#scrapniks

Really excited to share this project to the public, Sonic The Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island - Mechanization. Having been able to work with an amazing team with @multiisketch @frogswamp-mp3 and @astrophysician in it! All thanks to @sonicsupernova and what they've yet to release! Hope everyone looks forwards to these stories we've got to tell this December!

Whatever. Go, My Scarab!

Takes place after Sonic Frontiers. Tails decides to temporarily part ways with Sonic and goes to Scrapnik Island to help Sigma and the Mechas out with their goals.

Tails begins to help out where he can and soon the island is a bustling safe haven for Badniks and robots alike who have been left behind by their creators. Includes some Gun Robots who have gone rogue too.

Cream is on that road trip with Amy and Vanilla is with the Chaotix leaving Gemerl to pursue his own desires if he wishes, except Gemerl doesn't know what he wants for himself. He is not his own robot, being reprogrammed and most of his data is not actually his own.

TW//

mentions of abandonment (robot&child)

ao3 link

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He really didn’t think this plan through. Which is not something you’d expect from Miles “Tails” Prower, is it?

But it’s true. And even now, as he and the other broken badniks stalked through the halls of the abandoned Death Egg, he didn’t he didn’t bother with trying to figure out details. Or a backup plan, for that matter. 

He didn’t care for the specifics, he’d figure it out as he went. He didn’t have time to worry over it, Sonic needed help. Sonic needed him, he had to act now.

It’s ironic. He’d always chastised his big brother for acting without a plan, yet here he was. Doing exactly that.

He really was just like him.

Tails’s ear flicked, causing him to stop in his tracks. He focused on his hearing, trying to determine what he had picked up. The scrapniks had stopped too, looking at him as he listened.

Then he heard it. His tablet beeped at him, indicating there was movement up ahead.

Metal clanked against metal, a sound the fox was all too familiar with. He dashed to press against the wall, the other bots quickly following suit.

He readied the gun he had built from some of the spare parts on the island, waiting for the perfect moment to jump out and attack.

“Hold it right there!” Once the sound was close enough, Tails and the other badniks revealed themselves, weapons pointing at..

“Oh my!” Not Mecha.

They stared at each other. Awkward silence filled the air as the machine they had thought they were tracking clutched something to their chest, protecting it.

“Young Master Tails!” Tails was sure the robot would have smiled if they could, “a sight for sore optics, to be sure.”

“Oh. Hey, Sigma,” The kit inhaled, “it’s just you.” He let out a sigh of relief, allowing his body to relax since he and the scrapniks weren’t in any immediate danger.

Holding the gun with a single hand, his other moved to rest against his hip, “We’re looking for Mecha Sonic. He’s holding Sonic captive for some reason.” He explained, ears tipping down ever so slightly.

“Mind telling me what’s going on?” He tried, hoping the tall robot would know what tipped Mecha off.

“It is as I feared.” Sigma turned away, eyes downcast as they looked at the broken echidna machine in their arms.

Was that Metal Knuckles? What happened to him? 

“Mecha’s systems are very,” They paused to try and think of a good word to describe it, “robust. My knowledge of his software’s nuances is limited.”

Tails frowned at the bot’s words. What were they talking about?

“When I rebuilt him, I attempted to rewrite Dr. Eggman’s original programming to the best of my ability.” Sigma continued, turning back to the kit and other machines, “but, it would seem my efforts were insufficient.”

The fox bit the inside of his lip and moved his free hand up to scratch the back of his neck. He understood the feeling of failing to program something.

“His old protocols and subroutines must have reawakened somehow,” the scrapnik concluded, “they are warping his cerebral processor.”

They looked sad once again, “This is my error, not Mecha’s. He is not thinking clearly, Tails.”

Before they could exchange any further words, a staticy noise emitted from the tablet connected to the kit’s belt. Startled, Tails snapped his head down to stare at it.

The static stopped.

“Onnn the c-c-contrary, Sigmaaaa..” A broken voice called from the Miles Electric. He slung his weapon around himself, snatching up his now beeping tablet with both hands.

He was close. Very close.

“M-m-my miiind has never be cl-clearerrrr.”

The beeping got quicker, until it eventually stopped.

Tails paled, knowing what that meant.

“Behind you.”

He didn’t waste another second.

Reflexes faster than Sonic’s speed, Tails held his gun once again and started firing in the direction of the sound.

The rest of the scrapniks quickly followed suit, shooting at the hedgehog-like machine.

Unfortunately, Mecha was based on Sonic. He was fast enough to easily dodge the onslaught of bullets that rained upon him. He curled and bounced off the walls, rolling away quicker than any normal thing could sprint.

Once Mecha had disappeared from sight, they ceased fire. Thick, black smoke escaped from the barrels of their guns, an obvious sign of overheating. Tails’s eyes were trained on the hallway, looking for any sort of movement.

Until the Miles Electric buzzed.

The kit looked down at it as the same broken voice emitted from the device’s speakers once again.

“You don’t know what it’s like,” He quirked a brow, “to be discarded.. Forgotten.” Tails’s right hand curled into a fist.

What a wild and very, very incorrect assumption.

A strained sound came from behind, causing the kit and the other scrapniks to quickly turn around.

A small gasp escaped him when he saw the hat on the floor.

He hadn’t seen the damn thing in years. But now that he had, even if a replica, he felt his heart sink.

“S-Sigma?” He called, eyes darting from here to there, desperately searching for the robot.

He wasn’t given long to dwell on his missing friend.

Electricity snapped behind them, and he understood why when he turned. Mecha was destroying one of the badniks that came with them.

With a silent promise to fix the machine when he had a chance to, He and the two that were still standing quickly fired at the violent robot, running away from their opponent.

“He’s too fast!” Much faster than he was when Tails had first encountered him, that’s for sure, “retreat!” He called before revving his tails and zipping down the hallway.

“This is bad.” This is why you don’t run into a fight without a detailed plan. Or at least a backup one. “I underestimated his speed.” He criticized himself quietly. Stupid, what was he thinking?!

He wasn’t. That’s the issue.

“I’d assume both his rust and mismatched parts had slowed him down.” He was too caught up in berating himself, oblivious to other noises around him as he tried to work out a new plan. “But he’s just about as fast as Sonic!”

“If we can hunker down in a small room somewhere and limit his movement,” He thought aloud, only slightly aware of how eerily silent his surroundings had become, “we might just stand a—“

He glanced behind him to check on the scrapniks.

Only they weren’t there.

“A chance..” He finished his sentence, even though no one was around to hear it. His tails stopped spinning, letting him gently fall to the ground.

‘Uh, guys?” He called, though a part of him knew there was no point in it.

They wouldn’t answer him.

But someone else would.

That someone was standing where the other robots had previously been. His red eye lights practically glaring at the kit.

Tails could feel his fur stick up.

He was scared.

“I was once Dr. Eggman’s most remarkable creation,” Mecha started, ready to lunge forward, “we were supposed to conquer the world together.”

The kit allowed his finger to move from the trigger of his gun, but tightened his grip on its hilt. Maybe there was a way around fighting..

“After I was rebuilt, I waited for him,” Even though there wasn’t one, Tails could hear the growl in the robot’s voice, “I was so certain he would come find me and we could try again.”

But he never did, Tails thought to himself. Which was typical of Eggman.

He couldn’t help but feel empathetic towards Mecha. He knew the feeling all too well.

“But instead, he abandoned me,” Mecha looked down at his robotic hand and claw. If he had teeth, the fox was sure he’d be grinding them together.

He couldn’t blame him.

“He left me here to rust on this forsaken junk pile,” his hand curled into a fist, clasping down with enough force to crush an apple effortlessly.

“I know the feeling,” Tails’s voice wavered, but he made sure the other heard him. Mecha’s head snapped up to stare at the fox pup, “hurts, doesn’t it?”

A wave of nervousness washed over the boy when he received no response.

“You,” The kit inhaled when the robot began speaking, “couldn’t possibly know what it’s like to be tossed out after one failure.” Even though the tone hadn’t changed, he knew venom was laced within those words.

Tails’s grip on the gun loosened.

If Mecha really wanted to play his trauma card, he’s willing to counter it with his.

“That’s an awfully bold assumption,” Tails mused, letting a hand drop from holding his weapon. “You’re sure about it?”

“You’re still with him,” Mecha was sure alright. “What do you know about abandonment.” It wasn’t a question. He was certain the kit had no idea what it was like.

Oh, how wrong he was.

“I had a life before Sonic, Mecha,” Tails released his gun fully, allowing it to hang from its strap that rested around his torso, “and trust me, it wasn’t pretty.”

The robot didn’t respond. He just stared at the fox, who took a deep breath.

He offered Mecha a sympathetic smile, “The first four years of my life were spent at an island named Westside.” He explained, gaze trained on the robot ahead of him. Waiting for the other to make a move to attack.

But he didn’t. 

So the fox continued talking.

“The people living there didn’t care all too much for me.” He made sure to make eye contact with his next sentence. “Not even my parents.”

He waved a hand, “Or creators, if you’d like. The mobians who made me.” He clarified, still watching the machine’s movements.

Mecha shifted, but didn’t attack. Something in his optics changed.

Tails smiled.

“I wasn’t even given a chance,” His voice got quieter. He didn’t like talking about it, but he’s willing to if it kept the badnik from charging at him, “they took one look and decided I wasn’t worth it.”

He noticed the other’s stance slouched ever so slightly, his fist uncurling.

“You know you aren’t the only one who was left behind, Mecha,” Tails risked a step forward, his namesake twitching behind him in anticipation, “look at this island. It’s been built up by other badniks that Eggman abandoned.”

Mecha looked to the ground, so he chanced another step.

“What happened to you sucked. Believe me, I know.” His voice was thick with emotion, “but that doesn’t give you any right to hurt your friends.”

Tails flinched when the robot snapped his head up, body stiffening once again.

That.. was apparently the wrong thing to say.

“They are not my ‘friends’.” The machine hissed, causing the kit to immediately back away to the spot he was previously in. His right hand gripped the handle of his gun once again.

“How can you say that?” Tails found himself saying before he could stop it, “they helped you, fixed you! How could you do this to them?!” He threw his left hand out to the side, gesturing to their surroundings.

“Your hatred is against Eggman. Don’t forget that, Mecha.” He was still talking, not allowing Mecha to explain himself. “The other scrapniks, Sonic, and I have nothing to do with it! You have no excuse to hurt us!”

“Sonic,” The venom in the robot’s voice was back, causing the kit to grab his gun with both hands. Not yet nearing the trigger, though, “destroyed me, and you helped. You’re at fault, as well as the doctor.”

“You attacked us!” Tails yelled, before his mind drifted to the reason he was even in the Death Egg in the first place. “What did you do with Sonic, anyway?!”

“I have plans for him,” Mecha’s response was vague, and the fox didn’t like it, “they are of no concern to you.”

“Yeah right,” He scoffed, “he’s my brother! Of course it concerns me!” He snapped. His, seemingly, endless patience suddenly disappearing with the knowledge that the hedgehog he admired oh so much was currently in danger.

The robot was quiet for a few seconds before he held out his hand, “Give me the tablet, and I will spare you.”

Tails growled, his finger finally returning to rest on the trigger.