Metal was going through his greatest transformation yet. I was still coming to terms with what he did yesterday. Maybe he didn't really understand, but that was fine. More than fine.



Saving Nova because I asked him to was one thing. Protecting me was in the same realm. Metal was always a more selfish person, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I mean, he still was. He didn't see a use in anything if he couldn't benefit from it somehow, but his view of worthwhile benefits changed the longer we were together. It started with him wanting to make me feel warm, then it escalated over time. He was making more connections with others, getting closer with Belle, his cute thing with Big. He was nice to Cream and humored her. He saved Cheese.



He acted on instinct when he jumped in the water, and he could tell me whatever the hell he wanted, but I knew he did it without thinking about himself. He warded off that giant fish and tossed Cheese aboard, not knowing how to get back without revealing himself. Big managed to grab him when I was panicking to grab a lifebuoy, so that crisis was averted at least. I was a few seconds from jumping in after him!!



I didn't truly think that Metal would ally himself with my friends, like, willingly, but I saw the capacity of good in him. He proved it to me-- he could not only do good, but he could be good. He just needed people to actually believe in him, to praise him for the right things. To be there even when he was wrong, when he met himself with failure. He just needed unconditional love...



I'd been stirring my tea for the past five minutes because I was so lost in thinking about him. Oops. I finally drank my tea and settled on my couch as I thought of what to do today. Metal slept with me last night and left an hour ago, probably to go check on the garden. He didn't really say much after we got home yesterday, but I could tell he was really happy...



Agh! I was thinking of him again. There would be time to fawn over him later... I sighed and re-focused. Vanilla asking about the Chaotix kinda bothered me... and I hadn't heard from Rouge in a little while, either. I assumed she was really busy, but she would let me know how things were once in a while. I didn't get a chance to tell her I wanted to rope Metal into the search for Cavalier Sonic-- that being said, I didn't know how to approach the whole, uh, topic about the future. That, plus she was being really wary about him. She took me to a clothing store because she was convinced he was tailing me, and only later did she catch me up with her progress. I knew she wasn't expecting payment outside of gossip, but I owed her something nice. I had to think about that too.



So, Rouge was off doing her own thing for the moment. I knew I wanted to check in on Sonic and Tails, so I'd start there. I washed my empty cup of tea, made sure everything I wanted to take with me was on my person, then I went on an invigorating run with my Piko Piko Hammer.



It didn't take too long for me to get to Tails's workshop. I knocked on the door... No answer. The door was unlocked, though. I made my way inside. "Sonic? Tails?" I called, walking in further.



This place was kind of a mess as it always was. Glad I never experienced Metal's 'I want to be just like Sonic' phase because wow he would've ruined my house. I kicked a stray soda can in front of the couch Sonic often crashed on. My line of sight took me to a bookshelf stuffed with a bunch of different reading material behind the couch. A random fiction book lie half-open on the nearby coffee table... I couldn't help but think of the library incident. I wished I could've been there for that...



KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!



I jerked my head towards the door. What the--



"Sonic! Sonic!!! Are you there?!" That was... Charmy? "Help! Vector and Espio are in danger!"



Charmy peeked his head through the nearby window and used his hands as shade to see inside. I went for the door and opened it. "Charmy, what's--"



"Amy Amy Amy!!" He buzzed in front of me at eye-level, clutching both sides of his head. "Where is everybody?! I need help!! It doesn't matter-- let's go! Follow me!"



"Wait, wait! Calm down!" I exclaimed, grabbing him out of the air to keep him from flying off. He still anxiously flapped his wings and flailed his legs, but otherwise didn't try to get out of my hold. "I'll help you! Just... Tell me what happened! What's going on with Vector and Espio?"



Charmy took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll start from the beginning... But we gotta go!" He pointed in a direction towards the wilderness. I let go of him again and let him guide me at a quicker pace. I ran to keep up with him, but we weren't going so fast that we couldn't talk to each other.



"Tell me everything you can!" I said.



"Y'know when that huge building fell and blocked the street? And that robot? Well, Sonic asked us to go find the robot. So, we've been workin' on that case for a while and we think we found where he is!"



My eyes shot wide open. "You know where he is?!"



"Maybe! We found this huge old airship that got turned into a secret base. But it was armed like crazy!" Charmy flailed his arms as he explained. "While we were sneakin' around, we got ambushed by a ton of scary robots...! They didn't look like they should work, but they were, and they were real tough but we were doing okay..."



"Wait-- how far is it?"



"Nnnh... Kinda far..."



I took Charmy by the arm and turned a street corner. "We're taking my car, then. C'mon," I let go of him after turning and hurried along. "What happened next?"



"The big boss robot revealed himself! H-he was big, like, uh, like the big guys with hammers! Except he didn't have a hammer, and he looked all creaky and old like the other robots. Then all of the robots got super organized and started kicking our butts. I thought we could handle 'em, but Vector didn't think so... And even more were coming."



His voice quieted and became more solemn. I frowned.



"Vector ordered an attack formation, the one where I jump into his hand and he tosses me at a bunch of bad guys. But... instead of throw me at the robots, he threw me out the room we were in. Vector told me to get outta there and Espio was yelling the same thing like he knew Vector was gonna do that... I tried to get back to them, but-- Urrrghh!!" Charmy clutched at the edges of his helmet. "Other robots were after me! There were too many...! I couldn't... I couldn't do it by myself."



"We'll get them back, Charmy," I said with a confident nod. We arrived at my house just in time. I hurriedly got in the car. "Jump in!"



"C-can I be in the--"



"Yes, just get in!" I rolled down the window for him.



"Yippee!" Charmy flew through the passenger window and excitedly settled in the seat beside me. I made sure he was fastened, rolled the windows up, then took off at max speed. I activated my car's flight mode so I could get there faster.



"Alright, Charmy. Tell me a direction to go."



Charmy guided me over some mountains further inland. We were getting to some dense forests far out in the middle of nowhere. I tried to call Rouge with a communicator Tails gave me and our mutual friends, though Rouge typically used my phone more often than not. She always called me with weird numbers, though, so it was hard for me to reach out to her...



"Can I pick the music?" Charmy asked, pointing to the radio.



"Uh... In a second. I'm trying to call someone."



"Mmkay!" He hummed to himself and cheerfully lifted his head to peek out the passenger side window. "Whoa... This is way higher than when I flew back to town."



"Dammit...! I thought this thing was supposed to reach anywhere!" I growled to myself and tossed the communicator to the back seat.



"Ooh, you swore..."



"Dammit is barely a swear!" I snapped. After a second, I blinked. "Sorry, Charmy. I didn't mean to yell... or swear. Don't tell Vector or Espio."



He cheerfully kicked his legs in the seat. "I won't... Iiiif..." He grinned at me. "If you get me some ice cream!"



I clenched my teeth. Vector was kind of a pain in the ass when it came to Charmy so I actually had to think about this. "I... Sure. Yeah. Let's do a promise." I offered him my pinky, and he very eagerly did the same.



"Haha! Yessss! I'll get all the best flavors!"



"You get one flavor of your choice," I retorted.



He stared at me. I knew this kid was reading me! He was gauging how far he could push it.



"Charmy," I said, threatening.



"Okay, okay. We did the pinky promise, so... You better not forget." He crossed his arms. "... If you swear more--"



"Charmy!" I snapped again. Ugh. I sighed aloud. "Look-- I'm just frustrated. Don't get me wrong, we can totally beat up some hunks of metal if it comes down to that. We just have to be smart about it... Definitely stealthy." I wished I had a way to call Metal. He didn't even have to know others were there... Charmy and I could set everyone free and then I could go help him with Cavalier Sonic.



"Hunks o' metal..." Charmy repeated, humming to himself. His antennae drooped down and he slumped in his seat. "Ugh... There were a lot of them..."



"It's okay. We'll figure this out." I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and stared at the sky ahead, carefully watching the ground below. Charmy mentioned it was a straight shot, but the airship was fairly hidden despite how huge it was. We were quiet for a little while as I scanned the horizon.



"... Amy?" he asked.



"Hm?" I briefly looked at him.



He picked at his seat belt, taking his time to ask his question. Eventually, he asked me with bright, inquisitive eyes: "How come you were talking to the, uh-- to Metal Sonic?" He paused. "Back when you were in that tree at the party for me and Vector and Espio, I mean."



Oh, God. I had to remember what I said forever ago. "Uh..." I frowned as I tried to recall. "Eggman was talking to me through him, remember? Metal can't exactly talk."



"I know, but... How come you didn't tell anyone or fight him?" His voice carried his genuine curiosity. I knew he wasn't trying to, like, interrogate me or anything. I still needed to be smart, though.



"I didn't want anyone to worry... And Metal wasn't trying to fight, so I didn't, either," I explained.



Charmy sighed too, scratching under his helmet. "I guess I'm confused 'cuz I don't think he's ever not wanted to fight. And... saying he was there wouldn't have ruined the party. We always wanna help... It's what we do."



"It was a rare time he didn't," I said back. I was quiet for a little while longer as I thought of my next reply. "... I'm sorry I never told you guys about it. I should have. It's... Admittedly, I was scared about the whole thing."



"Scared?" Charmy stared at me with more concern this time. "Why?"



"Well... Metal not fighting kinda freaked me out, too. It made me wonder how many times I might've tried to fight an enemy and it turned out badly because I jumped the gun or didn't listen." I was telling the truth... it just wasn't that meeting in the tree that made me think of that. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not like, charging into battles constantly or anything, but... I guess, that time, it felt wrong to do anything and I was thinking about a lot. Maybe it's strange, but I wanted to give Metal a chance to be peaceful... And, he was. He never figured out about the party or crashed it or did anything nefarious. He was there, and then I left."



Charmy was quiet for a while, too. "... Did you become friends?" he asked.



I nearly choked on my own spit. "Uh--" I coughed and cleared my throat. "No, we didn't become friends..."



"Hmm... Okay," Charmy hummed. "... Can I try the radio now?"



I snorted. "Yeah, sure." I turned on the radio for him and let him mess with it. "Keep an eye out for me, though. I don't really know what the secret base looks like."



"You got it, Amy!"



Charmy flipped through a few different stations and stopped whenever a tune caught his interest. He didn't know the songs, but he did his best to hum along to them... It was pretty cute. He was mid-song when he gasped aloud and tapped my arm over and over.



"Th-there! There!" he shouted, pointing towards a green hill surrounded by trees and some tall cliffs. As we got closer, I saw the shape of the airship, but at first glance, it looked like a normal part of the earth.



"How's the security on the outside?" I asked.



"There's nothing on the outside. We thought it looked abandoned on purpose... So we used our expert detective skills to find the entrance!" He giggled to himself. His laugh told me that they did not find the entrance on purpose, but at least Charmy knew how to get in there. Uh, hopefully.



I landed my car a short distance away and in some terrain that would let me leave without too many issues. I turned the car off.



Charmy whined out. "Aww, I liked that song..."



"C'mon, Charmy. Focus! We're saving Vector and Espio."



"Right!" He clenched his fists and gave a firm nod. We both got out of the car. I trusted Charmy to take me a route that was more inconspicuous.



True to form, the place was pretty abandoned. The grassy hill had a cave opening covered in vines, and walking through it revealed the metallic structure underneath. We ventured onto one of Eggman's abandoned airships... one of many, I'm sure. I liked that nature started to reclaim it.



We went down crooked hallways. Spots of sunlight crept through rusted openings, giving bursts of vegetation down the otherwise lifeless gray floors and walls. Part of the airship collided into a river, so some of the stream flowed down one of the hallways and out into a caved-in part of the floor, back out to the wild.



"This way!" Charmy said excitedly in a hushed voice. He took a more confident lead and zipped past a few different corridors. I had to keep up with him!



Eventually, he stopped at an open doorway. It looked totally covered in moss and vegetation before, but the keypad was uncharacteristically clean and vegetation refused to grow in the spots where the door slid upwards.



"I left it open when I got outta here the first time... but it seems okay," he quietly hummed.



"Do you know where Vector and Espio could be?" I asked. Charmy shrugged at me.



"I can take ya to where they were," he said. "It's not that far... But be really careful. Pretty much anything here can come alive. That's the mistake we made..."



I nodded. "Okay, let's stay quiet and close."



Charmy nodded too. Together, we went in.



The 'secret base' part of the airship looked just as abandoned, but as we traveled through, I did notice we weren't exactly on the airship anymore. It was built into the ground and had its own unique structure, some rooms combined with the airship, some made new entirely. I wondered just how long this place existed... Even though everything looked pretty 'Eggman', he didn't seem like the type to live in one of his broken vehicles.



"How did you find out about this place?" I asked in a whisper.



"Espio told me this used to be a hangout spot for a crime faction, but they got spooked away 'cuz it's haunted."



"Haunted? Guess that explains the freaky bots you saw, huh?"



"Yeah..." He briefly shivered. "Eugh... Hopefully we can find Vector and Espio before we see more of 'em."



I heard something and held Charmy by the arm. He looked at me, curious, but then he heard it too. Someone was whistling a melancholic tune. Charmy's antennae stood up. He flew forward and dragged me with him.



"Vector!" he whispered to me.



Oh! That did sound like him! We carefully followed the sounds of the whistling.



"Espio, tell your boss to settle down before I tie his maw shut with your tail," sighed another voice. Rouge! That explained why I couldn't reach her.



"I don't have to listen to the likes of you," huffed Espio in return. "... Vector, the whistling is a little distracting while I'm considering our next course of action. I'm saying this personally. Not, uh... Not because of her."



Vector groaned. "I'm just biding the time! What, y'all hate music now?"



"I would not call that music," Rouge sighed again. "Especially after what you did."



"I said I was sorry!" Vector whined back. "How was I s'posed to know you were up in the rafters?!"



"I'm lucky I'm not deaf from that shout you did," she huffed. "Anyways, Espio, your little ninja tricks aren't going to get us out of here. Let me try reaching the locks."



"Techniques," he hissed back. "They aren't tricks. And I'm not even doing anything ninja related! I'm-- wait, no, I'm not revealing strategy to you. I will not move."



"Honey, we're on the same side. I got thrown in here the same way you did. You trust me, right, Vector?" Rouge asked. We were almost there! I saw an open doorway with light spilling into the otherwise dim hall.



Vector nervously laughed. "Well, Rouge, it is kinda weird you're here the same time we are..."



"This is ridiculous. I could say the same about you!"



"Yes, but we're not world-renowned thieves known to confer with the underbelly of society," Espio retorted. Man, I would have to help her out.



"Oh, and did you have perfect, wholesome sources of information that led you here?" Rouge asked back in a sassy tone.



"Yes," Espio replied, firm.



"Well, I mean..." Vector nervously laughed again.



Espio gasped. "V-Vector!"



Charmy zoomed into the room they were in first. "Guys, it's me!!" Charmy said in a hushed tone.



"Charmy?" The three of them called at the same time. I ran in afterwards.



"Amy?!" all of them repeated. The three of them were trapped in a barred cell within a cramped room. The room didn't really look Eggman-grade and it wasn't extremely hi-tech or anything, so it was probably made by whatever kind of criminals hung out here. That being said, if Vector couldn't break out of it, the bars were likely pretty tough. Vector stood in the back of the cell, while Espio was messing with the bars up front. Rouge was near Espio at the other end by the bars, her arms crossed.



"Oh, hi Rouge!" beamed Charmy.



"Hi, Charmy," she said with a smile. Her gaze quickly went to me. "And hello, Amy~ Welcome to the party," Rouge's smile became a smirk. "They don't believe me, but our separate lines of research led us to the same place. And this time, I think what we're looking for is here."



"I believe you," I said with a sympathetic smile. "Guys, Rouge was helping me find the same robot you were looking for."



Charmy was busy receiving an affectionate rub on the head through the bars from his teammates, moving only to look my way. Charmy had a particularly hurt look in his eyes. "You didn't ask us for help?" he asked.



"I wanted Rouge to break in and take a robot... I didn't think thievery was in your itinerary," I said with a shrug. Also they were suspicious as hell about me, but I didn't need to say that.



"It ain't thievery if it never belonged to them to begin with... Eh, anyways, we're all workin' together now anyway." Vector confidently nodded at me. "Uh... But I do wanna know why you asked Rouge separate from everyone else. Sonic didn't exactly hide that he asked for our help, did he?"



"No... Look, I'll explain more in a little while. Charmy and I will focus on getting you out of here first."



Espio offered a lockpick through the bars. "See if you can get us out by using this... Otherwise, violence might have to be the solution," he sighed. I took the lockpick and carefully fiddled with the lock on the cell door. Wasn't the first time I did this, but it has been a while...



Charmy buzzed around me, at first watching me, but then looking at our captive friends. "Who threw you guys in here? Was it the big robot?"



"Sure was," Vector replied. "We were completely trapped. I was surprised, uh, nothing more... unfortunate happened," he said, nervous. He was censoring himself around Charmy; he was basically saying he thought they'd be killed.



"I got caught with these two because Vector used one of his moves that caused me to lose my position," Rouge groaned. "There's a secure room past where we fought that's part of the core airship. I think that's where he is."



"Do you think the big robot is the one who stole him?" I asked.



"No," all four of them replied. Damn.



"Someone was controlling the robot, or well, all the robots. The 'main' robot acted like a leader, but they were way too large to be the one that took our robot of the hour back on the island," Rouge said. "Whoever is controlling them is probably our culprit, though."



Espio nodded. "If we can disrupt how they're controlling the robots, we can stop them more effectively and get what we're here for. That being said, I... don't know how they're controlling anything."



Rouge shrugged. "Me neither, to tell you the truth. Could be some signal or device or something. I didn't see anything peculiar on the other robots."



"Hrrmm..." Vector rubbed his chin in thought. "I lean towards signal. Our primary objective is to get our special robot guy, but I think it's important for us to catch the thief and keep 'em from doing anything worse. I... Huh." He seemed puzzled about something, buuut... I unlocked the cell door and opened it!



"Ta-da!" I beamed. I politely handed the lockpick back to Espio as they all stepped out. Charmy excitedly hugged Vector and Espio at once and chattered about how he came back for them. Rouge planted a hand on my shoulder.



"Thanks, sweetheart. Was gonna get stir-crazy," she said with genuine relief.



Vector tilted his head at me. "I say we get out of here and talk before we try again. How's that sound?"



I gave a nod. It'd give me a little bit of time to think of how I want to approach this topic... "No one saw us, so let's be quick."



Luckily, the five of us didn't have an issue in escaping the place. We took a vantage point on a nearby cliff just outside the mossy outer layer of the airship, not too far from where we entered before.



I decided to just rip the bandage off and go for it: "We should work together, but don't take the robot back to Sonic. Let me and Rouge take him," I said.



Team Chaotix stared at me with wide eyes. Espio rubbed the side of his face. "... You... don't want the robot to go to Sonic and Tails?"



"That's why I reached out to Rouge. I offered to pay Rouge, so y'know what, I'll pay you guys too just to keep it fair," I said. "I don't want you to feel like you did all of this for nothing."



Charmy's eyes sparkled. "Pay us? What do you wanna give us?"



"Now, hold on," Vector said, gently moving Charmy back. "You're a trustworthy gal, Amy, but we need more than a reward to back off of a case. What's going on? You can tell us."



Rouge tilted her head and smiled at me. "You know I got your back, girl, but I admit I'm really curious about this whole thing, too."



I sighed. "... Okay, fine. I know more about this robot than anyone else... And I think Sonic getting roped into it would make things a lot more complicated. I'm hoping I can get this figured out without him."



The four of them watched me and waited for me to continue. Clearly, they all wanted to know why I didn't want to involve Sonic.



"The robot we're getting? His name is Cavalier Sonic. He's... Well, he's here for a specific reason, and I need to find out why."



"Cavalier Sonic? Is he another Eggman robot that rebelled against his creator?" Espio asked with wide eyes.



"I don't think so," I replied. "Cavalier Sonic isn't an Eggman robot." I had to draw what information I knew without involving Metal or Carillon Rose. "He was under Eggman's control with this device on his chest when we first encountered him. He never implied he used to work for Eggman whenever he broke control."



"Okay, well, what do you know then?" Vector asked.



"I know he's not a bad guy. He's not a friend of Eggman's and he didn't seem interested in attacking us, either. I'm sure that's why Sonic is interested you guys getting him back, right?"



The Chaotix all glanced at each other, then nodded at me.



I continued: "I'll be honest, I don't have any grand plan. I'll find out more when I can talk to him, and after that, hopefully I can help him and send him back home without him getting interfered with by Eggman."



Charmy tilted his head. "Is he lost?" he asked.



"Uh... Well, no..."



"How do you know his name and that he's here for a specific reason?" Vector asked. "There's somethin' you're not saying out loud."



Ughhh...! "... Okay, I'll say more, but it stays between the five of us only. Deal?"



Rouge stopped picking at her gloves and stared at me with a lot more interest. "You have a secret to share~?"



"I'm really good at keeping secrets," Charmy said, firm. Vector and Espio stared at him.



I couldn't believe I set myself up for this. "... You better be. Uh, okay. So I think Cavalier Sonic is from--"



BOOM!



The opposite end of the airship had a part that blew out-- smoke billowed out from the brand new opening. Uh... Not good.



"Let's chat more later. Boys!" called Vector. "Flight formation! Let's go check this out!"



"You got it, boss!" beamed Charmy. He buzzed a little higher in the air when Espio grabbed onto his ankles. Charmy went up even higher, then Vector grabbed onto Espio's ankles. The three of them went towards the commotion.



I sighed, looking at Rouge. "Well, let's go see what's up."



Rouge smirked and locked her arms with mine right as she flew in the air. She carried me while following the Chaotix's path. We saw the boys go through a nearby opening, so we followed the same route. The opening showed a large area with old, worn crates with corpses of robots everywhere. A lot of them looked like they aged with the ship. The area itself might've been a dilapidated cargo bay.



Rouge perched us on a beam near the ceiling and gave us a vantage point to see more of the room. Robots creaked to life one-by-one, and all of them went towards... something. I couldn't see who or what they were fighting yet.



I saw the Chaotix at another beam across from us and all of them looked, uh... shocked. I motioned at Rouge. "We need a better vantage point," I whispered. The Chaotix could see something that we--



I heard very familiar cackling. All three groups who wanted to find Cavalier Sonic were in the same room...



BOOM! A robot collided into the nearest wall and became a pile of scrap. I brought out my hammer and considered my options.



"What are we doing?" Rouge asked me, quiet.



"Can you convince them to let me face Metal alone?"



"Are you crazy?! Fighting him by yourself?!" Rouge clenched her teeth as she gauged the room... Then, suddenly, she relaxed. "... Wait, this might work. If you distract your boytoy, maybe I can get my hands on the robot... But the Chaotix are too wary of me. You'll have to convince them yourself."



I sighed, then waved my hands over to the Chaotix. I pointed down towards the ground and made an 'X' with my arms over and over. I mouthed, 'Do NOT attack!'



Vector mouthed back and shrugged. Admittedly I couldn't really read what he was saying with his long snout. He could tell I looked confused, because he whispered to Charmy and pointed at me. Espio sent a signal, which made Charmy discreetly buzz over to me.



"Hi Amy! Hi Rouge!" he whispered.



"Hey, detective. What'd Vector say?" I asked.



"He wants to know what you're thinking because the mean robot Sonic is looking meaner and every time we've fought him like this, he turns into something that requires like fifty million of us to take down. Also, he thinks we should call Sonic because, uhh, yeah."



"We're not calling Sonic! I don't think we can out here, anyway..." I took a deep breath and steeled myself. "I've actually come across Neo Metal a few times and I know how to handle him. Let me deal with this, alright?"



There was another explosion. I saw Metal appear under us in his true form. He had two different bots in his hands and ripped them apart without so much of an effort. His turbine whirred and he took off to the other side with literally a strike of lightning.



Charmy stared at me for a little while after catching a glimpse of that scene. "... Are you sure? We're definitely way tougher now, but there's a lot of those robots and there's him!" This was a pretty hard sell, so I didn't blame him.



"I'm sure, Charmy. Remember what I told you in the car about fighting?"



"Oh...!"



"We might have a common enemy. I'm going to use that to our advantage." I winked at him. "I'll let you guys know if I need help... See if you can assist Rouge instead."



Charmy nodded. "Okay!" He looked prepared to leave, which Espio picked up on. He motioned Charmy and brought him back over to the safety of his teammates.



I took another deep breath. "Alright. Wish me luck." I gave Rouge a strong handshake and we nodded at each other. With my hammer readied, I jumped down.



What I couldn't see from my original position was basically a robot graveyard. Tons of robots were activated, but far more had been blown to smithereens by Metal. Speaking of Metal, I uh, didn't see him anywhere.



Rrrrrip! He tore straight through a giant robot by twisting in a spiral. Lightning crackled around him-- he tackled other nearby robots, then put up a partial shield towards projectiles going his way. He went back to the giant robot and ripped off its head, then launched it like a frisbee to destroy a different robot. He was having too much fun to notice anyone else.



I thought I'd add to his fun. The next time he launched a robot, I jumped in and-- Pi-ko! I knocked it back at him.



"Ro--!!" He deflected the robot and sped up to me in an instant. His eyes scanned me in a way I wasn't used to; he was studying me. "Prove to me it's you," he started in a low, quiet voice.



The easiest way to prove that wasn't exactly in the cards from the Chaotix watching me. "How?! I don't have many options!" I whispered back. "I'm not alone...!"



His pupils slightly dilated. My words alone proved it was me... I had a feeling he suspected his future self was around, so he was still gauging his surroundings. "So the Bat brought you," he muttered. He was technically wrong, but I've been involved with Rouge to be fair, so.



He jutted his arm out beside me and impaled a nearby robot with his claws. Yeesh...! I didn't hear that one.



"Tell me your business here, Amy Rose, or match the likeness of the scrap around us," he said, louder.



"The same reason you are... But there's something here trying to stop the both of us. I say we--" Piko! I smacked a robot aside. Damn, more were coming. I could see how the Chaotix got overwhelmed. "Take care of these guys and discuss what to do after!"



"There will be no discussion... I will take care of the robots, then I will take care of you if you get in my way."



Hehe, I knew he was threatening me, but I imagined him actually taking care of me. I whispered again: "Let me and Rouge take him."



He raised one of his hands and created another partial barrier to block energy blasts. "I can't do that," he said, quiet.



"You can't play on technicality?!"



"There's a difference between you escaping and me letting you interfere with my mission," he growled back. "My programming will kick in."



"So let's fight and let me escape with him!"



"I am always eager to play with you, Rosy, but this is more serious than the other times. I intend to gather what data I can."



"You also intend to take him back to Eggman after gathering your data! You don't think that'd screw with everything?!" I asked in a hushed voice.



Metal went quiet, then briefly left to charge through some other robots. He distracted them for a bit. I glanced up at the rafters; looked like none of them were there. I took the bolder decision to re-approach Metal; I jumped onto a robot he just destroyed.



He spoke: "After I gather data from Cavalier Sonic, I have to take him back to my Master. I also must deactivate myself for emergency maintenance before taking him back."



My eyes widened. "What?"



"Belle may have access to my programming. What she does is out of my control... I'm very unlikely to return to my Master."



I gawked at him and forgot we were fighting. Metal grabbed me by the waist and surrounded both of us in a shield as he flew in the air. I had to take a second to absorb what he said.



"Let me take him instead," he said. "I don't have to hurt anyone."



... I looked up at him. "This is really it, then? You're... doing it?"



"Yes."



Well... Damn. I'd let him take Cavalier Sonic. "What do I say to the others?"



"Who are the others you're with other than--"



Something kicked the shield from behind, sending us into the ground. Metal held onto me tightly and absorbed the brunt of the impact. He dispelled his shield and stood up, then gently placed me down. We both stared ahead.



A huge robot stood before us, exterior gray stained with green and with partially exposed wiring. It was far bigger than even the large ones we already fought... And it moved in a much different way. Surprisingly agile to kick us down like that, too. This had to be the 'main' robot Charmy mentioned before.



"Hey! You! Who are you?!" I yelled out to the robot. "You can hear me, right?!"



The robot didn't reply, but I felt like it was listening.



"I'll destroy them. Go communicate with your allies," Metal told me.



"Be careful! This robot managed to capture Rouge and two of the Chaotix... almost all of them."



"They're who you're with? You insult me," he huffed. His turbine whirred, then he immediately launched himself towards the other robot. I used my hammer for cover as I made my way to the next room, where Rouge and the Chaotix likely went on their own.



I heard a lot of explosions behind me as I left. Metal could do this on his own; he honestly was really powerful with his upgrade, and he was already tough to beat without it. There was a long, dark hallway ahead of me. With a deep breath, I ran through it.



I heard some arguing. Uh oh.



"I'm just sayin'! If we don't know how to open this thing, we might as well try destroying the console! That worked before," Charmy explained.



"Are ya bonkers, kid?! What if we somehow get trapped again?!"



"We could get out! We always find a way," Charmy huffed back.



I came to another room and-- finally. There he was.



Cavalier Sonic was deactivated, head slumped over while strapped to a table. There wasn't any device on his chest and he looked... actually, he looked great. Nothing was outwardly wrong with him, but I guess the same could be said for Carillon Rose back on Little Planet...



One problem, though: there was a huge force field surrounding him. Rouge was in front of a console, trying to figure it out. Charmy and Vector stood in front while having their back-and-forth... I didn't see Espio anywhere. Uh, hopefully he was around.



"... Hey guys! So, uh, there's been a change of plans," I called.



Everyone turned around and looked at me with wide eyes. "Amy, you're-- you're actually fine?! What did you do keep Neo Metal Sonic from going after you? You directly attacked him!" Vector exclaimed.



"That was just a greeting. Chucking a robot at him hardly did much," I said with a sigh. "Like I said to Charmy, I've faced off with him a few times like this before. He's here just for the robot... And, uh..." I tapped my fingers together. "... Since he's here, I think we should all leave."



"What?!" all of them shouted.



"Amy, hardly anything you said today has made a lick of sense," Vector sighed.



"Trust me!" I shouted. "This is for-- this is for us! I wish I could explain more, but it's-- agh! It's too complicated. I can explain later, but I can't explain right now. Not until afterwards."



"After what?" Espio suddenly appeared. "Amy, we certainly trust you... but why do you trust him?"



Dammit. He might've stayed back and got some snippets of my conversation with Metal, or at the very least saw him pick me up without much fighting on my end..."Look, Espio--"



"Guys!" called Rouge. She gestured us to look at Cavalier Sonic.



His eyes were on. Spines briefly came out of his arms and he effortlessly tore through the straps that bound him to the table. He casually walked over to the front of the force field. Uh... we didn't need to take him, I guessed.



With one of his hands, he gestured us to move. "You're a little too close. Could you please move outta the way?"



He had Sonic's voice... something I already heard before, but the other four did not. Shocked, we stood back from the force field.



"Thanks!" he beamed. He jabbed through the barrier with his claws and tore it open with a loud grunt. Just like that, the force field cracked and dissipated entirely. He walked forward again, then stopped right in front of us. He studied us all.



"... C...Cava?" I asked.



"Oh, hey! You know my name. Also, hey everyone! I'd love to chat, but I should go," Cavalier Sonic said with a cheerful wave. He was really different when he wasn't angry...



"W-wait!" I called, holding my arms out. "I really need to talk to you!"



"No offense meant, but last time I humored a conversation, I got that crappy crystal attached to my turbine and I'd rather just continue what I was supposed to be doing," he said with a flail of dismissal. "Not that any of you look like the crystal-attaching types." He hummed aloud, rubbing the bottom of his muzzle. "You even look like the crystal taking type," he teased to Rouge.



"Correct," Rouge said with a smirk.



"Please! Tell me anything you can share with me! T-tell me what your power source is, or what you're about to do!" I exclaimed.



"Power source...?" Cavalier Sonic repeated. "Why do you need to know that? I--" His eyes flashed white and he stood up straighter. "Oops. Sorry, I need to go, for real. Duty calls."



"What duty?!" I yelled. "Say anything--" Cavalier Sonic disappeared in an instant. I screamed in frustration, pulling on my quills. "Shit! I can't lose him again!"



Rouge heard me and immediately flew away. Espio and Vector stared at me, wide-eyed, while Charmy looked away and twiddled his thumbs. I didn't have time to entertain anybody-- I ran out the door and tried to make my way back outside. The Chaotix followed me at about a second's distance.



We got back to the huge area; all the robots were pretty much destroyed. The largest robot wasn't anywhere to be found... and neither was Metal. Maybe he saw Cavalier Sonic leave and bolted after him. I kept running, listening closely to any other commotion in case Metal didn't destroy that huge robot.



The base itself was strangely... clear. An ominous feeling came over me, but I had to take the chance.



"We're gonna talk a lot after this!" yelled Vector from behind.



Yeah, I owed them something... I almost told them Cavalier Sonic was from the future. I couldn't lose Cavalier Sonic, though. Whatever data Metal could scan from him, even just a little, would help us confirm more. Hopefully the two of them could interact, but if they haven't, then... I had to do what I could.



The rest of the place seemed empty, so the only way was out. We were almost to that secret entrance--



I skidded to a stop. Metal completely blocked the entrance, waiting for us. The Chaotix stopped behind me.



"I-it's him!" Charmy squeaked.



"Metal! What are you doing?!" I shouted. "Cavalier Sonic just came by!"



He lifted his arm. Electricity began crackling around his palm and causing it to glow. Uh...



Something was weird about him. "G-get out of the way! Go!" I shouted at the Chaotix. The three of them quickly ducked into nearby doorways.



CRACK! A bolt of lightning shot in my direction. I managed to get into the same doorway as Espio.



"What the hell is your problem?! Didn't you hear me?!" I shouted, poking my head out the door--



He sped in front of me, then grasped me by the neck, lifting me in the air.



"You," he hissed. "You are my problem." His tone of voice was completely different. Something... something was terribly wrong.



He threw me down the hallway-- hard. I could only stop myself by killing some momentum with my hammer. This space was too narrow to fight, especially with the moves Metal had available. I didn't get why he was picking a fight. It was the total opposite of what he said earlier.



He tilted his head down, gaze focused on me. I couldn't see him behind his eyes. Why was he acting like that? I didn't-- Oh, no. His turbine began whirring. I had to consider my options.



Right as he sped forward, Vector jumped out and directly blocked most of the hit. He growled, butting Metal back with his head. He only stopped just before me. "Why are you tryin' to reason with him, Amy?! Wake up!"



What--



Metal took a step back, scanning me and Vector closely. Espio and Charmy were some ways behind him. None of us moved for a solid minute, waiting for the next move. All I knew was... For some reason, this was a real fight.