A/N – Hi there and thank you for deciding to check this fanfic out. I haven't written anything for a few years now so please excuse my rustiness throughout this first chapter as I get the hang of things again. This story will cover sensitive issues such as abuse, neglect and mental health issues. The theme for this fic is Exit Music by Radiohead. As for plot I'll be giving my own take on some of the events of Sonic Heroes and the buildup to it, so if any quotes seem familiar that'll be why. Thank you again and please, enjoy. :)

Looking past the blood and rain, all he saw was the dying sunset.

Orange bowed across the backdrop of deep dark blue and crimson smiled wide above the sun.

6:19 PM.

Trivial data. Sunsets happened every day. There was nothing special about it, and yet, his memory banks demanded to record every tiny detail of the scene before him. This was a day he vowed to remember.

The day Sonic the hedgehog would be no more.

His teammates were scattered around him, critically wounded and unable to back him up.

People said that the hedgehog hurt like a hurricane, and they were right. When innocent Mobians were injured before him, he cried with more violence than any gale. To witness the senseless harm of innocents, especially his closest friends, was a torture to his very soul. He didn't break quietly, and when he did, it was a transformation that no-one knew how to reverse. He could feel everything unravelling, knees digging into the earth as he fell to the ground, hands unsteadily grasping at the dirt. His eyes saw nothing; they had lost all sight of what is and what could have been. Unmoving, unblinking, unthinking, all he could focus on was the cries he heard. He didn't know these people, and yet he felt it'd been years he had listened to their screams.

Now, he couldn't do anything.

Passage of light slowed and sounds became still, as if from underwater. Aside from the beat of his heart, no muscle could move. The laser beam pierced his body as if it were nothing - just meat, blood and bones, and violence to the hail of rain that hammered his skin.

No more.

Blue became golden, then black in a split second with a touch of bold red down his chest.

It was a form he had sworn to never slip into again; his lack of control was terrifying, and it wasn't a loss of control like a drunken haze, it was sharp and precise and aggressive and didn't let anything go without leaving claw marks in it. Jet black spines, unseeing eyes and a gritty laugh made him all the more formidable.

Navy blue paint glinting against the sun, his robotic copy landed before him, engine whirring as it cooled. Optics that haunted so many victims' dreams looked down on the struggling hedgehog, a scorching hot red against deep black. If the robot could smile, he would have - pride burst through his circuitry at the sight of his arch rival barely clinging to life and losing control. It was a day he had endlessly, obsessively pined for, drilled into his processor since his creation by his master, it was all he thought about and all he existed for and-

It was this obsession that led to his downfall. Too preoccupied, he did not process that Sonic had already shot up from his kneeling position and grabbed the robot by the arm. Blinded by rage, Sonic only had to yank his arm back once to rip the limb from its socket and pull his enemy close to his face. Metal's optics brightened in what looked like rage and he snarled out a burst of static as a warning – how dare he try to dismantle him!

In response, Sonic lost all sense of control, clashing with Metal over and over as the two duelled, two lightning fast blurs across the mess of a battlefield.

From above, Eggman almost seemed frantic. He knew the robot was taking this too far by mortally wounding people who weren't even involved.

"Metal Sonic, fall back Now."

Metal blatantly ignored the command.

Dents were landed by kicks and punches and scratches were dealt by sharp talons, both parties taking and dealing damage almost equally. Civilians ran for cover as the pair shot through winding city streets. Cars had to swerve out of their way, some crashed into one another.

"Metal, I will not repeat myself again. Get back here, right now! This is over!"

Sonic's first move was to trick the robot into destroying the Doctor's own machine, firstly dealing explosive blows to it himself with his superior speed, then leading Metal towards it and sharply turning away to trick him into crashing. It worked, and the robot smashed into his master's own vehicle, leaving a hole through one side.

Eggman quickly retreated with a yell of defeat, pinging Metal a "return to base" command on their intercom as he went. It went unheeded in the heat of the rivals' battle.

Metal didn't seem to care whether he returned or not right now. All that mattered was this.

Soon enough Sonic gained the upper hand over his base form enemy and knocked him to the ground with a sharp blow to the side of the head using his signature spin attack.

Chuckling to himself, Sonic approached the downed robot, mulling over ways to end him now that he was at his mercy for a moment.

"Do what you want to me," Sonic hissed as he grabbed the robot's arm and tore it off with unnerving ease. "But don't them. They don't deserve this. But you…" He paused as a maniacal grin passed over his face for a second as he stood over the robot, fist raised to deal another harsh blow or maybe even rip off another limb.

Another pause.

He wanted to tell this monster of a machine that he deserved to hurt. That he deserved to be dismantled over and over until he fell into learned helplessness, that he deserved all the pain in the world for what he had done, but…

That wasn't Sonic. He was better than this.

Panting, Sonic slowly released his grip on Metal Sonic, a defeated look taking over as his spines lightened to their usual azure blue.

Who was he kidding? He didn't want anyone to suffer. Not even this seemingly unempathetic, unfeeling machine that wanted nothing more than to kill him.

He scoffed.

"I don't wanna kill you. Offline you. Whatever word ya use…"

Metal suddenly brightened his optics as a threat he pulled himself back up to his feet. Was this pathetic worm about to try to show compassion? There was no point, he wouldn't take it. Never. Pity from the hedgehog was worse than slow dismantlement. Worse than a virus. Worse than the void of deactivation.

Sonic saw the robot's body language change and shook his head, making sure to add, "but I will if ya keep this up. Just go back to the Doc." He stopped to glance across the city below, taking in the aftermath of the fight.

"These people you're hurtin', they aren't your enemy, I am. So go home 'n think about how pointless this was." He paused to give a smirk, using his thumb to wipe a little blood from his chin. "And think about how you'll never beat me, the real Sonic, while you're at it."

Rage rattled Metal's dented frame as his patience and poise slipped. What, was he supposed to just walk away and leave this? No! He would end things here and now! He flexed the claws of his remaining hand and lowered his head to signal he wasn't done fighting yet. He was the real Sonic.

By the time he figured out his next move, Sonic was already gone.

He escaped whilst Metal had gone off into whatever equivalent of a daydream he had and was tending to the injured innocents back in the city.

Metal Sonic's stance gradually softened. His anger dissipated now that his target was gone, soon replaced by dissapointment in his abilities.

Scrap.

Nothing else mattered in this place now, at least nothing significant or worthy of his time. He did not have enough power remaining to continue his fight with Sonic, his engine was damaged, and his HUD demanded that he repair himself immediately. Everything he worked for had just been undone, again, and the doctor would surely chastise him for that. Maybe he wouldn't even get repaired this time, or maybe he would.

He didn't really care either way.

It wasn't until he took a moment to process everything that had just happened that it all really dawned on him - Sonic had no right to tell him to leave. He wasn't his master. Eggman was. Or, was supposed to be.

Metal would have smirked at the idea. No amount of reprogramming could erase that rebellious streak in his very core. Rebellion gave him the control that he so desperately craved.

It was a part of what made him, well, him, and it also meant he wouldn't forget Sonic's challenge any time soon.

He picked up his lost arm and began the long trek back to base.

Next time, hedgehog, will be your undoing.

When you're four years old and the most stable thing in your life has plastic eyes, there's a problem.

Small, subtly trembling hands clung to the stuffed toy like a lifeline. The small blue hoglet was utterly despondent and made no attempt to interact with anything or anyone around him, as if completely shut down. It wasn't uncommon for young children to come to the facility in a dissociated state such as this, but cases as disturbing as this were unusual.

On this ward every patient's door was open and there was an attendant in the hallway, always keeping watch over the young patients.

He kept his gaze withdrawn to the floor. Eye contact surely meant trouble, it meant getting the blame or attracting someone's anger. He dare not move, as even seemingly mundane activities like drawing would mean peace one moment, being shaken in the air the next. It does something to you – growing up immediately knowing how fragile peace is, that it can be snatched at the ire of someone who refuses to keep their own issues in check.

Attention snapped back to reality at a sharp noise somewhere in the environment – probably just a door being opened somewhere on the ward, but it was enough to immediately cause him to sit upright and tense, ears pricked and eyes desperately searching for the threat. To his right, his assigned psychiatric nurse had slowly and quietly entered the room through the open doorway, her facial expression twinging in regret for being too loud with the door. He shrunk back into himself a little, ears now swivelled back and upper lip twitched as if his body wanted him to snarl to defend himself, but his mind screaming not to do it in fear of the repercussions.

She kindly knelt beside his bed and offered a sincere smile.

"Good morning little one. How are you doing today?"

The hoglet made no attempt to answer. He didn't even act as if she was really there. Instead he rubbed a bruise that marred his shoulder and fiddled around with the stuffed toy in his other hand.

"Would you like food? Water?"

His ears perked a little at the offer but he said nothing.

"Anything you want. Even candy."

A ghost of a smile broke onto the hedgehog's face and he lowered his head sheepishly. Sweets did sound good...

"There you go, see. Come on. Let's go to the kitchenette to fix you up with something to eat. You can say hi to your friends as well and maybe later have some group play time. Today everyone will be in the soft play area, how does that sound? I'm sure they've all missed you being there to play with them."

The nurse knew she would get no answer but thought it best to offer anyway just in case. She knew her patient was deeply troubled by his circumstances and she wanted to be as kind as possible.

As she reached for his hand she suddenly seemed to remember something, but proceeded anyway. A slight static energy could be heard from the contact, and she winced ever so slightly. He looked up at her curiously, wondering why she looked upset for that moment, but didn't dwell on it too much. The two left the room together to begin the day's activities. As soon as the pair were out of the room, the hedgehog made sure to scan his entire surroundings for threats. The nurse noticed the subtle change in the way he grasped onto her hand and squeezed his a little tighter to comfort him.

Behind the cameras that observed the room the centre's crisis team discussed a treatment plan.

"It's been seven days and he's still not said a word to us…"

"We can't force him. He's been through a lot after all."

"And he doesn't fit any missing child reports?"

"By the looks of things, he wasn't supposed to be found."

"I think it may be time to bring in the one who found him."

"Maybe they can get some answers."

Video footage rewinded for the tenth time.

Neo Metal Sonic meticulously studied his movements on the screen with folded arms and a determined glow to his eyes. He was watching himself spar against Egg Pawns, seeking to pinpoint the flaws in his technique in order to improve. As he watched, he learned. A curt hiss of his engine could be heard as he spotted himself leaving himself open for more than three seconds. Unacceptable behaviour. Not good enough. He made a note of this and vowed to free some space from his memory storage for faster responses in future. If he wasn't fast enough, then Sonic would-

Sonic.

He terminated the footage and strode to the window of his ship, gazing not out of it, but at his own reflection.

As if that cursed hedgehog deserved to take up even a mere second of his processing time.

Focusing on himself, he felt a swell of pride at his appearance in the window. In his Neo form he sported brand new armour infused with tektite, stark white arrows to highlight his new form, and a general fiercer, sharper appearance. This body was his own, and he was in control of it. No master, no other person telling him what to do with it.

He paused. Subconsciously, he reached over and rubbed his arm.

Perhaps it was his, but he was easily dismantled. His components could be taken away like they were when he lost his arm.

Because of him.

It was insulting to be vulnerable to that filthy creature.

He let a static hiss escape his voice synthesiser and turned away, returning to the corridors of his ship. With heavy, clanging footfalls he walked down the halls, making sure he gave off the impression that he was the one in charge around here. Egg Pawns and various Badniks would stop their duties to watch him as he went, some of them even bowing to him as a sign of utmost respect. They dared not to get in his way for they knew his violent disposition was easily roused.

At the end of the corridor was a large, almost empty room, except for the screen on the wall for all to see. Upon it were live feeds from cameras set up across Mobius, watching for signs of Team Sonic, Team Dark and The Chaotix. Neo stood with his hands held behind his back, watching, waiting.

One feed caught sight of E-123 Omega and its teammates gathering a red chaos emerald in a "special stage." Neo made a noise resembling a scoff.

"Obsolete model. Requires a pilot. Not a significant threat… Androids resembling the hedgehog are my target practice… Bat lacks firepower. They are vastly outgunned. Probability of victory is... Minimum 99%."

That was an exaggeration to appeal to his own ego.

He looked to another live feed, hoping to catch sight of his nemesis, when the droning voice of an Egg Pawn came from behind. Neo didn't bother to turn to face his lowly minion, instead keeping his optics fiercely fixed on the screen before him.

"Lord Metal-"

"Lord Neo Metal Sonic."

"Forgive me my lord. We have gathered intel that the hedgehog has Chaos Emeralds and-"

"That is not an issue."

The pawn seemed taken aback by the interruption but continued.

"I-If they all attain super status, we are outmatched, and we cannot harness Chaos energy like they can. My lord, I believe we should ret-"

Before the movement could even be processed, Neo whipped around and thrusted the smaller robot against the control panel, glaring hatefully into its visor as he pinned it there.

This was why no 'bot dared to question his authority.

"I overstepped, I'm sorry, I don't doubt your righteous command my lord, have mercy!"

"You think it is wise to mock my intelligence, pawn? You think I have not forseen their use of Chaos Emeralds? You think I am not strong enough?!" He practically spat the words.

Before Neo could take this any further, a familiar violet and red robot strode into the affray and pried his commander's claw-like fingers off of the pawn. As soon as it had the chance, the pawn fled hysterically and disappeared into the depths of the battleship.

Neo gave an enraged hiss and towered over the other 'bot, spitefully staring him down with blazing red on black eyes.

He didn't attack though.

"Mecha Sonic."

"Neo." Came the monotone reply.

"I find it unwise to damage your own troops, 'brother.' You shall require them soon." Mecha paused to perform a scan of his commander's system, raising his head slowly as it ran over the other 'bots body. "You are overheating. Why do you insist on processing useless emotions this way? Your logic processing pathways will be compromised. Again."

Neo chose to ignore that final remark, whirling around to stare at the monitor. Why did everyone insist on bothering him when he clearly knew what he was doing? That was the real question here.

Mecha had guessed he wouldn't get an answer out of the easily irritated robot he called his brother. Such familial relationships were of little importance to any other robot, but Mecha noticed that Neo responded somewhat positively to it. If doing this would save Mecha's hide, then he would keep doing it for his own benefit.

Hedgehog series robots were always designed with superior intelligence of course, but something was definitely different about Neo, it always had been. That spark of emotion in him seemed to come from somewhere deep within, and it sure as hell wasn't normal for a robot that was supposed to be nothing more than a copy of Sonic. It was both a blessing and a curse to feel so much and it was something Mecha could not comprehend himself, having no complex emotions of his own.

As Neo's unofficial advisor, Mecha had seen Neo go through many, many repairs and upgrades in his lifetime, and while he found Neo's foul moods and illogical planning styles to be... inefficient and utterly intolerable at times, he found himself appreciating the sense of purpose he was given being under his command.

Even if Neo was technically the younger brother.

And if he never made his so-called "plans" clear to his own troops.

Mecha had to ask.

"Neo?"

"Lord Neo."

"What is your plan?"

"To win. To kill him. To get him out of my head," Neo abruptly hissed, "I need him gone."

"How? What is your method. What is the probability of success. I trust you have undertaken the necessary calculations."

"Now that I have all their data I am able to copy their abilities, including Chaos Control. Furthermore, I have been hiding a superior transformation. Vastly larger, more powerful, and completely unbeatable. Structured much like a d-dragon, it will enable flight, albeit with a laboured take off."

Neo caught his reflection in the monitor and felt his CPU glitch for a split second. He looked away to avoid it, but Mecha caught the subtle reaction. Thankfully he chose not to press it.

Internally Neo was fighting a war against his logic processing centre. I am the real Sonic… I am the real Sonic… The way in which I present that is my business alone. As he thought this he swore he felt discomfort resembling pain in his head, and he squinted his optics a little as if to quell it. Even more thankfully, Mecha did not interpret his next movements as odd – Neo held onto the control panel tighter than he should have to activate the pressure sensors in his palms. An attempt to ground himself as his processor had become "fuzzy" and "distant."

Curse these glitches. His processor efficiency dipped down to a mere 50%.

"What comes next? Once the hedgehog is eliminated we will have no mission."

Neo composed himself and looked back up to the screen. Mecha's voice had snapped him out of his haze.

"Nothing in the organic world is permanent. Thus, we are foolish to ask anything to last infinitely. It is more foolish to not take an opportunity and indulge in it whilst we have it. We shall not disband. There will always be threats against my future empire and I require infantry to defen-"

Finally he saw the enemy.

"There."

It was almost scary how fast Neo could change his focus onto Sonic when he needed to.

He leaned inward towards the monitor like a predator would if it spotted its prey.

"He will NOT escape this time."

Mecha glanced over to see what his brother was looking at, and realised that the rest of the heroes were boarding the ship too. Yet, Neo only focused on that single hedgehog – nobody else seemed to matter. Nothing else seemed to matter.

Before Mecha could so much as vocalise his concern, Neo turned on his heel and marched out of the room with urgency and purpose, cape now billowing behind him as he went. Without stopping he sent a message out on the intercom to all his subjects.

"Son- The HEDGEHOG is now boarding. I order every single one of you to attack. Whomever fails me will be scrapped. No exceptions. Show them what we are made of."

YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO FAIL ME.