"Visual contact, target is moving along the track." You inch forward with a radio in your ear, your dark cloak shrouding you in the night.
<bzzt>"Roger, keep an eye on her. Once she's inside send up the signal and I'll trip the alarms. Lucky break that we both chose this target."
You frown as you hiss into your radio, "Keep chatter to a minimum. If you ignore the plan it's not even worth reviewing, over and out."
<bzzrt>". . . copy that agent nagging ninja. Seriously how can you be so cool and such a buzz kill at the same time-?"
You shake your head squinting down the long corridor as the bat slinks through security lasers and around cameras. All things considered Rouge was pretty impressive when it came to burglary, but it was a shame that she didn't use her skills for more than jewel thievery. Still, getting a chaos emerald out of it would sweeten the deal so maybe she had the right idea.
You continue shadowing her through vents, hallways and secured blocks of the building all the while remaining a whisper in the darkness. She comes upon a large door with a keypad to the side. You see her gently tap on it for a moment before moving over to the keypad, inputting a quick combo of digits before a red light turned green and the door quietly hissed open.
Sorry bat, you lose this time.
You take a metal pellet out of your belt and gently toss it as a security laser before your pupils dilate, the world slowing down around you as you dash through the door and come into a large atrium. A chaos emerald sat suspended between two metal pans, it's energy being siphoned away through the attached tubes.
The pellet hits the laser as Rouge's expression lights up at the emerald- the alarms blare and in the blink of an eye the emerald vanishes. Her expression drops, "are you kidding me-?" She flaps her wings and jumps back as the doors begin locking down. You slip out of a vent and make your way to the roof of the complex, the dim moonlight silhouetting your form while the emerald glows weakly behind your cloak.
"Package is received, cue the fireworks." You tuck and roll down the arched metal, springing off the ledge and soaring through the air. All around the area below rumbles echoing into the night, getting louder and louder as various explosives go off in series. The ground under the massive complex begins to sink in, the walls breaking down and falling into the ever expanding pit. You pick up the pace, dodging around the many robot deploying in response to the intrusion. They all rush toward where the emerald was being held as you dodge their lines of sight.
This was child's play in your element.
The world rushes by in a flash as you jump from the roof and into the surrounding forest, sprinting through the trees with a sinister satisfaction in your eyes.
Poor doctor, if only his toys weren't so easy to break...
You cackle to yourself, talking into your radio again. "Prepare for evac, I'm on my way now. 2 minutes."
<bzzt>"You're kidding. It'll take at least 15 if not 20 minutes, East. Don't be cocky."
You streamline your body, tying the emerald to your back and bursting through the forest on all fours. Reaching the edge of the forest you jump off a cliff, a boat waiting in the water below. You reach a hand out and catch the mast, performing several flips as you descend before landing on the deck quietly. "That's a wrap, team! Let's get out of here!"
-----
Tails sits in his workshop, looking through the files that had been retrieved from Eggman's old console. He glances down to his side, the comb that he gave you sitting lonely beside his bench. He sighs as he looks at it, his mind wandering to the last time he saw you locked up in that cage... You looked scared, like a lost child that didn't know what to do.
What had they gone through to make them so closed off, and so frightened? Why Eggman? Why join Eggman-?
He tinkers with some metal pieces on his desk idly before setting them down and reclining his head back. It wasn't adding up. Someone of your skill would be capable of a lot of things with the right motivation.. Maybe you were lost after all, just looking for something to hold on to, a place to call home. The scene of you inside Eggman's mech came back into his mind as he retraces all of your pensiveness. He hadn't noticed at the time but despite shutting the bomb down you still looked troubled. Like it didn't make you happy, like it was a worthless act.
He leans up again, sifting through a few more files and sighing quietly.
"We're not ready for this.."
He stands and retrieves his phone, dialing the Chaotix. "Hello? Oh hi Charmy, is Vector there? -No I was hoping we could trouble you to find... Yeah! Okay I'll be right over!" He runs over to his bi-plane and flies over to the island, landing in a makeshift hanger that was built after the attack a few months ago. The building itself wasn't too bad, a decent size but still nowhere near as advanced as his personal garage. Upon landing he glances down to find Vector already waiting for him. Charmy had said he was nearby here but Tails didn't expect him to be HERE-here.
"Hey Vector-! Sorry about the sudden contact. It's been busy and I think that we might be in trouble..." Tails' brow furrows as he speaks, his usual demeanor troubled with anxiety.
Vector waves off the comment, "No trouble! I would've had Charmy relay the information but he's not the most detail oriented, besides this'll be easier than trying to talk over the phone. I was in the area so when Charmy called I just stopped in."
Tails nods, leaning on the plane. "I appreciate that, thanks Vector..." His voice started to reflect his worry, "I found some... really alarming plans on the drive that our friend left behind when Eggman attacked last time. I won't go into detail now but... Well Eggman's been quiet all this time, and I think I know why. Vector, something big is coming and we're not ready for it-"
He listens quietly, nodding along, "Alright, so you want us to look into what's been going on? Or were you thinking rallying some unconventional allies?"
"Actually-" Tails hesitates slightly, "I think we need to track down that (y/a) that worked for Eggman. They're smart, capable, and very precise. Honestly when I think about them it's like looking at the old version of Shadow, except less... edgy."
Vector laughs out loud, wiping a tear from his eye, "I think that they're plenty edgy anyway but I get what you're saying, Tails. To be honest I don't think we can track them down here, with how quiet they kept their activities while working for Eggman it was already impossible to know they existed in the first place."
Tails' ears flatten, "Oh... I see. Well- We can find someone else then. I'll try calling Shadow again, he might be able to rally Rogue. If possible do you think you could track down Mighty?"
"Whoa now hold your horses-" Vector wagged a finger at Tails, "I said 'I don't think we can track them down here' not that we couldn't do it!" Tails perked up a little, apprehensively looking at Vector. "If you and Espio took the case I'm sure you could make some kind of progress. Tracking is his whole thing and he's the most capable pair of hands the Chaotix has."
"I couldn't ask him to uproot like that-" Tails gets cut off, Espio appearing behind him.
"A brewing storm is hardly a bad reason to relocate our efforts." Tails screams, jumping up in a panic and holding his chest. Espio looks at him plainly, glancing Vector then back to Tails. "Sorry, old habit."
Tails can feel his heart practically beating out of his chest, shakily giving Espio a thumbs-up, "No- you're good! h-happy to have you on board-!"
Vector turns to leave, waving behind, "You've got this right, Espio? I'm heading back to the office to get things sorted out. Leave all the detectiving to me! You two figure out where you're heading! Oh, and Espio when you're done talking stop by the office so I can get your case info into my cabinet."
Espio nods as Vector departs, "Roger." He then turns back to Tails, "All things considered I have a few ideas as to where they might be. We should start in the east and work our way west."
Tails raises his eyebrows, "Wait- how long were you just standing there listening?"
He scratches his cheek, avoiding the fox's gaze. "The entire time... Old habit, I apologize."
Tails nods coyly, "No, it's fine- It makes explaining things easier I guess. Umm- You're the detective so if you have an idea then I'm at your disposal! Before we go I'll need to make some preparations and get my jet instead of the bi-plane but after that I'll be good to go!"
Espio nods, "I can be ready to leave by sundown, depending on how fast we travel we may still reach our destination in the morning."
"Alright! In that case I shouldn't waste any time!" Tails runs back to his plane and jumps into the cockpit. "I'll meet you by the cliff by sundown, it's rushing it but I'd prefer to get going sooner than later."
Tails takes off, rushing back to his workshop and packing up small machines and gadgets as well as a few computer parts in case he needed to craft an emergency machine. As Espio arrives back at the Chaotix building he's surprised to find Sonic and Amy chatting with Vector. Upon entering Vector asks Amy to take Espio's place, and to Sonic's surprise she actually says yes. One question leads to another til their plan came out fully, Sonic's expression become more and more unsure with every piece that was revealed... Seeking out the (y/a) that lowkey kinda've lost it and was clearly emotionally unstable? Dangerous... Too dangerous for him to be going without his best friend to watch his back...
_____
"-Alright, I think we're all set." Tails drops a few bag into his jet-plane as Sonic looks on apprehensively.
"Yeah bud! I'm glad that you're comfortable making such a big trip so quickly and don't get me wrong I know you'll be okay but- Are you sure that you want to leave so soon?" Sonic fiddled with his hands awkwardly, an apparent worry in his voice.
Tails took note of a few more items on the plane, checking off boxes on a clipboard list. "I don't think I have much of a choice at this point, Sonic. Eggman will be launching a full scale take-over-the-world scheme in a few months minimum, we can't fall behind and we need manpower."
"Yeah but them? They're a solid choice for sure but we haven't even seen them in months at this point." Sonic looked out over the sea, the waves choppy as the sun sets on the horizon. "I think that if nothing else you could stand to wait till it's brighter out."
Tails shakes his head, giving Sonic a gentle fist bump on his shoulder. "They're basically if Rouge was a properly trained ninja so of course we haven't seen them, but I've been following activities of Eggman's bases going up in smoke or outright stopping production. It seems random on the surface but these are all well placed strategies to take away key points of control on a global scale!" He tosses the clipboard into the cockpit, "-And I need to leave at night to make it to the Dragon Kingdom during daylight hours. I can see fine at night Sonic so don't worry, I'll be okay!"
"I'm not worried!" Sonic chuckled to himself, his foot tapping away. "All I'm saying is we don't need to be too hasty and end up getting hurt or something, you know?"
Tails gives him a knowing look, "Sonic, you're literally the hastiest person I know. I can tell you're worried because that's way out of character for you."
Espio approaches and tosses a duffel bag into the passenger seat, "I'll be with him the entire time, even after we arrive at the rendezvous point there won't be a second he leaves my sight."
Sonic grimaces slightly, "No offense but I've had a couple run in's with your clan and I'm not saying that they're rude but they definitely aren't great at making a guy feel welcome."
Espio rubs his brows, closing his eyes. "Respectfully Sonic, you were never the most discreet person. My clan values secrets and discretion so your methods were... an inconvenience to them..." Tails chuckles a little, nodding along.
"Aaaaand if memory serves the only reason they would hear us out is because Espio vouched for us, remember?" Tails crosses his arms as he grinned at the blue hedgehog, "Compared to fighting ancient monsters, giant armies in space, forces of nature and a really smelly fat guy I think I've got this~"
A smile crept onto Sonic's face, a gentle laugh escaping his lips, "Alright buddy you got me there." He holds a fist out, "But promise you'll be safe alright? No crazy risks unless you have no choice."
Tails nods with a smile, fist bumping him. "You got it, Sonic! We'll be back before you know it."
Espio steps forward, handing a stack of papers to Sonic, "Give these to Amy, they're all the cases I've been working on the past few weeks. And if you could pass onto her my gratitude again for picking up the detective work while I'm gone."
Sonic whistles as he looked over the stack weighing down his hands. "Dang Espio, you don't mess around! You got it! And hey, same to you alright? If I don't hear back from you then Knuckles and I are gonna come bust some heads!"
Tails and Espio load up into the plane before the engine fires up, a loud hissing echoing out as it started to increase throttle. The plane rolls forward, gaining speed in an instant as they blast off of the hill and fly into the sky. Sonic waves from the ground with a solemn expression as the plane disappears beyond the horizon.