Sonic Apocalypse

Chapter 54 - The Phantom Ruby's New Host

Metal Sonic was having his way with the Alliance as the fatigue they've continued to have weighed them down quite a bit. Having gone without nutrients of any sort throughout the course of the nearly the entire war, strength and stanima were hardly present in their bodies. The very fact that they were even holding their ground against a much improved version of Metal Sonic was pretty impressive in its own right. But then again, if they're having this much trouble against him, they'd be hopeless in another bout with Infinite, assuming Tails hasn't yet crafted the weapon necessary for defeating him. But they trusted him and had no doubt that he'd accomplish his task before the Alliance would face the dastardly Infinite once again. But if the opposite would later prove to be the case, a miracle would be all they could hope for.

None of the Alliance members had faced serious injuries during this conflict, fortunately enough, but the issue was that they could hardly land a hit on Metal Sonic due to his upgraded arsenal. He could now defend himself like never before. For instance, he was notably faster than Sonic and Shadow. He could easily avoid their attacks while returning a counterattack of his own, catching the two off guard and causing them to dispute the methods they were using. Blazes pyrokinetic abilities didn't work on him either. Whether he used the aforementioned speed and agility to avoid the attacks or a shield of some sort, her flames proved to be of little use.

The only one who was yet to use their signature powers on the metallic beast was Silver. With speed and fire not being of much help, surely his psychokinetic abilities would put a dent or two in his fancy new armor. Silver saw a perfect opportunity to finally put his psychic powers to work when he noticed how Metal's back was turned away from him.

"It's time to end this!" Silver had announced as the ring like inscriptions on his gloves glowed a beaming bright blue.

His intention was to lift Metal Sonic out of the air and slam him into the ground, which would allow his teammates to quickly finish him off as he laid in the concrete in a vulnerable state. However, much to his surprise, Metal Sonic warded off the attack by way of conjuring a black shield that negated Silvers attack. Silver only had Metal Sonic in the air for mere moments before he broke himself free of the gravitational manipulation.

"Gah! It's no use!"

Silvers eyes grew weary as Metal Sonic reared his head towards the psychic hedgehog. Silver could only take a guess in what was about to happen next, so he used his instincts and attempted a premature dive to the left, assuming Metal was about to dash right at him. Sadly, the ebony colored machine predicted that Silver would do this, allowing him to land a devastating blow to Silvers abdomen, which had sent him flying towards a nearby building. Blood ran down his muzzle as his back slid down the aforementioned brick wall. But he didn't let that stop him. He quickly got right back up and rejoined his friends in battle.

Despite being pitted against four deadly opponents, Metal Sonic didn't falter once. He continuously ducked, weaved and maneuvered around any sort of attack that came his way, whilst providing a sharp offensive output that staggered his opponents as well. These abilities he were gifted with had helped him to achieve new heights he never saw himself coming close to before. And it's just so unfortunate that all of this had to happen immediately after his failed attempt at redemption. Perhaps if he were defeated and relieved of the Ruby's grasp, the Alliance could rejuvenate him once again. Ironically enough, the exact same ambition was being sought after in another person.

"Nothing's working!" whined Silver.

"Man, if we're getting beat his badly, I wonder how bad Infinite will be." Sonic couldn't help but chuckle, despite the circumstances.

"We just need to continue working together until we find a weakness." recommended Blaze. "Every villain has something to exploit."

"Don't even bother trying." Metal Sonic scoffed at the notion of them exploiting his weaknesses. "Pretty soon, you'll all be finished. But hey, look on the bright side, at least you won't have to face Infinite again."