7 Plot Coupons and a Sweet Leather Jacket

Heads or Tails

The clock strikes eight in the Prower household. Tails looks up from the piles of worksheets to check the window again. Nothing. Just the sun beaming through the window that Tails has replaced at least three times now.

"Is something wrong? You seem a bit distracted." Vanilla comments. Her and Cream are over in an attempt to homeschool Cream. Vanilla is plenty good in teaching literature but Tails has always had a knack for explaining mathematics to the young rabbit.

"He didn't come back last night"

"I'm sure he just lost track of time." Vanilla sighs, "or had a sleepover with Amy-"

Thud

The door slams open following by the sound of titanium scratching up the hardwood floor. "Hey Tails! A little help!"

Tails gets up from the coffee table and stops in the hallway. "I am so sorry my brother is an idiot."

"Love you too bro!" Sonic heckles back, Metal Sonic firmly in hand. "Come help already!"

Metal has a hole blown straight through his torso. Tails looks at his brother and squints. "What do you mean help?"

Sonic huffs letting Metal drop to the floor. "I mean fix him." He zips next to Tails and points to the corpse in the hallway. "See look he's dieing.

Cream gets up from the table and peeks at the hallway from behind Sonic. "Is he going to be alright?"

Tails mumbles "I sure hope not." Earning himself a pointed glare from Sonic. Tails takes a deep breath. "Y'know I could understand the dancing thing. It kept him busy and as far away from me as possible. But this? You're out of your mind."

Sonic furrows his brows and gestures to Metal "But-"

"You shouldn't  have brought him here" After that conversation with Rouge at the nightclub Tails has had enough.  "Why would you go out of your way to endanger me. You know he likes to kick me around!"

Sonics pleads  "You dont get it. He's changing."

"Is he though? Because to me it sounds like you're only saying that because you want him to change. When all you're actually doing is putting people at risk for the sake of having another racing buddy!"

Sonic looks terribly offended by the accusation but has no time in his mind to refute it. Metal is dying after all. There's no time to argue. "How will you know if you don't give him a chance?"

"He's a robot. He's not going to change like that."

"The past few times I've run into him he's been passive until provoked. He's changing."

"If you believe in him so strongly, you fix him! I'm not going near him!" Tails storms out the back door.

"Fine!" Sonic drags Metal to the garage and starts frantically looking through his old plane maintenance book. Metal may not be a plane but he's got enough plane parts that Sonic thinks it's as close as he's going to get.

The garage is a cluttered mess. Scarcely lit and disorganized beyond belief. Tails has good enough eyesight and memory that he doesn't have to bother keeping the place lit. Much to Sonic's somewhat nearsighted annoyance.

He replaces Metals battery with the only one he could find. It doesn't fit inside him but it at least gets Metal powered on again and allows for the leaking battery to be removed and disposed of.

Metal's systems hum as he wakes up. The first thing he does is kick Sonic in the gut. Sonic falls flat on his back not expecting a hostile reaction. "Dude, I'm trying to help you"

Metal hops down from the counter. He takes a few steps and pauses, tugging at the wires clamped to the external battery. Sonic pushes himself up off the ground. Metal stares him down, his eyes as deadly as ever.

Metal picks up the battery and starts tearing the place up as if to search for something. "Mets, the emerald is gone. Knuckles took it."

Metal glares at Sonic before struggling his way over to the tornado. Sonic stands in his way. "Talk to me."

Metal beeps in response, roughly shoving Sonic aside. He places the battery on the wing of the plane pulling himself up afterwards.

"Metal please, be reasonable. I know you can be…" Metal is unphased. Sonic is scared to fight him due to Metal's already dire condition.

Metal keeps on trucking for what he wants. Which appears to be out.

Sonic is pulling at straws trying to find a reason for Metal to stay. "Do you want to dance?"

Metal pauses in his trek to the cockpit. His screen changes its display to simulate a furrowed brow. He looks disappointed.

Sonic forces a smile trying to encourage the robot to mellow out "Oh don't be like that. We can dance again." He extends his hand out for Metal. Offering to help him down from the plane. "C'mere, I'll make it work."

Metal sits himself in the cockpit proper but doesn't turn on the engine yet. He peeks down at Sonic.

"I want you to stay. Is there anything I can do to convince you to hang around for just a little bit longer."

Metal beeps in response.

"I don't know what you said there." Sonic frowns, "I'm sorry."

The engine kicks on.  Sonic's eyes go wide, "Where are you even going?"

Metal doesn't answer. A loud boom erupts with a cloud of smoke as Metal shoots out the closed garage door. The plane moves forward rolling faster and faster until it lifts into the sky above.

Sonic runs after him going so far as to jump off a cliff in a stupid attempt to try and catch the plane. "Metal!" He shouts from the ground. But it's too late. He's gone.

Sonic watches as Metal flies the tornado to the egg carrier passing by. Sonic is filled with anger. Anger at Metal for giving himself to Eggman. Anger at Tails for refusing to help. Anger at himself for losing the damn plane.