Sonic Apocalypse

Chapter 44 - Set Loose

Curious to see what Starline had done with the authentic Sonic, Eggman stepped through the portal with Starline and Metal Sonic which transported the trio to Starlines remote laboratory where his project regarding Sonic had taken place. Eggman took a quick gander around the lab but couldn't find Sonic, nor could he find anything of interest. He was convinced that Starline was playing games with him.

"Alright Starline, you had better knock it off with these tricks!" snapped Eggman as he grabbed Starline by the collar of his vest and held him in the air. "Where's Sonic?!"

"Ack! He's...over..." choked Starline as he pointed towards the three tubes where the hedgehogs were kept. Only to find out that they had escaped somehow. "...there?"

"Don't lie to me." growled Eggman as he let go of Starline.

"I'm not!" screamed Starline as he rushed over to the tubes to investigate what happened. "Where the fuck did they go?! How did they escape?!"

"Escape?" inquired Eggman. "You mean you had Sonic locked up in one of these crummy old tubes? What for?"

"Yes! But it wasn't just Sonic." said Starline as he frantically trekked back and forth across the lab to find some clues. "It was all three of those damned hedgehogs. And regarding my usage of the three...I was in the middle of creating a brand new weapon, a biological machine if you will. I extracted the genetic and cellular makeup of the hedgehogs and inserted them into a regular Mobian that has...also escaped. To put it bluntly, it combined the abilities and strength of all three hedgehogs and it no doubt would've been unstoppable. But now it's gone, and it wasn't even finished. And I don't have a clue how powerful it is, implying that it even does have any of their powers."

"That does sound interesting and all but I must ask you, Starline..." said Eggman. "What were you planning on using this...weapon for? What were your aspirations with this self proclaimed powerhouse?"

"Why, to assist you my master." replied Starline, giving a bow.

"Bullshit." said Eggman quickly. "Do you really think I'm that thick headed? You were gonna use that thing to take my position of power and smuggle it for yourself. Oh, that's not the case, you say? Why keep it a secret then? Just admit it, your punishment will be even less painful if you do."

"Wh-what are you gonna do to me?" whimpered Starline as he was shaking uncontrollably from the fear and uncertainty of what Eggman was going to do to him.

"Hmm, you'll find out soon enough." responded Eggman. "But for now, you are not to leave my sight. Got it?"

"Y-yes, s-sir." quivered Starline, still nearly paralyzed from fear.

"You'd better." growled Eggman. "Anywho, we got three of our most powerful foes roaming around the planet with their whereabouts entirely unknown to us. I'll send Metal Sonic and a squadron of my deadliest androids to go out and find them."

"No sir." protested Metal Sonic.

"What was that?" asked Eggman who was quite baffled by Metal's response.

"I am no longer a slave to your tyranny." said Metal Sonic.  "I have now realized why I was created, what my creation means to you. I am nothing more than a puppet, meant to be thrown around for someone else's own glory. I realized that you have maliciously tortured innocent people in order to create your vile machines, myself included. And I could not let someone else share the same fate I was so unfortunately thrown into, and that is why I...freed Sonic and the others."

"You what?!" exclaimed Starline.

"Metal...if this is true, so help me Chaos, I will tear every wire out of your body!" threatened Eggman.

The two of them charged towards Metal Sonic, attempting to hold him down, however, Metal was able to make a quick and harmless escape thanks to the booster jets at the soles of his feet. He quickly propelled himself out of the laboratory and headed straight for Metropolis with the intention to free the Alliance members that have been incarcerated there.

"Errgh, the nerve. The absolute nerve." groaned Starline as him and Eggman rose to their feet.

"I don't understand how he was able to think for himself like that." wondered Eggman. "I couldn't have possibly programmed him to act that way. Wait...Starline, you fixed up Metal Sonic before we met, didn't you?"

"I did indeed, but I had absolutely nothing to do with...that." responded Starline who, was just as confused as Eggman was. "He could've had a power surge or something like that? I honestly can't draw myself to any conclusion that could explain such an event."

"Neither can I." shrugged Eggman. "You're off the hook for now, Starline, only because I'm more pissed at Metal Sonic at the moment. Anyway, if I were a member of the Alliance who had knowledge of the enemies territories, I would travel to Metropolis. So let's get there before Metal Sonic ruins more of our plans."

"With pleasure, sir." nodded Starline as he opened up a portal that would lead to Eggman's fortress in Metropolis. They walked through and Metal Sonic's location became their prime target. They were not about to let an old creation of Eggman's be the end of the Empire's glorious rise to world domination.