A shadow walked down the path just outside Tails' workshop. It was early in the morning, well before sunrise.
Footsteps clanked along the step stones, a faint break in the stillness and silence. He stopped a moment, briefly distracted by the breeze rustling the grass. Fascinating, but not a priority.
Moving on, he stepped onto the porch and let himself in. Past the staircase, take a left, down the hall, first door on the left. The door was pulled to, but not latched. He nudged it open and went in.
Two ears poked out from under the blankets.
A flicker of red brightened, reflecting off a metallic muzzle. Target acquired.
"Tails."
No response.
"Tails?"
Only a slight ear flick.
Finding the reflex amusing, he poked a finger at the fox's ears, making them flick again. A few more pokes prompted Tails to wrinkle his nose.
The endless prodding finally got the pup to lift his head slightly. "Huh?" Unheard, his next mumble was shaken into a "Huhuhuhuh?" He batted the hand away and forced his eyes open. "Stahp. 'M awake!" Blinking hard, he muttered, "Metal? If you're trying to get me to look for birds with you, it's too early."
"I am aware. You said we need to prepare for the Hero's Festival."
"It's next week."
"You said to prepare early."
"Not this early!"
"What about the repair project? That is today, correct?"
"After the sun rises." Realizing how Metal might interpret that, he quickly added. "At 8…Wake me at 8…30! 8:30. No earlier. Please."
"Noted." Metal pulled the sheets over Tails' head, maybe a bit too suddenly if the pup's squeak was any indication, and walked out of the room.
He should have plenty of time to make waffles before 8:30. Write another message for Shadow. Play guitar.
He set an alarm then returned to the workshop. A deep blue and silver guitar hung on the wall in his room. A gift from Sonic, refurbished and modded by Tails. Sonic had tried to nudge him toward something less worn out, but Metal was stubborn in his choice. Something about it appealed to him. He liked the look of it and the way the strings sounded when he picked at them.
Metal sat on the floor, absently strumming and adjusting the tuning as he thought.
Every month, he sent a letter to Shadow. It was Amy's idea and Rouge had enthusiastically supported it. They'd agreed that it would be as good for Shadow as it would be for Metal. Not to mention that it would give GUN a way to keep tabs on the superbadnik that had taken a shine to their top agent.
He grabbed Shadow's last response to look over while he fidgeted. It read:
"So Amy actually managed to get you to play a love song for her. She must have offered a really good bribe. You let one person know you can play guitar and no one ever leaves you alone. As for the Hero's Festival, Sonic's already started pestering me about it. I don't suppose he told you to ask me? I already told him I'd consider it if he promised to leave me alone the whole week, but I know he won't. His ability to be so annoying would be incredible if it weren't so, well, annoying. If he's trying to use you to guilt trip me, he deserves an extra kick for it. Maybe I'll see you. Maybe I won't. We'll find out."
It was still amusing to see Shadow's perpetual exasperation with Sonic. He always kept his letters short, but he always found a way to call Sonic out somehow.
Metal often had to agree, even though he was more willing to keep it to himself than Shadow was.
He looked up when he heard rain pattering on the roof. Rain always brought back memories. Some more pleasant than others. Thankfully, it didn't rain as much now as it did during spring. He'd prefer an early snowfall, but he'd just have to be patient. Someday he'd get to play in the snow instead of fighting in the snow.
He put the guitar away and began to write, hoping to distract himself. He jotted down a summary of the last few days. It had been pretty dull, to be honest. A few minor badnik attacks. Guitar practice. Encyclopedias studied. Just routine.
Metal paused for a moment. Routine. He never would have imagined this would ever be what he considered routine.
His former life was relatively fast paced. Leading badnik hordes. Wide-spanning patrols. Retrieving emeralds. Sabotaging cities. Dealing with the latest mobian nuisance. Or his favorite, fighting Sonic. He was always either on the move or being repaired. Except for when he'd be deactivated and dumped in storage for months at a time.
He shook his head slightly. He hadn't been shut down for a long time. Since Tails had repaired him after his destruction around 6 months ago. He wasn't sure if he had ever been active that long before. The last time he'd watched the seasons change was years ago, when he'd been damaged and left in the forest for months.
It was such a change from his turbulent life. No more living for fierce battles. Just mild weather and a slow adjustment to a more peaceful but not exactly calmer life.
And he loved it.
He enjoyed all the excitement and adventure he could ever want. Sonic made sure of that. But there was a distinct difference between flying to Angel Island to explore the ruins versus flying there for an attack. He enjoyed the more laidback adventures. And he actually felt satisfied afterwards. No more wondering if what he could do would ever be enough. Wondering if he would ever finally make his master proud. His new friends cared about him.
He made a quiet chirp at the memory of Tails hugging him and telling him he had a place to stay and friends to help him.
And yet, one thing just wouldn't go away. Like a scar from his former life that would never completely heal. He'd been built to review and learn from past missions. What was once a supply of valuable information now stuck in his mind as a record of all he had done wrong.
Dataset 93C – Kidnapping Amy Rose.
Dataset 93S – Racing Sonic with lives on the line.
Dataset 204E – Taking control of the Egg Fleet as he completely lost his mind.
Dataset 204H – Battling Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles as Metal Overlord.
Dataset 221U – Absorbing power from countless captured wisps.
Dataset 234A – Self-Destructing with the goal of causing as many casualties as possible.
Dataset-
SNAP
Metal paused. Half of his pencil rolled away, falling off the table. He sighed and closed his eyes. Not again. He forced his grip to ease, then flicked the remains of the broken pencil away. It hit the floor with a quiet clatter.
Metal drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment before sinking his face into his hands.
He knew he'd never forget his actions. Would he ever be able to forgive himself?
Metal's wandering mind was interrupted by an alarm. He lifted his head. The alert consisted of a single word, "Waffles."
It was almost funny and enough to shake him out of his thoughts. He did his best to push his worry aside and stood.
Surely Tails could get his mind off it.
