GCB Fanfics: The Fanfiction Project

August 9th, 2003


Preshow:
"Rage Against the Machine"

If Zero were human, he would be sweating right now. His internal temperature was above normal, his circuits were working overtime... in short, he was working out. From somewhere in front of him, in the darkness along the walls of the training center, the long-haired robot's auditory sensors detected a series of faint 'whoosh' noises.

Three deadly spinning buzz-saws hissed through the air, sparking as they ricocheted off of the concrete walls. As they passed, Zero's energy sword arced out, slashing one of the deadly objects in two on the downswing, and cleaving another in half on the upswing. The third passed by him unscathed, but bounced off of the walls, coming back for more.

Zero wasn't going to play any games with it. He aimed carefully, and threw his Z-Sabre faster than human eyes could see. The reploid didn't normally throw his blade--it still felt awkward--but he knew that Sonic had seen some of his moves in his match with Scorpion. It couldn't help to vary his repertoire.

His aim was flawless. It always was. Zero walked over to where his sword had pinned the buzz-saw to the wall, and quickly retrieved it. All systems are functioning normally, no damage detected from that mental trip Megaman and I went on... I'm in good shape. This Sonic guy is fast, but I didn't lose track of him for one second when I watched him fight Ken. Zero chuckled to himself. That hedgehog may have been able to beat a human, but not me... in three days' time, he's going down.

As confident as he was, Zero knew better than to stop training. The familiar 'whoosh' sounded another time as even more targets launched, and the Z-Sabre flashed again...

----

"Bah, he's just a robot! I've beaten Robuttnik's inventions hundreds of times! Really, Knux, you're getting yourself worked up over nothing."

Knuckles shook his head angrily. "Why do you always do this, Sonic? You underestimated Samus and got beaten by her because you didn't know what she was capable of. You're not a pushover, Sonic, I know that better than anyone. But you're gonna lose right here because you're not taking Zero seriously!"

His blue companion shrugged. "What makes this girly-boy-robot-thing any more dangerous than what I've faced so far? He's got long hair, that's all that's different. He's not a problem."

If it had been in Knuckles' nature to swear, he would have, as frustrated as the hedgehog was making him. "You've beaten them because they were always under Robotnik's control--so your speed helped you. No matter what he was piloting, he couldn't keep up with you. It was human error. Zero's pure robot, and one made to kill at that! He's like a 'combot', but a hundred times as powerful."

"The Mecha-Sonics I trashed weren't human-controlled," pointed out Sonic, who was currently walking circles around the echidna. "So what are you worrying about?"

Knuckles sighed again. "Well, we know that Robotnik's inventions were considerably flawed... look at the power difference between his Mecha-Sonics and your roboticized self. You were leaps and bounds beyond anything that Robotnik had thrown at us, beyond what we've faced since. You kept your natural power but increased it tenfold... your Mecha-Sonic was the only one who was dangerous."

The red-furred echidna decided to try one final time to convince his companion. "Sonic, I can't make you take Zero seriously. But if you don't, you'll never beat him, even with the power of the Chaos Emeralds. You're making a big mistake... say hi to Tails for me when you get back to Knothole." Without anything else, Knuckles turned and left.

Sonic remained still for one of the few times in his life, watching Knuckles go, an oddly contemplative look on his face... and then he walked off. Maybe the Echidna was right. In that case, he had an interdimensional phone call to make, and a favor or two to call in...

----

The Day of the Match

Zero stood in the center of the arena, the roar of the crowd washing over him. The match wasn't scheduled to start for 15 minutes, but there was no harm done in arriving early, right? It gave him a chance to get accustomed to the arena... after the titanic clash between Ganondorf and Magus, as well as the more minor battles afterward, there had been quite a bit of damage done to the fighting grounds. However, the tournament heads had decided to not repair the arena fully, saying that it would make the fights more interesting. As a result, there were several walls and the like that could be used as hiding spots. Zero memorized their location, even though he had no intention of using them.

As always, the Maverick hunter was confident about this battle... but he saw no reason to hold back. Even though he wouldn't be caught off guard by the hedgehog's blinding speed, his opponent was still quicker... it would be an interesting fight, to say the least. I wonder when he'll get here...

----

Elsewhere...

Sonic the Hedgehog looked at the orange box, feeling a shiver run through his body. This little thing, barely the size of a small car, looked so innocent and harmless. However, he knew better than anyone how completely non-harmless it could be. One of his best friends, Bunnie Rabbot, was living proof.

For once, Sonic had decided that his companion had been right. It was a mistake to underestimate Zero, as easy as it was to do so. I mean, how can ANYONE take him seriously with that hair of his? And yet another thing Knuckles had said had stuck with him--the line about how powerful his Mecha-Sonic form had been.

The Freedom Fighter remembered that, and shivered again. To be trapped in a body that was at once your own and not your own, to watch as your own hands hurt your closest friends, to be helpless to stop it as you destroyed the place you called home... roboticization was the ultimate pain, the ultimate torture. One lost complete control, becoming a mindless machine.

But that was not always the case. Sonic looked at the portable roboticizer in front of him, and looked down at the small silver computer chip he held in his hand. This was a chip that his genius friend, Rotor, had invented. Simply tucking it behind one's ear would prevent the roboticizer from fully affecting one's mind, leaving that one in control of their body and mind in their metal state. Sonic hadn't enjoyed that luxury when Robotnik had captured him, of course. This time, however, he would.

And Zero wouldn't stand a chance. "That girly-boy is so going down!" Sonic tucked the chip behind one of his pointed blue ears, and swallowed softly to himself before entering the maw of the beast.

As soon as the roboticizer sensed him, it began to go to work... noises that Sonic couldn't recognize pounded through his brain, surrounding him... and from the feet up, the roboticization process began. Sonic gritted his teeth. It hurt, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. In fact, it would just make the de-roboticizing after he had won the match that much more pleasant.

----

Sonic's rival watched from the trees, disgusted. He thinks he's going to cheat like that to win? To defile himself? I will not allow him to get that sort of edge... if he deserves to face me, he shall win on his own merit. Otherwise, he will prove himself to be the weak creature he truly is. He cannot compare to the ultimate life-form...

The black hedgehog looked around to ensure the area was empty--everyone was at the stadium--and then walked over to the roboticizer. He was unfamiliar with this model, but all machines were similar once it came down to it. So Shadow grabbed several wires along the outside of the machine and yanked them hard, pulling them free. The orange machine began to shake, rumbling softly. Now, Sonic, we shall see how you truly endure... thought Shadow as he walked away.

----

"Huh?" Sonic gasped out. The roboticizer was hard at work on his check, moving up to his neck, and it was getting harder and harder to breathe... without warning, the darkness around him began to shake, to rumble and rattle violently. "What--what gives? What's going on?"

And then the chip behind his ear was jolted free, clattering to the ground inside the machine and rolling out into the open to land on the grass. Oh, no... this is way past uncool... "Hey... he... help!" shouted the fastest member of the Freedom Fighters, but it was too late... everything turned black.



Battle:
"Mecha Madness Redux"

It began suddenly, as these things tend to do.

Zero was standing in the center of the ring, waiting for his opponent, who was currently ten minutes late. The reploid was currently in the middle of running his umpteenth self-diagnostic to make sure that he was in optimum shape, when the gate that closed off the opposite competitors' tunnel from the arena suddenly burst from its hinges in an explosion of creaking metal.

What the...? the blond warrior's eyes flashed open in shock as the heavy metal gate fell down with an earsplitting clash not five feet from his present location. He could see a shape outlined in the shadow of the tunnel, but it was too dark for his visual sensors to properly pick it up.

That shape walked into the light, and Zero felt his metaphorical blood run cold.

It was Sonic, of course... but at the same time, it was clearly not the cocky, sarcastic, blue hedgehog that the competitors had come to know. The figure was the same height as Sonic had been, slightly shorter than Zero. His... its... arms and legs were a series of metal balls that seemed to be magnetically attracted to one another, or at least held together by some unseen force. Blue metal plating covered its entire body, except for twin yellow boxes where its wrists would be. From the recesses of its metallic eye sockets, two specks of red burned--the eyes of a killer.

"Who... who are you?" Growled Zero suspiciously, tightening his grip on the Z-Sabre. This was entirely unexpected. "Where's Sonic?"

The blue robot looked at its opponent with those cold, cruel scarlet eyes and spoke in a harsh synthetic voice, "I am Mecha-Sonic. The one you refer to as Sonic the Hedgehog is within me, yet I am so much more than that weak organic creature could ever hope to be. My databanks indicate that you are the one named Zero, correct? My assigned mission is to destroy you."

This isn't good... how did he become a robot? This is ridiculous! ...you can still beat him, Zero. Keep your cool and you'll do fine. "Yeah, I'm Zero. You want to mess? Then let's go." The maverick hunter secretly began to charge his Z-Buster in preparation, sinking back into a battle stance, holding his energy sword in front of him.

In the stands, Knuckles the Echidna was as stiff as a board, trembling, teeth and fists clenched, unbelieving of what he was seeing. That... that... that IDIOT... doesn't he know what he's getting into? That fool could destroy the entire stadium, if he's not stopped! His mind racing, Knuckles leapt out of his seat, running up the stairs to the top of the stadium, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from the other spectators. When he had reached the top he leapt into the sky, gliding into the air. If Sonic had done what he thought he had done, there was really only one chance.

The crowd was stunned at this development, of the transformation from Sonic to Mecha-Sonic. Even the normally outspoken Bowser was silent, completely baffled. Kefka was just rubbing his hands in glee of some carnage.

In the blink of an eye, Mecha-Sonic vanished. Huh? Where'd he-- Zero's thoughts were cut off as the blue machine smashed into the reploid from behind, sending him sprawling. The maverick hunter sprang to his feet, grinning a predator's grin to himself. "Heh. You're fast. Too bad it won't give you more a small advantage."

His opponent was silent, and merely vanished again, taking off with a blinding speed. This time, Zero was ready, and as Mecha-Sonic approached, the long-haired robot spun around, unleashing a fully-charged Z-Buster blast into the blue robot's face, knocking Mecha-Sonic away.

The reploid followed, on the attack, delivering three quick slashes to his opponent. Mecha-Sonic, however, barely flinched, seeming to soak up the damage from the Z-Sabre like it was a butter knife, and responded with a massive uppercut, knocking Zero into the air.

As Zero tried to right himself, the silent robotic Sonic aimed both of his hands at the maverick hunter. Two slots opened up on the yellow boxes where his wrists should be, and Mecha-Sonic unleashed a torrent of scarlet laser fire, burning towards the air at Zero. The reploid tried to twist in midair, but he wasn't built for aerial combat... the lasers hit home, scarring Zero's scarlet and silver armor, and sending the robot crashing hard to the ground.

Zero shook his head, his circuits going wild, as he pushed himself to his feet, smoking slightly. He's good... he's got long-range firepower. His speed's the only thing, though, so if I can close, I should be able to... once again, Zero's inner monologue was cut short by Mecha-Sonic attacking.

This time, though, Zero let himself get hit. As the attack came in from behind, the reploid slowly began to fall forward to cushion the blow. An instant before he hit the ground, Zero curled up into a ball, rolled to his feet, and spun, delivering a massive kick to Mecha-Sonic's midsection that caused the other robot to go flying, skidding along the ground.

Mecha-Sonic came to a halt, sliding up against one of the rocky protrusions that remained a testament to the clash of the dark wizards. None the worse for wear, he once again dashed at Zero, his speed so great that virtually none in the audience could see him.

After falling for Mecha-Sonic's speed once before, Zero knew exactly what was coming, however, and leapt high into the air, releasing a Z-Buster shot at the ground where he had been scant moments before. The energy blast knocked a startled Mecha-Sonic to the ground, yet the robot quickly bounded to his feet. The blue competitor once again extended his hands, letting loose a deadly hail of lasers.

Again, Zero was prepared, having analyzed the energy signature of the beams when he had been hit with them the first time. He held his Z-Sabre in front of him, swinging it from side to side. As they hit the verdant green blade, the scarlet lasers ricocheted off, bouncing away harmlessly.

However, the technique did come at a cost. While none of the lasers got through to Zero, the ricochets were anything but harmless. Crimson lasers raked the stadium walls, sending huge explosions billowing up into the air. Several of the spectators began to scream at the blasts, or the debris that fell in its wake.

Mecha-Sonic was oblivious to the chaos that he had started with his attack, merely staring up at Zero, who was considerably more shocked. That was a mistake... these people could get seriously hurt... as he fell down to the ground from his jump, Zero grimaced. He'd have to finish this quickly.

Zero snapped off four quick shots as he fell, causing his opponent to leap back out of the way. As soon as the blond robot had landed, Mecha-Sonic disappeared a third time. Does he really expect me to fall for that trick a third time? asked Zero to himself as he turned around, slashing the air behind him with his Z-Sabre.

That was a mistake. Mecha-Sonic hadn't repeated the same technique, and as Zero wondered at his failure, he felt a powerful steel hand grip his head. Mecha-Sonic flew at the wall of the stadium with Zero's head in his hands, smashing the reploid through each and every one of the stone piles left over from Ganondorf vs. Magus at high speeds. When he was barely fifty feet from the wall, the robotic Sonic spun around, tossing the bigger robot at the bleachers.

Spectators, screaming, ran out of the way as the reploid smashed into the bleachers, shattering them and the stone beneath, sending a huge cloud of dust into the air. Zero groaned as he climbed to his feet. That wasn't fun...

It was shortly to get worse. Not wasting time, Sonic extended his arms for a third time. The crimson rain plunged into the thinning screen of smoke and dust, replacing it with a rapidly growing blossom of fire and destruction.

"Probability of target elimination: 88%." His work done, Mecha-Sonic turned and began to walk away.

A fully-charged Z-Buster disabused him of this notion, knocking the roboticized Sonic off of his feet, sending him skidding across the cracked concrete, skidding all the way.

Zero was standing in the bleachers, holding an unconscious child in his arms, looking very battered and singed, but for the most part okay. The reploid put the kid down in the bleachers, looking very angry. "Luckily, most everyone got out of the way before you fired that. This kid didn't. He'll be okay, but that was too close. Probability I'm going to kick your ass? 100%."

As if tied by a common force, the two robots ran at each other, the jets in their feet propelling them forward at incredible velocities... and the metallic titans clashed.

Mecha-Sonic blocked a Z-Sabre strike with his hand, aiming a powerful kick at the other robot. Ducking under that attack, Zero dove forward in a tackle, throwing all of his considerable metal weight at his foe. The duo wrestled on the ground for a bit before Mecha-Sonic kicked up, launching Zero into the air. As he flew up, however, Zero reached out, grabbing his opponent's head and twisting around, throwing Mecha-Sonic across the arena.

Before the blue robot could right himself in midair, Zero spun, tossing his Z-Sabre forward in the move he had practiced, spitting Mecha-Sonic clear through the chestplate. And checkmate... Zero thought, smugly.

The killer robot looked down at the energy sword in his chest, then looked back up at Zero, and finally back down at the sword. To Zero's surprise, Mecha-Sonic grabbed the handle and yanked the blade out, leaving a gaping, sparking hole. His deadly foe walked forward, holding the Z-Sabre, staggering now and then, but for the most part steady. "Severe damage to motor systems, output at 34% of maximum. Initiating self-repair."

Oh no you don't... Zero growled, the jets in his feet kicking in as he dashed at Mecha-Sonic. The other robot attempted to move, but couldn't get out of the way in time, damaged as he was. Zero grabbed Mecha-Sonic by the steel neck and continued dashing along the floor, plowing the blue robot's face through the concrete, stone shards flying up in their wake. "See how you like it, moron..."

Mecha-Sonic wasn't going down so easily, however. As the reploid had dragged him through the floor of the arena, the robotic warrior had slowly charged up his power core, and he released all of that energy in one electric burst, sending thousands of thousands of volts into the blond warrior, knocking Zero back.

That electric blast had almost been too much for the reploid, nearly overloading every single one of his systems. Had Zero been human, he would have been screaming in agony. But he wasn't human, and he refused to lose. Snatching his Z-Sabre from the ground where Mecha-Sonic had dropped it, he beckoned his foe forward, while charging up energy in his Z-Buster.

Mecha-Sonic didn't run forward as Zero had expected him to, however--his motor systems were still damaged. Instead, he held up his hands, charging up the lasers... instead of a sea of smaller, quicker blasts, this time, he shot once. An enormous ball of blood-red energy lazily arced its way across the distance between the competitors, spinning slowly, humming with power.

Zero's eyes went wide. The reploid leapt backwards, unleashing his own blast from his trusty Z-Buster. He shielded his eyes, turning away, as the two huge energies clashed, sparking with power... and then something gave, releasing the power within.

An utterly huge explosion tore apart the arena, washing a dark red light over everything. Zero had no chance to react before the blast enveloped him. His foe stood still, silent and stoic, not even flinching as he was pulled into the destruction.

When everything was still once more, Zero weakly climbed to his feet, trying not to let the Z-Sabre fall from his hands. That last blast had definitely taken a toll... his opponent wasn't much better off, though. Mecha-Sonic was still standing, but he was wobbling, not upright. The breach in his armor had allowed the destructive energies to get to his circuitry, doing more damage than it would have otherwise.

If a robot could be called angry, however, the mechanical Sonic certainly was. "Bzzt... damage... severe. Engaging desperation protocol."

Desperation protocol? What the hell is that? wondered Zero. He soon found out. Mecha-Sonic levitated into the air, several additional slots opening on the boxes that housed his laser device. A piercing whine rent the air, causing Zero's auditory sensors to turn down reflexively. What is... what is he...?

If Mecha-Sonic's laser blasts had been numerous before, they were everywhere now. What seemed to be a veritable ocean of scarlet energy poured from the blue-armored 'bot, trailing a swath of destruction and carnage across the battle-scarred arena floor. Zero flew back as fast as he could, willing the jets in his boots to push harder... the lasers were getting ever closer, ever closer...

Looking over his shoulder, Zero saw that he was rapidly approaching the wall of the stadium right beneath the bleachers. Soon, innocents would be caught in the crossfire... and Mecha-Sonic didn't seem to care one bit. If this continues, innocent people are going to get killed...

So Zero did something that went against what every single circuit in his personality matrix told him to do. "Stop this! I surrender!"

The crowd was silent at Zero's plea, stunned--as well as terrified by the battle, no doubt. Could the brash, stubborn reploid really be... giving up?

Zero himself didn't believe what he had just done. If I keep fighting, people are going to get killed... I could beat him, probably, but the collateral damage isn't worth it...

Mecha-Sonic, immediately stopping his lethal onslaught, cocked his metal head to the side, appearing to mull Zero's decision over. At last, the robot shook his head. "My assigned mission is to terminate you. Surrender denied." With that, Mecha-Sonic began to charge up a second uber-blast of energy.

Oh, ****... this isn't good... Zero clenched his fists. If it were his fate to be destroyed here, well, he'd die fighting. The mechanical Sonic raised his hands, preparing to unleash the energy ball.

And then, a scarlet figure slammed into Mecha-Sonic from above. It was too late to stop the firing of the energy sphere, but the angle of fire was quite different than before--directly downward. As soon as the blast made contact with the ground, it erupted into a second massive explosion right beneath Zero's foe.

Zero's eyes went wide. What was that? It had looked like... Knuckles?

The reploid was half-correct. When the dust cleared, there was a familiar red figure locking arms with Mecha-Sonic... however, Knuckles looked far more robotic than he usually did. "You look like you could use some help..." growled Mecha-Knuckles, smashing one of his powerful fists into the side of his worn-out opponent, sending Mecha-Sonic flying.

Walking over to the red robot with the barest hint of a limp in his step, Zero raised an eyebrow. "You mean you're not going to... go all insane and try and kill me?"

Mecha-Knuckles shook his head. "No. Sonic's plan was to use a chip that would have allowed him to stay under control when he transformed... however, the roboticizer was sabotaged and the chip came loose. I found it on the ground and transformed myself... so I'm completely under control."

Zero shook his head, miming his companion's action. "First bit of good news I've heard all day. So, you ready to take this guy down?"

The scarlet robot shrugged. "Sure am. You realize, though, that because I'm helping you, you're automatically disqualified?"

Right next to him, the blond maverick hunter snorted a laugh. "And do I care? Let's just kick his ass and get him back to normal."

With that, the duo leapt into action, sprinting at the woozy Mecha-Sonic at high speed. Zero slid to the ground, sweeping Mecha-Sonic's legs out from under him, while Mecha-Knuckles brought his powerful fists up, knocking the blue robot's head back in a devastating uppercut.

The two didn't stop there. Zero and Mecha-Knuckles continued to deliver a pounding to a seriously battered-looking Mecha-Sonic... the robotic Sonic tried to fight back, going so far as to strike several considerably powerful blows at Mecha-Knuckles, but the fresh robot took everything that his rival could throw at him, and kept coming.

Catching one of Mecha-Knuckles' red eyes, Zero smirked, an expression that his partner imitated. Then, they both grabbed one of Mecha-Sonic's arms right above the yellow laser boxes, and tossed the worn-out robot high into the air.

As a last-ditch effort, the sapphire-armored robot made an attempt to turn and fire straight down at his pursuers with his laser beams. However, down below, Zero and Mecha-Knuckles had already launched a fully-charged Z-Buster blast and a charged-up laser shot. The two attacks converged on Mecha-Sonic, sending the robot sky-high.

When he came down again, he came down hard. And yet, Mecha-Sonic wasn't done... he staggered to his feet, barely keeping steady. "Victory... is imminent. I can still... still battle..."

And then, Zero's fist socked him straight in the face, right between the cold, cruel red eyes. Mecha-Sonic looked at his opponent, at Knuckles, and then back at Zero again. "System damage critical. Initiating emergency shut-down mode."

With that, Mecha-Sonic collapsed.



Aftermath:
"Abort, Retry...Fail"

Sonic felt air rushing into his lungs as his blue metal skin began peeling away. His eyes blinked at the lights shining around him, suddenly having to adjust to seeing on their own. Whirs and clicks surrounded him, as metal gears worked to strip away the machinery that encased him. Sonic felt dangerously exposed as he realized all his most formidable capabilities were being stripped away... he felt naked. Those lasers were kind of cool, too...

A hatch opened in front of him, and Sonic tumbled out. He shook himself let a wet dog, trying to get what was left of all the metal off of him. He felt like cleaning out his ears too... his whole body felt weird. Roboticization wasn't a fun process... he was glad to be done with it.

Two red shapes were scowling down at him. Sonic squinted at the one that was almost at eye level. It was extending its palm, with a metallic object in it.

"Looking for this?" a voice called out sarcastically. It was Knuckles, holding a chip in his hand. Sonic felt his blood run cold. Oh no... what have I done...

Knuckles crushed the chip in his fist and dropped the specks of silicon onto the ground. Sonic noticed for the first time that Knuckles had metal shavings in his fur too. The echidna was clearly not pleased.

"What...?"

Knuckles threw a punch at the roboticizer, clearly infuriated. His gloved fist left a dent in the contraption.

"I... can't... believe it. You would put yourself through all of that again, just to win."

Sonic looked around, still feeling a little dazed. Why did they all have to pick on him? His eyes rested on the other red figure. Zero was glaring at him. His metal body looked scraped... part of his paint was singed. Some of his components looked like they were shooting off sparks-the robotic equivalent of sweating.

Sonic began to shake, this time not by his own choice. "What happened?"

"Oh, I think you can remember. You went nuts out there. You blew up most of the arena, and nearly killed Zero. And that's the least of it. There were children and whole families there that you endangered."

Sonic shivered involuntarily. Memories began to flood back into his brain... being helpless to control his own actions, a prisoner in his own body... glorying in his ability to triumph over the other robot... and the destruction he had unleashed, simply because it was possible.

"I'm sorry... but it wasn't me, I lost the chip..."

"Yeah right. You decided you would beat Zero at all costs before you even went into the roboticizer. You didn't know if it would work right or not. You took that risk. Sure, you might have gotten lucky... but you shouldn't have even tried."

"I'm sorry... but I won, right? I mean, the emeralds..."

"You only won because I went in there to stop you! And just what have you done, worrying about the emeralds? You haven't even tried talking to Zelda. Or..." Knuckles caught himself and let his voice trail off. It was no time to let Sonic in on his suspicions about the last emerald. He continued, quickly.

"Sonic, this is just disappointing. I know you have more pride than this."

Sonic wanted to shrug off Knuckles's arguments, but deep down, he knew the guardian of the master emerald was right. Sonic couldn't even muster up the confidence to debate him. He felt hollow... he had messed up, big time.

Zero spoke up for the first time. His cold gaze pierced Sonic... the hedgehog felt like his former opponent was seeing right through him.

"Ditto. Yes, we all make mistakes... but you can't let winning be all that matters to you. If you have to try to win at all costs, you've already lost."

"I know that!" Sonic interrupted quickly. "It's just..."

Sonic couldn't think of anything to say. He was out of excuses. The hedgehog picked himself up and kicked the roboticizer. "Worthless piece of junk..." he muttered.

Zero sighed, and began to walk away. "Thanks for the fight, Sonic... and thank you for the help Knuckles. Sonic... just try to prove me wrong."

Knuckles waved goodbye to Zero, then turned back to Sonic, shaking his head.

"Come on, let's go."

----

Zero knew he had to at least say goodbye to his friends before he left. He had expected to stick around longer than this, but things just hadn't worked out that way. It was back to his universe... the fields and forests had been a pleasant change from his bleak world, where robots and humans were always fighting to survive. The people here, the humans and the robots, had been enjoyable company. But he was finished now, he knew. The fight had just gone too far, he couldn't go on after all that.

Samus had a few congratulatory words for him on his performance, and wished him well in the future. Zero had grown to respect the woman both as a person, and as a fighter... he wished her luck as well. She had beaten Sonic before, she could probably get far again.

He caught up with MegaMan on his way to the portal. The little blue robot was excited to see him. It was odd really... he reminded Zero of a robot from his own time. MegaMan's enthusiasm had apparently not been dampened by his loss-he was babbling about how he wanted to learn all the tricks Zero had used. Zero smiled at him. The smaller robot was a little childish sometimes... but he was powerful too, and thankfully, he could be quite serious when he wanted to be.

Zero talked with MegaMan for a while, but he knew he had to be getting back. After a few words of advice for his friend, he departed for his own time, leaving the concerns and conflicts of the tournament behind him.




Today's Authors: Funkadelict, BigCow
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