Everything in my body hurt.



I didn't know what happened... I honestly couldn't remember. One minute I was with Rouge. I saw Metal fighting Cavalier Sonic in the distance. We were anticipating Eggman and needed to distract him so he wouldn't try to interfere.



I saw Eggman approach in an armed shuttle... Nothing Rouge and I couldn't handle. We did our thing. And then-- I woke up in my house, covered in bandages. I was in so much pain.



Rouge told me Eggman threw everything at us and tried to completely take us down. He was desperate. He got a nasty hit on me and I totally blacked out. I didn't remember the fight at all, just everything before it. My whole body was sore... I didn't think anything was broken, but my condition was bad enough that Rouge rushed me out of there.



She said that, once she got me somewhere safe, she went back to distract Eggman... but then everyone was gone. Eggman wasn't there, Metal wasn't there, Cava wasn't there.



I could only assume the worst.



That was a week ago. I hadn't heard from Metal at all... Hell, I hadn't heard from anyone except Rouge, who kept tabs on everyone else. I could finally move well enough on my own, so I left towards Metal's base, hoping that, somehow, Metal was fine and Cava was there.



Everything looked like it was before... comfortable. I didn't hear anyone in the flower garden, no one was in the produce garden, our room was unoccupied... And the lab had a sleeping Carillon Rose.



No one I could talk to was here.



"Chao?"



Nova fluttered over to me when they heard me enter the lab. Someone awake was here after all. I held them in my arms and gently petted them. "Hey, Nova," I softly said. My voice was still kinda hoarse from my injuries.



A heart appeared above their head as they snuggled up to me. With no one else in the base, I went back up the elevator with Nova. I wasn't sure what to do... Honestly, I was worried. I wanted Metal to reach out to me.



"Have you seen Metal around anywhere, little baby?" I asked Nova with a sigh. I was debating on where to go next.



"Chao!"



They strained and wiggled to get out of my arms, so I let them go. They flew down the hall, stopped, then stared at me.



... Oh! They wanted to show me something. I caught up to them and followed them farther down the hall. They stopped at the flower garden door.



Beep, beep beep beep, beep! They quickly typed in a code on the keypad that guarded the door, then the door slid open.



... I would normally honor Metal's wishes to not enter, but I had a feeling.



I walked in to the flower garden.



Metal was here... and he was in his base form. He was laying on his stomach under one of the skylights, head planted against the floor. I didn't hear anything from him... He might've been deactivated? If he appeared to be in his base form, though, something really bad must've happened...



"Metal?" I asked.



He slightly turned his head. I saw one of his red eyes flick in my direction... And then he moved his head back against the floor.



"What happened? I haven't seen you in a week..." I frowned. Nova fluttered at a distance, watching the both of us curiously. I walked closer to Metal and sat on my knees beside him. "Hey..."



He still didn't respond to me... I wasn't going to make him. Clearly, he was upset, so... He'd tell me eventually.



I gently rubbed the top of his head. "I'm sorry I didn't see you sooner... I don't even remember what happened. Rouge said I got totally knocked out. We don't even know what happened with Eggman," I said with a sigh. "I got pretty messed up, so I spent some time healing..."



Still no answer. He didn't even move...



"Can you at least let me know you're okay?" I asked. I was really concerned. The last time he was in his base form like this, he fist-fought Sonic... But at least he still talked to me then. He wasn't giving me anything here.



And... still nothing. I sighed again.



I tried pulling him up from the floor to get him to sit up at least. "Metal, we haven't seen each other in forever, and the last time we talked, we were dealing with something really big. I'm not going to leave you alone until--"



He turned and hugged me tightly. His arms squeezed around me, his head rested over my shoulder. I held him back... There was a strange relief. I knew something was wrong, but his embrace helped so much...



He closed his hands into fists, settling his head against me. My Metal...



I rubbed the side of my head to his. "I love you," I said. He needed to hear it.



His grip tightened a little more. He didn't reply to me.



I coughed-- he immediately let go. I wasn't done feeling him... "Aw, come back," I whined a little.



He gently touched my neck.



"No, don't worry. Just a coincidence... You didn't squeeze me too tight. My throat's still a little scratchy, but I'm alright." I smooched him and felt that little jolt I loved feeling. It was so different from that horrible sequence of shocks from my last fight. Metal, though non-verbal, was at least interacting with me.



He looked at me... I was so relieved. I kissed him for real this time, I couldn't help it. When my mouth parted from his muzzle, we watched each other for a little while. His eyes eventually peered away.



"Were you originally part of my future self's plan?" Metal asked. Wait, no. His voice sounded a little fuzzier. There was a lot of... background noise.



"Yep. We expected a few bumps in the road." That was Sonic's voice... With the context, this had to be Cavalier Sonic. Metal played back a recording for me.



There was an entire conversation during a huge fight. The recording scratched and glitched some as he skipped through the battle. Cavalier Sonic shared some insight about Metal's future self... about himself, too. He revealed that Metal's future self told him to fight. Not only did he fight me, but he made Cavalier Sonic fight Metal, too? What was he doing, exactly?



And Cavalier Sonic said he wasn't told to destroy Metal, but to 'correct what shouldn't be'? Huh...?



"The real reason I was built was to counteract everything you are capable of," the recording continued, this time with Cavalier Sonic's voice.



The recording started to fizzle out with static. Metal's voice was strained. It sounded like he was struggling in the recording.



Cavalier Sonic went on: "You buuu-uiillt-t-t m-meeee--" The recording cut out, interrupted by ominous, electronic screeches... Then, silence.



...



Metal stood up, then walked to the back room. After a short moment, he walked back out with a used notebook and pen in hand. He sat back down with me, stared at the paper for a while, then wrote.



After some seconds, he ripped the paper and slid the sheet over to me.



... Oh.



When I looked back at Metal, he was staring at the floor, head angled over, shoulders slumped. He looked like a hollow suit waiting for someone to pick him up and carry him somewhere.



"Metal, did he..." I didn't want to say it out loud, but I wanted to make sure. "... revert you?"



Without looking at me, he gave me a single, slight nod.



"... Do you... remember everything? Like, all your memories? Your data?"



His eyes fully met mine, then he nodded another time.



I hugged him again. This time, I was the one with the tight grip. I sighed in relief... The longer I had him, the warmer he felt. "I'm glad..."



He held me back, at first hesitating. I buried myself against him.



... I didn't even know where to start. Neither of us were in the mood to talk more in detail about what happened, though we needed to. So much was just so... weird. Carillon Rose seemed so friendly. She even wanted us to help her return her power source...



Well, I did have to ask a few more questions to understand what I could. "... Did you have to go back to Eggman?" I asked.



After a long moment, he nodded again.



"He repaired you, I guess... Regardless, Metal, you're here." I caressed the side of his head.



He watched me for a little while, then averted his eyes again. The silence here was more deafening.



"Has... Has Belle taken a look at you?"



He shook his head.



"... Do you still want her to?"



He slowly looked at me. He nodded. I gave another relieved smile.



"After she does... Maybe you can work on upgrading yourself again. The very first time, you did it yourself, right? And your future self figured out how to make it your base form. You could do that... I know it's probably easier said than done, but--"



He graced his palm to my cheek as he watched me. His thumb touched my lips, lingered there. He stared for a while longer... then slumped again.



Something... hurt. It felt like we lost something... Not anything to do with our love, but... A piece of Metal was gone, and... I didn't know what to think.



"Metal..." I didn't know what to say, either.



He let go of me and wrote into the notebook again. He showed it to me...



I laughed a little. It bothered him that he couldn't say it back before.



"I'll always love you... I love you so much." I leaned in and gently kissed him again. "My Metal..." I stayed close and rubbed one of the bolts on his cheeks.



We separated just a bit so we could look at each other. He showed me his arms, then took out his charm, the one I made special for him. I smiled. "Your stuff is safe too?" I asked.



He nodded, putting the charm away again. He brought out a folded photograph instead. The edge of it was slightly burnt, but the rest of it was okay. Hah, he did have the gown photo in his arm after all. He unfolded it and looked at it... then he looked away, solemn.



...



"Metal, we... We were together before you got your upgrade. I fell in love with you this way." I put my hand over his and leaned in closer. "Did I ever tell you how you made me feel before I kissed you for the first time? I swear I was gonna pass out," I muttered. "The way you looked at me after... if I was mechanical, I would've shorted out and fallen backwards, seriously."



He slowly slid his hand out from mine, then put the photo away and closed the panel on his arm.



"I'll miss you walking through my front door, but... It's kinda exciting that you have to sneak in, isn't it?" I said, trying to be a bit more lighthearted. "I have so much trouble sleeping without you. You'll be with me, right?"



Maybe I was talking a little too much, but I didn't want to stop. I really needed him to know I still wanted him around me. I wanted him to feel better and not shy away from me. I didn't want to slow down and linger on pain.



He leaned towards me, then practically collapsed against me. He hugged me tightly again, his head on my chest.



"Can you talk, Metal? Or is that voice chip not installed?" I gently asked.



He shook his head. After a moment, he let go of me again, then wrote something much longer. He ripped the paper and handed it to me this time.



I frowned. "... I understand. I'll really miss your voice, but... I fell in love before you had that, too," I said, deciding to smile at him. "And I know you'll get it back again someday. I'll keep listening to you anyway, Metal."



...



"Uh, hey..." I averted my eyes this time. "I really need to talk to you about everything that happened..."



His focus went to me. I'm sure he was paying even more attention than before. Ugh... I felt awful because of what I said to the Chaotix.



"There's something that might make you upset... But I should catch you up with everything else first."



He gestured at me. He just wanted me to say it.



"I was trying to convince the Chaotix to not go after Cava since they were there to take him too. We didn't really complete our conversation because everything started happening at once. Cava was strapped in and there was a huge force field... He woke up out of nowhere, then he broke his restraints. They barely did anything at all. He got out of the shield easily, too... And he talked to us a little, but I couldn't get much info."



Metal watched me closely as I explained everything to him.



"He was curious why we needed a power source, so I'm not sure if he knew about Lonnie or not. I didn't mention her. As for the other questions I asked, uh... He answered you instead." I frowned. "Rouge left first, then the Chaotix and I went out towards him... That's when we were stopped by you from the future. I thought it was now-you, but..."



I touched my neck. Metal's gaze was heavy on me... But I didn't want him to focus on that too much. I took his hand and held it tightly.



"When I asked him what his problem was, he said that I was his problem. He sounded so angry. And the way he looked at me when he attacked me... It was pure hatred. There was no way that was you. I'm not even sure it's you from the future, but he definitely looked like you."



He broke my grip on his hand and furiously wrote into the notebook, showing me the writing:



I smiled at him. "Yeah... I was so relieved when you picked me up. The way you looked at me... I didn't need to know anything else. With the future-you, there was definitely something wrong. I'm, um, confused about a lot. He seemed like he was trying to help with the voice processor, and Lonnie was so nice and expected us to help her too." I sighed. "It's kinda hard to deny what he and Cava did to us, though... So, I don't know."



...



"Um... Anyways, the Chaotix and I were getting out of there. Future Metal self destructed and turned the ship into nothing in an instant... Luckily, we got out just in time."



I fidgeted with my hands. The next part to tell him was the most difficult for me.



"I needed them to know that the Metal that blew himself up wasn't you. And they were really close to discovering a lot... so I just... told them that Cava was from the future, and that you built him. I hoped they would understand that you weren't the enemy here."



God, I couldn't look at him.



"I got so... frustrated. They were so stuck in that narrative and they weren't listening to me. They needed more and more, so I finally... I told them I knew you and knew about everything because we're dating." I took a deep breath and continued: "Honestly... I felt so stupid after I told them. I could tell they didn't trust me after that. Don't get me wrong, I don't think they're going around and announcing it and trying to fight Eggman or anything, but..." I fixed my quills. "You deserve to know and to be aware of them. I'm so sorry I told them without talking to you."



After a minute, I finally looked at him. He was watching me... then his eyes slightly lowered. To me, he looked deep in thought. He at least didn't seem angry. He eventually scribbled something down in the notebook, so I waited for what he wanted to say.





He took the notebook back and wrote something else:





I sighed. "Well, I feel awful... I've known them for years. I remember when Charmy was a baby... I thought they'd give me more than they did. It's not like I'm expecting everyone to be like, 'yippee, I'm so happy you're with Metal!' but I thought all my friends believed in the best of people."



He slightly shook his head at me.



"Charmy was fine, I guess... It was the other two who suddenly looked at me like I was someone else. I hope they get over it... It's not changing anything between us." I crossed my arms. "... Honestly, I forgot about Kai-- uh, Metal Sonic Kai, I mean. Vector mentioned that form. What happened?"



Metal rolled his eyes. He wrote in the notebook for much longer.





I tilted my head as I read his words. "I see... Did you have any particular plan?"



He quickly wrote something else:





"Yeah, fair... So, like... Is that why you named yourself Kai?"



He tilted his head too, then spent a little longer on his next reply.





I smiled at him after I read his last sentence. "Okay... Thanks for answering me." The Chaotix seemed particularly upset... But it was a battle between them. Metal didn't seem pressed about it, though I didn't expect him to be. After all, they weren't Sonic.



He stared at me for a while... I wasn't sure what he was thinking in that moment. His eyes darted down to the notepad a few times, pen close like he was about to write. It took a long time before he put something down.



He let go of the pen and handed the entire notebook to me. He crossed his arms and turned his head away from me.





He wasn't talking about Metal Sonic Kai anymore. I closed the notebook and stood up. Just like that, I pulled him up with me. "Now, that is not like you," I said with a huff. "C'mon, cutie."



He went totally limp, forcing me to hold him up by the torso. He still refused to look at me.



"Let's at least rest somewhere more comfortable. There's more we gotta figure out, but let's do that later-- Hey!" He was dead-weighting me! I grumbled and picked him up fully. "Fine, I'll take you!"



I carried him out of the garden and went for our bedroom. Nova followed us behind at first, but then they went into the produce garden. I settled Metal on our fluffy bed. He didn't move at all... I could honestly pose him. Yeah, screw it. I turned one of his arms and moved his elbow forward, then watched as it stayed there.



I put his arm back down and sighed. The very first time he was really upset, I took him to see Big. Then there was that serious fight with Sonic... The way he was this time was different, though. I didn't know how long it took to repair him, but he was definitely depressed and laying by himself for days. I think he had enough time to suffer on his own.



"You know what? Nothing's at home... I'm staying here for a while," I said, firm. "I'll bring more clothes over... and more stuff to do!" I confidently nodded. My eyes brightened as I thought of what I could bring over. "Yeah! I'll be back!" I said more excitedly. I kissed him. He looked at me... He looked like he gave up. I kissed him again. "Stay here, okay?"



I left the room and booked it down the hallway to go back to my house. To be honest, I didn't know what I could do to cheer him up... I'd just do my best.



When I got to my house, I packed up some cute clothes in a suitcase along with some pajamas and whatever else struck my fancy. I grabbed a couple more dresses from my closet--



Metal's sweaters were right there, hanging beside some of my dresses. I touched the sleeves on one of them...



I got too used to everything he could do when he was under disguise. Him getting to walk around everywhere with me... The way he got along so well with some of my friends. Getting him to try new foods.



...



I never got to make him that special dinner.



I started to cry. I tried making myself stop. I was acting like he'd never get to spend time with me the same way again... That wasn't true, and even if it was, we would find new ways to bond with each other. I knew he would get to live the way he wanted, and I would get to enjoy it with him. But it...



I needed to reel myself back and take it one step at a time. One step.



When I was done with clothes, I grabbed some of my own books and some of the art supplies I grabbed back on my shopping trip with Belle. Got some games, some other movies, toiletries and whatever else was on my mind...



Hmm. I stared at my flower wall for a while. I took the frame with the beautiful flower Metal gave to me when confessing for the first time. I put all my stuff in the car, then headed back out to the secret base. I wheeled in the suitcase and had a bunch of stuff in my arms, taking it all the way back to the bedroom.



"Okay!" I yelled, slamming the suitcase on the bed. Metal was in the same spot as before, but then he sat up and stared at me more quizzically. The first thing I did was hang up the flower in the center-most area of the wall opposite of the bed, in a place we could perfectly look at it. I held my hands to my chest. "I wanted us to both to see it..."



He watched me as I unpacked everything, put my dresses and a few of my nicer clothes in the closet, put everything else in the dresser...



"I'm embarking on a quest, Metal," I said as I brought out some movies.



He kept staring, which I took as an invitation to keep going:



"I'm gonna find out what your favorite romance movie is! I bet I have it. I have all the romance," I said with a proud nod. "Belle's not here for us to move forward with our discussions, so let's be lazy and spend some time together." Plus, I think he needed some normal time with me, anyway... And I definitely needed that normal time with him.



The TV was in a good angle so we could watch from bed. We needed something more lighthearted, so I opted for some cheesy romantic comedies. Metal wasn't really paying attention at first. I wasn't gonna force him to act more cheerful, but I hoped my own demeanor would inspire him some. I did talk to him a few times. After a little while, he put his arms around me and began acting in higher spirits.



I didn't think I found his favorite one yet... I couldn't find that sparkle in his eyes, but I did have a good time relaxing with him. The world playing on the screen distracted me a little while from the one we were living in. I got to focus on those light, fuzzy feelings...



I felt like Metal appreciated what I was trying to do. He didn't seem as sad and his body language told me he was relaxed too. After a certain point, he held onto me tighter. His face buried into my quills, head slightly angled so he didn't poke me with his nose.



Maybe we lost something, but... we didn't lose each other. Nothing could ever make that happen.