Heroes by Måns Zelmerlöw.
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It wasn't often Amy became brutally frozen with trembling knees. Cheese clung to her arm, whimpering and shaking but it frustratingly wasn't enough for her to get moving. She could feel an icy slither crawl up her spine and smother her throat, making breathing an incredibly difficult task. Everything appeared so bright and like she was underwater, but when Metal Sonic grabbed his organic brother's leg, tossing him towards the Chao Garden's pond, she broke free from her terror and stormed to his side.

"You okay?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up in thanks for the aid. "You know me. I'm guessin' he's after Cheese."

"To cover up his tracks?"

"You bet."

When emerald eyes locked with steely red optics, his headache blossomed into a force he couldn't ignore. Metal appeared startled too, for he merely stood at the ready and seized any attacks. Sonic didn't understand. Hadn't their connection been destroyed when they demolished the lousy copy last time?

Still, when the blue machine's engine roared and heavy 'shoes' kicked off the grass, Sonic pushed Amy aside and fell back into the pond where Metal's claw enveloped his throat.

"N-nope! Definitely after me!"

He heard Cheese whine, Amy's gasp and his protesting kicks- but a blinding golden flash disrupted all action. An Air Shoe so familiar kicked Metal aside and Shadow stood in his place, frowning all the way.

"He must've guessed you'd be here." Knuckles mused from behind, helping Amy up.

"Maybe." Sonic stood, rolling a shoulder. "I thought that connection we had was dismantled when we took him down?"

"It destroyed Eggman's access to your memories. With every model he makes, I can only guess the connection shows up when you two are near- almost like you can sense him." Tails, hugging over his bandages, estimated.

"Explains the headaches." Sonic sighed, jogging on the spot.

"We can not let him get you or Cheese either way." Shadow refocused.

"Chao chao!"

"Right. Tails, pal, head back to Knucks' place with-."

"Hold on- you're sidelining me?"

"Can't risk you gettin' hurt again, little bro. 'Sides you're still healing."

"But I can-."

"We don't have time for this." Shadow sighed as Metal's optics rolled, thus the former took Cheese from Amy and gave him over to the two-tailed fox.

"This won't take long." The Ultimate Lifeform assured, nodded and yelped as he was tackled from behind.

Tails stumbled back and patted Cheese's head with his thumb to soothe the shivering creature. He observed the blue machine tussle with Shadow, glanced at his brother who signed for him to move and with a slight sag obliged. Knuckles' fists crushed against each other and with a grin he struck the mute look-a-like, making him roll a short distance away.

But Metal was up even quicker and he charged forward, narrowly dodging a crackling spear from Shadow (making him briefly pant in overexertion). Unfortunately, it brought him straight towards a chuckling Knuckles who reached his arm around the area beneath his head, bringing him into place for a chokehold. Of course, being a robot had it's benefits and Metal tucked his legs under the echidna- throwing him over and violently hitting the grass.

"We need to move." Sonic took Amy's hand and sidestepped away from the Chao Garden.

"You think you're up for this, Ames?"

"Me?" She swung her hammer. "Y-you make it sound like I'm not."

The speedster deadpanned.

Amy sweat-dropped.  "As long as we stick together, I know I can do this."

Emerald eyes widened and the faintest of pink hues dusted over a tan muzzle. Still, he grinned and offered a thumbs up.

"That's what I like to hear."

Curling into a spiky sphere, Amy's hammer collided from behind and mightily pushed him towards where Metal's leg was locked in the air, pushing against Shadow's. He felt a terrible, abrupt, sting around his leg but made quick work in smashing his metal brethren to the ground. Unravelling, he hissed and noted far too loose bandages around his lower thigh- a terrible scar peaking through.

It was like he was back there, again. Where the Chaotix towered over him and helped his broken, bloodied and bruised body stand. A pole went straight through his limb and he despised how his stomach churned just from the memory of the agony when it was pulled out. Magically, bone and skin sowed itself back together and within days he was able to return to-

"Let me go!"

Sonic's attention trailed over to Amy, laying against the grass with nothing but her hammer between herself and Metal. Hazy. Everything became muffled. The poor heroine sounded absolutely petrified and even if Shadow took towards her, Sonic was narrowly quicker. When the former tackled Metal aside, the Blue Blur pulled Amy and hugged from behind.

"You okay?"

Amy gulped to resist the urge to squeal and instead frantically nodded, swiftly climbing up. "Your leg-."

"Eh, I'll fix it up in a sec'."

A brilliant gust of wind blasted just beside Sonic's head and he whirled to see Shadow flying towards a cluster of trees. He, Amy and Knuckles stepped to assist, but Metal was there and squeezing his claws against the dark hedgehog's hands. Shadow yelled a command and vanished, appearing behind to deliver a clean roundhouse kick.

Metal rolled and dug his claws into the grass, slowing his travels and snapping his head up- revealing livid red optics and a dangling ear. Amy recognised that brutal hunger and could only rasp as Sonic and Knuckles took off. The former in a dagger-like sphere, but caught in even sharper claws and thrown down to the ground. He unraveled in the midst of a shallow dip, groaned and held his head and the red guardian leaped over, large mitt meeting scissor-like hands.

Smoke emitted from the machines engine and Metal swiped his legs beneath Knuckles' shoes. Not letting go, he was able to throw the echidna all the way to the Master Emerald shrine. He whirred and stumbled but held himself ready when Shadow snapped his Inhibitor Rings off.

"Enough of this."

Amy's eyes widened and she reached. "Shadow, wa-!"

Flash after flash, trailed by hit and swipe and kick. Grunts and tired wheezes, but a shiny blue ear bounced from the golden storm and the exhausted whines of an engine followed.

Until it stopped.

The neon cloud simmered and in it's place Metal shoved a scarily pale Shadow down. Knuckles groaned from behind and Sonic picked himself up, but Metal already lifted the Ultimate Lifeform by the throat. He could hear his organic brother's stampede so gave a swift, careless swipe, flung Shadow aside and met Sonic claws to hands.

Shadow was eerily silent. Until he wasn't and he gave such an uncharacteristic yell Amy bolted to his aid. She heard Knuckles help his blue friend pin Metal down, so gently rested a hand on a torn leather jacket.

"Hey, Sh-."

She fell silent when he lifted his face. A trembling hand lowered from his left eye to reveal claw marks around the edges, vanishing red iris and green and golden dotted blood seep out below.

"I-I can't...see."

"Like at all?"

He growled (at least he wasn't too shaken up). "Partly, Rose. Half-blind, I'd suggest."

Amy sighed at his report-like wording and helped him up. "Chaos, um- it'll be okay, Shadow. We-."

"Hey!" Sonic called, dusting his hands and hopped over to the pair (Knuckles following).

Amy glanced at Metal who lay forgotten on the grass, claws all bent unnaturally and leg attached at the knee by nothing more than wires.

"Oh man. That looks painful." Sonic winced, receiving a glare from his rival.

Still, he undid some bandages around his quills (using them mainly for fashion and partly to keep a stray tuft flattened) and handed them to Amy. Expectantly, smaller spines sprung up and hung over his eyes and Knuckles sniggered. Shadow tried to protest and grumbled when the pink heroine tended to the worst of the damage, clearing signs of infection before wrapping those same bandages around the wound.

"Here." Sonic gifted his rival his golden bracelets.

"Why did you do that?" Amy scolded.

"We had a problem. I simply dealt with it." Shadow argued.

"By making yourself blind?" Knuckles frowned. "We had it handled."

"I-."

Sonic nudged the brooding hedgehog. "We're a team- we take whatever comes together. No point in harming yourself in the process- that's no good."

Shadow bit his inner cheek, holding back on commenting on the irony. Instead he hummed. "Luckily, this shouldn't last forever. If I keep the use of my energy to a minimum that is. Being who I am, most wounds are temporary."

"Still. Don't take that as a sign that it's okay to throw yourself into trouble." Amy wagged a finger.

Shadow tensed. Their shared concern was touching. Unnecessary, for he was fine, but touching all the same. He even found himself with the smallest of smiles.

"Noted."

"Hey guys?" Knuckles coughed. "Metal's-."

"Hey!" Came Tails' voice from within the shrine and Sonic momentarily panicked, but relaxed upon his brother flying out with a beeping Comlink and following Cheese.

"Charmy's calling me! He said it's urgent- sounds like Mobius is in trouble!"

Shadow scowled. "Then Rouge and Omega could be-."

Sky blue eyes narrowed in on a rougher patch of grass. "Hold on, where did Metal Sonic go?"