Shadows loomed overhead. The harsh sound of steel repeatedly crashing into the ground bluntly alerted the city that they were under attack. A group of lookouts quickly set off the alarm, then made haste to contact the Resistance. "Metal Sonic is leading an attack on the city!"
Giving little time for the people to escape, Metal Sonic swiftly went on the assault- behind him, Mecha Knuckles climbed out of the crater he left in the ground, wrecking everything in his path. Finally following a few moments later, a soft unsatisfying 'pomf' as Tails Doll hit the ground, lying face-down for a moment before lifting himself up by his antenna. 'Yeah! Let's do this!' He would have said, if he had been given a voice chip.
Happily following Metal Sonic, Tails Doll tried his hardest to help his onslaught. While Metal tore down streetlights and smashed windows, and Mecha Knuckles broke down buildings and ripped open the streets, Tails Doll haphazardly shoved over traffic cones and street signs, laughing internally over how destructive he was.
In a matter of minutes, Metal managed to zero in on the bank vault the trio had been sent to rob. A Chaos Emerald was stored safely inside, but as the robotic menace prepared to break in, a blue blur struck out of nowhere and knocked him back.
"Heh, you picked the wrong time to mess with this city!" Sonic landed firmly on his feet, wagging a finger back and forth to reprimand his metal doppelgänger. Metal locked onto him and attempted to strike back, but Tails swiftly pulled him out of danger, while Knuckles leapt down to sucker punch the robot into the wall.
Watching the scene go down, Tails Doll spotted his organic counterpart, upset. 'Ohhh, that nasty little fox! I'll show him a thing or two!' His antenna spun furiously, and he lunged toward Tails, but the young hero was already pursuing Sonic as he battled Metal, and the plush ruffian was left in the dust, failing to even grab their attention.
Meanwhile, Mecha spotted Knuckles, swiftly moving in to strike. Knuckles swung his fist forward and intercepted his punch, the collision making a nearly deafening sound around them. The two sparred for a bit, but Mecha's precision grew overwhelming for Knuckles quickly, and the fierce red robot managed to knock him on the ground. As he rushed in to deal the finishing blow, however, Tails flew up and flung Sonic, who kicked the bucket of bolts away, smirking slightly as he landed and helped Knuckles up. "C'mon, we'll take him out as a team!"
Reinvigorated, Knuckles nodded, charging in with Sonic and Tails to take Mecha down head-on again. Metal, however, was not keen on being forgotten, and set about stopping his blue adversary. At the same time, Mecha wound up a powerful punch; too focused on the heroes, the two robots ended up clashing with each other instead. Furious that Metal had gotten in his way, Mecha quickly tossed out all rationale, attacking his teammate, who had no choice but to retaliate.
Sonic quickly screeched to a halt, holding his arms out to stop Knuckles as Tails walked up behind him, and the three watched in a mix of confusion and amusement as Eggman's henchmen duked it out. "Guess this problem's taking care of itself, huh?" Sonic shrugged, grinning.
Relieved as the heroes finally stopped, however, Tails Doll loomed behind them. 'This is my chance… I'll finally beat that fox!' He summoned all his strength, charging forward and bumping into Tails, making him stumble over and nearly fall until Sonic caught his hand. Knuckles frowned and turned around, sighing softly seeing the culprit. "Oh, it's that doll…" Tails Doll quickly flew off before they could stop him, jubilant over his success.
Metal and Mecha quickly came to a standstill, damaged from their battle, and Eggman barked at them furiously, demanding a retreat. Not one to disobey, Metal Sonic sped away from the city, with Tails Doll and Mecha Knuckles in tow. Sonic pursued them for a moment, but sighed and snapped as they escaped. "Shoot, those two got away…"
Running out of reserve fuel, Metal landed a safe distance from the city, walking the rest of the way back to conserve energy. Tails Doll bounced back and forth a bit behind him, excited over his success. 'I beat that fox! I finally defeated Tails!' He quickly settled down, however, looking up at Metal and awaiting his praise. Metal Sonic ignored him, however, focused on his objective to return to the base. Tails Doll watched him a bit longer, then figured Metal must not have noticed he was behind him, nudging him with the tip of his antenna to get his attention.
Metal Sonic halted and instantly angled his head slightly to the side after the impact, his glowing red eyes focusing intently on Tails Doll. His head shifted down a millimeter, then back up just as quickly, before he faced forward again and continued walking back to the base.
Tails Doll stopped and stared for a moment, then spun around happily. 'I did it! Metal Sonic is finally proud of me!' He cheered internally, briefly spinning out of control and flopping down on the ground. 'Next time, maybe I'll beat Sonic, too! I bet I'll even make Eggman proud!' The felt fiend plotted, elated as he got back up and flew after Metal Sonic eagerly.