Tails' Quest - Full Version
Part 1 - The Chaonapping

It was a fairly normal day for Tails. Sonic was off on an adventure somewhere, and the fox had been monitoring him from his workshop, but his friend had fallen radio-silent since yesterday. It was too soon to worry, and Tails was certain Sonic would be alright, so he was tinkering with a small gizmo while keeping close to his computer, waiting to see if he'd hear from Sonic. It was a peaceful day, and the fox honestly preferred the peace to constantly battling Dr. Eggman and his robots. However, a knock at the door soon broke the silence, and would mark the end of his peaceful day. "Coming..." he said as the knocking kept coming, a bit frantic. Opening the door, he found a scared Cream, standing there without her Chao friend Cheese at her side. She hugged Tails upon seeing him, sniffling a bit. She'd been crying. "C-can you help me, please? I can't find Mr. Sonic or Amy or anyone else..." she stammered. That wasn't entirely accurate, she hadn't even gone looking for Big yet. "Sonic's fighting Eggman kinda far away..." Tails told her, "And I guess Amy followed after him. Please, come in. Of course, I'll do my best to help out..." he said in a comforting tone, noting Cheese's absence. Cream wouldn't let him go, so he placed an arm around her and led her inside until he could sit down on his sofa next to her. "What happened?" he asked. "W-we were attacked, and... Th-they took Cheese!" she explained with tears in her eyes. Tails gently patted her head, looking at her with great sympathy. He knew how much the Chao meant to her. "Who took him?" he asked, a tad worried about whether he could really handle this. "I-I don't know... I didn't see their faces, they wore hoods..." the rabbit told him. It was a mystery. Tails rubbed his chin. "Okay, where did this happen? Take me there..." he said.

They took Tails' plane and soon arrived at Emerald Hill. Cream had been exploring the islands Sonic and Tails originally lived on, and it was here that she and Cheese were attacked. However, instead of hooded Chaonappers, the pair found Buzzbombers and Kikis roaming about; Eggman's bee and monkey robots! "Weird, I thought Eggman would be busy where Sonic is. You don't think Eggman was behind all this?" Tails asked. Cream scratched her head. "I-I don't know. Maybe it could've been robots after all." she murmured. The pair observed the patrolling robots from behind a tree. "We can't take on all these robots, you can't even defend yourself..." the fox noted. "S-sorry. I know I'm not much use in a fight without Cheese..." Cream sighed. Tails held a couple of dummy rings in his hand. "Think you can be bait?" he asked, "I need one Buzzbomber..." he murmured. A coconut flew down, striking at Tails' feet, and he looked up to see a Kiki in the tree they were hiding behind! "Ah! N-no, not the monkey!" he babbled. This wasn't the bot he wanted. Still, he twirled his tails to fly up, keeping the coconut-throwing robot's focus away from Cream. He dodged a coconut, and then tossed one of his dummy rings. The ring jolted the Kiki on contact, and caused it to fall out of the tree in a stunned state! Tails curled into a ball on his way down, smashing the robot just like Sonic would. "Whew, got it... But I still need to trap a Buzzbomber..." he murmured. "What are you going to do with it, Tails?" Cream asked. The fox smiled. "Hopefully find Cheese." he told her, holding his ring at the ready. "Let's see... That one over there, we might be able to lure that one away. C'mon, Cream, try to get its attention!"

And so, in a brief moment, Cream came rushing back, pursued by an angry bee robot. "Help, help!!" she shouted, terrified to be under attack without Cheese to protect her. Tails acted quickly, tossing another dummy ring to stun the Buzzbomber just like the Kiki before. The robot crashed to the ground, and Tails stepped over to it, producing a screwdriver to open a panel on the back of the robot. "...What are you doing?" Cream asked. Tails looked around briefly to be sure no other robots were watching. "I'm gonna make this bot work for us...if only for a while." he told her, setting to work on his little rewiring job. Cream watched him with a bit of fascination. "You can take over Eggman's robots?" she asked, a bit impressed. Tails gave a bashful chuckle, blushing a bit. "Uhh... N-not just any of them. A drone like this isn't too hard..." he told her, closing the hatch on the robot after a bit. "There. Now he'll lead us back to where these robots came from! If Eggman was the one who kidnapped Cheese, we should find him there!" he explained, smiling as he watched the Buzzbomber rise up into the air. Cream's eyes lit up. "That's so smart, Tails! Thank you, thank you!" she praised him. Tails rubbed his head, looking rather bashful again. "This'll be dangerous though, Cream. You'd better wait by the Tornado." he told her. The rabbit gave a nod. "Be careful, Tails... I don't want to lose you AND Cheese in one day..." she said in parting. Tails smiled at her words. It was good to know she cared about him so much. At any rate, he set out following the reprogrammed Buzzbomber, and before long, it led him to a familiar building. He groaned as a familiar foul odor invaded his nostrils. Pink chemicals... He'd arrived at the old Chemical Plant.

Following the Buzzbomber, Tails began to explore the Chemical Plant. It appeared almost eerily empty, with no robots apparently guarding the facility. Still, Tails remained on his guard. He didn't want to be grabbed up by one of those spidery robots without Sonic here to save him. While he was carefully looking up for any sign of those robots, he was alarmed by an explosion, and looked to the Buzzbomber again to find that it had been smashed...by a familiar fist! "Knuckles, it's you!" Tails said with a twinge of relief. "Did you take out all the guards here?" he asked. Knuckles looked down at the remains of the Buzzbomber. "Well, hopefully I can say yes now that this bot's toast..." he murmured, "Eggman's metalheads swiped a Chaos Emerald from me. Now I've got it back, and I'm ready to leave." he said, holding up the blue Emerald he'd stolen back. The echidna was about to leave, but Tails jumped in front of him. "Hold on! I came here looking for Cheese..." he said hastily. "...Weird place for a grocery run..." Knuckles replied. The fox chuckled awkwardly. "No, no, not the food, the Chao. Cream's Chao. He's missing." Knuckles looked like he was processing this information for a moment before nodding. "Right...well, I haven't seen any sign of him, but I guess I wasn't looking. C'mon, I might as well help you search before I go..." And so, Tails and Knuckles finished their exploration of the plant. Eventually, they found a main control room, complete with surveillance equipment. Checking the cameras, they found no sign of Cheese anywhere. "Guess I've hit a dead end here... Maybe Eggman isn't responsible for this..." Tails wondered. Knuckles stepped away from the monitors with a yawn. "Well, I gotta get back to Angel Isl-aaagh!!" At the sound of his shout, Tails turned around, and saw that Knuckles was lifted in the arms of a Grabber robot...a much larger spider than the other Grabbers he'd seen before, at that!

Now, Knuckles was strong, and was actually able to push back some of the spider legs holding him, but he was outnumbered in the limb department and couldn't completely free himself. "Do something, Tails! I don't like how this thing's beeping!" he shouted. True, Grabbers usually exploded with their victims in hand. A big Grabber like this just might take them both out! Tails flew up toward the robot, but it shot strings of webbing from its mouth, tangling up the fox's tails and causing him to drop to the ground! "Not good! Uhh... Hang in, Knuckles!" he stammered, looking around. "Is that supposed to be a joke??" Knuckles snapped, doing his best to struggle and try to worm his way free. Unfortunately, Tails was out of dummy rings for now. However, Knuckles had dropped the Chaos Emerald upon being grabbed, and it seemed to be the only thing around he could use, so he scrambled to pick it up. "Let's see, uhh... Chaos control!!" he shouted, clutching the emerald tightly. Nothing happened. "How do Sonic and Shadow do this?" he murmured. Knuckles shouted suddenly, and Tails looked up to see the robot swinging from the cable holding it up as the echidna halfway wriggled free. However, the bot was beeping louder! With no time to waste, Tails threw the emerald as hard as he could. "Catch, Knuckles!!" he shouted. He missed his throw, but only just. The Chaos Emerald struck the robot hard in the head, and its arms went limp, causing Knuckles to be tossed into the monitor as the bot swung! The robot then swung back and exploded, the flames just managing not to fry Tails and Knuckles. The fox glanced to his friend, and noticed that the monitor screen changed when Knuckles fell into it. "Hey...it's some kinda map!" Tails murmured. "Good, great... Ughh, nice throw, Tails..." Knuckles groaned, rubbing his arm as he walked to pick up the Chaos Emerald.

The map seemed to indicate the locations of the other Chaos Emeralds. After making notes on it, Tails started back to meet Cream, along with Knuckles. The echidna was looking over an odd feather as he walked. "Found this in the plant near where I found the emerald. Some kinda...green bird." he murmured. Tails glanced at the feather, and his first thought was Jet the Hawk. "The Babylon Rogues? You think they're part of all this?" Tails asked. Knuckles sighed. "I don't care. I'm heading back to Angel Island. Here, you might as well hang onto these..." he handed Tails both the feather and the Chaos Emerald. "Huh? But Knuckles, I was...looking for Cheese. I can't look for the Chaos Emeralds, too!" he stammered. "Not my problem..." the echidna grumbled. He wasn't going to be much help. Tails mulled over the situation as they headed back into Emerald Hill. Perhaps the Babylon Rogues would know something about all this, including where Cheese had been taken. It was a long shot, but it was the only real lead he had. At any rate, he couldn't keep traveling with Cream if this was going to be dangerous. "Knuckles, would you take Cream back with you and look after her? With Sonic busy, I guess it's up to me to get those Chaos Emeralds before Eggman, and find Cheese, too..." he sighed. Knuckles gave him a nod. "I guess I can watch Cream for a while... You sure you'll be alright on your own? Maybe you can find Shadow to help or somethin..." he suggested. Tails had to admit, he wasn't sure what he'd do if things got dangerous, but with Cheese missing, there may not be time to track down backup. "I'll work it all out...I guess." he told the echidna. His solo adventure was just beginning. Where would it take him? Could he find Cheese? What evil plot did Eggman have for the Chaos Emeralds this time? All the answers would come, soon enough...


Part 2 - Street Race

The Tornado was flying over Station Square, and Tails was keeping a lookout for any sign of the Babylon Rogues. That green feather at the Chemical Plant was clearly Jet's, he had thought. Those thieving birds had to hold some clues to all the mysteries at hand. Tails had called Vector for into on the Rogues' whereabouts, and that was what led him to Station Square. That, and one of the point on the map to the Chaos Emeralds was within the city as well. "No sign of the Rogues yet... Guess I should check out the spot where the emerald's supposed to be..." he said, starting to turn the plane in the direction of the Emerald Coast. However, he was suddenly surprised by an explosion, and looked to see his wing on fire, and a trio of hoverboarding birds racing away from that direction. "Gah! They snuck up on me! G-gotta do...something!" Tails gasped, looking forward and hastily pulling up to avoid crashing into a building. This whole moment was feeling a tad familiar, and the deja vu only continued as he struggled to regain control of the plane. "Mayday! Mayday! Agh, I-I'm going down! Aaaaahh!!" The plane went hurtling towards the Emerald Coast, and in a moment, everything went black. The fox was rendered unconscious in the wreck, and his mind took to dreaming. He dreamed that he was sitting on the beach, dazed. Then, the familiar and comforting sight of a blue streak came towards him. Tails looked up at Sonic, watching the hedgehog offer his hand to him. "I can always count on you, Sonic..." he smiled, reaching up to take that hand. However, his fingers just passed through that hand like it was a ghost. Sonic vanished as though made of smoke, and while Tails whimpered nervously, the ground cracked, and he screamed, falling into a dark pit!

And then he woke up. His wrists were chained to a wall, and he hung from them a short distance off the floor. The first thing he saw was Wave the Swallow smirking at him. "Welcome back, Shorty. Thought you might stop our little heist, did you? Haha, pathetic!" she laughed in a smug voice. "So, then, you aren't working for Eggman?" Tails grunted, straining against his chains, "Why were you at the Chemical Plant then? I found Jet's feather!" he shouted. Jet stepped up from behind Wave. "Wasn't my feather, twerp. Don't you know I'm not the only green bird in existence??" he said, shaking his head. Storm stood in the back of the room, which was apparently a room on the Rogues' blimp, as the sky outside the window would suggest. "What're we gonna do with him, boss?" Storm asked. Jet shrugged, but Wave had an idea. "Just leave him chained here; We'll use his plane for our getaway vehicle. It can carry more loot than our boards can. Plus, the cops will think Shorty pulled the job!" she laughed. Tails struggled as the trio laughed at him. "Y-you can't! Wa-wait!" The fox had to think of something to say to talk his way out of this. As the birds were turning to leave him, he had an idea. "Race me!" he shouted. Jet turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Race you? Why would we bother?!" he asked. Tails thought it over briefly. "If I win, you let me go and give back my plane. If you win, I... I'll take the rap for you. I'll confess to your robbery." he said, realizing this was a huge gamble. Wave looked quite intrigued. "Deal... Just gotta finish fixing up your plane. Oh, heck, if you manage to win, we'll throw in the Chaos Emeralds we've got! ...and yours." she said, sweetening the pot. "W-w-wave!!" Storm stammered. "Relax, guys... I'd never lose to Shorty!" Wave chuckled.


Once their preparations were made, Tails and the Rogues arrived at Speed Highway for the race. Each of them held an Extreme Gear board, lining up at a traffic light. "First to reach the helicopter pad, and the biplane we left there, wins the race!" Jet declared. Tails knew well where that helicopter pad was, so he at least wouldn't get lost. "Right... This'll be a piece of cake. After all, it isn't the first race I've run here..." Tails said, trying to convince himself more than anything, but he suspected the Rogues wouldn't exactly play fair. Wave glanced at him with a smirk. "Don't think you have a home field advantage, Shorty... Now, when the light turns green, the race is on!" she said. Each of them held their boards at the ready, watching the traffic signal. In a moment, the light changed, and while Jet and Wave hopped onto their boards straight away, Storm struck Tails with a shoulder bash, delaying him from starting! "Haha, later, loser!" the albatross shouted as he leapt onto his board, too, taking off ahead of the fox! Tails staggered to his feet, growling softly. "Those birdbrains! Come back here!" he yelled, breaking into a run before leaping on his board to give chase! It would be difficult to catch up after that start, but Tails knew these roads, and he knew he still had a chance if he gave it his all. His board sped off through the streets held up on high bridges, hugging the curves as close as he could as he gave it his best effort to catch up! It wasn't long before he was riding the turbulence left behind by Storm's board, catching up to him fast! Storm glanced back and gasped to see him. "Already?? Rrrgh, take this, pipsqueak!" he shouted, spinning his board around to charge the fox! Tails hopped off his board, spinning his tails to carry him as he passed over Storm! "Buh-bye!" he waved to the bewildered albatross, who was so distracted looking back at him that his board zoomed over the edge and towards a building! "Waaaaagh!!" he shouted as he crashed through a skyscraper's window!

As Tails began to catch up to Jet and Wave, the sound of sirens nearby caught his attention. He glanced back to see Eggman's cop speeder robots following him, the Kiki pilots glaring menacingly at him. "Wha?! Did those monkeys follow me from Emerald Hill??" Tails gasped, thinking they were likely after the Chaos Emerald he'd brought with him. Sirens also sounded ahead, and the racers found their forward progress impeded by a blockade of cop speeders! "Hah! You'll never catch me, coppers!" Jet laughed, raising his board up into the air and attempting to shake the robots' pursuit as they flew after him! Wave was caught in a similar situation, but she was holding a large wrench that she attempted to hit them with as the robots came close. At any rate, the chaos had allowed Tails to catch up, and with the robots chasing him in the direction he was supposed to be flying, he could have taken advantage of the situation to fly ahead. However, a quick glance in Wave's direction, and he saw that the robots were surrounding her, putting her in a bit of trouble. Glancing at Jet, he noticed the hawk was pulling away from his pursuers and getting back on track. If he stopped to help Wave, he would surely lose the race. Despite that, he turned in the swallow's direction anyway, spinning his board as he approached in order to whip his tails at the nearest speeder! It started to spin out, and soon crashed into another speeder! "What are you doing, Shorty?! I don't need your pity!" Wave snapped, swatting another speeder with her wrench. Tails ignored that and continued fighting off the robots using his tails to attack. However, in his effort to help, he also brought the robots that had been chasing him to Wave. They charged the distracted swallow. "Wave, watch out! Aah!!" Tails gasped as he witnessed them knock her off her board!

Wave missed the bridge, and as she started to plummet to the streets below, she shut her eyes tight, resigned that this would likely be the end for her. She felt a hand grab onto hers, however, and her eyes opened to find Tails leaning towards her from his board, arm reached out as far as it could without him leaving the board. He clutched her hand tightly. "I gotcha! H-hurry and climb up!" he shouted, the robots already on their way down to chase him. Wave reached up her other hand to grab the edge of Tails' board as he pulled her up, and once they were both standing on it, she wrapped one arm around him for balance as the other lifted her wrench. "You fly, I'll fight!" she told him. And with that, Tails turned his board and charged at the robots, weaving between them expertly as Wave swatted them with the wrench on the way by! When they reached where Wave's board was hovering, the robots had all been taken care of. "Great, now I owe you one..." the swallow sighed as she hopped onto her own board. "Normally I'd say that's not necessary, but... I really don't wanna go to jail for something I didn't do." the fox said with a nervous chuckle. Wave nodded, and the pair headed for the helicopter pad, where Jet was waiting with a smirk. "Surprise, surprise, I win..." he said before Wave flew up and slapped him in the face! "You left me to get swarmed, Jet! Shorty had to stop and save my tailfeathers! You know how much I hate to admit that??" she told him, "He gets his plane back. C'mon, let's find Storm..." she groaned. Jet rubbed his cheek, glancing at Tails. "You're lucky, runt. Looks like the bet's off..." he grumbled. Tails gave a relieved sigh, and smiled to see his plane on the helicopter pad in one piece. "Nice repair job, Wave!" he told her. "Yeah, yeah..." the swallow sighed.

As the Rogues left the rooftop, Tails climbed to his plane's seat, eager to get back on track. There, he was surprised to find three Chaos Emeralds sitting on the seat, giving him a total of four. He guessed they were left with the plane because the Rogues intended to fly off with it, but glancing back, the birds weren't coming back for them. "Huh... Thanks, Wave." he murmured, putting the emeralds away and taking a moment to think over his next move. He then pulled out his Miles Electric tablet, and placed a call to Vector. He'd asked the detective for help unravelling the mystery of Cheese's disappearance and the Chaos Emerald map. "How'd things go with the birds?" Vector asked. "Well, they didn't have Cheese, but they had some emeralds. We can check those off the map..." he said. Vector nodded, and after a quick check over the map, they reached a conclusion. "Next place worth checkin' would be Hang Castle. Not only is it on the map, but I hear some shady folks have been spotted around there. You be careful, Tails!" the crocodile told the fox. Tails nodded. "See if you can figure out who that feather belonged to if not Jet." he stated before ending the call. It was nagging at him. Could there be another villain involved in this besides the Rogues or Eggman? He pondered these and other questions as he started up the plane and took off into the sky. When the plane was airborne, and turned in the direction of Hang Castle, a shadowy figure watched from a nearby rooftop through a pair of binoculars. The mysterious figure lowered the binoculars and spoke into a walkie talkie. "Fox is on the move. He's got the majority of the Chaos Emeralds. Best prepare for his arrival." he said. "Roger. Return to HQ." a voice responded through the walkie talkie. As the figure turned to leave, a green feather fell off of him and drifted away on the wind...


Part 3 - The Spooks of Hang Castle

After a race with the Babylon Rogues that left him with four of the seven Chaos Emeralds, Tails had set out for Hang Castle on Vector's suggestion. Perhaps he'd find Cheese or the villains who kidnapped him, or at least another Chaos Emerald as the castle was marked on the map from Chemical Plant. Yes, logic dictated this was his next stop, but Tails stood hesitating outside the spooky castle, shivering a bit. He'd been here with Sonic before, but he'd never dared to enter alone. A crash of lightning made the fox jump as a rainstorm started up around him. "Go in there with ghosts, or stay out here with lightning?" he whimpered, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "You can do it, Tails. Remember, Cream's counting on you!" he told himself, stepping to the door and pushing it open. The castle hall was lit by ghostly blue flames held by creepy looking torches. Tails slowly stepped inside, and then the door slammed behind him loudly! "Yaah!! No, no, calm down. It's just an old door..." he murmured, taking out a flashlight and starting his search through the area. He thought he heard some creepy voices chuckling as he walked down the first dark corridors. Yet moving his flashlight around revealed nothing but cobwebs and odd skeleton statues attached to the walls. "Don't anyone try to sneak up on me...huh??" he stammered, taking another glance at one of those statues. He thought he saw the skeletal face move, but on closer inspection it seemed very much a statue. The fox gave a relieved sigh. "So far so good. It's fine, there aren't really any ghosts..." he said to himself as he proceeded further with more confidence. He didn't notice, but a figure peered out at him from the beginning of the corridor, watching him through the darkness...

Tails soon arrived at a room that appeared to be a dead end. There was an odd round switch in the center of the room, but what caught the fox's attention was a light glowing in the corner. "Eep... Not a ghost, not a ghost..." he repeated to himself, cautiously approaching the light until he could see what it was coming from; A smart device. Someone had clearly been there recently and dropped it. Tails picked it up to find a recently made recording. He looked around quickly for any sign of the device's owner before hesitantly playing the recording. Blaze the cat appeared onscreen. "If anyone's watching this, escape this castle as quick as you can! I came here with my friend, Silver, hoping to find a Chao lost by my other friend...never mind!" she said quickly. She appeared frightened, which was rare for her, "What we found instead was ghosts. Ghosts! They're everywhere... I've been separated from Silver, and now I'm trapped at a dead end. I'm not sure if we'll make it out... Wait, what's that? Silver...? No... it's yo-!" Before the video could finish, the smart device's power ran out, shutting off. Tails stared at the device in disbelief. "They must've heard about Cheese, and made it here before I did... D-did ghosts really get them?" he wondered, dropping the smart device suddenly as he looked around, certain he'd heard a noise. The dark room appeared empty. He crept toward the odd switch, wondering if it would open a path forward. Maybe Blaze would be there... However, before he could touch the switch, a pumpkin-headed creature leapt out from the opposite side of the large sphere and cackled at him! It appeared to be a ghost, a white spectral body attached to the pumpkin head! Tails screamed, panic setting in as he looked to find several more ghosts beginning to surround him!

Spinning his tails, our foxy hero flew past the ghosts and fled into the corridor he'd come from as the spooks gave pursuit! There were several doors along the corridor, so Tails chose one to duck into. Within a few moments he ran back out with three ghosts following him, fleeing into a different door. The scene might have looked a bit comical to someone watching from down the hall, as Tails and the ghosts popped out of one door and then another, in a frantic chase quite reminiscent of old cartoon shows. There was even a brief period where somehow Tails ended up chasing the ghosts...until they realized he was behind them and the chase resumed. Finally, Tails managed to duck into a closet without the spirits noticing. He panted a bit, collecting his thoughts. "What am I doing? There's no such thing as ghosts... Well, yes there is, actually, Knuckles punched one out once... Maybe I can fight back, too?" he told himself, and then took out his Miles Electric tablet. Peering out into the hall cautiously, he scanned the ghosts with his tablet as they searched aimlessly for him. The scan was quite revealing, and Tails leapt out of the closet pointing at them accusingly. "Aha! You're no ghosts at all! You're a buncha birds!" he shouted, showing the results of his scan. The "ghosts" turned toward him, and removed their pumpkin heads to reveal they were indeed an army of birds...one Tails knew fairly well. "Okay, ya got us, fox! We wanted to scare ya off..." one of the birds said. "But this way's much better! Now we of the Battle Bird Armada can claim our revenge on you!" another bird declared! Tails yelped as he watched the birds raise bombs from under the sheets of their costumes, and decided the best course of action would be to retreat back towards the chamber with the switch, since the path to the entrance was blocked. Perhaps with more room, he could handle these bird brains.

Explosions went off behind him as he returned to the dead-end chamber, gaining some room to move and to think. From the corridors, one of the birds cackled at him. "We'll take care of you like we took care of that burning cat!" he taunted. "Yeah, and that annoying Chao!" another bird chimed in. The pieces were falling into place. The Battle Bird Armada was apparently behind everything. Tails heard a crackling of electricity coming from the hall, and as he looked, saw a bright light heading his way. He leapt up, spinning his tails for dear life as he hovered over a powerful energy blast! "Yup, Chaos Emerald energy! These guys are behind everything!" Tails said, moving to the side so the incoming enemies wouldn't have a clear shot at him. The lead bird emerged from the hall, piloting a small mech with a Chaos Emerald inserted in its chassis, powering the guns on the end of its arms. His companions stood behind the bot, just smirking, there to witness their enemy's possible demise. Tails didn't have much to work with, just his tablet and his physical prowess, such as it was. He ran about as the mech targeted him, attempting to scan the machine for weak spots. "Uh huh... Oh boy, this thing's a piece of junk! It's a wonder the emerald energy doesn't tear it apart itself!" he stated as some quickfire shots missed him. It was a good thing following Sonic about had trained him to be fast as well. "I'll show you a piece 'a junk!" the bird growled, charging up and aiming the guns in separate directions, "See if you can survive a double-continuous blast!!" Concentrated energy started firing at either side of the fox, gradually closing in on him! He wouldn't be fast enough, and he raised his tails defensively, fearing he'd have to just try to survive a hit. "Why didn't I bring a weapon...?" he whimpered.

Suddenly, an unseen force lifted up the two birds watching from the sidelines. "H-hey! What!? H-help! Real ghosts!!" the birds cried before being tossed up into the air and crashing to the floor in a heap! The lead bird glanced around, but shrugged. "Ghosts, bah... The only ghost is about to be this fox..." he growled. A pair of glowing eyes could be seen in the hall behind him, and Tails pointed frantically, his own eyes wide. "N-no, really! An actual ghost!! Look out!!" he shouted. The bird laughed. "The old 'look behind you' gag? Not gonna trick me...hey, wha??" The mech suddenly started to wobble, its legs being torn out from under it! The laser beams stopped firing as the mech collapsed, breaking into pieces as the bird leapt out in a hurry! "Ghosts!! There's actual ghosts!!" he shouted, his companions getting up to flee alongside him. They saw the glowing eyes in the hallway and shrieked, but as the eyes drew closer, the face they belonged to emerged from the shadows. "Huh... You're not Blaze!" Tails recognized the voice, and the face. "S-silver!" he cried with relief. The birds looked briefly relieved as well. "It's just a hedgehog... Hey, wait!!" Silver lifted the birds with his powers, and then hurled them down the hall behind him. "Don't mess with my friends!!" he shouted as the birds went flying. Tails wiped his brow and sighed with relief, slowly walking towards Silver. "I'm glad you're here, but those birds... They got Blaze and Cheese..." he said with concern, absentmindedly resting his hand on the ball-shaped switch in the center of the room. Silver scratched his head. "What could they have done with them?" he wondered, only to gasp as the sphere Tails was touching glowed brightly! The wall behind the fox vanished, revealing a hidden passage! "Whoa... We gotta check this out! Oh, but first!" Tails scurried to the wrecked mech and recovered the Chaos Emerald. "Good idea, can't let those guys get that back..." Silver stated.

At the end of the passageway, the pair discovered what looked to be an odd sort of lab. "Looks like this is where they built that sorry excuse for a robot..." Silver said, noting some discarded robot parts. Tails picked up a part, looking at it curiously. "They have GUN components here...as well as Eggman tech. Just what were these guys planning?" he murmured. They heard a weak chirping nearby, and followed the sound to a set of cages, and inside one, they found Cheese. "Easy little guy! I'll get you out!" Silver said, using his powers to unlock and open the cage. Cheese leapt out and hugged the hedgehog's chest while Tails smiled, only to frown a moment later. "There's no cage for Blaze. You don't think they...?" He didn't want to finish that sentence. "Blaze has gotta be okay. But for now, let's get this little guy outta here..." Silver suggested.

They found Blaze at the entrance to the castle. "Y-you're okay!" Tails cried, "I found your phone..." he added. Blaze took the phone from him. "Ugh, and you saw the video?" she questioned, blushing in embarassment when he nodded. "Not my proudest moment... But I gave those guys the slip after that. Looks like Cream will be able to rest easy, too." she smiled upon seeing the Chao fly up between Tails and Silver. Tails displayed the Chaos Emerald map on his tablet. "Those birds are gathering the emeralds to power their weapons. Could you guys check one of the remaining spots on the map? This one's on the way to Angel Island, so I'll check it on the way to take Cheese home." he said. Silver took the tablet from Tails' hand and examined the map. "Uhh... Can we hold on to this for the map, then?" he asked. "Or, I could charge my phone and download a copy..." Blaze noted. They started towards where Tails had left his plane. With Cheese safe and sound, it looked like this adventure was about to be wrapped up pretty quick... Unless the Battle Bird Armada had an ace up their sleeves...


Part 4 - Sixth Emerald Circus

Tails had gathered 5 of the Chaos Emeralds, and had also rescued Cheese. He could've considered this day a complete success, but he decided to check the remains of Circus Park for the sixth Chaos Emerald. As he flew over the area on the Tornado, he noted that the park seemed to be in operation once more. "Uh oh... If this park is running again, Eggman probably got the Chaos Emerald..." he realized. He thought to just fly on back to Angel Island and return Cheese to Cream, when suddenly his plane was struck by an attack from below, and started to spin out of control! He spotted a space to land below, and struggled with the controls to bring the battered plane down for a semi-smooth landing. The plane skidded to a stop, and Tails hopped out with Cheese to look around, only to find himself surrounded by clownish Egg Pawns, which rushed him and Cheese! He was caught off guard, and before he could put up a fight, everything had gone black. He awoke, trapped inside a capsule along with Cheese, just like the helpless animals Eggman often captured. "Oh, no... H-how did this happen??" The fox pushed against the walls of the capsule along with Cheese, but finding it futile, curled up with Cheese in his arms. "I really messed up coming here... I'm sorry, Cheese..." he sniffled. He sat there in a lonely state for several minutes, until finally, something pressed the switch atop the capsule and it opened! Tails held Cheese tightly, expecting to find Eggman. However, when the capsule slid open, the fox was relieved to find the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog standing there! "Fancy seein' you here! Ya okay, bro?" Sonic asked, "I was just tryin' to track down Eggman again after he ditched me. Didn't expect to find you!" Tails smiled as he climbed out of the capsule. "Guess we both have had some adventures today!" he said, starting to relate his story to Sonic.

Once Tails finished telling his story, Sonic smiled and gave him a pat on the head. "You've had quite a day, pal. Can I count on you to keep those Chaos Emeralds safe? I've got a rotten egg to catch, still..." Sonic was going to wait for a response from Tails, but he shuddered as a familiar voice called out his name, "Later, Tails!" he shouted, speeding off on his way just as Amy was arriving on the scene! "Sonic! Argh! Hey, Tails, did you see which way Sonic went?" the pink hedgehog asked in frustration. Tails nervously gave her a shrug, and Amy sighed hopelessly. "Oh, fine. I'll hang out with you instead. What's up? Why is Cheese fluttering around over there? Where's Cream?" Tails decided not to go through the whole story again, and just quickly said, "I rescued Cheese from some bad guys. We're gonna fly to Angel Island and bring him back to Cream." he said. Amy tilted her head. "You're gonna fly all the way to Angel Island? With your tails?" she questioned. Tails laughed softly. "No, on the Tornado, silly. It's right over...HEY!!" When he looked around, he couldn't find the Tornado close by. However, he did spot it further in the park, being carried off by a couple of giant Egg Pawns! "What are you doing?? BRING THAT BACK!!" Tails shouted, starting to run off after his stolen plane! Amy took Cheese in her arms and started to follow after him. "Why would they steal your plane??" she huffed. Tails' twin tails started to spin behind him, propelling him forward as he gave chase. "Five of the Chaos Emeralds are in that plane! Sonic trusted me to hold onto them, I can't let 'em be stolen!" he cried.

As the trio chased after the plane with Cheese now flying behind, Tails and Amy were soon stopped in their tracks, as bombs were hurled to the ground in front of them, startling them! Two of the Battle Birds emerged, flying above Tails and Amy using their own hover-vehicles. "Hahaha! We found ya, you pesky fox!" one of the birds laughed. Amy looked a bit confused. "You know these guys, Tails?" she questioned. "Long story..." Tails sighed. In addition to the birds, some of Eggman's robots were approaching; Egg Pawns, including some trying to balance atop balls like they were part of a circus act. One of the birds held a device that looked like a remote, the Chaos Emerald Tails was looking for being attached to it. "Rather than waste time fighting you ourselves, we'll use these silly robots!" the bird smirked, pointing the device at the bots, "Gee, hope this works..." the bird added under his breath. Energy shot out from the remote, striking each Egg Pawn! Their robot eyes glowed bright green, and they started moving towards Tails and Amy faster, the ones atop balls actually rocketing past the duo a bit too fast! Amy clutched her hammer as she turned toward those robots. "They powered up! Just who are these birds?" she wondered. "Hahaha!! The Battle Bird Armada will prevail! Farewell, fox boy!" the birds cackled, flying ahead to power up more robots! Tails balled his fists and stood between Amy and the approaching Egg Pawns. "No more running! I'll fight through this and get back my plane! You up for it, Amy?" he asked, hearing crashing noises behind him as Amy knocked the Egg Pawns off their circus balls! "Emerald power or no, we're not losing to these clowns!" she said confidently. Tails smiled. He was glad to have her to lend a hand...while he gave a tail or two right to the Pawn's faces!

And so the pair continued their chase, taking out robots on the way. The birds had powered up many of the robots in their path, making them faster and tougher, but their mechanical bodies were no less susceptible to attack, so a well swung hammer or a firm smack from the fox boy's tails were enough to destroy them. (Cheese stayed back, however, too nervous to fight without Cream directing him.) Landing a hit proved tougher, and battling was more exhausting, but Tails and Amy managed to catch up with the birds. "They're chasing us! They weren't supposed to be able to do that!" one of the birds complained. Amy growled as she rushed toward them. "You've caused me to fall further behind Sonic! Now you're gonna get it!!" she shouted, leaping up with her hammer raised! "Hold on, Amy!" Tails gasped, only to see her caught in an explosion as the birds tossed bombs her way! The blast sent her flying, and Tails leapt to catch her, spinning his tails so that they hovered in the air. Behind the birds were the large robots carrying the Tornado, and they took notice as they turned to flee again. "Oooh! Let's get those bots after 'em!" the bird squawked to his ally holding the odd remote. "Well, duh! Do I look dumb? Here we go..." that bird grunted, pointing the remote at each large Egg Pawn, causing them to drop the Tornado and beat their metal chests like apes, their eyes glowing green as Chaos energy empowered them! Tails placed the rattled Amy on the ground and looked at the giant robots nervously as they stomped towards him. "A-amy, can you get up?" he stammered as the birds laughed at him. "You're gonna get pounded into two-tailed roadkill! Gotta watch this show!" they jeered. Tails gulped, but stood between the robots and Amy. "If this is the circus, I guess they're the strongmen... But I won't let 'em hurt my friends!" he shouted.

The huge robots charged at Tails, and though he tried to dodge, he was taken off guard by their speed, and was smacked by one of the robots, flinging his small body towards the next one! That robot caught Tails like a ball, and then started to swing him around by the tails like a sling! "Whooooooaaa!! S-sooooooniiiiic!!" he cried as he was thrown to the ground, the force cracking the floor! "T-tails, no!" Amy gasped while Cheese hid behind her. The birds chuckled sadistically. "Is he already dead? Oh, I hope not, I wanna watch him squirm!" they jeered. Though heavily battered, Tails started to move, reaching for something to grab onto. He held some sort of handle, and glancing up, he saw that he was holding Amy's dropped Piko Piko Hammer. He gasped as the giant robot picked him up by the tails again, planning to finish him off! He could see Amy and Cheese as he hung upside down, and he grit his teeth with determination. "My friends...are counting on my! I won't let them down! I won't give up!" He spun his tails forcefully, breaking out of the robot's grip while also taking to the air! The robot tried to swat at him like a bug, but Tails repelled its palm with the hammer! He then brought that hammer down into the robot's face, smashing its robotic brain! It was a calculated hit, for with the emerald energy running wild inside the robot, it began to flail about erratically without any instructions from its CPU. The other robot tried to grab its fists and contain it, but the crazed robot grabbed hold of its friend and swung it around, hurling it straight toward the Battle Birds! They shrieked in panic, and flew off hastily, dropping the remote in the process. "I knew that fox was dangerous! Yaaaahh!!" the bird shouted as it fled. The crazed robot burnt out its power supply and collapsed, while the other was in no state to threaten Tails and Amy anymore. The pink hedgehog hugged the fox tightly as he landed. "You did it! Oh my gosh, I thought you were gonna die!" she cried. "Ugh... I did too, for a sec..." Tails groaned, still feeling a little sore. He much preferred letting Sonic handle these sorts of fights.

Everything seemed in order, the five Chaos Emeralds safely in the Tornado's cockpit. Now, Tails had the sixth emerald, too. He had to patch up the Tornado a bit, so Amy accepted her hammer back, thanked Tails for saving her, and headed off to find Sonic again. Cheese rested in the plane's cockpit next to the emeralds while Tails repaired the Tornado. "Kinda weird that those birds had a device to power up Eggman's robots. What's the deal with them? I can't figure out what they're after." he murmured. "Never mind that, fox boy! I'll be taking over from where they left off!" Tails gasped as he heard a familiar voice, and as he turned around, something wet yet fist-shaped struck his face, and everything went black! Tails awoke, once again trapped in a capsule, and he peered out the small window to find that this capsule was sitting in the middle of Metropolis! Dr. Eggman knocked on the glass and laughed at the fox. "Glad to have you join us, fox! And thank you for the Chaos Emeralds...and the Chao! Now I have all I need to complete my greatest creation!" As the doctor motioned somewhere behind him, Tails nervously peered out of the capsule. There was an artificial Chaos there, modified from GUN's designs. It was shifting from a blobby form into a form loosely resembling Chaos 0 before changing back into a blob. It wasn't currently able to retain its shape, but clearly this was what knocked Tails out. "Y-you were behind it all... Kidnapping Cheese... Experiments in Hang Castle... Were the Battle Birds...?" Looking around, Tails' question was quickly answered. The Battle Birds were there to guard his capsule as Eggman led his artificial Chaos away. "Indeed, I was a decoy for Sonic while the birds gathered the Chao and the emeralds...or they tried to, but you proved to be quite the meddling pest! But you'll do nothing now! Enjoy the company!" the doctor sneered, "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"


Part 5 - Quest's End

After finding Cheese and collecting the Chaos Emeralds, it seemed that Tails would return home triumphant. Instead, he was captured by Eggman, the Chaos Emeralds and Cheese falling into the villain's clutches, while Tails was left trapped in a capsule within Metropolis, guarded by Battle Birds that were now working for Eggman. The situation was dire, but Tails wasn't about to give up after coming this far. He was doing his best to open the capsule from inside, essentially attempting to pick the locking mechanism using nothing more than his claws. The work was making a bit of noise, so one of the bird guards knocked on the glass window of the capsule. "What're you doing in there, punk?" he growled. "I'm converting this capsule into a rocket! I'm gonna fly away and leave you in the dust!" Tails said. The bird raised an eyebrow. "You're bluffing!" he said. "Well, you're too late to stop me anyway. Just a bit more tweaking..." Tails replied. The bird looked a tad nervous, but then smirked. "Bluffing or not, I can stop your tinkering and get revenge for my pals... I'm gonna kick your butt!" The bird then leapt onto the button to open the capsule, and Tails gulped as the guards surrounded him. "Well... That got it open... See ya!" he waved, spinning his tails to fly up as the birds dove after him, knocking into one another! "Idiot! He's gettin' away!" one bird shouted. "No, he ain't!" another yelled, hurling a bomb up, the explosion knocking Tails down from the sky! "Aaaahh!!" he cried, struggling to get up only to have a bird step on his back to hold him down. "Does the doc need this guy alive? It's a lot easier to guard a corpse!" the bird sneered. Tails grit his teeth, unsure if he could get out of this one...

The bird holding him down was suddenly thrown off him by a powerful, and fast, force! A hand reached down to help the fox up. "Fancy meeting you here!" said Sonic, who helped Tails to his feet while the other bird guards were busy getting trounced by the combined forces of Knuckles, Amy, Silver and Blaze! "Guys, how'd you know I was here?" Tails stammered. Cream ran up and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're okay! Blaze told us you found Cheese, but when it took you too long to get back we got worried!" she said. Sonic chuckled softly. "Me, I was just trackin' Eggman. You take it easy, Tails, we'll handle things from here!" the hedgehog winked, dashing off into Metropolis with Amy speeding after him! Knuckles was busy tying up the birds while Silver and Blaze stepped over to greet Tails. "You've had a really busy day, but can you watch over Cream for us?" Blaze asked. Tails nodded, blushing as he hugged Cream back. His friends were going to handle Eggman... Tails was glad to have so many friends he could count on, especially considering his past of getting bullied and left on his own.

An alarm blared in Eggman's control room, and he looked at a monitor to see the tied-up birds. "Looks like we have guests... It doesn't matter. My ultimate weapon is nearly complete... And if I need more time, well, they'll have to go through my best machines... Heh heh heh...." the doctor snickered, turning to look at his Artificial Chaos churning in a glass tube, which was connected by wires to batteries powered by the Chaos Emeralds...

Cream was too worried about Cheese to sit and wait, so Tails agreed to escort her through Metropolis to look for the Chao. With Sonic and the others traveling ahead of them, there weren't as many robots for the pair to worry about as they explored, and any robot that did creep up on them was easily taken care off with a good smack from the fox's tails. Soon, they found a section of the base with several capsules containing trapped animals. "We have to help them! C'mon, Cream, just land on the switch on top to open them!" Tails said. "Right! Let's hurry!" the rabbit said, still worried about Cheese, but unable to ignore animals in distress. The two started opening capsules, failing to notice mechanical feet stomping towards them. They moved quickly, and upon opening the last capsule, they were surrounded by grateful birds, bunnies and squirrels. "Hehe, you're welcome!" Tails giggled as the animals nuzzled him. "Have any of you seen a Chao?" Cream asked. An angry buzzing came from nearby, and the animals fled as Metal Sonic emerged from the shadows! Cream also hid behind one of the open capsules. "Oh, no! Tails, we should run!" she squeaked. Tails jumped between the capsule she was hiding behind and the angry robot. He knew that Metal Sonic would just catch them if they ran. "Stay back, Cream! I promised I'd protect you, and I will!"

Unfortunately, fighting Metal Sonic was similar to fighting Sonic himself, and Tails was slammed in the chest by a spin dash before he could even react! While the fox doubled over in pain, Metal Sonic yanked him by the tails and swung him like a rag doll! It was too much for Cream to watch, and she ran out, pounding her fists against Metal Sonic's chassis. "Stop it, stop it! Let him go!!" she shouted. Still holding the fox's tails, the robot glared at Cream and lifted her by her long ears. "Oww!! Owww!! P-put me down! Aaahh... T-tails!!" she screamed. Tails groaned in pain, panting heavily as he heard Cream's cries. "You...put her down!" he huffed, too winded to do much more than that. Metal Sonic only tightened his grip on her, making her squeal in pain. "No... Noooooo!!" the rabbit screamed as the robot prepared to swing her just like it had done to Tails. Looking back, seeing the tears in her eyes, this was too much for Tails to take. He let out an angry growl, and spun his tails forcefully, breaking free of Metal's grip! The surprised robot dropped Cream and reached that clawed hand to grab for Tails again, but the angry fox pushed back, and then leapt and spun, slamming the robot with the strongest tail whip he'd ever managed before! Metal Sonic was thrown into one of the open capsules, and detecting something being inserted, the capsule closed once more, trapping Metal Sonic within! Tails then fell to his knees, panting in exhaustion while Cream rushed to his side, hugging him. "Thank you... That was amazing, Tails!" she said as the fox blushed bashfully. "I promised... I'd protect you." he chuckled. Just then, Cheese flew over to them, excitedly hugging Cream. "Oh, Cheese! Did you escape?" Cream asked, smiling with relief. The Chao chirped excitedly and tugged on Tails' arm. "I think he wants to show us something..." Tails murmured. So, the pair started to follow the Chao.

Sonic was nearing Eggman's control room, and the doctor emerged to meet him, floating in the sky above the hedgehog using his Egg Mobile. "You're too late again, Sonic! I may have failed to conquer the world with the original Chaos, but my new creation will obey my every command!" Eggman declared with a maniacal laugh. As Knuckles, Amy, Silver and Blaze were catching up, they watched as a bright light glowed from the control room behind Eggman. Then, water started to flood out from that back room, like a dam bursting! Sonic grabbed up Amy in his arms and swiftly ran for higher ground with her while Silver picked up Knuckles and Blaze with his powers. The water filled Metropolis, washing away Eggman's machines, and causing the doctor to growl in frustration. "You idiot! You drowned out everything BUT Sonic! Rrrgh, never mind. Go and get that hedgehog! Let nothing stand in your way!" he shouted. Bursting out of the control room, the artificial Chaos emerged, resembling Perfect Chaos but with quivering tentacles emerging from all over its body, the robotic component attached to its brain inside its head. Eggman held a remote, and pressed a button. "You WILL obey me!" he sneered, "Or you'll take shocks to the brain....hm?" The robotic component did indeed shock Perfect Chaos' brain, but with the power of the Chaos Emeralds, such a shock didn't even bother its brain very much. Eggman gulped. "I knew I should have stolen the Master Emerald first..." he whimpered. Using the Emerald's controller in his design would have been perfect, but with Sonic on his trail, Eggman rushed his scheme, and now as Chaos raged out of control, its tentacle slapped the Egg Mobile, sending the doctor soaring off into the distance as he shouted "Not agaaaaaaaain!!" 

Cheese had led Tails and Cream through a passage that led safely to the control room without getting washed away. There they found the glass tube shattered, the floor soaking wet. "This must be where Eggman made that fake Chaos..." Tails murmured, looking around. He found the batteries with the Chaos Emeralds inserted, now drained of power and their color as well. "Oh no, Tails, look!" Cream squeaked, finding a window overlooking the rest of Metropolis, a window that had been shattered during Chaos' exit. Looking out, Tails could see the flooded base, and the monstrous form of Chaos, looming over Sonic and the others, cornering them on a floating giant gear. "The Chaos Emeralds! I need to get them to Sonic!" Tails shouted, turning to the batteries and attempting to pull the emeralds out. "We won't make it in time..." Cream whimpered, hugging Cheese close as she worried for her friends. Tails glanced at her, and then out the window. "...You're right. I have to use the emeralds...myself!" he realized. Cream looked at him with worry. "B-but, you... Can you really control that power? Will you be...okay?" she squeaked. Tails stepped into the remains of the tube, surrounded by the Chaos Emerald batteries. "I have to try... Sonic has saved me more times than I can count... Since the first time we met, he's always been there for me... Now it's my turn to be there for him!" Feeling determined to protect his friends, Tails was able to tap into the remaining energy of the Chaos Emeralds, and they glowed brightly, filling the fox with power! With his body glowing brightly, Tails floated off the ground without using his tails. "Hang in there, Sonic! I'm coming!" he cried, zooming out the window, Cream watching him nervously. "Good luck..." she said.

Sonic had been grabbed up in the monster's tentacles, struggling uselessly as he was raised closer and closer to the beast's jaws. Below, Knuckles and Silver were attempting to hold more tendrils at bay, with Amy and Blaze standing at the ready to back them up, though looking uncertain about their chances. "N-nooo!! Unngh!! Gotta help...my pals... Aaah!" Sonic grunted, gasping with alarm as he noticed Chaos' jaws open wide, preparing to chomp down on him! It was then, when all hope seemed lost, that a bright golden light seared across the sky, piercing Chaos' tentacles and splattering them before grabbing onto the falling Sonic's hand! The hedgehog glanced up to see a familiar pair of spinning Tails. "No way! Y-you used the Chaos Emeralds!" Sonic gasped. Tails chuckled bashfully. "W-well I couldn't let my bro get chomped!" he smiled. "You know you don't have to spin those tails around to fly, right?" Sonic questioned. "Force of habit, hehe." Tails sighed. Moving fast, Super Tails dropped off Sonic on a high ledge above the water, and raced back to rescue Amy, Blaze, Knuckles and Silver as quickly as he could. "Thanks... I mean I coulda gotten us outta there, but..." Knuckles babbled, only to be interrupted by Blaze. "Watch out, Tails!" she cried. Chaos' tentacles had grown back, and smacked the fox across the sky a fair distance before Tails righted himself and started to turn back. "Gotta hurry... Super form won't last forever..." Tails reminded himself, racing past his friends to take on Perfect Chaos. "We're cheering for you Tails!" Amy cried. "You got this!" Silver added. Sonic's voice carried the loudest. "I believe in you, Tails! So believe in yourself, and show him who's boss!" Tails glanced back briefly and gave a nod. "I can do this..." he said to himself as he charged ahead towards Perfect Chaos.

As Tails approached, the monster fired a powerful beam from its mouth, which the fox had to ascend quickly to avoid! "Better draw him away, someone could get hurt at this range!" Tails reasoned, flying around the monster quickly to lure it away from Sonic and the others. As it turned to follow him, Chaos whipped up some whirlwinds using the Emerald power it had access to. As Tails turned back to charge at the creature, he was caught off guard by these whirlwinds, and spun around in the vortex for a bit before being tossed into the air, and promptly blasted into the wall of Metropolis by Chaos' beam! "T-tails!" Sonic cried, worried for a moment. The dust settled around the point of impact, and Super Tails came rocketing through the hole left in the wall! "You...big...bully!!" he cried, zooming towards the monster, avoiding the lasers and whirlwinds as he tried to slam into the monster's partially-robotic brain, the clear weak point. Those tentacles raised to block him, taking the brunt of damage from Tails' charge, splattering even as they managed to knock Tails back! More tendrils quickly grew from Chaos' body, and grabbed Tails in their grip much like they'd done to Sonic! "Unngh! L-leggo!" Tails growled, struggling as Chaos opened its jaws, charging energy for its most powerful laser blast yet, intended to reduce the fox to ashes! Tails struggled, and tried to think. Sonic's words echoed in his mind. "...believe in yourself..." Drawing his strength, his body glowing brighter in response, Tails broke out of those tentacles with a spinning motion, his two tails smashing the watery appendages as he twirled! Then, he blasted off from that spot, moving like a glowing meteor, and flying right into Chaos' mouth!

The laser blast that Perfect Chaos had been charging ended up exploding on contact with the fox in his mouth, backfiring in a spectacular fashion, smashing the robotic brain, and causing the beast to collapse into the water as the explosion obscured Tails from view. "Oh no, Tails!" Amy whimpered, as the others looked on with concern. Tails was seen in a moment, plummeting toward the water, his Super Form having been spent on that final attack. "Hang on!!" a voice called out, and Tails found himself caught in a pair of arms from below! It was Cream, having flapped her ears with all her might to reach him! However, she merely slowed his fall, as her ears couldn't carry her any further. They started to fall again, but Tails held onto her and began to spin his tails, carrying her to safety as Cheese followed along. The Egg Mobile hovered nearby, watching. "Great. Sonic's friends are getting tougher. Looks like I'll have to step up my game even more..." the doctor murmured before flying off to escape.

Knuckles had gathered the Battle Birds into one of Eggman's capsules, and it was tied off to the Tornado, the intent being to drop them off with the police. But for now, our heroes breathed a sigh of relief as they met up outside Metropolis. "I wasn't worried for a moment!" Silver smiled. "Really? Because I thought I noticed you trying to catch Tails with your powers even though it was too far." Blaze teased. Sonic gave a chuckle, and as Knuckles rejoined the group after tying off the capsule, he hoisted Tails up onto his shoulders. "Wh-whoa! Haha, I'm flying again!" he giggled. Sonic smiled and started clapping a bit. "C'mon, guys, let's hear it for Tails! Hip hip hooray!!" As the others joined in cheering with Knuckles carrying him off toward the Tornado, Tails rubbed his head bashfully and blushed. He'd grown up so much, and in a way, it felt like he'd finally caught up to his hero, if only for a moment. But he'd never stop reaching for the sky, flying ever higher and higher. And with hard work, smart thinking, and a bit of believing in himself, Tails knew the highest of all the heavens were not out of reach.

The End.