Rage Outlives the Rust
is a Sonic the Hedgehog fan fic by DoomFox.
The story begins with Dr. Robotnik having been killed, leaving Metal Sonic to make a plan to try and bring about his father’s vision. His plan: steal Sonic’s body. Sonic, rushing into Metal Sonic’s fortress, falls for his trap and is left trapped in Metal Sonic’s body and to rot in the ocean. Metal Sonic, embracing the identity he’s stolen, goes on to celebrate and announce the new government.
The main story thus picks up 20 years later, where “President Sonic” is the Dictator of the “New Federation of Mobius”, a Techno Dystopia worthy of Robotnik where “Terrorists” are routinely Roboticized and Green Hill has become a dumping ground. Thanks to the pair of Sticks and Marine, Sonic is found and slowly restored, with his ultimate goal becoming one thing, revenge against his doppelgänger.
Rage Outlives The Rust provides examples of:
- Amnesiac Hero: At first, Sonic is unable to remember who he used to be. This leads to him being named “Scrapper” by Marine.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The start of the story is Metal Sonic hijacking Sonic’s body and life successfully turning the world into a dystopia in his Father’s image.
- Berserk Button: Seeing President Sonic is a huge one for Sonic, for obvious reasons.
- Big Brother Is Watching: Implied to be in effect in New Metropolis by a discussion between Miles and Belle Prower (Miles’ wife).
- Down in the Dumps: The main part of the story takes place in the “Scraplands”, which used to be Green Hill Zone.
- Egopolis: Metropolis is one for President Sonic.
- Full-Circle Revolution: Due to hijacking Sonic and successfully making himself president of the “New Federation of Mobius”, President Sonic becomes every bit the tyrant his father was.
- Grand Theft Me: Again, Metal Sonic’s successful plan involved stealing Sonic’s body.
- Land Down Under: Everyone in the Scraplands speaks with an Australian accent. The author states that this was heavily inspired by Mad Max.
- Patchwork Fic: Uses various characters from across the franchise, such as Sticks, Marine, and Agent Stone. Starline is also briefly mentioned.
- Polluted Wasteland: What’s become of the land outside Metropolis, with the ocean being noted to be unnaturally green and toxic.
- President Evil: President Sonic is very much this, because he's actually Metal Sonic carrying out his father's vision.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: As implied by the fic name, this becomes Sonic’s goal after recovering from amnesia.
- The Dictatorship: What Metropolis under President Sonic's rule is.
- Time Skip: The main story starts 20 years after the fateful encounter, showing just how bad the world has become under President Sonic’s rule.
- Techno Dystopia: To be expected from a bad Sonic timeline. “President Sonic” is the dictator and won’t hesitate to roboticize any who step out of line.
- Unwilling Roboticization: Aside from being the original Sonic's fate, it's also President Sonic’s go-to punishment for criminals.
- Wham Line: Despite being what we already know, the following line still hits with such an impact after "Scrapper" types it up, since it signals he's recovered from his amnesia and serves as a major shock to Sticks:I AM SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
- Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: It’s clear that President Sonic’s definition of “Terrorists” is really just anybody opposed to his regime.
