Commission for TheMaskedTime on DeviantArt. I do not own Sonic The Hedgehog or The Mask.

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It was a race against time, and he had to win.

The inhabitants of the planet Mobius had long known of the ancient echidnas that had once ruled their lands, the surviving temples and relics still showing the faded grandeur of their might. One could look in the sky and see the fabled Angel Island, the last great colony of the kingdom. And then there were the Chaos Emeralds - the most powerful objects known to Mobians, and the cause of so many present struggles.

And yet, there was something else. Something said to be even more powerful than the emeralds, something that even the ancient echidnas could not control and were forced to seal away.

And it was that something that a young fox was now racing to find.

Called Miles by his parents, he was known as Tails to just about everyone else, including his close friend and world hero Sonic the Hedgehog. Easily the most tech-savvy and mechanically inclined of Sonic's team, Tails had been spending the day monitoring Eggman Empire communications, when he learned of this new temple's discovery, and the unusual power source Dr. Eggman was after.

And so, without giving a second thought, he had taken the coordinates and flown off in his biplane to the site, somewhere in the northern realms of the United Federation. Coming to a stop amongst a low clearing of trees, Tails unbuckled his belts and looked on at the fantastic site in front of his blue eyes - what new adventure was he about to set off on?

Grabbing a flashlight and his Electric pad, he made his way to the dark entrance corridor, cutting his way through the overgrowth of weeds and vines that impeded his progress. The fact that Tails had to do this made him somewhat confident that Eggman's forces had not got here first. That, and the knowledge that no one had blasted lasers or other weaponry upon his arrival.

After what seemed like hours but was actually a mere five minutes, Tails made it to the center of the temple - and what a scene it was. Though the paint had long since faded, he was struck by the giant mural on the back wall. It depicted several echidnas around what looked like a jade-colored face mask, bowing in admiration as green rays radiated from the object. Below it were some engravings - pulling out the Electric pad, Tails began to read aloud.

"The item within this chamber has brought our empire great prosperity - but at the great cost of attracting our enemies. By orders of the great ruler Pochacamac, it is to be sealed forever."

Wow! What kind of item could this possibly be? Noticing the alter in the center of the chamber, Tails went to get a closer look. Surely any locks would have long since worn out in the centuries that had passed.

After a few minutes of work, he had gotten his hands on the object, the great prize the echidnas had kept hidden away. Suffice to say, Tails was a little surprised by what he held.

It was indeed a face mask, appearing to have once been painted green as depicted in the mural. Made of old wood and with a single silver bar as a nose plate, it was definitely an interesting find - but Tails had several questions.

How exactly was this the source of great power for the echidnas, enough to attract the attention of their greatest enemies and force it to be sealed away? It didn't have any distinguishable qualities to it. In fact, there weren't even any holes to attach it around the wearer's head!

Perhaps Tails just needed to take it home, give it a closer examination. In any case, he couldn't be staying here for too long, lest any of Eggman's goons capture him again.

About to tuck it away, a flash of light suddenly shone out, bright vivid green in color. Tails looked around - there couldn't possibly be anything in here to make that kind of effect, could there? Only the Chaos Emeralds had that kind of power - and yet…

He grabbed the mask out of his bag, looking for some display of unknown origin. He saw it - like waves rippling across the surface of a pond, a bright green light flashed across the mask, Tails' bright blue pupils taking it in. He had to know more - and subconsciously, his arms began to move forward, bringing the mask closer to his face.

MMMPH!!!!

Immediately as the mask made contact with Tails' yellow and white fur, it began to morph and come alive, in rather horrifying ways. Burning his face like hot rubber, leathery tendrils began to emerge from its edges, slithering across the fox's fur at breakneck speed. Taken aback by the rapid change of affairs, Tails panicked - what was happening to him?!?!?

"Sonic, help!!! Mrmph!!!!!"

Even with his friend's speed, this would be of no help to Tails - meekly digging his gloves into the rubbery surface, he felt the back of the mask swallow his head whole. He was doomed, crushed by a cursed object in an ancient temple.

But as he waited for the end, Tails' body started to feel different - powerful, energized, renewed. Before he had a chance to consider what this meant, he was sent twirling into a chaotic twister of green and gold light, whirling its way around the chamber - including high up its walls. As it finally stopped, Tails felt amazing - whatever he had just gone through, it felt incredible!

"Wow! What just happened?"

He needed a mirror - and even though there was none in sight, Tails somehow pulled one out from behind his back. Looking on, he was both stunned and impressed by the figure looking back.

It was still a yellow and white furred fox in the mirror, but that was about the only thing similar. Gone were Tails' plain red and white shoes, replaced by a pair of sturdy black boots with lime green streaks on the sides. A long white lab coat hung around his body and arms, perfect to hold all sorts of tools for experimentation. His gloves were still white, but the cuffs had a matching black and green pattern to the boots.

And then there was his head - bright green in color, with a slightly lighter shade on his snout and the tufts of his ears. His bright blue pupils had changed to a shade of orange, both confident and mischievous in their expression. A pair of goggles resting above his eyes, this face had the texture of molded rubber, a rather disconcerting look on an ordinary Mobian body.

Tails smiled, showing off bright white teeth the size of baseball cards. He looked amazing - and felt it too, like he had control of the world in his fingertips. Now he knew why the echidnas and Eggman wanted this power - and now in his possession, he needed to try it out.

"What a rush! Hold on everyone, I've got a world to explore!!!"

And just like that, the new Tails was off, spinning like a top as his twister raced through the forest. It was a new day now, and there were plenty of opportunities for this new being to have some fun.