Author's Note: This is a collection of oneshots requested by TecMiles featuring his original character (OC), Miles the Cat. Please note that, despite the name, Miles is distinct from Tails the Fox. While I describe Miles' appearance in the first chapter, feel free to check out TecMiles' DeviantArt page to get a visual reference for the OC. Google "TecMiles DeviantArt" to find his profile.
Body Swap Shenanigans
"Oh wow, it works!"
Tails the Fox spun a green laser pistol around with his gloved hand, a smirk of confidence covering his furry muzzle. "Hey Miles, it's finished!" The young kitsune spun around, peering all over his workshop to find his close friend and workshop partner. After taking a few steps, he found a pair of gray legs sticking out from under the Tornado, a long, narrow tail twirled up from behind.
"Hey Miles," Tails said as he observed the cat's handiwork, "look what I just finished."
"Just a minute." Miles pulled himself out from underneath the biplane before returning to his feet. The cat had a light brown muzzle, dark-tipped ears, a tuft of chest floof, and a green scarf around his neck, fashionable even in the summer.
"I got the laser to work!" Tails cheered happily, presenting the futuristic-looking pistol to the curious cat.
"Hmmm…" Miles removed his glasses, cleaning them briefly before quietly observing the laser. "Have you tested it yet?"
"Of course!" Tails replied cheerily, his twin namesakes fluttering from behind. "I'll show ya!" The fox proceeded to lead the cat to a cage housing a small mouse of the Mobini variety, not possessing the anthropomorphic characteristics shared by Tails and Miles.
"Watch closely…" Tails aimed the laser between the bars of the cage as the mouse ran on its wheel. Pulling the trigger, a red blast erupted from the gun, hitting the mouse but doing nothing to disorient the animal. What was different, however, was the mouse's speed.
"You see?" Tails pointed at the mouse. "The slow-motion ray is now fully operational, and it was all thanks to your proposed modifications!" The fox clicked a button on the pistol, retracting a metallic casing which housed the green Chaos Emerald.
"I knew that'd work!" Miles replied, slamming one fist against the palm of his other hand.
"We've always helped each other out," Tails observed, gently play punching the cat's shoulder. "Even before we met Sonic, we've always had each other's backs."
"Man, don't remind me of the early years," Miles replied with a chuckle, returning the fox's play punch with his own. "Our lives were pretty miserable back then, but at least we had each other."
"Indeed!" Tails raised a finger to the air as he spun the pistol with his finger once more. "Since we met Sonic, though, things started looking up! Going on adventures, fighting evil robots, taking down tyrannical scientists, and coming up with new inventions!"
"I'll say," Miles replied with a nod as he turned his attention to the laser. "Do you think this'll have practical combat use?"
"Well, I would like to evaluate it a bit more," Tails replied as he ran his free hand behind his ears, "but my tests have been successful on Mobini thus far. If this'll work on Mobians, we may be able to use this to our advantage in our next confrontation with Eggman!"
"Oh yeah!" Miles replied, nodding once more. "If he can't scurry away the next time we foil his plans, we could catch him and finally hand him over to the authorities!"
"My thoughts exactly," Tails replied, raising a fist to chest level. Getting the message, Miles went in for a fist bump, happiness radiating from both of them.
"Hey there, bros!"
Miles and Tails shifted their attention to the door of the workshop where Sonic the Hedgehog was casually leaning against the wall, a half-eaten chili dog in one hand while his other was against his hip.
"Oh, hey Sonic!" Tails replied. "Wanna see something cool?"
"I like cool things, so why not?" Sonic chuckled as he made his way to the fox and cat. The blue hedgehog shifted his focus to the cage. "Hey, does that mouse seem…okay to you?"
"That's exactly what I wanted to show you," Tails replied with a nod. "It's running in slow-motion due to our latest invention."
"You don't say," Sonic replied, bending his knees slightly to get a better look. "Is it reversible?"
"Certainly!" Spinning the pistol in his hand once more, the orange kitsune aimed at the mouse and pulled the trigger. The laser hit the mouse, returning the lab animal back to normal speed as it continued running in its wheel unawares.
"Fascinating," Miles observed as he brought his fingers to his chin in thought. "Does it wear off naturally if we just leave the subject in slow-motion?"
"Yep!" Tails replied. "After one hour, the target will return to normal. I put in this failsafe to ensure there wouldn't be any permanent changes."
"Huh…" Sonic reached his hand out. "May I see it?"
"Sure!" Tails gave the pistol to the blue hedgehog, who studied it intently. Finally, with a smirk on his face, he returned the laser to the young fox. "I might have a challenge for you two."
"A challenge?" Miles and Tails replied, tilting their heads simultaneously.
"If one of you can hit me with that laser in sixty seconds, I will treat you both to lunch!" Sonic itched the base of his nose. "If you guys can't catch me, though, you'll each have to buy me lunch."
"What do you think, Miles?" Tails asked.
"Sounds like a challenge that's right up my alley." A grin appeared across the cat's face. He proceeded to extend his arm out to Sonic, the blue hedgehog accepting the handshake before repeating this ritual with the orange kitsune.
"Alright." Sonic spindashed out of the open garage door of the workshop. "Good luck catching me in under a minute!"
"Damn, he got a head start!" Miles shouted, running after the blue hedgehog, Tails following close behind.
"Haha, you're too slow!" Sonic was on the opposite end of the long runway leading off the edge of the cliffside steps away from Tails' workshop. The blue hedgehog lowered his eyelid with his index finger while sticking out his tongue. "You can't catch me!"
"Wait until I show him!" Tails replied with a smirk, aiming the laser at the blue hedgehog. Pulling the trigger, the laser pierced through the after image of the speedy hedgehog.
"W-where'd he go?" Tails peered around, only to find Sonic sitting on the roof of the workshop.
"You're too slow!" Twisting around, and slapping his backside in classic taunting fashion, Sonic proceeded to jump to the nearest tree, peering down at his friends below.
Tails took another shot, but Sonic jumped from the tree before the laser could reach its destination.
"Time's almost up, pal!" Sonic appeared within a few feet of his little brother and pointed at his wrist. "I'll have you order me a dozen chili dogs…with the works!"
"Don't be so cocky, big brother," Tails grinned, "because I've got you right where I want ya!" The orange kitsune pulled the trigger. Sonic spun around, preparing to flee once more, but the laser managed to strike his shoe's belt buckle, ricocheting back at the unsuspecting fox.
"What th—" The projectile beam struck the pistol, exploding upon impact, smoke covering the area surrounding the two brothers.
"Sonic! Tails!" Miles ran into the smoke plume, coughing profusely as he breathed it in. Covering his muzzle with his scarf, he managed to locate Sonic and Tails, pulling them back into the workshop.
"Are you okay?" Miles asked, dropping to his knees to get a better look at the two brothers.
"W-what happened?" Miles turned to find Sonic disoriented.
"Sonic, you okay to stand?" Miles crawled over to the blue hedgehog.
"S-Sonic?" He shook his head, running a hand behind his quills. "Ouch!" Removing his hand from his pointy quills, he noticed something strange. "W-wait a minute…" He observed his gloved hands, and his pale arms, before jumping up to find the nearest mirror, tripping in the process.
"Sonic? Are you feeling alright?" Miles tilted his head in concern.
"B-but that's impossible!" Sonic clasped his face with both hands.
"What are you talking about?" Miles approached the hedgehog. "Is something wrong with your face?"
"AAAAAA! What happened?!"
Miles and Sonic turned to Tails, who observed himself in another nearby mirror.
"You too?" Miles asked. "What's going on here?"
"We've switched bodies!" Sonic and Tails replied simultaneously.
Miles was speechless, his mouth agape as he stared at the hedgehog and kitsune. "You've…what?"
"I don't know what happened," Tails replied, running a gloved hand through his blue quills as he spoke in Sonic's voice, "but the explosion must've caused a Chaos Emerald-induced reaction that somehow caused this to happen…." Tails peered around the workshop. "Say, has it always been so cramped in here?" He snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah, it's because I'm taller! I bet the workshop must be feeling pretty big to you right now."
"I'll say," Sonic replied as he placed his hands on his furry hips, his tails fluttering against his will, "but how do we reverse this?" He peered down at his new body, placing a palm on his pudgy belly as he grabbed a hold of a tail with his other hand. "No offense, Tails, but I'm thinkin' my ol' blue self fits me better."
"Agreed," Tails replied, nodding as he ran a hand through his quills. "I don't think I could ever get used to being this cool!"
"Hmmm…" Miles observed the remnants of the gun. A few pieces appeared charred but still intact, and the green Chaos Emerald was unscathed, glistening in the corner of the workshop. "I think I may know how to get your bodies back to normal."
"You do?" Sonic and Tails replied.
"Yep!" Miles pushed his glasses up his snout before raising a finger to the air. "We still have the blueprints for the laser, the green Chaos Emerald, and a few spare parts. I could put another laser together in no time at all and then configure it to replicate the explosion and, with any luck, restore you two back to your old selves"
"Great!" Tails replied as he placed a hand on Miles' shoulder, a feat made easier thanks to his newly gained height. "I can help too!"
"I think you should take it easy." Miles gently removed Tails' hand from his shoulder and clasped it between his palms. "You and Sonic just went through an unimaginable transformation. You could experience body dysphoria or an unknown side effect." Miles let go of Tails' hand and itched the base of his nose. "I got this! Why don't you and Sonic go chillax outside while I work on the device?"
"Okay, if you say so," Tails replied before turning to face his older brother, who was leaning on the wall nearest the open garage door, his hands behind his head and one foot tapping the floor. "Hey Sonic, let's leave Miles to his work."
"Hey, just because you're now in my body doesn't mean you get to order me 'round," Sonic replied with a smirk. "I'm still your older brother after all."
"Oh yeah?" Tails mimicked Sonic's foot tapping. "You jealous that I have your supersonic speed?"
"You may have the body," Sonic replied as he approached his younger brother, having to peer up at him for a change, "but to match my true speed, you need skill, practice, and my signature brand of swagger."
"Swagger, huh?" Tails chuckled as he braced himself for a running start. "Watch this." He entered a spindash, charging out of the workshop and subsequently losing control, hitting each of the fake trees lining the perimeter of the runway like a pinball. Finally, he slammed into the tree nearest the cliff's edge, colliding with its trunk and falling on his rear end.
"Tails!" Sonic charged a spindash as well, but as he launched himself out of the workshop, he lost his footing, rolling out of control until he crashed into his younger brother like a bowling pin, landing on top of him.
"Ahhh," Sonic rubbed his head, his fox ears twitching at the touch, "my head's spinning. Tails…are you alright?"
"Y-yeah…" His head was still bobbing up and down, imaginary flickies spinning around his vision.
"Here, lemme help ya up." Sonic pulled himself off the pavement and offered his hand, a gesture which Tails gladly accepted. "Now let's good a good look at ya…" Hopping up a few times, thanks to his shorter stature, Sonic gave his body a good once over. "There, looks like the goods weren't damaged."
"You're sturdier than I am!" Tails replied as he dusted himself off.
"Just be careful, lil' bud," Sonic said, raising a playful finger toward his brother. "Remember, with great power comes great responsibility, so don't bite off more than you can chew."
"Did you…rip that off from a movie?" Tails asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
"Nope! All original!" Sonic rubbed the base of his nose, his tails fluttering from behind once more. He grabbed his twin namesakes. "Say Tails, how do you control these things anyway?"
"My tails?" He raised a finger to his chin in thought. "I dunno…I guess it always came naturally to me. After all, I've had them my entire life!"
"Is that so?" Sonic grinned mischievously before bending his knees and gritting his teeth. Within moments, his tails started rotating from behind. "Oh wow, I'm doing it!"
"Good work, Sonic!" Tails replied with a thumbs up.
"Now let's see if I can fly with these babies!" Grinning, Sonic increased the speed of his tails. A few seconds later, he started generating a cool breeze for his younger brother, and before he knew it, he was floating in the air, kept up high thanks to the power of his behind appendages.
"You're doing great!" Tails called from below as Sonic gradually increased his height. "Now just keep it steady."
"Steady? Don't you know speed's my middle name?" Grinning once more, Sonic took a nosedive, expanding his arms out like a bird as he swooped up moments before crashing into the pavement.
"Just be careful!" Tails called as Sonic proceeded to fly up, down, and all around.
"Don't worry, little bro!" Sonic waved back at Tails from high above. "I won't crash your body like how you crash my Tornad—" He froze as his tails tied into a knot. "Aaaahhhhhhhh!"
"Sonic!" Tails watched as his big brother's flight pattern grew unstable before finally falling through the ceiling of the workshop, his blow softened by a not too happy cat down below.
"Sonic…" Miles peered up at the orange body above him, the two sprawled across the ground. A vein appeared across his forehead. "Will you get off me? It's kind of difficult working on a cure when you're crashing up the place and using me as a pillow!"
"Hehe, sorry 'bout that!" Sonic pulled himself up, offering a hand to Miles, who accepted the gesture. The cat pushed his glasses up his snout once more as Sonic tried loosening the knot in his tails.
"Here, let me help you," Tails offered as he approached Sonic from behind. A blush appeared across Sonic's face as Tails got to work, gently loosening the knot and pulling the two namesakes apart, freeing them with ease.
"Oh wow, how'd you do that so quickly?" Sonic asked as he grabbed each tail with either hand.
"Years of practice, trust me," Tails responded with a chuckle.
"I hate to break up the fun," Miles interjected, holding a garage broom in his hands, "but I'd like to restore you two back as soon as possible. As much as I'd love to study this revolutionary body swapping incident with a fine-toothed comb, we should consider the real possibility of an Eggman attack. Do we really want to be caught with our tails between our legs if he decides to unveil some sort of Mobius-shattering plot?"
"I guess not," Sonic replied as he itched the base of his nose.
"Sorry, Miles," Tails ran a hand through his quills once more.
"It's alright, guys," Miles replied, a smile forming along his muzzle as his tail rolled inward. "Sorry for being hard on ya, but we've just gotta be responsible here."
"No worries, we hear ya!" Sonic gave Miles a thumbs up before returning his focus to Tails. "Hey lil' bro, let's say you give me some more flying lessons. Maybe you can teach me how not to get my tails tied together mid-flight?"
"Sure thing, Sonic!" Tails gave him a thumbs up before making his way out of the workshop, followed closely behind by his big bro.
Miles chuckled to himself. "They're having so much fun, despite the stakes." The cat pulled a welding mask over his face as he finished assembling the parts needed to reconstruct the laser. "I'm not even sure if this'll work…" He pulled the blue Chaos Emerald from his utility belt, shining in tandem with the green gem across the workbench. "…but I've gotta try! I'll get Sonic and Tails back to normal if it's the last thing I do!"
Pulling down his protective welding mask, the determined cat got to work reconstructing the laser pistol, sparks flying all around him as the mid-morning sun crawled across the sky, vowing not to stop until he got the job done.
"Okay, Tails, I think I got it."
"A-are you sure?"
"Yep!" Sonic gave his big brother a thumbs up, his tails fluttering from behind. "I've gotta say, trying to fly with these babies is pretty difficult. I'm not up to your level, but…" Bracing his knees, Sonic furrowed his brow before jumping into the air, quickly spinning his rotary namesakes thereafter, keeping himself suspended in the air. "…I think I'm startin' to get the hang of it!"
"That's really cool, Sonic!" Tails replied, running a hand through his quills. "I don't suppose you'd be in the mood for a little race?"
"A race?" Sonic tilted his head in confusion. "Against the fastest hedgehog alive? Sounds like the ultimate challenge!" He stopped spinning his tails, his feet dropping to the ground below. "Alright, same course as usual?"
"Bring it on, fox," Tails replied with a smug grin across his muzzle.
"Ready, set, go!"
The two were off, running around the outer perimeter of the workshop before making their way through the mountains of the Mystic Ruins.
"H-hey!" Miles covered his muzzle with his scarf as the dust swirled around the workshop, entering through the open garage door. Finally, as the cloud cleared, he peered around to find his friends have vanished. "And to think I just finished up with the preparations." The cat shook his head before heading for the Tornado, Sonic's signature biplane mostly used and maintained by Tails but occasionally borrowed by the cat for pleasure rides. "Oh well, at least I've got a good excuse to give the Tornado a good flight!" Pulling on a set of flight goggles, the cat jumped into the cockpit, started the engine, and drove the plane down the runway, taking flight moments before the aircraft reached the edge of the cliff.
"If my hunch is correct, they're headed for the Mystic Ruins for one of their friendly races." Swooping around, his suspicions were confirmed, as evidenced by the trail of dust left by orange and blue blurs running side by side nearby. Chuckling to himself, he followed the two, staying high enough to keep on their trail.
Sonic and Tails were too preoccupied with their competition that they didn't notice the plane chasing them from above. They maneuvered through the forest as fast as they could, but not achieving their true potentials because they were still not fully accustomed to their bodies.
"I could get used to this!" Tails cheered as he ran backwards, pulling his lower eyelid down with his finger as he stuck his tongue out at his big brother, who was following close behind with the aid of his rotating namesakes.
"Don't get cocky, Tails," Sonic replied as he increased the speed of his natural propellers. "You may have the upper hand, but it's easy to lose your head, especially with that branch you're about to…"
Tails ran back first into a long branch drooped over the path leading to a nearby cavern.
"…Yeahhhh, oofdah!"
Sonic gave Tails a peace sign as he flew past him, making his way into the cave entrance.
"Owwww…" Tails rubbed his head before pulling himself off the ground, dusting the dirt from his knees and shifting his attention back to the path ahead. With a grin of determination, he spindashed onward, entering the cave at breakneck speed. He skidded to a stop, however, to find Sonic facing difficulties as well.
"Uhhh, Tails? A lil' help here?"
Tails burst out laughing at the sight of Sonic tangled up in an array of vines, quite common in the Mystic Ruins and usually easily avoidable when in his own body, but not when he's borrowing his little brother's form.
Sonic rolled his eyes as he watched his brother gawking at him from the floor of the cave.
"Okay, okay, sorry, Sonic," Tails said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'll getcha down using your signature technique!"
"Show me what ya got, lil' buddy!" Sonic grinned from above as Tails lunged toward him, entering a spindash in the process.
"Up, over, n' gone!" Tails expertly cut through the vines, precisely slicing just enough to avoid hurting his big brother (and, therefore, his old body). Sonic fell to the floor, landing on his behind.
"Are you okay, Sonic?" Tails asked as he offered a hand.
"Sure am, bro!" Sonic nodded his head as he grabbed hold of Tails' hand, allowing his younger brother to pull him up. "Your technique was a bit sloppy, but it's a big improvement over before! Most importantly, you got my catchphrase down pat."
"Yay, glad you liked it!" Tails replied, giving him a thumbs up.
"Oh wow, I forgot how cool I look when I raise my thumbs!" Sonic commented as he brought a hand to his chin in thought, causing the orange kitsune to chuckle. He stopped, however, when he heard a familiar engine above them.
"It's the Tornado!" Tails pointed up at a hole at the top of the cave. "I suppose Miles came to look for us, huh?"
"I wouldn't be surprised," Sonic replied, his tails fluttering from behind as an idea came to him. "Say, you want me to give you a lift?"
"Like how I carry you around during our adventures?" Tails asked enthusiastically.
"Exactly." Sonic nodded as he spun his namesakes once more, floating several feet off the ground. "Grab ahold of my legs."
"Okay, but I gotta warn you," Tails rubbed his belly, "with all the chili dogs you eat, I'm gonna be dead weight!"
"Oh, c'mon, Tails! I bet it's not tha—" He gasped as Sonic's weight pulled him down. He had to increase his tails' rotation speed to stay suspended in the air.
"What were you saying?" Tails wore a smug smirk as Sonic gritted his teeth. "Now do you believe me when I say you should lay off the junk food?"
"M-maybe you've gotta point," Sonic admitted as he flew up. "Hey, I think I see 'im!" Sonic flew out of the hole in the cave to find Miles flying the Tornado nearby. Tails whistled, catching the cat's attention.
"Oh hey!" Miles waved as he spun the biplane around, steadying the aircraft to allow the two to land in the back seat comfortably. "How was your little expedition?"
"Oh, you know," Tails replied as Sonic panted, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Sonic now knows how hard it is for me to fly him around all the time." Miles chuckled at the observation as Sonic wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Well, I've got some good news! The lab's all set up for the procedure. We'll have you two back in your old bodies in no time!"
"G-great," Sonic replied, still panting from the flight. "I can't wait to be me again. Being Tails was fun n' all, but I miss my old self!"
"Yeah, I don't think I could get used to being this cool," Tails observed as he peered down at his arms, earning a collective laugh from Miles and Sonic.
"Oh wow, Miles! This looks pretty elaborate!" Tails peered around the workshop to find Miles' set-up: a standing mirror angled near the far wall with a pedestal close by, the red Chaos Emerald resting on top.
"Why thank you," Miles replies as he itched the base of his nose. He pulled the laser gun from his utility belt. "All I need to do is shoot the mirror, and the laser will bounce back, hitting the Chaos Emerald. With you and Sonic touching the emerald simultaneously, the body swapping effect should be replicated, and you should be back to your old selves!"
"Sounds radical!" Sonic replied with a thumbs up before heading toward the pedestal, his tails fluttering from behind. "Get over here, Tails! Are ya itchin' to get your body back?"
"Yeah, I suppose so," Tails replied with a chuckle before giving Sonic's body a once over. "I will admit, though, I'll miss your supersonic speed!"
"Yeah, your tails are pretty neat too!" Sonic reached for a single tail and ran his fingers through its hair. "They're so fluffy and convenient! Good luck getting all that mud out of them, though!"
"Don't remind me," Tails replied with a groan, meeting his older brother at the pedestal and placing his palm on the shimmering gem. Sonic did the same, their hands resting together as Miles finished calibrating his laser pistol.
"Everyone ready?" Miles asked as he aimed at the mirror.
"Let's do it to it!" Sonic replied with a nod.
"Alright…one, two, and th—"
The door swung open, revealing a distressed pink hedgehog.
"Sonic, there's an emerge—" Amy screamed as Miles' misfired laser shot managed to hit her boot buckle, bouncing back and destroying the gun in the process, causing another explosion. The workshop was filled with smoke.
Everyone covered their mouths as Tails made his way to a large red button on the wall. Pressing it, the smoke was exhausted from the workshop, but what remained left the entire party stunned.
"No, this wasn't supposed to happen!" Miles peered down to find his normal gray gloves gone, replaced with a familiar set of white gloves, and his arms were now orange, his belly was a bit chubbier, and peering behind, his thin, cat-like tail was gone, a pair of fox tails taking its place.
"Let's not panic," Tails said as he pushed his glasses over his snout. "If we could swap bodies twice, I'm sure we could do it a third time!"
"What about Sonic and Amy?" Miles asked as he pointed at the two hedgehogs, who were staring at each other in disbelief.
"Oh no, don't tell me…" Tails peered over at them to confirm his suspicion. "It's as I feared."
"A-Amy…" Sonic ran to the nearest mirror to find that he was now in the pink hedgehog's body. "Even my voice…is Amy's…"
"What's going on?" The party peered at Amy, who was now in Sonic's body. She looked down, inspecting her new torso. "This doesn't make any sense. Why do I look like Sonic, and sound like Sonic?" She lifted her arm and smelled her armpit, a shade of green covering her muzzle. "And smell like Sonic?"
"Because you are Sonic," Tails replied. "It's thanks to this Chaos Emerald-induced explosion that we swapped bodies again."
"Again?" Amy asked, placing her hands on her hips before peering down once more, making a startling realization. "Ahhhh! I'm naked! I need some clothes!"
"Amy, wait!" Sonic grabbed Amy's arm before she could run out of the workshop. "Don't run fast just yet. Tails tried that with my body, and it didn't go well. Take it slow first. Also, you know I never wear anything except my gloves and sneakers, right?"
"But still…" Amy looked away, her blush brighter than ever. "This is embarrassing!"
"To be honest," Sonic replied, peering down at his red dress, "I don't see why you girls like clothes so much. It's so inconvenient and gets in the way." As if out of instinct, Sonic began pulling the dress up over his head.
"Wait, don't do that!" Amy commanded. "That would be indecent! Especially around Tails and Miles!"
"Why's that?" Sonic asked, his hands frozen midway, exposing the pink hedgehog's belly. He proceeded to continue pulling up his dress.
"Just trust me!" Amy lunged toward Sonic, but she slipped from the super speed, crashing into him in the process and finding herself on top of him on the floor.
"Ames, you okay?" Sonic asked from below.
"Y-yeah…" The two stared at each other, blushes appearing across both of their muzzles, before Amy was the first to return to her senses. "There's no time for this!" She hopped up, losing her balance before falling backward over a table.
"What's the hurry?" Tails asked, his cat-like tail twirling from behind.
"It's Dr. Eggman!" She replied in the blue hedgehog's voice. "He was spotted in Station Square! Everyone remembers the last time he showed his face downtown."
"Don't remind me," Sonic replied as he pulled himself up and straightened his skirt, recalling the unearthly devastation wrought by Chaos on the entirety of the Mobian commercial district. "I'm sure he's up to no good. We've gotta go!"
Sonic and Amy ran for the door.
"But what about our bodies?" Miles asked, grabbing his twin tails from behind. "I don't think we're in any condition to fight right now."
"Let's take the Tornado 2!" Tails suggested as he gestured toward the biplane on the other side of the workshop. "We'll get there faster by plane, and we can use the time to strategize."
"Good thinking, Tails!" Sonic replied, giving him a pat on the head. "Now let's get goin'! We can focus on getting our bodies back later. First, we gotta scramble that doctor before the people of Station Square are poached."
"This won't be over-easy," Miles said as he pulled himself into one of the passenger seats, notably not using his namesakes to fly into the cockpit.
"But with the power of teamwork," Tails continued, strapping into the pilot's chair, "we'll crack open Eggman's scheme before it has time to hatch."
"Egg puns? Really?" Amy questioned as she jumped up to the seat behind Miles. Her focus shifted, however, at the sight of Sonic taking his usual position on the wing. "Sonic, get over here now!"
"How come?" Sonic asked as he twisted around using the heels of his boots. "I always ride on the wing."
"Not in a skirt you won't!" Amy ordered, pointing to the empty seat next to her. "You'll be grounded until you have your body back."
"I don't see what the big deal is, but okay…" Shrugging his shoulders, Sonic hopped over to Amy, planting himself next to her.
"You know how revealing it would be with all that wind!" Amy noted, blushing once more through her anger. "And I doubt you'd have the self-awareness to cover up."
"Why do you even wear this anyway?" Sonic asked as he peered down at Amy's clothing. "At least you could take a page from Blaze and wear something a bit more battle-friendly?"
"Are you questioning my looks, Sonic?" Amy asked as she attempted to reach for her Piko Piko Hammer. She clawed at the air in distress. "Where'd it go?"
"You mean…this?" With a smirk, Sonic pulled out Amy's signature weapon from her hammerspace, now in his control. "You can have it back if you promise not to hit me."
Amy was fuming, but realizing the importance of the mission ahead, she took a deep breath to decompress.
"Keep it in my hammerspace, will you?" Amy crossed her arms and pouted, peering into the sky. While they were bickering, Tails had already started the biplane and took off, achieving an optimal flying altitude. "You'll need it in case we need to fight Eggman's mechs. I have your speed, so that hammer will be all you've got."
"Sure thing, Ames." Sonic put the Piko Piko Hammer away before leaning back in his chair. "Ah man, if only I could be riding the wind out there."
"If you two love birds are done bickering," Miles noted as he pushed his glasses up his snout before realizing he wasn't wearing glasses on Tails' face, "I believe we need to strategize."
"Do you think we should stick to the air?" Tails asked as Miles' glasses nearly slipped off his snout.
"That likely won't cut it," Amy replied before reaching into the pocket of Sonic's dress.
"H-hey, what're yo—"
"Aha! Here it is!" Amy pulled her bright pink smart phone from the dress pocket, showing the rest of the party images captured of Eggman strolling around the city nonchalantly. "He has his Egg Mobile parked near the train station, but there have been no mechs or robots sighted in the area. To confront Eggman without risking casualties, we'll need to meet him on foot."
"How obvious do you think it'll be that something is wrong with us?" Sonic asked as he put his arms behind his head.
"Pretty obvious," Miles replied. "I mean, our voices match our bodies, but that's about it."
"Is our strategy session almost over?" Tails asked as he pointed at the approaching metropolis skyline. "Because we'll need to settle on some sort of plan ASAP."
"Looks like the answer is clear," Sonic replied as he pulled himself out of his seat and popped open the casing protecting the party from the wind. "We meet Eggman on foot. Sayonara!"
"Wait, Sonic!" Amy was too slow to stop Sonic as he jumped out of the plane. "You can't spindash in my body!"
Sonic was in freefall as he descended toward the train station. He tried entering a spindash, but all he did was awkwardly curl up. "Oh shoot! Dang it, what were you thinking!?" As the roadway fast approached, he devised a last-second plan that would, hopefully, save his life: he pulled Amy's weapon from his hammerspace and gripped the handles, slamming hard just as he was about to reach the ground below.
Opening his eyes, he found that the oversized hammer made a significant indent in the pavement, and he was okay, save for a soreness in his arms. He rubbed his gloved hands together before planting his feet on either side of the hammer planted into the road, and with a tug, he managed to pry the weapon from the pavement.
"Phew…" He wiped the sweat from his brow before peering up, hearing himself screaming from above.
"Amy!?" Sonic peered up as a blue sphere came hurtling down to the street below like a lightning bolt, eventually making contact and bouncing like a basketball before landing on the awning of a nearby café. "Ames, are you okay?"
"Ohhh, my…yes, I'll take the entire beauty package, with the works…" Her head was spinning, illusionary flickies showcasing her dizziness. Finally, she shook her head rapidly and slipped off the awning, returning to Sonic below.
"You're okay!" Amy cried as she hugged Sonic. "But how?"
"With the power of your hammer!" He pulled it out of Amy's hammerspace, smirking as he pointed to the large crater several yards away.
"Good thinking!" Amy replied with a nod.
"Hey, it's what I do!" Sonic rubbed underneath his nose.
"Okay, maybe less nose itching in public…" Amy peered around nervously. Thankfully, nobody was around to see the crass display, but she did find the Tornado 2 make landfall, with retractable water skis on its base allowing it to safely land and maneuver in the shallow ocean water nearby. Miles and Tails shortly followed, meeting Sonic and Amy on the street.
"Now that we're all on solid ground," Miles noted, "let's find Dr. Eggman."
"You won't need to look very far…" Tails pointed at the pop-up pizza cart down the street, where Eggman was berating the employee.
"What do you mean you don't serve pineapple pizza!?" The evil doctor slammed his fists on the counter. "What sort of evil genius can't celebrate his glorious victory without the heavenly combination of that sweet pineapple taste with savory tomato sauce!?"
"I'm sorry, sir," the nerdy nutria replied, "but do you know how difficult it is to keep fresh fruit, well…fresh? It's hard enough keeping this fake pepperoni and artificial cheese from growing mold as it is."
"Figures! Well, I'll just take my business elsewhere!" With a humph, Eggman threw the cash register into the street before stomping off, stopping in his tracks at the sight of Sonic and his friends.
"Ahh, if it isn't my old pal Sonic! Come to witness your demise in-person?" Eggman ran his hand through his long, orange mustache.
"You seem so cocky of yourself, Egghead!" Sonic replied in Amy's body.
"Ummmm, that was unexpected," Eggman scratched his scalp. "That's not very ladylike of you, Amy."
"That didn't take long," Miles whispered to Tails, who laughed under his breath.
"Wait, what don't I know? Are you playing tricks on me?! You know how much I hate practical jokes!" A vein appeared across Robotnik's forehead.
"Well, if you must know," Miles replied, raising a finger to the air as his twin namesakes fluttered from behind, "an accident led to us, kinda, swapping bodies."
"Is that soooo…" Eggman massaged his mustache once more. "So, Sonic's in Amy's body, I gathered, and you have the dialect of that pipsqueak Miles. That must mean Amy's in Sonic's body and Tails is in Miles' body?"
"Precisely!" Miles replied.
"Oh boy, this is too good! Wooahhooohoohooo!" Pressing a button on his remote, he called forth his flying, sphere-shaped Egg Mobile, hopping in and tilting forward to get a better view of the heroes. "Would I be correct, then, to assume that you haven't fully mastered each other's unique fighting abilities?"
"Ummm, guys?" Tails asked. "I don't like where Eggman's going with this."
"That all but confirms it!" Eggman clapped. "This will be a piece of cake! In fact, I'm so confident in my victory that I won't call on my Egg Mechs! I'll even let you have the first move." The evil doctor leaned back in his chair, pulling out a box of stale popcorn from underneath his seat.
"Alright," Amy said as she crouched down, "here it goes!" She attempted to spindash, and while she was able to spin in place, and launch herself at the Egg Mobile, the resulting collision didn't even cause a dent.
"Oh man, this is rich! Why am I not recording this!?" Eggman pulled a chicken tender from the air fryer he recently installed in his dashboard, eating with glee as he watched the heroes struggle to stop him.
"I'll show you, Egghead!" Sonic pulled the Piko Piko Hammer out from Amy's hammerspace, but as he charged his attack, the hammer fell backward, flinging him back as well. This was while Tails was trying to bounce with Miles' cat-like tail while Miles attempted to use the orange kitsune's twin namesakes to take flight.
"You guys are cracking me up! This is more entertaining than pay-per-view!" Eggman took a lick from the ice cream cone he dispensed from his portable soft-serve machine.
"Okay, Tails, gotta think smart…how can we outwit Eggman without our bodies?" He brought a hand to his chin in thought as he watched his friends struggling. Finally, seeing Miles trying to use his body for aerial flight, and only managing to float a few feet from the ground, an idea popped into his head. "I've got it!" Tails pulled Miles down from the ground and reached into his namesakes.
"Tails, what are you doing!?" Miles blushed at the invasion of privacy.
"I have plenty of gadgets stored in here…I think I have my…aha!" Tails pulled his Miles Electric out of his twin tails. Booting it up, he rapidly wrote a program, and with a final button press, he smirked as he began controlling the Egg Mobile from his device.
"No, how is this possible!?" Eggman spilled his ice cream on his red jacket. "I've programmed several layers of security into my tech's software!"
"Looks like you may've cut a few corners, Eggman!" With a pull of the small joystick on his tablet, Tails sent the Egg Mobile crashing into a nearby building. The transport, and its evil occupant, fell toward the ground. With a high-pitched scream, Eggman flailed his arms as he fell, but he stopped after being saved by Miles, who managed to take flight in the nick of time.
"You filthy rodent, let go of me!" Eggman pried himself from Tails' arms, causing him to fall to the ground, albeit from a much safer height. Pulling himself off the sidewalk, he limped toward his Egg Mobile, but a long, cat-like tail twirled itself around the evil scientist like a lasso, securing him in place and causing him to fall to the ground once more.
"Curses! Defeated again! Or…am I?" A grin appeared across his face.
"What do you mean, Egghead?" Sonic asked, placing his hands on his hips.
"Oh, you know, I may have planted a bomb in the Station Square train station. The resulting explosion will kill hundreds and close off an important transportation hub for the city! Wooahhooohoohooo!" The evil doctor's bellowing laughter filled the party's ears.
"Where's the bomb!?" Amy yelled. "You better talk, or else you'll pay!" Her feistiness in Sonic's body was an intimidating and effective mix.
"If you free me, I'll lead you right to the bomb," replied Eggman.
"I guess if you say so…" Tails loosened the grip of his tail from the evil doctor, just enough for him to hop into his Egg Mobile and fly up.
"For freeing me, I will fulfill my end of the bargain: the bomb is in a location that you will never find! Tootles!" Eggman's bellowing laughter was the last they heard before the evil doctor disappeared into the horizon.
"What do we do now, guys?" Tails asked. "I shouldn't have let him go so easily."
"No worries, lil' bro," Sonic replied, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We just need to find this bomb, and then Station Square will be saved!"
"Right!" Tails replied with a reaffirming nod.
"The train station is quite massive, though," Miles noted, "so if we're going to have any chance of finding it, we're going to need to start our search now."
The party ran up the stairs leading into the train station, hoping to find any signs of a bomb. Thanks to the sensitive, foxlike ears over Miles' head, he was able to locate a beeping sound from a compartment on the side of a parked train, scheduled to depart for the Mystic Ruins shortly. Opening the hatch, his suspicions were confirmed; the bomb's timer read 47 seconds remaining.
Pulling the bomb out, and setting it on the ground, Miles and Tails got on their knees to study the explosive device. Peering across from each other, and giving each other a reaffirming nod, the fox gripped one cable from one side while the cat gripped a matching cable from the bomb's opposite side.
The air was thick as a knife as Sonic and Amy studied the fox and cat intently.
"Oh, I can't watch!" Amy buried her head into Sonic's shoulder.
Tails and Miles counted down to three, and yanking the cables simultaneously, the bomb stopped beeping, and the monitor showing the countdown simply went blank.
"You did it, guys!" Sonic cheered, joining the chorus of human onlookers surrounding the heroic cat and fox.
"You guys saved Station Square!" Amy exclaimed.
"I couldn't have done it without my good pal, Miles!" Tails said, winking at his scientific partner.
"Same to you, bro!" He replied, giving him a matching thumbs up.
Their cheering was interrupted by the grumbling sound of Amy's stomach, which was, to nobody's surprise, craving chili dogs. This made the entire party laugh, causing Amy to blush as she clutched her pale belly.
"If I know my body," Sonic said as he patted Amy on the back, "that means you want a few dozen chili dogs with the works!"
Amy gagged at the thought of eating so many chili dogs.
Amy was on her sixteenth chili dog, chowing them down as Tails and Miles put the finishing touches on their elaborate set-up: they repaired the emerald-powered laser gun, but it could now shoot two lasers in different directions simultaneously. The lasers were pointed at separate mirrors which were angled toward two different Chaos Emeralds on their own pedestals.
"So here is how it works…" Miles began as Amy wiped her face after finishing her 24th chili dog. "We will put the trigger on a timer. Tails and I will be stationed at the red Chaos Emerald, holding it together while you two will be stationed at the purple Chaos Emerald."
"If our calculations are correct," Miles continued, raising a finger to the air as his tails fluttered from behind, "we should be back in our old bodies in no ti—"
Buuuuurp!
The party turned to Amy, whose belch echoed throughout the workshop. She covered her mouth, blushing hard.
"As I was saying," Miles continued after chuckling, "if this works, we'll be back in our bodies in no time!"
"If only Amy would've waited to eat," Sonic replied, "then I would've been able to enjoy those chili dogs for myself! Amy's belly is too small to fit quite that much…" He rubbed his belly through Amy's dress, causing Amy to grumble under her breath.
"So, shall we?" Miles asked the party, receiving a collecting nod in response.
Setting the timer on the laser pistol, Miles gave the party the all clear to get stationed at their pedestals. Tails and Miles placed their palms together over one Chaos Emerald while Sonic and Amy repeated this ritual with the other.
"Five…four…three…two…o—"
The door to the workshop slammed open, revealing a frog hopping onto the scene along with a seemingly massive force of nature chasing after it. The miniature earthquake caused the pistol to fall to the ground, discharging a laser blast in the process. The laser shot bounced around the room before eventually hitting the oversized belt buckle of the unexpected guest and, finally, hitting the laser gun once more, causing an all-to similar explosion to occur.
As the smoke cleared in the workshop, Amy, Tails, and Miles pulled themselves up, inspecting themselves and delighted to find that they returned to their old selves. They collectively approached Sonic, who was lying on the ground.
"You okay?" Miles asked, tapping him on the shoulder.
Sonic slowly opened his eyes.
"F-froggy? Where's froggy?" Sonic's eyes scanned the room before finding the exit, where the frog was making its escape. "Froggy! Where you going, froggy!?" He chased the frog out of the workshop.
"Oh, Chaos!"
The party peered over at the tall, massive cat, who stared at himself in disbelief.
"Come back! I won't let my body be hijacked again!" Sonic ran as fast as he could in Big's rotund body, crashing through the wall of the workshop as he chased Big toward the heard of the Mystic Ruins.
Tails sighed. "Well, Miles, shall we track them down with the Tornado 2?"
"My thought exactly," Miles replied with a nod. The two headed for the plane, taking off down the runaway, making it their objective to return Sonic's body to him in one piece.
"Dang it, guys!" Amy exclaimed with a humph. "Always getting left behind! Just like in the old days…" The pink hedgehog took a whiff of the air, a scent coming from the final untouched chili dog. Peering around, she approached the hotdog, threw it up in the air, and ate it in one bite, a sight that would've made Sonic proud, before concluding with a long burp.
"Whoops," she said to herself, covering her mouth as a blush appeared across her face. "Maybe I was in Sonic's body for a little too long."
I hope you enjoyed this oneshot! My next writing project will be tackling the next chapter of my longfic, A Bridge Between Worlds, so stay tuned!