On The Run by Timecop1983.
~~~

When Metal Sonic fled from Christmas Island, he had no sense of direction. Amy Rose had twisted his entire world view- his purpose and drive. Part of him still felt loyal to Eggman, of course, but he was a separate individual to his organic brother. He was his own person (as much as a robot could be, anyway). It was all very confusing and he felt far too conflicted and overwhelmed.

But then Shadow killed his Android.

On a more selfish, cowardly level, Metal worried he'd be next. If not by Amy, then by Shadow (and he didn't know which one he preferred). Admittedly, it had been nice to share an eye roll with someone when Eggman went on one of his deranged monologues. Or to spar or race with.

Not that Metal became attached to the thing. That...that was impossible.

Still, he didn't understand the crushing weight of the world or the blinding lights or drowned out noises when the Androids optics fluttered off.

Not that it mattered. He fled all the same and Eggman no doubt wouldn't be keen on letting him return. No. Metal was on his own now. Not that he exactly had company to begin with (the Android being the closest- but that didn't count).

So, with a broken bolt for a nose, loose ear and wires slithering around his right knee- he crumbled within a cave and turned to watch the rain.

Metal didn't know he powered down for the night, yet he must have for when he came to he was met with beeping and neon white illumination. Panic set in and he was completely alert, turning to his left to see a tool trolley- particularly his bolted nose in a rusty dish. Hurriedly, he reached for his steel muzzle and managed to find small solace in the fact the bolt had merely been replaced.

"I wondered when you'd wake. You were in pretty bad shape. It's been a while."

He...he knew that voice.

"Don't look so confused. You've been out for a month. It may have been shorter if you didn't crash in a cave."

Metal wasn't in a hospital, obviously, but rather a repair shop. Although much more simplistic than Eggman's extravagance, it was still incredibly impressive. Eerily so. He lay on a workbench but was surprised to note a lack of restraints around his limbs.

"Alarmed at your treatment? I understand. He was cruel to both of us, after all."

Metal rolled his head to face his right, firstly taking in a patched forest green coat. Silver cuffs and buckles adorned it for decor, but he wore unnervingly familiar black trousers and boots. If Metal didn't know better, this individual wouldn't be a descendant of a...certain family- for he lacked the notorious facial hair.

But his grin said more than enough.

For the first time in his life, Metal truly wished he could speak. He supposed, in a cruel ironic sense, his organic brother did enough for them both (perhaps the whole planet). Still, the short man held out a gloved hand- revealing the accessory to hold a white interior and black exterior. Cautiously, Metal propped himself up with his elbow and gave a swift handshake.

"I hope your memory's still in check- I'd hate the thought that you forgot about me. Even so, Robotnik's do love to introduce themselves. Even Sonic picked up that habit from my uncle."

When Metal fled Christmas Island and woke up away from a cave, he never thought he'd run into Snively Robotnik again.

—————

She didn't like to be kept waiting- especially when she had other plans (most commonly involving a particularly hot-headed echidna these days). Still, when Shadow finally arrived (leather jacket and all) in the early hours of the morning after she called- looking utterly exhausted and like he'd seen a ghost- she didn't have the heart to scold him.

"Are you alright, Shadow?" Omega had asked before she got the chance.

The hedgehog didn't answer, only slapping a folder against the robot's chassis as he sharply turned away.

"What's that?" She inquired.

"My file. Towers pulled it from the Professor's diaries prior to his leave. So, if you're going to yell at me for being late, Rouge, I apologise. But I needed-."

The bat threw up her arms dramatically before yanking her best friend into a hug. He stiffened, as expected, but the lack of struggles he gave told her this was okay.

"Oh forget about that, Hun! Why didn't you tell me last night? I hate to think you were all alone."

"I do not enjoy the thought either." Omega agreed, patting atop black and red quills.

Although slightly overwhelmed by the affection, Shadow cracked a smile and allowed his shoulders to slacken. "You've been busy so I-."

"I'm never too busy for you."

"I-." He cleared his throat and stepped away, straightening his jacket. "I needed to see what was on there myself."

"And?"

"It's...a lot. We should wait until after this to discuss it."

"You sure?"

"Yes. On the voice note you left, you sounded concerned."

And Rouge left the Station Square G.U.N's reception behind, followed by her two highest ranking agents.

"That's because I am. We found it last night. Turns out it's been under our noses this whole time."

"Exciting." Omega clapped.

"How?" Shadow frowned, holding an arm across the elevator to let the bat within first.

With her team inside, Rouge slipped her Commander's card down beside the floor selection pad. "Harris wasn't ever really lost- remember when she 'wondered' into the Armoury? No, she was looking for a reclusive place to build."

"And she found it?"

"Unfortunately. If word gets out about this Shadow-."

"It won't. We especially can't afford Sonic to find out about this. Not yet."

"Forever soothing, hun."

Shadow squeezed her shoulder. "I apologise. You know that already- it's why you're in charge. Which also means we're fine because you are great at keeping secrets."

Rouge laughed. "Charming."

"And you have us to help. Remember that."

When the bat gratefully glanced back at her team, Omega gave a humorously familiar pair of thumbs up. Still, the elevator dinged and Rouge partly wished she never called them in at all. Being the first to step into the gloomy basement, she was appreciative of Shadow's glowing Inhibitors and eyes (much like Omega's optics).

With her superb vision anyway swiftly improving, she sunk in disappointment. "Well this is lacklustre. It's just a bunch of storage!"

"You're almost as impatient as that Faker. Let's look around." So they parted to investigate.

Swerving left, Omega awkwardly squeezed by rows of boxes to eventually find a forgotten pile of robot parts and weapons. In a poor attempt to fend off Eggman's countless, nightmarish Badniks- G.U.N had once resorted in trying to build their own creations. For many reasons, some more obvious than others, it was quickly abandoned. Still, it unnerved the machine to see rare remnants of that part of Mobius history all the same.

"Remind me, how has no one- but the team you chose- accidentally came across this?" Shadow called, having opted to continue forward.

"You need special access to get down here! Even if you had it, with Towers in charge nobody really wanted to risk it or had the time."

"Well that's-." Shadow backed up, catching something curious in the corner of his eye.

Facing the phenomenon of interest, he quirked an eye ridge at the dusty sheet decorated in holes. "Rouge? Omega? I think I have found something."

"Ugh, finally! This place has enough dust to give me allergies!"

"Me too." Omega agreed.

"That's not even-."

"Focus." And Shadow redirected the pair to the invention before them.

"Is that...really it under there?"

"Only one way to find o-."

Omega didn't hesitate to hand Rouge the file so he could easily tear the sheet off. Stepping behind his friends, even his optics were pale and thin at the sight. It appeared much more...stunning than what the blueprints described. A colossal golden ring, especially compared to the ones Sonic famously picked up, stood proudly above a rickety wooden stage. It hummed and the wires that climbed to the ceiling gently shook, all together emitting a comforting warmth. Overall, especially up close, it was deadly apparent this thing was equally as dangerous as it was powerful.

"What did Harris' notes say about it again?" Rouge asked.

"She surmised its inventor, Charles Hedgehog, had intended to make this some sort of teleportation device. Studying rings around the globe for years, he hoped he could find a way to remedy his mistake of creating the Robotisizer." Omega informed.

"And did he?" Shadow wondered (if he really thought about- in the brief time he knew Charles- he and Sonic shared very little. Chaos, they didn't even know where the hero had been born).

"I still find it chilling that Big Blue's uncle made the Robotisizer." Rouge shivered.

"I'm sure Faker wasn't happy about it either."

"To answer your question, Shadow-." Omega refocused. "No. Eggman kidnapped him before he had the chance."

"Hold on a second." Rouge gaped. "That can't possibly mean Sonic's been on his own since he was, what-?"

"I am afraid we don't have much to go off of. Charles' Robotisized records were never found- assuming they even existed."

"I highly doubt it." Shadow frowned. "Sonic only realised his uncle was alive through his connection with Metal's memories, remember? And knowing the Doctor, I wouldn't want any reminders about that family."

Rouge hated not knowing things. She was curious in nature and deeply desired to know all the facts. Somehow, Mobius' greatest hero seemed to be the one guy they knew about the least. With the little information she did get about him, she was always left with a dozen more questions.

Just who was the Fastest Thing Alive, anyway?

"So, a teleportation device, huh? That's...I mean the implications that something like this is even possible fries my brain."

"We need to destroy it." Shadow decided.

"You know, hun? There's been a lot of things we've done together- questionable too. Turning our Body-cameras off for one. But for once I won't even question it."

"Finally." Omega 'breathed'. "I have been kept from destruction far too long."

Shadow chuckled. "Have at it."

When the robot reached, the flickering lights snapped off instantly. A chill grew in the air and Rouge yelped as the files papers scattered everywhere- briefly covering her vision. She could only see again by being tossed to the other side of the room, Shadow and Omega following. The wires began to spark and hundreds of complaints filled G.U.N headquarters when the electricity burst off.

Golden electricity twisted around the ring and a dust cloud flooded the space- mixed with papers and small items of storage. The humming ascended to warrant Rouge's and Shadow's ears to flatten and Omega had to duck from a tumbling box smacking just overhead.

"What in Gaia is going on?!" Rouge cried.

"We-!"

The golden static vines swirled into the most spectacular cyan and the ring followed in flickers. The surrounding block of Station Square met them in the power outage and Team Dark took cover behind more boxes. Continuous flashes of the harshest of whites and soon blues and purples swirled into the spiral amidst the ring.

And then it stopped.

The ring, in the most glorious cyan, obtained a wondrous collection of colours within. But two shadows stepped from it and Team Dark positioned themselves accordingly. Both shared a variation of golden eyes, one pair of a rectangular shape. The dirtied white hedgehog they belonged to adorned bandages over their lowest, impressively large, quills and a coal grey and teal scarf. A belt fitted around their waist, decorated in strange blue stripes and Shadow quickly noticed vaguely similar rings around their wrists and ankles.

The purple cat at their side stood with much more grace and dignity, somehow drawing all the power in the room. In spite of the damage to their ear, messy tail and hair and burn marks around their eye and arms (despite their attempts to hide it), they wore evidently formal clothing and boots weirdly like Sonic's (regardless of the white strip going vertically instead). Rouge was much more intrigued by their three red gems atop their head anyway.

"Who-?" Omega started.

"Did we make it?" The hedgehog whispered, before acknowledging they were perceived, and cleared their throat.

"We're looking for Sonic the Hedgehog."