"Ok… Look, the reason I know Metal won´t attack is because…" I look at my soap shoes, unable to keep looking at Tails. After I tell him we have a mental connection, he´s totally going to think I´m crazy.
"Well…Buddy, I´ll be honest, it will probably sound crazy. But just hear me out." Tails nodded, with a confused expression in his face. "I… had this- I guess you could say- mental connection with Metal, since our first encounter. And I know his thoughts, feelings, intentions, I hear him speak- and you probably think I´m crazy but-" Sonic was interrupted by his brother, that said.
"Sonic, I don´t think you´re crazy." Sonic´s anxious expression became replaced by a surprised one. "It sounds bonkers, but I trust you. I just needed to know the reason."
"Just like that?" Sonic asked, still surprised at how easy his brother was taking the information.
"As I said before, I trust you and it definitely explains some stuff…" Tails said, as he recalled weird moments when it seemed that Sonic and Metal were communicating. He always brushed it off, thinking he was just seeing things, but Tails knew it wasn´t the case now. "Just tell me what convinced you he´s not going to attack and go back to Eggman."
Sonic, then, told everything from the starting point through this very moment. After hearing the whole story, Tails decided that Metal also deserved a second chance, and, therefore, he wouldn´t change his programming. Sonic couldn´t be more grateful that his brother was willing to give Metal a chance.
"It´s better we keep this for ourselves, right?" Tails asked
"Yeah, I think so, buddy! And thanks again for understanding and believing in me!" Sonic answered. Tails responded with a nod and a slight laugh and got back to fixing Metal.
After an hour, Metal was finally fixed. Tails decided to add a voice box to Metal, so Tails could hear him. However, he couldn't deny that he was still a bit nervous about the whole Metal situation but considering Sonic and Metal's minds are linked as Sonic had explained to him, he trusted that things were going to be okay. He just needed some charging, and he would be online again.
Sonic, in the meantime, made some food, since it was getting late and he was the only who could cook- he wasn't very good, but he could cook some simple meals. He made some chili dogs for both to eat. Then he came to Tails' workshop, so they could eat together. His brother really liked to work on his stuff-a little too much sometimes- and when he was really focused on something he was creating or fixing, Sonic literally had to bring food to his brother. Otherwise, he wouldn't eat or do anything other than the activity mentioned beforehand. As Sonic is bringing the chili dogs, Sonic says to Tails:
"Hey bud, I've made some chili dogs! Is Metal almost fixed?"
Tails laughed, looking embarrassed while he remembered his workaholic tendencies. "Thanks! Metal is actually fixed, he's just recharging."
"Sweet! Let's eat then."
As they were eating, Sonic suddenly felt Metal being powered up again. Metal was slowly starting to become more and more conscious. Then Tails asked:
"You´re okay, buddy? You look very… focused…" Unable to find the right word that described Sonic's facial expression. "Do I have some sauce on my mouth, or something?"
"Tails… Metal is online again, I can feel it." Tails looked confused, for a second, but then remembered that, since his brother has a mental connection with Metal, he also knows when his Metal counterpart is online or not.
"Metal… Buddy, you don´t need to pretend you aren´t online. Tails fixed you up and he knows about our whole mental connection thing." Sonic reassured Metal.
"I won´t tell anyone about this, I promise. Also, I added a voice chip, so everyone can hear you now." Tails said.
"You did? Nice job bud!" Sonic said while patting Tails' head in a brother-like gesture.
"So… you can hear me?" Metal asked, with a robotic kind of voice, looking directly at Tails.
"Yes. I tried to make your voice have some sort of resemblance to Sonic's voice."
"Thank you for your help and for giving me a second chance. I really appreciate it." Sonic could feel Metal's gratitude for what both of them had done.
"No problem!" Sonic and Tails both answered.
"Well… now that you're fixed up, you're free to make your own decisions… I guess, that does mean you can still continue being evil…" Sonic said with a worrying expression, while Tails looked very surprised with what Sonic had said.
"I definitely won't be evil again… I was just following Eggman's orders and trying to do what he would want me to do." Sonic's anxious facial expression immediately melted away into relief. Tails also felt relieved.
"Good. I didn't think you would." Sonic said. He knew Metal was telling the truth, his intentions matched his words. Tails also felt relieved by seeing his brother´s expressions, that emitted trust in Metal.
"So where you gonna go?" Sonic asked
"I think…"
