Steel continued to hold Tia's inactive body close as he and Gray touched down near the abandoned Egg Base the elder Metal spotted after the three were ejected from the Egg Carrier IV.
"This place must have been abandoned for years," commented Steel as he studied the once-intimidating factory that had now become decrepit and overgrown with plant life. Gray quickly used a Spin Attack to clear out the thick plantgrowth blocking the front door, which was covered in rust and only guarded by a security lock whose console was damaged by a combination of age and previous attacks by Eggman's enemies. The gray-furred android was able to kick the door down effortlessly, granting himself and Steel access to the derelict facilities within.
Steel was the first to enter and scan his surroundings, which were poorly illuminated by the base's failing overhead lights. Thankfully, his robotic nature allowed him to compensate for the poor lighting and get a decent view of the facility, which was littered with scrapped robot parts and had become home to a large group of rats. Gray was quick to join his younger brother inside, and where one Metal saw scraps, the other saw potential spare parts that could be salvaged. Eventually, both Metals found a much more intact robot sprawled out on the floor. This robot, despite being covered in a thick layer of dirt and dust, bore a vague resemblance to Knuckles the Echidna.
"Gray, do you know who this is?" asked Steel.
"I do not," the elder Metal replied.
"It must be Metal Knuckles, which means that we're at Eggman's Christmas Island base."
"He appears to be in desperate need of repair," observed Gray. "I doubt he was constructed without hands."
"There was no doubt a battle here. After Metal Knuckles was defeated, Eggman must've just left him for dead...like me."
Steel again flashed back to his time at the Sky Sanctuary on Angel Island. He had been left behind by Dr. Eggman to do away with Knuckles while he left to plot his next scheme. Naturally, he failed, being defeated and nearly destroyed by the red-furred Emerald Guardian, who proceeded to kick his malfunctioning hide off the edge of the Emerald Altar. He tried to transmit a distress signal, hoping his master would return to recover and repair him, but it never happened. He gently sat Tia down and scooped the robotic Echidna up. "You're going to get another chance at life, like I was given, Metal Knuckles," he said reassuringly as he handed the robot to Gray, who immediately began assessing his damage.
"Of course, his forearms have been severed, but that is only the first entry in a long list of damages he has sustained," announced Gray after scanning Metal Knuckles' systems. "His power supply is 99% depleted, several motor relays are damaged, and large sectors of his memory have been corrupted or completely erased. I could use some of the scrapped robot parts here to replace his forearms, but we will need to search more thoroughly for the required internal components."
Steel nodded. "I'll do just that. You do what you can in the meantime."
"I will," replied Gray before grabbing a pair of Egg Robo hands and Metal-style forearms. He quickly began assembling the new appendages before attaching them to the red robot. Steel, meanwhile, journeyed further into the factory in search of spare electronics, eventually reaching a store room full of computer hardware. He gathered whatever he could fit into a wheeled bin, which he then pushed back out to where Gray was working.
"I don't know as much about these things as you do, Gray. I simply gathered all the electronic components I could fit into this cart. I hope you'll be able to find some compatible components here."
"Thanks, Steel," smiled Gray as he began sifting through the pile of computer and robot parts Steel had brought him. "You did very well. You even found a spare power supply. This will do nicely," the engineer of the group said as he began to install the replacement parts. Steel, not really having anything better to do, simply watched as his brother worked diligently to bring the Metal Echidna back to life.
After three hours of feverish work, Gray wiped imaginary sweat from his brow and proceeded to reactivate Metal Knuckles, who slowly pulled himself into a standing position and looked around while performing a system check.
"How do you feel, Metal Knuckles?" asked Steel.
"Memory scan reveals non-recoverable data," the metallic Echidna replied.
"You've been offline for years, and you suffered some serious damage and disrepair," explained Gray. "I did the best I could to repair you."
Metal Knuckles studied his hands, flexing his fingers repeatedly while his internal systems attempted to calibrate to the new appendages.
"We found you with your forearms severed. I built new ones from the scrapped parts scattered around this old factory. Do you like them?"
"They are functioning nominally, but they are different."
One of the many rats that had overrun the abandoned base curiously attempted to climb up Metal Knuckles' right leg, causing the robot to reach down and grab the rodent too tightly, producing a high-pitched scream of pain and an audible crunch of breaking bones. Metal Knuckles opened his hand and studied the crushed animal whose blood now stained it. "Error. Small entity is critically damaged." He turned to face Gray, his eyes dimmed by the sensation of sorrow that he didn't yet fully understand. "You repaired this unit. Can you repair the small entity?"
"No, Metal Knuckles. I can't. It's a creature of flesh and blood, not a robot. Its size rendered it extremely fragile, and you haven't fully adapted to the power of your grip. You were built for high physical strength."
Metal Knuckles scanned his fragmented memory, wondering exactly why he was built to be too strong to handle such delicate creatures. "This unit was created for combat," he concluded. "The small creature is not registered as an enemy."
"No," confirmed Steel, "they just made this place their home after your creator abandoned it...and you."
"Why did creator abandon this unit?"
"My guess is that you didn't perform as well as he expected. To him, you were a failed creation, and whatever scheme he had going on this island also failed. Gray and I suffered the same fate. We may not look like it, but he and I are Metal Series units just like you."
Metal Knuckles stared at Steel for a few seconds before shifting his gaze to Gray. He attempted to access his damaged memory, searching for more data on his fellow Metals. "Metal Series...Limited data available. Only known unit is M-03...Metal Sonic."
"I was originally Mecha Sonic," Steel explained, "and Gray was originally Silver Sonic. Our serial numbers were M-02 and M-01 respectively."
"You were abandoned, yet you function. Please explain."
"I was recovered, ironically enough, by one of the people I was created to destroy...Miles Prower, better known as Tails."
"Seems a little hesitant. Fascinating," M.K. said suddenly as if quoting something from his memory.
"That must be something you remember Tails saying. If you were hesitant in battle, it could explain your abandonment. Dr. Eggman didn't even consider other uses for you." Steel shook his head. Eggman's disregard for these advanced machines was so callous to him. The potential of their AI meant nothing to the mad doctor, and if it did, he'd manipulate it into doing his bidding with little remorse, like he did with Metaro. His fatherly attitude toward the Metal Boy was a farce. When Metaro finally saw through it, Eggman wasted no time in ordering him to be reset. He then looked over at Tia's still-inactive body and remembered how Tails treated her. Rather than shutting her down or having her mind wiped when she grew beyond her programming as a home automation system, he upgraded her into an android form and gave her the freedom to choose her own destiny. He wanted the same for Metal Knuckles, as well as Metal Sonic and the prototype Metal, whom he had yet to recover. "Metal Knuckles, you don't have to be a combat robot if you don't want to."
Metal Knuckles looked down at the rat corpse in his blood-stained hand. "This unit does not wish to function as combat unit. Combat functions caused irreparable damage."
Steel placed a reassuring hand on Metal Knuckles' shoulder as the red robot gently scraped the rat guts off his hand. "From the beginning, it seems you were a gentle being by nature. Of course, Dr. Eggman disregarded that. Maybe you could use your strength for good." He envisioned Metal Knuckles as an android, effortlessly clearing away the rubble of a collapsed building to search for survivors. Just then, another rat began climbing up Metal Knuckles' leg, causing him to stare at it while internally recalibrating his hand motors for a gentler grip. He then slowly picked the rodent up and brought it up to eye level, his eyes brightening when he saw that he didn't harm it. "I apologize for destroying your companion. I am glad that I did not destroy you too."
Steel smiled, while Gray began work on repairing Tia, stopping briefly to give Metal Knuckles a smile of his own.
"I cannot replicate your current facial movements," stated M.K. "Can that be corrected?"
"It could, but not here," replied Gray. "It's unlikely that the materials for synthetic flesh and fur can be found in this factory. That means I won't be able to restore this robot's outer covering until we return to Tails' workshop. In order to do that, we'd need to build a vessel capable of crossing the ocean."
"Will the damaged robot still function?" asked the red Metal.
"Yes, but it'll take some time to complete the repairs. By the way, what do you want to be called? We were either given or chose new names when we were upgraded. I chose Gray."
Metal Knuckles studied himself thorougly, making note of the various rust spots the dotted his outer casing. "I am...Rusty."
"Yeah, you do have a bit of corrosion on you from being left alone here for so many years," acknowledged Steel.
"Yes, I am Rusty," the metal Echidna repeated. "I would like that to be my name. I like it."
"Alright then, Rusty. Welcome to the party," Steel grinned. "I'm Steel."
Rusty tilted his head. "Party? I was not aware of a celebration occuring."
Steel chuckled. "I meant 'party' as in 'group of adventurers and friends.' Think of it as an invitation to join us if you so wish."
"I wish to join this party," replied Rusty. The rat he had picked up without harming had now perched itself on his shoulder, and it let out a small squeak. "Rhodes...would like to join too. This factory is...lonely."
"That it is," nodded Steel. "As soon as we get Tia fixed up and get an airship built, we'll be out of here, and yes, Rhodes can come along."