Earlier…
As Prince Max prepares to leave his castle, Alicia advices that he listen to reason. However, Max ignores her pleads, stating that he can’t miss this opportunity.
Max tells Alicia that he knows Metal Sonic’s whereabouts. And with assistance from his team, Max will terminate him at his refueling station.
Alicia tells the prince that he should let Sir Sonic handle things, which only upsets him. Max declares that he does not need the hedgehog’s inference and that his team will be more than enough.
Despite her pleads, Max silences Alicia with a stern tone and a hand in front of her. “I’ve said my piece, Alicia! That will be all!”
“Yes… sire…” Alicia answers as she walks away in the opposite direction, upset.
--
Now…
At Chemical Plant Zone, Max and his team face off against Metal Sonic. The prince’s comrades include Armand D’Coolette and Ian St. John.
Metal Sonic fights off swords and arrows from Max’s group. However, even as they come at him from three different sides, Metal Sonic easily outmatches them.
Metal Sonic slashes Armand’s sword into pieces with his bare claws. He grabs Ian by the arm and breaks both his arm and the risk-mounted crossbow. And finally, he grabs Max by his tail before swinging him around as at high speed. When released, he collides with his comrades.
--
Inside of Castle Acorn…
“He did what?!” Sonic exclaims.
“He went after Metal Sonic” Alicia explained. “I tried to tell him this was a bad idea. But he wouldn’t listen.”
“If I don’t keep my eye on this guy, he’s going to get himself and his followers killed” Sonic thinks to himself.
Sonic prepares to leave for Chemical Plant Zone, only to be surprised when the castle’s front doors open.
Max and his men have returned, defeated and injured. They somehow managed to escape with their lives after a swift thrashing from Metal Sonic.
The prince collapses to the ground before Alicia places one of his arms behind her neck.
“Rosie, help me get Maximillian to his room” Alicia said, struggling to carry the prince.
“Rosie?” Sonic thinks to himself.
A young, female woodchuck appears in front of Sonic. And he watches as she assists Alicia with
carrying Max to his room. “Wow. It’s weird seeing a young version of Knothole’s favorite nanny” Sonic thinks to himself. “Also, she has blue hair. Huh… neat.”
Alicia tells Sonic that she and Rosie will bandage up Max and tuck him into bed. Afterwards, she wants to see him…
--
Sometime later, Sonic and Alicia are talking in private. Sonic tries to hint that Max will continue to make awful decisions in the future. And he questions why she agreed to be his royal consort.
“Max has been like this since the day King Fredrick introduced us to each other. He lets his arrogance blind him. And I sometimes I want to slap him when I see his smug smile.”
“I can sympathize with that” Sonic thinks to himself. “The more I learn about the king, the more I realize why he likes Antoine and Geoffrey so much. They remind him of himself…”
“I’m supposed to be Max’s royal consort. But is it right to be in a relationship with someone who always belittles you?” Alicia asks.
“What do you mean?” Sonic questions.
“Whenever Max makes a brash decision, I try to make him listen to reason. I even ask him to consider the feelings of others. However, he doesn’t listen to anyone, unless they tell him what he wants to hear.”
“Speaking of bad decisions, what does he hope to prove by taking on Metal Sonic?”
“I don’t know. But I found this in his clothes when tending to him.”
Alicia reveals a Chaos Emerald, surprising Sonic. Sonic concludes that Metal Sonic most likely dropped it while he was pummeling Max’s team.
“Sir Sonic, this may seem like an odd request. But would you mind if I tag along with you on your next quest?”
