Chapter Text
“So… Tails? Not to sound unappreciative, but.. when can you get me out of this hunk of junk and back to normal?” Sonic asked as he swept up the remaining robots around the village.
The last couple days had been crazy. He’d been turned into a robot, had a virus hijack his body, attacked his friends, and then tried to lead a Badnik army to destroy the village. This was way more high stakes than most weekly adventures. And more… horrifying. At least it was finally over. Well, most of it.
Tails was carrying scraps to be taken to the dump. “Well… you’ve still got your organic synapses and with the virus gone and all… if Eggman lets me repurpose the power source from his machine… three weeks. Give or take?”
Definitely not the answer Sonic was hoping for.
“Ugh! Weeks?! That’s so long!”
“At least you’ll have plenty of time to catch up on Ludicrous Speeds.”
With Eggman, hopefully, out of the picture after this whole fiasco, Sonic could finally watch his show. But he wasn’t really in the mood at the moment. He just wanted to go home. He could feel the villagers giving him cold looks.
“Oh, before I forget,” Amy’s voice cut through Sonic’s thoughts. She dug around in her pocket, pulling out a familiar item. “Here’s your scarf back. I picked it up before… you know.”
Sonic happily took his iconic accessory. “Thanks, Ames. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find it.”
Sonic looked over the scarf in his hands, carefully rubbing his fingers over the material. Even though he was still a robot, he had some minor sensory input in his hands. He couldn’t remember where he got his scarf exactly, but it was important to him.
That’s when Sonic noticed a tear in the fabric.
Amy looked rather apologetic. “I’m sorry. It fell in a bush, and caught a snag on one of the branches. I can fix it up–”
“Nononono, it’s okay,” he reassured her. “It actually looks cool. More rugged.” He tied it around his neck, the torn bit hanging over his chestplate. He gave a wink and finger guns to give more confidence. At least he got back something that made him feel more normal.
After the village was cleaned up as best as the team could, Sonic walked to his shack. He started running, or at least tried to run, but realized he was using that booster to move fast. It just started up on its own. It didn’t feel right—using something that replaced his key trait. Sonic shook off his thoughts and continued walking. He hated going slow, but it felt better to actually move his legs than use a jet. It felt like he was in control and not some robotic circuitry.
Sonic stopped as he walked on the beach. The calming sound of the waves didn’t have the same soothing effect it usually did. There was something about the sand that made him itch, but he couldn’t precisely remember why.
The robotic hedgehog walked inside his home. Somehow, even that felt different. Hopefully he could just sleep the stress off. He was tired, but not sleepy. He rolled into his hammock, and did the equivalent of closing his eyes that was possible with his visor screen.
Then, there was a tearing sound.
Sonic fell through his hammock, onto the wooden floor. Most likely breaking some wooden planks in the process.
—
Tails was sleeping on his foldout bed when he heard a knock at the door. He lazily dragged himself off.
He could already tell who it was from the green light coming through the window. He opened the door to find Sonic, still tangled in the remains of his hammock. Tails sighed.
“I’ll get the couch set up for you.”
WEEK 1
Sonic quickly made a discovery when he tried to sleep. He couldn’t. He felt something akin to tiredness, but the lull of closing his eyes and drifting off was not there.
He ended up staring at the ceiling all night, alone with his thoughts.
The events of the past few days became more clear. How he attacked his friends, the pain he felt as his body was transformed into this metal shell. The villainous things he did after that. Seriously, what kind of 90s comic book nonsense was this? It felt like the last decade of Sonic’s life was colorful action and comedy, then someone just took that and made it more serious. It reminded him of a couple shows Tomatopatomus had back in the day. Both were based on the game, but the narratives were completely different. One more humorous nonsense, the other had the world under the rule of an evil tyrant with a small ragtag resistance group.
Wait, where was he going with this? Maybe Amy had a point about his attention span— whatever it was she said.
Sonic just spent that night thinking, and trying not to get distracted from the obvious snoring under Tails’ porch from Knuckles. How did that echidna fit under there without the fox noticing?
The next morning, Tails stretched as he got out of bed and made his way over to the kitchen. He got himself something to drink and spun around, nearly dropping his cup when he saw Robo-Sonic sitting up on the couch. He had almost forgotten his friend was there.
“Oh, morning, Sonic. How did you sleep?”
“I can’t.” Sonic’s voice sounded so deadpan and robotic. The former was normal, but it still held a level of concern.
Tails was about to ask if Sonic had a lot on his mind or if he was uncomfortable, before realizing what his friend meant. Robots didn’t require sleep. And considering how much Sonic loved to nap, that could be a problem.
“Maybe I could program something like a standby or sleep mode. Maybe even something that could allow you ‘subconscious sleep,’ like dreaming so–”
“No thanks, Tails,” Sonic stopped his friend. “While I appreciate the thought, I don’t think I like the idea of wandering around my subconscious.” There was something about being unconscious in this body that somehow made him feel claustrophobic. It was a loss of control, and he didn’t want to go through that again.
The two-tailed fox sighed. “Well, at the very least, you should let me make some repairs. You took a lot of damage.”
Sonic tensed up at that. “You mean, like, going under the hood, sort of thing? I don’t know, bud. Sounds kind of creepy from my point of view.”
Sonic was never a fan of going to an actual doctor when he was hurt, but this was on another level. It wasn’t like Tails could put some ointment on his body, bandage it up, and it would be better in a week or so. He had seen Tails work on machines, cracking open their covers and yanking out the wires and circuitry inside, and the idea of being on the receiving end made him shudder. If he could, anyway.
“I get that, Sonic,” Tails explained, “but this isn’t going to go away on its own. You want to get back in tip top shape, don’t you? Besides, damaged machines tend to break down more easily than repaired ones. Better safe than sorry.”
That was a good point. Sonic didn’t like being referred to as a “machine,” but he could understand Tails’ concern.
He let out what was the equivalent of a sigh from his speakers. “Okay, Tails. Let’s do this.” There was no enthusiasm in Sonic’s voice.
“Don’t worry, buddy. It won’t hurt a bit.”
That was the part that made Sonic even more uneasy.
The dynamic duo made their way to the workshop next to the house. Tails carefully used his blowtorch on Robo-Sonic’s arm. The robotic hedgehog leaned his face into his other hand. He was trying to avoid watching Tails work. It freaked him out to be in this situation. Even though he didn’t feel anything, there was a sort of buzz going on in every area being repaired. Sort of like phantom pain.
Most of the work had been done on the limbs and joints. It took a while, and Sonic didn’t speak through most of it. It was weird not having him talk for so long, but this was no fun for the hedgehog.
Sonic spent years fighting robots. Now he was being repaired like one.
Tails turned off the torch. “There. With that done, all that’s left is your head and chest plate.”
Sonic turned his attention towards his torso. He slowly moved his hand over the glowing, green light panel. The large cracks still there. It came from when his brief moment of control was taken away after Tails had gotten through to him, but it also reminded him of what happened in the village. Amy accidentally slamming into him, causing him to be taken in, to be fully robo-ified.
He shook his head at the thought. “Mind if we do the top first? That might be quicker.”
Tails knew Sonic wanted to avoid working around the center as long as possible. He nodded, and grabbed some more tools from his box. “Let’s start by knocking out these dents.” He started to gently bang the side with a hammer. He saw some dents that seemed bent on the edges. He turned the tool around as he tried to pull them back into place. The fox grunted under his breath as he put an effort into it.
CLANG
“Tails, what was that?”
“UH, NOTHING!” The two-tailed genius replied rather nervously.
What Sonic didn’t notice was that Tails ended up pulling so hard that the top of his headplate came off. It was a bit disturbing to see Sonic’s electronic brain. Small crackles of blue static running across the circuitry.
“Just gotta do some buffing out over here.” It would be easier to repair without having to work around Sonic’s head, but Tails knew Sonic would not like seeing this. Thankfully, he had taken the mirror in the workshop down earlier so his friend couldn’t see his reflection.
Yet Sonic was not convinced it was nothing. He slowly moved a hand over his head. He noticed he wasn’t hitting his “ears,” and the back came down different than what his quills normally did. Both hands now, he patted the top of his head, and felt a spark with each touch. Sonic was getting an idea of what happened.
“TAILS!” he freaked out.
“I CAN FIX IT!” Tails panicked at Sonic’s panicking.
Within a half hour, Tails managed to clean up and reattach the headplate.
“There, good as new!” Tails’ sheepish smile didn’t reaffirm the fox had done something he shouldn’t have. But what’s done is done.
“You are never allowed near my brain again.” The tone of Sonic’s voice felt like a mix of taunting, but also some seriousness. The guy was done with people messing with his head.
The kit’s ears awkwardly folded back in embarrassment. “Heh heh, sorry about that.”
“Okay, so all that’s left is…” Sonic’s voice drifted off as he looked down. He was certain if he still had a heartbeat, it would be racing. Many ‘what ifs’ started running through his head. What if Tails messes with something he shouldn’t? What if he has to go in deeper to fix it? What if…? What if…?
Tails could tell, even with the robotic disposition, that Sonic was concerned. Possibly even frightened. He didn’t know if his emotional state would affect his body.
“How about we take a break for now?” Tails deterred Sonic’s attention back to him. “We’ve been at this for hours, and I’m getting hungry.”
A break. Yeah, Sonic needed that.
“Good idea, pal. Let’s get the others and grab a bite at Meh Burger.”
Sonic had never been so happy to go to that sorry excuse for a restaurant.
Later, all eyes were on them as they passed through the village. A few of them had some serious, as well as nervous, expressions.
The others had joined the two at Meh Burger. Sonic couldn’t help but notice Amy’s right wrist had a brace on it. He was just grateful it wasn’t broken from when he grabbed her.
“Boy, everyone looks on edge,” Knuckles observed. “Think last night’s episode of Comedy Chimp put them in a sour mood?”
“I don’t think that’s it, Knux.” Sonic knew everyone was staring at him. Both Eggman and the virus made him attack them just yesterday. And as long as he looked like this, he was certain no one would feel safe around him.
Team Sonic sat down at their table while Amy went to the counter.
“We’ll have our usual orders, Dave.”
“I dunno,” the intern asked in his nasally voice. “You sure that robot isn’t going to cause problems? He really ran amok yesterday. I’m kinda impressed.”
Thanks to his sensors, Sonic could hear their conversation. He slowly slid down in his chair, pulling his scarf over his face.
Amy was not having it. She slammed her good hand on the tabletop and glared at Dave. “Listen, bozo. We are just here for a semi-edible meal. You are NOT going to bring up anything that happened yesterday, or about Sonic’s appearance, or I will leave a terrible review online!”
“You do that anyway.”
Amy growled in a way that can only be described as a wild animal. Hammer or not, everyone knew better than to get on her bad side.
“Uh, your usual orders, coming right up! And this time I’ll make sure it’s not a fish!”
Amy smiled cheerfully as she went to take her seat. Sonic sat back up.
“Thanks for that, Ames.”
“No problem, Sonic. You’ve been through enough as it is. The last thing you need is people talking about you like that.”
Soon Dave brought them their food. Sonic picked up his chili dog, taking in the beautiful sight.
“I needed this.” Just as Sonic brought it up to his face, Tails tried to get his attention.
“Uh, Sonic?”
But, it was too late. It splattered all over where his mouth would be. He was not happy about the result.
“You don’t have a mouth, remembah?” Sticks’ comment wasn’t helping.
Amy carefully wiped the crumbs and chili off Sonic’s face. He was too ashamed to feel embarrassed about it. It was bad enough that he lost his ability to properly run, spindash or sleep, but he couldn’t even eat. He realized just now that he wasn’t actually hungry.
Sonic could feel even more eyes on him than before. Everyone judging him. Normally, he didn’t mind, the people’s views changed every week or so, sometimes even twice a week. But his current state just made him more self-conscious. He couldn’t stay here.
“Sonic?” Tails began to speak as his friend stood up.
“I’ll see you back at the house, Tails. You guys keep eating.”
The others watched as their leader walked off. Even in his robotic disposition, they could tell he was depressed.
“Poor guy,” Amy signed. “You know it’s hard for him that he can’t even eat.”
“He can’t sleep either,” Tails jumped in. “This whole thing is like a curse for Sonic.”
“Isn’t it more of a blessing he doesn’t have to eat this stuff?” Knuckles pulled out some paper from his mouth, proving the low quality food Meh Burger offered.
Sticks rolled her eyes. “Just be glad it’s not a sock this time.”
Tails arrived at the house a few hours later. He figured Sonic needed some time to himself. He opened the door to find his friend watching TV.
“How was Ludicrous Speeds?”
“Truly worthy of a 100th episode.”
Tails could tell there was still some sadness in his friend’s voice. He wished he knew of a way to turn Sonic back immediately. He just had to work fast.
“Are you up for… you know?” Sonic didn’t respond to the fox’s question. He didn’t want to, but he had to. Tails could tell Sonic was still able to function. Probably just couldn’t fight. “We can wait until tomorrow. Let’s just watch some movies for now.”
Sonic just looked at Tails. Even without a mouth, the fox could see in his eyes that of a sad smile. Grateful that his friend understood.
“Thanks, bud.”
—
The next day, the two were up fairly early to get started. Sonic was tense as he laid on the table. Tails had put a pillow under his head to make him more comfortable, even though it didn’t really do anything.
Tails was above Sonic, he looked nervous himself. “I’m going to start by removing the lens to see if there’s any internal damage. You ready?”
“Just get it over with, bud.”
Tails nodded, and moved his tools on Sonic’s chest. Sonic could hear the sparking and metallic clangs as his friend worked. He tried to keep calm. There was no one else he trusted more than Tails to do this. He trusted Tails more than anyone, period.
WARNING! CHEST PLATE TAMPERING! appeared in Sonic’s vision. Great, pretty hard to ignore what was going on when it was literally glaring at him right in the face.
The noise stopped, and Sonic couldn’t help but glance. He saw Tails lift the lens and place it on a tray. He leaned back over the robot’s body. Sonic was praying that nothing was wrong. It already freaked him out that the fox was looking inside his body.
“It looks like there’s some loose wires and circuits. It shouldn’t take too long.” Tails’ voice was trying to sound steady, but he knew telling Sonic this would scare him. He had the right to know, though. He wished he could just put Sonic in some sort of sleep mode while he worked, but that’s not what Sonic wanted.
The expression on Sonic’s face reflected squinting. He didn’t want this, but it had to happen. “Go ahead.”
Tails gave a solemn nod, and turned his attention back to Sonic’s chest. The robotic hedgehog turned his head to the side. He didn’t want to watch. As he heard tools going to work, he clawed his fingers into the table. He felt nothing, yet everything. His mind was telling him insides were being messed with. Tools touching where his organs would be. He even whimpered under his breath.
“I know, Sonic. Just a little longer. I’m almost done.”
Now Sonic knew how Knuckles felt about being at the dentist. Every fiber of his being wanted to run. He technically could, but he mustered the courage to stay still. If he interrupted Tails now, it could have serious consequences.
Soon, the noise stopped. Sonic held his nonexistent breath. He then heard something that sounded like tape. A screwing sound, like putting in a lightbulb.
CHEST PLATE RE-ATTACHED. STATUS 100% FUNCTIONAL.
“There! Done!”
The tension in Sonic’s joints vanished. He finally sat up, looking over his body. The lens was repaired, no cracks in sight. Back to full health, so to speak.
That’s when Sonic noticed some wooden splinters in the gaps of his fingers, as well as the gouges in the table he was laying on. “Uh, sorry, Tails.”
Tails shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been meaning to get a new one anyway.”
Sonic slid off the table, pulled the splinters out of his fingers, then ruffled Tails’ hair. “Still, thanks, bud. I knew I could count on you.”
The fox laughed as he pushed his friend’s hand away. “Yeah, you totally weren’t scared at all.”
Sonic did his signature nose rub. “Not one bit.”
It may have seemed odd, but this was how these two worked. They learned to just laugh off intense moments like this. That’s just brothers for you.
“You know, I’ve been curious about Ludicrous Speeds for a while. Wanna do some binge watching for the rest of the day?” Tails asked. “I’ll get to work on getting you back to normal tomorrow. I could use a break myself.”
Sonic chuckled. “I knew I’d get you to come around eventually. Trust me, you’ll love it.”
As they watched, Tails found the plot cheesy, but enjoyed the mechanics in the cars’ designs. After a few hours, Tails fell asleep. Popcorn, snacks and soda bottles scattered the floor.
Sonic picked Tails up, and tucked the fox into bed. Seeing as he himself couldn’t sleep, might as well make the most of this by cleaning up the place. He hated chores, but it wasn’t like there was much more he could do. And he could do it for Tails since he had been such a big help.
“You better not complain about me putting things in the wrong place when you wake up,” he whispered his tease.
—
The following days were pretty slow going. Sonic spent most of his time at Tails’ place. He could have stayed at his shack, but the others thought it would be better if Sonic didn’t isolate himself so much. He was already refusing to go into town where everyone would stare at him. Sonic used that time to watch his shows, read, play video games, etc.
Tails, on the other hand, had been analyzing Sonic’s organic synapses, as well as molecular structure, trying to find a way to convert it back. The task was far more difficult than he expected, and he already knew it would be hard. To solve this dilemma, he needed to know how exactly Sonic was transformed.
Eggman had been unusually quiet since the incident, so the fox decided to pay him a visit. He got in his plane and took off for the volcanic island, arriving in a short time. Considering Eggman was supposed to be their enemy, they certainly seemed to spend a lot of time visiting his lair for non nemesis reasons.
“Eggman, you there?” He asked as he entered the lair.
Soon, the shape of the doctor entered the scene. He was covered in smudges of oil and grease.
“How did you get in here without setting off my security?!” Eggman was clearly not having it today.
“The giant hole in the wall?” Tails pointed with his thumb. Sure enough, the hole where Team Sonic broke in* was still there. (*see SBR issue #1)
“I’ll bill you for that later. Why are you here?”
Time to get down to business. “I want to take a look at the SG-1000, as well as its power source.”
If Eggman wasn’t offended before, he certainly was now. “Who do you think you are asking such a thing?! As if I would ever just let one of my sworn enemies near my precious creations! The ones that aren’t built for fighting, anyway. Give me one good reason why I should allow such things!”
Tails gave the doctor a deadpan look. “Sonic will kick your butt for turning him into a robot if I can’t change him back, on top of stealing his cable.”
“...fine. Take it.”
At least that was easy.
Tails made his way to the device. It did amaze him that Eggman could convert his machines with Ancient technology so well. The large yellow eye staring down at him made him uneasy, but he nonetheless worked.
Once he got the data he needed, Eggman returned with a large chest. It seemed to be aligned with some sort of technology. He hesitantly presented it to the fox. Tails opened it, revealing a large yellow gemstone in the shape of a perfectly cut diamond. It had a glowing aura around it. Even inside the box, Tails felt energized from its glow.
“What is this? Where did you find it?”
The doctor merely shooed the fox. “I don’t have to give you the details. You wanted my power source, you got it. Now be off with you. I need a vacation after that whole fiasco.”
Tails raised an eyebrow. “You look more like you've been working rather than taking a break.”
“As a fellow inventor, you’re telling me you’d rather be relaxing on some beach over tinkering on new inventions?”
Okay, that was fair. Tails didn’t have time to argue anyway. He took what he came for, got in his plane, and took off.
At the workshop, Tails put the data he took from the SG-1000 into his computer, and hooked the gemstone up to analyze it.
“Now let’s see what progress we can make.”