Five months ago...

"RAAARGH!"

Orbot and Cubot cowered as their master smashed a hammy fist into his security console, once again having watched the encounter between him and Miles Prower in the Eggmobile bay. The meaty human was livid, face beet red as he clutched an ice pack to his bruised forehead.

"THAT INSOLENT, INFURIATING, INVADING LITTLE PEST!" The human raged, sweat running down his face in drivels. He angrily batted stray wisps of yellow fur away from his face, the hairs a result of his most recent confrontation with a certain two-tailed fox. "How DARE he break into MY evil lair, and steal MY FUEL CELLS!" The doctor rounded on his minions, exposed blue eyes glaring daggers at the robots. "How in BLAZES did he get in here with NO WARNING?!"

"I... am sorry, sir!" Orbot stammered, his processers calculating a solution that wouldn't enrage his master any further. "The fox, he... expertly bypassed our security systems!"

"Yeah!" Added a quivering Cubot, "And he snuck in the back way!"

"QUIET!" Robotnik roared with another pound of his fist, before turning back to the security monitors and glaring as he watched the fox beat him over the head with said fuel cell. He spat another yellow hair from his lips and glared at the screen. "What were you doing here, Tails?" the doctor murmured, stroking his moustache, "What were you doing in my lair..."

Morning, that same day...

All was quiet, calm, and peaceful in the fields of inner Bygone Island, nothing but animals happily frolicking around their day, butterflies fluttering through a light breeze, the morning sun casting a crisp light to the world below.

Then there was a flash of lightning. Then another. And another. By the time the slashing electricity had built into a cascade the animals had fled, and then a swirling portal opened in the centre of the chaos... spitting out a metallic, egg-shaped craft upon which clung a screaming yellow and red figure, hanging on for dear life. The craft slammed into the field, carving a long trail in the grass, before finally coming to a halt.

All was quiet again, until the pilot came to with a groan several minutes later.

The twin-tailed fox, clad in the torn remnants of some kind of red uniform, swayed as he came around. The mobian raised his old green goggles, briefly observing his surroundings, before raising a wrist-mounted computer and tapping at the screen.

"Egg... mobile... experiment... concluded..." the fox groaned, "Report... over-charge of new propulsion systems... major miscalculation... result..." He checked over the crashed vehicle, noting the damage. "Well, not a total write off... at least, of anything other than my head! Gah!" his temper rising at the failure, Ivo Robotnik finished his recording and looked over his tattered uniform coat with a groan. "Agh, I just had this pressed!" The fox removed the useless jacket and tossed it into the Eggmobile. Now appearing as just another mobian male, albeit with two tails, he stepped back with hands on hips and clicked his tongue.

"Well... there's always next time I suppose..." the fox muttered, raising his wrist computer again. "Orbot, Cubot? Meet me at the source of this transmission with tools. We need to repair the Eggmobile."

Silence. The doctor frowned.

"Orbot! Cubot! Come in!"

Again, silence. not even a crackle.

"Damn!" Ivo cursed, "Useless communications package! I knew I should have sprung for free messages!"

the doctor shook his head and hopped into the Eggmobile to run a systems diagnostic.

"Hmm..." he hummed, stroking his muzzle fur, "Well, the damage seems manageable... repair the main thrusters and replace the fuel cell and she'll be good to go!" The doctor tapped at the craft's controls, and the chunky round machine wobbled back onto its undercarriage gravity field. The fox hopped back out and took a suspicious look at his surroundings.

"Huh... need to retrieve tools..." he mused. Another quick glance over his shoulder made up his mind. "Well, no sense leaving you out in the open for the local bandits to loot... come on, old girl! Let's find you someplace to hide!"

With effort, Ivo managed to manhandle (foxhandle?) the damaged machine behind a large boulder, and clapped his gloved hands as he emerged from the cover.

"Well, now that's sorted..." the fox said, "I guess I'll head home and find supplies..." Ivo frowned again, puzzled. "Why do I keep announcing all of this as though there's an audience watching my every move who might need exposition about my situation? Weird..." after a moment the fox shrugged. "Ah well. Time to go find those tools! A process that would a lot faster if I had yet learned to fly! However, I have not and so I must walk! Quite inconvenient."

With that, Ivo Robotnik the fox went on his way, adjusting his bright green goggles as he made back for civilisation.

"Ugh... I HATE being assigned patrol duty!" Cubot groaned as he hovered beside his red and silver counterpart, the pair of them sporting energy pistols as they floated through the wilderness of Bygone Island. "I mean, exercise and fresh air? Ugh..."

"For a start, you're a robot..." Orbot said with a synthesised yawn, optics half closed as he unenthusiastically carried out his orders, "Second, if the boss is mad enough at us to send us out with orders to 'vaporise any member of Team Sonic that we see', I'd rather be out of his way for a while than in it, don't you agree?"

"Oh..." Cubot groaned sadly, "We just seem to be made to suffer, huh?"

"It does appear to be our lot in life..." Orbot agreed.

"Don't you sometimes..." Cubot said longingly, "wish that something would happen to make our boss... y'know, nicer to us?"

"Yes, Cubot..." Orbot replied, setting a red hand on his counterpart's shoulder, "But I'm afraid wishing never made anything come true..."

"Oh! THERE you are!" Both robots looked to find a small yellow fox, clad in boots and green goggles, grumpily storming toward them from the trees. "What the heck do you think you're playing at?! Leaving me in the middle of buttfart nowhere during a highly dangerous experiment!"

"Oh, uh... Tails!" Orbot said as the two hovered apart, "How... nice to see you out here!"

"Huh?" the fox frowned, setting his fists on his hips and glaring as he regarded the two robots. "Are you two quite finished being imbeciles?!"

"Wow, Tails is kinda grumpy today, huh?" Cubot muttered, not quite quiet enough to escape the fox's hearing.

"HEY!" 'Tails' protested, "Have your circuits completely corroded?! Do you know who I am?!"

"Oh, uh... yes!" Orbot said, wringing the energy pistol he held in his hands, "And, uh... Doctor Eggman gave us strict orders to, uh... destroy any Team Sonic member we come across today..."

"Uh..." the fox now looked bewildered, "excuse me?"

"The boss is real angry because his secret project to totally rebuild Metal Sonic isn't going so good!"

"Cubot!" Orbot thwapped the moronish mechanoid upside the head, "You're not supposed to tell anybody that! Especially not about the wonky programming that's giving the doctor so much trouble!"

"Hey!" Tails now raised both hands in an effort to gain some kind of sense from the two robots, "What on mobius are you two talking about?!"

"Sorry, Tails..." Orbot said, "But we do have our orders!" Orbot said sadly.

"Better run, little dude!" Cubot added.

'Tails' squeaked in alarm as the two mechs raised their pistols and fired, the fox turning tails and bolting back into the cover of the trees beneath a hail of laser fire.

Orbot and Cubot kept firing for a moment, before lowering their weapons to find an empty space where the fox had been.

"Oh, it appears that we vaporised him!" Orbot said loudly, as though someone were listening.

"Nah dude," Cubot said, pointing into the trees, "I think he just ran aw-"

"Like I said, I think we vaporised him!" Orbot again smacked his comrade to shut him up. "No need for pursuit! I suppose we should continue our patrol, which will undoubtedly take all day!"

Cubot rubbed his cranium before falling back into a hover beside his counterpart. "Hmm... hey, did you notice his new outfit?"

"Oh yes, the new boots and goggles were particularly striking I thought."

"Huh."

Ivo shrieked as he tumbled from the trees, having run through the forest to escape the lasers. He smacked into the ground, comically faceplanting in the grass before a large walrus lady and her children.

"Oh, my..." the woman said, tottering away with her offspring. "Children today! Always getting into mischief..."

"Ugh..." Ivo groaned and raised his head, seeing stars as he rubbed his brow. "What... has gotten INTO those two?" He picked himself up from the grass and brushed dirt from his thick fur, before adjusting his goggles and taking in his surroundings. He hummed with satisfaction as he found himself now outside the main entrance to Hedgehog Village, citizens milling around and going about their business in the late morning hours.

"I swear, I'm going to dismantle those morons and use them as garbage cans..." Ivo muttered, before a huge rumble emanated from his stomach. He clutched his white belly, licking his lips at the thought of food. "But before that..." the fox said, checking his utility belt for cash, "I think I'll treat myself to a nice Meh' burger! 'Nice' being a generous term, I might add... more like, 'vaguely edible'."

Thoughts of returning to his lair forgotten for the moment, Ivo Robotnik the fox toddled on his way to purchase chemical compounds that vaguely resembled 'nutrition'.

He wandered through the village, not receiving a wink of attention from the citizens. It didn't cross his mind right now that people could usually tell him and Tails apart these days simply by accessories and body language, all that was on his mind right now was grabbing a bite to eat.

"Papers! Get yer' papers here!" called a nearby merchant from one of the stalls. The pelican noticed the small fox wandering through the village and called for his attention. "Mornin', Tails!" The bird mobian said loudly, "Nice day, huh?"

'Tails' gave him a look that said somewhere between 'excuse me' and 'I will tear out your spine and beat you to death with it', but otherwise didn't respond. The pelican felt a strange prickle at the expression, but the fox merely sighed and went on his way.

"Damn..." the pelican said, "weird kid..."

Ivo ambled through the entrance of the open-air Meh' Burger, local half-star fast food joint, and felt a mild stab of annoyance as he found a familiar blue form already waiting in line. Before him, Sonic turned and grinned.

"Hey, buddy! How ya doin'?"

Ivo sighed. Still, he and Sonic weren't on such bad terms these days. Not like before Ivo's 'accident', at least. So he supposed it wouldn't be too much of a chore to engage in conversation with the blue butthole.

"Hello, Sonic..." he said wearily, adjusting his utility belt and kicking dirt from his boots. "Fancy seeing you here..."

Sonic chuckled. "Jeez, lil' bro! You look way past tuckered out!"

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe the day I've ha- wait..." Ivo furrowed his brow, locking eyes with the taller hedgehog. "What did you just say?"

"I said you look tired!" Sonic shrugged, leaning on the Meh' Burger counter, "Still, after all those hours you insist on putting into adjusting the Tornado, I guess I can't be surprised!" The hedgehog looked the smaller fox over, mildly curious. "New outfit buddy? Sweet!"

Ivo's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me, Sonic?" the former human said with a heavy dose of incredulity, "Has everybody lost their minds, or have you all forgotten-"

"YOU TWO!"

Ivo stopped in his ranting and the fur on his back stood on end with a chill, as he recognised the very familiar and quite impossible voice that came from behind, and above him.

Doctor Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik stood tall, his much larger human frame imposing to many mobians, though Sonic and Tails had fought the improbably shaped homosapien far too many times to be intimidated by such a display.

"Oh hey!" Sonic said, hands on hips as he wore his trademark lopsided grin, "Fancy seeing you here, egg-for-brains!"

"GAH! Enough with your insolence, Sonic! " the doctor retorted, jabbing an accusatory finger at the two brothers, "You two have ruined my plans for the LAST TIME, Sonic and Tails!"

"Oh man, how many times have we heard that before, huh lil' bro?" Sonic chuckled, nudging Tails on the shoulder. He frowned when the fox didn't respond. "Uh... lil' bro?"

Tails simply gawped at the human before them, mouth hanging open and eyes like pinpricks beneath his weird new goggles.

"Uh... Tails? You with us, buddy?"

Tails snapped his mouth shut and looked between Sonic and the doctor, blinking rapidly as though regaining his composure. "Uh... yeah! Yeah, I'm... totally tubular, Sonic! Coolamundo!"

"Ha!" Eggman cackled, running a hand through his luxurious moustache, "What's the matter, little buddy?" The human leaned over the much smaller fox, towering imposingly. "Finally overwhelmed by my superiority as the world's greatest mechanical genius?"

Tails simply gaped up at the human as though he'd seen a ghost, before backing slowly away.

"I have to go now..." the fox stammered, "I... uh... bye!"

The fox turned and bolted away, moving so fast as to leave a trail of dust in his wake.

"Huh," said Sonic, thrown off by Tails' reaction. "What do you think that was about?"

"Beats me," replied the doctor, before he frowned. "I like those new goggles though!"

Some yards away, Ivo Robotnik the fox peeked his fuzzy head around the cover of a market stall and watched as Sonic continued bickering with his old self - his human self. He leaned back into his cover and closed his eyes. "Okay, get a grip Ivo..." he raised his fists and lightly knuckled his temples, taking deep breaths. "This is all a dream... all a very... intense dream..."

"Papers! Get yer' papers here!"

Ivo's eyes snapped open as he had an idea. Carefully, as though he were any ordinary fox going about his ordinary business, he hopped from behind the market stall and wandered over to the pelican flogging his newspapers.

"Oh, uh..." the pelican said uncertainly, "Hi Tails! What can I do ya for?"

"Paper."

"Uh... come again?"

"Gimme a newspaper!" Ivo snapped, before flattening his ears apologetically. "Um, please?"

"Jeez, okay kid, here ya go..."

Ivo paid the man and took his purchase, flipping the newspaper open and scanning the top for the date.

"That can't be..." he muttered, "Five months? It can't be..."

"Oh, hi Tails!"

Ivo squeaked in alarm as a fair voice sounded next to him, and he turned wide-eyed to regard a slightly taller female fox.

Zooey gave him a wave. "Are you okay Tails?" the vixen said, brow creasing slightly at his startled reaction.

"Uh... yes!" Ivo replied, doing his best to come across as 'Tails-like' as possible. "Just peachy! Absolutely grand, Zippy!"

"Zippy?!"

"Uh, yes, I mean... that is, I meant to say, uh... hello?"

"Tails, what's going on?" Zooey pressed, "You're acting kinda strange..."

"Oh, nothing!" Ivo stammered, clutching his newspaper defensively, "I just, uh, had a very late night is all! And lots of coffee! Lots and lots of coffee to keep me working all night! SO much coffee! Yum!"

"Oh, um... okay..." the vixen scuffed the dirt with the toe of a slipper, suddenly bashful. "You haven't... forgotten about our date tonight, have you?"

Ivo paused in utter terror, brain frantically searching for any way out of this.

"Uh..." finally, the fox gave up. "YouknowwhatItotallyforgotaboutthattalktomelaterIneedtodomoreworkIgottagonowokaythanksbye"

In a plume of dust, tails involuntarily whirling and speeding him away, the fox was gone.

"I'm... gonna have to encourage him to drink less coffee..." Zooey muttered. "Nice outfit though."

"Okay... okay..." Ivo tapped in commands to his Eggmobile's computer, frowning as he ran calculations through the systems. "By these calculations, I estimate I should be able to return to my own time if I perform the exact same experiment the way I did before..." he spoke into his wrist computer, recording the information for future reference. "Unfortunately the Eggmobile still requires repairs, repairs I am at this moment unable to carry out. I need the right tools, and a brand new fuel cell for the propulsion system..."

The yellow fox hopped from the craft and landed in the grass, tails briefly fluttering without his notice.

"Unfortunately there are only two places I can retrieve the appropriate parts. The first I intend to hit is Tails' workshop. The little goober is usually working alone there, should be easy enough to grab the tools I need and get out. Unfortunately, the second location is going to be a little trickier..." Ivo tapped at his screen, bringing up an image of his own fortress, situated on the craggy rock of Eggman Isle.

"I don't have the means to transport everything I need from my own fortress..." the fox continued, "And that's without having to bypass the defences in the first place. Still..." A sly grin fell over Ivo's muzzle. "Trapped five months in the past, alone, with little resources and a fool's chance of returning to my own time... a walk in the park for Ivo Robotnik the Fox!"

"Thanks for helping me move these crates, Sonic..." Tails said, huffing as he and his brother deposited the last of the large wooden boxes to the floor, "That would have taken me all day if you hadn't shown up!"

"Yeah, sure..." Sonic groaned, stretching his sore back, "Why didn't you call knucklehead to deal with this? He could have gotten it done in ten seconds flat!"

"I did, but he never showed up!" Tails complained, rubbing at bloodshot eyes. "And I need these parts for my inventions!"

"Still, you owe me for this buddy..." Sonic winked. "a good chili dog meal at Meh' Burger at least!"

"Yeah, sure thing Sonic..." Tails folded his arms, eyes half-closed. "Of course, if you don't want me to build upgraded weapons for the team, and we don't beat Eggman without my new tech, that's fine by me! I can keep working on my own projects!"

"Oh yeah, because those never go wrong..." Sonic chuckled, ruffling his little brother's tired head and turning to leave. "Well, I'm beat. I'm gonna go take a snooze. See ya later, bud."

"Mhm..." Tails replied absently, lowering his usual red goggles.

Sonic frowned, registering the goggles, and the red and white sneakers his brother presently wore. "Say, what happened to your new outfit?"

Tails gawped absently at the hedgehog. "What new outfit?"

Sonic opened his mouth to argue, but decided against it as Tails hefted a crowbar with the intent on cracking open his new toys. "Nothing..." the hedgehog said. "Promise me you'll get some sleep buddy, okay? You've been pretty sketchy today..."

"Uh huh, skydiving, yeah." Tails replied, not paying a blind bit of attention. "Coolamundo."

Chuckling to himself, Sonic shook his head and left the workshop in search of a quiet place to snooze. Sleep wasn't one of the things he liked to go without, after all.

Tails suppressed a yawn as he deposited new parts on his workbench, yipping happily at the prospect of new stuff to build. He was always building, always tinkering, always coming up with new inventions to create, even at the expense of proper sleep.

Oh well. He didn't want to sleep right now. He just wanted to get cracking with his inventions!

He spun his tails and fluttered over to another workstation, this one outfitted with a computer system that Tails had developed himself. The fox tapped away at the keys, bringing up some of his more recent designs.

"Okay... portable directed-energy unit... improved sneakers to reduce high-speed friction burn... shock spear... Sticks won't like that... how can I convince her it kills Badniks better? Hmm..."

The young fox's ear twitched as he thought he heard a scuff come from behind. He turned, frowning behind his goggles, and found nothing but a workshop full of tools and parts and his own yellow Tornado. Tails shrugged and returned his attention to his work, this time considering plans for a fox-styled android, built to rival even doctor Eggman's Metal Sonic designs. He didn't have the parts for that yet, but such a machine might make a useful ally of Team Sonic's.

Tails hummed, tapping away, flicking his namesakes obliviously... before a clatter from behind made him almost jump from his pelt and spin around in alarm.

His eyes fell on what appeared to be a mirror image of himself, cringing next to a fallen toolbox right next to the workshop entrance, eyes wide in terror as the other fox gawped back with equal shock.

Tails hesitated, unsure how to react, before he reached up and clumsily removed his goggles, blinking heavily as he did so.

He scanned the spot where the double had been. Nothing. Even the toolbox had vanished.

Tails slumped his shoulders and sighed, his heart racing like a pneumatic drill. "Maybe Sonic's right..." he muttered to himself, or any other selves that might be listening, "Maybe I should get more sleep..."

That was too close... that was TOO CLOSE...

Outside, across from the workshop and leaning against the back of Tails' house, Ivo clutched his stolen toolbox to his chest and panted as his heart raced in time with Tails'. Like an oaf he had dropped the toolbox, and Tails had looked at him, looked right at him, and it was only down to the fox's terrible sleeping habits (and no small amount of luck on Ivo's part) that he'd apparently brushed the whole thing off as a hallucination.

"Fool!" Ivo muttered to himself, "You can't let that happen again! You musn't let that happen again! You can't cause any more damage to this timeline!"

Ivo took a moment to gather his nerves, adjusted the other bag of tools hanging around his hips - and turned around to walk straight into a very large slab of red meat.

"Oh, hey Tails!" Knuckles said cheerily from almost twice Ivo's height, "You called me to help move some crates or somethin'?"

Ivo gaped up at the echidna, eyes impossibly wide, before a very shaky smile pasted his face. "Oh, that's right, just... um... turn around and face the wall, count to a hundred, and I'll be right back! Can you do that for me, Snuffles?"

Knuckles raised a meaty thumbs up and grinned innocently. "You betcha!" The echidna turned to face the wall, obediently closed his eyes, and began to count. "One... two... four... wait... Tails! I can only count to four! Tails? Tails!"

Knuckles looked around only to find the fox with the green goggles was gone.

"Damn... that stupid knuckleheaded knucklebrain!" Ivo grumbled, sweating as he busily made repairs to the Eggmobile's systems, "Whatever his name is, he almost ruined my escape!" the fox stood back from his position behind the Eggmobile, returning his stolen tools to their places.

"Still..." he muttered, rubbing his muzzle, "That's most of the work done... now for the hard part..."

Some minutes later, Ivo found himself standing on the beach outside of town, looking out at the craggy rock of what he had dubbed Eggman Isle, his own fortress lair standing tall like an artificial growth. He sighed.

"But how to get there..." he muttered, gazing out over the expanse of ocean between the beach and the fortress, "I can get in easily enough, supposing I remain undetected while inside, but I am not foxy-paddling my way over all that! " He forlornly looked back to the twin tails he had never understood how to use and gave them an experimental waggle. They rotated a few times, and he shut his eyes in the attempt to concentrate more... but ultimately, nothing came of it.

"Ugh..." the fox groaned, giving up the attempt, "What's the use..." Ivo scanned the beach, his enhanced eyesight picking out a small pier further down, canoes bobbing in the waves as the owner of the small renting shop closed up for the evening.

Ivo slumped as he realised his only option.

"Agh... Oh, jeez..." Ivo groaned as he heaved himself onto the craggy beach of his fortress island, shaking his arms free of cramps after the journey across the waves. "Whoever said exercise was good for you?! Ugh..."

The moon was out now, the trip from dry land to the island having taken a lot longer than Ivo would have hoped. Upon the moonlit rock, the small fox ceased his whining and hurried on over to where he knew his secret back entrance would be.

"Okay..." the fox whispered beneath his breath, "So far so good..." he tapped at his wrist computer and began remotely accessing the door controls. Fortunately only his communications systems were down, which he attributed to 'strange time phenomena', rather than plot convenience.

After a short while of fussing and concentration, the secret entrance hissed open, and the fox grinned with pointy canines.

"A very cunning plan, befitting one very cunning fox!" he chuckled, before ducking into the secret tunnel, the door sliding shut behind him moments later.

"ORBOT! CUBOT! I AM GOING TO BED!"

Doctor Eggman snarled at his lackeys as he stormed through the lair in his evil pyjamas, evil nightcap and evil fluffy slippers completing his nightwear. The two robots cowered at their master's temper as they mopped up the remains of the fourth mug of cocoa that wasn't 'just right', Robotnik's disposition having not improved after several more hours working on the still inert Metal Sonic Mark Two. The doctor couldn't put his finger on it. The physical frame was completed, but he just couldn't refine the programming.

The doctor huffed, considering other evil schemes he could put into effect against the troublesome Team Sonic. Maybe his abandoned Roboticizer Ray could come in handy.

The doctor entered his bedroom and secured the door behind him, kicking off his slippers and settling himself beneath the covers. He removed his glasses and smacked his lips happily, ready to noddle off into dreamland.

"Some day..." he mumbled to himself as he began to drift off, "Some day I will be the most powerful evil genius the world has ever seen... and everyone will bow down to me..."

Before the doctor could fully fall asleep however, a crash from elsewhere in his lair jolted him awake, and he swore as his security alarms began to blare.

"And here we see the fox, one of nature's stealthiest specimens, on the hunt for his natural prey... the hypercharged plasma fuel cell!" Ivo muttered to himself as he silently prowled through the depths of his own lair, hardly daring to move in case the security systems were triggered. He tiptoed almost comically across a a hallway, raising his wrist computer to access another door, licking dry lips as he did so.

The door slid open and he silently entered the room, to be met with his own Eggmobile, sitting happily in the workshop, surrounded by tools and spare parts. Apparently his old self hadn't bothered to clear up that night, which made his present job much easier.

The fox hefted his tools, grateful for his enhanced night vision as he ghosted over the bay, careful not to tread on any of the spare parts lying around.

He reached the Eggmobile and patted the vehicle affectionately. "Sorry old girl..." he muttered, moving behind to access the fuel cell compartment, "But I'll get this back to you, I swear..."

It took some very tense, very careful minutes before Ivo finally had his reward, the fuel cell glowing faintly in his gloved hands. He cackled silently as he hugged the device.

"And that's one ticket home!" he whispered, looking directly at the thing. In the darkness, the otherwise faint glow pierced his eyes, and he had to suppress a yelp as he blinked the afterimage from his eyes.

Stupidly, clumsily, his foot caught on an upturned paint can, and the fuel cell flew from his arms as he tumbled forth.

Time seemed to slow as the device hit the floor and bounced once... bounced twice... before smacking into a wheeled trolley, sending the thing rolling across the floor. In a cruel twist of fate the alarms didn't go off at that... but they did go off as the top-heavy chest toppled over as its wheels snagged a snaking electrical wire, sending nuts and bolts and screws flying everywhere as it slammed into the metal floor with an almighty crash.

Ivo smacked his hands to his ears and released a primal squeak at the piercing sounds of the alarms and flashing red lights, damning himself for his clumsiness and for not bringing along ear defenders. He scrambled to his feet, careful not to slip over on the sea of tiny parts that now littered the workshop floor, frantically hurrying to the fallen fuel cell.

He succeeded in retrieving the fuel cell and, hoping against hope it hadn't been damaged with the impact, and his mind raced as he calculated how to escape without being seen.

He froze as the alarms were cut off, the lights stopped flashing, and a tremendously angry voice roared in the small space of the vehicle bay.

"YOU!"

"Uh..." Ivo scrambled for any kind of response he could pull from between his tails, anything at all to temper the extremely angry human with the energy pistol in the doorway. "Um... meow?"

Eggman was not amused. "TAILS?!" the human snarled, visibly shaking with anger, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY LAIR?!"

"I, uh..." Ivo stammered, ears flattening as he understood his predicament. "Need to... borrow this?"

The doctor responded by raising his pistol and sighting it directly over 'Tails' face. "The only thing you're getting from me..." the human growled, "Is a high-voltage TICKET TO HELL!"

Ivo squealed and lunged away, clutching his fuel cell like a newborn infant as bolts of energy smacked into the concrete around his feet. He lunged into the air to escape the volley of energy, squeezing his eyes shut as he anticipated the ground's coming embrace...

Which didn't come. Instead he suddenly seemed to be suspended by something, some way above the ground.

Ivo timidly opened his eyes and found he was certainly airborne. He wondered how this was possible... before kicking himself internally and remembering just who he had cloned his present body from.

He glanced back behind him to find his tails, as if they were a separate entity to himself, spinning rapidly enough to create the downdraft necessary for flight, and shedding hair as they did so. "I'm flying?" he muttered, trying to ignore the blatant disregard for the laws of physics his magical butt displayed, "Heck yeah! I'm flying!"

"And you're a perfect target!"

"Huh?" Ivo looked back, as doctor Eggman raised a reloaded energy pistol and sighted him again like he were a floating balloon. "Ah, crap-"

The doctor began firing again, trying to shoot him down like a clay pigeon, but whatever instinct had kicked in that had unlocked Ivo's flight capabilities had kicked in good. He dodged away from the shots, trailed by fur moulting from the as of yet unused appendages, clutching the fuel cell tightly and moving as though he'd been flying like this forever.

The terror of being vaporised helped a lot in that regard.

"AAAGH!" The human doctor roared, shaking his pistol as it overheated again, "STAY STILL YOU LITTLE PEST!"

In the short time he had, Ivo considered his options. His only escape route was currently blocked off by a very angry, very large human, and he didn't have much time until the doctor's energy pistol cooled down.

The twin-tailed fox spat a hair from his mouth before he lowered his head and snarled back. "Eat me, Egg-brain!"

With that, just like he'd been fighting this particular human for years, the fox boosted forward and delivered a wallop to the head with his fuel cell, a blow that knocked the doctor straight back into the sea of spilled nuts and bolts. The human wailed as he slipped and fell, dropping like a felled tree to the solid concrete below.

"YOU-" Robotnik snarled up at the flying fox above him, "YOU LITTLE-"

"I just need to borrow this!" the fox chuntered as he turned to fly out of the now clear doorway, "You'll thank me later!" before he left, 'Tails' offered the fallen human an exasperated little look. "Much later..."

With that, the fox was gone, and Robotnik could only curse into the empty room while yellow hairs floated around him.

"DAMN YOU, TAILS! DAMN YOU TO HELL!"

"Doctor!"

"Boss!"

Orbot and Cubot finally swooped into the room, showing up just in time to avoid the confrontation in the vehicle bay.

"Oh dear..." Orbot said tentatively, "Are you alright sir?"

"SILENCE!" the doctor roared, raising heavily to his feet and shoving past his minions, "Let me see those security tapes! I need to know EXACTLY how that little wretch got in here!"

Present day...

"And that..." Ivo Robotnik the fox grinned smugly as he told his story like a victorious military leader, waxing about his greatest battles, "Is how I went back in time, repaired the Eggmobile, gathered all the parts I needed and learned to fly, all before getting myself back... to the time I came from!"

"Oh, sir!" Orbot said as he poured the fox a glass of Udder Goodness chocolate milk, "That's such an inspirational story!"

"Are you sure it makes sense though?" Cubot put in, scratching his boxy cranium.

"Eh, it's time travel..." Ivo shrugged, sipping at his milk. "Just go with it."

"You got it, boss!"

"It does explain how Tails got past our defences..." Orbot mused, "And why he was skulking around inside the lair that night..."

Ivo chuckled. "I know, right? What a happy little time loop. It's all coming back to me now, come to think of it. Man! I pack a mean swing with a blunt object!"

"Wait..." Cubot said thoughtfully, "That wasn't Tails you fought in the vehicle bay! It was you!" The yellow mechanoid spoke as though he'd had an epiphany, before he slumped and rubbed his 'chin'. "But... then that means-"

"Yes, it means you're a genius..." Ivo finished, a heavily unimpressed expression plastered over his face. He set his now empty glass down on the coffee table and hopped from the sofa. "Anyway, this whole experience has reminded me... the Eggmobile bay needs clearing after the installation of her new propulsion systems! You two really need to remind me of all the things I need to remind myself to order you to do."

Orbot and Cubot slumped dejectedly. "Clear it, clear it, sir?" Orbot said, "Not just 'sweep up Tails' fur for some experiment' clear it?"

"Exactamundo!" Ivo replied, rubbing his hands together. "Come on! Chop chop! I want that vehicle bay tidied within the hour!"

The two robots sulked as they hovered away, and Ivo sighed happily now he was back in his own time. He scratched irritably at his uniform coat.

"Huh, time for a clip..." he spoke to himself absently, adjusting his jacket for the thick layer of fluff that lay beneath. "Another job for those dolts to... do..."

Ivo frowned as his own simple statement jogged particular memories, memories that had seemingly been buried inside his mixed-up mind. He thought back to that night, when he had unwittingly confronted himself in the Eggmobile bay... and a sudden chill ran down his spine, all the way to the tips of his tails.

"No..." he muttered, "That can't be right..."

Without thinking, Ivo spun up his tails and hovered usteadily to his control console, his newly discovered flight abilities clumsier now he wasn't running on adrenalin. He scowled as he tapped through his security files, scanning for the exact date and time of the fight. He found the appropriate file and clicked play.

"TAILS?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY LAIR?!"

"I, uh... need to borrow this?"

Ivo impatiently watched the fight play out once again, this time in third person as well as from both perspectives in his mind. He watched as he opened fire on himself, almost making his own mark several times before the pistol overheated. Now his fox self was flying, darting around from even more laser fire. He watched until he smacked himself over the head with the fuel cell, and his human self tumbled to the floor. Fox self left. Orbot and Cubot entered the bay. Human self stormed off the check the security logs, where Ivo was sitting right this instant.

Memories pooling back into his brain, Ivo switched perspectives to the control room, watching himself watching the very same footage he had just watched... himself.

"What were you doing in there Tails..." the doctor murmured, stroking the moustache he would soon lose, "What were you doing in my lair..."

Ivo jolted as his human self slammed a fist into the console over and over.

"DAMN IT ALL! THAT INSOLENT LITTLE CANINE BRAT!" the human doctor bellowed, causing Orbot and Cubot to cower in terror (something that Ivo couldn't help but feel slightly ashamed of, despite the circumstances). His ears flattened as he observed his own tantrum through the monitor. "AND THAT UNDERHAND TEAM SONIC! SENDING IN SPIES TO STEAL MY THINGS?! OUTRAGEOUS! HOW WOULD THEY LIKE IT?! HOW WOULD THEY LIKE IT... IF... I were to..."

Ivo watched his past self trail off, hunching as a sudden inspiration took hold.

"Yes... yes..." the human doctor muttered, rubbing his moustache thoughtfully, "It's... it's perfect..."

Ivo went cold as he watched himself leave his chair with intent, and scanned through the files until he found the moment he was looking for.

"Here you go boss..." past Cubot said, handing a bag full of yellow fluff to the doctor while Orbot hovered beside him, "That's all the shed fur we could find!"

"Doctor, if I might ask..." Orbot put in tentatively, "Is there a reason you wanted us to tidy up his fur before the rest of the mess?"

"I hate animals that shed!" the doctor retorted, roughly grabbing the bag from Cubot's hands. "Besides... I have a plan so delightfully devellish, so wickedly devious, so deceivingly deceptive, that nobody will see it coming until it's far too late!" the doctor raised the bag of fur beside his face. "What do you think boys?" he offered them the leering, maniacal grin of a genius with an inspired plan he was yet to fully divulge, "Would yellow suit me?"

"I don't understand, sir..."

"Of course you don't, you're a half-wit! Now, follow me to the cloning chamber! It's about time I put that baby to good use..."

Ivo had seen enough. He stopped the log where it was and leaned back in his chair.

"What a curious little time loop..." he chuckled to himself, removing his gloves and slapping them on the console, "What a curious little time loop indeed!"

And then the fox started laughing. He started laughing and he kept laughing, and he didn't stop for a time.