Sonic Gem EP3: Metal Madness

Metal Madness is the third episode of season one of Sonic Gem.
==Plot==
Nightfall. Not the best time for some people to be out on patrol, but when it came to a few of the unlucky folks who needed coffee just to stay awake, it sadly had to work out that way. That, of course, was exactly what happened to a pair of buddy cops, who got stuck with said night shift in their police cruiser, and worse yet, on a less than busy part of the big city. Sure, crime was more abundant in the city in general, but that didn't mean night patrol was always preferred, especially when it came to these two.
"Calling car No.62: what's your status, over?" the police radio asked. One of the tired cops phoned in from there, taking a sip of the coffee.
"Nothing yet, over. We'll keep you posted," the tired cop said.
"Rodger."
After that call, the cop slumped in his seat, a groan escaping his tired mouth as he stared at the ceiling of the car.
"Why did WE have to get stuck with these jobs?" he groaned. His buddy cop, older but slightly more awake, turned to his tired pal.
"Don't act like that, kid, not all of the police jobs are full of car chases and taking down robberies," the cop explained. That didn't really make anything better, the cop now resting his chin on the wheel.
"Yeah, whatever, but something better happen in the next twenty minutes, or I'm gonna get back to the station," the younger cop said. The cop glanced over to the front dash compartment, seeing a picture of the police's latest suspect. Take a guess what blue speedster it was rushing down the road.
"Do you even buy this "Blue Hedgehog" crap?" the cop questioned. The older cop pulled out the picture so they both can get a look at it.
"It's not my place to judge, it's our job," the older cop remarked, shoving the picture into his front shirt pocket. "More coffee?"
"... Fine."
It wasn't like he could just walk away now anyway. Getting that coffee to keep his energy up, he began to make his few sips good and big. It was his only way to actually take this job without falling asleep at the wheel. As he got his drink all handled and with more coffee buzz in his system, he took a glance down the road. The road itself was dark, not many natural lights except for the stars, but he did catch something beginning to make its way down the road. It moved slow, aimlessly, a slight sway in its step as if it was weak or injured. It didn't look like an animal, but not exactly like a person either, even if it was walking on two legs.
Since there was nothing else to really do, the cop nudged his older partner, and began to get out of the car. The older guy would protest, but he did see the wandering figure as well, and came out to join him.
"Hey. You okay over there?" called the younger cop.
The figure stopped on hearing that voice, but didn't say anything. It was dead silent, its back turned to them. The two cops began to make their way towards this figure, one of which grabbing a flashlight from the police car beforehand.
"Sir! Sir, are you feeling alright? What're you doing out here?"
Still nothing. Both cops got about ten feet away from whatever this was before the older cop made the bold move of turning on the flashlight.
Both cops stepped back on the light reflecting off of its skin.
"Ack! Sir, don't try to -" The figure was now in full view of the copper's flashlight and what they saw standing there was ... they weren't even sure at first. It looked metallic in a way, a shade of blue shining right back at them. Only now did it react though, its head slowly turning around ... more and more ... the head turning 180 degrees to stare back at them with dead red eyes.
A look ready to kill.
"What in the world?"
*WHAM!*
Two seconds. That was how long it took for the figure to move from its standing spot, straight towards the police car ... and smashing right through it! The engine immediately exploded, leaving the police car destroyed and nothing but a flaming wreck. That move didn't even faze this being, even with the explosion blowing chunks of metal onto it.
"Stay back!" the older cop demanded, "or I'll shoot!"
The figure didn't even flinch as it walked forward. Scared, blasts of the gun rang out, but every bullet only bounced off of the metal framework They were doing more damage to their own car than this apparently bullet-proof creature! The shots kept being fired over and over again, but soon the bullets ran out on their pistols.
"Dang it. Quick, call for backup!"
"With what?! Our car's blown up!"
They were in even more trouble when this robot grabbed the older cop by the collar, and raised him up good and high. So high in fact, the robot was hovering off the ground a good three feet, the cop at its mercy. With one metallic clawed hand gripping good and tight, the free hand was brought to the cop's head.
It slowly raised it up ...
And swung it down!
...
*WHACK!*
"AHH, I'm up, I'm up!" Sonic yelped. Naptime would have to wait for him unfortunately, and Pearl was gonna make absolutely sure of that. Since their last chat on the hill outside of town, Sonic and the Gems didn't waste any time in trying to get things straight with eachother. In this case, Sonic had himself his own barstool for a seat as Pearl, who had a ruler in hand, already had a chalkboard set up in the Beach House. Not exactly lively for the Hedgehog's liking, and how they even got these things ... well, Amethyst had a lot in her room apparently. Speaking of, Amethyst and Garnet were present as well, not having any missions to do today.
And that ruler almost whacked Sonic good in the head just now, the kitchen counter by him taking the hit instead.
"Again? Sonic, you need to pay attention, and you can't do that if you keep falling asleep," Pearl reminded ... again. Sonic yawned out of boredom, picking at his ear.
"Sorry, but when I said I wanted to learn more about you guys, I was hoping for something less ... you know ... boring?" Sonic admitted.
"Don't blame me, you never specified how we were gonna do this," Pearl pointed out. She cleared her throat and got Sonic's attention back to the chalkboard, drawing something up and out on said board that resembled a rock.
"Now as I was saying. We Gems are a manifestation from our very core being. Our bodies, while seemingly built on mass, is actually deeply connected to our gemstones, so any -"
*thud* Sonic was out again, this time falling off of the barstool and onto the floor.
"Can't we just watch a movie or something? Or maybe a play even? SOMETHING ELSE?" Sonic groaned. Pearl was not amused, but Garnet picked Sonic up off of the floor, keeping him off the ground with one hand behind his head as if he were a dog.
"No," Garnet bluntly said. Sonic was dropped onto his seat again, the Hedgehog with his arms crossed.
"Ehh, no offense, P, but Sonic's got a point. Why not spice things up?" Amethyst suggested, also a bit bored. Pearl groaned herself, hand to head.
"Amethyst, don't help him with this," Pearl advised. Sonic tried to think of some way to cut this lesson short, but as his eyes darted around, he got one idea in his head but also genuinely curious about it.
"Hey, if you're gonna do this, at least have Steven here so he can learn a thing or two too," Sonic suggested.
"No. You asked for this, you're getting it. Steven has his own things to do," Garnet said.
"Yeah, sure. ... Where is he, anyway?" Sonic questioned.
"Check out the window," Garnet simply answered.
So Sonic did. Anything to slow down this boring lesson and approach. Sonic found another couch over by the front window, pillows and all, and as he stood on that to get a good view outside, he began to notice the kid out there as Garnet said. He wasn't that far away, in eyesight of the window just down the beach. Sonic peered out a bit before nodding his head.
"Yep, there he is. ... And looks like he's got company."
"Company? Hold on, who?" Amethyst asked, going over next to him.
"I don't know, I'm not familiar around here."
Didn't take too long until Amethyst saw what Steven was doing too. Curious, Pearl and Garnet also joined them over by the window. They all saw Steven standing there, with his bike next to him, and as for the person he was talking to, she didn't seem to pay him much mind ... at all. She was more interested in reading her book than anything else.
"Wanna fill me in guys?" Sonic asked.
"We have no idea," Garnet replied.
"What's he doing?" Amethyst asked. They all watched, but none of them could exactly hear what's happening. All they did see though was after a bit, Steven tried getting on his bike again, only to fall over ... and suddenly running off on her.
Into the Beach House Steven went, breathing heavily and in a cold sweat before realizing everyone was there.
"... What up?" Steven asked. But they had their own questions for him, starting with the obvious one.
"Who were you talking to?" Pearl asked.
"Huh?"
"That girl," Garnet stated. Steven flustered a bit, feeling a slight shiver go through him before he could answer. If they saw everything, there really wasn't a point in lying or denying it.
"O-Oh, right, her. S-She's just a girl I know ... except she doesn't know me. ....... We never talked," Steven explained. The Gems though began to put two-and-two together pretty fast, and it wasn't long until they came to the same conclusion.
"You LIKE HER!~" Amethyst beamed.
"I-I like everyone," Steven replied, a bit muffled since Amethyst had him by the face.
"Steven, we all saw ya trying to impress her with your two-wheeler, I think it's pretty obvious what you're doing out there," Sonic had to admit, giving Steven a wink as well, which only made Steven feel more embarrassed. Pearl then got her own idea.
"Oh, I know, let's set up a get-together!" she said, "We can work out a schedule for you two, maybe find out a nice spot in the hillside for a picnic -"
THANK STARS Garnet stopped them before it got too out of hand.
"NO. Just talk to her, Steven," Garnet suggested. Something much easier than anything else so far. Steven had to take it before they could suggest a dance or something.
"Alright, but promise me you won't watch this time. My funky flow's gonna mess up if you do that," Steven said.
"... Funky flow?"
"We won't watch," Garnet promised. As Steven went over to the fridge for something, Sonic began going over to the door, curious over this new girl of Steven's. Before he could go though, Steven soon got to him.
"Wait!" Steven yelped, grabbing him by the arm. "Don't go out there!"
"Huh? Why not? You need a wing man don't you?" Sonic asked. Steven turned red, but quickly shook it off.
"N-No, but I-I don't think, I ... I don't want her to see you yet."
Well this was odd. Sonic turned to face Steven, who was trying to think of a way as to not sound insulting to him.
"You had no problem showing me off to the town, why not this girl you're trying to -" Sonic suddenly stopped. "... Wait, I get it. You don't wanna freak her out, huh?"
Steven looked to Sonic, looking him eye to eye. "You don't mind that do you?"
Sonic, though his chance of leaving the lesson dashed, just laid down casually on the window-side couch, hands behind his head and leg kicked up as per usual.
"Yeah it's fine. See you later," Sonic said. Steven, spending enough time on this, went right out the door. Guess the group will have to wait until later for the results. Speaking of which, Pearl went back to the chalkboard.
"Now then, since that's taken care of, let's get back to our lesson," Pearl decided. Sonic dropped his legs, laying flat on his couch bed.
"Fine. Hey Pearl, feel free to throw in a meteor, or some lasers, or something to keep it interesting," Sonic said.
This was gonna take a while.
~~~~~~
"Hi, my name is Steven ... hello there, my name's Steven, what's yours? ... Yo, the name's Stevan. You? ..."
Steven tried over and over again for a proper introduction for himself as he moved closer towards the girl, who lucky for him didn't even move from her spot or even bothered to stop reading her book. Guess his embarrassment earlier wasn't enough to drive her off, which was more than good for him.
"Come on, you can do this. ... Hi. My name is Steven ... Stephan? Ste-van?"
Steven's thoughts and the girl's book kept the two just occupied enough that neither had noticed that a pair of red, unblinking eyes kept a close watched over the two from up along the seaside cliff. Calculating. ... Waiting for just the right moment ... All it would take was one, well aimed swipe ...
*rumble*
Before anything could be done, the ground suddenly began to shake and shutter, the sounds of some foreign creature echoing from somewhere nearby. The screech wasn't from any normal animal, almost robotic in of itself. But nobody was having time to think about that, as the very vibrations of this call made a piece of the cliffside quiver, and break off. Right above the girl! Steven had to be quick this time - no mistakes.
"H-Hi, my name is Steven!" Steven yelped, throwing himself over her in a tackle to protect her.
What happened next, well, it was completely out of nowhere to put it lightly: as Steven got over to her, there was a brief moment of pink light coming from somewhere near them. The next thing was something suddenly beginning to appear around Steven, and appearing quickly and just in time before the chunk of rock could smash them. Instead, it just smashed on this summoned object, not even touching Steven or the girl he was with. A sphere of pure magical energy, strong enough to not even crack under the weight of the falling piece of debris.
"Whoa ....... Hi! My name! Is Steven!" Steven finally said, looking down to the girl. The girl in question, still a bit stunned at worst, adjusted her glasses before answering.
"Connie," she answered. Steven helped Connie up to her feet, but then he realized something: how was she gonna react to this sudden bubble around them?! Wasn't that why he didn't want Sonic along? However, Connie looked ... curious. Not even fazed by the bubble, but looked to it like someone would look at a bright star.
"What ... what's this?" Connie wondered, bewildered as she rests a hand on the sides of this bubble.
"U-Umm ... Me? Apparently? I mean, I-I'm magic. Well, half magic," Steven said. Again like before, being so obvious, why lie about it? Connie turned to him.
"You did this?"
"I guess so. I don't really know what it is, but it's ... kinda my family's thing?" Steven admitted, taken aback honestly by Connie's leveled-head.
"Your family. So they can do this too," she said correctly. Steven just shrugged a little.
"Maybe. I saw them make smaller ones of these before whenever they come back from missions. They protect humanity, fight big monsters and stuff," Steven said.
Connie paused, but answered fairly quickly. "Oh, my dad's kinda like that. He's a cop ... well, more like a security guard."
"Huh ... this is easy," Steven thought, and how could he not? He just basically told this stranger how weird he was, but Connie took it all in stride so easily. Maybe he should've brought Sonic to get everything out of the way, but that was something for later. That aside, Connie and Steven check the bubble again, leaving the obvious question.
"So ... does this go down? How long does it last?" Connie questioned.
... Uh oh. Steven tried to do something to get it to go away, but no amount of concentration made the bubble go away. He tried punching the sides, kicking it, basic pushing ... asking the bubble to go down. Nothing worked.
"Steven?"
"Nope, it's fine, we'll just go check on the Gems. They know more about this than I do, they should know," Steven said before Connie could go in a panic.
It took the two a bit before they could start rolling, having to work in unison and walk in a way a hamster would inside a ball, hands and feet. It wasn't easy by any means, but it got the job done. Rolling it over the sand and a few rocks, the bubbled duo made their way over closer to the Beach House. It was just a straight shot up, but as they tried making up the path to the front steps, the bubble suddenly started to roll its way back down the incline.
No point fighting gravity.
"HEY! GUYS! GARNET, HELP!" Steven called, as loud as he could. But even if it would be loud enough to reach them, the sound was muffled inside the bubble regardless of how close, so it wasn't doing them any good. That, and one more detail that Steven just now remembered.
"Dang it, I forgot I told them not to watch," Steven realized. Steven looked to Connie, hoping this wasn't scaring her more. But when he saw her ... she had her attention elsewhere.
"Huh? What is it?" Steven asked.
"Is that ... a robot?"
Steven looked, and sure enough, this robot thing slowly landed down on the beach nearby, its turbulence from its personal jet engine calming down. This figure, coming in from the sky, appeared to be some sort of robot: its entire body a shade of metallic blue, red, with some yellow along a few of its joints. In the sunlight of the day, the light glistened off its metal skin, its gaze staring blankly yet forebodingly at the two children before it. Funny thing though, at least to Steven, this robot that came in from the sky looked eerily familiar to a particular blue Hedgehog ... strikingly familiar, minus the mouth and, well, anything that would make him alive.
"Umm ... hi?" Steven muttered, unsure of what else to say. The robot just stared coldly at the two, not flinching and not responding. Just staring at the eerie look of the robot made Steven and Connie feel nervous, as if it was some kind of alien predator. They both began to back away, but gravity didn't help them there as the slope of the hill made them roll right forward. The robot raised a clawed hand, and stopped the rolling bubble with no effort, continuing to stare, its ringed eyes locked to Steven specifically. Despite the scary appearance though, Steven then noticed those sharp claws, and got an idea.
"Hey! Can you hear me out there?" Steven asked.
"Steven, what're you doing?" Connie whispered. Steven continued anyway.
"Your uhh ... claws, look really sharp. Think you can help us out and scratch open our bubble?" Steven asked.
The robot didn't respond through words. In its mind, it was doing a bit more than just staring at them ... it was studying them. A small *beep* was enough to bring it to action, stepping back from the bubble, and raising both its clawed hands. Steven was pleased, though Connie wasn't so sure about this idea. There wasn't much they could do though: the robot was gonna attack anyway! The robot lunged forward, Steven and Connie ducking in case it would fly through, and they both heard a set of claws scratch hard at the surface of the bubble. Then silence. When the two looked, the robot stood there, claw marks only very briefly on the bubble before disappearing ... and the robot's claws suddenly just a pair of stubs. The bubble was stronger than they thought.
The robot simply stared at the stubs that were once its claws.
"Ehehehe ... tough bubble," Steven muttered.
"I don't know about this, Steven," Connie finally said.
"Don't worry, it's okay: it made scratches, it can get us out."
"But -"
*wirrrrrrrr* Steven and Connie looked back to a weird sight: this metallic robot had its head tilted to the side, just enough so its inner workings are exposed. Its fingers were shoved in there already, but that didn't seem to bother it. In fact, it sounded like a pencil sharpener. Once one hand was done, it tilted its head the other way and did the same thing to the other hand.
It didn't take long until it came out with even sharper claws, a *shing* sound emitting as it swipped them in the air to get the metal chips off. NOW it was ready for another round.
Steven and Connie stepped back as the scratches intensified, the robot clawing and swiping over and over again, and while those sharpened claws did more damage, it still wasn't enough to actually tear that bubble open. The sheer ferocity was making Steven question his decision, but before either of them could think of what to do, the metallic figure suddenly began moving away from the bubble ... only to charge right back!
"Uh oh." The metallic being slammed right into the bubble at jet speed, and even then while the bubble DID NOT POP, it send Connie and Steven flying! The momentum sent them right up the hill, rocketing them into the air as if shooting off a ramp. Connie and Steven could only scream during all this, slamming against the cliffside wall before bouncing off the roof of the house. The robot just got slammed into the sand thanks to being struck by that bubble, though not looking too fazed either as it laid on the beach (if it could show emotion at all, that is).
NOW did that racket finally bring out two of the Crystal Gems: Garnet and Amethyst.
"Yo, dude, what's the racket out -" Amethyst was cut short seeing the robot on the beach quickly spring back to life, its head then body spinning rapidly to get rid of the sand and face the two adversaries. The robot stared at Garnet and Amethyst before a few beeps emitted from its empty frame.
"Amethyst, move!" Garnet shouted. Not a moment too soon, as the second after she said it, the robot rocketed right at them! Garnet and Amethyst quickly jumped out of the way, the robot blasting down the front door into nothing but scrap wood.
"What's going on out here?" Amethyst asked Steven on landing.
"In short: I summoned a bubble, and then that showed up," Steven summed up. Amethyst, in that brief distraction, got clocked when the robot punched out of the house, ramming her and sending her flying into the cliff wall. This robot wasn't playing around anymore. Amethyst groaned, picking herself off of the ground with rocks in her hair, but the robot was quickly on top of her before she could do anything, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her up to stare her down. Amethyst struggled to get this thing to let go, but the robot proved pretty durable to Amethyst's kicking. It was only when Amethyst swung her feet up and clocked the metal being in the face did it finally let go, skidding back a foot.
"What the heck? He look like Sonic," Amethyst thought. She hardly had time to think about it though, the robot aiming directly at her, claws at the ready for another strike.
"Wanna play rough eh?" Amethyst said. She brought her hand to her chest, locking it to her gemstone, as it began to glow. The robot watched closely as she summoned something from it - a long line of rope, transforming into her signature whip.
"Whoa," Connie gasped.
"You got this, guys!" Steven said. But that shouting just reminded the robot of their presence. Looking over to them, Amethyst used that distraction to whip the robot. However, not only did it not do much, but it grabbed hold and ripped it clean in two! It prepared to charge, but Garnet got in the way just in time, forcing the robot back with a fist into the ground.
Neither said a word to eachother, as if knowing what they were gonna do. The robot stayed firm though, and took its gamble, charging directly towards Garnet at full force. As for Garnet, she cracked her knuckles before revving up what looked like a punch ...
All she had to do was grab it though, and focused a little bit before ...
*ZZZZAP*
The robot's circuitry suddenly went haywire as Garnet revealed another trick in her arsenal: electricity. And a LOT of it! hundreds of voltage circulated through the robot, its parts and limbs twitching and spazzing out as its own network couldn't handle so much at once. Eventually, the robot finally went limb, deactivated and fried.
Garnet simply kicked the robot a good mile into the sea.
......
"My mom can make this?" Steven asked.
Didn't take them long until Steven and Connie were brought into the Beach House, bubble and all. One lucky thing that robot did for them was the smashed wall made it big enough for the bubble to fit inside the house, and while Connie and Steven were sitting there inside the bubble, Garnet took the time explaining this to them while Amethyst kept trying to pop the thing.
"It was one of her primary abilities," Garnet explained, "A spherical forcefield she'd usually use for close calls and closer combat. Or to protect us when she was close."
"Yeah, and they're -" *clank* "- pretty tough too," Amethyst said, as she tried in vain to use a kitchen mallet to smash it open. All that did was break the mallet first, so she went to fetch something else.
"Cool. But how do I get it to go away?" Steven asked.
Garnet paused ... then shrugged. Connie began feeling more troubled, but Steven tried to calm her down.
"I-It's okay, really, I bet Pearl knows! Where is she?" Steven asked.
"She's out with Sonic. He kept sleeping, so they went for a more active approach. ... They went jogging," Garnet said.
"Sonic? Who's that?" Connie asked. Little too late to take it back now, but Steven still didn't want Connie to freak out any more than she probably already was. Even if she already saw a killer robot and went along with the bubble field.
"U-Uhh ... my ... my brother!" Steven said, slightly panicking, "My big bro Sonic. He came by today, so he and Pearl are catching up! Yep, that's it."
"... Umm ... OK ..." Connie replied. She didn't get why Steven was freaking out now all of a sudden, but Steven was glad she bought that. Amethyst and Garnet just rolled with it, remembering what Steven said earlier. Besides, they got bigger problems right now.
"Okay, stand back, we're gonna try this," Amethyst said, grabbing a kitchen barstool and ready to swing it.
"Amethyst, wait -" too late. Garnet's words didn't get her to stop as Amethyst slammed it down onto the bubble. All that did though was smash it to pieces, leaving Amethyst with only two of the stool's legs in hand. So much for that.
"Let's try something less violent," Steven suggested.
......
What was Garnet's idea? Well, they were brought back outside of the beach house, along the shoreline again. Amethyst kept the bubble still.
"I thought you said something LESS violent," Connie reminded.
"I did: Garnet's WAY safer than a smashed chair," Steven explained, more than comfortable with whatever plan this was about.
"Ehh, yeah, gotta agree there," Amethyst shrugged. Even if it was her idea. Connie for one still wasn't sure how good of an idea this even was, but soon the three looked up the cliffside, spying a figure standing right at the top of the cliff.
"YO, G! READY FOR LANDING!" Amethyst shouted.
Whether or not she heard her didn't seem to matter, because it didn't take a moment more before Garnet jumped right off the cliff. For anyone normal that was suicide, but Garnet wasn't afraid of a little freefall, especially if it meant freeing Steven. In the air, Garnet's fists glowed briefly before they were replaced by her sturdy gauntlets. She aimed them straight down, diving headfirst towards Steven's bubble! Steven and Connie could only brace for impact, Amethyst high-tailing it before Garnet could reach them.
Garnet slammed down so hard, the very impact shock sent sand clouds all over the place, a notable *boom* emitting upon landing. Amethyst got caught up in the aftershock, being covered in a pile of sand in no time at all. Once the cooldown settled, Amethyst popped her head from the nearby sand pile.
"Aww yeah, that oughte bust em out!" Amethyst beamed.
"... No. It didn't," Garnet said.
Garnet stood on top of the still stable bubble, but that wasn't the only thing: Steven and Connie found themselves stuck in a wall of spiked glass, jutting out in all directions.
"Wait, what? Where'd this come from?" Steven asked, bewildered by the sudden spikes as Garnet hopped down. Connie though took a closer look at them.
"Oh, that's sand! Whenever sand gets super heated up, it turns into glass," Connie explained.
"Huh. I did not know that," Steven said, looking to the glass as Garnet plucked them out of the way. At least none of it got in the bubble in that crash. None of them really tried using the glass though if THAT impact alone didn't pop it. The two kids rolled out to the softer normal sand.
"Sorry, Steven."
"No, it's okay. We'll just think of something else," Steven promised.
"Maybe because it's a "Gem" thing attacking a "Gem" thing?" Amethyst shrugged, shaking the sand out of her hair as she walked over. It was anybody's guess though at this point what could possibly pop open this bubble. Her mentioning the "gem thing" bit did get Steven thinking though. Soon, the idea came to him.
"Wait, I know. Come on, to the docks!"
"The docks?" Amethyst asked.
"Yeah, it's got something that can pop this bubble, I know it will. Come on," Steven replied. With not much else to go off, Steven and Connie started rolling off down the beach, Amethyst just going off following them. As for Garnet, her mind stayed on the ocean. It was a brief thought, but it was enough for Garnet to be at least a little bit concerned, looking off far beyond the shoreline towards the same spot where she dropkicked that robot of theirs. She didn't forget about it, far from it, she just needed to handle this problem first.
"One thing at a time," she thought.
~~~~~~
...
-rebooting 25% complete-
...
-rebooting 75% complete-
...
-reboot 100% complete-
...
Even with its circuitry given a nasty fry by Garnet, Metal Sonic managed to finally reboot himself while laying there in the wet sand of the ocean floor. Metal Sonic couldn't hear anything, but then again it was hard to hear anything underwater.
-Scanning environment-
As far as where he was, the robot sat up and took a moment to scan his surroundings, but did have a rough time finding out how far he was from the shore, if any shore at all. He saw a couple large sea rocks, a fish shoal or two, some stray seaweed clumps, nothing out of the ordinary when it came to the open ocean. The only unique thing that Metal Sonic noted was some kind of statue - or part of one - laying along the floor nearby.
-Relocating target objective-
Something for later. After all, he didn't come here just to study some architecture. Now fully rebooted, the robot slowly got back to his feet, and began walking. Apparently his metal was heavy enough to keep him on the floor, so with that he simply began walking along towards whatever direction the shoreline was. The water did make movements a bit slow, though his circuitry being fried didn't help things either. Metal Sonic's walk along the bottom of the sea, while at first peaceful, was soon interrupted.
A large, slow shadow loomed overhead.
Metal Sonic took a look up to the shadow's owner, and he found himself in the presence of a massive underwater creature. It moved slowly through the water, its body long and smooth like that of a worm or serpent, with a rounded head lined with sets of tentacle looking almost like boneless fingers. It didn't look to have any scales or anything, just smooth, almost frog-like skin. Metal Sonic simply stood there, staring at this new coming quarry as it slowly moved through the water. Lucky for the robot, this giant worm wasn't interested in him, but instead targeted some nearby seaweed to eat.
... That was, until Metal Sonic took a few steps closer. The creature took interest now, raising its face to the robot's way. Although it had no eyes whatsoever, something about Metal Sonic seemed to set it off because it began to roar good and loud in the robot's direction. Metal Sonic stopped moving, but while he had slower movement in the water, the monster did not: it rocketed right towards him at full speed, mouth full of shark teeth wide open and ready for the kill. Maybe it was the fried circuits, or maybe just the water, but Metal Sonic couldn't get out of the way before the worm monster swallowed him whole!
Just like that, this robot was gone. Or so it looked like it ...
The worm barely got to about a few feet from the grab before suddenly the worm found a sudden blast exploding from the beast's back! A large laser from its own stomach, exploding the monster from the inside out into a cloud of dust. As for Metal Sonic, while slightly damaged, he was still standing and slowly landed back onto the sandy floor. In place of the monster was now a small rock, landing ever so gently on Metal Sonic's head. The robot grabbed the rock, staring at it. The remains of a creature that tried to kill him.
...
*crack*
One flex of the wrist, and the Gem monster was no more.
-Relocating target objective-
Not thinking at all about what he just done, Metal Sonic marched onward yet again, the shards of that gem beast left to be buried in the ocean sands.
...
The docks. It wasn't easy for Steven and Connie to roll all the way over here, but they did manage to get it done as they stood there, Garnet and Amethyst alongside, both unsure just what they were about to do. It was a nice spot, and nobody else was around to complain to them. Connie meanwhile was keeping a nice eye on many of the boats around the dockside, interested and actually pretty happy.
"Oh, a little trawler. And a skipjack!" Connie said.
"First sand glass, and now boat names? You're pretty smart," Amethyst complimented. Connie found herself flustered, but only for a short second before smiling, rubbing her arm.
"Well that's what happens when you're at the beach, and don't swim, and don't have friends. You look at boats."
Amethyst paused blankly.
"... Ok then - Steven, what's the game plan?" she asked.
"Alright. So Gem things can't pop Gem things. So we're gonna try a non-Gem thing to pop this gem-made bubble."
"That would be ... what?" Connie asked.
"Easy: A Harpoon Gun!"
The two Gems and human girl jumped back in surprise.
"What?!"
"Yeah: to pop the bubble! One shot should do the trick."
"Maybe we can wait for Pearl and Sonic to come back?" Connie asked.
"They'll be gone all day," Garnet said. "... The least we can do is try. Amethyst."
"Alright, I'm on it," Amethyst said, going down the dock to find what they needed.
Being at a dock though, that didn't take longer than ten minutes to figure out, as Amethyst found herself not just a harpoon gun, but one with an entire boat to move it in. The boat was small, but Amethyst got it moving into position with the Harpoon aimed directly at them.
"You're absolutely sure about this, Steven," Garnet asked.
"Sure. The worst that can happen is that it bounces off," Steven said.
"Not exactly," thought Connie, worriedly. They hardly had anymore time to consider any of this, because Garnet stepped aside. Connie and Steven yelped as they tried to make as much space between them for the Harpoon to pass through. Given the all clear, Amethyst fired!
... Not only did it bounce off, it shot down a nearby boat.
Not the best things to happen ever.
"The trawler ..." sighed Connie, saddened.
"I think it's time to go, guys," Amethyst said, quickly jumping off of the boat and rolling the bubble away quick as she could before any dock hands could chew them out for destroying one of their boats. The last thing they needed right now was a lawsuit.
"But what about the Trawler?" Connie asked, trying not to trip as they moved.
"Trawler? What Trawler?" Amethyst asked. Connie could only gulp. Not one day and already she broke the law with this group. Even with them high-tailing it out of there, the question still stood: So the bubble stayed attached together after Metal Sonic's claws, kitchen chairs and appliances, Garnet's gauntlets, AND a Harpoon gun. What could they do next to try and pop this thing?! Luck has a funny was of working though. If the group had stuck around for a minute more, then they probably would've had even more trouble to deal with than just an angry dockhand. Just down by the dock waters, in particular where the boat sunk, something began to stir underneath the water surface. ...
-Target located-
Clawing its way up slow, he hauled itself onto the dock, now more determined than ever to finish what he was sent out to do. He might be wet, and a little bit roughed up, but his stubbornness will not be broken by a bunch of rocks! Standing up at attention, Metal Sonic shook off the water on his metallic skin, just as someone else started to come over.
"You there!" shouted a dockhand. Lucky for the Crystal Gems taking off, but Metal Sonic simply stood there. Staring at the man coming over in a rage.
"You and your buddies think your funny blowing up my boats?!" he complained, "It's thousands of dollars just to keep these things running, they're NOT made to be you clowns' shooting - ACK!"
Metal Sonic shut him up real quick by grabbing him by the neck, and tossing him into the water. He had no time, nor did he care, about this guy or his precious boats. The man was still alive, gasping for air after being chucked like that, but he couldn't get back at the robot for this abuse in time. After locking onto target, Metal Sonic was gone ...
WITH A BOAT IN HAND!
As the dockhand was cursing the robot out from below, Metal Sonic hovered far above him with the skipjack boat over his head. Metal Sonic's eyes focused in front towards the town again, eventually locking its eyes onto the group running towards town.
"I think the dockhand doesn't see us anymore," Steven panted, "Should we take a break?"
"No. MOVE!" Garnet shouted.
*CRASH!!!*
Without even the slightest hesitation, Metal Sonic chucked the boat right at them! The group just barely got out of the way, but the large sailboat was quickly smashed into nothing but kindling, with boards, ripped sails, and metal poles scattered everywhere. A nearby shop wasn't safe either, as the debris smashed through the window as well, the metallic pole of the sail jutting through it like a spear. The sailboat, only half of it somehow in tact, could've crushed them all if they were a second slower. It took them a second to see who threw that, with Metal Sonic slowly descending from the sky. Immediately, Garnet and Amethyst armed up, weapons at the ready.
"What? Didn't you shock it or something back at the beach? How'd he get back here?" Amethyst asked.
"Steven, get somewhere -" *BAM!* Metal wasn't waiting for this fight. With supersonic speed, one kick to the head sent Garnet skidding back, her feet digging in the concrete.
"GARNET!" Steven gasped. She didn't had much time to recover when Metal Sonic rushed her again, jet engine fuming and eyes glaring to even the score! It didn't take long before the two were in another fight, Garnet and Metal Sonic coming right at eachother. In the fight though, Metal learned from before and in his fury of punches and kicks, he kept darting back whenever Garnet tried grabbing him. The robot wasn't willing for another electrocution, and he made that more than clear when he grabbed Garnet's hand in his metal claws.
"Step off, tincan!" Amethyst shouted, wrapping her whip around the robot's body before yanking him away. Metal simply had to do a spin to cut the whip, and then he charged right for the purple Gem, sending them both crashing into a nearby parked car.
"Guys!"
"Steven," Connie said, terrified.
"I-It's okay, they fight these all the time!" Steven insisted.
"Steven, go!" shouted Garnet, rushing for Metal Sonic again. The robot turned to face the leader again, jumping aside before Garnet could grab him. Garnet tried again and again, but Metal Sonic kept dodging her grip. After a good five times, Garnet finally swung her leg around, tripping Metal Sonic before grabbing him tight and holding him up.
"We're done here," Garnet said, electrocuting the daylights out of him right there. The robot glitched and spazzed out in the electrical flow. Unlike before however, this trick came with one final surprise from this metallic fighter. One that began to slowly rev up as Garnet held him.
-Counterattack-
Even Garnet couldn't get out of the way fast enough. One single, VERY POWERFUL Plasma blast sent Garnet flying, the laser blasting from Metal Sonic's stomach. Garnet flew into Amethyst, then into Steven and Connie, sending them all crashing into several cars, and finally stopping at the building near the end of the street. Whoever owned those cars were only left with scrap metal, and the building nothing but shambles. Silence filled the air along with the dust, Metal Sonic waiting to see the results.
Was it enough?
...
No. The dust cleared, revealing them all within the rubble, groaning a little bit still alive. The bubble shield still didn't break either. Steven and Connie were bruised at worst, but Steven found something even worse: in the tumble, his foot ended up ... well, on her face.
"Sorry! Sorry," Steven yelped. Connie didn't say anything though, simply getting up as Amethyst and Garnet got up.
"This is getting bad," Garnet said, rubbing her head as Amethyst shook off the debris.
"It's okay, we can figure this out. You guys can -"
"IT'S NOT OKAY!"
They stopped and looked to Connie. She'd been trying her hardest, but this was too much. ALL of this was too much for her to take. In fact, she looked ready to cry.
"All day long: the robot, the rocks, that harpoon gun! You keep saying everything's fine, but you don't know what you're doing! Now we're going to die by the hands of that robot outside! ... And ONLY MY PARENTS WILL KNOW BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE CARES ABOUT ME!"
Connie could feel her fists tremble, but she couldn't keep standing as she sat down inside the bubble again, feeling defeated.
"... I'm going to disappear without making one, single friend. ..."
She couldn't hold it anymore, and as tears began to stream down her face, all she could do now was sit there and sob. Even in the midst of their situation, all three of them simply stared at her for a moment, seeing just how much they've put her through today. Amethyst and Garnet couldn't do anything for her, but as for Steven, he had one idea. A small gesture, but an idea all the same.
He held out something. Something he had with him from the Beach House that morning. He hoped for a better time, but this was the time, and he had to take it before it could get any worse.
A glowing bracelet.
"We can be friends," Steven simply said. Connie didn't respond, her face red with tears still coming down.
"I saw you drop this a long time ago," Steven explained, "Back during last year's Beach City parade. I wanted to give it back to you, but when I got there, you were gone, so ... I held onto it just in case."
"He still held onto that?" Amethyst quietly asked, only to be hushed by Garnet. Comments weren't needed for now. Connie began to come around, calming down and beginning to remember that event. It seemed something began to click in her own head, looking to Steven again.
"Wait ... wait, I remember now: you're the kid on the car wash float. You ... had soap bubbles in your hair," Connie realized, and she couldn't help but smile remembering that boy. Steven blushed too, though it was in good spirits. They both actually shared a chuckle on that too.
"Connie, listen I ... I'm sorry for all this. If I'd just give this back to you then, you wouldn't be stuck here with me now."
...
"Steven, i-it's okay. I -"
-Target sighted-
Connie's sentence was cut short by Metal Sonic's arrival. Sweetness didn't matter to a cold-hearted machine. Staggering over the rubble, Metal closed the gap between himself and everyone else, though his movements were slow with electricity sparking out of his body. He was in bad shape, but not ready to go out just yet. His head twitched and clicked, his blinking red eye staring at his targets.
"DON'T. YOU. DARE." Garnet said sternly, standing between the robot and the bubble. The robot, of course, wasn't listening, and he slowly began to charge up yet another attack. As he was trying to charge though, Connie began to notice something wrong with him.
"Wait, guys!"
"What? It's about to blast us again!" Amethyst retorted, whip ready.
"I don't think it can," Connie realized.
Looking again, she was right: Metal Sonic's electrocuted framework wasn't able to hold such a powerful weapon for long. Ther longer the energy built up, the more his body surged and sparked, like a hostile living bomb! His body twisted, twitched, and winched from the overload until -
*BOOM!*
Just like that, Metal Sonic was done. The robot's body scattered everywhere, with wires, bolts, and other parts flying around them. They all covered up to avoid getting hit, but none of the parts really did any extra damage to them. Metal Sonic's head bounced off of Steven and Connie's bubble shield, finally deactivating for good this time, the flickering eyes now completely dark and dormant. And you know what else? ...
*pop* went Steven's bubble. After ALL OF THAT, Steven's bubble finally popped, freeing Steven and Connie. They stared blank-faced for a bit, then stared at one another briefly. Steven didn't know what to say, but rather than speak he simply gave Connie the bracelet.
The two simply smiled. The day might not have gone perfectly, but hey, they were fine - and alive - and that was all that was important.
~~~~~~
The rest of the day had indeed settled itself down, and while Connie made her own way back to her home, Steven and the Gems went and did the same. At least here none of them were charged with wrecking part of the Beach City streets, though their target was already more than punished as it was so they didn't need to do more to that. Besides, all that work trying to pop that bubble, and fighting Metal Sonic, did tire them out a bit during their walk back to the Beach House.
"Not bad for a first date, eh Steven?" Amethyst remarked on their way back home, playfully nudging Steven.
"Amethyst," Steven muttered, blushing as Amethyst chuckled. Good thing she held off on those remarks until after Connie left. Garnet, regardless, gave Amethyst a small bonk on the head.
"Hey. Don't mess with his funky flow," Garnet stated. Amethyst rubbed her head.
"Geesh, sorry, Connie's not here anyway. You're glad our little man's got his first date, aren't you?" Amethyst replied, playfully fluffing Steven's hair. Steven couldn't help but laugh in spite of it. Garnet didn't answer ... but she did give Steven a pat on the head.
She had her own way of doing things.
"Well, even if we almost died from a mad robot, everything was A-okay in the end," Steven said.
As they kept walking along, the trio then heard the o so familiar sound of the Warp Pad going off back at the Beach House. Given who was already there, they knew right away just who was back home. With that knowing, they went right over to the house, wasting no time in going inside.
"Hi Pearl, Hi So - ... nic ..."
When they all got there they found Pearl and Sonic standing at the Warp Pad. Both Gem and Hedgehog looked worn out, but they also looked soaking wet again with water covering them from head to toe. They also had a fair share of bumps and bruises; Sonic having a nasty black eye while Pearl had a few scratches on her side, as if some animal clawed her. They would ask what happened to the two, but Pearl was holding something that immediately got their attention first.
Or rather, someone. Someone unconscious, laying limp in Pearl's arms ...
"We have a problem," Pearl muttered.
Category:Sonic Gem