Face to Face at Last
11:56: Prison Island: Nearby Airspace
Tails was flying a scrap metal of a plane, having difficulty remaining steady as he approached the island before him.
"There's no mistake about it," he babbled to himself, trying to take his mind off the stability of the Scrap Tornado, "this must be the island. It's a secret military base that's reinforced and super strong! It's called, 'Prison Island'. I heard the news about it on satellite TV. I still can't believe Sonic would destroy the military buildings, or rob the bank! Wait for me, OK, Sonic! I'm on the way!"
"Hey, look, it's Amy!" Tails witnessed, catching a glimpse of the girl at the edge of a carrier and Eggman approaching her in a Walker. "And Eggman too! What's Amy doing here? Doesn't matter. I have to help Amy because she's in danger!"
"Scrap Tornado!" he called out, pushing a button. "Transformation!"
The tail shrunk, the landing gear extended and changed to legs, and the wings withdrew with a SCREECH.
"Eggman!" Tails yelled, landing between Eggman's Walker and Amy.
"Foxboy," Eggman growled.
"Boy am I glad to see you!" Amy called.
"Take cover, Amy!" Tails ordered. "I don't know how well the Scrap Tornado will hold up against Eggman!"
"Father," intruded a low, robotic voice. "You have a job that you need to do. Please let me have the
pleasure of dealing with Tails."
Keeping one eye on Eggman, Tails turned his head to the side to see another Walker approaching, and two smaller figures running away on the airstrip.
Eggman thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Very well, Egg Brain," Eggman stated, grinning and pulling back. "I'll leave Tails in your hands."
Tails watched Eggman retreat. As much as he wanted to chase after him, there was a threat coming after himself personally; if he chased after Eggman, it would expose him to whoever this was.
Tails then focused entirely on the new Walker, and was surprised to see a robotic version of
himself sitting in the driver's seat.
"Greetings, Miles Tails Prowler," the robot voiced. "I am Father's greatest creation, the Egg Brain. I see that, despite the handicap I inflicted you with during the mess with Chaos, you have managed to cobble together a semblance of a working product for transport."
"It was you that destroyed my workshop?!" Tails cried in horror.
"Yes," the robot stated. Despite the lack of inflection in the voice, Tails could have sworn that the Egg Brain was enjoying the gloat. "Father was most pleased with my actions. However," the voice somehow gaining a hint of anger, "you then attacked my own workshop. Does G.U.N. even know you're here, repaying their kindness by stabbing them in the back?"
Tails opened fire. "Stop talking!" he yelled. The enemy was playing him, making him lose his cool; he needed to stop it from worsening his mental state further.
"Ever since you attacked my workshop," the Egg Brain continued, dodging the shots, "I have been waiting for the day where we could fight face to my avatar's face. Come! I need to test the capabilities of the Egg Walker I designed."
EGG BRAIN AVATAR: METAL TAILS
The battle was longer than it should have been. It should have taken a minute, tops. Instead, the fight took five minutes. Tails himself was hampered by the poor condition of the Scrap Tornado. Befitting its name, it was made from whatever metal he could scavenge from what used to be his workshop in a rush to save Sonic. He had no homing shot, and his accuracy with the gun on his Walker left much to be desired. On the other hand, despite the superior Walker, the Egg Brain was clearly not used to combat itself; its own accuracy system was even wilder than Tail's own.
Eventually, after repeated shots, the Brain's Walker collapsed.
"Interesting," the Egg Brain stated. "It appears I need more training before I can fight you effectively. I will take the data gathered from this fight and prepare for our next encounter. Withdrawing to base and destroying Avatar."
With a boom, the metal imitation of Tails exploded, leaving the charred remains of the Walker it had been using.
With a sigh, Tails turned towards where Amy had hidden herself… only for the Scrap Tornado to fall apart beneath him from the movement.
"Amy, could you go and break Sonic out?" Tails wearily asked. "I've got to make repairs so we can get off this island…"
