The giant, crab-like Mechaniloid reared up one last time, then it came crashing down to the ground and fell apart into its components.

Metal Sonic drew back his hand. “Hum… barely a challenge! Even with just one Chaos Emerald, the robots of this strange new world barely manage to faze me.”

He flexed his metal limbs as he hovered through the ruined city, remnants of a past that even the Reploids knew nothing of. “Power… what good is power if I don’t have anyone to test it on? I need a challenge… someone worthy of my might…”

“If ye’re searching for power, I think I can help you,” a snide voice spoke up.

Metal Sonic turned around in mid-air. From behind a piece of rubble, a tall, human-like robot with long, light blue hair came walking. Hair… what a novel concept for a robot. Nothing but a waste of time and resources, in Metal Sonic’s opinion.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Name’s Dynamo,” the Reploid replied casually as he walked about, looking at the fallen Mechaniloid. “My, you sure made short work of that thing. Weapons as powerful as those you’re using aren’t sold legally anymore… unless you’re a Maverick Hunter. Man… it’s because of those jerks that a good, respectable Reploid can’t find good work anymore.”

Metal Sonic activated his machine gun. “You have thirty seconds to state your business!”

“Whoa there, easy, man!” Dynamo grinned. “I’m on your side. Okay, you wanna know why I’m here? I heard you talking, and I figured: If you wanna meet someone powerful, why don’t you come and meet my boss? I know he’d be happy to meet you… and I’m sure you will find that he’s more than just ‘worthy’.”

Metal Sonic lowered his arm. “This ‘boss’ you are talking of… is he a robot… or a living being?”

“Well, yeah, that’s kind of difficult to describe,” Dynamo said. “But everyone knows about him. Just ask anybody about his name, and they will shudder in fear. From the very beginning, I realized that siding with him was the best idea I ever had.” He grinned. “Everyone believed to be rid of him for good… but hey, he’s been destroyed a couple of times. But did that ever stop him from coming back? No, sir, not Sigma!”

“Sounds… intriguing,” Metal Sonic admitted. “But why do you want me to meet him if you are on his side? Do you want me to destroy him?”

Dynamo laughed. “Oh man, you’re funny! Alright, I’m putting my cards on the table… Sigma felt your arrival. He knows that you tangoed with his two favorite nemesises… sis… es… whatever. Well, and since he always is interested in meeting a kindred spirit, he told me to invite you to a little… get-together. Are you interested?”

Metal Sonic’s eyes began to glow. “Maybe… but first, tell me more about this… Sigma!”

The Ride Chasers were back in the underground garage of the Maverick Hunter Headquarters. X, Zero and their newest acquaintance were in the elevator that brought them upstairs, into the command center, where Signas, the leader of the Maverick Hunters, was waiting for their report.

Tails was looking quite nervous… but on the other hand, also excited. “This elevator is something else,” he muttered. “The only time I’ve seen something comparable was back when Sonic and I broke into one of Eggman’s hideouts.”

“This? Oh, this is nothing,” X smiled. “You should take a look at our other security measures. High titanium alloy security doors, movement detectors in all the important quadrants, infrared cameras with stealth device blockers, and hidden laser turrets that can be activated on command.”

“Wow…” Tails muttered. He was amazed by the high level of technology within the base, but in truth, he was just trying to distract himself from the one unnerving thought he had ever since he and his two new friends had left the desert.

He was a robot. He was turned into a robot. He was, practically, roboticized!

For many years, he had been afraid of what would have happened if Eggman actually managed to win. For years, the mad scientist had captured helpless animals to empower his machines… and Tails, along with many of his oldest friends, had been scared that he would one day share their fate… until he met Sonic, who taught him to overcome his fears.

But now, this old fear of his had become reality.

True, it wasn’t Eggman who caught him, and he still kept his sanity intact… but that didn’t change the fact that he was now a machine, a being that did not truly live, a construct made of metal.

How come he felt like he never left his body, though? Of course, this body was much taller and had many nifty gadgets and weapons installed, but… he felt more alive as he did back when he was just a prisoner of the Chaos Emeralds.

He remembered Omega and how he had rebelled against Eggman. Omega’s CPU was the most advanced of its kind… and still, Omega had just followed his programming. His voice was a monotone recording, and the only reason why he had rebelled was because of the data coursing through his circuits.

But… X and his friend Zero… they were definitely something else. When Tails first met them, he had believed them to be humans in battle suits, equipped with advanced weaponry. But to think that they were actual robots… When he listened to them, it was just like listening to humans.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the elevator came to a stop.

“Well, here we are!” X said as the door slid open. “Welcome to the command center, Tails!”

Tails was glad that he was able to focus on something else. It wasn’t even difficult… the flashing monitors, blinking lights and busy navigators working on the computers were catching his full attention.

One female, blonde navigator stood up from her console and smiled as she approached them. “Welcome back, boys!” she said. “Back from the desert already? So, had fun playing in the sand?”

“Don’t remind me, Alia,” Zero groaned. “It will take me ages to remove all the sand from my joints…”

“Well, Layer wanted to go on break anyways,” Alia snickered. “Maybe she can help you… find all those pesky grains of sand.”

“Very funny, Alia,” another female navigator said, not even looking up from her console. She had purple hair and looked quite serious. “You know Zero and I aren’t dating anymore.”

‘Dating?’ Tails wondered. ‘Robots that are dating? I don’t think I’m in Station Square anymore…’

“Whaaat?” a more squeaky voice spoke up from a third console. This girl looked younger and had strange extensions on her head that resembled ponytails. “Dang, and you looked so cute together… why did you break up?”

“Neeeeeever mind that now, Palette,” X quickly said, realizing that his friend was a bit uncomfortable with the topic. “Anyway, where’s Signas?”

“He’ll be here in a minute,” Alia said. “Axl and his team arrived just five minutes before you did, and according to him, they found something quite unusual in the jungle. He said it was important for Signas to come and take a look at it in person.”

“And why didn’t he bring whatever he found to the command center?” Zero asked.

“C’mooon, don’t change the subject like that!” Palette shouted. “Zero, what about you and Layer?”

“Would you give it a rest, Palette?” Zero sighed. “Besides, we also found something important… or rather, someone.” He nodded towards the shy fox Reploid standing in the corner.

Everyone in the room, the three female navigators included, looked at him. Palette smiled, and in a flash, moved from her console to the fox robot. “Awww, he’s a cutie!” she gushed. She seemed to have completely forgotten about the breakup between Zero and Layer. “What’s your name?”

“Um, T-t-tails,” he replied. The strange robot girl reminded him strongly of Amy.

“Welcome to the Maverick Hunter base, Tails!” Palette smiled.

“Um, guys…” Alia said quietly. “What’s so special about him?”

X sighed. “That’s a long story, Alia. As soon as Signas arrives, Tails will tell him who he is and where he came from.”

“Hmm, okay… and what about the energy source you were supposed to find?”

“That’s… part of the story, too.”

“Well, the commander will be back in a moment… why don’t you show him around the command center while we’re waiting, Alia?” Layer suggested.

“Huh? But why can’t I…” Palette protested.

“No, Alia will do it,” Layer insisted as she took Tails’ hand and gently shoved him in Alia’s direction. “Right, Alia?”

“Um, right… whatever you say,” Alia muttered, not understanding what Layer was getting at. “Okay, Tails, as you can see, we navigators have an important job…”

While Alia continued to explain the details of a navigator’s job to Tails, Layer pulled Palette into a quiet corner of the room. “What’s the matter with you?” she whispered. “It’s none of your business whether Zero and I are dating or not.”

“But you were such a cute couple,” Palette squeaked. “I just can’t understand why you brke up like that.”

“Is it really that hard to understand? I think it’s quite obvious.” Layer looked over to Zero. She lowered her voice even further. “He’s still thinking about Iris, dummy!”

Palette’s jaw dropped. “Whaaat? And here I thought he already put that behind him…”

“I thought so, too… but apparently, he still thinks about her. Anyways, the two of us realized that this relationship was not working, so we stopped going out.”

“Okay, I guess I understand… but that means you’re available again!” Palette’s eyes lit up with joy, as she had the chance to play matchmaker. “Did you know Douglas has a big crush on you? I could try and arrange a date for you two…”

Layer glared at her bubbly, young colleague. “One more words and I tell everyone about what you and Axl did in Storage Depot B last week!”

“Eep!” Palette squeaked. “I’ll be good!”

At the same moment, the doors opened, and Signas came in. He was a tall, imposing Reploid whose armor plating made him resemble a general in the army. He was accompanied by three other robots: a young, male Reploid with a red-black helmet and an x-shaped scar on his face, a pink-armored female with green hair, and another Reploid in the background that constantly tried to hide behind the others so that you couldn’t see their face.

“Heya, slowpokes!” grinned the youngster with the scar. “Looks like I came back faster this time.”

“Yeah, but we arrived at the command center before you, Axl,” X smirked. “That means it’s a draw.”

“What? Aw, c’mon, that was so not a draw!” Axl protested.

“If you boys would stop babbling, the commander could have a chance to talk,” the pink-armored female said with a frown.

Signas nodded. “Thanks, Marino! Now, X and Zero, it looks like you brought back a guest, just like Axl and Marino did. She was a bit scared, so I first had to convince her that she was in no danger.”

Tails’ heartbeat accelerated… or would have, if he still had a heart. He couldn’t be talking about…

Signas stepped aside, revealing a slender Reploid that had the features of a rabbit and was as tall as Marino. “Everyone, this is…”

Before Signas got the chance to finish his introduction, Tails came zooming past him and embraced the girl robot in a firm hug. “CREAM! It’s you, it’s really you!”

The rabbit Reploid was visibly shaken as she looked at his face. “T-tails? Is that… is that you? Oh my gosh…”

“I thought… I thought I’d never see you again,” Tails said as he looked down at her. He then felt (felt?) something wet running down his cheek.

He reached up to touch the small droplet of water. ‘Is that… a tear? But… but robots can’t cry… can they?’

“Tails, where’s everyone else?” Cream cried as she clung to his metal body. “Where’s Amy and Mr. Sonic… and Cheese? Where’s Cheese?”

“I don’t know, Cream,” Tails murmured. “I honestly don’t know.” He sighed. “But… at least… we’ve got us!”