ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND

[metaloverlord]

( catchall for some dumb hedgehogs
also seasons tdm link for reference! )

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[metaloverlord]

[He may not be able to kill Sonic here, but he can beat him. It likely says something about Neo that he's just as enthused by that idea as he is about killing Sonic, but he's not going to stop and examine that for any length of time.

The first remark from the blue blur gets a sound that's part beep, part scoff from Neo; it isn't really a sound he can replicate well, but it's out there before he can stop it. The beep at least likely sounds familiar - after all, he was only able to communicate in beeps and boops prior to taking his Neo form.

(The very first thing he did was to give himself a voice, to better communicate his thoughts and desires. Though he doesn't have the words to express it, being stunted in his ability to communicate with his hated enemy was... agitating.)

But it's the rest of what Sonic has to say that catches him off-guard. His eyes follow the hedgehog's movements as Sonic starts to leave, but for once that voice of his feels like it isn't adequate to convey his thoughts on the subject. Neo can recognize Sonic's words for what they are - some level of concern, of all things - but he cannot fathom why his rival would be worried about him, of all people. How many times have they clashed? How many times has Sonic ensured Metal wouldn't be getting up again any time soon?

The only conclusion he can draw - a shaky, likely inaccurate one at that - is that Sonic is worried about him because he is a familiar face here. Because Sonic enjoys their clashes and wouldn't want to lose such a "fun" challenge. It makes enough sense to Neo, he supposes, but something about that conclusion simply feels... off.

Regardless, Sonic is long gone by the time Neo manages to come up with a response, so he doesn't bother saying it at all.

It doesn't matter what Sonic thinks. It doesn't matter if he's concerned. His feelings have no bearing on Neo's end goal, and even if he cannot accomplish that here, he can still focus on beating Sonic in this game they've made of information-gathering.

Next time he'll be better prepared.]