The Downunda facility loomed before them like a monument to industrial oppression. Massive smokestacks belched toxic fumes into the otherwise pristine sky, the constant thrum of machinery creating a discordant symphony of mechanical labor. Guard towers dotted the perimeter, their searchlights cutting through the gathering dusk as robot sentries marched in precise, unending patterns.
"Alright, here's the plan," Shadow said, crouched behind a rocky outcropping with the rest of the team. "We split into two groups. Sonic and I will create a diversion at the main gate—draw the majority of the security forces to our position. Nazo, you take Bunnie, Amy, and Rouge through the eastern maintenance access. According to the schematics, that leads directly to the central manufacturing hub."
"And once we're inside?" Nazo asked.
"Plant explosives on the main power core, then rendezvous at the extraction point. We have forty-five minutes before Rotor brings the plane around for pickup." Shadow's crimson eyes swept across the facility. "Any questions?"
"Just one," Sonic said, stretching his legs in preparation. "Can I go all out, or do we need to be subtle?"
"Start subtle. Once the alarms go off, do whatever you want."
Sonic grinned. "Music to my ears."
The team split, with Sonic and Shadow racing toward the main entrance while Nazo led his group through the rocky terrain toward the eastern side of the complex. The sun had fully set now, and the darkness provided additional cover as they approached the maintenance access point.
"There," Rouge whispered, pointing toward a heavy metal door set into the facility's outer wall. "Two guards, automated turrets on either side. Standard security protocol."
"I'll handle it," Nazo said.
He raised one hand, silver energy gathering in his palm, and released it in a focused burst. The two robot guards sparked and collapsed, their circuitry fried by the chaos pulse. The turrets swiveled toward the source of the attack, but before they could fire, Bunnie's arm cannon reduced them to smoking scrap.
"Nice shootin', sugah," she said to herself with satisfaction.
They reached the door, and Rouge went to work on the lock. Her fingers moved with practiced precision, and within seconds, the heavy barrier swung open with a hydraulic hiss.
"After you," she said to Nazo with a wink.
The maintenance corridor beyond was dimly lit and lined with pipes and conduits carrying power and fluids throughout the facility. The air was thick with the smell of oil and ozone, and the constant vibration of machinery made the floor tremble beneath their feet.
"The central hub should be straight ahead," Amy said, consulting a small datapad with the facility schematics. "Two more security checkpoints, then we're there."
They moved quickly but cautiously, dispatching robot patrols with efficient coordination. Nazo's chaos abilities proved invaluable for disabling electronic systems, while Bunnie's firepower and Amy's surprisingly effective hammer work handled the physical threats. Rouge, meanwhile, seemed to have an almost supernatural ability to spot dangers before they materialized.
"Contact ahead," she warned as they approached the first checkpoint.
The security station was more heavily fortified than expected—a reinforced barrier manned by a squad of combat robots, with additional turrets covering every angle of approach.
"We could try to go around," Amy suggested.
"No time," Shadow's voice crackled over their communicators. "Sonic and I have engaged the main force, but they're sending reinforcements from all sectors. You need to move fast."
Nazo stepped forward, silver energy blazing around his form. "Then we go through."
He raised both hands, and the chaos energy responded to his will. A wave of silver light washed over the checkpoint, and every electronic system in its path simply... stopped. Robots froze mid-motion, turrets powered down, even the lights flickered and died.
"Electromagnetic chaos pulse," Nazo explained as the team rushed through the disabled checkpoint. "Disrupts electronic systems in a localized area. It won't last long, so keep moving."
They encountered the second checkpoint moments later, and Nazo repeated the technique with equal success. The path to the central hub was now clear.
The manufacturing center was massive—a cavernous space filled with assembly lines, storage containers, and half-completed weapons systems. Robot workers moved through the space in automated patterns, constructing devices that Nazo recognized with growing unease.
"Those are chaos energy collectors," he said, studying the equipment. "They're building devices to harvest and weaponize chaos energy."
"Robotnik's been busy," Rouge observed grimly. "If he completes this project—"
"He won't." Nazo's voice was hard. "We destroy everything. Now."
But before they could act, a new sound filled the chamber—the heavy footsteps of something massive approaching. The robot workers scattered, fleeing to the edges of the room, and a section of the far wall began to rise like a garage door.
What emerged made Nazo's chaos senses scream with warning.
It was a mech—easily thirty feet tall, humanoid in shape but bristling with weapons and armor. Its chassis was painted in Robotnik's signature red and black, and its chest bore a transparent dome through which the doctor himself was visible, seated in a command chair with a manic grin on his face.
But that wasn't what alarmed Nazo.
The mech was radiating chaos energy. Silver chaos energy, identical to his own signature.
"WELCOME, NAZO!" Robotnik's amplified voice boomed through the chamber. "I've been expecting you!"
"What is that thing?" Bunnie demanded, her arm cannon already charging.
"I call it the Chaos Replicator!" Robotnik announced proudly. "Beautiful, isn't it? After your impressive performance against Metal Sonic, I knew conventional weapons would be useless against you. So I designed something special—a machine that harnesses YOUR power against you!"
The mech raised one massive arm, and silver energy—unmistakably similar to Nazo's own—gathered at its palm.
"The data I collected from Metal Sonic's sensors before you destroyed it was invaluable," Robotnik continued. "Your chaos signature, your energy patterns, your attack frequencies—I have it all! And now, I've replicated it in mechanical form!"
"Nazo," Rouge said urgently, "we need to—"
"Everyone get behind me," Nazo interrupted, stepping forward to face the mechanical titan. "Now."
The women hesitated, but something in his voice brooked no argument. They retreated to the edge of the chamber as Nazo squared off against Robotnik's creation.
"You think a copy of my power can defeat the original?" Nazo asked, his voice calm despite the tension of the moment.
"Let's find out!" Robotnik cackled, and the Chaos Replicator attacked.
The mech's opening salvo was devastating.
Silver energy beams lanced from its palms, tearing through the space where Nazo had been standing a millisecond before. He dodged with supernatural speed, weaving between the attacks as the manufacturing equipment around him was reduced to molten slag.
"Impressive mobility!" Robotnik acknowledged. "But can you dodge AND attack?"
The Chaos Replicator's chest opened, revealing a cluster of missile launchers. Dozens of projectiles streaked toward Nazo, each one trailing silver light—chaos-enhanced explosives that would detonate with devastating force.
Nazo raised his hands, and a barrier of silver light materialized before him. The missiles struck the shield and exploded, but the barrier held firm.
"Is that all?" Nazo asked.
"Hardly!" Robotnik's mech charged forward, its massive fists swinging with speed that belied its size. Nazo dodged the first punch, caught the second on his forearm, and was driven backward by the sheer force of the impact.
The Chaos Replicator pressed its advantage, raining down blows with mechanical precision. Each strike carried the weight of chaos-enhanced strength, and Nazo found himself on the defensive for the first time since his arrival in this world.
"Your data isn't complete," he observed, blocking another punch and countering with a chaos spear that splashed harmlessly against the mech's armor. "You've replicated my signature, but not my full power."
"I've replicated ENOUGH!" Robotnik retorted. "And my machine doesn't tire, doesn't doubt, doesn't hold back! How long can you maintain this pace, chaos entity?"
It was a fair question. Nazo was faster and more agile than the mech, but its armor was shrugging off his attacks, and its chaos-enhanced weapons were forcing him to expend energy on defense rather than offense. A prolonged battle would favor the machine.
Time to end this, he decided.
Nazo stopped dodging.
The Chaos Replicator's next punch connected squarely with his chest—and stopped dead.
Robotnik's triumphant expression froze. "What?"
"You made a fundamental error in your calculations, Doctor." Nazo wrapped his hands around the mech's massive fist, silver energy blazing around his form. "You assumed that the power Metal Sonic recorded was my maximum output."
"That's... that's impossible! The readings—"
"Were from my BASE form. The form I use when I'm not trying." Nazo's grip tightened, and metal began to crumple beneath his fingers. "Let me show you what happens when I actually make an effort."
He pulled.
The Chaos Replicator's arm tore free from its body with a shriek of rending metal. Sparks flew, hydraulic fluid sprayed, and Robotnik let out a scream of disbelief as his prized creation stumbled backward, unbalanced.
Nazo hurled the severed arm aside and pressed his attack.
His fist connected with the mech's torso, punching through armor plating like it was cardboard. His chaos energy surged into the breach, shorting out systems and igniting fuel lines. He grabbed the edge of the hole he'd created and PULLED, tearing the Chaos Replicator's chest open like he was opening a package.
"NO!" Robotnik screamed, desperately working his controls. "BACKUP SYSTEMS, ACTIVATE! EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS—"
Nazo reached into the mech's exposed innards and ripped out a cluster of glowing components—the chaos energy capacitors that powered the machine. Without them, the Chaos Replicator went dark, its systems failing one by one.
"Your toys are impressive," Nazo said, crushing the capacitors in his fist. "But they're still just toys."
He grabbed the mech's command dome—the transparent bubble that protected Robotnik himself—and tore it free from the chassis. The doctor tumbled out, landing hard on the factory floor, his precious creation collapsing in a heap of sparking, smoking metal behind him.
Robotnik scrambled backward, his eyes wide with genuine fear. "Wait! WAIT! You can't—I'm unarmed! The rules of warfare—"
"Do you follow the rules of warfare when you roboticize innocent people?" Nazo asked, advancing slowly. "When you enslave entire populations? When you turn children into machines?"
"That's... that's different! That's SCIENCE! That's PROGRESS!"
"It's evil." Nazo's voice was cold. "And I'm running out of patience for evil."
He reached down and grabbed Robotnik by the collar of his ridiculous red jacket, lifting the portly dictator off the ground with one hand.
"Please!" Robotnik whimpered, all trace of his earlier bravado gone. "I'll do anything! I'll surrender! I'll shut down my factories! Just don't—"
"Don't what?" Nazo asked. "Don't hurt you? Don't give you what you deserve?"
He stared into Robotnik's terrified eyes, and something dark stirred in his chest. The man in his grip was responsible for untold suffering. He had destroyed families, enslaved nations, turned living beings into soulless machines. He was a monster in human form, and the universe would be objectively better without him.
End him, something whispered in Nazo's mind. He deserves it. They all deserve it. Why hold back? Why show mercy to those who show none?
His grip tightened. Robotnik gasped.
And then, from behind him, he heard Amy's voice.
"Nazo? Are you okay?"
The darkness receded. Nazo blinked, looking at the pathetic figure in his grasp—not a monster, not really, just a sad, broken man whose genius had been twisted by ego and ambition.
I'm better than this, he reminded himself. The Chaos Force chose me to be a champion, not an executioner.
He released Robotnik, letting the doctor fall to the floor in a heap.
"Run," Nazo said simply. "Run back to Robotropolis and tell your robots to evacuate this facility. You have fifteen minutes before we destroy it."
"You... you're letting me go?"
"I'm giving you a chance to do one decent thing in your miserable life. Take it."
Robotnik scrambled to his feet, his eyes darting between Nazo and the exit. For a moment, it seemed like he might say something—some defiant quip, some villainous promise of revenge. But whatever he saw in Nazo's eyes convinced him otherwise.
He ran.
The team regrouped as Robotnik's escape pod rocketed into the sky. Bunnie was already placing explosives on the main power core, while Rouge coordinated with Sonic and Shadow via communicator.
"Package is set," Bunnie reported. "We've got ten minutes to clear the blast radius."
"Copy that," Shadow's voice responded. "We're en route to the extraction point. No significant opposition remaining."
"Then let's move," Nazo said.
But as they headed for the exit, something made him pause. A feeling—faint but unmistakable—of being watched. He turned, scanning the shadows of the manufacturing center, but saw nothing.
"Nazo?" Amy tugged at his arm. "We need to go."
"Right. Sorry." He shook off the feeling and followed the team out of the facility.
They cleared the perimeter with minutes to spare, and the explosives detonated with spectacular results. A chain reaction tore through the complex, secondary explosions cascading through the fuel storage and weapons caches. Within moments, the entire facility was a blazing inferno.
"One less factory," Rouge observed with satisfaction. "How many does that leave?"
"Too many," Bunnie replied. "But it's a start."
The extraction point was a clearing about a mile from the burning facility, where Rotor's modified plane was already waiting. Sonic and Shadow were there when they arrived, both looking a bit singed but otherwise unharmed.
"Any trouble?" Sonic asked.
"Nothing we couldn't handle," Amy said proudly. "Nazo took down Robotnik's new mech like it was nothing!"
"It wasn't nothing," Nazo corrected. "Robotnik had replicated my chaos signature. The machine was dangerous."
"But you still beat it," Rouge pointed out. "In your base form, no less. Imagine what you could have done if you'd transformed."
The words hung in the air, and Nazo felt the eyes of his teammates on him. They were all thinking the same thing—remembering his Perfect form, the terrifying power it represented.
"I didn't need to transform," he said quietly. "And I prefer to save that form for when it's truly necessary."
Shadow nodded approvingly. "A wise approach. Power should be used with discretion."
"Speakin' of power," Bunnie interjected, "what happened at the end there? You had Robotnik dead to rights, sugah. Ah thought for a second you were gonna..."
She trailed off, but everyone understood what she meant.
Nazo was silent for a moment, remembering the darkness that had whispered in his mind. The temptation to simply end Robotnik—to remove the source of so much suffering with one final act of violence.
"I considered it," he admitted. "For a moment, I wanted to. But that's not who I am. That's not who I want to be."
"And that's exactly why you're one of the good guys," Amy said firmly. "Bad guys don't struggle with those decisions. They just do whatever they want."
"Amy's right," Sally's voice came through the communicator. "I was monitoring the mission remotely. You showed remarkable restraint, Nazo. That's not weakness—that's strength."
"Thanks, Sally." Nazo felt warmth spread through his chest at her words.
"Now get on that plane and come home. We have a lot to debrief, and I want to see everyone back safe."
The flight back to Knothole was quieter than the journey out.
Exhaustion was setting in for most of the team, and even Sonic had settled into a genuine sleep rather than his usual light dozing. Shadow maintained his stoic vigil at the cockpit, while Bunnie and Rouge conversed quietly near the cargo bay.
Amy had, predictably, claimed the seat next to Nazo. But instead of her usual barrage of questions, she was uncharacteristically silent, her green eyes studying him with an expression he couldn't quite read.
"Is something wrong?" he finally asked.
"I was just thinking about what you said back there. About wanting to hurt Robotnik but choosing not to."
"Does that bother you?"
"No. It makes me respect you more." Amy shifted in her seat, turning to face him more directly. "I've seen a lot of powerful people, Nazo. Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, even some of the villains we've fought. And most of them, when they have power, they use it without thinking. They just... do what feels right in the moment."
"That's not always a bad thing."
"No, but it's not always good either." Amy's expression was serious—more mature than her usual energetic demeanor suggested. "You're different. You have all this incredible power, but you think about how to use it. You consider the consequences. That's rare."
"I'm not sure I deserve that much credit. Half the time, I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing."
"Maybe. But you're trying to figure it out, and you're trying to do the right thing. That counts for a lot." She reached out and took his hand, her smaller fingers intertwining with his. "I know I can be... intense sometimes. And I know I've been part of this whole weird competition thing with Sally and Rouge and Bunnie. But I want you to know that it's not just because you're powerful or mysterious or attractive."
"It's not?"
"Well, okay, those things help." Amy laughed softly. "But mostly it's because you're a genuinely good person. And those are harder to find than you might think."
Nazo looked at their joined hands, feeling the warmth of her touch, the sincerity in her words. He still didn't fully understand the dynamics at play between the women who seemed so invested in him, but he was beginning to appreciate that their interest wasn't superficial.
"Thank you, Amy. That means a lot."
"You're welcome." She squeezed his hand, then released it with visible reluctance. "Now get some rest. Sally's going to want a full debrief when we get back, and you look like you could use a few hours of sleep."
"I don't think I actually need to sleep—"
"Shush. Close your eyes. Doctor's orders."
Nazo found himself smiling despite everything. "You're not a doctor."
"I'm whatever I need to be. Now sleep!"
He closed his eyes, and the gentle hum of the aircraft engines lulled him into something approaching rest.
Back in Robotropolis, Dr. Robotnik was having a very different experience.
He had made it back to his fortress in record time, his escape pod's engines pushed to their absolute limits by sheer terror. Now he sat in his command center, surrounded by screens showing the destruction of his Downunda facility, his hands trembling with a mixture of rage and fear.
"Impossible," he muttered. "IMPOSSIBLE! The Chaos Replicator was designed to match his power output! The calculations were PERFECT!"
But the calculations had been based on incomplete data, and Robotnik knew it. He had assumed that the readings from Metal Sonic represented Nazo's full capabilities. He had been wrong.
Catastrophically wrong.
"Sir," one of his robot attendants spoke up, "shall I begin reconstruction of the Chaos Replicator? The design files are still—"
"NO!" Robotnik slammed his fist on the console. "A copy of his power will never be enough! We need something NEW! Something that attacks his weaknesses instead of trying to match his strengths!"
"What weaknesses, sir? Our analysis shows no physical vulnerabilities."
Robotnik paused, his brilliant but twisted mind racing through possibilities. Nazo was powerful—more powerful than anything he had ever encountered. Direct confrontation was suicide. But power wasn't everything. There had to be a weakness somewhere.
And then he remembered.
The way Nazo had hesitated at the end of their confrontation. The way his grip had loosened when that pink hedgehog had called out to him. The way he had shown mercy instead of delivering the killing blow.
"Emotions," Robotnik murmured, a smile spreading across his face. "He has EMOTIONS. He cares about those pathetic Freedom Fighters. He's developed ATTACHMENTS."
"I don't understand, sir."
"Of course you don't—you're a robot. But I do." Robotnik leaned back in his chair, his fear giving way to renewed cunning. "We don't need to defeat Nazo directly. We need to control him. And the way to control any emotional being is through the things they care about."
He pulled up surveillance footage from the Downunda mission, focusing on the four women who had accompanied Nazo. The princess. The bat. The cyborg rabbit. The pink hedgehog.
"Target acquisition," Robotnik said, his voice cold and calculating. "These four are now priority assets. I want capture plans developed for each of them."
"Understood, sir. And what shall we do once they're captured?"
Robotnik's smile widened into something truly unpleasant.
"We'll make Nazo an offer he can't refuse."
The plane touched down in Knothole just as dawn was breaking.
Sally was waiting at the airfield, surrounded by a small crowd of Freedom Fighters who had gathered to welcome back the strike team. There were cheers and congratulations as the team disembarked, with everyone eager to hear about the mission's success.
But Sally's attention was focused on one person.
She pushed through the crowd until she reached Nazo, and before he could say anything, she threw her arms around him in a fierce embrace.
"You're safe," she breathed against his chest. "I was so worried."
Nazo hesitated for only a moment before returning the embrace, his arms wrapping around her smaller form. "I'm fine, Sally. The mission was a success."
"I know. I watched the whole thing through the surveillance feeds." She pulled back just enough to look up at him, her brown eyes bright with emotion. "You were incredible. And what you did at the end—showing mercy to Robotnik—that was..."
"Foolish?" Nazo suggested. "He'll just build more weapons, cause more suffering."
"Maybe. But killing him wouldn't have made you feel better. It would have made you something less than what you are." She reached up to touch his face, her fingers gentle against his silver fur. "You made the right choice."
"You really believe that?"
"I really do."
From the edge of the crowd, Rouge, Bunnie, and Amy watched the exchange with expressions ranging from fond to slightly jealous.
"Looks like Sally's makin' her move," Bunnie observed.
"Can you blame her?" Rouge replied. "He just came back from battle looking like a silver god. Anyone would want a piece of that."
"Hey!" Amy protested. "There's supposed to be fair competition!"
"There's no such thing as fair in love and war, honey. First rule of the game."
Amy huffed but didn't argue further. The truth was, she couldn't really begrudge Sally this moment. They'd all been worried about Nazo, and they'd all been relieved when he returned safely.
The competition could wait. For now, it was enough that he was home.
Later that morning, after the debriefing and the congratulations and the inevitable questions, Nazo found himself alone in his quarters, reflecting on everything that had happened.
The mission had been a success by any objective measure. They'd destroyed Robotnik's facility, eliminated his chaos-replicating technology, and dealt a significant blow to his military capability. The Freedom Fighters were stronger for it.
But something was bothering him.
That moment at the end, when he'd held Robotnik in his grip. The darkness that had whispered in his mind, urging him toward violence. It had felt so natural, so RIGHT in that moment. Like giving in would have been the easiest thing in the world.
Is that what Perfect Nazo really is? he wondered. Not just more powerful, but more... willing? More capable of the violence that my base form hesitates to commit?
It was a troubling thought. The Perfect form was undeniably useful—perhaps essential for the threats he knew were coming. But if every use of it pushed him closer to the darkness, closer to becoming the monster the negative energy had always intended him to be...
A knock at his door interrupted his brooding.
"Come in."
The door opened to reveal all four of them—Sally, Rouge, Bunnie, and Amy—standing in his doorway with determined expressions.
"We need to talk," Sally said.
"All of us," Rouge added.
"Together," Bunnie confirmed.
"About feelings!" Amy finished, then blushed. "I mean, about the situation. The whole... situation."
Nazo looked at the four women, each of them beautiful in her own way, each of them radiating a mix of nervousness and resolve.
"Alright," he said slowly. "Come in."
This, he suspected, was going to be complicated.