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Not in My Data Act II: Chapter 4

Deviation Actions

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Shadow the Hedgehog

His lungs were hurting, his legs were tiring, and his mind was racing. Never before had the great Ixis Naugus fled from anyone who dared challenge him, but today was a fine example of the term "Exception". What he wouldn't give to have super speed at the moment, but even that may not be able to save him. The wizard quickly glanced behind him and instantly regretted doing so. Shadow the Hedgehog was catching up. He seemed to be in a rage, as the Ultimate Life Form easily destroyed or avoided every obstacle of Earth or Fire that Naugus could throw at him.

Previously, Naugus had been biding his time and lying low after a recent loss, and was surprised that Shadow had managed to find him in his remote retreat in the wilderness. When the hedgehog stated his demands, the sorcerer made the mistake of laughing at his face:

"You will tell me, Naugus," the Ultimate Life Form growled, crushing a rock in his hand. The wizard seemed unimpressed.

"And again, I find your ordering me around quite amusing," Naugus spat back, "Now leave me before I crystallize you into a new minion."

He turned his back to the hedgehog and resumed warming himself by the small fire he had created, thinking he was in control of the conversation. Hearing nothing in reply, Naugus believed Shadow had left. Unfortunately, he was corrected by the black and red speedster's foot making a strong impact on his back and sending the taller Mobian to the ground. Naugus immediately responded by launching the flames from his fire, only to have the hedgehog dodge with a backflip.

The Ixian rose to his feet with a snarl, "I take back what I said about crystallizing you; now I will simply bury you into the ground for your insolence!"

With a wave of his arm, the wizard created a fissure where Shadow was standing. But the Ultimate Life Form used a Chaos Spear to propel himself into the air and back onto the ground. With Naugus ready to unleash another attack, the hedgehog blitzed toward the villain and threw a hard right hook at his face. Landing on his rear, Naugus's anger grew even more. His head jerked up to his assailant, and it was in that moment that he knew he had to flee. There was fire in the hedgehog's eyes; the fang-bared scowl on his face and clenched fists signified he wasn't going to hold back on anything. Thinking quickly, the Ixian conjured a wall of earth to separate himself from Shadow and to make his getaway.

He had gotten past the wall, broken through the windstorm, and avoided being hit by fire and crystal based attacks. Whatever was driving the hedgehog's determination, it was stronger than Naugus's entire arsenal. The wizard's muscles pumped harder as he ran in disbelief. The Ultimate Life Form behind him destroyed wall after wall of earth and crystal; he was close to catching his prey.

Wanting to end it as quickly as possible, Shadow charged his hand and threw a Chaos Spear at the Ixian. Naugus defended himself with another wall of earth, yet it was destroyed in the process. He was getting tired; his pants became heavier and he sweated more profusely. His mind raced through his abilities until an idea came to mind. Focusing his powers, the wizard created a small tornado around his legs to levitate in the air. With a triumphant grin, Ixis Naugus flew into the sky laughing with relief.

"How much it must unnerve you that as a hedgehog, you are confined to the ground," he taunted, "Do not think I will forget this moment, fool! I will-"

He caught his breath and released a slight whimper as Shadow disappeared in a flash of Chaos Energy. The hedgehog reappeared in front of the wizard and unleashed a Chaos Spear at point blank. As Naugus fell from the sky, Shadow dove to catch up to grip his collar.

"Chaos Control!"

Both appeared safely on the ground.

Before the taller Mobian could react, he was thrown to the dirt. The black and red hedgehog immediately jumped over and kicked Naugus's stomach to stun him. Clutching the wizard's collar once more, he drew back his right hand and sent a straight punch into his face. He continued punching the helpless villain for a few moments, then proceeded to release his barely conscious form.

"I…already told you," the defeated Mobian coughed in pain, "Ixis Mogul deemed it a failure when he couldn't unlock its powers-ACK!"

Shadow silenced him with a swift swing of his foot. The Ultimate Life Form leaned over Naugus's crumpled body with a glare, "Now…you will take me to the Ixian Emerald."


"Prower!"

The young fox flinched as a commanding tone almost shouted his name. He was just coming out of the lab where Metal Sonic's robotic body was being kept for repairs underneath the castle. Only a select few knew of its whereabouts, so the Mobian was frightened if an enemy had called his name. His fur frazzled, he steadily turned over to see Metal Sonic behind him (arms crossed, of course). Relieved, Tails held his forehead in an embarrassed laugh, "It's just you Metal, heh heh…ummm, what can I do for you?"

"I would like to know the progress on my body? When can I transfer back to it?"

"Oh! Uhhh," the yellow fox nervously averted his gaze from the lynx, "I-It's coming along fine-"

"Fine?"

"-Um, more than fine! It's just that uh…Rotor and I are just trying to get used to working with such complicated wiring…and…the, uh, alloy that makes up the outside of your body isn't too malleable," he finished. Playing with his hands, Tails returned his eyes to the blue lynx in front of him. He didn't seem too convinced.

"Perhaps if I assist you in-"

"That won't be necessary," Rotor interjected as he exited the lab as well and walked up to the two, "Please Metal Sonic, you've already been doing so much for us here…at least let us do this on our own to pay you back."

The walrus smiled and pat Tails on the shoulder, "You'll have to excuse him, we're both a little tired from working. It's been quite the project for the two of us. Your mechanical body is quite complicated, but it's a challenge I willingly accept and enjoy!"

"Very well," Metal Sonic dismissed hesitantly. He had to make himself trust these two Mobians, or else disappoint Nicole and make his situation here more awkward. Rotor soon excused himself, but not before whispering to Tails behind the blue lynx's back. After the fox nodded, he left back to the castle explaining to the red eyed lynx that both he and Tails needed a break. With nothing to do (as Nicole was busy with improving the city's foundations), Metal Sonic appointed the young Mobian boy to entertain him.

"You…you want to hang out with me?" Tails blurted out with shock.

"Hang out?"

"…What?" Tails tilted his head in confusion.

The lynx's eyebrows creased, "What do you mean by 'hang out'? I don't want to hang…"

Realizing what the AI was talking about, the two-tailed fox grinned and stifled a laugh before explaining, "No, it means to spend time together, like having fun or something."

"And what do you do for fun, Prower?" Metal Sonic asked. Young Miles was stumped for a moment. What did he do for fun? For obvious reasons, he'd have to exclude going on adventures with Sonic, but what else did he do?

"Well…" The fox grinded his lip as he thought of an idea. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, "I do have to fix up the Tornado a bit, and I guess I find it fun to work on."

"Then we'll do that. Take me to your workshop," the prince ordered, but not unkindly. The yellow fox agreed and cheerfully guided the lynx to the way. At the garage was the plane. Though it belonged to Sonic, Tails had practically taken unofficial ownership of the Tornado and was in the middle of upgrading its fuel tanks and accessories. Metal Sonic entered the vicinity and stared at the plane for a few moments to analyze. Tails, on the other hand, simply stood by awkwardly; as he didn't know how to start conversation with what used to be one of his greatest enemies. Thankfully, the lynx in question broke the ice.

"You certainly know how to spend your time, Prower," He congratulated with a smirk, "Working on the Tornado should prove to be quite…'fun'."

"R-Really?" The Mobian blinked dumbfounded. No one else had thought his projects were ever "fun". He felt a smile crawl upon his face. Grabbing a few tools, the yellow fox quickly explained the dynamics behind the installations he intended to make. Understanding every word (another surprise to Tails), the AI asked for some tools to help him.

"If you're putting in new fuel tanks," Metal Sonic rubbed his chin, "You might as well improve the engine."

Tails's ears flattened, "I would…but I don't have anything new to put in there. I've been saving up for a new piston, since all I have are scraps of older models-"

"That should be enough for us to work with," the lynx interrupted, "I learned from my creator that the companies who create such machinery really just recycle older models, polish them up, and label them as 'new and improved' to justify the higher pricing. We can assemble parts from what you have here in the scrap pile."

He headed over to the older piston engines, with Tails following him eagerly. They spent about a half an hour picking out undamaged parts in good condition from the older engines. From time to time, the young Mobian would curiously peek over to his new companion. Did Metal Sonic really disregard them as enemies now? It seemed like most of everyone else in New Mobotropolis had, so it would make sense for him to not feel threatened by his presence, right?

Dwelling on his thoughts, Tails recalled their battles against each other and compared it to their working together now. Sonic seems to be cool with Metal now too, he realized, so…I can put his past behind me too!

Having finished picking the parts for the new engine, the yellow fox decided he would dissemble the Tornado while Metal Sonic would put together the engine. The lynx scanned the scraps to put together blueprints, and proceeded to his work. Enthusiastic as ever, Tails hurriedly did his part of the project. With Metal there to help, the usual time for such labor was reduced to a fraction of what is was when Tails worked alone.

After putting in the new fuel tanks, the pair worked together to install the engine Metal Sonic had created. The young fox then jumped into the cockpit to turn on the Tornado.

"Ready?" the lynx called out. Tails nodded his head and activated the plane. It roared beautifully. The Mobian put a thumbs up out to his new partner, in which he returned in kind. As Tails turned the Tornado off and got out, the AI crossed his arms with approval.

"We should clean ourselves, Prower," he said with a chuckle, "You look as if someone used you as a wiping cloth."

The fox's face reddened when the lynx pointed out the grease stains all over his fur. He decided to laugh his embarrassment off and invited Metal to wash up at his house. Metal almost declined the offer, but then realized his own stains of grease and oil. Remembering how Nicole always kept her coat clean, he decided to accept. Tails beamed back at him and headed off with a cheerful, "Follow me!"


Inside the castle, Princess Sally Acorn slumped onto her bed. She had just finished briefing Sonic and Knuckles about their first lead on Finitevus. After Rotor had taken Scourge's Zone Receptor apart to study it, Rotor (with the help of Nicole) created a specialized radar that would hone in on anyone using a Zone Receptor so Sonic and the others could track them down, remove the Receptor, and hope to reverse its effects. Since the device amplified an individual's power, Both Sonic and Knuckles volunteered for the first mission. The echidna claimed that they were the perfect team for a "test run" of the new strategy to take down Finitevus. Both he and Sonic had now left in the direction of a very slow moving signal headed toward Furville. Though it was far, Sonic and Knuckles assured they could intercept it in time.

Now Sally had to go to another "briefing", except that this time it was with Nicole. She had asked the squirrel earlier if she could talk to her about Metal. While Sally was excited for Nicole that she found love, the princess had to admit her best friend was starting to get on her nerves with all the questions. As if the whole universe-threatening situation wasn't stressing her out enough, Nicole had been expanding her understanding of relationships and seemed to have awful timing concerning the tired out princess.

As soon as Sally had lain down on the couch of the salon, Nicole materialized in the chair near her. Mentally cursing, the Mobian plastered a small smile to greet the lynx, "So what was it you wanted to ask?"

The AI looked a bit unsure to speak at first. She opened her mouth slightly before darting her eyes away to the floor and back. Finally gathering enough courage, she tentatively asked, "Has Sonic ever bitten you?"

Sally's eyes widened at the surprise, "What, bitten me?…Where exactly do you mean?"

"Has…" Nicole started out, but she soon became silent. The squirrel on the couch gave her a slow nod to continue. The lynx chewed her bottom lip, "Has he bitten you around here?"

She pointed to the corner of where her neck and shoulders met. Sally immediately sat up to observe, "When did Metal bite you there?"

"He's done it a couple times when…um…I'd rather not say," the AI blushed, "But the first time he's done this was back when I was staying at the Grand Mobian Empire with him. That's when he first tried out the Mobian style body."

The princess's pupils shrank with disbelief. She stuttered with what seemed like gibberish before finding the right words, "Nicole…do you realize what that gesture means? Biting you in that area, I mean?"

"Well at first I thought it was a sign of affection," the lynx explained, "But he's been doing it more frequently, saying it's on impulse and he can't control it."

Sally rubbed two fingers over the mark on her friend. Looking into her eyes, the Mobian's face and tone of voice became serious, "Nicole…have you…have you had an 'intimate' relationship with Metal Sonic?"

The lynx quietly nodded; unsure of what Sally was leading to.

The red head sank back into the couch and blew bangs out of her face. How did the AI who had been around and studied Mobians for so long not understand this?

"Sally?"

Her head turned to the lynx. Sitting upright again, Sally leaned forward, almost whispering, "Nicole, when a male Mobian bites a female Mobian and vice versa on that part of the neck…it means they claim each other. As mates."

There was a long silence as Nicole soaked in the new information. Her stare was glued to the floor. Sally wondered if her friend could grasp the revelation and held her hand. Soon, the lynx's mouth turned into a smile, and a rather large one at that.


"How long till we get there?"

"Not long."

"Hmph…where are we anyway?"

"Only a dozen or so miles from Furville. We've almost caught up to this guy. He must be really big if he moves this slowly," Knuckles observed. He and Sonic were almost on top of their target. Though the super speeding hedgehog could have gotten to him in half the time, Knuckles wanted the 2 to 1 advantage when they arrived to take Finitevus's lackey down. Right now the pair was running through grassland with nothing in site but a distant forest and small hills.

Sonic overlooked the area, "Shouldn't we be able to see this guy? He doesn't have any cover…"

"That's exactly what I was thinking," the echidna agreed, "He's not above us either, so there's a chance he'd be burrowing somewhere."

The hedgehog quickly grimaced at the ground beneath him, but then smirked at his accomplice, "That's where you come in right?"

Knuckles gave a short laugh, "Let's hope not. I'd rather get him in an open area where we both can fight him."

"Right…just remember, this guy is not gonna be from our zone, so we're clueless as to what we're going up against," Sonic stated.

The red Mobian raised an eyebrow, "How can you be so sure?"

"Finitevus's plan is to destroy all life, right? If he had someone from our zone with a Zone Receptor, he'd be vanishing along with the rest of us."

Knuckles grunted in response and looked at the radar-bracelet on his wrist.

"Why don't I get to wear one of those?" the blue hedgehog complained.

"Because you'd probably lose it anyways," he shot back, "Hold up, he's right in front of us."

The pair halted. Sonic scratched his head while the echidna scanned around them with his eyes. There was nothing in front or behind them, neither was there a place for one to hide. Knuckles put his ear against the dirt to listen for vibrations. There was nothing, indicating that the enemy was not burrowing underground. He stood up and rubbed his chin, "Hmmmm."

Getting bored, Sonic suggested that Finitevus's henchman could be invisible and decided to run around a twenty meter radius to see if he'd crash into anything. His partner pinched the bridge of his nose and called out on him for such a reckless plan. Ignoring his rebuttal, the supersonic Mobian went on dashing around.

Knuckles sat on the ground as there was nothing better to do. Sonic couldn't be reasoned with right now, and besides, he needed to rest his legs after a long trip.

I hope Julie-Su is alright without me, he pondered, I feel bad she was left with Vector and Charmy to guard the Master Emerald…

Sonic soon zoomed in front of him, making the echidna flinch as he was broken out of his thoughts.

"Dude, I didn't catch a thing," he shrugged, "But…look at this awesome toaster I found!"

"A toaster?" the Guardian repeated in confusion. He got up to get a better look. It was the average looking toaster; chrome, black handle to push down the bread, two slots. But…there was something odd. Someone had put a sticker on each broadside of what looked like flames.

Sonic snickered to himself, "I am totally keeping this thing."

"What are we going to do about the target?" Knuckles questioned to bring the hedgehog back to focus, "Maybe if we get to Furville before him-"

"Yea!" The blue speedster cheerfully agreed, "Then I can use my new toaster!"

"Fools! You won't be going anywhere! Mwuahahaha!" A voice rang out.

Sonic dropped the toaster as both he and the echidna got into a defensive stance. They scanned the area, but no one was around. They looked up. No one there either. While Knuckles kept his posture, Sonic dropped his guard and stepped forward, "Alright, enough games. Who's there?"

"What? I'm right here!"

"Ha! Told you he was invisible!" The hedgehog flipped around and pointed to the red burrower (who rolled his eyes).

"I am not invisible!"

The voice seemed to have a Spanish accent. Sonic jumped back to his previous stature, "Then where are you!"

"…Down here."

Both Mobians' eyes grew as wide as dinner plates as they looked at each other and then to the ground. The guardian was cautious with his suspicion of who was talking, "The…toaster?"

"Yes!" the kitchen accessory maniacally laughed, "But not just any toaster! You poor unfortunate souls face Diablo! The toaster from hell!"

The toaster hopped from its side in front of Sonic and Knuckles, "Prepare to meet your doom!"

Woooo Chapter 4! :P

The Ixian Emerald is my own idea because SOMEBODY keeps destroying all the magical objects/plot devices in the Archie Sonic Comics! (I'M LOOKIN' AT YOU FLYNN! D:<)

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