Tails Doll seemed to stare at us and the crystal upon his head flashed. I cocked my head, hoping I was conveying the expression of smirking, since I didn't have a mouth.

"Looks like that Crystal of yours doesn't work on robots," I said.

"Pity," Shadow Android finished, powering up his ion cannons. That really was the only good thing about being a robot; we had awesome weapons.

"Gee, you're kinda cute when you're not forcing me to hand you my Emeralds," Robo Knuckles said, sounding amused.

"Robo Knuckles, don't ever change," I ordered him, turning my own weapons on Tails Doll.

To our surprise, Tails Doll laughed.

"Please," he said, his voice heavy with disdain. "You think you are the only ones I was controlling? I control all organics. Even them," he nodded to our parents, and his crystal flashed again. "Get up," he said. "Protect me."

I gasped as Mom and Dad's eyes opened, but they both seemed different. Their eyes were dull and lifeless compared to how they normally were. Dad spin dashed the cage they were in, breaking it effortlessly and they climbed out, standing between me and Tails Doll. Mom brought forth her Piko Piko Hammer and Dad struck a fighter's stance, both protecting Tails Doll and getting ready to fight me.

Out of the corner of my optics sensors, I could see Shadow doing the same with Shadow Android and Knuckles preparing to battle Robo Knuckles.

I don't know what to do! I can't hurt my parents, and Tails Doll is obviously controlling their minds with that crystal atop his head—but I can't destroy that crystal without hurting my parents!

Tails Doll laughed again, a chilly, eerie sound. "Destroy them all!" he said, his crystal flashing once more.

Dad curled up in a ball and tried to spin dash me. I effortlessly dodged him, simultaneously bringing out a metallic Piko Piko hammer that I used to block Mom's.

Wait. Metallic Piko Piko hammer? I don't have a metallic Piko Piko hammer! Well, I suppose that's not true now. I wonder what other new abilities I have obtained.

We continued to spar, Mom and Dad trying to destroy me and I desperately trying to think of ways that I could stop them without hurting them.

But it wasn't working, and I was feeling devastated. Even if I used my entire arsenal on them, I had never been able to defeat Dad. He was always too strong for me, even when I tried my hardest…

Dad tried to spin dash me again, and without thinking I flew over it, grabbed his shoe, bringing him out of his spin, and swung him around, tossing him towards the wall. Dad flipped in mid air and landed on his feet gracefully.

"You!" I yelled at Tails Doll as I dodged Dad's super fast punches and flew out of reach of Mom's Piko Piko hammer. "You kidnapped my parents—" I grabbed Mom's Piko Piko hammer right out of her hands and broke it like a twig. "—You want to kill everyone I care about—" I brought my knee into Dad's midsection, being careful just to knock the wind out of him so he wouldn't be attacking me again anytime soon. "—And you turned my own family against me!"

Tails Doll realized that Dad and Mom were no longer stopping me and he turned to Shadow and Knuckles. "Destroy him!" he shrieked. "Protect me!"

Shadow broke from his attack and turned to Tails Doll. The distraction gave Shadow Android enough time to fire a stun cannon—we used to use it all the time to kidnap Mom back before this whole mess started. Shadow gave a muffled cry and collapsed, not seriously hurt, but definitely unconscious.

Knuckles was also pulling back from his attacks on Robo Knuckles. Robo Knuckles pressed this new advantage with a ferocity I'd never seen him use and he whacked Knuckles upside the head with the flat of his metal hand. It was more than enough to knock the echidna out.

"That's for all those stupid lectures!" Robo Knuckles snapped, then he quickly dived to catch Knuckles before the echidna hit the ground. Robo Knuckles cradled the elder echidna carefully. "And this is for those awesome bedtime stories about echidna history," he muttered, holding the unconscious guardian close to his body, as if to ward off any potential threats. He looked up at me. "Get him, Metal Sonic!" he ordered, pointing at Tails Doll.

"Robo Knuckles and I will get our parents to safety," Shadow Android replied, gently picking up Shadow with one hand and a struggling Mom with the other.

Shadow Android was well used to carting off my struggling mother; she gave him no real trouble. Robo Knuckles followed him out, still holding onto Knuckles protectively.

Geez, what did Knuckles do to that machine to make him focus like that?! And could he teach me to do it?

I turned back to Tails Doll, who seemed to be cowering in a corner. I couldn't help but laugh. "So, without your organic slaves you're really just a pathetic little rag doll," I sneered.

Tails Doll suddenly stood up and gave me a chilling glare. "Fool." he hissed, and something hit me hard against my back, knocking me away from Tails Doll and against the wall.

Ow…a minor damage alert showed up in my internal warning unit, and I looked up to see what had hit me.

Dad. Standing in a traditional fighter's pose.

Looks like I would have to defeat Sonic the Hedgehog after all.

It was so strange. Dad wasn't giving me any of his usual taunts, there was no familiar smirk, nothing. He just stared at me with those dull, empty green eyes, so devoid of the happiness and carefree persona that defined who he was.

I shuddered when I looked into his eyes, they could not be my Dad's eyes—and yet everything else about him was so much like Dad that the thought of harming him, even to save him, was unbearable.

It was as if I had been yanked into a horrible nightmare and there was no escape. This was not my Dad. And I was no longer Nick. I had been thrown for a loop and once again, we were simply Sonic the Hedgehog and Metal Sonic, fighting to destroy each other. It was as if we were doomed to do nothing else, to be nothing else, for all eternity, no matter how hard we tried to change the hand that fate had dealt us.

So be it.

I brought forth my metallic Piko Piko Hammer and zoomed forward on my rocket boosters, swinging at Sonic the Hedgehog, hoping to knock him out of the way so I could get to the real villain here, Tails Doll. But Sonic was as fast as I remembered; he zoomed out of the way and started his homing attack on me.

I brought my arms together and put up an Ion field; Sonic bounced off of it like rubber. The Ion field saved my hull from damage; but the attack had spiked it and now it was useless. I would not be able to use the field again.

I dropped my hammer; strength was good for a surprise attack; but not as a recurring attack. Sonic was so fast that if I relied on the hammer, he would simply work his way around it. My only hope was to be as fast as he was; and the hammer would slow me down.

Sonic and I glared at each other for a long moment, his dull green eyes peering into my haunting, mechanical red-on-black ones. Then we charged each other and the fighting began in earnest.

How long have we been fighting? I can't remember. It seems like forever. Maybe it has been. I don't care anymore. I only know that I am losing. I always knew I would, of course; I never could beat Sonic.

My hull was badly damaged; a long rip from one of his spin dashes aligned my chest. My right arm was useless; my rocket boosters were strained to the point of breaking with all the exertion I had forced upon them. Sonic was looking a bit the worse for wear; as well, he had several impressive bruises on his body and seemed to be breathing heavier than normal.

The worst part is, I know he's not trying his hardest. He's toying with me. He's not even fighting as hard as he usually does. He seems…so…controlled…

Well, duh! He IS controlled! No wonder he's not fighting like he usually does. And that's why…

All of a sudden I realized why I've never beaten Sonic before, even though I am physically better than him in every way. It was because he had one thing that I never did. And now, it was something that I had and he didn't. The reason he always beat me. And now, it would be the one chance that I had to beat him.

A reason to fight.

A real reason, not some vague directive to kill the hedgehog, a directive that I had not given myself nor ever really believed in. Sonic the Hedgehog always beat me because he believed in what he was fighting me for. So he pushed himself beyond what should have been his limits; fought when he should have given up and died; won when winning was thought to be impossible.

Now, Sonic the Hedgehog fought me for the same reason I had always fought him: Somebody who he didn't really like was making him do it. The drive, the fury that I had come to associate with Sonic's fighting style was gone.

Or rather, it had gone to someone else who now had a reason to fight.

"You will not beat me," I muttered, just barely enough for him to hear. "I will not let you!"

I brought my knee up and hit Sonic just under his chin, and he stumbled backwards a few paces, turning to stare at me with those dull green eyes.

Why?

I had this question every time I had ever fought Sonic; usually when we were both at the point of exhaustion and kept going.

Why am I doing this?

Usually the best I could give were half-answers;

Eggman told me to.

Because I hate him.

That's just the way it is.

I have no choice.

These answers seemed to sap my will to fight; he would then deliver a finishing blow.

This time, I have better answers. Real answers.

So I can rip Tails Doll's head off and yank all the stuffing out of the little demon.

So I can protect my family, and my friend's families.

So that I can see Sonic's eyes as they should be; happy and full of life, instead of dull and emotionless.

So I can save my Dad.

And with each answer, I became more animated, more determined than ever to do what I needed to do to win. I had to save Sonic from Tails Doll. EVERYTHING that was important to me depended on winning this fight.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY DADDY AWAY FROM ME!" I screamed, as my chest plate opened up. A large cannon that I rarely used because it literally drained my operating energy appeared and I aimed it at Tails Doll. He started this; and I was going to destroy him, even if it meant I had to go down with him.

"NO!" Tails Doll shrieked, trying in vain to shield himself as I shot him with every ounce of force that I had in my metal body. After awhile, the intense energy disintegrated him into nothing.

I had done it. I had won. The cannon went back into my chest and I collapsed to my knees, completely and utterly exhausted.

Someone gently took me by the shoulder and leaned my metallic body against him. I wearily looked up and saw Sonic the Hedgehog looking down at me.

"Nick," Sonic whispered. "Nick, I'm so, so sorry."

"'M not Nick anymore," I managed to say, my voice chip slurring. "Metal Sonic…'member?"

Sonic gently touched my cheek. "You are Nick," he said, hugging me tightly. "No matter what you look like, you're still my little boy."

"Thank you…Dad…" I felt immensely tired; I was vaguely aware of the Chaos Emeralds scattering, and then I lost consciousness.

Sonic the Hedgehog looked in wonderment as Nick's metallic hull started to soften and he started to shrink in size. In a matter of minutes he was the six-year-old organic hedgehog that Sonic had come to love as his son once again.

And perhaps even more amazing, none of the injuries inflicted on Metal Sonic seemed to transfer to Nick. That was a blessing that did little to ease Sonic's pain; he had been fully aware of everything when he was under Tails Doll's control; he had literally been forced to watch himself try to kill his own son, and hadn't been able to do anything to stop himself.

"Sonic!"

Sonic looked up wearily as Amy Rose rushed back into the now-abandoned base, ran over to them, and collapsed to her knees, leaning over to inspect Nick.

"Is he…"

"He's fine," Sonic said tiredly. "Just exhausted."

Amy sobbed with relief and held her child's head, finally allowing all her pent up emotions and fears rush to the surface.

Later…

I opened my eyes in my room, my wonderful, wonderful room. And to make it even more wonderful…

"Dad!" I squealed, grabbing my Dad's neck and hugging him tight. Dad looked at me and for a second I was afraid Tails Doll was still controlling him—his eyes still seemed dull.

"Dad?" I asked, worried.

"Nick," he whispered, looking afraid to touch me. "Nick, I didn't mean…I tried to fight it, Nick, I tried so hard. I…I wasn't strong enough. I…"

I put my finger to my mouth and said, "It's OK, Dad, really." I snuggled closer to him. "It wasn't your fault."

Cautiously at first, Dad returned my hug. "I love you, Nick," he whispered fiercely. "Don't ever forget that."

"I won't, Dad," I replied. "I love you, too."

Then Dad whispered in my ear, "By the way, you're still grounded."

"I am?" I asked, moaning.

Dad nodded. "Sorry bud. That's the way I system works, you know."

I sighed. "I know."

"I see Brisa's evolving," Dad continued, changing the subject.

"Yeah!" I brightened. "How long until she comes out of the cocoon?"

"Looks like she's coming out now," Dad replied, nodding to where I'd stashed Brisa. I eagerly watched as the cocoon cracked open and Brisa poked her head out. She was black now with red stripes and she looked like…

"A SHADOW CHAO!?" Dad shrieked. "Brisa, you TRAITOR!"

Then he took out his vengeance by tickling me until I couldn't breathe properly, Brisa cooing by my side, not at all ashamed that she had the gall to evolve into a Neutral Shadow Chao.

"You're packing?" Andy asked Shadow as he saw his father take a suitcase out of the closet. "Where does GUN want you to go this time, Father?"

"GUN hasn't sent me anywhere," Shadow replied.

"Then are we remodeling?" Andy asked.

"No."

"Then why are you getting the suitcase?"

Shadow leaned down and placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "You're growing up fast," he said, almost to himself. "And I want to be there for as much of it as possible."

"Father?" Andy asked, not understanding.

Although Shadow would never admit it to anyone, especially not Andy, the encounter with Tails Doll had shaken him to his core. The ease that Andy had handled himself in the battle, had shown him that Andy was, in fact, growing up much faster than he'd realized.

And he was determined not to miss any more of Andy's childhood if he could help it.

"I have some vacation time," Shadow replied. "So I decided to take it. We're going on a two-week camping trip. Just you and me."

"Really?" Andy asked, his eyes going wild. "What about school?"

"What about it?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms.

"ALRIGHT!" Andy cheered. Two weeks with his father, and no school. The best idea EVER.

"I am proud of you, Steven," Knuckles said approvingly as he and Steven walked across Angel Island to check on the Master Emerald. "You fought well, and you behaved admirably. You will make an excellent guardian."

Steven gave Knuckles a happy smile. "I even came back and checked on the Master Emerald to make sure it was OK," he said proudly.

Knuckles gave Steven a rare approving smile. He rubbed Steven's head as they walked into the cave of the Master Emerald.

Knuckles froze, his eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped.

The Master Emerald was right where it should be. Only someone had taken a permanent marker and written, 'Stevie Joe wuz here' on it.

Knuckles' eyes narrowed and he glared at Steven. Steven's sixth sense told him that he'd better go work on his running muscles, and he shot out of the cave before Knuckles could grab him.

All across Angel Island, the angry voice of Knuckles the Echidna could be heard yelling, "STEVEN JOSEPH ECHIDNA! YOU WROTE ON THE MASTER EMERALD WITH A PERMANENT MARKER?! WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET A PERMANENT MARKER ON THIS ISLAND!?"

Meanwhile, at the Chaotix HQ, Vector was pawing through his desk. "That little twerp!" he yelled. "He stole my permanent marker!"

Tloj: And that's it. These stories are all that I could put back together. Now it's time for you guys, the Starvix fans, to do your part. If you have a personal copy of one of Starvix's old stories (From her profile, not the co-op stories posted on other peoples' accounts) then please, either PM it to me to continue the storyline, or post it yourself and let me know, so that I can find it.