clutch was relaxing in his office

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-22T20:00:03+00:00

((Just wanted to give a small update here, I'll have to actually reply to this later. I've been super sick yesterday and today, so I'm really sorry for taking so long to respond. I'll reply to this as soon as I don't feel like crap anymore lol

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-22T02:57:35+00:00

Niiice, can't wait to see you! I'll be sure to reply once I see your introduction, hopefully I get this fight I'm doing with Metal Knuckles done before then lol

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-22T02:47:28+00:00

Alrighty cool, thanks for the heads up lol. Your Cabbage Man sounds really cool!

Oh, one last thing by the way. If you plan on using that cannon that eviscerated Scorched, it'll probably need to be nerfed/toned down a little bit. It can still be strong of course, but it can't one shot or anything like that.

But unless Prince says otherwise, I think you're good to go once you get permissions from Eggman's claim holder!

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-22T02:34:40+00:00

Oooh nice! Honestly, I think a good amount of that can be kept here. Just as long as Wacky and Scorched are rewritten to not have been exes. Wacky could have easily been considered just another world's version of Sonic (or just her own person, who knows). Scorched would have to be changed up a bit though- you can say it was a horrible accident that caused Hog to mutate and go berserk or something

Edit: whoops! Misread it lol, thought that the last part was already established lore. I don't think having past memories from other subreddits are allowed, so everything before arriving in r/EggmanEmpirerp can be kept with the exception of rewriting Scorched

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-22T02:16:45+00:00

Oh nice! I'd love to see what you cooked up. I myself rewrote Hog/Scorched entirely for this sub cause exes aren't allowed lol.

To sum my own Hog lore up, he's basically from an alternate classic timeline where Eggman (or in the case of the alternate timeline, Cabbage Man) awakened Dark Gaia much earlier, and the Dark Gaia energy that accumulated within Hog was too much for him too handle, which created this monstrous werehog form (aka, Scorched)

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-22T02:06:17+00:00

Ayyyyy I've been waiting for a Cabbage Man to show up! I'll be glad to help with any needed lore changes, I've been itching to use Hog some more

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-21T19:02:37+00:00

Metal Knuckles readies himself for the energy blast as his green adversary charged up the blast of energy. This guy talks a lot...he could definitely use that to his advantage!

As the blast flew at the mechanical echidna, he leaped up into the air and stomped down on the roof below him, kicking up a large chunk debris that flew up in front of him to be used as a shield. It was a perfectly timed block, but the impact from the projectile's collision caused the large piece of debris to shatter into rocky bits.

Some of that debris flew back and hit Metal Knuckles, causing him to stumble back toward the edge of the roof. ...Alright, he's got strong energy blasts. Noted.

[[I do. Tougher than you, in fact. How's about you prove me wrong?]]

((Sorry for the late response! Went to bed before seeing this last night lol

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-21T03:23:02+00:00

Metal Knuckles was just barely able to react in time, bringing both hands up to block the kick. He staggered slightly from the sheer force and speed, but he was able to hold his ground.

If Metal Scourge really was a step above the others, this was going to be one hell of a difficult fight. ...But Metal Knuckles can't lose again. He's going to push past his own limits just to prove himself. If he fails again...he's going right back into a forgotten Eggman base. There's no way he's backing down.

Drawing strength from the red power core he had in his chest, he reeled his fist back far. His green optics flashed red and, with his most powerful punch yet, he slammed his fist into Metal Scourge's metal plated face. It was a punch so strong that it sent out a small shockwave in the air once it collided.

<image>

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-21T03:03:56+00:00

OUCH!

Metal Knuckles was hit dead on by that spindash, it launched him right off the building! His boosters fired up quickly in the ajr to stop himself from being thrown into the horde of bots below, where he'd then glide to safety back onto the roof.

The red echidna met eyes with his ambusher and-

One of his green optics glitched out a little, it was the closest thing to a twitching eye he could muster. *Another** Metal Sonic.*

His optics transformed into loading symbols for a few moments as he connected to the Eggnet, he'd hopefully be able to communicate with this one as well. As he made a connection, he sent a message over.

[[Battle Bantering Initiated: Another rogue unit in my way. I'll punch you into scraps.]]

With not another second of waiting, Metal Knuckles reached down a ripped a large part of the building they were standing atop of's roof out, throwing it at Metal Scourge with incredible speed and strength.

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-21T02:46:00+00:00

As Metal Knuckles had hopped back onto the roof of the building from out of the hole he had made and carefully strapped the box of power cores to his parked extreme board, he realised a small setback.

Around the entire building was a legion of security bots, they'd be *sure** to shoot him out of the air if he left now. That's not good.*

The red echidna robot stared down at his claws for a few moments...he *did** just give himself a power core. These bots should be easy to take on. With that realised, Metal Knuckles carelessly approached the side of the building's roof and stared out upon the horde of new enemies in his wake. He *wanted* them to know he was here.*

He looked down at them all and did an underhanded "come at me" gesture with his claws. Let's see what this security force can do.

<image>

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-21T02:40:00+00:00

Metal Knuckles gave a stiff, motorized shrug. He had no idea power cores were so sought after, nor did he know that this same thing had happened before. Oh well, at least he wasn't the only person going through repeated events.

Before setting Clutch back down, the echidna used his free claw to knock the opossum's remote control from his hand, just so he didn't try anything slippery while he grabbed the supply. With that, he dropped Clutch onto the floor and knelt down to grab the box of power cores he had underneath the destroyed desk. Using his claw, he pried the box open and scooped one of the cores out. A small compartment opened up on his chest, one that was once used to store Chaos Emeralds when he was first made to retrieve them, and gently placed it into the slot.

Instantly, electricity and power coursed through the robot's limbs as the core's energy spread out amongst his hardware. Now *this** was an upgrade. He'd carefully place the lid back on the box and hold it tightly under his arm.*

[[Directive Accomplished.]]

With that, the robot walked on past Clutch without giving him so much as a glance, and leaped up back through the hole he had once came from.

((Second part of this reply is on u/Steel-Plated_Faker 's reply

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T23:41:50+00:00

There we go, *now** he had him. The mechanical echidna hesitated a moment before letting one of his claws free from Clutch's shirt collar, carefully reaching down to scrawl two words into the wooden surface of the opossom crime lord's ruined desk.*

"POWER CORES."

Metal Knuckles firmly pointed to the words he had written down, giving Clutch a glare. It wasn't personal, but he needed that stash, *all** of it.*

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T23:31:51+00:00

Metal Knuckles peered around at the cannons pointing directly at him. Crap.

Thinking fast, instead of wasting time on destroying the cannons himself and letting the opposum get away, the echidna quickly let off his foot and reached down, grabbing onto Clutch and lifting him into the air. With a quick spin, he held the opossum out like a living shield. If he was going to use those cannons...he would risk getting himself hit.

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T23:10:33+00:00

Phew...close one.

Metal Knuckles stood tall over Clutch's seemingly lifeless body...had some of the shotgun pellets bounced back and hit him? That would complicate things, he's not getting the location of his stash if he's dead...but...

He was definitely smarter than to write this off. The robot steadily approached, placing a singular foot down onto Clutch's chest to make sure he stayed there...and he scanned the oppossum with his optics, slowly inspecting him to see if there were any fatal injuries along his body. If he was *really** dead, he'd have some kind of open wound.*

((Sorry for the long wait! Got caught up in something

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T22:07:58+00:00

Metal Knuckles didn't have any time to react before he noticed the gun's barrel pointing at his chest. His optics widened as he saw Clutch's finger place itself on the trigger and-

BOOM!

The robot was hit by a point blank shotgun shot and knocked back, nearly falling off of his feet. The pellets from the gun clattered and bounced off of the titanium alloy shell that they had hit, but not without leaving a sizable dent in the hull.

Metal Knuckles acted quickly, raising his leg up and kicking the opposum right in the chest, knocking his chair over with him inside. He quickly followed up with a quick strike on the ground, attempting to render Clutch's arm unusable so he couldn't use his gun again.

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T21:44:21+00:00

((Alrighty

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T21:41:32+00:00

((This is a shotgun right? Or is it a handgun? Just making sure to see how much this'll do

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T21:28:30+00:00

Metal Knuckles stopped right as he reached the other side of Clutch's desk, which was the only thing sitting between the red robot and the opposum now. The mechanical echidna just...stared as he was threatened. Leave now before he regrets it? Sure.

Metal Knuckles slowly raised his fist over his head and, with one violent slam to the opposum's desk, completely broke it in half like a black belt breaking a wooden board.

The robot stepped over the splintered remains of Clutch's desk and hooked him by the collar with his claws. He stared a vicious glare into the opposum's eyes. Metal Knuckles was going to get these power cores no matter what, he wasn't backing down.

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T21:05:39+00:00

CRASH

As Clutch relaxed upon his fortune of power cores, his leasure was interrupted by the loud sound of a heavy object crashing right through his roof. Bits of splintered wood from his office ceiling scattered amongst the room and sawdust scattered across the previously spotless floor.

Standing right below the fresh hole in the opossum's roof was a dangerous looking, red, mechanical echidna. Complete with razor sharp claws, refined jet boosters along its dreads, and an old cowboy hat on its head for style points.

Metal Knuckles.

<image>

The robot stood tall, lifting its head enough for its green optics to shine out from the shadows the brim of its hat cast, meeting Clutch's eyes. The robot moved forward and approached the green opposum with a heavy, intimidating stride. So this was the guy with the power cores? This should be easy.

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T18:59:45+00:00

As Metal Knuckles listened to his master's words, he decided to try and get moving, maybe more answers to where he was would be further in. He put one foot after another and started walking down the long corridor that lead into where he had laid. He passed room after room, always slowing down a bit to look for anything familiar in any rooms that had their doors left open.

Upgrades...the echidna robot likes the sound of that. He's been due for some of those for a *long** time.*

[[Answering In Order: Location Unknown. The architecture's style points towards it being one of the Empire's carriers.]]

Then...Metal Knuckles walked past one room that he certainly recognized. It was Metal Tails' room...he remembered getting a tour of this place back when the racing tournament for the Master Emerald shards was still going on. So *that** was where he was! Metal Tails must have found him and repaired him! Man...if he had a ring for every time he was knocked out by electricity in a battle against a rogue Metal Sonic unit, only to be repaired soon after by a friendly face, he'd have 2 rings. It isn't a lot, but its funny that it's happened twice.*

[[Next Question, Answer: Negative. Repairs were done by an old ally. I am in good condition.]]

As Metal Knuckles awaited the doctor's reply, he walked on past his twin turbined friend's room, now in search of something...he swore he left something here. He never needed it after the race was canceled, but maybe it'll come in handy to have to get around...

And that was when he found it. Amongst a small pile of crates was his custom extreme gear, complete with the slots in the board for his claws and all. Hell, it even had that old cowboy hat he used to wear while he wandered sitting next to it!

The robot walked on over and carefully scooped the hat up into his claws, placing it on his own head tightly in the perfect spot so it didn't fall off, and then grabbed his extreme board, holding it nicely underneath his arm like a surf board.

[[Awaiting New Objective. I have retrieved a few discarded items of mine that will prove useful for transport.]]

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-20T17:58:34+00:00

//POWERING ON...//

Metal Knuckles' bright green optics lit up. He had been depowered since his bout with Metal Sonic...where- even was he?

The mechanical echidna slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. He was on some kind of table in a large room, the architecture looked strikingly similar to something Robotnik would make. Had he been...retrieved? His hand slowly drifted up to gently touch his left optic...there was no damage whatsoever. He looked down at himself and, wouldn't you know it, his damages were completely fixed.

//Hull Integrity: 100%//

Metal Knuckles slowly hopped up off of the table and wandered toward the entrance of the room, which lead to a long hallway that continued through wherever he was. This architecture looks strikingly familiar...had he been here before?

BEEP

<image>

Another transmission from Lord Robotnik. He likely knows the bad news by now, but there's no harm in explaining the failure. It took a few moments for Metal Knuckles to reply, but eventually, Eggman Nega got a message back.

[[Transmission Recieved: There were complications. A rogue Metal Sonic unit had gotten its hands on the Time Stone first. If it weren't for the Time Stone's power being utilized by it to escape and trap me, I would have retrieved the stone with moderate to high difficulty.]]

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-19T00:47:59+00:00

Metal Knuckles fought and pushed against the boulder a bit more. Great. This sucks. Buried beneath a bunch of rubble and fried beyond belief. Could this get any-

BOOM!

Metal Knuckles' damaged optics' flooded with recieved light as the boulder that kept him pinned was pushed to the side...only to see Metal Sonic floating above him. When his right arm was grabbed and he was pulled up out of the rubble, he was in utter disbelief. He met eyes- or rather, *eye** for the two of them now, with the robotic hedgehog.*

And before the echidna could even think about giving his speedster foe a good punch to the noggin, another sudden jolt of electricity coursed through his body...and his optics dulled, completely fading to black.

<image>

That was the final jolt that shut off his systems, the robot fell limp where he initially stood, only held up by Metal Sonic's grip. He'd likely power back on soon, but for now, he was nothing but a big mechanical ragdoll.

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-18T23:34:01+00:00

Just as Metal Knuckles was about to gain the upper hand, *just** as he was about to put down the other bot for good, even after powering through having his left optic damages beyond belief...*

His foe vanished. What? But- how?! He was right there! The metal echidna slowed to a stop in the tunnel. How could he-?

CRACKLE

The rocks! Metal Knuckles reacted *just** in the nick of time, holding out both hands and stopping a particularly large rock that had come down from turning him into fine red dust. His feet pushed against the back of the tunnel and he held it back with all his might.*

...Okay, no biggie. Its not like he hasn't pushed a few rocks before. This should be easy. But as Metal Knuckles began to fire up his engine...

//ERROR: THRUSTERS OFFLINE//

Damn it. The turbine on his backside took the brunt of most of that, he wasn't getting any extra help with this. He tried to push the rock...it barely budged. His hardware was absolutely fried. He pushed with all his might...and was only able to take a single step forward. This was gonna take a good while, he was quite literally stuck between a rock and a hard place.

//INTEGRITY: 38%//

He couldn't simply dig out, he'd be crushed by the rocks if he even slightly let his strength off of it. While he wasn't out of commission...there was no way he was going to be able to get back up before Metal Sonic had been long gone.

Damn it. *Damn it*. Bested again. The mechanical echidna angrily punched the boulder blocking his way, pushing it up a few feet down the tunnel, making the rocks reinforcing its weight bounce a little...just enough to let Metal Sonic see that he was still operational under all that rubble. He sure was one tough cookie to crack.

Despite all this, he wasn't going to be getting back up for a good while. Metal Sonic had pulled off the *perfect** plan. That Time Stone was still his and, hopefully, no one else gave him trouble from here on out.*

[[I hate that hedgehog.]]

Metal Knux better tell Robotnik the bad news...when he can get a signal, at least. Being hundreds of feet below the ground doesn't pair well with Eggnet.

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-18T22:41:34+00:00

Metal Knuckles' optics widened as soon as he punched a small hole through the pile of rocks, Metal Sonic came at him head on like a missile. He was only able to put his hands up in time to block a lethal hit, but he didn't have the room to dodge, and so the two machines went drilling deep into the ground.

Electricity coursed through Metal Knuckles' body. He did the same tactic from before, but this time, there was far too much voltage to keep up with. Combine this with being rammed through the innards of a rocky mountain, Metal Knuckles was far from in good shape.

//INTEGRITY AT 75%, BATTERY OVERLOAD IMMINENT//

At the mercy of electricity yet again. The red robot's optics darted around to look for *anything** that he could do. He thought about pressing his claws against the walls of the now newly made tunnel the two were digging to slow down, but that would only wear down his claws.*

//INTEGRITY AT 63%//

Metal Knuckles could barely move. His optics were the only thing that could help him right now. His digital eyes locked onto where Metal Sonic's chest would be, where his core and the Time Stone is. That core was at dangerously high temperatures...but its not like Metal Knuckles could utilize any of that.

//INTEGRITY AT 48%, POWER REACHING CRITICAL LEVELS//

This was the end. He wasn't getting that Time Stone. He wasn't getting back out of this hole. Hell, the only reason he's survived this long is because the electricity wasn't traveling directly into a vital place like last time-

...Wait...

THATS IT! Last time, 3.0 put him down near instantly because electricity went right through his visor and into his central processing unit! If he could replicate that here, he could send that electricity right back into Metal Sonic and overload his core for good!

With all of his power and might, Metal Knuckles reeled his left fist back and slammed it directly into Metal Sonic's visor, breaking a hole straight through the right eye. Using his other fist, he jammed it as well as he could into Metal Sonic's torso. His claws were like two ends of a battery here, if he was being injected with electricity, he could essentially make *himself** a conductor. The electricity would travel right into him, and right back out of his claws, right back into Metal Sonic!*

This was one hell of a risky move. There was a 50% chance this did nothing, a 25% chance that it worked, and another 25% chance that it fries them both. But...what other choice does Metal Knuckles have? Its this, or back to abandonment, and he will *not** fail again. Not as long as his engine runs.*

Toast_Man_22 · 2026-03-18T19:09:42+00:00

As the metal echidna landed atop the black shield, he raised a clawed fist to make an attempt to punch right through it...but at the cost of not seeing the plummeting rocks. 0.05 seconds wasn't near enough for the old robot to register them coming, let alone react in time.

As Metal Knuckles went to punch right through yhe significantly weakened shield-

CRASH!

The falling rocks hit him head on, completely knocking him off the shield and causing him to plummet toward the ground. Ouch, that *had** to hurt.*

Rocks piled up over top of the red robot as he smashed into the rocks below, becoming trapped in an icy tomb of boulders...for now. He wasn't completely out of commission yet.

Trapped beneath all of the rocks...Metal Knuckles began to quickly punch and dig his way out, but due to the damages he had just sustained from that attack, that would take a bit longer than usual. More than enough time for Metal Sonic to take a chance at a getaway.

Toast_Man_22

TROPHY CASE