What if Eggman Abandoned Metal?

Chapter 3

"I think... I would like to stay with you." Metal replied. Sonic and Tails were both a little surprised by this. It wasn't that Sonic didn't want Metal in his house; quite the contrary. He could teach Metal how to use his free will and help him find who he is as a robot, not what Eggman wanted him to be. However, he, and apparently his brother, judging by his expression, still thought Metal would want to live alone. Sure, it wasn't like he could do that at the moment, but still.

"Of course, Buddy!" Sonic answered. He could feel happiness coming from Metal, meaning his suspicions were correct. Metal could feel happy, too!

In the excitement of his discovery, Sonic almost forgot to ask his brother, "You alright with that, bro?" Tails nodded. As he was about to give verbal confirmation, he remembered he'd forgotten to check something important; something about Metal.

"Metal, there isn't any kind of tracker or anything similar inside you, right? I didn't think about it until now", Tails said, slightly embarrassed. Sonic noticed Metal's happy mood shift to a sad one as soon as he started thinking about the doctor.

"Buddy...do you want to talk about..." Sonic was cut off before finishing by Metal who interrupted him in their mental conversation.

"No, Later". Sonic frowned. However, he tried to make Metal feel better using their mental connection. Sonic didn't understand how their weird mental link could make Metal or him feel better. Either way, Sonic found he didn't mind it. So long as he could help Metal figure out who he is, he didn't care about how or why any of this worked.

After their short mental conversation, Metal answered Tails.

"Negative. He never put one in, to begin with". Metal was trying to hide the sadness in his voice. Sure, his voice was robotic, but it also contained some emotion (thanks to Tails' work, of course).

"Great! Eggman won't know you're here, then", Tails answered, oblivious to how Metal felt. Although, Metal had started to feel better, thanks to Sonic.

Sonic then looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 9:00 P.M.

"We should go to bed, Tails; it's getting late", Sonic said as he remembered the energy his brother spent fixing Metal today.

"But it's still 9:00 P.M.!" Tails said as he looked at the clock. "I generally go to sleep later."

"I know, Bro. But, considering how much you've worked today, you need to sleep," Sonic said affectionately.

"Yeah...you're right. I'm just gonna finish my food, and then I'll go to sleep. Good night, guys." Tails said as he began finishing his chili dogs.

Following Sonic and Metal saying goodbye to Tails, Sonic decided to bring up Eggman again. He could feel that Metal was still a bit affected, even if he had eased his sadness.

"So... do you want to talk about it?" Sonic asked. He could sense his metal double wasn't very comfortable talking about the subject yet.

"Look, it's fine if you don't want to talk about it. Just remember that you don't owe the doctor anything. Heck, even from us. You can do whatever you want, alright? You don't need to obey orders anymore." Sonic then reached out to place a hand on Metal's. "And if you need to vent about Eggman, now or when you want, I'll always be here, okay?"

Sonic felt gratitude from his metallic counterpart right away, and the uneasiness "dissipated."Because of what Sonic had said, Metal now felt comfortable talking about Eggman.

"Thank you for actually caring. I thought Eggman cared, but I was wrong. He told me he would never replace or abandon me. I suppose he was just using me to defeat you." Metal said, his robotic voice filled with sadness and betrayal.

"I'm so sorry, Buddy." Sonic couldn't help but feel a little bit angry. After all, how could Eggman make this kind of promise and then break it like that? Especially since Metal regards him as a father figure! He didn't think Eggman could get any lower than he had when he left Metal to rot. But Sonic was wrong! Eggman not only abandoned Metal, but he also promised Metal never to do... what he just did! "I promise I won't ever do that to you. While Tails isn't here, I'm sure he wouldn't do it, either."

"Thank you, Sonic," Metal said as he embraced the other. Metal's mood had gone from sad to uplifting. Sonic couldn't be happier that he was able to help Metal feel better.

"No problem, Mets!" Sonic said as they broke the hug.

"Mets?" Sonic felt confusion coming from his metallic counterpart. "But that's not my name."

Sonic was surprised Metal didn't know what a nickname was. Metal hadn't interacted much with the outside world, so it made sense. Still, he thought Eggman would've mentioned something about it. Sonic constantly called Robotnik, Eggman, after all.

"I know, Bud. When I said Mets instead of Metal, it's called a nickname. It's like saying your name affectionately. I do the same thing with Amy. I call her Ames."

"...Interesting. I like the nickname you gave me. Would you teach me more about Mobians and the outside world? It's fascinating!" Metal spoke with excitement present in his metallic voice.

"Of course, Mets!" Sonic could feel his double's excitement growing even further.

In the next chapter, Metal is finally going to learn more about the whole world! Let's just hope Sonic and Tails can keep Metal a secret from their friends...