Metal Sonic slipped from his Sleep Mode. This time, he felt somewhat safer, even if he was in enemy territory. The warnings and alerts had quieted down. He was out of the rain. But he was still heavily damaged.
He looked around, trying to get his bearings. He was laying on a worktable, inside of Tails' workshop. Dawn sunlight shone on the floor. Various tools and projects lay in almost every available space in the spacious building. He would be scanning for any useful data if he could, but that wouldn't be an option for a while.
A very squeaky door opened, and Metal Sonic snapped his head toward the source of the noise.
"Good morning!" A cheerful fox cub poked his head through the doorway. He seemed to radiate sunshine as he bounced into the room. Metal Sonic was curious, despite his annoyance. But he couldn't handle this level of joy. Maybe it was learned, maybe it was built in. Either way, he was still suspicious, uncertain, and slightly dreading what was about to happen.
Tails dropped an armful of twisted metal onto the worktable beside Metal Sonic. It took a moment for Metal Sonic to recognize the scrap as his missing limbs. It was shocking to see that level of damage, even for a robot.
As he arranged the mess on the table, Tails chatted, mostly to fill the silence. "So, uh, I should have considered this earlier, but Sonic is coming back to clean up the battlefield. And, well, he's gonna find out what I did. Y'know, rescuing you. And he's probably not going to be happy. I know he worries about me. Maybe I can talk him into letting you stay. But we're gonna have to work together. And you're gonna have to be on your best behavior."
A sudden, loud, and very insistent knock rattled the door.
"That's probably Sonic!" Tails exclaimed, sounding a little worried. He raced to the door, which was still rattling fiercely "Sonic! Hold on! I'm coming! Be patient!"
Another grating squeak and Metal Sonic could hear the voice of his most despised rival.
"Hey Tails! I hope that fight didn't keep you up too late. I looked around but I can't find Metal. Did you get him, or did he run off on his own?"
"O-oh. Well… about that." Tails wrung a tail in his hands and nervously glanced back at Metal Sonic. "Kind of both? I've… got something to show you."
Tails led the way to the worktable. Sonic's confused expression instantly changed to worry. Metal Sonic glared back.
"Tails…", Sonic grumbled, clearly expecting an explanation.
Tails started immediately, "I thought he was completely wrecked and I noticed how high tech he was and I thought it was awesome. But I was too tired to do anything with him so I left him and I woke up and he was on the porch and he looked so sad and I felt bad and I wanted to study him so bad so I asked for a truce and he agreed so I stashed him in here!"
"Tails…", Sonic repeated, this time with frustration.
"I'm sorry! You know me! I can't resist a cool robot!"
"I know, bud, I know. But we can't just put him back together and let him run off to do who knows what!"
"But Sonic! Think of the advantage it would give us! We have access to Eggman tech! We have a bargaining chip! He's not gonna be easy to replace."
"And now we have an Egg-beacon laying in your workshop."
Tails pouted but didn't respond. He knew that would be tough to argue against. Finally, he said, "I can try to disable his connection to the Eggnet. If I do that, can he stay?"
Sonic huffed. "You can't repair him. He's too dangerous."
"I won't repair anything that will let him betray us. I'll fix only what I need to see how he works."
Sonic frowned, then a slight smile crossed his face. "You just won't give up, will you? I don't have the patience to argue with you, but you need to know that this a serious risk you're taking. Are you sure you can handle it?"
Tails smiled confidently, "Who repaired the Tornado just in time to save you when you fell from space? And who helped you knock some sense into Neo Metal?"
Sonic only sighed. "Gotcha. But don't get too confident. This won't be easy."
Tails looked concerned.
"But I have faith in you." Sonic gave Tails a thumbs up and pulled him into a hug.
"I've got a few things I gotta do. Like clean up after that attack yesterday. If anything, anything at all, seems wrong, call me. Got it?"
"Yep! I won't let you down!"
"Attaboy!"
And with that, Sonic was gone. Leaving only the echoing slam of the creaky door in his wake.
