"Tails?" Sonic edged into the workshop of his best friend and adoptive brother, a pair of sodas in hand. He lightly approached the fox as he sat at his workshop, tapping away at a computer with his left hand... his right converted entirely into a chunky energy weapon. "You okay buddy?"
The fox in question spun around, his remaining organic eye widening in surprise... the glowing optic that had replaced his left glowing bright. "Oh, S... sorry, Sonic..." he stammered, the partially roboticized fox appearing flustered. The metal of his left foot scraped over the floor as he turned in his seat. "I was... preoccupied..."
Sonic understood. The fox had been through a lot. They both had during their adventure at the Lost Hex, but Sonic had at least returned fully organic. Tails hadn't been so lucky. He had been able to take some control over his transformation, but once started by the Zeti the process was unstoppable. And now the reluctant cyborg was lumped with figuring out how to change himself back.
"Any luck on curing this?" Sonic said lightly, the fox shuffling awkwardly in place.
Several moments passed by, Tails merely staring into space as he calculated. "Unfortunately..." Tails replied, "I'm not just inside a machine like Eggman's usual Badniks... I'm missing pieces of myself, Sonic... I have to figure out how to replace them, starting from scratch... and I'm an engineer, not a surgeon."
"So..." Sonic hummed, "What's the plan, little buddy?"
"Processing..." A chill ran up Sonic's spine, the hedgehog taken aback by Tails' mechanical response. Just how much of his little brother's brain had been altered? Tails stared into space, his eye optic glowing while its organic counterpart flickered over the floor. "I think we may have to face the fact..." the fox said, grimly facing the hedgehog, "that I may be stuck like this for a long time... maybe even forever..."
"Hey, come here little guy..." Sonic reached out and took his brother in a hug as the fox began to cry, tears running down the right hand side of his face. Tails clumsily attempted to keep his arm cannon pointed away from his brother, and clutched onto Sonic with his left hand. "I don't care what you look like, or what those jerks did to you!" the hedgehog said, "You're still my little buddy! And that's never gonna change!"
"I couldn't stop it, Sonic..." Tails whimpered, "All I could do was prevent myself from being completely brainwashed... and... it hurt..."
"Well I'm gonna help you through this, pal..." the hedgehog said, "Whatever it takes..."
Tails sniffled, making to wipe at his nose with his right forearm... glumly staring at the weapon that had entirely replaced the limb. "Th... thanks, Sonic..." the fox said, voice shaking as his remaining eye flicked back to the hedgehog's emerald green, "You're... the best brother I could have ever asked for..."
"Don't mention it, lil' buddy!" Sonic ruffled Tails' head fur, taking care to avoid the triangular audio receptors that had replaced his ears, "it's all gonna be okay, right little dude? Whatever happens, it's all gonna be okay... I promise!"
"Okay, Sonic..." Tails made an attempt at a meek smile, "thank you."
It wasn't long until Eggman was up to his old tricks again. And as per usual, the two heroes were first to respond to his attacks. Sonic jumped and popped an Egg Pawn, the machine exploding into sparks. These models were pure machine, uninhabited by the small critters that Robotnik cruelly liked to inter in his fighting machines. The vaguely humanoid robots stomped forward, firing superheated bolts of plasma at the blue blur, and missing as usual.
Another Badnik raised its energy weapon... and was itself cut down by a blizzard of energy projectiles. Sonic turned and offered his brother a salute of gratitude, the twin-tailed cyborg covering him from above with his own arm cannon.
"Good shot, little buddy!" Sonic called. The fox simply regarded him blankly, the machine side of his brain taking over now he was in combat.
"Th... thanks, Sonic..." Tails managed a small grin, though it appeared to take some concentration. "Detecting further targets ahead," his face fell blank again and he hefted his arm cannon. "Including Robotnik himself. I recommend extreme caution."
"Ha, you know me, buddy!" Sonic grinned as he moved into a trot, "That word isn't in my dictionary!"
Tails offered no reply as his namesakes spun into a blur, and he boosted after his brother with weapon at the ready.
Tails' brain was fed information by its cybernetic components, offering him targeting data and enemy movement patterns. He felt a shiver of unease at how cold and emotionless he felt right now, attempting to push back the machine-logic... and in doing so, failed to respond in time to the ambush.
"Sonic, Look o-"
Explosions blossomed all around as, for once, Robotnik managed to get the upper hand. The two brothers were blasted from their feet, tumbling to the ground in a heap.
Tails staggered to his feet, arm cannon wavering, his vision flickering as his left optic fizzled in and out of function. He felt a burning sensation where his right ear should have been, and he frantically looked around for Sonic.
"AHA! GOT YOU, YOU LITTLE PESTS!" Doctor Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik smacked his hands against his egg-flyer's console. "Well well, Tails! Looking good there, my mechanical little friend!"
"Sonic?!" Tails' eyes landed on a blue heap, lying immobile in the grass. "SONIC!"
"Oho!" The doctor cackled, "Looks like it's just you and me, robot-boy! Well, when I say you and me..." There was the sound of jump jets as from above, Metal Sonic descended, red eyes glowering behind his visor. "I really mean you and Metal Sonic here! One robot against another! What do you say, hmm?"
Tails clenched his left hand into a fist, his brow furrowing. His scans told him Sonic was alive... but the anger and shame he felt at his failure to warn Sonic in time was overwhelming.
"Metal!" the doctor ordered, jabbing a finger at Tails, "Scrap that cyborg!"
Metal nodded and lowered his visor, boosting right toward the roboticized fox.
And was promptly blasted out of the sky by an overcharged round, fired faster than the robot had anticipated. The mechanical hedgehog slammed into the ground, a smoking hole punched straight through his chest.
"ARGH!" The doctor roared, pounding his console, "Do you know how long it took me to fix him?! I'll destroy you for that you little-"
The human was cut off as Tails aimed directly at him, face blank and emotionless, and fired.
"Nng..." Sonic rubbed his pounding head as he regained consciousness, finding himself set on his and Tails' couch back home. Bandages had been applied to his body. He remembered blinding light, the flash of an explosion, pain as he was knocked unconscious... "Tails?! Tails, where are you?!"
"Right here, Sonic..." came a small, blank voice. The hedgehog turned to find his brother, standing still beside the window like a sentry, gazing out into space. The fox turned, and Sonic shuddered as he saw Tails' own injuries. The left side of his face was burned, the optic cracked and dead... and his right ear had been burned away completely. A few patches of fur were missing from his body, and Sonic noted bandages around his limbs and torso. The fox appeared completely blank, staring emotionlessly at the hedgehog. "How are you feeling? I tended to your injuries as best as I was able..."
"What happened out there, buddy?" Sonic grit his teeth as he sat back up, "What happened to egghead?"
"I moved to engage the target," Tails replied stoically. "Metal Sonic unit was incapacitated. Primary target Eggman... escaped."
"Tails?" Sonic said carefully, noting his brother's lack of emotion. "Are... you okay dude?"
Tails looked down, misery etching his features. "I... I screwed up, Sonic... my scanners detected the ambush but... I was too slow..."
"Hey, don't be like that dude!" Sonic said, limping over to console his brother, "You got me outta there! And you took out Metal? That's awesome, little dude!"
Tails' mood didn't improve. "I should have been faster... some sidekick, huh? Even as a robot I'm not good enough..."
"Hey, c'mere..." Again, Sonic took his brother in a hug and squeezed him tight, taking care not to brush his arm cannon. Tails, however, remained limp. "Buddy, I'm the one who got knocked the heck out! Without you there, I'd have been toast!"
"I could've done better..." Tails muttered, "I should be better..."
That night, Tails found himself stood before the bathroom mirror. He carefully rinsed his left hand, his right now useless for such work. He miserably took in his reflection, the cracked left optic still blank and unseeing.
"I failed Sonic..." the fox said gloomily, "I failed Sonic because I wasn't fast enough..."
I could be better. I SHOULD be better.
Tails frowned as he considered, flexing his left hand before him, looking to his mechanical left leg.
He was an inventor. An engineer. And half-artificial. He had the knowledge, and the means... to improve himself.
"I'm gonna make myself better..." he muttered, plans running through his artificial and organic brain. "And I'll never fail Sonic again!"
Miles Prower retreated to his workshop, cybernetically enhanced brain working overtime.
The flesh was weak. It would have to go. He would be reborn... and become the ultimate sidekick, for his hero.
Sonic was worried about his brother. Tails had been shut in his workshop for days, and had expressly forbidden him from interrupting what he described as 'important work'. The hedgehog knew what it was about - Tails was undoubtedly figuring out how to reverse the roboticization process the Zeti had put him through. Still, if anyone could figure it out... it would be Tails.
It was four days until sonic heard a peep from his genius brother.
"Yo, Tails!" the hedgehog said cheerily as he picked up his communicator, "Glad to finally hear from you, bud! Thought you'd gone total hermit on us!"
"Yes, I've been busy..." the fox replied flatly, "Could you come to my workshop please? I have something to show you."
"Uh, can do buddy..."
"I'll buzz you in."
So Sonic had hopped over to the fox's workshop, curiosity mounting as he entered the building. "Tails?" He called, moving through the workshop. He stopped briefly to pat his old Tornado, the red plane effectively belonging to Tails these days. "You around, bud?"
"Oh good, you're here..." Tails replied from deeper in the workshop. "I'm coming out, Sonic. Try not to be too shocked..."
Sonic frowned. He didn't like the sound of that. His ears perked as the sound of mismatched footsteps approached.
"Tails?" the hedgehog said cautiously, "What have you been up... to..."
At first Sonic thought his brother had successfully managed to replace the cracked optic that had become of his right eye... before he realised. Both of Tails' eyes had been replaced, with glowing blue mechanical units surrounded by a black, downswept visor. The upper part of his cranium had been completely reconstructed out of artificial material, complete with metallic ears and three spikes that represented his bangs. His arm cannon had gone, swapped for a mechanical prosthetic.
Sonic's mouth gaped. The self-inflicted surgery had to have been extensive.
"Tails?" The hedgehog whispered, shocked at the extent of Tails' 'modifications', "What have you done to yourself?"
Tails grinned, the lower half of his face still organic. "Improved myself, Sonic!" The fox-cyborg responded, "utilizing Eggman's roboticization techniques, I can boost my efficiency tenfold! I have many more such modifications planned ahead!" Tails raised his right hand and wiggled the fingers.
"You're roboticizing yourself?!" Sonic said disbelievingly, "Tails, that's... that's insane!"
Tails lowered the downswept visor that had replaced the top part of his face. "Insane, Sonic?" The cyborg replied, "Do you know how much better I can be? Enhanced speed, strength, reactions, processing capability... I'll never fail you again! Fitting as well..." Tails regarded his still fleshy left hand, waggling the fingers before his visor, "I'm a genius mechanic... the best on Mobius. Only logical for me to become a machine myself, wouldn't you say?"
"Tails..." Sonic sighed, reminded horribly of his own mechanical counterpart by Tails' altered appearance. "I can't stop you if this is what you want... I just don't want to lose you! you're my brother, buddy!"
"You aren't losing me, Sonic!" The fox replied, hands clasping behind his back. "You're getting a new me! A better me! One who won't weigh you down any more!"
Sonic let out a breath. "So..." he said carefully, shuddering as he looked into Tails' new eyes, "When you say you have lots more modifications in mind... how extensive are we talking about?"
Tails simply wore a strange little smile. "You'll see..." the fox-cyborg replied, "You'll see soon enough..."
