Quartz Quadrant - The Hunt is On!

[Dr. Mechano]

Quartz Quadrant. The peaceful, crystalline relics beautifully shimmered with light. The spectacle of this untarnished natural wonder was a testament to Little Planet's majestic beauty. Truly such splendor would be preserved for all-

"GWEEEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

...Nevermind.

Eggman, wearing his spiffy beige safari hat and wielding his trusty scoped Egg Blaster, trudged forward into the depths of the crystal caves, gleefully chortling at his scheme's impending completion.

"According to my calculations- which, by the way, are brilliant- the mystical being we're looking for is in this quadrant of the... well, the Quadrant," he said, clearing his throat, "Soon, we'll arrive, and have unrestricted access to time itself!"

He clasped his hands in glee, chuckling as they continued along their way. This was going to be a great day.

[Jammerlee]

"Just do not accidentally erase us out of existence..." came a voice from behind. Metal Sonic, donning an android form that made him appear as though he were an organic hedgehog, trailed along behind Eggman. Wearing a uniform similar to Eggman's, he rubbed at his arm in discomfort as he continued to try getting used to his newly acquired sense of touch.

[Dr. Mechano]

"Oh, pish posh, Metal Sonic," Eggman waved his hand at the robot dismissively, "I'm no stranger to bending the very laws of space and time to my whims, after all. However, with this marvelous source of power, I shall have far greater control over the timeline than I did years ago by merely harnessing the Time Stones alone."

"Anyway," he said, glancing back at Metal, "Let's keep our eyes peeled for any signs of life. I haven't pinpointed its exact location, but we should be getting close."

[Jammerlee]

The android was listening, though if Eggman were to have noticed his minion seemed to have become quite distracted... something that had been happening rather frequently now on this trip as Metal struggled to overcome the sensory overload that pelted him from every angle. This time, however, he had managed to get a good look at his own reflection in one of the many glowing quartz the dotted the area. Huh. He had expected himself to look like a straight up clone of Sonic. Instead he was surprised to find the form altered - the ruby red eyes of his reflection peered inquisitively back at him, and his quills had been styled into more of a crescent shape, reminiscent of the crest he had in his default form.

It was rather pleasantly unexpected. Still far too close to Sonic's visage for his comfort, but the subtle changes were more than welcome. More... him.

"Uh huh..." he mumbled in response as Eggman carried on. "... Merce. I want to be called Merce in this form."

[Yoolzine]

Eggman couldn't have been more right. They were close to something, the lithe, long-bodied figure weaving between the crystal formations of the cavern effortlessly. But sometimes, it passed behind a formation, visible through it until it passed through a ring of light, and came out behind another.

She'd felt something enter Quartz quadrant, and that didn't happen very often! And as she got closer, she was able to get a look at the intruders, wide eyes studying the pair. The taller one she recognized. He'd changed his clothes, but that thing on his face was very... recognizable.

But the other one... the other one looked sort of like the one that'd saved Little Planet from those strange machines. She hadn't liked those things scaring off the animals, but before she could do a thing, she'd been beaten to the punch by that blue hedgehog!

So with a grin, and a faint giggle, she twirled a finger, forming a ring of light she reached through...

As its other end formed next to, and behind Merce's shoulder, the being reaching out, and tapping him on the shoulder. Then arm, and loop, were gone.

[Jammerlee]

The android's synthetic quills frizzed outward at the foreign sensation. Spinning around, all while brushing at his shoulder, his eyes darted back and forth in search of what had just tapped him. Seeing nothing but empty space, he looked up at Eggman.

"... Something just touched me!"

[Dr. Mechano]

"Merce, eh?" Eggman shrugged, "I suppose that would help you blend in a bit better, for stealth purposes. Very well then."

As soon as he answered, he heard the robot's shouts about something touching him. Looking back and seeing nothing, Eggman answered, rolling his eyes, "Metal S- er, Merce, there's nothing there."

"You're just getting accustomed to having a sense of touch," Eggman added as he turned back and continued walking, "Just calm down, and you'll get used to it in time."

[Jammerlee]

"Wait, no!" Merce insisted, his expression going from annoyed to concerned as he futility tried to find his 'attacker'. He looked back at Eggman, tapping himself in the same place just to make sure it produced the same sort of sensation - which it did. "Something tapped me on the shoulder!"

[Yoolzine]

And then, right on cue, Merce gets another tap.

On his other shoulder.

[Jammerlee]

"... GAH!" the android shouted, jumping and brushing at his opposite shoulder. "Something keeps poking me!"

[Dr. Mechano]

Eggman looked back again, tilting his head in confusion at Metal's outburst.

What was going on? Was someone actually here? He supposed he'd try to put Metal at ease by addressing his concerns.

"Look," he said, stepping back a bit, "I'll let you walk in front then. If something is touching you, I'll see it next time."

[Jammerlee]

Looking back and forth with concern, the android nodded, awkwardly stepping in front of Eggman as instructed. Falling into step with his creator, Merce's eyes continued to dart back and forth with suspicion. Reaching an arm across himself, he awkwardly rubbed his arm, now beginning to wonder if it had all simply been in his head. After all, Eggman was right, he wasn't used to having a sense of touch.

But that couldn't have been the case, could it?

[Yoolzine]

Fortunately for Merce... but rather unfortunately for Eggman, this put the rotund roboticist in their stalker's sights.

And she didn't like him much at all.

As a result, his only warning would be a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision...

Before she took hold of both ends of his mustache and YANKED. Then once more, her hands vanished.

[Dr. Mechano]

"Ya-ha-hooooow!" Eggman yelped in pain suddenly, before frantically looking about in every direction.

"Metal- I mean, Merce- I mean... whatever!" he huffed, panting, "S-Something just attacked me!"

A puzzled look settled on his face, before shifting to mild irritation, "But where'd it go?"

He readied his Egg Blaster, slowly stepping over to Metal until they were standing back to back, with his itchy finger on the trigger as his eyes darted back and forth. Speaking lowly, he addressed Metal, "Stay alert, and be ready to attack at a moment's notice. We might be dealing with enemy that's mastered invisibility, teleportation, or both."

He cleared his throat, still aiming his blaster, "No pressure, of course."

[Jammerlee]

Looking up at Eggman with a flattened brow, the android muttered a vague, "I told you," before his form liquefied...

... Reshaping into his regular form. Oh sweet relief, he thought! He hadn't realized how badly he needed a break from those additional senses until now! With that major distraction now out of the way, and having full access to all of his abilities again, he joined Eggman in looking around in search of their mysterious attacker. His eyes dimmed a bit when all he saw were the rocks and crystals that made up the quarry.

"Do you think it could be the creature we are searching for?"

[Dr. Mechano]

Eggman answered back, still looking straight ahead, "I don't think so."

He shook his head, "All of my research on the lifeform we're seeking indicated that it would be somewhat less... active. Granted, Little Planet is so full of bizarre anomalies that there could be some undocumented beings roaming about."

"Who knows? We might have stumbled upon a breakthrough scientific discovery here!" He boasted, before matter-of-factly continuing, "A pity we're going to blast it to smithereens."

[Yoolzine]

And... quite suddenly, Metal wasn't alone with Eggman. After all, you didn't see someone liquify into something else every day. And she recognized this one now! He raced the OTHER one!

And lost. And exploded. But still! Racing! She liked racing. And that goal in mind is what'd made her teleport herself not just in front of Metal Sonic... but practically nose to nose with him, wide, seafoam eyes staring into red optics as a hand came up.

And poked his nose.

"Beep." And then in a burst of sparkling light, the being had taken off like a rocket, gold sparks trailing behind her like a comet tail.

[Jammerlee]

"Wha, huh? HEY!" Metal blinked, leaning back in surprise at the creature's sudden appearance. Only to have it... beep him on the nose and then take off.

"HEY, GET BACK HERE!" the metallix shouted, throwing an arm out and taking several steps after the strange creature. While he could have likely kept up with the jester-like creature had he intended to give actual chase, the actual speed at which it had taken off impressed him. He turned back to Eggman, pointing at the creature's direction.

"Sir! Did you see that?!"[rand=38368000034912230964900486601166855097163341686767040601788552276]

[Dr. Mechano]

Eggman saw something, reflected in the shiny quartz that surrounded the two of them, flying off into the distance. He didn't get a good look at it though.

Nodding, he answered Metal, "I caught a glimpse of it. Let's go after it!"

He whistled loudly, then waited for a moment, looking at his watch- featuring the image of his own face using his mustache as clock hands- as he tapped his feet. The faint roar of an engine grew gradually louder, until finally the Eggmobile zoomed over to them.

Hopping in, he pointed forward with all the dramatic gusto one would expect from Dr. Eggman, shouting, "After it, Metal! Mwa ha ha!"[rand=36852567852474753874947107397023056888175196945704838655982166529]

[Jammerlee]

"Right," the metallix nodded, turning and gliding off in the direction the creature had disappeared, quickly building up speed until he was little more than a blur quickly building ground ahead of Eggman.

[Yoolzine]

The being, on the other hand, seemed to show little regard for obstacles, the purple blur ricocheting off of quartz formations with audible 'pings', like a pinball in a machine, though her course led steadily away from her pursuers. Though there was a faint giggle in her wake.

[Dr. Mechano]

Meanwhile, Eggman was flying from behind; He wasn't as fast as Metal Sonic was, but he was managing to stay close as he followed.

"That's it, Metal Sonic!" Eggman shouted into his communicator, "Close in on it and don't let it out of your sight!"

[Jammerlee]

Metal made his best attempt to pursue the strange creature. Catching up to it wasn't what was proving to be difficult for him, as he had quickly managed to close the gap between the two - no, it was trying to catch the blasted thing as it seemed to ricochet around with no regard for the laws of physics.

"Stand... still...!" he growled in frustration.

[Yoolzine]

The being didn't seem to hear Metal Sonic at first, continuing to ricochet about, until, with a ping and a burst of gold sparks, it was hovering inches from the robot, narrowed eyes implying it was smiling.

SMILING.

[Jammerlee]

"Wh-wha," the metallix blurted as the strange creature appeared in front of him, appearing stationary in how it lingered in the air in front of him, yet maintaining its distance as Metal continued to fly forward with incredible speed. Behind NiGHTS, and unseen to Metal with the creature blocking his vision, a yellow signpost was quickly moving toward the duo.

Metal only got a split second warning as he saw it coming straight at him, attempting to veer off to the side to avoid collision.

[dice=3] (1: Brushes it. 2: Knocks into it. 3: Full on crash)

... And while he succeeded in suffering a full on crash, instead he found his shoulder slamming hard into the side of his post, throwing off his direction as he wound up in a tailspin. White sparks flew everywhere as he desperately attempted to regain control of his speed, veering upward as he narrowly avoided crashing into a large quartz jutting from the ground.

And then, as the sparks continued to fly everywhere, the metallix seemed to... vanish from sight.[rand=6200363438242322682735356260518295271247681704051143802164022425]

[chaoscroc]

Eggman did a double-take as Metal Sonic literally vanished from view, as well as his scanners. His mustache seemed to frizzle out slightly. "Me-Metal Sonic?! Where are you?! What happened?!" His hands smashed down on the console of his Egg-Mobile. "AND WHY AREN'T MY BLASTED INSTRUMENTS PICKING UP THAT THING?!"

His face turning red with anger, the scientist ripped open a panel, and began messing with the wiring inside. "Perhaps if I cross the scanner into the flux spanner set, while patching into the pera-dimetrion core..." He continued to ramble while he adjusted his pod's scanners, in an attempt to lock on to the mysterious being...or Metal, whichever came first.

((Also, apologies if this seems like a sudden shift, I'm taking over as Eggman from Doc. ^^;;; ))

[Yoolzine]

The unknown creature blinked at the space Metal Sonic had occupied, before its eyes turned to the sign, with a flash of recognition. Whoops. It hadn't meant to send him on a trip to the future. But while he was there...

It waved at Eggman, then slapped the sign, setting it to spinning, and surrounding the creature with sparks, before it, too, blasted off, and vanished with a soundless 'bang'.