Chapter Text
"Alright, Prototype T. What do we know about her?" Lanolin asked, putting her hands on the table. It was covered in whatever pictures they could get their hands on, which wasn't much. Most of it was printed from security footage taken at the Mineral museum, and the Restoration. It didn't make for much to go off of.
"We know for a fact she's Eggtech of some kind," Vector explained. "She claims to be the latest and greatest, so Eggman must've built her recently."
"If I had to assume, the T in her name is probably short for Tangle." Charmy added. "Though I don't know how much that helps us."
"It does explain a couple of design choices," Espio pointed out. "That tail being a spring provides for similar properties to Tangle's tail."
"Speaking of Tangle, where is she?" Lanolin asked. "She should've been here by now."
"She said she was running late," Whisper replied. "I'm sure she'll be here eventually. Let's continue working on this and we'll catch her up later."
"Right," Whisper said. "I'm pretty confident Eggman is the one who's sending Prototype T after us. So we just gotta take her out the same way we do any of Eggman's badniks."
"Call me crazy," Espio began. "But I'm not quite sure we can make that assumption. While yes, she is Eggtech, we hear her talking with someone over her communicator in the footage of the machine shop. And I don't think it sounds like the doctor." The chameleon explained.
"Besides, doesn't Eggman usually like to put his branding over his plans? There wasn't even a sign of sabatoge until Tails and Kit pointed it out." Lanolin said. "It just feels like fitting a round peg into a square hole."
"Let's talk about what we should actually do if we encounter her," Whisper piped up. "What do you boys know?"
"She's just as acrobatic as the real deal," Charmy began. "And she can pack a good punch for her size!"
"However, she isn't very good at taking hits." Vector added. "One powerful toss and she was down for the count. Granted I had the help of the museum doors and the street, but she's definitely not as durable as Metal Sonic."
"Aim for strong finishing blows then," Whisper said, making a mental note. Then she noticed something. "...Where did this picture come from?" She asked, holding up a high quality photo that seemed to stand out. It gave them perfect view of Prototype T dashing down a dark street.
"I don't remember adding that to the pile," Vector puzzled.
"Oh, I added that!" Charmy replied. "I saw it on the news last night and figured it'd be good to add to the pile!"
"Last night-" Lanonlin froze as her brain caught up with what he said. "On the news!? What the hell is she doing on the news!?"
"Guys!" Jewel yelled as she burst through the door, phone in hand. "You're gonna wanna see this!"
"What is with everyone and bursting through doors recently?" Espio asked.
"Just look!" Jewel insisted as she held her phone out for the group to see.
---
High above the mountains of Japan, near Tokyo city, a single helicopter flew high above the tree covered land. Winding roads below weaved in and out like ribbons. Inside, the pilot fired up his radio.
"This is Sigma-Alpha 2, flying east bound towards the city. We'll be arriving at base in approximately ten minutes time, lemur in custody and ready for transfer."
"Copy that, Sigma Alpha 2." Replied air traffic control over the radio. "Skies have been cleared ahead for you, just keep on your radar. Can you confirm status on your current flight diagnostics?"
"Ten-four sir," The pilot responded. "All systems are working, no reported damage. We got about two thousand gallons of fuel left and-" He cut himself off when heard a noise coming from the back of the helicopter.
"Sorry, what was that? I don't copy." Called Air traffic control.
"Crap, we may got a problem-" The pilot responded. "Hold her down you two!"
There was the sound of sneakers slamming into the two gun shoulders, the yank of a lever, and suddenly, wind whipped through the cabin as the emergency exit was thrust open.
Tangle immediately flew out, but panicked when she realized how high above ground she was. She just managed to latch onto the side of the helicopter as the door fell down into the mountains below. Her tail flapped wildly in the breeze as it trailed behind.
"What on earth do you think your doing!?" Yelled the pilot. "Someone get her!"
"Sorrt, but I don't fancy a trip to jail!" Tangle called out over the loud win, latching her other hand around the panel. However she misjudged both the force of the wind and the stability of the panel, and suddenly with a loud CLANG the panel snapped off and took Tangle with it as they began to fall out of the sky.
"SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA!" Tangle shrieked as the wind whipped around her. The ground below was approaching rapidly, and she had to think of a plan. The only thing she had on her was the panel she was still gripping.
"Wait, that's it!" She gasped, remembering a story Sonic told her. She rolled in the air, putting her shoes to the top of the panel. It was almost perfectly shapped like a skateboard! "Alright, here goes nothing!" She whooped, angling herself to the ground below.
She hit the dirt and leaned hard to avoid loosing her balance as she cut through the dirt. She proceeded to crash through the bushes and leaped over a guard rail, the panel scraping hard against pavement as she found herself blasting down the mountain roads at high speed.
"Woah woah woah woah woah WOAH!" Tangle shrieked as sparks flew from the panel beneath her feet. "Okay, it's all good! I can totally handle this! Just lock in Tangle!"
She caught air going over a smooth jump and noticed a upcoming turn. She readied herself and leaned hard, sparks flying everywhere as she slid wide around the sweeping turn, somehow keeping her momentum on the panel's edge before slamming it back down, flat against the road.
"Woo!" She whooped. "Now that was actually kind of sick!"
She then proceeded to shoot past a police car at top speed that was heading the opposite direction. The officer inside threw on the lights and pulled an immediate U-turn.
"Crap, that's not good!" Tangle observed as she swung around another corner, watching the officer out of the corner of her eye. She blasted through a row of rings that were laid out along the side of the road.
"全隊員に告ぐ。一匹の凶暴なキツネザルが逮捕を逃れ、暴走しています。" Said the officer over the radio. "山を下りながら高速で移動しているので、可能であれば検問所を設置してください。"
Tangle slid hard right, nearly clipping the guard rail as she braked hard, sliding down the slope at top speed. She was almost near the bottom, and shooting towards the suburbs. To her horror though, two cops had set up their cars as road blocks in her path.
"Okay, keep calm." Tangle said to herself. "Just focus on making a plan before you crash into two full sized vehicles!" Thank Gaia there was a conveniently placed Kei Truck, it's bed wide open and a board placed on the side like a ramp.
"Well, who am I to deny deus ex machina?" The lemur chuckled, leaning to aim for the makeshift ramp and blasting high over the cop cars. She spun in the air, having a little fun with the moment before shooting through the entrance to suburbs.
The sound of helicopter blades caught her attention, and she looked up, expecting a GUN helicopter. Instead, the side of the aircraft had a news logo on it.
She felt a buzz come from her pocket, and she reached inside and found her phone ringing. By some miracle, it had fallen out of her pocket. She took one look at the person calling her and gulped before answering.
"Heya strawberry," She began. "Look, I'm kinda busy right now-"
"Poundcake, care to explain why you have an entire police force chasing you on live television?" Whisper asked her girlfriend.
"See, that's the thing! I don't even know!" Tangle explained as she weaved past another cruiser. "I wasn't even told what crime I committed- CRAP!" Tangle screamed as she hard cut left to avoid a head on collision with a bus, sparks flying every which way. The change in direction practically killed her momentum. And without a hill beneath her to keep it up, she was quickly loosing speed.
"Look, talk later whispy!" Tangle insisted. "Just trying to not bite the curb right now!" She said before hanging up. She was nearing the end of the suburbs and rapidly approaching a crowded part of the city. She was heading straight for a T split in the road, and there was no shot she could keep her board on flat ground. The only way she could go, was up!
Tangle aimed carefully, then leaped up with all her might, using her tail like a spring to launch herself up into the air. The panel she'd been using ricocheted off a wall as it was left without a rider, crashing into a nearby alleyway and disturbing several street vendors.
"Sorry!" Tangle called out as she latched onto a billboard, and hoisted herself up into the building rooftop. With the sound of helicopters buzzing above her, she knew she'd need to keep moving.
"Here goes nothing!" She yelled as she leaped from one building, trying to catch another. She quickly realized she did not have the momentum to reach the building, but it was much too late to turn back. Good thing her reaction time was on point, as she latched her tail onto a street lamp and swung wide, slingshotting herself through the air as she let go.
Below her, she noticed several GUN Robots scattering all over the streets, weapons aimed directly at her as she soared through the air.
"Try and keep up boys!" She laughed as she planted the heels of her shoes onto one, launching to the next, then the next, then the next, until she finally destroyed the last one, hitting the ground running.
It became a mad dash down the streets as she pushed her pure speed to it's limits. Admittedly, it was quite impressive, and she was able to create a fair bit of distance between herself and the cops. With her small form compared to all the humans around, she could easily weave around where others couldn't.
Still, she had to keep moving. Cops were absolutely everywhere, all over the city. She needed to find some place that they couldn't reach. The sound of wheels rattling against rails caught her attention over the noise caught her attention, and she realized that was her ticket out of this.
She made a left turn and leaped up a set of stairs. She rolled to absorb the impact as she dashed along the train station platform. She readied herself, and leaped hard left to try and reach the platform opposite of the tracks.
However, what she failed to consider was checking behind her before she leaped. As she was mid air, she noticed a train bearing down on her from behind. She closed her eyes tightly, and braced for impact.
She somehow managed to just barely avoid getting slammed into by a train blasting through at top speed, rolling on the platform to absorb the impact from the landing. She took a moment to catch her breath, and let it sink in what just happened.
"Okay, guess I can check that off my bucket list," She chuckled nervously, before making herself scarce. She had to keep moving.
---
Tangle panted as she brought herself to a stop. The sun was beginning to set in the distance as she took refuge behind a building in a rail yard. Tracks coated the ground around her, practically trapping her. She could hear police sirens in the distance growing fainter.
"I think I'm in the clear," She said to herself. "Okay, now what's my next move?" She wondered aloud. The sound of heavy metal against metal caught her attention and she gasped. "What!?"
She looked towards a train car, and there stood Prototype T, arms crossed.
"I never expected you to get this far." She spat. "Pity, I was hoping this would be quick and easy." She chuckled, before showcasing something she had in her hand. "Doesn't matter, it was worth it to get my hands on this."
"A chaos emerald!" Tangle gasped. "Now I know exactly what's going on! Eggman's got you running around, framing me for a bunch of crimes! I should've expected this from a metallic copy like you!"
"I am no meer copy," Prototype T snarled. "I am the pinnacle of Eggtech! The culmination of everything the doctor has ever built!"
"Keep talking yourself up all you want," Tangle laughed as she approached the train car. "But I'll have you know nine times out of ten, Eggman's newest inventions get thwarted by us!"
"Not me!" Prototype T snapped. "I said it once and I'll say it again, I am the latest and greatest in Eggtech! Perfect in every way, thanks to the Doctor's design!"
"Perfect smirkfect," Tangle replied, rolling her eyes as she leaped onto the train car's roof with Prototype T. "We'll see if you can keep up that talk when I'm beating you into the ground faker!"
Prototype T suddenly lunged, but not for Tangle. Instead, she aimed behind her. She proceeded to rip out an overhead signal lamp, chucking it at the lemur. It scraped against the roof of the train and Tangle leaped high into the air to avoid it.
Suddenly, a spotlight shone down on her as a helicopter from above spotted her. While Tangle was temporarily blinded, Prototype T jumped between train cars, hiding away in the shadows where no one could see her. Tangle hit the roof of the train and was immediately surrounded by more helicopters.
"Freeze!" Yelled a voice from a loudspeakers. "We have you surrounded, and more officers on the way!"
"Gaia save me," Tangle muttered as she stayed flat against the train car. She didn't see an actual way out of this. Meanwhile, Prototype T managed to slip away in the darkness of the shadows. Now that Tangle was out of the picture, this would become much easier.