Sonic the Hedgehog, etc, are © to Sega.
Eliza and all other fancharacters are © to me.
Eliza is pronounced é-lee-za, the other pronunciation is oogly.
This instalment has a few elements of Sonic 3 and Knuckles in it. This was not really intentional, but my version of S3K was different from the game, so this is a bit more like that probably because of that. It compensates, or something.

Sonic the Hedgehog awoke with a pounding headache.

He was groggy, sluggish, and found it very hard to move. Worse than that, it seemed his brain was in worse shape than he was, he remembered absolutely nothing.

He attempted to open his eyes, failed miserably, and let out a small, quiet groan, twitching his fingers. He felt something grab him and shove him upright none-too-gently.

His eyes fluttered open then, trying to focus on his surroundings.

"So you're finally awake," came a deep, icy voice, and Sonic recognized it as Knuckles's.

"Knux," he mumbled, attempting to move, and failing miserably. Something rattled and the hedgehog realized that he was chained.

Finally, his sight returned to him, and he could see the chains. Knuckles was in front of him, his restraints thicker. They were both in a plain, thankfully clean cell.

"What happened?"

"We were captured," came the blunt response, but Sonic knew better than to get frustrated.

"By who?"

"Metal Sonic."

Sonic shifted again, this time uncomfortably.

"He's not here," stated the echidna, "He left."

"Where?"

"The Floating Island."

More rattling, and the Guardian seized one of Sonic's chains in one hand. He gritted his teeth, and there was a sound of snapping metal.

The chains went slack, and some of them fell off.

"Spindash," instructed the echidna.

"But it'll–"

"Spindash."

He was fixed with a dark glare, and so he obeyed. His body was sore and throbbing, but he managed to curl himself up.

A screeching noise filled the air, followed by the sound of tearing metal, and then he was free. The remaining links clattered to the ground, and he rubbed his arm gingerly.

"What about you, Knux?"

"I've already tried."

"I'll find the–"

The echidna cut him off sharply.

"No. Listen carefully. Metal Sonic has gone to the Floating Island. He's after the Master Emerald. Most likely, he's planning to track my sister to the Hidden Palace."

"You have a sister?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Yes, Hedgehog," he said icily, giving him his infamous 'Shut up, Hedgehog' look, "My sister. Go down there, stop Metal."

"Will you be fine on your own?"

"Yes. But, Hedgehog-"

Hard violet met soft emerald.

"If you let anything happen to either my sister or the Master Emerald, I will kill you. Slowly and painfully."

Anashi's eyes flashed, and Sonic knew that without a doubt, he was serious. He sighed.

"Yes, Red, I know."

"Don't call me that."

A pause, and then, almost timidly, the hedgehog asked: "…Are you sure?"

"Go!" snapped the Guardian.

He gave the echidna a final worried look, and then took off running.

The Descent

Angel Island, in all its luscious, tropical beauty, stretched out before him.

"Shame I'm not coming here for vacation," he murmured to himself. He made a mental note to return to the island at a later date.

But for now… vacationing would have to wait, he was on a mission now.

He forced himself to slow down to a walk, and glanced around him.

This place was bringing back memories. The buzz of insects filled his ears, as did the chirps of some, unidentified bird.

There was no one in sight.

He progressed on, walking impatiently. He hated walking.

The island was huge. How was he going to find one little girl? … Or one not-so-little robot …

He suddenly became aware of a pair of yellow eyes watching him. Coils of purple and yellow were wrapped around the thick branches of an oak tree. It was a cobra, and it was watching him intently.

He took on a wary stance, grimacing.

The cobra curled away from him, intimidated.

"Yo," Sonic tried, and there was silence. Then the cobra raised its head.

"Hello." Its voice was cultured, though it sounded a little frightened.

"What's up?"

Sonic stepped forward, and it inched away.

"Are you going to hurt me? I.. I wasn't doing anything, I was just lying here..!"

"Nah, don't worry, s'long as you're not harming anyone, it's fine. What's your name?"

"Anodyne," he responded.

Sonic gave him a grin.

"My name's Sonic."

"Sonic…? Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"That's me."

"Oh, thank Lumien you're here! I don't want to sound rude, but this young Guardian… I'm not sure she can do the job… she's young, and small… I think her name is Elise or something like that."

"Knuckles's sister?"

"Yes, that's the one…"

"What's the problem?"

"There are many… but here, I'll show you."

Anodyne uncurled and dropped to the ground, slithering across, beckoning for the hedgehog to follow with his tail.

"Everyone saw Metal Sonic capture Knuckles, some people thought it was you… I knew it wasn't, though. Robots are attacking everywhere, the people are panicking, and… a colony of rabbits thought it was my family, and attacked them…"

Sonic pushed back a veil of leaves as the cobra disappeared through it.

Blurts of colour, yellow, purple, brown, and one red, were flitting around in his vision. He surged forwards, eyes locked on the red.

The browns, rabbits, were attacking the snakes, the yellow and purples. The red was an echidna, perhaps, with any luck, Knuckles's younger sister. The echidna was in the middle of the fight, and from the looks of it, trying to break it up.

A few of the rabbits lunged for the echidna, but it dodged, and the snakes formed a wall between them, gently, but firmly, pushing them back.

The echidna started to speak loudly, and the voice was most definitely feminine. The rabbits snapped back, but she drowned them out, going as far as to whack one on the head. Then, sounds of grumbling, and the rabbits left. The snakes thanked her, and then Sonic hopped down.

"Hey!"

She looked up, and he stopped in front of her.

She was small, and skinny. She came up to his thigh, and she was red all over, like Knuckles. He was relieved to see the Guardian mark on her chest. Her eyes, unlike Knuckles's, were blue, and they were wide and round. She regarded him with a strange, thoughtful look.

"Are you Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"Yep! And you're Knuckles's sister? I've been looking for you—Hey, where are you going!"

She ran away, and dove into the vines. He followed, calling after her, but she didn't stop, instead speeding up. The vines were thick, and sticky, they slowed him down, and several times he had to tug himself free. Finally, the hedgehog found himself caught in the vines. He wriggled, but could not break out. The echidna appeared above him, standing casually on one.

"Why…? Hey, I'm stuck, kid, can you help me out?"

"Where's my brother?" she demanded, coldly.

"What? He's on the ship…"

"What have you done with him!"

"I haven't done anything–"

"Don't lie to me!" she spat, "I saw you kidnap him!"

"It wasn't me, it was–"

"Do you think I'm stupid!"

He felt his temper welling up as he struggled, to no avail, to free himself.

"Yes, obviously! If you believe that I–"

She gave him the icy glare that he usually received from Knuckles.

"Will you tell me where he is or not?"

"I told you already–"

"No, then?"

"Let me out of here, you little brat!"

"No, then." Her voice was strangely calm as she spoke, but her eyes shone with anger. He had made her mad, good, because he was now mad himself.

"Let me go."

His voice went strangely icy, but then the girl, Eliza, gave him a cold smile, and slammed her foot on the vine. The ground beneath him opened, and then the vines released him at last. With no ground or vines to support him, the hedgehog plunged down with a yell.

The colours blurred and then faded into black. He plunged down until finally, something broke his fall. It was a liquid of some sort, the hedgehog realized with a shudder. It felt like water, but seemed thicker, slimier.

It was dark all around him, and he struggled and flailed, trying to get to the surface.

He couldn't swim. He hated water.

His feet reached the bottom, and he bent his knees and sprung. The liquid clung to his fur as he moved, but he broke though it, took a gulp of air, and landed on what he could only assume was ground. It was moist, but form. Something was stuck to him. He swatted and tugged at it, but it would not come off.

He trudged up the slope, struggling as he did so, pawing at himself, but it made no difference. He squinted at the darkness, saw nothing, and continued.

There was a faint hiss in the air, and his ears pricked up. He stretched his arms, but felt nothing but air. He continued in his haphazard way, and then finally became aware of the soft hissing that was becoming louder.

Something wrapped around his ankles, and he yelped, falling forward. His face, didn't, however, hit the ground. It instead contacted with something smooth, cold, and rubbery. More hissing, and something slid beneath him.

His heart skipped a beat.

A snake pit. He was in a snake pit. The brat had dropped him into a snake pit.

Sonic felt coils beginning to wrap around his arms, legs, chest…

Adrenaline kicked in, and he yelped once more, struggling wildly as more coins encircled him. He could see brief flashes of faces and dim outlines of figures now, there were snakes, many of them, and they were hungry.

He tried to curl up but the snakes would not let him, they pushed their weight unto him, beginning to flatten him and suffocate him against their coils.

There was more hissing, but he could not make it out. Sounds and colours were now swimming around in his head, exploding into fiery kaleidoscopes that engulfed all of his senses. He gasped for oxygen but received none. There was a pounding in his head that he could not seem to ignore or get rid of. Noises, colours, smells, touches… began to fade.

Someone had once told Sonic that before someone dies, they see their life flash before them.

And yet nothing was happening other than the fading.

Because you are NOT going to die! A little voice, perhaps his voice of reason, broke through all the fog and the fading. The fate of the Floating Island, hell, the entire planet is resting upon your shoulders and all you're going to do is lie down and die! What the hell are you thinking!

A pause. One that seemed to last an eternity.

And then something began to well up inside of him. His face twisted into a grimace.

… Sonic the Hedgehog …

"Will not be killed by a bunch of scaled nobodies!"

The hedgehog curled up then, and shot himself forward. The hissing became loud and angry as he ripped through them, tearing himself free from their grips. Then, shaking off the bits and pieces of the snakes that clung to him, he ran, panting.

The grime had hardened, and was now crumbling off of him as he ran, blindly, but surely. He could barely here the snakes pursuing him, the hissing, the scratching noise produced from their scales slithering along with the ground. He was too busy running. Finally, he met more than air, he met a wall, but didn't stop him. He had curled into a ball again and was spindashing. Sonic did indeed contact with the wall, but instead of knocking him flat, it broke open as he slammed into it, and the hedgehog hurled himself into daylight, into oxygen.

It nearly blinded him, but he welcomed it, finally landing in the grass. He breathed a deep sigh of relief, and brushed off the remaining piece of snakeskin. It was a dull green. They must have been garden snakes. He was nearly killed by garden snakes.

There was a small pool of water nearby, and so the hedgehog, after regarding it with suspicion, entered it. It was shallow, and though he hated water, he cleaned himself off in it, and then shook himself dry. The teenager sat in the grass for several minutes, until his breathing returned to normal. None of the snakes tried to follow him. Finally, he stood up, and took a minute to examine his surroundings. Aged structures, large hills, emerald green grass. There was no doubt about it.

He was in Marble Gardens.

It had been months since he had been here last, back when Dr. Robotnik had crashed the Death Egg upon it, and had banded together with Knuckles the Echidna, who made it clear that he never liked Sonic, even from his reputation, to try and kill him and Tails. And they had built Metal Sonic.

It seemed like a lifetime ago. He had a faint recollection of the place, but could not recognize exactly where he was. It was probably a part he hadn't explored yet, or perhaps he had just forgotten.

He remembered why he was here, and started to jog. As beautiful as Marble Gardens was, it was notorious for earthquakes, and that was the last thing he needed. Besides, the sooner he found the brat, the better…

Thoughts of Eliza made him clench his fists and grit his teeth. She had really tried to kill him! And despite how cold and calculating she seemed when she saw her, he could have sworn he saw fear in her eyes as well. That was probably why. She wasn't going to take any chances. Well, now that she had left him for dead… she would probably be heading back to the Hidden Palace. And Metal was probably close by, watching her.

The thought made him shiver. He was angry and didn't like her much, but she didn't deserve that fate.

"But where is she…?"

The echidna in question was perched upon a ruined column, regarding him with a slightly worried, yet mostly fierce gaze. How had he survived…? And in such good condition…? This was going to be harder than she had first thought.

It was the running… she needed to stop him from running. His greatest advantage was his speed.

A small smile crept across her muzzle.

Blistering heat stopped all things from moving. How convenient that she knew a secret passageway that led to Sandopolis.

How convenient that Sonic was now heading that way.

He was jogging lightly, or his idea of jogging lightly, so, by running, she could keep up with him... barely.

He stopped maybe twenty feet from the cave, and turned around to inspect. She darted out of his view just as he turned. She slipped inside the cave and then smiled, backing up into the darkness, until it nearly engulfed her.

"Hedgehog!" she called, and his head snapped around at once.

"There you are! Listen–"

"First you have to catch me. Can't you, with your speed?" It was a taunt, an attack on his ego, and again the hedgehog clenched his fists.

"We don't have time to play around! If you would just…"

He trailed off as he realized she was gone. Sonic hissed a curse under his breath and ran after her, into the darkness, yet again, into the darkness.

He couldn't run in the cave, or even jog, he soon realized. So, the hedgehog had to settle for a light sprint. He could see flashes of the echidna as he pursued her, and he gritted his teeth. He was losing patience with this kid.

Eliza smiled grimly and pressed herself forward. Sonic screeched to a halt.

Six pathways stared him in the face.

And the little Guardian was nowhere to be found.

He cursed under his breath, and ran into the middle tunnel.

It was the heat that hit him first.

Choking, blazing, suffocating.

Then it was the light.

Blinding, burning, searing.

Then it was the Skorp badnik.

Its tail lashed out and wrapped around Sonic's neck, flinging him into the ground and applying crushing pressure to his throat. The hedgehog gagged.

His fingers wedged around the tail of the Skorp, and he tugged at it, gasping for breath.

From the corner of his eye, Sonic saw the end of the tail gleaming, with a bit of liquid beading up at the top. It twisted to face him, and his eyes widened.

The tip of the tail snapped forward, and frantically, a moment before the poison would have contacted with his body, Sonic had spindashed, and ripped it apart.

The tail fell limp, and the hedgehog only uncurled when he was forty feet away.

There, he panted, clutching at his throat, and began to stagger. The sand was scalding, slippery and thick. It was nearly impossible for him to run, so, he walked.

His chest shifted as he breathed, and he rubbed his throat a little.

The sun had climbed to its highest peak, baking him, and Sonic suddenly found himself wishing that he was bald.

Something shimmered in the distant stand, and the hedgehog's eyes lit up.

Water!

His throat was quickly parching, and so the Hedgehog rushed for it, as fast as he possibly could albeit the circumstances, and he stumbled.

"Sonic!" came a reedy, toned voice that he knew, but couldn't place, "What are you doing?"

He craned his next around, and sure enough, Charmy Bee was above him, his wings beating impossibly fast. He had to stop himself from staring at them, they were a blur, and it was nearly hypnotic.

"Espio told me that he saw you."

Sonic licked his lips, trying to wet his throat.

He felt something slip under his arms and hoist him up.

"I have to go to Marble Gardens, but if you're looking for Eliza, she's probably at Ice Cap. I can drop you off there."

He released one of the hedgehog's arms, but only for a second. In a flash, the bee had taken out a bottle of water, and dropped it neatly in Sonic's hands.

Sonic thanked him, opened it, and downed half of it in one large, desperate gulp, smacking his lips afterwards. The air began to cool, and he breathed a sigh of relief – he liked it when it was warm, possible hot – but not sizzling.

Sandopolis ended, and as Charmy flew, the hedgehog decided that he would not miss it. At all.

But it did give him a short pause to reflect on the Island – it had everything, a desert, an artic, ruins, a tropical island…

His thoughts were quickly discarded as the bee dropped him neatly on the ground. Sonic nearly yelped, but he restrained himself, instead setting for brushing himself off.

"Thanks, Charmy!"

"No problem. Just head over that hill. Ice Cap is right there – it's in a chain of mountains. It's the first one, the biggest, you'll see it right away. Good luck!"

Sonic thanked him again, finished the bottle, tossed it aside, and ran. An icy wind slammed him in the face, and he hissed, cutting through it.

He was getting impatient, and rather close to losing his temper.

The first thing he was going to do was smack that brat. Then, he was going to tie her up so she couldn't move, then he was going to make sure she apologized, thoroughly.

And then, afterwards, he would deal with Metal.

Running soothed him, so, he began to calm, and mentally switched the order of events.

First, tie her up, second, deal with Metal, third, smack her silly, and then fourth, make her apologize. That sounded about right.

His feet were growing numb, so, he quickened his pace.

The mountain stretched out before him, the entrance wide, and black, like the mouth of some gigantic, hideous beast. Fearless, or at least appearing so, he entered.

As soon as he was inside, he started to skid. The hedgehog flailed, slipped, and then his knees contacted with something hard, and cold.

A mechanical screech followed, and then shrapnel surged through the air.

"More badniks," thought the hedgehog, "Great, that's just what I need."

He faintly remembered robots of this sort, mockeries of penguins.

As he looked around, he noticed there weren't that many robots – someone must have been there before him. And recently, there was still some wreckage lying around…

He continued, slowly, cautiously, as to not slip. A few of the penguins did not sense him, the others shrieked and threw themselves against the ground. Their engines ignited and they slid for him, but he leaped up, and spindashed into them, using them as a pathway. Once they were all destroyed, the hedgehog soared through the air, flailing once more.

Sonic did indeed slam into the ground, on his stomach, and the momentum and lack of friction caused him to keep sliding. This time, he did yelp, and struggled to get to his feet.

His scrambling only increased his speed of sliding, and the teenager suddenly became aware of the icy slope. Again, a yelp, one that echoed through the mountain, and he rolled down.

Once again, he tried to get up, but it did him no good. He sighed, closed his eyes, and waited for impact.

The slope was over in seconds, and he skidded across the ice at the bottom.

Finally, the hedgehog came to a stop, a rather abrupt one, as he slammed, face first, into a mound of snow. It was soft, but thick, so he went through it, but it stopped him. His nose poked out at the other end, and he shivered and coughed, totally covered in snow.

Muttering a swear word, the hedgehog staggered to his feet, only barely managing to remain upright. He brushed the snow from his fur, and slowly began to walk, looking about him. It was mostly open face, with rather large, but sturdy looking, icicles hanging twenty feet above him. Under him, a thick layer of ice, and under that, probably water. He shivered at the thought, wondering if anyone had been unfortunate to have fallen through the ice.

He spent a few seconds imagining it, and then decided that those few seconds were too much. There was a cliff of sorts in front of him, and no other passageways. It looked deserted.

He briefly considered calling out, but, after giving the icicles another glance, decided against it. The sound would probably not make them fall, but he didn't particularly want to take any chances. He slowly began to approach the cliff. It was very steep – he didn't know how he could climb it. Running was too dangerous, but perhaps–

"Hedgehog!" The voice, young, and feminine, interrupted his thoughts, and he snapped his head up, searching for it.

Eliza, giving him a smirk that reminded him entirely too much of Knuckles, one he really didn't like – was spread across her muzzle, and she was looking as smug as the child of a rich parent on Christmas morning.

"Eliza!" He returned, clenching his fist.

"The Snowhog look is nice on you, Hedgehog," the echidna drawled, the smirk spreading.

"You brat! I came here to save you and your precious island, and this is how you treat me?"

She scoffed.

"I may be a child, but I'm not stupid! Don't underestimate me, blue boy, or it'll be your funeral!"

She leaned over a little.

"Literally!"

Behind the expression, Eliza hoped that her act was working. He didn't seem too intimidated, but, on the bright side, her acting fooled him.

"Big words for such a runt," returned the hedgehog.

"Alright," thought the Guardian, "Time to bring out the big guns."

She picked up a remote control, and thumbed the detonator button. There was a flurry of explosions. The icicles, being cut off, hung in midair for a split-second, and then, with all the force of a typhoon, came crashing down upon the hedgehog.

Sonic had gained a smirk of his own, and dodged them as he fell. The action caused him to run in a little circle, and then finally, after all of them had fallen, he turned to leer back up at the Guardian.

"Was that the best you can do? All misses!"

Eliza, however, did not lose her smirk, and much to his irritation, it widened, again.

"Look beneath you, hedgehog."

A second after, the sound of cracking ice filled the air, and with a panicky expression, he looked down.

Too little, too late, Sonic realized what was happening. He tried to run, slipped, and then plunged down into the icy water.

Another yelp, louder this time, and then the water engulfed him completely.

The echidna adopted a smug look as she watched him disappear, and then afterwards, she let out a short sigh of relief.

"Well then, now that that's finally over…"

She brushed herself off and headed towards the Hidden Palace.

And far above her, a pair of red eyes gleamed.

Sonic only screamed and flailed for a short time, for the water swept over his body, and as the seconds ticked by, and the surface became farther and farther away, his body stopped complying. At first his mind was filled with visions of just what he was going to do to that brat if he survived, which was highly unlikely. But then a numbness began to spread across him, and as his bones and tendons were chilled, he felt his eyelids, that felt so heavy, slipping. At first the pressure was nearly crushing, but now he could barely feel it, and the water rushing around him became a gentle lull.

And then, something ripped through the water. He barely felt his arm being grasped by something, barely felt all the commotion in the water as the pressure diminished and the surface came closer. His eyes were shut, and even as his saviour broke the water and leapt onto dry surface, a cavern full of warm rock, he felt nothing.

"Sonic!"

The noise was garbled and distorted, and then, he became vaguely aware of something shaking him. He felt something being pressed to his lips, and then a steaming hot liquid gushing down his throat. Instantly, his eyes snapped open, and warmth flooded back into him as the liquid trickled down his throat. Images came into focus, and Vector the Crocodile was sitting in front of him, holding a cup of something hot to his lips, and tipping it so that it cascaded down. He grasped the cup and gulped it down until there was nothing, and then shivered and shook himself.

"W-who a-are y-you…?"

His teeth were chattering.

"Eh'm Vecter th' Crocodile, of the Chaotix. Nice te meetcha. That t'was was quite some fall, ya okay there, hedgie?"

Sonic nodded, brushing her fur off.

"Th-thanks… what was that you gave me?"

"Oh, one of meh mom's recipes, spicy cider."

Sonic suddenly jolted upright.

"Eliza… where is she!"

His memories flooded back to him, and he clenched his fists.

"When I get my hands on her I SWEAR TO–"

Vector side-eyed him, then rubbed his chin.

"Mm… it's her shift ta guard the Emerald, so th'kid is probably…"

Sonic's rage disappeared in an instant, instead replaced by horror.

"Take me there!"

"Hey, hey, hold yer horses, I can't just–"

"Metal's tracking her," his tone was dead serious, "Take me there. Now."

Vector stared at Sonic, and then nodded.

"Alright… follow me."

He took off at a run and Sonic followed, chest tightening. He only hoped he could make it in time.

Eliza greeted the Master Emerald by pressing her hands against it, and letting out a happy sigh. She wasn't sure why she had suddenly gotten so angry with the hedgehog, it was like something inside of her… by instinct… hated him. She felt like she had known him (and disliked him), but she had never met him before in her life. It was almost as if someone else was inside her, convinced to kill him… She shook her head and stared back at the shining green gem.

"I guess I'm not as bad as a Guardian as I thought," she murmured to the emerald, "I just wish 'Nashi would get back…"

Her smile slipped at that. She wasn't sure she liked this new 'Nashi, but she would feel a lot better if he was back... and okay. Sonic hadn't told her anything about what had happened to him… he might have been hurt… or worse.

She sniffed a little, and as she did, she caught a whiff of something – exhaust. She whirled around, and then her eyes widened.

A robot. Dark blue, thing, with sharp spines, blood red eyes, and long, skeletal claws. His (it looked male) palms were yellow, as was the engine intake in his stomach. His arms were thin, and silver, and in the light, he looked quite frightening. Her blood ran cold. She stared.

" …What…"

She opened her mouth, and then closed it again. He was a robot, and it was quite obvious how he had gotten here – by following her. She mentally slapped herself.

"Greetings," he said in a neutral voice, "I am Metallix Series Oh-Two, Metal Sonic. I thank you for both leading me here and disposing of the hedgehog – you have saved me a great deal of trouble."

More staring.

… Metal Sonic …? Was this … …

It sunk in. She winced. She had analyzed, built a strategy against, and… probably killed… the wrong guy. Flashes of memories; hadn't he tried to tell her? She felt so stupid! Not only had she eliminated her only hope, she had led the enemy right to the Master Emerald! And she had no idea how to beat him.

It occurred to her that she was off her guard, and quickly disguised her expression, biting her lip.

"If you step aside I will allow you to live."

She clenched her fists and slipped into a battle pose.

"You are going to fight…?"

She didn't answer; her mind was going a mile a minute. If he was really based off of Sonic, then he must have had the super-speed, not to mention robotic durability, a computer for a brain… ohh, she was so totally and completely screwed. She couldn't even move around too much, because his objective was the Emerald… what was she going to do?

She gave no answer except to scowl at him.

"Mobians are so illogical. Very well. I gave you the opportunity."

If she could stall him, then eventually one of the other Chaotix would come along, and surely, they would know what to do… but how to do so? She needed to shift his attention off the emerald and onto her… Make him angry, of course! But how was she going to do that?

"Trial and error, then, I guess it is…"

Metal eyed her impassively.

"This island is pitiful if its best defence is a little girl."

Her eyes blazed, but that was the only reaction.

"What have you done with my brother, you overgrown toaster?" she demanded, forcing steel into her voice. Attempt number one. He didn't react.

"If you are curious perhaps you should return with me."

His eyes gave her what she could only assume was a hint of a menacing smile, since he had no mouth.

Now for attempt number two. "I would, except I'd rather die than look at your face for any longer."

Again, nothing. "Perhaps your juvenile insults will work on Ss- the hedgehog, but I can assure you that my intellect is far too high for that."

So he was arrogant. Good, if he underestimated her he would let his guard down. Also, was that Sonic's name that he had started to hiss? That gave her an idea. Time for attempt number three.

"So you're supposed to Sonic's equal, then? Wow, what a joke."

His eye twitched. She allowed herself an internal smirk.

Jackpot!

"I am the hedgehog's superior."

She laughed.

"You're nothing but a cheap rip off."

He struck so fast she almost didn't see his movement. However, she had prepared for a fast attack, so she just narrowly dodged, his claws nicking her shoulder – she danced back, adopting the Knuckles smirk.

"What's the matter? Is the poor little weakling copy getting angry?"

His eyes flashed, and he lunged for her again.

"I have no tolerance for your insolence."

The sound of his voice gave her a general idea of the direction he was coming in, so she threw herself to the ground and rolled away. Well, she had got him angry now, onto level two. Now she just had to stay alive and keep him angry until help came, or she found out some other weakness she could exploit.

And that was harder than it sounded.

It seemed to her that each of his attacks was a little faster than the previous one, or maybe that was just her reaction time… It was becoming more and more difficult to dodge. And he was a robot, he wouldn't tire… If she could only damage that engine intake, somehow.

She gasped out as his claws scraped down her back. He grabbed for her, but she dodged, leaping onto his stomach. She jammed her hands inside it, and concentrated. It was hot, but she only barely felt it through her gloves. Metal prepared to swipe for her again, but then froze. They had both began to glow green, and he felt something strange happening. The electricity flowing through the wires jammed up, and he let out a hiss. His left hand fell limply to his side, but he forced his right one to move. Sparks appeared, but he grabbed her by the hair, tore her off, and flung her across the room.

She slammed into the wall, gasped, and then fell down. His body corrected himself, and then he noticed the emerald glowing. It was pulsating, basking the room in the same shade of green as had been surrounding them earlier. And he remembered his objective.

As did the little echidna, because she shakily got to her feet and ran for the emerald.

Naturally, he was faster, and brought his clenched fist to the back of her head. She contacted with the ground, then slumped, unconscious.

He turned back to the Master Emerald.

An empty pedestal greeted him.

He twisted his head to glance back down at him, and then scanned the room. Nothing. No hint of any power, or any emerald.

And then…

A strong breeze tore through the room, and a ball of blue spikes lurched through the air, right into Metal's chest. He flew back, and Sonic uncurled, and kicked off from him, giving the robot an annoyingly smug grin.

"Long time no see, chrome dome."

Metal's eyes flashed, and he clawed for Sonic's shoulder. The hedgehog jerked out of the way, but Metal had gotten a scratch.

"What have you done with the Emerald, hedgehog?" demanded the robot, a snarl in his voice.

"I was just about to ask you that!"

Sonic lunged again, Metal attempted to dodge, but he failed. Sonic slammed his foot into Metal's optics. The glass shattered.

The Master Emerald is not here. That is my first objective. However…

A tactical retreat was in order. But he would not return empty handed. Sonic steeled himself for an attack and circled around the Metallix unit.

Metal fired up his engines, and, to the hedgehog's surprise – didn't attack. Instead, he snatched the unconscious echidna.

The next best thing.

He spared Sonic one smug glance, and then was gone.

The hedgehog froze, and stared after him.

"… He wasn't supposed to do that … "

Vector winced.

"GAH! Why the heck…!"

The crocodile shrugged.

"Knux did something to move the Emerald or summit… as fer Metal… well, all I know is that… man, hedgie, Knux is gonna kill yeh!"

"You think I don't know that!"

"Yeh probably do, I was just reminding ya."

"I... hey, Vector, you can fly a plane, right?"

"Yeah…" he adopted a suspicious look, "Why?"

"If you fly me to Metal's ship I can save her!"

"No! No way! I'm not risking my neck because yew screwed up!"

"Vector, please!"

"No! Ah've already done enough, I'mma get in trouble for bringing you down here in the first place!"

"Fine… then I guess… I'll just have leave her there… that poor girl, all alone with Metal…" he gave a melodramatic sigh, and Vector bit his lip. "Who knows what he'll do to her… she must be so scared… and crying… yes…"

"Alright, alright!" The crocodile pawed at his eyes. "That poor kid! She can be kinda bratty sometimes, but…!"

He puffed out his chest.

"Follow me!"

Sonic grinned.

"Now that's more like it!"

"Yew owe me for this, hedgie! And just fer the record, she doesn't cry."

"Whatever! I was having a moment here!"

He took off at a sprint, and Vector had to run just to keep him in his sights.

"Hedgehogs…"

Of all the headaches Eliza had had in her life, this one had to be the worst. She regained consciousness with it pounding at her head, and because of it, it took her a minute to regain her senses. The first thing she noticed was that she was in an uncomfortable position, standing, but leaning against something cold and smooth. Plexiglas, she discovered. The second was that the air inside it was stuffy, and the third, that through the Plexiglas in front of her, Metal Sonic was regarding her with interest. For a moment, she froze. This seemed so familiar, and not in a pleasant way. She strained her mind for any memories, but she could find none-

And then, suddenly, a flash in her mind. There was a tube, much like this, a leering face, and then, pain. The image scared her far more than it should have. It was like–

And then it was gone, and another face, not the leering one, not even close – was watching her.

She jolted upright as their eyes met, the back of her head banging against the plexiglass. She hissed a little, rubbed it, and then examined her surroundings. They were in a laboratory or some sort, obviously, she was in a tube, and Metal was standing, first glancing at her, then down at machinery near him, then at a screen. Her heart was pounding, and she felt rather unnerved. What was that she had just remembered?

She began to beat her fists and feet against her prison, but it did her no good. She tried to bodyslam it, various other techniques, and finally, the Chaos Transfer, (how did that name pop up into her head? She had never heard of it before… nor had she ever associated it to her strange ability – but suddenly it just was!) but it made no difference. Metal regarded her with poorly concealed amusement.

"By all means, Guardian, continue, waste your energy, show me that technique again."

She stopped, and scowled at him. He regarded her neutrally, and she continued making faces, until a minute later, when he turned away.

"You were behaving more maturely earlier, echidna. It seems you have relapsed to your childish persona."

She didn't grace him with an answer, but instead, let out a few breaths on the glass, fogging it up. Then, she traced out "You suck." with her finger, and waited for him to respond. He looked again within a few minutes, and then turned back to the machines.

"Your ability to store and manipulate Chaos intrigues me. I have seen it before, in the hedgehog, in the Guardian… though I have never seen anyone transfer it. Or store so much. I may not even need the Master Emerald, if I can find a way to tap into you…"

The little echidna decided she didn't like this conversation.

"We will be spending much time together from now on, Guardian. The hedgehog cannot reach you–"

And as if triggered, klaxons started blaring.

The little echidna shot him a smug grin.

"You were saying?"

"I will return."

"Tell him to go home! I don't need him some stupid wannabe hero to save me!"

But she was speaking to the air, for he was already gone.

"This is as far as I go, hedgie."

"And it's far enough. Thanks Vec!"

"Good luck, y'psycho!"

Vector waved, and dipped the aircraft back down. Sonic returned the gesture, and then spindashed into the ship.

He was greeted by the blaring of klaxons, and a group of badniks whirled around to fire at him.

Adopting a carefree smirk, he swept though them. These ones, he knew, had no flickies, they were only empty shells. He didn't bother with them. He had to find the girl as soon as possible – he had heard stories of what Metal did to prisoners, and none of them were things he would wish upon his enemies.

Other than the badniks, he found no opposition – Metal was probably waiting for him in the same room Eliza was in. He had a vague recollection of the ship. The main room, where the kid, if not Metal, would surely be, was the biggest and most elaborate, and he was sure he would recognize once he–

"Found it!"

The doors were open, which of course was suspicious, but he was too exasperated to care. He slid in, and was greeted with a full-fledged laboratory. It only took him a minute to locate her, she was in a tube. Their eyes met, and she didn't look particularly pleased to see him.

"There you are. Where's Metal?"

She ignored him, seeming to glance past him in a disinterested manner.

"Kid."

He was beginning to lose patience.

She opened her mouth, closed it again, and then her eyed widened a fraction, and she pointed.

"Behind you!"

He whirled around and jumped out of the way, heart leaping into his throat, and he turned to find…

Nothing.

She started to laugh, and he turned back to glare at her.

"You should have seen your face!"

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

"Listen, you–"

The laugher ceased abruptly, and she turned to glare at him.

"Go home, stupid hero boy! I don't need some wannabe bigshot to come save me, I can manage on my own!"

She bared her teeth at him in what she had hoped was a nasty grimace.

"Go and get killed like all you stupid heroes do!"

There was passion in her voice, mingled with something else… bitterness?

He saw her eyes flick to the left, and he tried to follow her gaze, but it was at that moment that a rather heavy object slammed into his side. The hedgehog was sent sprawling, almost slamming into a wall, but he caught himself just in time.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," smirked Sonic in a display of bravado, mostly fake, for his heart had dropped into his stomach.

"Hedgehog."

Metal pointed his plasma cannon at him.

"Die."

A shot; Sonic dodged out of the way with ease.

"Maybe later."

He curled up into a ball and launched himself at Metal. Metal dodged, but Sonic turned and lunged for his side. There was the squeal of tearing titanium, and then Metal pulled away, and slammed his fist through the tube; the plexiglass shattered and turned to sand as it fell. Metal snatched Eliza in one hand, narrowly dodging another attack from the hedgehog.

He cursed under his breath as Metal exited the room, and chased after him. The little Guardian was silent, but she gave him a glare that reminded him entirely too much of Knuckles as they ran.

He had to jerk his head a few times to keep from staring, that glare was distracting him from Metal. Metal pulled up ahead, his eyes smiling. They flashed, and then the hallway that they were running from lit with explosions.

Sonic gasped and threw up a hand to shield his eyes, but Metal was unbothered, and pressed on his speed. Dust and debris flew everywhere, and the hedgehog found himself having to dodge chunks of the ceiling and as he dogged Metal's heels.

He soon found himself losing sight of Metal, and that was when twin pinpricks of red light appeared beside him, and a metallic fist slammed into his stomach.

The wind was knocked out of him, and he lost his footing, the force of the hit sweeping him off his feet and slamming him into one of the remaining upstanding walls. And then there was another explosion, and the ceiling collapsed onto of him.

Eliza, for the first time since her capture, gasped and looked frightened. Metal's eyes glowed, and he hissed in delight, tightening his grip ever-so-slightly.

"Hedgehog!" the little echidna squeaked in alarm, and the robot tightened his grip in satisfaction.

"Hedgehog. Your meddling ends now, as of this moment I will no longer–"

But Sonic could no longer hear him.

The world was fading again and the voice was blazing in his head as the debris weighed down upon him. Every inch of his body was in pain, it paralysed him, kept him rooted to the ground.

Thoughts and memories were swirling around in the hedgehog's head now, as he struggled to move. The air was being sharply expelled from his body. He saw faces, eyes, heard voices, bits and pieces of everything he had done, everything he had experienced. And as they became more and more recent, sharper, emblazoning themselves before his eyes, one thought stood out above all the others.

It can't end like this.

At first it was only the voice. The little voice of reason that had spurred him in the snake pit, the instinct that had pushed him to make split-second decisions and movements that had before saved not only his life, but others, as well.

But as it repeated itself over and over in his head, his mental inferno, he found that he was beginning to think it too. And it was weak at first, barely a whisper in his mind, a whisper by his lips, but as he repeated it, it became louder, and with more conviction, and then finally -

"IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!"

As he shouted the words, something happened. His emotions, that had all been in a flurry a moment ago, seemed to burst. And then everything became distorted and fuzzy. There was an explosion, but he only faintly heard it.

Through the haze he heard Eliza yell out, and then clarity returned with a bang.

The debris had somehow exploded – a large piece of shrapnel had stabbed Metal through his stomach. He had dropped Eliza somewhere along the way, because she was now on her feet and holding onto a piece of the wall. There was a gaping hole now, and he found himself having to hang onto a remaining part of the wall as well.

The rest was a blur.

One second Metal Sonic was yanking out the rubble with his claws, and the next, he had tackled the teenager, eyes blazing like headlights.

The robot said nothing as he dug his claws into Sonic's sides and they both plunged down, but it didn't need to be said. His eyes told him everything.

If I am going down, you will go down with me, Hedgehog.

The wind howled and tore at them, and he tried to break free, but Metal had the clinging power of a leech as well as an unbreakable grip. Sonic gritted his teeth. His eyes were watering from staring into Metal's eyes, and from the air ripping at them.

And then, Metal shifted. Something had slammed into him, something small, something red.

A soft green glow enveloped them, and then Sonic felt the pressure lessen, the claws detach. Metal convulsed a few times, and then let go entirely.

They separated.

Eliza was holding onto Metal, but the green was dissipating, she was now squirming and trying to get free. He was heavier, so he was falling faster, and losing his grip, but he dug claws into both of her sides as he did.

She let out a sharp yelp as his claws tore through her flesh, and then -

Sonic hit the water, and he lost sight of them. His body stung from the impact, and the salty water ate at his eyes. He only barely managed to keep them open.

He heard something, muffled and distorted – an explosion?

Seconds later, something dark and flat shot down towards him…

Part of the ship, maybe…?

As it came, he planted his feet against it, and pushed with all his strength.

The hedgehog broke through the surface, again, flinging his body through the air. He, of course, landed in the water again, but he managed to latch onto a large piece of what he could only assume was wall. Land was nearby. He scanned for the little Guardian. She was five or so feet ahead of him, floating on her stomach. The water around her was stained red.

His heart jolted, and kicked his feet until he was near her.

"Hey...! Kid! Kid?"

She twitched briefly at the sound of his voice, turning over and spluttering out mouthfuls of water. Then she moaned.

"You okay?"

She shot him a scathing look and swam back to shore, the water tinting red as she did so. He made a face at her back and kicked after her.

Though she had lost blood, the wounds didn't seem to be as deep as he had thought. She seemed able to move around with much restriction. She did, however, grit her teeth, and as he shook himself dry, she fixed him with another Knuckles-glare.

"Little miss hypocrite," he smirked at her, and she scowled back at him fearsomely.

"Shut up! It wasn't–"

"Thanks, kid, I owe you one."

"It was only to repay my debt, you stupid hedgehog, so just shut up and go away!"

She glowered up at him, which would have been more intimidating if she was taller than the length of his legs.

It only made the entire display look, at best, cute.

Or would have been cute had she not just attempted to kick him.

It was then that he realized it.

Her moody behaviour, resentment of heroes, yet basically altruistic reactions…
It could have only been -

He knelt down so that they were eyelevel.

"Kid, did someone die for you?"

The response was instantaneous, and just as he had expected it to be.

Her eyes widened and then narrowed again.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me or–"

He ignored her.

"Kid, I know, it hurts… and I know that whoever it is loved you very much to have made such a sacrifice."

"That's why I said you know nothing, stupid hedgehog! If he loved me he wouldn't have died, he wouldn't have left me behind! He sh-shouldn't have .. I.. I should have been the one to–"

Her voice cracked and she fell silent.

He knelt so that he could be close to her level.

"I know how you feel."

"No you don't!"

She started to hit him, but he did his best to ignore it, and continued speaking.

"My father was a General in the Great War. He died in the last battle, and because of that, we won the war. Everyone praised him as a hero. I was too young to remember him. After Eggman took over Mobitropolis, and my mother and I barely escaped, we had a hard life. She couldn't support us, so she married a man with money, Chaymer. He abused her, and me, but more her, something awful. She even took hits for me, no matter how I begged her not to. It continued, on, and on, until, finally, one day, when I was ten, almost eleven … my mother had enough. When he rounded on me, drunk, ready to beat me for whatever stupid reason… She pleaded with him, begged him not to. He wouldn't listen, and he only hit her when she persisted. So, just as he was going to… she took a gun and shot him. And then she shot herself."

She was watching him with wide eyes now, perfectly quiet.

"I was devastated. And in denial. The first thing I did was try to revive her, started to cry… when it didn't work I curled up beside her. The police came, and I clung to her with all my strength, kept saying 'She's alive... she's just sleeping…' and in hysterics. They detached me from her, and a few days later, came the funeral. She was buried next to my father… and then, that's when I started to hate him. I cursed his name, I kicked his tombstone, I screamed all kind of horrible things at him. 'This is your fault!' was what I used to scream, 'If you hadn't gone a stupid hero and gotten yourself killed, you would have been here, and we could have all been happy! Now she's dead and it's all your fault!'"

He paused to take a breath, and she remained quiet and attentive, eyes slightly glassy.

"Then, I ran away, and I hated heroes from that point on. They were stupid, they were selfish, they claimed to care about their loved ones… and most of them died. And because of that, their loved ones, who they claimed to care about, were devastated. I hated them."

"So… why…"

"Why did I become what I hated? Because… soon afterwards, I was captured, and put into a slave labour camp. The things I saw, the things I experienced… the things I felt.. there… I hope you never will. It was horrible. Everywhere around me, there were boys, some younger than me, some older than me – suffering. Bruised, broken, bleeding, sick, miserable… Orphaned, cut off from their family, mentally unstable… heartbroken… I could go on. And I realized something. If my father hadn't made that sacrifice, the entire Mobian population would be like that. That heroes weren't just selfish fools – even if they would die, and their loved ones suffer… it was to save people. To protect. They needed a hero. So I gave them one. I wasn't the only one, Mighty did, too. And two others, friends of ours, both dead, unfortunately… Ray the Flying Squrirel and Fiona Fox. And because of that, they all escaped. Except for Ray and Fiona, unfortunately…"

She was no longer looking at him, but now at the ground, her fists clenched.

"Kid, I know it hurts… but… think about it this way… if they hadn't made that sacrifice, what would have happened?"

Silence.

"And whatever you do… don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. It was his conscience decision. He wouldn't want you to be miserable over it. He would want you to be happy and live your life to the ful–"

He stopped because she had just let out a strangled noise. She flung herself against him, and he realized that the noise was a sob, and that she was crying into his chest.

She made a few failed attempts at speaking, but he shushed her, and hugged her, rocking her slightly.

She's just a kid, after all …

"Let's go back, shall we? I'm sure your brother and the rest are worried about you."

She nodded, and he stood, still holding her, and began to run.

"So, that's all," announced the hedgehog. Mighty the Armadillo, leaning backwards against a wall, one foot planted against it, glanced up at him.

"Yes, she was devastated when Sil died… screaming and crying. I should have known she hadn't fully gotten over it…"

"It's really hard on a kid to see someone die," Sonic stated, "Especially someone they cared about. The worst part is that they feel powerless and weak, and blame themselves. They'll think things like 'If I had just…', or 'If I hadn't…' over, and over again. When Ray died, you... and me too… but you…"

"Yeah…" Mighty responded distantly, and offered no other comment.

The hedgehog changed the subject.

"She's very attached to you."

The armadillo looked up at him, expression unreadable.

"It was not my intention."

"But it happened, right? And personally, I think it's a good thing."

"You would," said Mighty quietly.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not you. And she's not Tails. You would be well-advised to keep that in mind, Scott."

"Sonic," the hedgehog hissed, "SONIC. Don't call me that."

"It's your name."

"Not anymore, Michael."

The armadillo made no response to the use of his name.

"You've forgotten how to love," continued the hedgehog, "And you need to learn again. You need to love again, to be loved. You need it."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do! If you don't, bad things will happen! You'll go down a dark path! Just look at Knuckles!"

"Knuckles is the way he is for other reasons."

"This is one of them," pressed the green-eyed teenager, "And besides, you need to open your heart again. Just because–"

"Just because what? Just because every girl I've ever gotten close to has died, that's fine, as long as I "open my heart" and let it happen again?"

His voice had been getting colder and colder which each word, and now there was enough iciness in it to rival Metal.

"For once, Scott, think about what you're saying."

There was silence. And then…

"Why did you let her get close, then?"

The armadillo was silent for a minute. And then,

"I couldn't bring myself to reject her."

There was resentment in his tone.

"You hate her because she's attached to you… don't you!"

Following the hedgehog's accusation was a long, and pronounced silence. And then, finally -

"No. I resent myself because she's attached to me."

And with that, he left the hedgehog standing there.