"What?!" Belle and Metal yelled at the same time. We stood together in the laboratory at Metal's base. They were messing with a bunch of materials while trying to figure out the power source stuff. I wished I could tell them we found the answer, but all we had was Cavalier Sonic totally out for the count.



"H-he was attacked?!" Belle started, totally flabbergasted. "Tails is working on him?!"



"That basically confirms there's two different future Metals, right?" I asked. "He got rid of the only robot that we know of specifically designed to take him down. Future or not, stealing data from other robots is a big one..."



"I-is Cava the project Tails was talking about?!" Belle exclaimed to herself, grabbing both sides of her head. "H-he must think that Metal wants to take Cava!"



I shrugged. "To be fair, we kinda do want him. But... yeah," I sighed. "We're the only ones that know the situation would be less complicated for Metal to lose his loyalty programming, not more. At this point, I'd love all of us to hash it out together... When I talked to Vector and Espio, they were suspicious about Eggman knocking me out. I had no clue why, but I doubt they'd tell me."



Belle played with one of her braids. "This is a lot for us..."



"We are more than capable in uncovering additional motives," Metal replied, crossing his arms.



"Yeah! The three of us are strong together!" I pumped my fists and stared at them with all my determination. "Belle, you're already figuring out how to help Metal. I'll do my best to get whatever info you need on the Sonic side of things."



"Did you discover anything else when you were there?" Metal asked again.



"Hmm... Tails said that Cava's files were encrypted, but he was able to gather some stuff like his schematics. He was rebuilding Cava's turbine when I saw him..." I touched Metal's stomach, right below his turbine. "He said Cava had a container right here, though there was nothing that said what the actual power source was. I'm starting to wonder if it's a secret to everyone in the future too and not just future Metal trying to keep us from learning stuff..."



"W-w-wait!" Belle exclaimed. "Tails could see his schematics?!"



I scratched my head. "Uh... Yeah?"



"That's important! I can't get information like that from Lonnie! I need to see his wiring. Did you see it? Wh-what did it look like?!" Belle became livelier than ever, whew.



I did my best to recall everything I saw in that little workspace Tails had. "I mean, there were a lot of wires everywhere..."



"What about his head? Was his head exposed?" she asked.



I nodded. "He was connected to a bunch of other stuff, but I didn't see him from that angle. The only wires from the inside I could see were from that huge gaping hole in his torso," I replied.



"Did the Fox imply he had to crack into Cavalier Sonic?" Metal asked me next.



I crossed my arms. "He said there was a lot of crazy coding and he didn't understand a lot of it. He mentioned he could make a device kinda like what Eggman did, but Cava still wouldn't be able to use his unique abilities."



Metal slightly hung his head. "I hate to say it, but I wished my Master opened him up. We'd at least know the power source then..."



"Considering it's able to make Cava, uh, do what he did, maybe it's good it never happened," I sighed back. "Maybe tomorrow I can go take a bunch of pictures of Cava? I have to think of a good reason to visit again, so..." I thought about it some more; Sonic could definitely help me out here, give me some cover from Tails. Ugh, I was in-between everything.



I was starting to get tired of the layers of secrecy we operated under. We were all friends for the most part... We all had the same idea: figure out what the future robots were doing. For what it was worth, I felt good about Carillon Rose.



Timelines were weird, too. If they were doing something good, we wouldn't stop them, but clearly some other stuff was happening, so they might've needed our help anyway. I hoped we wouldn't need to wait much longer to find out.



"O-okay, yeah. There's nothing else we can do with Cava today," Belle muttered. "Their power source must be really weird... I'm starting to feel like it's not anything like a mineral. I wonder if the Metal that got him stole the power source... or destroyed it."



"No idea," I replied. "I'll tell you what I can tomorrow. I think I have an idea on getting those pics..."



The conversation settled... Something was bothering me and Belle didn't really need to know.



"Um... Metal, can I borrow you for a bit?" I quietly asked.



"Always, Rosy." He held my hand and waited for me to take him wherever I wanted. I blushed... He used my nickname around Belle. I weirdly liked that he was so comfortable... I didn't point it out or else he'd stop doing it.



After waving bye to Belle, we walked together and went back up to the main floor. When we went to the produce garden, Nova was perched on top of one of the trees and snoozed. Metal joined me as I sat in front of one of the planters.



I bit my lower lip. I tried to think about how to ask...



"Don't take this the wrong way, okay?" I started.



He steeled his posture. "... What is it?"



"I've been thinking more about the fight I had with the other Metal. I can't get that hate I felt from him out of my head..." I sighed. "I know he may not be you, but it made me wonder... Is there anything I could do that would make you hate me?"



"No," he immediately replied. "Nothing could ever make me hate you."



"Really?"



He nodded. "You could make me very angry... You could break my heart. But, even imagining the worst scenario, I can't comprehend feelings of hatred towards you."



I raised my brow. "What is the worst scenario?" I asked.



"A level of intimacy towards the Hedgehog that you express with me... That matching level of intimacy towards anyone other than me." He darted his eyes away. "I would rather you kill me."



"Drama queen," I joked, rubbing the side of his head. "Your heart is precious to me... I'll keep it safe, my love."



Oh...! Aww! He purred! I hadn't heard him do that in a while. He closed his eyes and kept my hand on his face. He was so cute...



"The chance I had to hate you is long gone too, Metal. You've been such an amazing boyfriend," I said with a soft smile. "Usually first relationships are supposed to suck."



"Really?" He asked back and opened his eyes.



I laughed. "Well, not everyone starts out dating their true love."



"... I want to make out."



I blushed even more. "Wait...! I wanna finish my actual thoughts," I muttered. "I guess I wanted to know what possible explanations there could be that you, or a robot like you, could have for being so... intense."



He slightly tilted his head as he listened to me. "There is certainly no explanation from me. I don't know what I will experience in the coming centuries and I don't want to think about it." He averted his eyes again. "I... I don't want to think about you being gone. But I wouldn't make any decisions that betray your choice to live a natural life."



"I'm sorry, Metal. I don't want to linger on that, either. There's so much we still need to experience together," I sweetly told him. I leaned in closer and kissed him... My wonderful Metal.



He threw his arms around me and pulled me to his chest, eagerly kissing me back. I giggled when our muzzles parted. His turbine was going off and he was very warm... I was warm, too. I grinned at him.



"I hope we find out why he was acting that way. Until then... It's your turn to have a moment with me before you go off doing whatever it is you do." I playfully tapped the end of his nose.



"... I wanted to work on plans for the new greenhouse today. I no longer want to."



I laughed again. "I'll spend more time with you when you're finished. How about that?"



He hoisted me up as he got off of the floor, proudly holding me against him. I was in a fit of giggles as he left the garden with me in tow.





I spent some time with Metal before and after he left the base yesterday. I fell asleep in his arms and woke up with my plushie of him instead. I hoped Belle could make more progress... Of course there were a lot of reasons his loyalty programming needed to go, but waking up without him was one I found myself thinking about the past few mornings.



I got ready for the day and had a flimsy plan to get back into the workshop. Sonic would have smelled my scheme a mile away, but since he was on my side too, I knew I'd be fine. I went to my car outside my house and put the TV I planned to give to the Chaotix in the backseat. Man... It was raining like Sonic said. I would've loved it if I didn't have to go through the rain while totally uncovered. I never thought to bring an umbrella to Metal's base... Oh, well. I'd have to carry the TV with both my arms, so I could handle a few minutes of rain.



I bet my whole plan on Sonic being around when I got to the workshop. I knocked on the door...



No answer. Figured. I tried the door handle, then watched in awe as it opened. At least there was that.



I walked inside. "Hellooo!" I called. "Amy Rose has arrived!"



No answer... Maybe this was a good opportunity. I didn't think Tails's place was kitted out in security like Eggman's bases were, so... I shook all the rain off of me and continued forward.



I went to the garage-- Agh! Tails was there! He was asleep against his desk, arms bordering his head and his two tails curled over as he rested. That weird secret door was open! Perfect opportunity.



I walked as quietly as I could to the secret area. Even in just a short time, Tails made a ton of progress on the turbine, wow. I quickly took pictures of Cavalier Sonic with my phone, took some pictures of the hole and the wiring inside, took a picture of the turbine in progress...



I tried to take some good pictures of his head. There were a bunch of cords Tails connected to him... I didn't get what any of it meant, really. I took a ton of photos and a few extra just in case. Cava's schematics were on one of the screens... I went ahead and took a picture of that, too.



Just in case Tails had any good leads, I peeked around at some of his notes. From what I could tell, he was at a loss as much as Belle and Metal were. I wasn't sure if Tails not knowing was good or bad, honestly.



I heard a yawn. Agh...! Did I have a good excuse if he came in here? I quickly put my phone away. Uh...! I didn't know what to do!



Stay cool, Rosy. I wasn't actually doing anything, like, wrong. I wasn't working against anybody! But I still felt weirdly... bad?



"Taaaails!" Sonic called! I heard bags rustling as he rushed in.



"Oh, hey Sonic," Tails yawned again. He walked off to the other part of the house. "Ugh! You got some water on me," he whined.



"Haha, sorry! Hey, it's chow time though, little buddy... Ames isn't here?"



Gah! My car was parked right out in front! I poked my head out of the secret door. Tails had his back turned to me, taking up the doorway to the garage. I walked out as quietly as I could and made my way to the back door.



"I fell asleep... Were you expecting her?" Tails drowsily asked.



"Nah, but her car's..." His voice faded. I glanced behind me; Sonic's stare met mine for a second! He brought his focus down to Tails and shrugged, giving a smirk. "She's probably looking for me about something. Here, let me put the food down here real quick," he said, guiding Tails more into their living space.



I got out of the garage and ran to the front of the workshop, then rapidly knocked on the door again.



Sonic swung the door open this time. "Oh, hey!" he said, giving me an obnoxious grin. "Nice weather, eh?"



"Heyyy!" Ugh, I felt so dumb. "I was looking for you, Sonic. C'mere," I said, dragging him out to the sidewalk.



He laughed. "What are you doing?" he asked in a quieter voice. "We can't talk somewhere dry?"



"You'll be fine!" I snapped quietly. "I, uh... I was getting pictures of Cava." I averted my eyes. "Tails was asleep and I didn't know how to ask."



"And why do you need that?" he asked, raising a brow.



"... Boyfriend stuff."



He snorted. "Hey, if that's what you're into--"



"Shut up," I mumbled. "We're just trying to learn more. I need you to back me up and help me out! I was going to ask you to help me here, but you were gone, conveniently..."



He laughed again. "Yeah, no problem. I get it must be hard to explain," he said with a smirk. "You're going to help us too though, right?"



"Yeah. We want to figure out the power source, too. I'll let you know when we do."



"Thanks, Ames!" Sonic beamed. "Anything else you need at the moment?"



I shook my head, smiling. "Nah... Enjoy your food, Sonic." I looked over to the front door. "Hi, Tails!!" I yelled.



"Hi, Amy!" Tails called back from the house. I gave a firm nod.



"My work here is done. Bye!" I eagerly waved at Sonic, then went for my car. Sonic gave a pleasant wave in return. He went back inside as I started up my car. One more stop to make, then I'd head back to give Belle and Metal the photos... What a day.



I drove to the detective agency and parked near the sidewalk in front of their place. I hoisted up a huge box with a TV and carried it to the front... I, uh... I couldn't knock on the door. I kicked the door a few times in hopes that it sounded like a knock.



Curtains from one of the nearby windows rustled open, Charmy's curious gaze poking through. I grinned over at him. He eagerly waved at me from the window. Just a few seconds later, the front door opened. I saw Vector tower over me.



"Delivery!" I called.



"Amy...? Wait, whoa, what's this?" He said, scratching his head. "H-hold on, let me help ya," he muttered, picking the box up from my arms.



"It's a TV! For you and the rest of your team," I cheerfully replied.



"Uh... Are you sure?" he asked.



"I insist," I replied. "I broke your old one. The least I could do is replace it." I slightly pushed the box against him.



"Whoa!!" Charmy yelled. "This TV looks HUGE! It's like a million times bigger than our old one! Can it play movies?!" He excitedly darted around us, settling in the air to read the description on the box.



"Oh yeah. Wait-- hold on." I walked back to my car and grabbed a few cords I bought along with the TV. I protected them from the rain however I could, then offered them to Charmy, who excitedly took them without a second thought. "These cords should help you play any tapes, since I know you guys still watch some of those."



Charmy gasped again. "Yes!!!" He rushed back inside. "Hurry, Vector! Let's see the TV! We gotta set it up!!"



Vector looked back towards the living room, then gave me a gentler smile. "Alright, we'll take this off your hands. Thanks, Amy."



"Oh!" Charmy reappeared in the doorway. "Hi Amy!"



"Bye, Charmy," I giggled.



"Bye Amy!" He zoomed away just as fast.



"Bye to you too, Vector. Tell Espio I said hello!" I said, smiling back.



"You were just here to drop off the TV?" he asked. I could tell he felt bad for accepting something expensive, even though it wasn't really a 'gift' in that way. "You hungry or anythin'? Y-you need an umbrella?"



I shook my head. "Nah, I got some stuff I need to do and I'll be in my car in just a sec. I'm sure you guys are busy as well. Thank you, though. See you later!" I waved at him, then went back to my car. Knocked out two big errands, so what was left was showing the photos.



The rain meant I couldn't take a run that was that refreshing, so I opted to drive into the forest instead. I parked far enough away and stopped under a tree. With hope that no random branches would fall on my car, I made my way inside the nearby cave and also hoped I'd see a cute little chao face when I opened the base door. I went in, and... aw, no Nova to greet me.



The first place I checked was the lab. No Metal and no Nova, but there was Belle... with her face planted on the desk.



"Belle?" I asked.



She groaned and lifted her head. "Hey, Amy... Do you have good news for me?"



I smirked. "Maybe..." My cheerfulness quickly faded. "What are you all sad for? You didn't get into another fight with Metal, did you?"



"No, he's just working on one of Eggman's old shuttles back on the top floor."



I blinked. "A shuttle?"



"Yeah, to carry materials for the greenhouse he's building. He said my wagon was too 'small and insignificant' for his needs," she said, rolling her eyes.



I snorted. Yeah, that sounded like him.



"I'm sad because I'm running out of ideas of what could possibly power Lonnie... And we have to worry about Cava too, now. The best I could do is give her a new power source, but it's... it's impossible to get it working with her code for her abilities, especially since I don't know her code." Belle groaned and let her face fall to the desk again. Her nose let out a cute honk!



"Well... Here, maybe this'll cheer you up," I said as I brought out my phone. I got out the pictures and showed them on the screen for her to view.



Belle slightly lifted her head... Then her eyes went wide. "Gears and starters... That is significant damage," she said with a frown. I gestured for her to go through the images at her own pace. She flipped to the next one, the next... She went quiet for a while as she examined each one.



I slightly swung myself on my heels while waiting. "So... Is there anything good?"



She gasped. "Yes," she said. "Cava is wired differently than Lonnie. He's... more normal. And his schematics here--" Belle lifted her head more and looked up at me. "Can you go grab Metal? He should be here to see all this, too."



"Yeah, sure. Where's the shuttle he's working on?"



Man, I forgot how huge this base was since I only ever went through the actual livable parts. Belle told me where to go, so I went on my way. Continuing past the bedroom and the produce garden were more halls, and one of them led out to a ship bay for what would have Eggman's giant mechs and airships. Since we were more underground, I wondered how anything flew out of it...



I went through a set of huge open doors, leading out to an open and clean section of the base. There weren't many machines around, and the ones that were there looked totally destroyed. I didn't hear much, so... I kept walking to see what Metal was working on.



"Ahh!" I jumped back. Two huge beams of light shone on me from a few feet away! Squinting, I saw a small ship... Bigger than those little pods Eggman would ride around in, but much smaller than anything that could house dozens of badniks. It had a few short wings and some huge jet engines, and surprisingly no real paint job. This must've been a ship that Eggman didn't keep enough interest in to finish all the way. The lights flickered off. As my vision adjusted, I saw Metal behind the windshield.



"Hello, Rosy," he said through the ship's speakers.



"Chao!" called Nova through the same speakers. They excitedly fluttered around Metal in a circle.



I giggled. "Hey!"



A hatch opened from the side of the ship, then Metal stepped out and made his way over to me with Nova perched on his head. I opened my arms and met him halfway, eagerly hugging and kissing him. He held me in return, then lovingly gazed at me. "I am using this ship to carry a larger amount of materials... I disconnected pretty much everything that should alert my Master and fixed any lingering issues, so we should be good."



"Nice!"



"... Why are you wet?"



Oh. Oops. "I had to run some errands outside. You'll warm me up, won't you?" I teased.



"Of course..." He kept an arm around me as he turned to look at the ship again, tapping his muzzle with his free hand. "Either way... I am wondering if this shuttle is noticeable as Eggtech. I have to fly over the city to get to my desired location. I could get ambushed by your sharp-visioned allies..."



"I think you'll be fine," I hummed. "I'd feel different if it was that bright red that Eggman always uses." I glanced up and saw Nova copying Metal's movements, tapping their face too. Aww!



"Hmm, true... I'll continue as-is, then." He didn't notice Nova at all, hah! "Did you want to see me, Rosy?" he asked, turning his head back towards me.



I smooched his cheek. "Always. But I got photos of Cava... Belle wants us all to talk about it together."



"Oh...! Let's go."



The two of us went back towards Belle. When we got back to the lab, Belle was frantically looking through the same photos on my phone. Her eyes were wide open and she looked a bit, uh, frazzled. As soon as we entered, her head shot up.



"I-I think we were right!" she yelled.



"About what?" Metal asked.



"Her wiring makes no sense on purpose!" she yelled. She scrambled up from her chair and hurriedly paced over to Metal, nearly shoving my phone in his face. "Look!"



Metal crossed his eyes to stare at the phone. He grabbed it from her hand and lowered the phone down so the three of us could see it together. Belle swiped at the screen until the schematics photo was in view.



"His creation date is a hundred years from now! Lonnie could be older or newer than him, but his creation time proves that it's not just futuristic mumbo-jumbo. She was definitely made with a different goal."



"Interesting," Metal muttered as he scanned the photos. "Cavalier Sonic is wired like I am. He was made to fight other robots and specifically to take me down... Is Carillon Rose not for fighting the same entities?"



"She has the giant hammer and was asked to protect future Belle," I replied. "I mean... She's just not made for fighting you, maybe."



Belle tilted her head. "Her wiring makes her basically unhackable. Sure, Cava's got his security... Tails could only get some of his information, after all, but... We could get genuinely nothing from Lonnie except for the message to future-me. Whatever she's made for, her inability to be controlled is part of the equation."



"Hah."



Belle and I looked at Metal. "What?" I asked.



"I sense some irony from Cavalier Sonic, is all." He averted his eyes and handed me my phone back. "He says I give him freedom, but he is the one who can be hacked and controlled so easily. The true freedom lies in Carillon Rose, specifically made to be untouchable."



All of us brought our attention to the sleeping Lonnie on the table...



"That alone is proof I will never hold any contempt towards you, Rosy... Not even to a robot made in your image."



One of the weirdest sweet things he ever said to me... I felt just as weirdly relieved.



Belle crossed her arms as she examined Carillon Rose in front of us. "We gotta figure out how to help before the other future Metal attacks again..."



"That's the nice thing about being Sonic's friend," I said with a smirk. "He's never far from trouble. If something else happens, we'll definitely hear about it."



At least, I hoped so.