I joined Sonic outside, and we carefully made our way to the front gate. There was an actual wall around the city, but it wasn't strong. The real reason people were trapped here was the security guards. They were robots trained to kill.

"Ready?" Sonic whispered.

"Yeah...be careful." I replied.

"Relax, I'll be fine..." He jumped out from his hiding place and waved his arms in the air, "Hey! Over here you tin cans!"

The robots started to chase him, and I ran to the gate. I hooked a metal wire to the lock and sent and electric charge through it. It burned out and the door slid open.

I pressed the button on the communicator, "Sonic! I got through the door! Come on!"

Nothing happened for several minutes.

"Sonic? Sonic! Are you ok!?" I started to become frantic. Was Sonic ok? I continued to call for him, but he wouldn't respond. I knew he could hear me, and I knew he could respond, so why wasn't he?

"Oh hohoho!" I looked up to find a fat man with a mustache in a hovering device, and seated next to him was...

Sonic.

"I'm afraid your friend wasn't truthful with you!" He sneered.

"What? Sonic! You betrayed me!?"

"No! Uh...I mean...yes...but it's not what you think!"

"How could you!?"

"I did this for you, Tails!"

"What do you mean!?"

I saw someone emerge from behind the hover-craft flying with some kind of rocket boots.

It was my old boss.

"Remember me, Prower?"

"What the heck are you doing here!?" I exclaimed in surprise.

Suddenly, he melted away, like he was made of metal. The liquid mass rejoined itself so it looked like Sonic, except he was a robot.

The fat man laughed maniacally, "Not bad, Metal Sonic!"

"M-Metal Sonic!?"

Sonic jumped down and faced me, "Tails...let me explain..."

I glared at him, still hurt, "I'm listening..."

"That guy is Dr. Eggman. He came to me yesterday and told me he would kill you unless I made a deal with him. He said that if I betrayed you and gave myself up, he would let you go-"

"You really are insane..." I said darkly, "You promised we would get out together! And besides, you said you wouldn't let me get hurt! Remember!?"

He looked at the ground, ashamed, "I'm sorry Tails, but what choice did I have? Why would I let anything happen to you?"

I continued to stare daggers at him. Sonic had been jittery for a while...and last night when he said he was sorry, he wasn't talking about our fight...

He was talking about his betrayal...

I was ready to unleash all my crushed feelings when Dr. Eggman spoke again, "Oops! Did I forget the fine print?"

Sonic turned to him, "What?"

He grinned, "I forgot to mention the last tiny part of the deal...I said that if you betrayed your friend, I would let him go..."

"Yes?" Sonic started to look worried.

"...as a robot." and just like that, I was whisked off the ground.

"NO!" Sonic screamed.

"I think you'll learn Sonic..." Eggman said, "That I don't keep my promises!"

I was carried away. I couldn't see anything, as I was too sick and dizzy. The last thing I remember was the vision of the hot metal from my nightmare...

The one that had tried to warn me...


I woke up on an exam table with my hands, feet, and tails tied down with metal cords. My whole body was numb, except for the top half of my head, which included my eyes and ears. Dr. Eggman was hunched over me with strange metal tools in his hands.

"Ah! You're awake!" He said, "Does anything hurt?"

I spoke as best as I could, since my mouth was numb. My voice came out thick and gravelly, "Why d'you care?"

"I want to make sure everything's working properly." He said simply.

I glared, "No...in fact, I feel numb..."

"Excellent!" He reached for another metal tool, "Everything's going according to plan...I just need to attach this last piece..."

"What're you talking about?" I felt a weird tingly sensation in the back of my head.

"Perfect! I'm almost done..."

"Are you turning me into a robot?"

"Yes..."

I thought for a moment, "Can you just hurry?"

He eyed me strangely, "You're not worried?"

"No...well..." I looked away, "I still feel horrible for Sonic betraying me, even if it was the only thing he could've done...robots don't feel pain, right?"

"No, they don't...heheh...alright, I'll hurry..."

I tried to breathe, but I found my chest was frozen, like I was never meant to inhale air at all. I didn't feel the need to breathe. I didn't feel like my heart was meant to beat. I didn't feel the need for anything like that.

I did however feel the need to charge in order to keep circuits running, I felt like I needed programming to remain secure, and I felt the need to set proxy settings and maybe make a PIN code or a password to keep people out. I also began to feel the rest of my head grow numb, and I lost the need to blink.

I tried to swallow, but I found I couldn't do that either, "Are you almost done?"

"Yes..." Eggman typed something into a nearby computer, and flipped a switch on my back. I felt my emotions draining away. I forgot what it was like to be sad, or happy, or frightened, or angry. All I felt was the whirring of my motor in my ears, and the processing of a database in my motherboard.

Eggman is your master. You will obey no other. You will do whatever he says without question. You are his slave.

I don't know who said that, but I believed him.

My voice had become monotone and robotic, "What would you like me to do, Doctor?"

Eggman grinned and let my bounds loose. I jumped off the exam table and faced him, waiting for his command. His voice was smooth and cool, "How do you feel, Tails?"

I continued to look at him. I didn't feel the need to say anything, but he had asked a question, and I was to answer, so I said, "I feel great, Doctor."

"Oh hoho! Fantastic! I have a favor to ask..."

I leaned forward slightly, eager to please him.

"I need you to go kill Sonic for me...being destroyed by your best friend is the perfect way to get rid of him!"

Sonic? The name sounded familiar, but I didn't care. Whoever this Sonic was, he was going to die, "What does he look like, Doctor?"

He turned back to the computer and started typing on it. A picture of a blue hedgehog appeared on the giant screen.

This hedgehog defiantly seemed familiar, I wasn't sure how, but either way, he was doomed.

I nodded, "Yes, Doctor...your command is my will..."