Summary: "Sonic vs. Metal Sonic"
Written by: Alessandro Sanassi
With thanks to: Seiji and Maringa J. Mikic
Edited and with additional commentary by: Daniel J. Drazen

[Note: My comments will appear in brackets.]


Our heroes have arrived at the entrance of Eggman's headquarters. 
Tails is astonished that Eggman should live in such a magnificent
building; Knuckles replies that it isn't anything special and
besides they don't have time to admire it.  Sonic agrees and
gives the signal to set out.

While they run down an inclined ramp into the building, Tails
monitors their route on his wrist navigation device.  At first
Knuckles is delighted because he finds all this very thrilling;
Sonic cautions him that you never know what lies ahead.  Knuckles
admits that Sonic is probably right, especially when they get
shot at a few seconds later [by what appear to be snail-like guns
on the walls].  Knuckles tells Sonic to run on ahead while he
addresses the problem at hand.  It's only at THIS point that they
finally get around to showing the title of this episode.

Sonic runs as fast as he can toward the Egg-Generator (which
looks like a giant metal version of Eggman's head), but he's
running on a conveyor belt moving in the opposite direction so
that he makes no progress.  He tells Tails to fly up to the power
switch and shut it down, but the switch is something like three
times Tails' size so he isn't strong enough to budge it.  At the
last moment Knuckles crashes through a wall, colliding into
Sonic.  This gives him the necessary push that enables him to
reach the switch.  The times on the Egg-Generator stops at
00:00:01, [there's an appropriate trumpet fanfare on the
soundtrack,] and all the lights go out again, leaving the city
shrouded in darkness.

But the whole thing seems to have been a set-up after all,
because Sonic is suddenly trapped in some kind of force field. 
Knuckles calls to the hedgehog that he's coming to save him, all
the while desperately trying to run toward him on the still-
moving conveyor belt.  At that moment the Egg-Generator begins to
break apart, and Sonic falls into the darkness below.  Knuckles
catches Sonic just before he hits the ground.  

Now, however, their attention is directed toward a strange-
looking purple energy egg.  Knuckles observes that there is
something moving inside it, something that resembles Sonic!  Then
the egg explodes in a flash; when the smoke clears, Sonic is
standing face to face with his metallic counterpart.

Tails cries out that the robot looks just like Sonic; Knuckles
asks "What's going on here?"  But the robot just stands there. 
Then we hear Eggman's laughter and the room is filled with
strange lights.  Knuckles asks what they are; Tails replies that
he doesn't know but he thinks the lights are pretty.  The lights
turn into blue flames that recede to a point in the distance;
moments later, Black-Eggman appears at that point.  "It's the
ghost of Black-Eggman!" Tails cries out.  But just as soon as
Black-Eggman appears it starts going to pieces -- obviously the
damage inflicted on it in Part One was just too much for it.

Sera and Eggman then appear once more amidst the scrap metal,
Sera pulling the Doctor out of the wreck by his moustache [with
her wearing a VERY short skirt and with her butt turned toward
the camera; no, you DON'T get to see any booty!].  When Sera
notices that they are being watched, she turns around and smiles
innocently.  Sonic and Tails are more than aghast, while Knuckles
suspects she has made common cause with the enemy.  Sera starts
[doing a comedy] cry, water literally cascading from her eyes
like waterfalls.  She apologizes and tries to defend herself: she
says that Eggman tricked her, that she wasn't aware of his true
intentions, and that she's still very much worn out by all the
action.  As she confesses, Eggman lowers his head more and more.

Sonic asks Eggman what's the big idea of this masquerade.  The
Doctor sticks out his tongue at Sonic, taunting him by telling
him he's walked right into the trap Eggman has set for him. 
Disgusted, Sonic races toward Eggman -- at the same moment,
however, Metal Sonic's eyes glow red, it launches itself and
lands in front of Eggman, stopping Sonic's attack.  

Tails can't believe that anyone could be faster than Sonic! 
Eggman then introduces everyone to his latest weapon: Hyper Metal
Sonic. [Hereinafter referred to as "Metal" for short.] The Doctor
tells them that he has incorporated all of Sonic's attributes
into the robot, which has been designed and programmed to get rid
of Sonic permanently.  Sera objects to this plan, but Eggman's
other robotic minions prevent her from taking out her anger on
Eggman.  Sonic demands that Sera be set free, but Eggman
gleefully replies that Sonic should first defeat his counterpart:
"Let's see if you're still so inquisitive after that...."

Metal Sonic scans its target, while Sonic warns his friends to
stay out of this -- it's between him and the robot.  Metal Sonic
starts up his turbo engine and the fight begins.  Metal grabs
Sonic, but when Tails tries to fly to Sonic to help him Knuckles
grabs Tails' leg; it would be impossible for Tails to keep up
with the two Sonics.  Eggman follows the pair in his Egg-O-Matic,
with a bound and gagged Sera in the sideseat.

Sonic and Metal Sonic continue to fight.  Sonic lands on a
mountain peak, wondering where his opponent has disappeared to. 
Metal promptly appears, giving Sonic a good kick that sends him
falling to the ground below.  Metal watches Sonic's fall until he
is lost from sight.  In the Egg-O-Matic, Eggman has been watching
the progress of the fight on a display panel showing the life
signs for both combatants.  Sonic's display shows a flat line,
and then stylized figures of Metal Sonic jumping for joy, Sonic
with a halo and Tails crying are displayed.  Eggman can't believe
his good fortune; the hedgehog has finally bitten the dust. 
Tails, meanwhile, flies with Knuckles in tow toward the warpgate
through which they entered the city back in Part One.  Knuckles
asks Tails what he's up to; Tails, with a tear in his eye,
answers that he's returning to the Tornado (the wrecked biplane)
to repair it.  Knuckles asks "What about Sonic?" but any further
dialogue is cut off as they enter the warp gate.

Back at Sonic's headquarters, Ojisan has made himself comfortable
in Sonic's beach chair. [It's night and there's a moon in the
sky, but Ojisan is wearing sunglasses.] He is surprised when
Sonic suddenly appears in front of him.  He's somewhat embarassed
as he greets the new arrival as asks him what happened.  He gets
no reply and by now we realize that Ojisan is really talking to
Metal Sonic.  Ojisan realizes this as well -- NOT!  The last
thing we hear is Ojisan screaming that Sonic should stop...

The scene shifts to a beautiful forest.  Sonic is lying on top of
a bush, which apparently broke his fall.  He wakes up and wonders
what happened.  Then he remembers his traveling to Eggmanland and
how Metal [the Japanese phonetic pronunciation is "Metaru"] hit
him.  He sure hopes that....

Quick cut to Tails flying the damaged Tornado [with Knuckles
taking Sonic's place on top of the top wing instead of in the
passenger seat].  Upon landing, Tails realizes with a start that
they've left Ojisan here the whole time!  He hopes nothing has
happened to him.  They enter the wrecked Boeing and Tails calls
out for the owl but gets no reply.  Knckles suggests that perhaps
Ojisan has left.  

Suddenly, Ojisan appears behind the two and greets them. [He's
now dressed like some kind of pre-adolescent and is holding a
skateboard.] Tails demands to know why he's wearing Sonic's
clothes, and Ojisan replies that Sonic gave the stuff to him
yesterday evening.  "Yesterday evening"?  That could mean only
one thing: Tails and Knuckles blurt out the name "Metal!" in
unison.

Meanwhile, in the Egg-O-Matic, Eggman has untied Sera and is
apologizing for his behavior.  Sera remains annoyed at Eggman
until he presents her with a dress.  She can't believe her eyes
and immediately brightens up again (this girl is REALLY easy to
please!).

Back at headquarters, Tails has begun making adjustments to the
wrist device Eggman had given him.  Knuckles asks the fox why
he's doing this, and Tails explains that he's recalibrating the
device to read the brainwaves of both Sonic and Metal Sonic.  He
says that the robot not only seems to have Sonic's abilities and
speed but also his personality and his "heart".  Strictly
speaking, he says, the two are twins.  Knuckles isn't quite sure
he believes this but it's the only possible explanation as to why
Metal Sonic didn't kill Ojisan. [The scene is really quite
amazing for those who have only known the DiC Saturday morning
Sonic; in THAT context, Sally would have been the one to realize
that Sonic and Metal Sonic are "twins", and Rotor would have been
recalibrating the wrist device.]

Back at the Presidential Palace, the President is worried about
the whereabouts of his daughter.  He is horrified by pictures of
ruin he receives from various parts of the city, and the blurry
but reconizable image of the one wreaking havoc.  Sonic is
responsible for all this?  It can't be!  He gives the order to
contact Tails.  Knuckles hears the signal of the [videophone-
type] communicator but he's in the middle of trying to fix the
Tornado and so he gets annoyed.  So Ojisan, dancing to the music
blaring from Sonic's stereo, answers the call.  "What's going on
around here?" the President asks.  Knuckles pushed Ojisan out of
camera range, and the President asks him who HE is.  The echidna
introduces himself as Knuckles, a "friend" of Sonic.  (Note that
the Japanese word he uses, "tatchi", is very colloquial and
usually denotes a fellow member of the _yakuza_ or a Japanese
crime gang.  Whatever.)  Knuckles then asks "Who are YOU?"  The
President is a bit put off by the rude stranger, but Ojisan
interrupts to tell Knuckles he's talking to the President.

Meanwhile, Sera has tried on the new dress and is really
delighted.  She asks Eggman if she looks good in it; Eggman (who
is now wearing a powder blue tuxedo) says she does. [Hey, where's
the dressing room on the Egg-O-Matic?] He also suggests that
since Sonic is history they can start being more "intimate".  To
Sera, this means having a horrifying flashforward of herself
married to Eggman, wearing typical Japanese housewife's clothing,
looking VERY pregnant, and being surrounded by a dozen crying
egg-babies [two of which she's breastfeeding] while Eggman sings
the Japanese equivalent of "Rock A Bye, Baby" on the soundtrack. 
She makes her feelings known by grabbing Eggman by the throat,
shaking him like mad, and screaming that she'll NEVER EVER marry
the Doctor!

We cut back to Tails, who has just brought the President up to
speed on events.  The President wonders what Eggman could be up
to, since this in no way to destroy an entire planet.  Knuckles
interupts to say that, yes indeed, it IS possible to destroy the
planet.  On his many travels to other continents, he says, he has
learned that The Earth Of The Sky is held to the North Pole by
ice bridges.  Magma flows through these bridges like blood
through veins [a rather symbolic image if you live somewhere like
Japan which is basically an archipelago of volcanic islands], and
if the bridges were to be destroyed the magma would flow out and
melt the polar ice.  All of the continents of The Earth of The
Sky would fly apart and would be thrown off into space where they
would turn into cosmic dust, leaving only The Earth of Darkness.

Everyone is horrified by this vision, and Tails asks the
President not to tell any of this to Sonic.  Too late: we see
Sonic standing on a railing above and behind the President; he's
heard the whole story.  Sonic wants to know what they want to
withhold from him and why.  Tails tries to apologize, but just at
that moment a message arrives that Metal is heading for the North
Pole.  Before the President can react, Sonic is on his way; he
then turns to Tails and Knuckles and asks them to help Sonic.

Elsewhere, Eggman is on his way to the North Pole.  With Sera
still screaming with rage at him, he flies into a warp gate. 
Tails and Knuckles are also on their way to the Pole in the
repaired Tornado.  Tails' wrist device can now indeed detect the
brain waves of both Sonic and Metal.

Metal reaches the North Pole and begins breaking the ice to free
the magma.  Sonic arrives and realizes that he's too late.  He
wonders where Metal could be, until the robot emerges from the
ice beneath his feet.  Both combatants face each other.  Sonic
says the equivalent of "This planet ain't big enough for two
Sonics!" and proposes a fight to the death.  Metal nods and the
fight is on.

Sonic and Metal race all over the continent fighting each other,
finally winding up forehead-to-forehead, pushing against each
other with equal force.  Sonic realizes that the robot can read
his thoughts [and anticipate his moves]; he THEN realizes that
the reverse must be true as well!  They end up both shooting up
into the air just as the Egg-O-Matic appears through the warp
gate.  Sonic lands on the nose of the Egg-O-Matic while Metal
crashes into the bottom of the ship with his head emerging
through the floor.  Eggman can't believe that the rodent is still
alive and wonders how this is possible.  He also wonders what's
wrong with Sonic , since the hedgehog's prancing around like mad
on the nose of the Egg-O-Matic. [It may have something to do with
the fact that he landed on the nose of the Egg-O-Matic crotch
first; a few more landings like that and Sonic's voice will be
higher than Tails!  Enough said.] Sera screams and kicks Metal in
the head, thinking that it's Sonic trying to look up her dress.

Eggman tries to grab the hedgehog, but Sonic is faster and zips
away, ending up under the Egg-O-Matic holding on to Metal's legs. 
Eggman stumbles and falls forward onto the nose of the Egg-O-
Matic; the sudden shift in weight distribution causes the craft
to tilt to the side.  Sera falls out only to be caught by
Knuckles who was gliding along close to the ground.  "THAT was a
close one!" he observes.

Again Sonic and Metal fight, only to have the fight broken up
when the Tornado appears and separates the two in mid-air. 
Eggman then shoots two missiles at Tails: one sleek model that
looks like a rabbit, the other looking like a turtle --
apparently an homage to the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare. 
The hare-missile speeds away and hits the Tornado; it explodes
and the resulting cloud of smoke resembles Eggman's face.  The
tortoise-missle, however, more or less "walks" through the air at
an extremely slow pace, which infuriates the Doctor.

Meanwhile, Knuckles tries coming to a stop on the ice, but begins
skidding and losing his balance.  Sera, still in Knuckles' arms,
doesn't seem to mind; in fact, she speaks happily of her
"attraction to men."  She gives Knuckles a kiss; he slumps to the
ground unconscious.

Tails, who managed to jump from the Tornado before it was hit by
the missile, is now rolling down a snowy hill, picking up snow
until he looks like a giant snowball with two tails.  Eggman
tries to recapture Sera but she is whisked from his grasp by the
snowball (which also picks up Knuckles as it speeds along).  A
wall of ice finally stops the snowball and its three passengers. 
When the snow clears, Tails realizes that he is clinging for dear
life to Sera's breasts.  Tails is extremely embarrassed and
Knuckles calls Tails' behavior "inexcusable."  But their
attention soon turns back to Sonic and Metal and a stream of
flowing magma.

Tails begs Knuckles to do something before the ice bridges melt
and The Earth of the Sky is lost.  Knuckles won't commit himself
at first, but Sera tells the echidna that she trusts him -- after
all, she says, he's a "real man" -- and then kisses him. 
Properly motivated, Knuckles leaps into action.  He digs several
holes in the ground allowing the magma to flow off, although his
hat catches fire in the process.

Tails and Sera cheer at Knuckles' success, but then they see
Sonic in the distance.  He falls to the ground completely
exhausted by his fight with Metal.  Metal appears and kicks Sonic
in the back, sending him sailing toward Tails and Sera.  Metal
then grabs Sonic by the throat, lifts him off his feet and tries
to strangle him.  Sera is in a panic over this; it's not that she
likes Sonic so much but she's even more horrified by the prospect
of having to marry Eggman.  So she begins to attack Metal,
biting, kicking, and punching away at it like mad.  Metal is
unimpressed and doesn't budge.

Tails tries using the wrist device to transfer some of the brain
wave energy from Metal to Sonic, and succeeds.  Metal lets go of
Sonic and seems to experience some kind of short circuit.  With
his last ounce of strength, Sonic goes into a spin and hits Metal
with enough force to send him flying off into the distance.

Sera helps Sonic to his feet.  Sonic thanks Tails and praises him
for his clever plan.  Just then there's the sound of a crash;
something has plowed into the ice bridge above them.  At first
Tails thinks it's Eggman's ship.  Then Sera recognizes the ship
and screams out that it's her father's!  The ship is on fire, and
they can see the President and Ojisan trapped in the cockpit
unable to break the glass.

Sonic orders Tails to fly him up to the ship.  As he's doing so,
however, Tails runs into Metal.  "Haven't you had enough?" Sonic
yells at Metal.  "Just leave us alone!"  Tails tries to use the
wrist device again, but a well-aimed shot by Eggman destroys the
device.  The Doctor congratulates the fox for his wits, but
announces that now their end has come.  Then he commands Metal to
attack Sonic and finish him once and for all.

Again a wild chase ensues between Sonic and Metal.  During the
chase, Sonic inadvertently lands on Knuckles' head as it pops out
of one of the holes he had dug earlier. [It's reminiscent of
those bop-the-gopher arcade games...or, for that matter, part of
the opening sequence of "Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog".]
Knuckles, with an exaggerated bump on his head, gives Sonic a
"thumbs down" for that landing.  In the end, Sonic gets hold of
Metal and throws him at the cockpit of the ship, managing to
break the glass.  A few seconds later, however, the ship
explodes.

Just as it seems all is lost, Metal emerges from the smoke
carrying Ojisan and the President to safety.  Sonic can't believe
it.  But as soon as Metal releases the pair (with Ojisan falling
on top of Tails and the President landing on Kunckles), a large
chunk of metal from the ship hits Metal and he falls into a deep
crater filling up with magma.  Sonic jumps in after him but the
heat prevents him from getting very close.  Metal slowly crawls
up the side of the crater toward Sonic.  Knuckles cautions Sonic
that Metal just wants to pull Sonic into the magma but Sonic
refuses to listen.  Then, just as Metal is close enough to reach
Sonic's outstretched hand he slaps it away.  As Metal slowly
sinks into the magma [sacrificing himself in the best _bushido_
tradition] he says: "There can only be one Sonic" -- perhaps an
echo of Sonic's line above about how the planet isn't big enough
for both of them.  Sonic screams out the bot's name: "METARU!!" 
It echoes within the crater as Sonic watches his "twin" melt
away; Knuckles is barely able to hold Sonic back.  

We dissolve to see our heroes standing at the edge of the crater. 
Sera tries to cheer Sonic up by reminding him that he won; Tails
states that Sonic will feel better soon.  But Eggman appears to
try to have the final word.  He proudly holds up the CD on which
the data for Metal has been stored; he threatens to build a NEW
robot, this time without emotions [presumably referring to the
emotions that caused Metal to spare Ojisan, to rescue the owl and
the President, and to sacrifice himself].  But Eggman's triumph
is interrupted as the tortoise-missle slowly walks past the
astonished onlookers toward the Doctor.  It bites down on the CD
and, despite Eggman's protest that "That's mine!", promptly
detonates.

Everyone laughs and the President observes that everything should
be back to normal again.  Knuckles, however, walks over to Sonic,
gives him a good thump on the head, and says "Now we're even." 
Sonic asks what he did THAT for.  By way of a reply, Knuckles
sticks his tongue out at Sonic and runs off.  Sonic gives chase,
followed by Tails.  Eggman's threat to get his revenge on Sonic
is cut short as Sera, the President, and Ojisan all pile into the
Egg-O-Matic and tell the Doctor to follow those furries!  Eggman
does so, under protest.  As Sonic and Knuckles argue back and
forth about who hit whom, the Egg-O-Matic with its raucous
passengers catches up to them.  Sonic looks back and decides it's
time to leave.  Knuckles' "Wait up, Sonic!" is completely
ignored.

                             THE END