Enter The Arena As Your Avatar -- The Spinoff!

Areiado Special combos Neo Metal and blows him into the air, where he stops and straightens himself.

   "Chaos..."   

Segata attempts to interfere by grabbing for Schezo to perform his infamous judo throw, causing Schezo to be engulfed in a huge fiery explosion moments after if it succeeds!

Schezo get caught and blowed up (ya i know not a word) all over the place, stumbling backward as he start to let go of the emerald.

Confused, he attempt to lash out with a Crash!

Segata gets blown away, but Neo Metal pulls out the blue Emerald and...

   "Javelin!"   

... hurls a lance-shaped projection of chaos energy at Schezo, trying to knock the turquoise Emerald out of his hand and stun him.

Edited by KiriK on Feb 9th 2020 at 3:42:12 AM

He's hit and stunned, stumbling backward and angrily attempting to get another spell off, though he's too disorientied to pull himself together.

Neo Metal simply swoops in and snatches the turquoise Chaos Emerald.

   "Mission accomplished. Returning to base..."   

"No! Curse you, Metal Sonic!" Segata runs at near-super-speed levels, sliding like an ice skater, and makes a last-ditch effort to stop Neo Metal with an explosive flying kick!

   "Chaos Control!"    Using the power of both Emeralds at once, Neo Metal instantly freezes time, mere inches away from being hit by an attack that likely would've finished him off.

When time resumes, Segata crashes into the ground, and Metal is gone.

"... I must pursue him!" Segata picks himself up and runs off in no particular direction, simply hoping he's going the right way.

Schezo, meanwhile, is left alone, emeraldless.

M-my precious jewels were taken! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Meanwile

Iraaxos has regenerated and is currently researching the Wild Magic Zone that he inadvertently unleashed. Megan-2, now accepting her name as Zophiel, has made something of a home-away-from-home on Blacksand Island.

Tiamat has been training si!Omega in the arcane arts, and both she and her pupil have admitted that his magical potential seems to be quiet limited at the moment. As such, si!Omega has been searching through the tome that the dragon-goddess gifted him some ago for other methods, skills, ideas, spells... anything that might be of use to him in this predicament.

Bahamut accidentally discovered the underwater zones, and is attempting to get back to Hub Centralis to inform Tiamat about this, but... well, he's been having some trouble with that, to say the absolute least.

—

Nydarros, Aila, Rho, Sukira, and a demon have recently been engaged in a betting pool about what the next thing Thranix will kill will be. Nyr is just there to be a neutral party to hold the money. Thranix, meanwhile, has been out looking for new materials with which arms, armor, and other items may be created. Fateless decided to tag along because, "it seemed like it might be funny".

Vahasia and Wormwood have been worryingly quiet as of late, but the chitin-clad swordswoman was recently spotted lingering around The Wash, hovering just over the churning waters.

Distraction Carnifex was recently sighted wearing a tiny hat.

—

Megan has not been seen in some time still...

Skull Egg Zone

Dr Wily stands before a machine, in which the Red and Green Chaos Emeralds lie in a glass container.

"I still can't believe it took 6 machines before I finally managed to make one that could hold these without malfunctioning. And it's only two of them in there... these gems really are something else."

He ponders to himself.

Luckily, as long as we keep the emeralds here, Sonic and Mega Man can't get them back. Yet I'm still worried. We've been pretty successful in collecting them, but near the end of our plans something ALWAYS happens to tip the scales in Mega Man's favor. I sincerely hope that won't be the case this time around.

The door slides open, and Bass◊ walks in. Dr Wily turns to him.

"Ah, Bass. How did it go?"

"Same as last time. I still can't find Eggman's apparent nephew anywhere. Those Assassins are pretty well hidden, and I haven't seen any of them wandering around for a while either."

"Ugh... well then, don't tell him that you haven't found him yet. Go back out in a while and continue as if you hadn't given me a status report yet.", Wily says while stroking his moustache, eyebrows furrowed in concern. "He's been in a better mood recently, and I don't want there to be cause for him to anger again. He gets reckless when he's angry, and to defeat Sonic and Mega Man once and for all, we need to take a calm, calculated approach."

"Like I always say, just send me after Mega Man. I can take him."

"Not now that he has my Double Gear! And since you refuse to take it-"

"I don't need any enhancements. I'm strong enough on my own."

"Your overconfidence is going to get you killed one day."

"Hello pot, this is kettle.", Bass replies, amused.

"Mega Man can't kill me, and I doubt that Sonic is the type to try it. Otherwise Eggman wouldn't be here right now.", Wily says as Bass turns around, about to leave the room and continue searching for Snively.

"You're right about that. But not everyone in that world is as noble as those two are. If we tick off the wrong people, Sonic and Mega Man may end up having to save the both of you instead of beating you."

"Agh, just go out and search!", Wily says, annoyed, which pleases Bass enough to leave it at that. After he's left the room, Wily looks back at the emeralds.

"I suppose he does have a point...", he admits only to himself. "We've already come far to obtain two of the emeralds in a place with so many powerful combatants, some of which dwarfing Mega Man in power. A lot can still go wrong. But I trust that our combined intellects will be victorious this time!"

He grins.

"Yes, we'll make it happen. And if Sonic and Mega Man prove too much of a nuisance, perhaps I can get some... less morally inclined people from that world to deal with them."

He glances to the right, towards a small communication device sitting on a table. Despite it being dusty, probably from a long time without using it, it still looks more technologically advanced than pretty much any of the machinery in this room, including the one containing the emeralds. It also has a small logo on the top right.

"I know of at least one person who'd want to tussle with that blue brat.", Wily grins.

Skull Egg Zone

"ALBERT! AAAALLLBEEEERT!"

Eggman comes running in, shouting Wily's first name - but with a joyful, nay, exuberant tone.

"METAL SONIC HAS ACQUIRED TWO CHAOS EMERALDS FROM SCHEZO WEGEY!"

As if on cue, Neo Metal appears, holding the blue Chaos Emerald in his left hand and the turquoise Emerald in his right.

   "You should not have expected any less after installing my Neo form's data in the other Sonic robots. Their destruction was inevitable, but my own power is the greatest of your creations."   

"W-well, yes, of course." Eggman vigorously rubs his hands together.

Neo Metal simply walks up to the container and adds his two Chaos Emeralds to it.

Dr Wily is startled for a moment, snapping out of his thoughts, confused until he realizes Eggman actually sounds happy.

"Ivo? What-"

He then hears the news and looks excited as well.

"What!? Truly?", he asks right before seeing Metal Sonic. Seeing those two glimmering gemstones makes him forget to ask who this Schezo even is, never having heard of him before.

"Ahaha, splendid! Ivo, your robots are truly the best of the best. Only three left to go!", he says as he presses a button on a remote to open the container so that Metal Sonic can add them. To Wily's further relief, the machine is still able to handle the four emeralds without malfunctioning.

"At this rate, Sonic, for once, will be too slow to put a dent in our plans.", he says, grinning. "And when he fails, Mega Man will follow."

Bass, having heard Eggman's loud, jovial news, smirks as he walks into a nearby room, finding Copy Robot inside.

"Slacking off?"

"You wish.", Copy Robot happily says. "Just getting an E-Tank before heading out again. ... hey, what's that giddy expression all about? You're never giddy."

"Oh, I just heard the most wonderful news regarding the Chaos Emeralds. It involves Metal Sonic."

"Oh, did he find one too?", Copy Robot asks, amused. "I don't really care, that won't win him any higher praise with Wily than what I was given."

Bass is silent until Copy Robot starts drinking from the E-Tank.

"Actually, he found two."

Copy Robot just freezes in place, E-Tank held against his mouth and expression stuck as the words process within him.

"Now there's only three remaining. Isn't that swell?", Bass asks with the most trollish grin imaginable. Copy Robot can only respond with a strained little sound and a slow nod of his head.

"I'll be headed out now. Good luck, duplicate.", Bass snickers as he leaves, closing the door behind him. He waits for a moment, mockingly putting one hand on his helmet as if holding it behind his ear.

The sound of an E-Tank hitting the floor and a very frustrated yell from Copy Robot satisfies Bass, after which he walks away, intending on heading back to the Arena.

"Ohohoh, you should've seen it, Al. Sonic showed up to stop Metal Sonic, but Neo Metal told him off with a cool one-liner and then threw him over the horizon!"

   "It wasn't that hard."   

"Now, let's go have a look at where the last three Chaos Emeralds - and our enemies - are." Eggman walks off towards the Wily Egg.

"Truly incredible. If only my robots were as effective at dealing with Mega Man.", Dr Wily says as he looks at Neo Metal Sonic. He then turns back to Eggman.

"Now that sounds very cathartic. Do you have a recording of this?", Wily asks as he follows Eggman. As the both of them leave, Copy Robot is peaking from behind a corner, luckily not having heard Wily's comment from just now.

"I don't buy this. Bass is just being a prick. If we really have four emeralds now, I want to see it with my own eyes."

"I think I do..."

—

Back aboard the Wily Egg

Eggman checks on a camera and sees Sonic lying on the ground somewhere, completely concussed. He chuckles, then looks at Mega Man...

[DATA NOT FOUND]

"Uhhhh..."

Edited by KiriK on Feb 10th 2020 at 1:25:38 PM

Dr Wily raises an eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?", he asks, confused as he ponders. He then finds a possible explanation.

"Oh, perhaps he's simply not in the Arena right now. He might've gone back home to visit Light and Roll."

He clasps his hands and grins.

"If that's the case, with him away and Sonic knocked out, now would be the perfect time to search for more emeralds!"

Copy Robot sneaks towards the door to the lab and opens it, not knowing that Neo Metal Sonic is inside.

"Hahah, yes! Of course! Now let's see here..."

Through one drone, Eggman sees a flickering, static-y cloud of black smog with two eyes drifting aimlessly and haunting the land, the white Chaos Emerald floating in its core.

"..."

His smile begins to fade.

The other drone shows them - Sonic??? - aboard Space Fortress Gravitas, patrolling the halls.

Neo Metal Sonic was staring directly at Copy Robot before he opened the door.

   "You know, there was a reason they paired me with Bass instead of you."   

Dr Wily narrows his eyes in concern.

"Is... that some form of smog creature?", he asks, though his attention is then diverted towards what looks to be Sonic on Space Fortress Gravitas.

"What in tarnation!?"

It takes all of Copy Robot's mental fortitude not to shriek when Neo Metal Sonic is suddenly in front of him. He does jump for a moment however, but quickly composes himself.

"J-jeez, can't you just say hello first like every normal bot?", he mumbles, annoyed before he crosses his arms, not intimidated at this moment.

"A reason, huh? And what'd that be?"

'Sonic' stops in his tracks with an audible    "Mmm?"'   

Eggman's heart plummets.

As the hedgehog turns around to reveal his face, with an angry scowl, Eggman whimpers ever-so-slightly.

It's X!◊

"No... not him... couldn't it have been anyone but him... Even Sonic would be better..."

X glares at the drone, but then suddenly smirks. The camera flickers a couple times.

He points a finger at the drone...

and the two doctors are promptly jump scared by an onslaught of graphic depictions of Body Horror (mercifully in black and white instead of full gruesome color) before the feed suddenly cuts out.

"GYEEP!"

Neo Metal folds his arms just like Copy Robot.

   "Bass was built to surpass Mega Man and remain his rival over a long period of time. So was I for Sonic; impersonating him was secondary, though it was not to me. You, meanwhile, were merely Wily's last-ditch attempt to beat his foe at his own game in their first struggle... and you failed."   

Built to Rule - Sonic Mania

He unfolds his arms and paces around the room.

   "Doesn't it just gnaw at you, to know something like that, but be helplessly incapable of catching up? I felt that way, once..."   

Edited by KiriK on Feb 10th 2020 at 3:05:24 AM

Dr Wily looks really disturbed as well.

"What in the yellow-"

Cue the jumpscare, which emits the exact same reaction from him as it does from Eggman. After the feed cuts out, Wily slowly looks at Eggman.

"Ivo... I might require an explanation on what just happened?", he says, sounding really disturbed now. "I-it sounds like you knew what that was."

Copy Robot's expression after hearing the truth he didn't really want to accept shows that the summation Neo gave him hit pretty hard. Still, after a bit, he masks his insecurities with a determined expression, even though there should be a 0% chance of Neo being fooled by this.

"Why I came to be doesn't matter. Anything Mega Man can do, I can do as well. I'm valuable. If I wasn't, he'd have scrapped me long ago, or would've let you tear me to shreds during that presentation. But he didn't, and that's proof enough."

He (carefully) enters the room once Neo Metal Sonic starts pacing, still wanting to see the emeralds for himself. Once he sees the four emeralds, he looks pretty shocked, then annoyed. He chooses to ignore Neo Metal's triumph in that regard over him, looking back at him now.

"I find it hard to believe you ever felt inferior.", he says. "You don't seem like the type to care about that to me."

"Th-th-that was X. He's... he's a nightmare wearing Sonic's skin. In his world, he is God. The Chaos Emeralds are meaningless in his own realm, where he toys with every other living thing - even my counterpart - and kills them horrifically in an endless loop. I've seen some of his activity in the Arena, and he's been learning from temporary allies - he's training to make up for not having full control of this world. And if he has the yellow and purple Chaos Emeralds from my world as well..."

Eggman lowers his glasses, looking at Wily like he's about to cry.

"Al... he'll be our number one obstacle."

   "Oh, but you see..."   

Neo Metal approaches Copy robot from the side.

   "For the longest time, I wanted to be Sonic. I insisted I was the real one and he was the fake, ignored all evidence to the contrary... all out of some faulty belief that being him meant being the best."   

Dr Wily looks like he doesn't know what to think. Never would he have imagined Eggman could be so terrified of anyone. Or that anyone with such a description would exist.

"... We'll find a way around this, Ivo.", he says, trying to calm his companion down. "We... have to get that fifth emerald, and then build a weapon that runs on them. Surely five emeralds can overpower him with two... right?

Copy Robot glances at him, a slight bit wary now that he's approaching, but, at this moment at least, confident that he wouldn't attack his own ally.

"... what made you change your mind?", he hesitantly asks.

Eggman puts his glasses back on. "Er-yes, ah - I mean, no. No, Al. X is too crafty; a single weapon against him would never suffice. We'll have to overwhelm him with sheer numbers from all directions. My Hard-Boiled Heavies, led by Metal Sonic, and as many Robot Masters as you can band together, summoned by the Phantom Ruby - if they simply dogpile him, at the very least that should be enough to wrench those Emeralds from his grasp."

Neo Metal pushes into Copy Robot's personal space, trying to make him back away - trying to make him sweat, so to speak.

   "I realized that being your counterpart in every way does not allow you to win against them. You have to take in more. You have to be... more than them. And to compute that at the time, I had to delete all data relating to the notion that I was Sonic."   

Gardens of Color, Reprium

"... And that's the situation," says 42.◊

The Lingering Will◊ simply grunts in acknowledgement. I am... grateful for this information. I shall stand guard against whatever may come here.

Dr Wily looks thoughtful. He glances back at the hall leading to the lab, keeping the communicator in mind.

"... I may be able to call on someone helpful. A robot from my world's future. But he wouldn't obey us all the time. So I can't do it until we've made a set plan on how to handle this."

It's much more effective than Copy Robot would like to admit, especially because Neo Metal Sonic's new 'design' makes him the taller of the two. He starts backing off a bit, his expression looking much more unsure.

"I... I already know that I'm not Mega Man, s-so I don't think that would help me much.", he says, his voice's unsureness now matching his expression.

The both of them may pick up some metallic sounds nearby. Should they turn to look, they'll find about five Cyber Angel Soldiers◊ headed their way, their arms already transformed into gatling guns and cannons.

"An escaped target has been relocated."

"Move in for the kill. If the other one gets in the way, kill them as well, even if their energy does not match."

Cyber Angel Soldier

Edited by DevilPsyco on Feb 10th 2020 at 9:27:58 PM

"Then we should consult with Omelette. I hear she's gotten her hands on a super-powerful artificial warrior. If we throw that at the goody-goody-two-shoes as a diversion and play defeated afterwards, nobody will bother us while we hunt down that ghost-thing and X."

   "And yet, you have never told your creator of any aspiration to be more than just 'all of Mega Man's powers but on his side.'"   

Neo Metal keeps moving forwards, trying to back Copy Robot into the nearest corner.

   "Are you simply... afraid of what he might say?"   

Lingering Will grunts as he notices the Cyber Angels.

42 follows his gaze. "Oh, there they are." She brandishes her EMP katana and her Magnaguard staff.

This... This shall not stand.

Rage Awakened

The Lingering Will stands up and pulls his Keyblade, Ends of the Earth, out of the ground. Then, as a show of force, he transforms it into a whip and lashes out at the furthest-away Cyber Angel Soldier, trying to catch it around the neck and yank it over to him.

"That sounds good. Where is she, anyway? I haven't seen her around much for a while now.", Dr Wily says.

Copy Robot glances to the side.

"He... is usually... really busy with important matters, and...", he says before stopping as he hits the corner. He gulps.

"A-afraid? Of the doctor? N-no, never! I mean, he's my creator, but he's just a human. T-there's nothing scary about him.", he says, looking and sounding more intimidated by the second.

Completely taken by surprise, the Cyber Angel gets yoinked towards the Lingering Will, surprising the others enough that they stop advancing for a moment, only able to stare.

The one being pulled forward thinks fast and attempts to shoot the explosive cannon ball at its attacker.

"I'm... not sure either. Probably just tinkering with her machines. Hopefully... You know what, I'll go search for her. Ta-ta!"

Eggman gets ready to leave, though he pauses in case Wily has anything else to say.

Neo Metal Sonic leans forward, placing an open hand against the wall over Copy Robot's left shoulder.

His eyes glow menacingly.

   "I can make you greater. The doctors don't have to know; as long as it gets put to use towards furthering their plans. My Neo enhancements allow me to decide for myself what would be the best way to fulfill their wishes, so this is something I can do... you spineless puppet."   

At that last moniker, his hand against the wall suddenly curls into a fist, gouging a chunk out of it.

42 jumps in front of the Lingering Will and stabs the cannonball with her staff, prematurely detonating it. She then hurls the staff like a javelin, trying to impale one of the other Cyber Angels with it.

Once the caught one is within his reach, the Lingering Will undoes the transformation and swings away at it with the base form of his Keyblade.

Edited by KiriK on Feb 10th 2020 at 2:54:26 PM