heroism?

ABOUT:

Hiya, and welcome to the ask blog for the Assistant Tails AU!

This is a canon divergent universe in which Dr. Eggman met Tails before Sonic could, taking note of his technical prowess and adopting him. Although Tails is thrilled to belong somewhere, work with machinery, and properly have a family again - he has a whoooole lot of moral ethics to war with, which only intensify with his idolisation of not only Eggman but one Sonic the Hedgehog.

CAST:

These are characters available for questioning!

Miles Tails Prower:

A two-tailed fox currently under the wing of Dr. Eggman. Having lost his parents at a young age in a thunderstorm, he grew up in an orphanage and was bullied viciously for his intelligence and his two tails. It wasn't until one fateful and rather emotional day that he met a man by the name of Dr. Robotnik, who - recognizing his intelligence and mechnical talent - took him on as an apprentice (AKA adopted him without the papers).

Although Tails is hardworking, immersed in technological work and has great respect for the Doctor, he has a heart of gold that doesn't connect with his schemes. This trait skyrocketed at the appearance of one Sonic the Hedgehog, who came to be a heroic inspiration to Tails that threw his taught morals into disarray. He's often struggling with bouts guilt due to the amount of moral ethics he deals with.

Over the course of the Sonic games, the fox has helped the blue hedgehog behind Eggman's back, and slowly built the courage to do more daring and heroic things. Someday he aspires to leave the villain life behind and be a hero. If he can get past his loyalties and familial attachments, that is.

Dr. Eggman:

The greatest scientific genius in the world! Or he'd like to think so, anyway. If there's a world disaster or attempt at global domination, 99.8% of the time, he's responsible for it. With his infamous IQ, the Doctor is capable of producing the most advanced of machines and at ridiculous paces - unfortunately such efficiency has its downsides and there's often time a glaring error in his creations as a result.

He stumbled upon a distressed Tails after what seemed to be the aftermath of a science fair gone wrong. Having stuck around to investigate the mystic history of West Side Island, he'd witnessed how the kids treated the kit and utilised that to bring him to his side. What started out as a tactical advantage turned into something far more sentimental, but with the fox's fluctuating alignment (which Tails tries so hard to hide), it's made things all the more complicated.

Orbot & Cubot:

The Doctor's lackeys! Orbot, formerly Ergo, and Cubot were created not only to analyse any foreseen errors / keep things running more smoothly, but also to assist with the caretaking of Tails during the Doctor's busiest hours. They get along with Tails quite well, Orbot's observational snark making quite the impression on the fox as well as Cubot's endless... optimism...? Tails isn't too sure how to describe it.

Sonic the Hedgehog:

Sonic is a world-renowned hero whose heart goes out as far as he can run, and like he said, his stories don't end until he stops running. He is constantly saving worlds, even other dimensions, from peril, and this often time includes from the likes of Dr. Eggman himself. Although he had a bit more of an isolated start than Sonic Prime, he's every bit of hero fibre as you'd expect. As such, Sonic does not hold any resentment for Tails.

In fact, Sonic is quite encouraging; he wants nothing more than for Tails to one day make the decision he knows is true to his heart, and he knows that he will. This faith is something the fox understands but doesn't all at once. With this in mind, the two are passing friends / frienemies but usually bear no ill will towards each other, as it's merely their alignment that seperates them. At least until Infinite happened...

SETTING:

As far as setting goes, I'm aiming for post-Forces stuff. I've yet to play TSR but I may work that in at some point. You're certainly free to ask about any previous games, however! The lore's gotta' come from somewhere. :D

GENERAL RULES:

Please read these before sending asks!

* Nothing NSFW. If I get any asks like that, I'll simply delete them and not respond. It personally makes me uncomfortable and Tails is a kid. * If you're sending an ask, make it apparent WHO it is you're asking the question to or specify when you send it! Otherwise I'll be at a loss of what to do. * Please try to keep asks somewhat relavant to the AU! * You are more than welcome to ask about other continuities! However, these will have general answers as the focus on this blog is the main game series. These continuities may include but are not limited to: IDW, Archie, X, Boom, etc.

Whoa boy, where do I start?

So number one. Tails is actually well aware that Robotnik is tricking Knuckles, but he can't really warn him about it. And he feels so, so guilty about that because Knuckles is actually such a nice guy? Tails hates he's playing a part in duping him -- esp since they made fast friends, and learning about his circumstances really doesn't ease that guilt. The least he can do is drop very vague hints now and then, but that's only out of sight of the Doctor, and it's not the most. It doesn't help Knuckles is pure of heart so he likely wouldn't have read into that too much (fun fact: Sonic Channel translations have said the only reason Knuckles is so gullible is because he wants to see the good in everyone, even people like Eggman. Protect Knuckles).

That said, Tails lurks a lot around Knuckles; if he's not getting it, then the kit at least wants to be around to soften the blow / make it easier on him when they have to pull the jerk move and betray him. In Robotnik's presence and off-screen, however, he's very work-focused as well as distant from Knuckles because he doesn't want the Doctor to know he's getting soft.

Tails was hiding around Hidden Palace Zone during Knuckles' bout with Sonic, as well as during the betrayal. As soon as the Doctor left, he came out of hiding to offer assistance to Knuckles and Sonic (as well as heartwrenching apologies that he didn't think Robotnik would go that far -- Tails is still very much figuring out how lethal his Dad can be. He's still a kid after all).

He helps out for a little in Sky Sanctuary, though his focus is more on Knux than Sonic. Eventually, he has to vacate before the zone's end in order to sneak up to the Death Egg. Anymore than this would have prompted suspicion and questioning. During the scuffle of the Doomsday Zone (wherein Tails is canonically absent in Sonic's story), Tails is able to scramble for the Tornado and saves a formerly Hyper Sonic and the Master Emerald from the stratosphere's fall. He promptly has to depart for the ruins of the Death Egg, though, and asks Sonic to give Knuckles his apologies in hope saving the ME somewhat makes up for it.

It’s amusing because I know absolutely nothing about that episode. I'm not caught up on Boom in the slightest. X'D I've ACTUALLY heard people mention it a couple of times in passing, but only sometime after I came up with this AU? I really need to check out the episode sometime honestly. ( <- because I totally don't have different verses planned for each continuity.)

Funnily enough, I actually had a good chunk of Heroes plotted out! It's a very pinnacle moment for Tails, because it's his first time officially working apart of Team Sonic. He was there to witness Eggman being kidnapped by Metal, and managed to get away. Naturally, he does the normal thing when your Dad's been usurped by his creations -- go to Sonic the Hedgehog.

He's very vague about his intentions, though, because he's kind of afraid Sonic might not help if he knew Eggman was in trouble? (We know Sonic is Sonic, but Tails is still developing that trust with him. So Tails, nodding: 'yep, that's absolutely my dad. Not Metal in disguise') Anyway, Heroes is where his heroics really get a chance to shine -- it's also the first game he actually achieves a Super Form as he fights Metal Madness alongside Sonic and Knuckles! Per status quo though, Team Sonic disbands after Eggman is saved and Metal is defeated. u-u But the character development is put into pocket for another day.

Tails and Knuckles make me very emotional in this situation because since Sonic 3 & Knuckles, it's definitely been bumpy for them. The whole 'lying by omission while Robotnik was manipulating him' -- but Tails did get back the ME for him in that game as well as saved Sonic from the Death Egg fall. An interesting thing, tbh, is thinking about how Tails is the glue that keeps Sonic and Knuckles together in main canon. So things are definitely a little more on edge between those two, even when Tails comes in. But they'd really function like the great team they are in canon when they hit the right note, y'know?

I'm still figuring out the Adventure arcs, but gosh Tails and Knuckles are definitely going to make me feel things when I plot them more indepth.