<Why are you helping me?>

I stared at the flickering screen, barely holding my emotions inside. It hurt too much to see him like this.

I understand isolation now. I have been living in it for so long. And Metal, to have lived that way forever, forced into it when he had plenty of people he could have spoken to? It almost hurt more than my own pain.

I chose not to interact with people. That guilt is one thing, but imprisoned in your own mind? That is a whole other type of terror that I cannot even begin to comprehend.

Metal glanced back at me, and noticing my reaction, began typing again.

<I hurt everyone you ever loved. Because I wanted to. And now that I’m near death, you chose to save me? I do not understand your motivations.>

I grimaced. He thought I was doing this to gain something?! I mean, I did want a friend to talk to, but beyond that, there weren’t really any other ways I could exploit Metal.

“I’ve been stuck in isolation for decades. I have been alone for so long that at the first chance I got, I clung to you. I know it’s rash and will probably end badly, but… you’ve been in isolation your entire life, because you can’t speak. No one understood that pain back then, although I do now– since I spent so many long years alone.”

Metal hesitated, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. He typed a few letters, then deleted them.

<Thank you.>

I smiled.

“That’s what buddies do, right? At least, that’s what Sonic used to tell me.”

I lowered him from the keyboard. For the first time, while gazing up at Metal, I finally understood him–at least a little. He was no longer a mystery–rather, someone like me.

“Wanna head over?”

Metal nodded silently. I situated him in my arms so that carrying the heavy bot would be a bit easier.

I did a bridal carry, just like when I walked with Sonic down the altar.

I didn’t like Metal like that. He was really only a friend. Sonic was my lover, and now that he was gone, there was no one who I could ever move on with.

We left the base and I dashed off towards the bunker. I was planning to blast my way down with my chaos powers, but I was a bit worried that I might also destroy the parts in the process. Perhaps I could use smaller bursts to dig? It would take a long time, but at the same time… Metal’s condition was urgent. Not immediately urgent, but urgent enough that I couldn’t take a month digging my way miles under the bunker. I could use my Chaos powers and blast a giant hole next to the facility so that we could be close enough to dig in manually, although it was very difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the bunker when we got there.

It was in the Amazon rainforest. Of course.

Or at least the charred remains of it.

It hurt to see so much destruction. Animal corpses scattered the ground, mummified by the blast. Even a few people here and there. There was no stench, although my stomach hurled.

I glanced down at Metal to see how he was taking it. Not too terribly. Probably because he had inspected most of the planet rather closely. Much closer than I had.

I sat Metal on the ground, and got a firm grip on my emerald, before speaking to him.

“I want to just blast a hole right next to it then dig horizontally from there, but… there’s a chance I could destroy the whole thing.”

Metal’s eyes constricted. He glanced over to the black charcoal covering the ground, probably thinking about my proposal.

After a few minutes, I figured he was fine with it, so I began to charge my powers. At once, Metal grabbed my wrist, taking me by surprise.

His engine made a strange hissing sound like steam wishing to leave an enclosed space.

“Oh? Is that not a good idea?”

Metal shook his head. He made a few buzzing sounds while pointing down at the laser on his chest.

“Does that even still work?”

Metal shrugged, as if saying “Well, we’ll find out.” It seemed out of character for him, but I was glad he was seemingly becoming more hopeful.

I helped him up. He made a popping sound, pointing to a charred pole on the ground. I was surprised there was a short pole conveniently placed near us, as if God gave it to us for assistance, although it later occurred to me that it was probably a relic from an old logging facility.

He used the pole as a crutch, hobbling over to where I guessed was where the facility was. It was only a few steps, but that was where he stood as he pointed his laser down towards the chalky dirt below us.

Metal’s chest began to glow red. I was assuming that it was probably weaker than my Chaos powers, which was why he wanted to use his own laser–to ensure the safety of the bunker.

He was right. Dirt went flying. What I wasn’t ready for, though, was watching his body blow apart.