You're On My Mind - Tails x Reader

Chapter 3 - The Lab in the Desert

Warning: Mention of injury

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With a hot breath, the sun boiled the surface of the sandy plain. Orange sand covered the land as far as the eye could see, mimicking the waves of the ocean as if taunting anyone who dares venture into its claws of their thirst that cannot be quenched. The occasional cacti is the only sign of life within the barren wasteland, each sprouting spikes like a porcupine. Old ancient ruins scatter the desert plain, some sticking out from the consuming sand, others hidden beneath the orange grain.

You sat atop of a ruin that emerged from the ground, its shape roughly imitating the shape of an arch. Swinging your legs over the edge of the ruin, you leaned back on your hands, your weight mainly on your unbruised arm. Your black suit soaking up the sun greedily. With a groan, you wiped off the sweat that formed on your forehead. It was so hot you swear you could hear your skin sizzle under the suit. Normally your patience was impeccable, but sitting, boiling in the midday sun, in the middle of a desert, in a black outfit, and being covered in fur, is not the best feeling.

"This is so stupid," you grumbled, leaning off your hands. Grapping on your hood and mask, you freed your face from the stuffy prison. Fanning yourself with your hand (causing you a lot of pain in your shoulder), using your teeth you pulled down your sleeve on the other and looked down at your watch. Pressing your nose against the glass, a holographic map appeared in front of you. Looking closely at the marked location and your red dot, you double checked that this was the right location; it was. Closing the map and continuing to fan yourself with your hand, you yanked your sleeve with your teeth again to cover your watch and wrist. Your fingers pressed on the intercom in your ear, listening and waiting for someone to answer. Static echoed in your ear as you waited.

At the sound of a click you let loose.

"What the HELL! Nothing is here! No Eggman, no Sonic, and definitely NO lab!" your roared with no mercy. Your flattened ears and lashing tail mirrored your rage.

"Whoa there kiddo, chill," Scourge calmly replied. But it only made you angrier, the heat finally melting your brain.

"Chill... seriously. I am out here burning my butt off! And there is no BLOODY POINT TO IT!" You snapped, hot air puffing from your lips.

"Relax. Your getting overheated. And there is a point to it, we have gotten readings of Eggman coming your way," Scourge spoke, unbothered by your outburst. He had to deal with worse when you were teenager-ing, this was nothing compared to that. Putting a gloved hand to your scorching forehead, you exhaled, calming your senses.

"Sorry. The heat has melted my last braincell," you shook your head, "My head is back in the game now." Even if you could not see it, you knew that Scourge was nodding in approval. Ending the call, you took your fingers away from your earpiece.

Your ears flicked up, twitching as they heard the hum of a motor whizz from the distance. Gazing up from the bland view of the sand, you squinted in the direction of the noise. In the waves of the heat you could barley make out the silhouette of Eggman in his egg mobile. Finally some action. Standing up, you stretched out your arms and legs. As you lifted your arms above your head, you drew back with a scrunched face. Your shoulder stiffened as the bruised limb was moved. Just gotta pull through and then I can rest. You pulled your hood and mask over your face as Eggman grew closer.

Squatting down on the ruin, you continued to watch Eggman proceed to your location. Through your clothing, you pressed your watch, holding it down. It gave a small vibrate to signal that the input was successful making you smirk. Your black suit flickered as it began to slowly fade and camouflage itself to match the desert background.

Your (E/C) eyes watched as Dr. Robotnik approached the area in front of you. He yanked on his mobile forcing it to stop, picking up dust. Next to him landed Metal Sonic and a few of his robotic minions. Eggman chuckled to himself, opening a holographic panel in front of him and typing away. Once he finished, the hologram disappeared. Tilting your head, you waited.

Nothing.

Nothing had happened. But, none the less, you kept watching.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and stir. Grabbing onto the edge of the ruined archway, you remained on your feet and hidden. Dust picked up in the still air. A huge trapdoor split open in the sand covered floor. As the sand fell into the huge opening, and the dust settled down, you could see the metallic interior of a laboratory appear. You were awestruck and also felt sorry for whoever had to clean up all that sand. Eggman's chaotic laugh brought you back to your senses. Eggman and his machines jumped down into secret lab.

Once you were sure they were gone, you moved. Your camouflage flickered back to your black and (C/C) suit. The ground shook again as the huge doors began to close. Rolling your eyes at the inconvenience, you propelled yourself forward with one strong push. Running to the lab, you skidded across the sandy floor, barely slipping through the small gap that was left from the closing doors.

Landing on the floor in silence, you looked around the dim laboratory and saw no sight of Eggman or Sonic's team. The building was completely metallic, covered wall to wall in metal with only a few lights here and there. If you were being honest, it was a little disappointing.

Crash!

Your ears perked up. Looking towards where the sound came from, you noticed a hole in the wall with scorch marks around it (definitely from Eggman). Peeking your head through the gap, you watched as Eggman and his minions fought against Sonic and his team. Eggman himself fighting against sonic using his lasers and bombs, Metal Sonic nowhere to be seen. You shrugged it off, assuming Sonic had already dealt with him. Amy was fighting off packs of advanced Moto Bugs, their skills in working like a pack made to overwhelm their opponent, Knuckles dealing with Balkiries', their improvement in their agility making themselves harder to destroy, Tails fighting updated Buzzers, their bodies made lighter for easier flight and their stingers projecting a solid laser that is harder to dodge. You smirked to yourself. Perfect distraction.

"(Y/N), there is a control room in the doorway to your left. You will be able to access that laboratories files to find out what Eggman came for, hopefully its something worth a pretty penny," Scourge informed, your ear flicking as his voice boomed in your ear. Walking away from the fight, you walked through the said doorway and found yourself in a smaller room with a couple of chairs, a control panel and a huge black screen. Walking towards the panel, you pressed a singular button that powered on the computer. Plugging in the USB, you watched as the screen flashed red asking for a password.

"Oh please. Your simple levels of security are no match," you huffed, cracking your knuckles, "This is going to be a piece of cake."