Chapter 3: Project: Metallix
"Phantom Rider has appeared!" headlined the screen, as the guards guarding the former Restoration base hastily left their posts to support the efforts to capture the evil Phantom Rider.
"I wish Sonic was with us," Tails said, as he and Amy Rose slipped through a vent, landing on top of supply boxes to be delivered to various points in Mobius.
"I haven't been able to find him since the battle against Surge and Kit 2 months ago," Tails commented to the pink hedgehog, who put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sure he's busy, you know things haven't been easy for him," Amy Rose said.
"He still blames himself for the Metal Virus, and for Surge," Tails said, turning on a flashlight to begin their search.
"Yeah, that's why we have to give him time, don't worry, he always appears when we need him," Amy said, as she carried her hammer, Piko Piko, on her shoulder.
Tails nodded, turning off the flashlight to avoid detection and switched on his vision mode on his goggles, "Alright, let's just stick to the plan, Amy. We need to find out what's going on with Sweep Clean Inc. after the race. They've been acting weird lately."
Amy nodded, "Agreed. We can't let them get away with anything suspicious. Sonic would be furious if he knew we neglected our duty."
They moved silently through the dark hallways, listening for any sign of movement. Suddenly, they heard footsteps and hid behind some crates. A group of Sweep Clean Inc.
guards patrolled the hallway, their voices low as they joked around. Tails and Amy exchanged a look, waiting for the right moment to slip past them. As the guards rounded a corner, Tails gave Amy a quick nod, and they both darted out from their hiding spot, sticking close to the wall. They moved quickly but quietly, their footsteps barely making a sound on the concrete floor.
As they passed the guards, one of them turned their head, as if sensing their presence. Tails and Amy froze, holding their breath. After a moment, the guard shook his head and continued walking, muttering something about their imagination running wild.
Tails let out a sigh of relief, and they quickly made their way down the hall and into a nearby room marked "Mainframe." They found themselves in a large, dimly lit control room filled with computers and monitors.
Amy nodded toward one of the computers. "Let's see if we can access their mainframe and find out what they're up to."
Tails nodded in agreement and quickly got to work. He pulled out a small device from his backpack and plugged it into the computer. "Okay, let's see what we can find."
As he began typing, Amy kept watch, her eyes scanning the room for any sign of danger.
She listened intently, her ears picking up the faint hum of the computers and the distant sound of guards patrolling the hallways.
Tails worked quickly, his fingers dancing over the keyboard as he navigated the Sweep Clean Inc. mainframe. After a few minutes, he let out a satisfied grunt. "Got it. Let's see what they've been up to."
He pulled up a series of files, his eyes scanning the information. Amy leaned in, her brow furrowing as she read the screen. "What is all this? It's all encrypted, I can't make sense of it."
Tails shook his head.
"Yeah, it's heavily encrypted. But don't worry, I've got just the thing." He pulled out another device from his backpack and attached it to the computer. After a few moments, a screen popped up, showing a series of locks and chains. Tails' fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed in a series of commands.
Amy watched, her eyes wide with curiosity. "What are you doing?"
Tails grinned. "Just breaking in. Don't worry, I've done this a thousand times."
After a few tense moments, the locks and chains on the screen began to break one by one.
**Meanwhile**
"Ufufu, wow, it seems that a certain little fox is trying to get into my private folder." Breezie said as she looked at Tails and Amy. Both legs crossed over each other as she looked at them with a mischievous smile.
"Should I take care of both of them, mistress?" Metallix asked standing behind her, as he started his engines.
"Nah, let's send some of your inferior cousins first," Breezie said, as she took the microphone and turned on the frequency of the entire base. "And by the way, I already told you not to call me mistress, that blush me," Breezie said before fixing her voice and starting to speak on the intercom.
"To all base personnel, the Furnace protocol is activated, any guard who remains in the base and its surroundings will be considered as a regrettable collateral casualty, you are warned, dear ones!" Breezie warned, as she turned on Furnace Sonic.
The base's lights flickered and turned red, sirens blared, and alarms echoed through the halls. Tails and Amy looked at each other, wide-eyed.
"Uh-oh," Tails said, grasping Amy's arm. "We need to get out of here, fast."
Amy nodded, her heart pounding. "Let's go!"
They dashed out of the mainframe room, the red lights casting eerie shadows on the walls. As they ran, they could hear the distant hum of machinery activating.
"What's happening?" Amy asked, panting as they raced through the hallways.
"I have no idea, but I'm sure with the data on my computer we can-!" Tails barely noticed when Furnace Sonic grabbed him and Amy by the neck, carrying them by the neck several meters into the depths of the base. Furnace was like an elongated, gray version of the original Metal Sonic, much more brutal, as he didn't even give them time to react until he mercilessly crashed them into supply crates.
The impact was so powerful that the crates shattered, and the two friends were buried under the debris.
The room was filled with smoke, dust, and the smell of ozone from the discharge of electricity. The attack was so sudden and violent that neither of them had a chance to react or defend themselves.
"What the...?" Amy groaned, her vision blurring as she tried to get up. Tails was in a similar state, his goggles cracked, and his backpack torn open, spilling its contents onto the floor.
He shook his head, trying to clear the dizziness, and looked around. Amy was struggling to sit up, her hammer, Piko Piko, lying a few feet away.
"Amy!" Tails called out, crawling toward her. "Are you okay?"
Amy grimaced as she tried to move, her body aching from the impact. "I think so. Just a few bruises. You?"
Tails nodded, helping her up. "Same here. We need to get out of here before that thing comes back."
Amy nodded in agreement, picking up her hammer. "Let's go.
We need to find a way out of here," Tails said, scanning the rubble for an exit. Amy nodded, her eyes scanning the room for any signs of danger. Just as they were about to move, a figure emerged from the shadows, the red lights casting a menacing glow on its metallic surface. It was Furnace Sonic, his eyes locked onto Tails and Amy.
"You shouldn't have come here, intruders," Furnace Sonic growled, his voice like the hiss of a fire. His body hummed with energy, his fists glowing like molten metal.
Tails and Amy shared a look of concern, their hearts pounding in their chests. They knew they had to act fast, but they were no match for this Metal Sonic variant.
Amy gripped her hammer tightly, her knuckles turning white. "Tails, we need to get out of here. Now!"
Tails nodded, his mind racing. He quickly scanned the room, his eyes landing on a nearby vent. "That way!" he shouted, grabbing Amy's arm and pulling her toward the vent.
"Activating Maximum Overdrive" Furnace Sonic said, as the flames of the furnace in his engine began to flare out of his blackish-gray casing, and despite moving slowly, the temperature around him began to rise significantly.
"Ah!" Amy screamed, having burned her knees from crawling through the ventilation ducts, which were turning themselves into pressure ovens ready to cook whatever was inside. "If we don't get out, he's going to cook us!" Amy said, kicking Tails out of the pipe in her haste, who also had burns on the parts where his fur touched the metal, and just before Furnace finished activating his Maximum Overdrive, the hedgehog and the fox barely avoided the brutal charge of the mechanical hedgehog by a spike. He went through the wall, melting everything in his path, like a glowing ball.
"It must be his Maximum Overdrive, we'll have time to escape" said Tails.
"How do you know that?!" Amy asked in an alarmed tone.
"Metal Sonic always needs a considerable amount of recovery time after using Maximum Overdrive, this Metal Sonic should be no different," Tails warned, as he and Amy headed in the opposite direction, escaping the heat of Furnace.
"We need to find a way to disable him when he comes back." But first, we need to get out of this place. We can't fight him like this."
They stumbled upon a maintenance hallway, dimly lit and filled with old, unused equipment. It looked like a dead-end, but Tails wasn't ready to give up. He scanned the area, his eyes landing on a large, rusty grate covering a vent.
"Tails, what are you thinking?" Amy asked, her voice a whisper.
Tails approached the grate, his eyes calculating the dimensions and the force needed to move it. He grabbed the edge of the grate and pulled, grimacing as he strained against the weight. After a few tugs, he managed to dislodge it enough to create a small gap.
"Give me a hand, Amy," he said, panting slightly. "We need to move this out of the way."
Amy joined him, both of them pulling and pushing until the grate finally gave way, clattering to the ground with a loud thud.
They quickly slipped into the vent, the sound of Furnace Sonic's Maximum Overdrive still echoing through the base.
As they moved deeper into the ventilation system, Amy asked, "So, what's the plan? We can't keep running forever."
"We need to find a way to disable Furnace Sonic," Tails explained. "If we can cut off his power source, we should be able to shut him down."
Amy nodded, "But how do we do that?
We don't even know where his power source is."
Tails thought for a moment before an idea struck him. "Breezie's office. She's the one in charge of this base and all the tech here. If we can get to her office, we might find something that can help us."
Amy looked at him, her eyes wide with determination. "Let's do it. But we need to be quick and quiet. If we run into more of those Metal Sonics, we're done for."
They moved silently through the vents, the sound of their footsteps muffled by the metal walls.
After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached an access point near Breezie's office. Tails carefully pried open the vent cover, his eyes scanning the room for any signs of danger. Seeing that the coast was clear, he helped Amy out of the vent, and they both slipped into the dimly lit office.
"Breezie's not here," Amy whispered, looking around the room. "But we should be able to find something useful."
Tails nodded and quickly made his way to Breezie's desk. He began searching through the drawers, looking for anything that could help them disable Furnace Sonic. But before they could find anything, both were rammed by Furnace, who crashed through the wall and rammed into Tails, destroying the computer in his backpack, but Amy was able to react in time to hit the metal hedgehog with her hammer. Furnace is thrown backwards by the impact, tearing off a good part of the ceiling of the room it came from before falling to the ground.
Amy quickly moved to Tails' side, her eyes wide with worry. "Tails! Are you okay?"
Tails groaned, his body aching from the impact. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just... just a little bruised."
Amy helped him up, her expression determined. "We can't keep running. We need to find something to take that thing down."
Tails nodded, his eyes scanning the room. "We need to find Breezie's personal laptop or tablet or something." suddenly, someone enters the office.
"Abort test!" Breezie announced, entering her office. At that moment, Furnace Sonic stopped, turning off. Both Amy and Tails looked at her in surprise and concern for having been discovered, but Breezie only returned a curious and excited look.
"But look what we have here, the heroes of the Restoration, Miles Tails Prower and Amy Rose!" exclaimed Breezie in a friendly tone as she walked towards them, bowing slightly in respect and shaking both of their hands. "I'm Breezie the Hedgehog, Head of Engineering and Technological Development at Sweep Clean Inc. What brings such famous personalities here?" Breezie asked with a grin, her purple eyes glinting playfully. Before either of them could respond, she continued, "Oh, don't worry, I know why you're here. You're wondering what's going on with Sweep Clean Inc., aren't you?"
Tails and Amy exchanged a glance, uncertain of how to proceed. Amy, always the straight shooter, spoke up first. "Yeah, we were looking into some strange things. But how did you know we were here?"
Breezie chuckled, a sound like tinkling bells. "Please, Tails, you're hardly subtle.
You're about as discreet as a neon sign," Breezie said, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she gestured to the destroyed computer and scattered equipment in her office. "And as for why I knew you were here, well, let's just say I have my ways."
Tails blushed slightly, looking down at his feet. "Sorry, we didn't mean to cause any damage."
Breezie waved a dismissive hand. "No harm done. I just hope you didn't hurt yourself in the process."
Amy stepped forward, her hammer still clutched in one hand.
"What was that thing that tried to kill us?!" Amy complained to Breezie, who put both hands between them.
"Hey calm down, that's Furnace Sonic" said Breezie, pressing some buttons on her computer bracelet, making the metal hedgehog stand next to her. "I use it to test the base's defenses in case of a new attack from Eggman and his badniks, you know, since Metal Sonic is the pinnacle of Eggman's creations, I tried to create something that would simulate his power to be able to face him." said Breezie as she turned off Furnace Sonic. "Although I admit that it has its flaws, when activated it does not distinguish friends from enemies and that's why I have it here, and every time I test it I ask the staff to leave to avoid fatal injuries." said Breezie, as she saw the dent in her gray plates caused by the blow of Amy's Piko Piko Hammer.
"But let's not get off track here. You guys are here because you're curious about what Sweep Clean Inc. is up to, right?"
Amy nodded, still tense, but trying to keep her cool. "Yeah, we've noticed some strange things going on. We just want to make sure everything is on the up and up."
Tails, still catching his breath, nodded in agreement. "We're just trying to make sure Sonic's alright, and that Sweep Clean Inc. is being honest about their intentions."
Breezie contort in a thoughtfull expression, leaning back in her chair and interlacing her fingers behind her head. "Well, I must admit, things have been weird around here, Clutch has made some... requests of me," Breezie said, tapping the floor with her boot. "Follow me, I have something to show you." Breezie led them out of her office, down a series of corridors that grew increasingly narrow and dimly lit. The base seemed to change around them, the once sterile and modern halls now giving way to rusted pipes and crumbling concrete.
Amy and Tails exchanged a concerned glance, their footsteps echoing in the empty hallways. "Where are we going?" Amy asked, her grip tightening on her hammer.
Breezie smiled, her eyes reflecting the flickering lights overhead. "Patience, ladies. You'll see soon enough."
After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at a large, heavy door.
Breezie swiped her bracelet over a nearby scanner, and the door slid open with a hiss, revealing a vast chamber filled with rows upon rows of storage pods. Each pod was connected to a series of wires and tubes, humming with an eerie energy.
Tails' eyes widened as he scanned the room. "What is this place?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Breezie stepped inside, gesturing for Amy and Tails to follow. "Clutch some time ago, send me something to dismantle, but SHE ask me contact you both before I do anything." Breezie says as she opens one of the pods, revealing someone.
"Oh, by Chaos..." Amy said, looking at Belle the Tinkerer, who turned back on after hearing Amy Rose's voice.
"A-Amy?" Belle asked, her synthetic voice hissing and with static in between, her wooden shell showing damage in several places. As if she had been attacked with a sharp weapon several times.
"What is Belle doing here?" Tails asked alarmed, and Breezie just shrugged.
"As I said, Clutch sent her to me to dismantle and recycle, but I decided not to because she seemed to have something important to tell you guys." Breezie replied.
"I have no idea what she's talking about, but maybe you can help us make sense of it all."
Amy rushed to Belle's side, her eyes filled with concern. "Belle, what happened to you? You look like you've been through a war."
Belle's wooden body creaked as she turned to face Amy. "Amy... I... I don't know. I was... I was working with Sonic, and then... then everything went dark. I woke up here, in this... this place."
Tails stepped closer, his goggles illuminating the damaged areas of Belle's wooden chassis.
"Breezie, what did you do to her?" he demanded, his voice shaking with anger.
Breezie held up her hands in defense. "Whoa, whoa, hold on a sec. I didn't do this to her. Like I said, Clutch sent her to me, and I was about to dismantle her when I noticed something strange in her systems. I decided to keep her intact and see if I could figure out what was going on."
Amy crossed her arms, still wary. "And what did you find?"
Breezie walked over to a nearby console and tapped a few buttons.
A holographic display appeared in the air, showing a series of code fragments and data streams. "I managed to extract some of her memory logs. It seems like she was involved in some sort of mission with Sonic, but the data is corrupted in several places."
Tails' eyes scanned the hologram, his brows furrowing as he tried to make sense of the scrambled information. "What do you mean, 'involved in a mission'? What kind of mission?"
Breezie shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure. But from what I can gather, it seems like Sonic was trying to get inside the Egg Carrier of Eggman, but once she and Sonic approach the ship, the records gets completely corrupted with only few words" Breezie explains showing them the few records and image on Belle's memory log. In the last one, is Sonic, with his back toward Belle, looking at the Eggcarrier.
The text read:
"Sonic: I know it's risky, but I have to do this. If we can get inside that ship, we can find out what Eggman is planning."
"Belle: Sonic, are you sure about this? Once we're inside, there's no turning back."
"Sonic: I know. But we have to try. For the team, for everyone who's been hurt. I can't just sit back and do nothing."
And then, the feed was cut off abruptly.
Tails looked at Breezie, bewildered. "What does this mean?
What happened to Sonic?" Amy asked, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes scanning the holographic display.
Breezie shrugged, a look of concern on her face. "I don't know. But whatever it was, it seems like it happened around the same time Sonic disappeared." "We need to get Belle out of here. She might have more information that could help us find Sonic."
Breezie shook her head. "I'm afraid that's not possible. I can't just let you take her. I have orders from Clutch to dismantle her." Breezie said as she started walking towards the pod where Belle was.
Tails and Amy looked at each other before Amy said: "You're not taking her apart. Not until we figure out what really happened to Sonic."
Breezie stopped walking, looking at them both hesitantly before sighing in resignation. "fine fine, Just because you are heroes I trust you both, if my boss is innocent, I can get in trouble for this, and I like my job" says Breezie with a polite tone. "So, please, keep this as our secret" Breezie asked them.
"I have too much at stake here, and I don't want to be the one to blame for this mess. But I promise you, if you find anything, you let me know, alright?"
Amy and Tails nodded in agreement. They both knew that Breezie was taking a risk by helping them, and they were grateful for her assistance. "Thank you, Breezie. We promise we'll be careful," Amy said, her grip tightening on her hammer.
Breezie smiled, a look of relief washing over her face. "Good. Now, let's get Belle out of here.
She seemed to be in rough shape, and the sooner she's in a safe environment, the better off she'll be.
Breezie approached the pod, tapping a few buttons on her bracelet. The pod's lid slowly opened, revealing Belle's damaged frame. Tails and Amy moved closer, helping Belle sit up.
"Belle, can you talk to us? What do you remember?" Amy asked, her voice gentle yet firm.
Belle's synthetic eyes flickered, her body humming softly as she tried to process the influx of information. "A-Amy, Tails... I remember... I was with Sonic, and..." suddenly Belle's eyes fill with static, "Corrupted Data!!" appears on her eyes before getting unconcious again.
"Belle?! Belle, wake up!" Amy shook Belle's shoulders, but her friend remained unresponsive.
Tails quickly scanned Belle's systems, his goggles displaying a stream of error messages and corrupted data. "Her systems are going haywire. We need to get her out of here, fast."
Breezie nodded, her eyes darting nervously around the room. "You're right. Take this" Breezie says giving Tails a small communication device. "It has an encrypted signal, for private talks, if I found something new I'll advice you both" Breezie says as she opens the hangar of the Machine Shop. "Now go, I think my boss will came in any second." Breezie warns to them.
Tails and Amy quickly helped Belle to her feet, her metallic body humming in protest. They dashed through the hangar, the cool night air whipping around them as they made their escape. Tails kept one hand on Belle's shoulder, guiding her as they ran, while Amy brought up the rear, her hammer ready for any surprises.
As they rounded a corner, they heard a shout behind them. They didn't need to look back to know who it was. Clutch, the enigmatic CEO of Sweep Clean Inc., had arrived.
"Hey, stop you two!" Clutch shouted, but made no further move to chase them, much to Amy, Tails, and Belle's luck.
**hours Later**
Breezie was repairing Furnace Sonic's metal plates, replacing the ones dented by Amy's hammer with new ones.
"And how did our first prototype do it?" Clutch said.
"Well, he collected Amy and Tails' biometric data, plus I gained the trust of those two, giving them that little wooden robot" Breezie said as he welded the plates to Furnace's frame.
"I need it ready by tomorrow, we'll use Furnace to hunt down that Phantom Rider" Clutch said as he watched Breezie work on her machine.
"Are you sure? I mean, Furnace might have taken on Amy and Tails, but that Phantom Rider beat up Surge, and she was capable of holding her own against Sonic himself," Breezie said, taking her glasses off her eyes.
"We both know she doesn't have to win, just take that nice Hoverboard out of him to implement it in our final project," Clutch said, as they looked at Metallix, who was on a platform high up, watching.
"Is he always this sinister?" Clutch asked, pointing at Metallix with his thumb.
"Metallix still has his memories as Metal Sonic, he's not used to talking much," Breezie said, as she looked at Metallix, who walked away.
"I thought you reprogrammed him," Clutch said, arching an eyebrow.
"I didn't remove Eggman's software, rather, I added some of my own so that it would obey me, but giving it some free will," Breezie admitted with a proud smile.
Clutch shook his head, looking at Metallix with a mixture of awe and trepidation. "That thing is dangerous. Be careful, Breezie."
Breezie waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry, I've got everything under control. Besides, Metallix has his usefulness."
Clutch gave her a stern look, "Just make sure it stays that way. We don't need any more surprises."
Breezie smirked, "Relax, Clutch. I've got this under control.
Trust me," Breezie reassured, her eyes falling back on the dented metal of Furnace Sonic. She ran a final scan, ensuring everything was in working order. "Besides, I've got an ace up my sleeve. If Furnace falls short, Metallix will be ready to step in."
Clutch raised an eyebrow. "Really? You're banking on that... thing to save the day? I thought we agreed to keep it under wraps."
Breezie chuckled, wiping her hands on her overalls. "Don't worry, Clutch. I'm not about to let that cat out of the bag.
Metallix is our insurance policy, our secret weapon. And trust me, when the time comes, he'll be more than ready to take down that Phantom Rider. Besides, think about it—if Furnace manages to capture the Phantom and bring him here, Metallix can finish the job. It's a win-win situation." Breezie explained, her confidence unshaken.
Clutch shook his head, a hint of unease in his expression. "I just hope you know what you're doing, Breezie. We can't afford any more mishaps.
Especially with that Phantom Rider prowling around. Remember what happened to Surge."
Breezie gave a slight nod, understanding Clutch's concern. "I get it. But believe me, I've got everything under control. Trust me, Clutch. I won't let you down."
Clutch let out a deep sigh, running a hand through his sleek, white hair. "Very well. I trust your judgment, Breezie. Just... be careful. We can't afford any more mistakes."
Breezie smiled, her confidence unwavering. "You got it, boss.
Everything will go according to plan," Breezie assured Clutch, flashing a confident smile. As Clutch left the machine shop, Breezie turned her attention back to Furnace Sonic. "Let's get you all fixed up and ready for tomorrow," she muttered, running a diagnostic scan on the damaged metal hedgehog.
As Clutch left, being accompanied by his escort of guards, Metallix began to slowly descend from the roof.
"Excited my Metallix?" Breezie asked with a mischievous smile. "Tomorrow could be your big debut," she said as she finished off Furnace. Instantly, she noticed how Metallix was watching the recordings of the Phantom Rider with special attention.
"S-Sonic," Metallix said pointing at the Phantom Rider with his metal hand.
"A serious statement, Metallix," Breezie said, somewhat skeptical but playing along with Metallix. "And what will you do if it turns out to be him?" She asked with a wide smile.
"Sonic, Dead or Alive, he's MINE!" Metallix said, with all his engines firing up, before Breezie looked satisfied.