Amy always tried very hard when she knew I was not feeling well... I didn't want her to put too much concern towards me, especially since she was recovering from injuries herself. I also didn't want her to give up on me, so... I supposed her efforts worked in the end.



Truthfully, I was ashamed. I didn't want her to see me as a failure yet again. It was more painful than everything else. I briefly hoped I would rust away, but I realized those thoughts were selfish. Regardless of how I felt towards myself, Amy also loved and treasured me. I knew she would not be disgusted to see me permanently in my base form.



Of course I would be back in my base form. Something had to go wrong. It didn't matter what I was doing, whether I was working for my Master or not. The only thing in my existence that ever went well was Amy. I would allow myself to be selfish about her. I needed her. I wanted her to stay with me. I couldn't let others change our love, not even my future self.



When Amy reunited with me, we spoke about the events that led to our current circumstances. Amy caught on that I didn't have anywhere else to go and wasn't in the mood to sneak to her house, so instead, she moved more of her items here to stay for longer amounts of time. I appreciated her desire to stay close...



After watching movies, Amy made herself dinner, then she wanted to cuddle me and talk about whatever was on her mind. She talked very much... She talked more when she was also feeling upset. She tried to distract her own sorrow.



She wouldn't say it out loud, but she enjoyed my true form as much as I did. I could experience more with her, both around others and with each other. We could share meals. I could smell in a new way, actually comprehend scents and what home felt like. I was already starting to forget her scent... I didn't have the tools to properly recall it anymore.



She made herself fall asleep from talking. I enjoyed listening to her the whole time and I enjoyed having her in my arms. While she slept, I took the time to think about what happened over the past week.



After I was nearly destroyed by Cavalier Sonic, my Master recovered me and spent three days repairing me. As soon as I went online, he told me to go back on my normal patrols; in fact, he told me to not return to the base until I found anything worthy of returning the base to. He no longer kept the conversation about Cavalier Sonic. In my view, his vague commands were due to my last failure.



The base itself felt different. I didn't belong there-- didn't belong anywhere claimed fully and occupied actively by my Master.



Only silence greeted me. Orbot and Cubot did not speak to me very much, uncharacteristic of them. Sage said nothing to me at all, but her gaze was incredibly judgmental. My failure weighed on them all. I felt... nothing.



My Master's order to not return until finding anything substantial was fortunate for me. I would never find anything substantial. I would never return. I didn't belong.



Even though many of his bases have been abandoned for years, I became wary about occupying this one. I would have to find a way to move my garden somewhere else... I would have to make a new home for Nova. I didn't know where to start. I thought of the area Amy said she would like to live... Maybe I could scout for a suitable location. I also thought of 'timing' like what she posed a while ago. Was there a right time to live together, or did that only account for marriage? She did not respond as strongly to the idea of living permanently in the same space. I would have to ask her about it.



While pondering, I received a message from Belle:





Right... We had to catch Belle up with everything that happened. More conversations that were stressful. More to deal with. I didn't want to do anything...



Amy shuffled. She was awake. She often took a few minutes to lay there before making herself leave... I had the same issue.



She instinctively reached her arm higher to touch my head, but I was no longer that height. Her hand quickly lowered, then she gently felt me. She flipped herself towards me and grumbled something unintelligible to herself.



Eventually, she sighed: "This mattress is better than mine. I should get a new one."



I wanted to ask her how she slept, but I didn't have a way to. I caressed her head and hoped she got the gesture.



"Good morning," she muttered, then yawned and stretched her arms. "Did you have a nice night?"



Spending time with her always made me feel full. I gave her a nod.



"I'm glad... Me too," she said, kissing me on the muzzle.



We had a morning as normal as they went. We lingered in the kitchen as we made breakfast, she played with her fortune telling deck, she chatted about the dream she had. It was nothing concerning.



I took my notebook from the flower garden and wrote a message to her when meeting back in the bedroom:





Amy nodded at me. "Man, there's a lot to catch her up on. Did you tell her anything by using the connection you have?"



I shook my head.



"Definitely a lot, then..." She took a deep breath. "Well, okay. Of course I'm happy to help. Just let me know when you need it."



So we waited for Belle. Amy took her time tending the produce garden with me, played with Nova. She was trying to teach them a song, but Nova was not very good at singing. In fact, worse than when they were a baby.



The noise was welcome, though. It was distracting, but not aggravating to me since I was fond of Nova and I loved Amy. I watched her rewrite some graphs on the nearby whiteboard. The drawings she and Nova did long ago were still there, and she made sure to not write too close to them or accidentally wipe them away.





Belle was here, then. I tapped Amy's shoulder and got her to follow me. I took a notebook with me so I could commune more complicated thoughts to Amy. We caught Belle at the elevator, then the three of us descended to the main lab together. Belle greeted us cheerfully, Amy returning the same gesture. Belle stared at me.



"Are you... testing something, Metal?" she asked.



Amy spoke in my stead: "No, Belle." She frowned. "There's a lot we need to talk about."



"O-oh..." The information eventually hit her and she frowned too. "So you were offline for..."



'I was nearly destroyed,' I said to her with my machine tones. Belle stared again, wide-eyed.



We continued the conversation when we got to the lab itself. Belle leaned against one of the tables and I stood in front of her. Amy sat in the throne and folded her hands over her lap, watching the both of us. Using my unique way of speaking, I told her everything that happened up to the fight I had with Cavalier Sonic. I explained Amy's perspective, what my future self had done. I didn't think it was necessary to tell her the Chaotix knew about my and Amy's relationship, but I did recount their skepticism towards the situation and that they knew Cavalier Sonic came from the future.



I gave her the same recording that I gave Amy. To my surprise, Amy repeated the last words the recording couldn't catch; she remembered them exactly. I recounted what Amy said happened afterwards, the arrival of my Master and that he recovered me when I was offline.



Belle looked shocked the whole way through. She clutched tighter onto the table as she leaned against it, her gaze dropping to the floor. She was both processing and deep in thought. "I'm so sorry," she muttered. What was she sorry for? My loss of transformation, Amy's injury? Maybe both. "That is a lot of information to process..."



"Did he tell you everything?" Amy asked. She couldn't understand my voice, so that was fair.



Belle nodded at her, then looked at me. "... Wait, why don't you have the voice processor installed? It's built for your current model."



'Did you not just listen to my whole explanation? Why would I install something from a being who caused harm to Amy and commanded one of his creations to take away my true form?' I asked back.



"Lonnie implied there was a reason you had it... It hasn't caused any harm so far, has it? In fact, it's what allowed you to see the contents of that file... And she said we should keep that on us, too," Belle retorted. "Wait... Is this why you want me to give up on the Shield Crystal thing? Do you not want to restore her power source?"



I crossed my arms. 'She could make everything worse if we restore all of her abilities. Why should we trust her?'



Belle's eyes widened again. "She didn't even realize she was missing her power source until she tried to walk away. Her hammer's right there on the table. If she wanted to get us out of the picture, wouldn't she have attacked us? What about her whole statement of being here to help us?"



'She didn't do anything because she wasn't told to do anything, but I guarantee you she would have. You are putting too much credit in her tone and voice. She serves the same being that Cavalier Sonic does.'



"She hasn't done anything wrong, and in fact, she's helped us. Her exact power source is part of the puzzle, and I think we need to solve it. If anything, her explanations show how some of the things you told me don't line up..." Belle rubbed her chin in thought. "I mean, do you think you'd start to hate Amy after she's gone?"



'Never!' I snapped.



"Isn't that weird, then? That he reacted towards Amy in such a way? Lonnie didn't imply anything weird between you two."



'His data is clearly corrupted and he has no regard for himself, considering the self-destruction; he can rebuild himself easily, but such a move could still damage his systems. You could also ask why me being reverted is a part of his plan, why Cavalier Sonic exists to take me down. He intends to replace me!'



"And do what? He already hurt Amy! He's not trying to take your place to woo her, clearly," Belle scoffed. "And, from your words, he's not here to destroy the world. There's something weird going on, and I really think we should keep an open mind. I mean... Maybe making a temporary enemy of you and Amy is part of the plan."



'What kind of plan is that?!' I threw my arms out. 'Are you supporting this?!'



"Of course I don't want anyone to get hurt!" she exclaimed. "Myself in the future helped too! She believed in Lonnie and in you. Doesn't that mean anything?"



'No! Maybe you realized you were just as tired of the state of the world!'



Belle clutched her head, getting frustrated. I was also frustrated. She replied: "Let's address that message to future-me, anyway. You said you weren't denying reality. Does that sound like your data got corrupted?"



'It doesn't matter. You said it yourself: plans changed. We can't guarantee his state of mind is consistent, and the only sources of information that his plan is good is from one of his creations. Need I also remind you that her answer was that how good the plan was depended on who answered, just that she thought it was good,' I replied. 'How can you seriously trust them?'



"How can you have gone through everything you have and not think this is weird?!" Belle exclaimed.



Amy stood between us, gaze sympathetic. "Uhh, hold on," she said, causing me to take a step back. "I can only understand half of the conversation, but it's definitely upping in volume... What's the main thing we're getting at?"



I began furiously writing down in the notebook while Belle spoke. "We clearly don't have all the pieces to this puzzle still, but Metal wants to give up on Lonnie because of his future self and Cava!"



I showed the writing to Amy:





"I think the problem is that both of you are kinda right," Amy said with a sigh. "Belle, you're right that we don't have all the pieces to the puzzle, and what we learned doesn't add up to what happened. There's definitely something we're missing that has us understand why they acted that way." She turned to look at me. "Metal, you're right that what happened was alarming enough that we can't exactly trust them entirely. Lonnie was kind and Cava just seemed to follow orders, but that doesn't take away how eagerly he followed them. Cava and Lonnie won't share with us what they're planning, either. Then future-you acted... so extreme."



"That's what I'm getting at, though," Belle sighed back. "Why would they do something so weird? They're from the future. They have an idea of what happens that we don't, so it has to be for a reason."



'That doesn't mean it's a good reason,' I replied. Amy stepped out of the way as I confronted Belle again. 'If they believe harming Amy is part of their plan, then it's a useless plan.'



"Maybe it's something that saves her life later!" Belle said. "Maybe, if she didn't get hurt, she would've gotten killed by something."



I stepped closer to Belle. 'So you think my future self knew the Chaotix would be there and prevent her death from his hands? He was trying to kill her if not irreversibly damage her. How clairvoyant is he? These aren't abilities that I have right now,' I sneered.



"Uh--" Amy briefly spoke.



"How do you know he was trying to kill her?"



Amy sighed. "I mean, it wasn't pleasant--"



'Because I know when I'm trying to kill someone and when I'm not!' I aggressively pointed at Belle. 'If you ever felt fear of death when I interact with you, then I have bad news-- you do not yet know what that feels like, Belle the Tinkerer.'



"Y-you're so...!" Belle growled, tugging on her braids.



'What?!' I dared her to say it.



"Tunnel-visioned!" she shouted. "You should have more logical reasoning than you actually do!"



'YOU should have more common sense than you actually do!' I snapped back. 'You're not even that trusting of a person! You only extend your beliefs to those who benefit you!'



She gasped. "That's-- that's not true!"



'Knowing me benefits you because that is a weapon that is not aiming for your head! Refusing to fight benefits you because no one sees you as a worthy target! And getting to study future technology benefits you! You are an Eggman creation and it shows! You are as selfish and calculating as the rest of us, but even worse, you hide it behind acts of 'kindness' no one asks for!'



Belle stared in shock. "I am NOT an Eggman creation!" she screamed back. "I am Mr. Tinker's daughter, and-- and he died when... Aaaagh!" I knew exactly what she was going to say. She was going to blame me for the death of Mr. Tinker, because interacting with me for the first time caused him to regain his memories as my Master.



'Say it,' I hissed.



"O-kay!" Amy shouted. "I have a feeling we're not talking about the other robots anymore. Uh... Let's take a step back," she said.



"He said that I only do things for my own benefit!" Belle yelled to her, tears budding at her eyes. Didn't care that she was crying. "Getting Lonnie back up is not for my benefit... it's for Lonnie. We may better understand what's going on, which is information we, all of us, desperately need."



'It's clear they tried to keep our trust only to break it when they had no more use. They probably expect Carillon Rose to finish the job after we finish doing their work for them.'



"You know, this is why I hang out with Sonic more!" she growled. "Because he can at least address the problem. If they're going to go after us, so what?! We have people who can fight back!"



I was so angry. 'Tinkerer-- Cavalier Sonic is so powerful that he took me out of my true form. Do you not understand how many of your little friends have to fight me at once for that to even be a chance? Now add my future self and Carillon Rose to the equation.'



"Sonic and his friends won! And he'd win again!" She stamped one of her feet, clenching her fists tightly. "It's not your decision on who I decide to help! If you're not going to help me with Lonnie, then I'll power her on my own because it's the right thing to do!"



'I'm not going to let you destroy this base. I will stop you.'



"Then my friends will stop you!" she shouted.



'You would love that, wouldn't you?!' I shouted back. 'You would love me to not be a factor, because then it means you could have your perfect life with your Dear Father! You wish I didn't exist just like everyone else!'



"Fine, you want to hear it?! Sometimes I DO wish you weren't around! You've always caused problems! You exist to cause problems and you clearly love it, otherwise you wouldn't be Eggman's number one lackey! You ARE a problem, past, present AND future!" Belle screamed, tears running down her annoying face.



Angry. I wanted to attack Belle. She was annoying. She was more than annoying. She was the most annoying. Hate. Hate! I hated her!



Amy stepped in front of me and lightly pushed me back. "STOP!" she shouted at both of us. "What the hell are you two doing?! Cut it out!" she yelled.



Belle stared at Amy, shocked like she just came out of a trance. Useless. Attacking her would provide me no relief.



I walked away.



"Hey!" Amy shouted. "Metal, come back! We need to sort this out!"



Belle's voice was quieter. "Metal, I didn't mean--"



I raised my middle finger to Belle as I left. Didn't want to hear her voice anymore.



"Metal!" Amy called again. She said something quieter to Belle, then ran down the hallway. The elevator door closed before she could reach me. I heard her banging on the door and yelling something. I was not angry with Amy, but I didn't want to hear her attempts to get me to be friendly with Belle.



I left the base and took off into the air to burn some of my extra energy, to burn my anger. I wanted to do something else for a while and not be spoken to.



I overclocked my systems and went at an immense speed... I did this for a long time. I only slowed down when I began to overheat, because I didn't really feel like fixing myself either.



I lowered myself to the ground and made a personal challenge to avoid all obstacles in my path. I was tempted to go through them. Instead, I reached for the horizon. I kept going. I went further than that.



I wanted to destroy something. I wanted to destroy everything-- no, I didn't. I was just angry. I clawed into a tree that I passed by and sliced it off its base. I heard it crash and rumble behind me. I felt slightly better.



I didn't want to leave the area entirely. I looped around and kept myself in the wilderness.



I heard something too familiar, a distinct change in the wind.



His timing was disgusting.



"Heyyy!" the Hedgehog's voice boomed beside me. He ran at the same speed as me, hopping over rocks and stepping around trees to keep himself from slowing down. "It's been a while since I've seen you, buddy! Run into any other rocks lately?"



I was going to bash him into the next one if he kept talking.



"I heard down the grapevine that you were in a different form. Are you too shy to show your- whoa!" He dodged a punch I threw at him. "Alright, touchy subject. Fair enough," he said, raising his hands. "I'm not in the mood to fight, but I'd love for you to eat my dust. It's been a while since we've had an old-fashioned race, am I right?"



I glared at him.



"I'll take your intense stare as a, 'yes, I agree, Sonic! You're so handsome--'"



I tried punching him again, but he sped ahead right as I did. He laughed, jumping against a tree and then launching ahead of me.



"Seeya!" he called.



He was so annoying. I chased after him and matched his speed... Then I went ahead. We clashed against one another, then put full focus on getting ahead of each other. We tore through the forest, blades of grass flying from the sheer force of our speed.



Our race took us out of a forest and into rolling fields. He curled up into a ball and used the momentum from a hill to launch him into the air. I was tempted to kick him to the ground, but... if he wanted a race, he would get one. He unfurled and hollered in excitement. I took his distracted yelling to mean he was eager to fail.



I overclocked my systems again and got a burst of speed far ahead of him. He used shortcuts to catch up. We circled around the fields and ended back up in the forest--



He tripped over a rock and fell face-first into the dirt.



It was, quite possibly, one of the only images of Sonic that brought me pure joy. I stopped just so I could look at him. If I had a voice, I'd be laughing. I was very amused. I would save this recording.



Of course, he had to ruin it. He was also laughing as he got up, so my enjoyment of the situation lessened. "Alright, that rock came outta nowhere. I would've had you, though!" he called, pointing at me. He wiped his face, then stretched his arms and legs. "Whew! Good run."



He was lucky I also wasn't in the mood to choke him. I also didn't feel like returning yet. I went to his side and charged myself up, preparing to take off once more.



"Oh! A round two?" he said with a horrible grin. "I'm honored! Nothing's gonna get in my way this time--"



I sped away. He tried to catch up to me, but he was too busy running his mouth before.



I raced him for a while, focusing only on the metaphorical adrenaline. He tried to talk to me a few times, though I hardly listened to him. I went fast, I was precise with my navigation. I raced.



I didn't realize how much time had passed. The Hedgehog noticed in the same moment, coming to a stop and collapsing. I stopped nearby and watched him at a safer distance.



"Man, that was a race!" he said, taking a second to catch his breath. "I can always count on you to give me a good challenge. I had fun, and that was time you weren't spending doing something evil." He hopped up, acting as if he wasn't keeled over in exhaustion. Strangely, his recovery didn't come across as fake. "I'm leaving for real now. Seeya!" He waved at me, and just like that, he was off. I didn't feel like chasing him.



I hated to admit it, but I needed to do something like that. I wasn't angry anymore and I got to see him eat dirt after he taunted me to eat dust. The Hedgehog 'helped'. I returned to the old base and searched around for Amy. I found her in the kitchen, making some food. As soon as she saw me, she dropped what she was doing and rushed over to me.



"Metal!" she called, her face shrouded in concern. "Are you okay?"



I shrugged. She hugged me tightly.



"I was so worried about you... Where did you run off to?"



I hugged her back. Of course I didn't mean to worry her. I checked around for something to write on; Amy brought the same notebook from before into the kitchen at some point. I wrote an answer for her:





She smiled a little as she read my reply. "I hope that helped some. Metal..." Her smile dropped. "You know Belle didn't mean to say those things. She was riled up and upset like you were."



I wrote something else.





"No, she was upset. You're not any kind of problem... And no one's doing anything until we've made up and figured this out."



I shook my head and wrote more.





Amy raised a brow as she read it. "Your purpose, huh?"





She gave me a large, warm smile. "Yeah, I remember. Can you fulfill your purpose while helping me with dinner, then?" she asked.



I nodded. I knew the conversation was not yet over, but I wasn't in the mood to get into it and it didn't seem like Amy was, either. That was a problem for another day.