There was only one Metal Sonic from the future. There were a lot of thoughts rushing through my head. Amy said he used sign language towards her-- he was shocked I could speak. He didn't fully use his abilities in the way I would have, showing only more and more that he was someone else. Carillon Rose made her appearance and promptly intimidated him.



With a well-timed strike of her unique hammer, the true adversary had been revealed. There was only one Metal Sonic from the future and only one Sage that took him over.



She was the one who hurt Amy before. She tricked me, faking an Eggman call-- she tricked Cavalier Sonic into removing my true form so I would be easier to control. She took me to Eggman, leading him to discover my relationship with Amy.



Before I returned to the hospital, I got Nova to help me make another special flower-- the power source-- and went to Cavalier Sonic at Amy's home. In bringing him online, he only confirmed my suspicions, thanked me, and left without saying much else, similar to what Carillon Rose did for Belle.



Sage also knew I would try to contact Belle, so she interrupted my connection more than once... She knew Eggman would force me to kill Amy. She wanted it to happen. Why?



...



I had a... realization.



It... happened before. What Sage tried to enforce was already their reality. Amy did die. I did kill her. With no way to reach out, no way to stop myself while Amy declined more and more in energy, the only thing that I could use to cause my failure was by speaking with the voice given to me so many months ago.



My future self was never the enemy. He wanted to prevent her death... I wanted to prevent her death. I had to make sure these efforts were not in vain. I would do absolutely everything in my power to protect Amy. Carillon Rose had the abilities to deal with Sage; even so, I had to avoid Sage and keep myself from getting in the crossfire. More importantly, I had to watch Amy and keep her injury from worsening.



But I didn't understand why Sage wanted Amy dead. What was so important that she tried to stop my future self-- and me, by extension?



While holding Amy, I moved us farther away from Carillon Rose and Sage, though I stayed close enough to hear them. I wondered if my future self was out for the count or not. I wasn't sure how Sage's full possession worked.



"I'm not sure how we can help," Amy sighed. "... I mean... What's happening, exactly? Sage wanted me dead?" She asked me quietly so that the others wouldn't overhear.



"That's about the only thing I'm still confused about," I told her. "... My future self gave me a voice so that you could deactivate me. Sage didn't know about the voice, but everything she did know about, she interfered with."



"Not that this clears anything up, but... Back when Eggman held me hostage, I did have a brief talk with Sage. She didn't understand why we're together. When I told her how I love you, she was confused because we don't have a platonic relationship." Amy slightly hung her head. "She viewed it as me 'meddling' with you. That was the word she used."



We both watched the future Sage. She and Carillon Rose were still in an intense stand-off.



"There's something special I can do," Carillon Rose started, "that you haven't seen yet, little Virus. It's a move just for you," she said cheerfully. "Just for this specific situation."



"It will not work," Sage replied. She sounded as old as she appeared. If there was any emotion from Sage before, it completely vanished then.



"We'll see, won't we? Don't worry, I won't spoil the surprise." I saw Carillon Rose wink at her. "That being said, I've done enough standing around. Crawl into any spaces you can find-- you'll run out of places to hide."



Sage briefly glitched again, clenching her fists. She suddenly disappeared.



Carillon Rose turned back towards us-- she leapt in our direction and swiftly hit her hammer against her dress.



Gong!



A green shockwave went past us. It briefly interacted with my systems while Amy's ears twitched, but I didn't notice anything awry with either of us.



...! Sage materialized close behind us. I didn't even detect her, even though I should have been able to. Luckily, Carillon Rose did.



The shockwave made Sage growl out in pain, clutching her head as she glitched out. She nearly tried to possess me. She disappeared just as fast.



"Trying to interfere with young love, are ya?" huffed Carillon Rose. "Shame on you! I won't let you touch them."



"Sh-should we go?" Amy asked Carillon Rose.



She turned her head towards us, the green of her eyes blinking into upward arches. "Do whatever you like, but let me handle her! This battle is under control. Using Neo is a full-time job. It's easier for her to hack little Metal, but getting her out is even easier. Sage doesn't have any options other than--"



An empty car nearby roared to life and retracted its wheels to float up in the air.



She laughed. "Ha! Exactly!" She twirled her hammer in one of her hands, then launched herself towards the car. Right before Carillon Rose struck it with her hammer, Sage re-materialized outside of the car and chucked it at her. Amy's allies were nearby and getting more people out of the area. Carillon Rose seemed aware of them, intentionally knocking the car away from them and into the empty street.



Sage lifted her arms. Other vehicles nearby were immediately dismantled and reforged into something new. Carillon Rose went for her-- she disappeared again. More objects around changed form, shaped arms and legs and heads. It wasn't unlike what I did to make Metal Overlord, but Sage didn't have the kind of body to meld them all together; at least, I didn't think she did. They turned into unique robots on their own, appearing similar to ones made by Ancients from the Starfall islands. Despite their humanoid, gangly appearance, there was still an element Sage added that I would consider undoubtedly 'Eggman'.



She evaded Carillon Rose by shifting to the different makeshift robots, though all of them were online and capable of movement. Carillon Rose charged her energy once more, white parts of her body glowing a vivacious green.



All the robots lunged for her while she charged.



Something shot through the air in an instant. All the robots were suddenly on the ground, some even torn to shreds. Future Neo Metal revealed himself. His composure was incredibly different than our last encounter. He glanced over at us, focus lingering on Amy, then quickly back to Carillon Rose. Amy stared with wide eyes. We both knew; this was really him.



Gong...



Carillon Rose's next shockwave didn't affect Neo Metal, expectedly. All the robots around them wildly shook with green electric currents, then all of them went offline.



Both of them jumped out of the way; an even larger hammer smashed into the street where they were. A gargantuan robot attacked them, very similar to the others of a similar construct. Carillon Rose and Neo Metal worked very seamlessly with one another; he kept the robot from attacking Carillon Rose while she charged, then she sent out a shockwave that completely deactivated it. He ripped through the robot itself-- Carillon Rose sent out another shockwave, protecting Neo Metal from being approached by the one who could possess him.



I was somewhat fascinated. Not only did he create Carillon Rose for a specific purpose, but they also worked well with one another. I wondered how they worked with Cavalier Sonic in addition, considering he was meant to be Neo Metal's weakness. I never thought I would create a 'team' for myself. Maybe I could understand making something beautiful that reminded me of Amy, but creating from the likes of the Hedgehog-- and he was amicable and annoying? My future self's actions required some self-examination that I didn't feel like pursuing in the present moment.



Amy and I stayed out of the way. For the time, there was nothing we could do, but the two of them had the situation handled.



"Looks like the street is totally clear," Amy sighed in relief. "Watch them work... They look so cool."



I nodded in reply. As the battle went on, Sage grew more and more frustrated. A different giant robot let out a distorted, angry scream; the street was littered in corpses created from cars and parts of buildings. Three hundred years was a long time, though I still found myself surprised at Sage's own lack of composure. She displayed her emotions in a manner far more belligerent than the one in the present would.



Amy gasped. "Metal, we need a different vantage point."



...?



...! I saw what she was talking about. I tightened my grip against her. I became angry.



Eggman floated in from the other side of the street in a new pod. Sage-- the one from the present-- followed at his side. There was a giant weapon perched on the pod behind him, and from the distance, I could still tell it was integrated with at least one Shield Crystal if not more. He had bandages wrapped around the top of his useless head. He was dead to me. I hated him-- I hated him more than... more than anything. He wanted me to kill my Amy. I would never forgive him. Never.



I wanted to kill him instead.



"Metal," Amy said. She broke my focus. I looked at her. Her voice... calming. "Seeing him pisses me off too... But it's not the right time to fight. Take us to the top of a building so we won't be easily detected... I think we should stick around in case we are needed. It might get messy if Eggman has some kind of trick up his sleeve."



She was right. The future Sage was likely the one working with him, giving him access to the weapons... I wanted to destroy everything he brought, but that would leave Amy open. I wasn't going to leave her, not even for a second. This particular situation allowed me to see the benefit of Amy's allies. Considering all the times I met failure at their hands, they would probably be able to handle him and destroy his toys.



I took Amy up the side of a building and perched on the roof with her to observe below. We had a proper view of the future Sage fighting Neo Metal and Carillon Rose as well as Eggman and the present Sage hiding between other buildings. The street already looked like a graveyard. Future Sage recombined collapsed machines and revived them into different robots taking different appearances. No matter what she did, she couldn't disrupt Carillon Rose's and Neo Metal's synergy.



"Doesn't this dance tire you out, little Virus?" Carillon Rose asked with a laugh. "I'm having fun, but you're looking desperate."



"The only thing I'm tired of is your speaking," Future Sage hissed in return, floating in the air at a short distance from them. Her gaze flicked to Neo Metal. "And you, you believe you did anything positive by simply giving your past self a voice processor?"



He spoke for the first time on his own: "My first mission, successful. My second, successful. My third... successful. You aided me without even realizing it, Sister. All that's left is to get rid of the mistakes." He pointed at her.



Future Sage rapidly glitched. "Sii-iiss-ster?! You cannot call me that! You killed Father! You forsook the Empire for hh-her!! You destroyed all we built over a meaningless relationship! She ruined our family and you let her!"



...!



Her particular grudge towards Neo Metal made more sense.



"... My God," Amy whispered. We connected the dots at the same time. "You killed Eggman because he made you kill me."



"... Yeah, I would do that," I muttered in return. "I want to kill him right now."



"That's... an incredible grudge. For-- for both of you and Sage. You've been fighting for three hundred years?"



Maybe it was something Amy couldn't understand so easily. Her limited life allowed her to let go and change so easily. She helped me change, she moved me forward... But if I lost her before I was ready, I would have a lot of trouble. I wasn't even sure I would ever be 'ready'. If she died from my hands, my own actions, I would never be able to move past it entirely. I understood much more about my future self after thinking... And Sage's anger must have reflected her own loss.



I tried to think of how to respond to Amy. "Both my and her lifespans are great... With no one to change us and the failure to break one another, our goals remain unchanged. Angry, bitter, determined. His refusal to move on is also why you are alive with me."



"Wow..." She was quiet for a long time. "I know you love me, but the time you spent..." Her voice trailed off. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if she was honored or not. Regardless, it didn't change the facts. He wanted to change our present... He did change it. I was determined to secure my good future with Amy. I didn't know what that meant for him. Were we still the same person? What would I do if my Amy was still gone, but I was able to save another?



Carillon Rose continued their conversation during their stand-off: "You're the one carelessly destroying everything. There's no chance for your empire to recover when there's nothing left," she huffed. "You made the world an awful place. It will be beautiful again, and this time, you won't harm it."



Sage glared them down, then disappeared. The bots she originally had collapsed. Carillon Rose and Neo Metal looked around in an attempt to locate her.



...! I saw her. She reappeared by Eggman. He squawked in surprise, then they talked to each other... I couldn't hear what either of them said. She took the weapons he had. Carillon Rose and Neo Metal noticed at the same time, quickly bounding over to her. Carillon Rose charged herself and prepared her strike--



Future Sage shot at her with a weapon emanating a bright purple beam. Neo Metal intercepted the blast with his own body; the blast didn't do much to him at all.



Gong...



The impact affected both Sages present; Eggman noticed and cast an energy shield around him and the present Sage. Future Sage kept a grip on the weapon despite being stunned. She tried to make her way over to her recreated bots while both Carillon Rose and Neo Metal pursued her.



The battle continued, but this time, the future Sage put herself on the offensive. Shockwaves met energy blasts. Neo Metal shifted to fight far more defensively, his goal to tank hits for Carillon Rose while she charged to send her shockwaves.



Future Sage took Neo Metal's direct block as an opportunity to re-possess him. One of the robots collapsed by him, and instantly, Neo Metal was taken over again. Carillon Rose briefly fought him and hit him with her charged hammer, forcing Sage out of him again.



While they all had interesting advantages against each other, their battle hardly progressed. Future Sage's physical form couldn't be irreparably damaged, so she could continue to materialize and create more and fight. The shockwaves disrupted her, but she didn't suffer any long-form damage. Neo Metal could quickly fix himself from any of the damage Carillon Rose caused as well. So long as Carillon Rose remained intact, the battle would seem as if it just started.



I noticed Carillon Rose became far more offensive whenever the future Sage was exposed and separated from her creations. She tried to directly hit her with her hammer, though she so far was able to evade and deflect, even stun Carillon Rose with the new weapon.



Future Sage noticed as well. She used herself as bait to lure Carillon Rose, then attacked her from behind using one of her reanimated pawns. The impact separated her from her hammer; Neo Metal quickly went for it, while Sage went for him. She transferred herself very rapidly through lingering technology and her existing pawns. One of them managed to touch him as he sped by.



Neo Metal got hacked again and lunged for Carillon Rose. She tried to evade him and maneuver for her hammer, but he was faster than her. Their synergy turned into imbalance. She was quick and was able to knock him away with her shields, shifting her dress back into a tutu to escape his grasp. Her hands disappeared into her arms to reveal themselves as cannons. Beams shot out of her arms as she created more of a distance with him. Her tutu accented itself with razor-sharp blades. She spun as he got close; she was practically impossible to touch without resulting in damaging himself.



Neo Metal's specialty was to study and to adapt... With three hundred years of additional experience and at least two hundred of those with extensive knowledge of Carillon Rose, she was simply buying time. He closed in on her by using his Black Shield, completely stopping her in her tracks. After dispelling the shield, he clawed into the dress; she kicked him away, though her dress now had a sizable, sparking gash in it.



"We have to help!" Amy whispered hastily to me. "Lower us down! They won't notice us."



I didn't very much like Amy's plan, but Carillon Rose was Sage's weakness and if she got deactivated, we would be in a very similar scenario as before. As risky as it was to get Amy closer to the battlefield, leaving her alone was riskier. I picked her up and cautiously flew down to where the hammer was.



CRACK! Another shape sped into view and smashed against Neo Metal. At first I thought it was Sonic, but instead--



"The team's back together! Woohoo!" Cavalier Sonic beamed. He motioned Neo Metal forward. "C'mon, Boss! Let's brawl!"



"Cava!" Carillon Rose beamed in turn. "You're in one piece!"



"Yup-- whoa!" He narrowly dodged Neo Metal tearing into him. Neo Metal shifted his target to Cavalier Sonic instead.



I wondered what the future Sage's plan was; did she want to possess Cavalier Sonic as well? Both of them? Carillon Rose mentioned that possessing Neo Metal was a 'full-time job'. It was possible she could control many less complex machines, but could only control one machine as complex as Neo Metal.



The three of them were occupied with one another when I put Amy down and reached for Carillon Rose's hammer; Amy reached for it at the same time.



"I'm fine," she huffed quietly, grabbing it first. "Hammers are easy for me. Plus, extra protection."



I hated her logic, but she wasn't entirely wrong. "We need to find a good opportunity to give it back to her. I'll move you," I said. Amy took the signal to be picked up once more.



Neo Metal tried punching Cavalier Sonic directly, but Carillon Rose got in-between them. Carillon Rose's whole body sparked.



"The Virus!" she yelled. "K-kinda ticklish! Get outta me!"



Carillon Rose moved erratically, swinging her arms in a strange pattern; random parts of her dress changed and she even shot a beam out into the sky. Future Sage couldn't fully control or possess her; Belle was right about Carillon Rose's wiring all along. Her construction was too confusing. Even after so much time, the future Sage was unable to deduce the proper method in hacking her.



Future Sage only lasted for a few seconds; Carillon Rose's whole body sparked again, forcing the 'virus' out and into the battlefield.



...! Some of the collapsed robots rose again around us. They finally caught on to our position and attempted to grab us when we waited for a proper opening. No time-- I sped forward to evade their attacks. Neo Metal and Cavalier Sonic pursued them around us as I sped Amy towards the recovering Carillon Rose.



Cavalier Sonic suddenly acted differently, speeding forward and lunging towards us before Neo Metal could properly react. Amy tossed the hammer over to Carillon Rose, and just in time, she caught it. The lights on her body charged that familiar green, and in an instant--



Gong!



She hit Cavalier Sonic before he could reach for anyone else. Sage was driven out of him much like she was with Neo Metal. I was starting to understand the dynamics the three of them had. The three robots had their own unique advantages and they covered each other's unique weaknesses just as much.



"Thanks, little me!" Carillon Rose beamed. "Little Metal, too! Glad you stuck around."



We weren't in a good position to chat. I sped away with Amy in tow to choose a different place to watch. I couldn't see Eggman or present Sage anymore. I became extra cautious.



Amy was completely taken by how the three robots fought. Neo Metal communicated with brief hand signals to the other two, sending them into different attack positions. Sometimes I saw Cavalier Sonic reach for him; either he would tap Neo Metal's head or they'd clap each other's hands. Cavalier Sonic used moves reminiscent of data I had copied, sometimes my very own data, sometimes the data of others. Neo Metal quickly disposed of everything near him, intelligently blocked incoming attacks and sent destroyed fodder Cavalier Sonic's way.



Cavalier Sonic used his borrowed abilities to prevent the future Sage from making more army fodder. He ripped into her robots with his jaws and took their mass entirely, becoming larger and more complex. He sometimes expelled the mass in forms of sharp weapons or types of gunfire to mow down even more machines.



Carillon Rose predictably rendered the machines useless to begin with; she disabled them en-masse, preventing Sage from overwhelming them with numbers and temporarily preventing her from getting them to work again. When Carillon Rose didn't need to disable them, she destroyed them on her own. Her primary target, however, was Sage; she attempted to shorten their distance, desperately elongated by Sage with additional creations and additional firepower.



This was a battle the four of them had an innumerable amount of times before. The three robots played more cautiously because of the weapons the future Sage gathered from Eggman. Though they were in-tune with one another, they weren't impervious. Neo Metal was immune to the blasts and blocked them whenever they were aimed at the other two, so the future Sage took advantage of his movements to keep him in certain places on the battlefield. Her priority was to re-possess Neo Metal or Cavalier Sonic, which gave her the best chance of taking down Carillon Rose. She likely prioritized Cavalier Sonic since he could counteract Neo Metal and he was the most unpredictable.



Cavalier Sonic was the most daring and the most willing to make direct contact with Sage. In fact, it may have been part of their plan for him to be taken over. If he went for Carillon Rose, she had a better chance to attack Sage directly. Her phrase earlier implied she had a special move to use on Sage.



Their battle completely ruined the street and adjacent buildings. I kept Amy close in case the building we were on crumbled. Amy's fascination in the bots turned to worry.



"I wish we could get them out of the area," Amy sighed. "But... it does look like all the innocent bystanders are out. We can always rebuild, right?"



She always worried for others more than herself. I supposed it was appropriate then that I worried about her instead--



Neo Metal was hit and crashed into our building. I picked Amy up and was ready to jump somewhere else.



...! He burst through the roof and jumped out of the hole he created-- I wasn't sure if he was possessed by Sage or not.



"Wait," he said. He quickly scanned below to see Carillon Rose and Cavalier Sonic continuing their battle. I kept my focus on him, while Amy tightened her hold around me.



He reached under one of his sleeves and pulled something out from his armor. It was a bright fuchsia gemstone that-- it was a Time Stone. I recognized it. He had one this whole time?



"I need you to hold onto this for me." He offered it to us; Amy reached out and gently took it from his hand. He watched Amy for a brief moment, then averted his eyes. "There are still several outcomes this encounter can have... And this solves a few of them."



Even one Time Stone could manipulate various surrounding objects, aging and de-aging them, growth, decay, everything in-between. It was incredibly powerful. It could even create another vortex into the future or past.



"My intention of use is to eventually send us back to the future... if needed."



"Why didn't you copy its data?" I asked.



"Sage would have found the data and removed it, ruining one of my methods. She never found the physical stone even after taking me over. I made sure she didn't," he explained. "Keep your guard up."



"Huh," Amy started. "Lonnie was right. You do sound different." She smiled at him. "Like... a different tone of voice, I mean."



He stared at her again, then slightly hesitated. He brought his focus back over the building's ledge. "I can't be absent for too long," he said, slightly quieter. He jumped into the opening he created and returned to the scene that way.



"Aw, he's shy," Amy muttered. "Seeing me might be a little awkward for him..."



"He only saw you in his files for centuries." I would be concerned he wanted to replace me, but our lives had been altered. My Amy was not his Amy... and I was not him, not entirely. He wanted to do something, even knowing that.



"I saw the same love in his eyes," Amy replied. She sighed: "And a lot of pain."



An understatement. I went to a different building to keep any attention off of us. Amy stored the Time Stone in the dress pocket opposite of her wound.



She gasped. "Wait, Metal. Could you take me down to my friends? Looks like they're gathering."



The Hedgehog and... an absurd amount of them were discussing something in an alley nearby. I had to admit they could be useful... I did what Amy asked, carrying her down to the group.



Alongside the Hedgehog was the Fox, the Bat, and all of Team Chaotix. Vector argued with Cream, who apparently wasn't invited. She was very firm about her involvement. They all stopped when we lowered down to them.



"Ames!" the Hedgehog called. "There you two are. I see there's, uh, a few more people fighting now." Seeing him made me angry. He left Amy when I left the hospital, so she was almost killed. I didn't want to interact with him more than necessary. The only reason he wasn't bleeding on the ground was because we were dealing with something else.



I gently put Amy down. She stood rather confidently while looking at her allies and kept one of her hands on my shoulder. "I think we need to minimize city damage. Neo Metal and his robot friends have a plan to take down Sage... I think we just have to let them do it."



"Sage?!" several of them repeated. They likely didn't see her while she was in different robots, so their reaction wasn't too surprising.



"If I'm understanding everything right... Neo Metal went to the past to prevent my death. In his time, Eggman was successful in getting Metal to kill me. Afterwards, Metal figured out a way to kill Eggman... so Sage became a permanent enemy. Lonnie and Cava are robots he made to fight Sage, or at least Lonnie was," Amy briefly explained, gesturing to the battle nearby. She spoke loud enough to not be taken over by the sounds of beams and blades clashing alongside Cavalier Sonic's disturbing laughter.



"Wow," Sonic hummed. He rubbed the bottom of his chin. "Lonnie, huh? I assume that's the fancy pink robot... Uh, I get why Neo's here, but why Sage?"



He was stupid, so I would spare him. "She likely had a plan to kill Amy but prevent Eggman's death," I replied. "She tried to kill Amy again at the hospital."



They all gawked at me, not expecting me to speak. I thought at least a few of them would be used to it by then. Amy kept the silence from stretching on: "Eggman and our Sage are skulking around, too. Future Sage roped them in and got them to make weapons that counter Neo's teammates... Seems like they have things handled for now, but we should stick around to help."



"I have no idea what any of that means, but I'll do what I can!" Charmy beamed.



Cream stared at me with wide eyes. "Y-you can talk, Mister... Uh... Metal?" she asked. Cheese, often by her side, blinked at me.



I returned their stares. I didn't really want to talk more than necessary.



"After all this, I promise I'll explain everything," Amy sighed. "For now, we--"



A nearby explosion cut the conversation short. We all went to check the exact commotion. Cavalier Sonic had transformed into a dragon triple his own size; he crunched something under his jaws, then let something fall out of it. Neo Metal quickly caught the falling object, revealing it to be a Shield Crystal. His eyes flashed-- the hand holding the crystal sparked with ominous energy. I scanned what he was doing... It was some concentrated form of his Black Shield. In an instant, the Shield Crystal cracked and shattered into dust.



Carillon Rose stood on top of Cavalier Sonic's draconic head. She charged herself one more time, but instead of hitting her hammer against her dress, she used the side of Cavalier Sonic's head. The shockwave far exceeded the others, forcing the future Sage out into the open. She collapsed into the street, her form constantly glitching and switching from black and red to cyan and white, over and over.



The street was strangely clear aside from lingering rubble. All materials Sage salvaged instead belonged to Cavalier Sonic. Future Sage had nothing.



"Lonnie!" called Neo Metal.



"Yup! It's time, little Virus." Carillon Rose twirled her hammer and charged up another round of energy. Throughout the battle, she constantly shifted between her long and short dresses, long being more defensive and long-ranged, while the short was offensive and short-ranged. Her form stayed short and the black screen of her eyes sparked a bright green. She rocketed towards Sage at a speed I hadn't yet seen from her. The hammer glowed entirely. Carillon Rose was in her own form of overdrive.



CRACK! Carillon Rose smashed the pavement with enough force to make a crater.



Her eyes went back to normal. She glanced around. "Tch! I missed her."



"What?" Neo huffed back.



Carillon Rose gasped. Future Sage re-materialized and clicked something to Carillon Rose's back; from the angle, none of us could see it.



"Thank you, Father," the future Sage said. Carillon Rose's whole body was overtaken by purple shocks; she screamed in agony-- horrible, horrible sound... She went offline. Neo Metal sped over in an instant and reached for the device from her back--



There was another explosion radiating that same ominous purple. Cavalier Sonic's eyes blinked off and collapsed into the street; just like that, all the foreign mass melted off of him into an unidentifiable mound of metal. He returned to his usual self.



"Thanks to him, I learned how to permanently subdue your pawns," Sage hissed to Neo Metal. "The Queen's methods are useless against me now. I also have a special move... Just for you."



"I told you before," Neo Metal hissed in return, breaking the loose Shield Crystal in his hand. "You will experience the true failure."



Pure anger from the future Sage's face. She grimaced at him and forced her hands against him-- she disappeared into a flurry of floating pixels just as fast. Neo Metal's whole body sparked, then his posture changed. He was taken over again with such ease... But... It seemed like he wanted it to happen. I wasn't sure what he had planned.



Neo Metal lifted both of his arms as he rose up higher in the air. The mass Cavalier Sonic acquired before surrounded Neo Metal instead... He grew larger and more monstrous. He went through another transformation... I never thought I'd experience it again. I felt a certain dread. I wasn't sure why.



The buildings around us began to crumble and creak. He was using them as materials too.



"We gotta get out of here!" Amy shouted, panicked. "There's gonna be no city at this rate!"



She didn't have to tell anyone twice. I carried Amy out of Neo Metal's vicinity, while her allies dispersed and escaped in their own ways.



Amy and I watched the transformation from far above. While Neo Metal's head looked similar to Metal Overlord's-- and by extension, Cavalier Sonic's-- Neo Metal instead transformed into something more sleek and enigmatic like an ancient Titan. Glowing red lights surrounded his body in intricate patterns, while the rest of his body was drenched in silver and black. He grabbed Cavalier Sonic and Carillon Rose while they were both deactivated; they melted into his hands. He grew more spines, a long, segmented tail, and devastating sharp blades littered his body. Energy concentrated in bright green spots on the tops of his hands and at the base of his legs. A big, gaping hole was in the center of his chest, mimicking his usual turbine. Sharp red eyes pierced through and scanned the area.



An ear-shattering roar. Amy covered her ears with her hands.



I didn't know what to do.



Amy huffed aloud. "What did Eggman give her?! Ugh...! There's no way she'll have control for long! Metal, let's find my friends first before anything else. We have no choice but to fight!"



One of us was optimistic.