Chapter Text
"Huh? Oh, it's close. Can't say. Too easy to be overheard." The hedgehog didn't look at the kit, just kept marching forward.
"I-okay-" The fox wasn't exactly happy about being left out of the loop, especially with EVERYTHING that he missed and was unaware of, but he couldn't really say no if his brother had a valid reason. "So... is- is there anything you CAN talk about with me? With how much has happened, there's got to be something, right?" Usually, quiet was fine with him and the hedgehog, despite how rare it was. But this... this was tense, uncomfortable even. He didn't like it.
"You overestimate your importance. You'll know what you need to know when we get to the base." Hyper's temper flared. This fox was really starting to get on his nerves. He was told to transport the fox, not entertain him with all these stupid questions.
Tails flinched back at the other's response. Overestimate his- Okay, that's something he'd tell HIMSELF, not something his brother would tell him. "Uhm... a-alright... If you say so." The fox went quiet after that, just following the hedgehog, ears pinned back. Something was wrong, other than everything that was around them.
Another five minutes of walking later, Tails had finally thought things through a little more. Nobody they knew could work on anything technological like the additions Hyper possessed other than himself and the doctor. They were still going straight to the center of the city, presumably where the doctor would be given all the egg memorabilia and logos of the place. If this was some bad future he got thrown into, or an alternate universe, or simply a bad dream? Following this guy so willingly wasn't a good idea of any sort, no matter how much he looked, acted like, or even if he was his brother.
The fox abruptly stopped a few blocks before they reached their location (if his guess was right on the fact that this guy WAS leading him directly to Eggman), clearing his throat. "Hyper- I'm not going any further until you explain what's going on. This- This isn't adding up."
The hedgehog groaned, running his hand down his face and stopping in his own tracks, still for nearly a minute before turning around, a smile clearly forced. "Come on, little buddy, since when don't you trust me?" He came toward the fox, intent on grabbing his arm as an attempt at comfort. His face fell when the fox jerked back before he could.
"Don't patronize me. I didn't ask for you to try any tactics. I want answers." His gaze was steel, distancing himself from the hedgehog while he wasn't moving. Knowing anything about him, he could catch up to him before he even blinked, so he was clearly still trying the nice route.
"Bud, I told you, not out in the open. The Eggs' got eyes and ears everywhere. You wouldn't want to put all your friends in danger, would you?" He straightened up, tilting his head as he asked the question, as if he already knew the answer. Everything would be easier if the fox just listened.
"Who did we meet first?" The fox's gaze hardened. Sonic never talked to him like that; even if he did, it was a joke, and cut out the MOMENT the fox told him to stop. Sonic wasn't... Manipulative. Yeah, that's the right word. "Out of our friends, who was the first that we met together?"
The hedgehog rolled his eyes, and in a moment, he was behind the fox, holding onto his shoulders, the grip almost painful. "You know, for once, just ONCE, I thought this would be easy. How old are you- Six? Why don't you just let me take you where we need to go and not worry about a thing, huh, kiddo?"
Tails kicked the other off, spinning to face him. His ears pinned back, gaze not leaving the hedgehog's, defensive stance at the ready. "I'm not going anywhere with you." Hyper tried to approach again, but just as fast as he'd run to the fox, Tails whipped him with his namesakes, hard, sending the hedgehog flying into the building they were standing near, a crack echoing through the toxic air as something on one of Hyper's prostheses broke.
"You little shit... You've got a little something in you- I see why they've taken interest." He pushed himself up, a few panels on the robot ear clattering to the ground as he shook out his quills, stretching as he spoke. "Make this easy for me, it's better for the both of us. I'll take good care of you, kiddo." The hedgehog was being intentionally vague, smirking at the fox's evident frustration with the lack of information. He was just like the doctors- so easy to push his buttons by simply withholding details.
"How stupid do you think I am? I'm not just going to trust your word- I don't even know you, you've already lied to me, so even if you did tell the truth now? I wouldn't even know what to think!" The fox huffed, not dropping his guard.
Hyper was pretending to be inattentive, picking something out of his teeth while the other spoke. For someone who definitely wasn't Sonic, he sure acted a lot like him. Even the fox had to admit he felt like he was in the shoes of one of the villains they had fought together. It was SO him- he just didn't recognize the fox. "Too bad, guess I'm just gonna have to take you in by force then, huh?"
Tails had no difficulty dodging the hedgehog's next attack, wary of actually fighting him. For one, something in the back of his mind was still screaming that this was his brother, that something bad had happened, and he had just forgotten who the fox was. And second? He knew he had no chance of beating him. His actual brother or not, he knew well that he wasn't close to matching him in power, speed, or combat experience.
Okay, maybe if he had a few weapons and was going for the kill, he'd win the combat experience tally, but the kit had no weapons and zero interest in taking this to the lethal level. Those days were behind him after all.
Tails was snapped out of his daze as the blue blur came barreling towards him once more, the fox ducking out of the way just in time, shooting off into the alley. He probably could take to the skies; he had doubts Hyper could follow him there, but that would make it easy for more of those bots to find him again, and he didn't want that. What he needed was to find somewhere with a gathering- Hyper would know the city, while he didn't, the only thing that was truly unpredictable was how others would act.
What didn't help him as he was weaving through the buildings (faster than he knew he was capable of, mind you) is that the static electricity he was generating was driving him wild. His entire body buzzing with each zap that made it through his fur. Sonic- er, Hyper was keeping pace perfectly fine, each pole that the fox almost found his skull in just another part of the environment for the hedgehog, sometimes swinging or pushing himself off them to get the upper hand.
Apparently, their chase had caught the attention of a few bots despite the kit doing his best to stay out of view throughout all this. While the fox was distracted, the hedgehog used some of the piping to swing over the kit, and Tails fell backwards trying not to run into the hedgehog, landing hard on the pavement.
"This is getting you nowhere, Tails. Just trust me, I only want what's!" Despite the kit's earlier hypothesis that Hyper had most definitely been on the side of Eggman, the bot that had noticed the two of them lined up a shot- not at the fox, but the hedgehog as he slowly made his way toward the kit, oblivious to his surroundings.
Tails spin dashed the hedgehog just as the bot fired, knocking him out of the way. The kit pulled at the smaller piping just above where he had landed, with a little tug while in the air it popped off (He'll say sorry to whoever lives there later), and he flung it at the bot with as much strength as he could muster.
The bot shot it down, but it was enough of a distraction for the kit to get up behind it and pry open its access panel, ripping out the wires and watching it collapse to the ground. He landed shortly after, a little more force than he intended, but a return to the ground nonetheless.
Hyper, oh yeah, forgot about him for a moment, just watched with his arms crossed, having pulled himself to his feet sometime during the kit's efficient take down of the bot. He shook his head, looking down at the young fox who was panting for breath, fur sizzling softly with energy. "What the Hell was that for?"
Tails looked up at the hedgehog, slowly pulling himself to his feet, eyes never leaving Hyper's once they met. "I may not know what in the name of Gaia you want me for, but I'm not just going to let you get mutilated by one of those things." He stated.
The hedgehog shook his head, running a hand down his face as he started laughing softly. "So, you think you're playing hero now? Heard I was bad at the job, so you thought you could be my replacement? Cute."
"No! I- I don't know why I'm here or how I got here- but this? You can't be telling me that you let Eggman win and you're okay with that. Sonic- The hedgehog I know wouldn't be okay with that- the hedgehog I know would keep fighting." With the other losing interest in fighting for the moment, the fox switched back to trying to talk some sense into him, ears folding back as he pleaded.
"I'm not the hedgehog you know. The name's Hyper. Get that through your thick skull." Hyper was not amused, his gaze hardening.
"I- Fine, fine. Hyper. I don't know what Eggman did to you, or why you don't remember me, but we can fix it! We always fix it." The fox's eyes were filled with what could only be described as hope. Something that the hedgehog didn't match. Hyper did relax, however, despite the lack of response. That was something the fox could work with.
"We don't even have to bother the others- just you and me, like the old days. These bots may be tougher than usual, but it's nothing we can't handle!" He turned back to look at the one on the ground, sitting to dig through its components. "I'm sure this is connected to the Eggnet somehow, there's gotta be a way I can get the layout of the base straight from it- then we can take the fight straight to him and figure out how to get you back to normal and undo this mess of a cit-"
Between the fox's excited yammering, he didn't notice the hedgehog approaching once more, knocking him out with a swift kick to the skull. Hyper scooped up the unconscious kit, shifting him until he found a comfortable carry. "It's for the best. I promise."