ultimateCCC, Mike Prower the Fox, enustikehtelckaJ (to return the favor), It'sStephanyx3, Alyssacookie, Mana the Cat Magician, SherryBlossom, GalexiatheChao, poka, 01sonamy01, IHeartSonAmy, bk00, cheese15624: Dang that was a lot of reviews. Thanks guys! :D

So... apparently some of you had a problem with how the guys could really get hurt, since they were only battling holograms. Well... truth is, there's really only one Metal Sonic. The others are holograms. If you go back and reread chapter 10 and the battle, you'll see that I tried to make it seem like the robots weren't doing any damage and just avoiding the attacks from Sonic, Knuckles, etc. See, Sonic kept getting hit in the back, as the holograms distracted him from the real thing, so the only real Metal Sonic could attack from behind. Plus they were faster than Sonic because, being just images, they move at the speed of light, and Sonic can't quite go THAT fast.

Eh... apparently I didn't pull that off too well, but that was my intent. It was a weird battle scene to write. So yes, one Metal Sonic did all that damage, but that's feasible, if it really can move as fast as Sonic, it could do that. (And okay, just as a joke... will the real Metal Sonic please stand up... ugh, so corny, but I couldn't resist...)

And for those of you that think Amy was too... childish in going after Sonic alone... honestly, what else would she do in that situation? If Sonic really was captured and in trouble... I honestly think she would go after him, by herself if she had to . This is evident to me, but whatever.

Now, I've added enough notes, but just felt like I had to explain myself a little. :D And no, I wasn't upset at your questions, I'm glad people are actually reading and thinking about my stories. :D

So... without further ado, if you guys aren't about to kill me, here's chapter 12...

...xxx...

Chapter 12: Captiv-ated

...xxx...

Sonic had to wince as the only greeting his lime green eyes were welcomed with upon opening was a blinding light overwhelming his senses. Blinking and groaning, the hedgehog tried to remember what in the world had happened, but his head was aching, preventing him from thinking too much. The only thing he could process was that he was terribly sore all over his body, and was lying on his stomach. Where was he anyway? It was too painful to open his eyes at the moment and look around.

Keeping his eyes squeezed shut, Sonic used his hands to try and lift himself back to an upright position, but his legs were too weak for him to climb to anything but his knees. But that posture was too uncomfortable, so he fell back on his bottom, letting his legs stretch out in front of him.

His vision was clearing up a little as he blinked away the tears formed in the corner of his eyes. Why was it so bright in here? Where was here, anyway? Sonic squinted as he tried to make out objects around him. It was all so vague, so hazy... Barely, he could make out the fuzzy outline of vertical, metal bars right in front of him. A cage.

Oh no, not this! His instincts immediately kicked in, warning him to run, to get out of here.

Without further thought, he curled himself into his spin dash and aimed for the bars on the cage, but a ravaging pain shocked him upon impact with the bars. Sonic jumped back in horror, now almost crying from the pain. The bars must have been lined with an electric charge of some kind. Which meant he was stuck in here.

Well, at least I'm not dead. Although I might be if I have to stay in this cage much longer.

Sonic sighed and sat back down. His vision was now crystal clear again, and he did a once over of his body. His skinny legs were matted with dried blood, his chest and arms were covered in bruises, and a long but shallow cut ran over his abs. The cut on his arm he'd gotten from an earlier fight had been reopened, and had bled under the bandage.

Quite suddenly, the events came back to him in a powerful flash: The Metal Sonic army. His friends all scared. The strange battle. Amy kidnapped. Stepping forward. And the look in Amy's eyes when he gave himself up.

Sonic winced at that last image. I hope she can forgive me for this.

Honestly, Sonic would chalk this one up to his impulsiveness. It had been the only thing he could think of at the time to save Amy. If he hadn't, she'd be the one here. And Sonic figured he'd be the one with the better chance of getting out of this mess, anyway. Way better than Amy could. Besides, who knew what Eggman would do to her? He couldn't let the Metal Sonics hurt his friends or his Amy any more than they had.

But that was the only thinking he'd done. He hadn't thought about what Eggman would actually do to him. Apparently nothing. Yet. Or maybe he already had. Hmph.

Feeling a bit stronger now, Sonic stretched out his sore legs and lifted himself back to his feet. He hated to be cooped up like this. There had to be some way out of this situation. The cage was way too small for someone like Sonic, especially since he couldn't touch the bars. He started pacing but found he could only get two paces in. He sighed loudly, frustrated. Eggman didn't have to do anything else to him. This was torture enough.

Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Espio, Rouge… you guys can show up anytime now.

It then occurred to Sonic that he didn't have any idea how long he'd been out for. It could have been days since that battle.

But they would have shown up by now, right?

Then again, the Metal Sonics were probably keeping them back. They must be trying to find a way around them. It was strange: how had Eggman made so many of them? It seemed impossible. How would they ever be able to beat that many? Sonic had his hands full with just one Metal Sonic. He hoped his friends were figuring that out now.

A whooshing sound of the door opening brought Sonic back to the present. He immediately glanced toward the door, expecting to hear Eggman gloating and dancing. Whatever; the doctor wasn't going to win this time. Upon seeing just who had entered, though, his eyes grew wide.

What... was he dreaming? Had Eggman killed him and he'd gone to heaven?

"AMY?"

"Shush!" the pink hedgehog whispered and brought a finger to her lips.

Sonic could only gape and hiss, "how did you get in here?"

A perfect smile lit up her lovely face. "Oh, it's no big deal. The Metal Sonics are just holograms. Eggman tricked us."

She was kidding. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Amy said, wincing as she inspected his blood stained fur.

Sonic frowned. "Holograms? We were fighting holograms?"

"Sh!" Amy reminded him, but had to giggle at his outburst, in spite of the pain he was obviously in.

Sonic let out a breath. "Well, that's a relief. So where are the others?"

"Oh, they're not here yet," Amy said casually.

"You came alone?" Sonic was astonished.

"Shush!" she hissed and looked around desperately, knowing Eggman would find them soon. "I need to get you out of here. You're okay, right?"

But the blue hedgehog was still in awe. "Yeah, I'm fine, but Amy... you took on the whole Metal Sonic army…by yourself?"

Amy turned back to him and smirked. "Well, yeah. I wasn't about to wait for Tails to figure out the age of the universe. I just had to save you. And besides, once I got past the holograms, Eggman didn't have any other security bots posted, so I was able to get in here easily enough."

Sonic was entirely speechless. How incredibly... brave of her. For a minute he pictured a determined Amy, not caring what the others did, leaving to save him by herself, taking on the whole army if she had to. It was almost something that he would do! Sonic chuckled at the thought.

As he studied her, still mightily impressed, he had a thought. This really was the same little girl who followed him around everywhere, even when he was in terrible danger. And then Sonic knew. He knew that he could always count on her to be there for him. Through thick and thin. No matter what. Because she was by far, the most amazing girl he'd ever met.

Suddenly all Sonic wanted to do at that point was just hold Amy in his arms and never let her go again, lest something happened to her. He just wanted to hug her, kiss her, thank her... Amy was so delicate yet so fearless.

He loved her.

"Amy…" Sonic wanted to tell her what he was thinking, but honestly he didn't think there were words for it. And there really wasn't time. But whenever he got out of this ordeal of a prison, he'd let her know just that.

In response to her name, Amy smiled at her boyfriend so sweetly that Sonic's heart was about to burst from tenderness.

"I.. I thought I told you to stay home," he said and smiled in a way that let her know he was kidding.

Amy's sweet smile turned into a smirk as she tilted her head saucily. "Well, then this is the last time I save you."

Sonic grinned. "Trust me, Ames, this is the last time I'm gonna need savin'."

Amy's response was cut off by the whooshing sound of the door opening. Sonic gasped, but he was helpless. Frantically looking around, Amy dove under a computer desk, hopefully out of sight.

"Ho ho ho ho ho ho! Finally awake, I see," a way too giddy Eggman cackled.

There was an unusual spring in the doctor's step as he made his fat way up to stand in front of Sonic's cage. His dark blue glasses flashed in victory.

Sonic lifted his eyes to meet Eggman's gaze, but looked at Amy through his peripheral vision. All he wanted was for her to be safe and for them to get out of here. He really didn't want to deal with Eggman right now. What a drag.

"So you're giving into my side now? How very kind of you."

Sonic crossed his arms in defiance. "I'm never joining you!"

Eggman raised his eyebrows. "Oh Sonic, I do believe you're forgetting something." He leaned forward as if he was about to tell a secret, but then said, "You're not free anymore, Sonic. You're my prisoner. You're terribly injured. And I have hundreds of Metal Sonics at my disposal that at the push of a button can harm your friends. Even your precious, pathetic little girlfriend. So don't be deluded: you're at my mercy. If I were you, I'd do everything that I say."

Except that you don't have hundreds of Metal Sonics. Should he tell him he knew? Why kill what Eggman thought was leverage? Sonic merely glared at the doctor, not giving in an inch. "You think I'm scared of you? Ha."

Eggman crossed his arms. "Oh, obstinate, are we? Well, I'll have to resort to other modes of persuading you, then."

Sonic heard Amy gasp, but shot back, "Do your worst!"

His worst. Now this would be fun. "Heh heh - "

"DOCTOR EGGMAN!" Decoe and Bocoe suddenly ran into the room, breaking his evil thoughts.

"ARGH! You fools! Can't you see I'm busy here?" Eggman yelled at them.

"But doctor! We have intruders!"

"What?" Eggman turned pale, knowing this couldn't be good. Had they somehow manged to find out his secret? To save power, he'd turned off all of his other security measures... "Well, sick the Metal Sonic's on them!"

"But…" Decoe said forlornly. He looked at Sonic, then back at the doctor. "We... can't."

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle. "Your façade is over, Eggman."

"OH, you're still in a cage so I wouldn't be laughing!"

"Nah, not for long." Sonic said, grinning. "My friends should be here any minute. It's awfully easy to walk through a hologram."

Eggman turned even paler, before steeling his expression and shaking his head. "No. You're not going to win this time, Sonic. You're an even bigger fool than I thought if you gave yourself up when you knew they were holograms."

Eggman started heading for the computer where Amy was. Sonic freaked out, but he was helpless.

At the sight of two black boots coming in her direction, panic flooded Amy's system. Oh jeez, he was heading right for her! Not bothering to think, Amy jumped out from under the computer desk and desperately swung her hammer. Eggman didn't have time to react, and her hammer hit him square in the chest, flinging him to the other side of the room. Decoe and Bocoe both yelled and took off to get the real Metal.

"YOU? What are you doing here?" Eggman demanded whilst in flight.

"This is for hurting my Sonic!" Amy yelled jumped to hit him again, sending him back to the other side.

"This is for tricking us!" She whacked him again, but this time he ended up in the hallway.

"OW!" the doctor yelled. He got up to call for the robots but when he looked up, a gasp stuck in his throat.

Right in front of him were Knuckles, Rouge, Tails, and Espio, various smirks and glares on their faces. Eggman glanced behind him, but there was Amy with her hammer. He started sweating nervously.

"Tails, get Sonic!" Amy said to the fox, pointing to the room. "He's in a cage in there but I can't open it."

"Gotcha," Tails said, and headed for the door to free the hedgehog.

Eggman kept looking at the 4 team members surrounding him.

"Now, now, let's not get all excited, hmm? It was all just a big misunderstanding, right?"

They all growled at him, letting him know that they certainly were not amused.

Eggman was about to call on the real Metal, but he jetted by unprompted, knocking over Rouge in the process.

"Rouge, you okay?" Knuckles asked as he picked her up. The bat groaned in his arms, sending Knuckles' temper flaring. That robot was toast now.

Upon seeing the real Metal Sonic, Amy screamed and rushed back into Sonic's room, knowing he would be the only one to save all of them. "Tails hurry up! There's a real Metal Sonic here!"

"I'm trying!" Tails yelled. He was working frantically at one of the computers, typing in commands and trying to hack into the security.

The door burst open, courtesy of Metal.

"TAILS!" Sonic hurried at seeing his faker. He was absolutely ready to be free of this cage.

"I'm going!"

Metal rushed right towards the fox, hoping to distract him. Amy was closer, however, and swung her hammer at the robot, forcing it to change direction and bounce off the walls. Knuckles, Rouge, and Espio then entered.

"We gotta distract it!" Amy said desperately, and the others steeled themselves.

However, Metal stood still in the middle of the room, unfazed, and suddenly something that sounded eerily like laughter emerged.

"Do you think you can defeat me?" Metal said.

"Whoa, it can talk?" Sonic asked from inside the cage, incredulous.

His cold red eyes glared at his rival. "Yes, I can do much more than that, Sonic. Now I suggest you close your eyes while I tear your friends to shreds."

Anger seeping his body, Sonic clenched his fists. He glared at Tails impatiently, hating to feel trapped. The fox was looking at him. What? Had he gotten rid of the electric charge? It didn't matter, Sonic was done waiting. Sonic launched himself into his spin dash and grinned as he easily broke through the bars. Thanks, Tails.

Knowing that ultimately, this was his battle, Sonic headed out of the room and the base in general, hoping Metal would follow him away from his friends. Before he had gotten too far, Sonic heard Amy call his name, but he couldn't let that stop him. Don't worry, Amy. I got this faker.

He came to a halt among a series of hills to catch his breath and work out a strategy, but quickly had to halt as Metal was on him in a flash. Sonic quickly jumped out of the way, and had to go on the defensive for a few minutes as the robot was endlessly attacking him. Feeling the strength fading from his already sore legs, Sonic knew he'd have to finish this soon. Turning on a dime, Sonic reversed direction and hit the robot head on. The powerful collision knocked both of them back, and Sonic skidded painfully across the ground. He didn't allow himself to stop, and quickly got oriented to keep fighting.

It was much like fighting the holograms had been, except he could focus his attention on just one target. But unfortunately, this time Metal wasn't holding back an inch. And Sonic's injuries were really catching up with still, he kept on, dodging the robot's attacks with lightening quickness, and managing to make a few of his own dents in the steel. Still, his reflexes and strength were being tested to their limits. It didn't help that he was already hurt.

As the two faced off, head to head, both pushing with all their might, Sonic felt himself fading. Metal felt no fatigue, Metal wasn't injured... but those are just excuses, you can't lose, Sonic! You just can't...

In a surge of energy he must have been saving, Metal threw the real hedgehog backwards. Once again, Sonic skidded across the ground, on his back this time, but feeling something that was lodged in his back quills loosen up reminded him. But before he could reach back there, Metal had him pinned to the ground, his hand clamped around his throat.

"Foolish, weak creature," Metal hissed at the real hedgehog as he stood above him, ready to go for the kill. "Giving up your heart, succumbing to love." His grip on Sonic tightened, but he merely grunted and kept reaching for his back quills, trying to get his Chaos Emeralds out. They would heal and let him be able to overpower the robot. "You should know that love is weakness, makes you less than what you are. You see where it's gotten you?"

"You - think - I - care," Sonic grunted, trying to give himself more time. He had managed to get to the very tip of his right back quill...

Metal Sonic paused. "Of course, hate is the way to power, because it will allow nothing to get in it's way, nothing to distract it. Hate will not let itself stoop, the way you so pathetically have. Hatred is power."

Hmph. It was now getting very difficult to breathe, to move, as Metal was squeezing his throat something fierce. Still, he couldn't give up... just a few more inches up his back... he could feel his fur bending in protest of his fingers... in a last shaking effort, Sonic finally reached into his storage, the tips of his fingers brushing the Emeralds...

All it took was that one tiny bit of contact, and the power rushed through Sonic's body, creating a blinding light of energy. He sent a clenched fist right at the robot's face, and the swing sent the robot flying off of him. Sonic took one deep breath, but was instantly healed by his Emeralds, all of his cuts fading into his skin and his soreness disappearing as he stood upright again.

"You're wrong, Metal," Sonic said cockily, a grin lighting up his face as he clenched both gloved fists around the blue and red gems. "Because the Chaos Emeralds are powered by the heart. And while mine if full of love, you don't have one."

Sonic then concentrated on thoughts of his friends and his Amy, letting the Chaos Emeralds have their fuel and do their thing. His spin dash fueled by Chaos energy, Sonic cut right through Metal's steel, splitting the robot right in half and turning it into scrap, making a quick end of his faker. The robot's broken body fizzled, and bolts of electricity sparked off before finally fading. Glad he'd finally made an end of Metal, Sonic allowed his eyes to drift into the night, eager to make sure everyone had gotten out of the base safely...

His friends, who all had been watching from a distance, all cheered and came up to meet him.

"Alright, Sonic!" Tails yelled enthusiastically.

"Good going, man," Knuckles said with a small smile, one of his hands subtly wrapped around Rouge's.

"Sonic!" Amy yelled as she ran towards him, her arms open and ready to crush her lover and hero into a loving glomp.

But the hedgehog merely held up a hand, signaling her to wait. "Hold on, Amy."

Amy's eyes got so big that Sonic's heart broke. But he knew he had to do this first. He turned to the rest of the team and glared at them.

"You all should be ashamed of yourselves," Sonic said with narrowed eyes. "How dare you all make Amy go in by herself."

"What?" Knuckles yelled. "We all agreed to wait for more info and she rushed in!"

Sonic shrugged and closed his eyes. "It was brave. Amy puts you all to shame."

Amy was just glowing at his praise, a smile as wide as the sky on her face. "Sonic.." she giggled.

"Brave? It was stupid," Knuckles grunted.

"It doesn't matter now," Amy said happily, and wanting to hold Sonic like nothing else she'd ever wanted. "Everyone's safe, right?"

Sonic shrugged again, but opened his eyes this time. "She's right." Then he turned to his girl, opened his arms, and smiled invitingly. Amy then ran the remaining distance and smothered him in a hug. Sonic hugged her back, laughing and enjoying her embrace.

"You're going soft!" Knuckles growled.

"Well," Rouge said to him, her eyes sparkling dangerously. "Maybe you need to soften up, Knuckie." She then pulled him into a kiss.

"Oh Sonic I was so worried about you!" Amy said as she ran her fingers through his quills.

"Don't worry about me." Sonic said, rubbing her back.

Amy released Sonic and stared into his loving, shiny green eyes, relieved that everything had turned out for the best. A grin was playing at Sonic's lips before he puckered up and placed them on Amy's. The girl pulled Sonic closer to her, wanting him deeper into her lips.

When Sonic pulled back, he whispered, "I'll be alright as long as I have you, Amy. Have I ever told you just how amazing you truly are? It took a lot of guts to take on the army. You're amazing."

Amy smiled and cuddled closer to her Sonic. He was so warm and strong, and pretty awesome himself. Sonic rubbed his hands gently along her back, soothing her.

"You're the one who's amazing," she said, "You're the one that just beat Metal, who just offered yourself for me, when Eggman coulda killed you for that. That was so heroic Sonic."

Sonic grinned. "All in a day's work, Ames. Now… where were we before Eggman interrupted again?" Sonic asked, then stopped to think. "Oh yeah," he said then turned his head to pull Amy into a very passionate and deep kiss.

...xxx...

The End.

Yay! I'm so happy with my additions to this story! It's mostly the same thing, same plot, same destination, but there's obviously more to it now. I'm pleased with this story, and glad I could finally do all of my ideas justice. The ending isn't really all that wowing, but hey, it's about the journey, not the destination for this one. :D

As for what I'm writing next, as always, check my profile. My ideas change daily. ;)

Thank you all for reading or rereading this! You guys inspire me to do my best.