The Robotic Endgame

XVI. Sonic the Hedgehog

Mega Man and I finally made it to the top of the altar, but nobody was there. Shards of the Master Emerald lay around, the sun glinting off of them. "They must have gone back down the altar," I told Mega Man. I started toward the other side of the stairs, seeing the familiar figures of Sally, Tails, and Knuckles. "And don't worry if Knuckles seems upset about the Master Emerald. I'll take care of him. It was better than them getting it, trust me."

Mega Man followed, slowly. Then he asked the question that I hadn't wanted to face. "What will happen to you?"

I kept my head down as we went down the stairs. "What do you mean?" I said quietly.

"You needed the Master Emerald," Mega Man added.

"It'll be fine," I replied, trying to stay upbeat and not face the fear that was twisting my stomach. "How many times have you seen me die?"

"Uh." Mega Man grunted.

"Exactly," I said, finishing the conversation.

Sally and Tails walked toward us when we got down the stairs, while Knuckles leaned against a tree with his arms folded. He didn't really look happy that we had destroyed the very thing he spent his life protecting.

"Where did you two go?" Sally asked, her hands on her hips. "The island fell, but when it stopped, Sonic was gone, and you ran off." She pointed at Mega Man as she said that.

"Metal Sonic decided he wanted a round two," I replied. I threw my hands up in the air, being careful with my left hand. "But I put him in his place."

"It looks more like he got a few good shots on you," Sally replied, frowning at me. "Where is he now?"

"Well..." I glanced at Mega Man. "He kind of got away."

"At least that means he won't bother us for a while," Sally replied. "We should get going. That attack won't set the doctors back much."

"You're right," I said. "Did you ask Nicole if any of our friends are here?"

"She didn't think they were here," Sally answered. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Knuckles was walking toward us, an angry scowl on his face. I was hoping he would just watch us fly away with an extremely annoyed look on his face.

"Anyone want to tell me why the Master Emerald is in pieces?" Knuckles asked, cracking his, er, knuckles.

"Would you rather Eggman got the Master Emerald and destroyed the world?" I said, trying to keep my hands from curling into fists. "Proto Man was about to get it, and I told Mega Man to shoot it. You would have done the same thing if you had seen what was happening. I didn't want to risk wasting time and letting them get away!"

"Why didn't you just stop them?" Knuckles asked, clearly still agitated. "Why did you go and break it?"

"Hey, Knuckles," Mega Man interrupted. Knuckles turned his toxic gaze to the robot. "I'm the one who broke it. My brother really was about to get it."

"And you just decided to break it?" Knuckles barred his teeth, staring at Mega Man. Mega Man took a step back, not quite knowing what he was getting himself into.

"Knuckles, stop it," I said, stepping back in front of Mega Man. "You would have broken it if you had seen it being taken away."

"Or maybe I would have just destroyed the thing trying to take it!"

"Do you think I wanted to put a death sentence on myself?!" I shouted, crying out as I tried to stretch my hand out in exasperation. I grabbed my hand without taking my eyes off of Knuckles. His gaze started to waver slightly. "It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had to choose not letting Eggman destroy the world."