactly pleasing to Metal-2, either. Things had just gotten tougher for him. Still, all was not lost. "May I take him to the chamber, sir?" Metal-2 asked, still trying to get Sonic out with as little trouble as possible.

Robotnik stared at Metal-2, wondering what was on the robot's mind. "Very well. Take him up to roboticizer number three, and I'll meet you there soon." He answered, hiding his real plan. "Something's not quite right here. I'll keep a close watch on him from now on..." He thought to himself.

"Thank you, sir." Metal-2 answered, and approached Sonic. The blue hedgehog was ready, and planned to make his escape while in transit.

"Now I just have to time this right..." Sonic thought. "And I can bust outta here."

Several workerbots entered the room, and handcuffed Sonic. They then applied several sets of ankle cuffs, and released him from the wall. Metal-2 immediately grabbed him by the arms, but not harshly. Sonic was a bit surprised at this, but didn't think much of it because he was more focused on escaping. Robotnik left the room, the workerbots went back to wherever they came from, and Metal-2 escorted Sonic from the control tower. Now alone in the streets, Metal-2 decided to let Sonic in on his secret.

"Sonic...there's something you should know..." Metal-2 whispered to the cuffed hedgehog.

"And what's that?" He asked, and then added quietly to himself, "As if I cared..."

Metal-2 heard the comment, but ignored it. "We're going to get out of here."

"Oh yeah? Well you can just-" Sonic realized what the machine had said. "What?"

"I know you probably don't believe me, but I'm on your side." Metal-2 answered. "And I'm here to prove it to your friends by getting you out."

"You're right, I don't believe you. And I'm not falling for your little trick, either." Sonic told him, angrily looking into the machine's face.

"It's not a trick. Just ask Tails." He said calmly.

"What did you do to Tails?!" Sonic shouted, and Metal-2 shushed him.

"I didn't do anything to him. Calm down, Sonic. Listen, will you believe me if I set you free?" Metal-2 asked, beginning to get worried.

Sonic looked at him, smirking. "No, but I wouldn't mind being freed anyway."

Metal-2 sighed, and thought for a moment. He knew Sonic as the leader of the Freedom Fighters, and knew that his support would be vital to being accepted by everyone else. "Okay, I'll remove the cuffs, but you have to promise not to get away."

It was a promise that Sonic would have no trouble breaking. "Okay, it's a deal."

Metal-2 grabbed the chains, one by one, and tore them apart with pure brute strength. When the last one was off, he caught Sonic by the leg just as the hedgehog was about to escape.

"Hey, no fair!" Sonic said to the machine.

"I'm just helping you keep your end of the deal." Metal-2 said confidently as he shifted his grip to Sonic's shoulders. "Now, let's get out of here."

They began walking toward roboticizer three, but their real target was the gate not far from it.

"We could go a lot faster if you would just release me, you know." Sonic said trying to fool the robot. Metal-2 didn't react, other than making his next statement.

"Actually, we'd be surrounded by SWATbots in a matter of seconds." Metal-2 explained. "I've been monitoring the system's security measures, and they're keeping track of us. Fortunately, they're still too stupid to realize that you aren't cuffed."

"A matter of seconds, huh? That's plenty of time!" Sonic said, and kicked Metal-2 in the shin. His foot hurt a little bit, but it distracted the robot long enough for him to wiggle free of his grip and run for the door. Metal-2 quickly caught up with him as an alarm went off. The robot caught Sonic, stopping them just feet away from the gate. SWATbots were instantly on them like a swarm of bees, and all seemed lost.

"Nice job, Sonic! Now I have to get us outta this mess!" Metal-2 yelled, and armed his now un-concealed arm blasters. Sonic jumped at the robots nearest the gate, but was fired at, and a stray shot got him in the upper left arm.

Sonic yelped out in pain as he lost his focus and fell to the ground. The SWATbots surrounded him, and were about to fire again a barrage of laser blasts cut them down. Metal-2 shoved over a hole-filled SWATbot as he approached Sonic. The hedgehog was bleeding from the hit, and Metal-2 quickly sat him down against the wall. Sonic could only watch as Metal-2 used his blasters to take down the remaining SWATbots. The robot then hurried over to Sonic and knelt down beside him.

"Sonic, can you hear me?" Was the machine's first question. Sonic weakly looked up at him, and his response was almost inaudible amongst the alarms.

"Metal...It hurts..." Was all he could manage to say. Metal-2 had to act quickly, as another wave of SWATbots would be bearing down on them any moment now. He opened one of his leg compartments, and took out a roll of cloth bandage and two small iron bars. He used them to make a splint for Sonic's arm, which was quite possibly broken. Metal-2 didn't have time to scan it to find out. When it was finished, the robot quickly and carefully scooped Sonic up and headed for the door. There was no time to open it quietly, so he backed up and flew a few feet into the air. Metal-2 then rammed the door headfirst, flying in such a way that Sonic wouldn't be hurt.

The heavy metal door bent, and a small gap formed. Metal-2's head was somewhat bent out of shape, but it didn't stop him from reaching into the gap with his feet and widening it. They flew through the makeshift exit, and away from Robotropolis. Several flying badniks were dispatched to hunt them down, so Metal-2 turned around, flying backwards. His arms were in a position that he could activate his blasters without affecting Sonic, so he did so and shot down the enemy robots before they could move into attack range. Metal-2 then turned back around, and headed for Knothole.

"Whew!" The robot exclaimed, and looked down at Sonic. "You okay?" He asked.

Sonic was silent for a moment, and then answered. "Metal...I believe you." Metal-2 sighed, relieved. Sonic noticed the damage to the top of the robot's head. "What about you? You look hurt."

"I'll be fine. I have the ability to self-repair." The robot replied, figuring that Sonic wouldn't understand the concept of nanorobots. They flew under the moonlight to the hidden village of Knothole. When they landed outside the entrance, Metal-2 set Sonic down.

"So, you do know where Knothole is, don't you?" Sonic asked, somewhat surprised.

"Affirmative. I fed Robotnik a bunch of lies back there." Metal-2 said, and then his red eyes changed from rectangular to upside-down U shapes for a moment.

"I like your style." Sonic said to him.

"I was created to be like you, after all." Metal-2 replied, and Sonic considered it.

They then entered the village, and found that everyone was apparently asleep. Little did they know that Sally and Tails were waiting for the return of Sonic. They had decided against telling anyone about everything that had happened as it would've only caused more panic. They were worried, and nearly jumped out of their skins when there was a knock at the door. Sonic and Metal-2 were on the other side of it, and the robot had already fixed the various dings and dents on his head. Tails welcomed them both in; Sally only welcomed Sonic. After a barrage of greetings and hellos from both parties, the conversation began.

"Well, Aunt sally, what do you say about Metal now?" Tails asked, getting the question out early. Sally rubbed her chin, looking the robot over.

"I'm still not sure. If there's one thing I know about Robotnik, it's that he'll do anything to win." She replied, unsure.

"Come on, Sal. He could've had me dead back there. Instead, he saved me from bleeding to death." Sonic told her, showing his bandaged arm. Sally was outnumbered here.

"Well, I guess he can stay, if you both believe him. But I want a close, constant watch imposed on that thing. Understand?" Sally decided, and Tails raised his hand.

"I'll go first!" He cheered. "I can't wait to find out what makes him tick."

Metal-2 was a little nervous at the comment. "I'd rather not be taken apart, if you don't mind."

"Don't worry, I'll just ask you about everything." Tails replied, happily.

"Careful, Metal. Once Tails gets into a conversation like that, he's been known not to quit!" Sonic joked, grinning at Tails.

"How can these two be joking at a time like this?" Sally wondered. She sighed, and seeing that Sonic was safe, left to find her own home. Sonic was tired from the events of the day, and left Tails to stand guard over Metal-2 all alone. He wasn't worried though. At least, not entirely. What sally had said about Robotnik doing anything was starting to get to him, but he wouldn't admit to having second thoughts about trusting the robot.

Tails got to know many of the intricate inner workings of Metal-2 that night through a constant series of questions and answers. He planned to show his knowledge off in front of Rotor the next day, if he got a chance. The conversations soon tired Tails out after the first few hours, and he fell asleep on the couch shortly before sunrise of the next day. Yet again, Metal-2 could've taken him out, but he was beginning to see Tails as a true friend. The robot, incapable of sleeping, sat down in a chair and waited for everyone to get back up the next day.

Meanwhile, in Robotropolis, Robotnik was furious. He slammed his fists into the walls, yelling. "HOW?! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!" He yelled as he put another dent in the wall. "MY CREATION! IT WAS PERFECT! HOW COULD IT BETRAY ME?!"

All this commotion had awakened Snively, and he couldn't help overhearing Robotnik. He entered the room as the scientist shouted his last question, and came up with a possible answer. "Maybe he was too perfect, sir. You gave him so much intelligence...maybe he didn't want to serve you." He added in his mind, "...And I don't blame him."

Robotnik considered this, rubbing his chin. "Hmm...You might be on to something, Snively. I need to retake control of Metal-2." He said, and left the room to begin work on a way to get his robot back...

________________________________________________________________ _____________________

Okay, so this one was a little short, too. Sorry!

Please review!