POV: Tails

There must be a reasonable explanation for this!

The kit peered at the hedgehog that was snacking on the chilli-dogs Sonic offered him earlier.

He slightly resembled Sonic, with the blue quills. The differences, though, were the crimson eyes instead of emerald green, his arms, muzzle, belly fur and the inside of his ears were blue-grey. There were also bundles of quills pointing upwards.

He kind of looks like a mix between Sonic and Shadow..?

"Yo, buddy! Do you think you can come up with an explanation for this?"
Sonic scratched the soft fur behind his ear, still trying to understand what exactly happened.

"I'm not sure myself. The emeralds caused some sort of reaction. Speaking of them, where are they?" Tails looked hopefully at the hedgehog.
Said hedgehog stiffened, his eyes widening.

" Uhh... They scattered." He said, sighing.

"Dang it."

Tails groaned.

Months of searching for the emeralds is wasted, yet again.

Tails grabbed the tip of one of his namesakes and fiddled with it, thinking of all the possible explanations.

"Something must've triggered the emeralds to turn Metal into that."

Sonic was about to say something when a thump was heard from the room. The two peered over the doorway to find the blue hedgehog laying face-first on the ground.

Sonic snickered, and went over to him. He grabbed the hedgehog's arm and helped him up.

Tails couldn't help but notice the size difference between the two. Metal was definitely thinner than his brother.

The former robot didn't look too happy, being helped to his feet by his enemy, but there was nothing he could do due to his inexperience with a mobian body.

"I think we're going to have to teach him how to walk." Said Sonic, tittering.

If looks could kill, Metal would've murdered Sonic by now.

Sonic didn't seem fazed by it, and helped his copy with walking.

"Alright, one foot after another. That's it!" Sonic cheered as Metal was able to walk up to the door by himself.

Tails took a look at the former robot's bare hands and feet.

"I think we need to get him some clothes." The kit stated awkwardly.

"Oh, right! How could I forget?" The azure hedgehog facepalmed, and rushed upstairs, most likely bringing something for Metal.

Tails waited, ignoring the glare sent by Metal. He sweatdropped, the decided to distract him with something.

"Wamt some more chilli-dogs?" He asked, and Metal stared at him, slightly nodding.

The kitsune hurriedly made his way to the kitchen, and grabbed some more chilli-dogs from the counter.

He came back, bumping into his elder brother.

"Save some for me!" He chuckled. In his hands were a pair of gloves, socks and shoes.

"Alright, Mets! These are some clothes that are a bit small for me, they may fit you." He handed the items to his copy.

Metal started at them, then attempted to put the gloves on. He ended up putting all of his fingers in the wrong spot. Blinking, Metal looked at Sonic.

"Need some help?" Sonic took off the glove, and put them on correctly.

x-x-x
Metal's PoV

Metal didn't really like it when the hedgehog helped him into his clothes, but he didn't go against it, given that he didn't have much control over his muscles.

As soon as Sonic put his other shoe on, he moved away, sniffing for the delicious aroma of the chilli-dogs.

He found them on the table, and grabbed one, munching on it happily.

He soon finished it, reaching for the next one, when his copy pulled the plate away.

"Dude, slow down! You're going to get a bellyache!" He said.

"Sonic? Sid you just say 'Slow down'? Did you hit your head somewhere?" Said the yellow fox, who came over and searched his copy's head for injuries.

If he did hit his head somewhere, Metal hoped he would hit his head again, losing some brain cells in the process. Like that, destroying the hedgehog would be easier.

"I'm fine, Tails," The hedgehog replied, nudging the fox's hands away.

The kit had opened his mouth to reply, but loud 'beep's started to come from his communicator. Metal pinned his ears at the annoying sound.

The fox tapped on his communicator, and a voice started talking.

"Resistance HQ to Tails, do you read me?" Metal tilted his head in curiosity.

"Loud and clear, what's the problem?" Tails replied.

"There's an Eggman attack in a nearby town, and the citizens need help!"

Metal's copy heard this, and sprung to his feet.

"Alright, what're we waiting for?" He said, dashing to the door.

Master is attacking a town..? Shouldn't he be looking for me, instead?

Metal was confused, and stood up, using the couch for support.

Tails noticed this, but flicked his ear and went after his brother.

"W-waith." Metal said, catching the two's attention.

Sonic glanced at the kit with an expression the former robot did not recognize, and said:

"I think it's best if you stay here, Mets."

They dashed out the door before Metal could reply.
The hedgehog slumped his shoulders, sighing. He watched the two run far ahead from the window.

There was no way he could catch up with them in his current state.

So he decided to explore.

He noticed that even though the twosome's house looked pretty normal, there was high tech hidden in plain sight.

Metal walked along the short corridor, his hand trailing along the wall. The walls were a light blue, and slightly glowed when he touched them.
The former robot wondered what purpose it was for, but he kept going on, anyway.

The hedgehog suddenly stopped in front of some stairs, and wondered what was on the second floor.

He grabbed the railing, pulling himself onto the first step. He lifted his leg up, placed it on the next step, and pulled himself up. The hedgehog repeated this until he reached the top.

He leaned on the wall, exhausted. Metal decided to rest a little before exploring further. He glanced around, seeing three doors to the right, and a window to the left.

Metal stood up, wanting to learn what was behind the doors. He went up to the first one, then yelped, a pain shooting up his leg. He looked at the source, a couple of loose quills on the ground.

That was probably his doppelganger's bedroom.

He decided not to check it out, not wanting to step on any more quills.

The next door had a twin-tail logo on it, and was locked.
Metal's eyes drifted to the last one, a faint odor coming from it.

Metal stepped up to it, and opened the door. It was a bathroom. That explains the smell.

Metal wrinkled his nose, stepping right out. He did not want to check that room out.

He decided to go back down, holding the railing. The cobalt hedgehog put his foot on the lower step, which was easier said than done. He did so, and held out his other foot, only to lose his balance.

Metal felt himself falling forward. He shut his eyes, bracing for impact.

End of Chapter 2