Tails could see that Cosmo was in trouble, but he acted too quickly, and his feet got caught on the railing of the crosswalk. He sent himself over the railing, his ankles becoming a fulcrum for the rest of his body, and his tails banged hard against the bars and wrapped around them. Tails knew he needed to work carefully to untangle himself without injury, but he also knew that his new friend didn't have that time.
"Cosmo!" The Fox called out, hoping it would prompt her to run.
However, that's when he noticed that she was giving the massive sparking power cable a bear hug. Wait. She's not really going to risk it, is she? I heard her shield break! Tails had barely finished his thought as Cosmo flung her upper body backward and fed the cable into Brass's body. Its turbine took in the wires but was narrow enough that the insulation couldn't get inside and was bunched up like an accordion. It instantly spelled the end for Brass, but Tails' current objective remained unchanged: save friend.
His legs had reflexively closed around the horizontal bar of the railing when he tripped over himself, preventing him from hanging just by his tails. Tails then began loosening his namesakes' grip around the bars of the railing and ensuring they wouldn't form knots when he fell. It was done in seconds, and Tails wasted no time in straightening his legs and falling. His tails slid cleanly past the bars, and he started spinning them when fell away from the catwalk. He kept his namesakes underneath himself as they spun, allowing him to land safely without losing rotation speed. Tails rotated his body a foot off the ground and immediately started running. With tails blurring behind him, Tails quickly went to the dazed Seedrian's side and wrapped his arms around her. His tails nearly reached their top rotation speed as he carried himself and Cosmo out of the bunker.
Fox and Seedrian both heard the horrid machine explode as they flew out of the bunker, but it wasn't as big as they were expecting. The bunkers weren't built with windows or openings other than their shutter doors, so the blast was almost entirely contained. While Tails and Cosmo were safe from the detonation, it was enough to force the shutter off of its hinges and it managed to hit Tails' tails. He had enough Rings to not be injured by the falling metal, but it still hit hard enough to force him out of the air. Knowing that Cosmo didn't have any Rings and that she was the least hardy of their group, Tails did his best to make sure they landed with him on the bottom.
Instead of hitting barren ground, Tails felt himself being caught by a familiar clothed frame. Now that Brass had stopped exploding, Tails could hear the equally familiar hum of Nicole's hover jets. Instead of a rough landing, Nicole gently set Tails and Cosmo on the ground and on their feet.
"What the hell did you two do in there?" Nicole asked.
"It was all me, actually," Cosmo admitted meekly, "There was some kind of advanced Sonic robot, and I was able to use the things in the bunker against."
"It's not just Mecha Sonics that Eggman is building, but Neo-Metals as well," Tails clarified.
All three of them heard their earpieces buzzing to receive a transmission, "Command to all units, the Eggman Army is retreating further into the canyon. Mass around the edge and prepare for Phase 2 of the operation."
"Phase 2? Already?" Tails asked, "Prower Company to Command, we encountered a unique enemy asset at Echo-Beta-Two and advise sending a tech team to recover it, over."
"Acknowledged Prower Company," Command replied, "A tech team will be diverted ASAP, over."
"Weren't we supposed to attack two more bunkers before we got to the canyon itself?" Cosmo asked.
"We were," Tails confirmed, "We're going to briefly check those out first."
Nicole spoke as the team ensured nothing in Eggman's bunkers would reactivate on their own, "You didn't really answer my question; what happened?"
"Cosmo fed a power line into the Neo's jet turbine," Tails answered, "It promised to be a hard fight, even if all three of us were together, but she trivialized it!"
"It was nothing, really," Cosmo insisted, her face a deep shade of green.
"'Nothing' is what you reduced that thing to; in a matter of seconds, no less!" Tails quipped.
Tails disconnected a Ring Box from the bunker's auxiliary power supply and brought it out to the middle of the one-room facility. Cosmo needed a little help figuring out how to connect her PSG to it, but Prower Company was able to fully recharge their shields. Their investigation of the two remaining bunkers turned out the same worrying results: no garrisons and no manufacturing supplies. It looked like the Eggman Army had recovered anything immediately useful before retreating. While it meant things were going to be more difficult than anticipated, their mission was unchanged.
Tails looked down into the canyon while they waited to be given the signal to move on Bullet Station. He couldn't help but smile at the found memories he had of himself, Sonic, and Knuckles rushing to stop Neo-Metal. Tails didn't like rail-grinding as much as his big brother, but it was still fun. His most found memories of this place, odd as it sounds, were dodging the trains. It was clear that Sonic had rubbed off on the twin-tailed Fox more than a little, as Tails waited as long as he could before hopping rails to not get splattered on Eggman's trains.
"Oh," Tails said, remembering that he forgot something important, "You ladies should be ready to jump from rail-to-rail."
"Don't they all go to the same place?" Nicole asked.
"They do, but that won't stop you from getting hit by the trains," Tails commented.
"The what!?" Cosmo and Nicole demanded at the same time.
"Eggman uses trains to carry things all over the canyon, but he also uses them as impromptu traps for anything on the rails," Tails explained, "However, the rails are too close together for any two trains to be adjacent to each other; their cars would slam into each other during turns."
"This seems like an important thing to forget," Nicole commented, "Why did you wait until now to tell us this?"
"Teams Dark and Jubilee have been here before and everyone else was debriefed on the canyon's goings on, so I forgot that you two didn't know," Tails explained.
"There's nothing to worry about," He assured, "I was ten years old when I went through here and had no problems with it at all. I didn't even need to fly to dodge the trains."
Cosmo and Nicole were both lost for words, "Is jumping out of the way of trains really that stunning when I've been helping to stop world-ending catastrophes since I was eight?"
"I have a hypothetical question," Cosmo stated, "Suppose I miss a jump, or otherwise fall-"
"Then one of your teammates, both of whom can fly, will catch you and put you back on track," Tails interrupted, stopping that train of thought; puns fully intended.
"Okay, that's a fair point," Cosmo admitted.
As they waited for the order to move into the canyon itself, the Prower Company started to realize that the artillery fire hadn't stopped. However, they could tell that it was coming from the far side of the canyon. The rim of the canyon obviously wasn't being shelled and they couldn't see any explosions in the night sky above it, causing brief concern that the GUN Navy was attacking Dreadnaught Plateau and the imprisoned Seedrians within. Nicole pointed out that they would be hearing the explosions echoing throughout the canyon, so whatever was being shot at was not within the canyon itself. A notice came through their com-links over the general mission channel, informing everyone that several Mecha Sonics had tried fleeing the canyon by sea and were all destroyed.
The GUN regulars were being airlifted to the roofs and larger natural platforms in the canyon, with countless GUN drones acting as decoys to protect them. However, this was not the signal for Prower Company. Much like before, most of the GUN forces would act as a diversion for smaller strike teams to circumvent Eggman's robots and get to Dreadnaught Plateau that much faster. If everything went well, they would find something in the main base that would turn off the machines remotely. If they couldn't, then the Eggman Army would just get flanked by the best 'bot-busters' GUN had available.
"Another thing I forgot," Tails said, looking at Cosmo, "Which one of us do you want to lower you down to the rails?"
Cosmo gave him a smirk, "You can't look up my skirt if you're above me."
Nicole tittered as Tails face turned red, his blush exaggerated by his white muzzle. The Fox stuttered for a few seconds, desperately trying to say something in his own defense, when their com-links rang out in their ears, "Command to all Strike Teams, move in for Phase 2, over."
Tails finally managed to regain his composure to affirm that Prower Company was ready and able. He then grabbed Cosmo's wrists and started lowering her to the closest rail. A few of Eggman's flying robots attempted to attack them while they were vulnerable but were all intercepted by Nicole and destroyed.
Miles had his high-tech goggles and Nicole had prosthetic eyes that probably gave her night vision, but Cosmo wasn't sure how she was supposed to know where the rails were in the dark of night. The Seedrian got her answer when she got her feet on the first rail, accomplished with directions from Miles, as electricity sparked from her shoes and illuminated the area. The sparks went at least five feet in front of and behind Cosmo as she slid along the rail. I was not expecting that Cosmo thought to herself.
Miles gave her a push before flying off to another rail. It was awkward for Cosmo to keep her footing after getting pushed from the side, but it did make her grind at a reasonable speed. It wasn't long before Cosmo saw Rings hovering over the rails. It was common practice to leave Rings in the way of automatons so they could charge themselves. Governments also left Rings out in the wilderness to lead lost people back to civilization and allow them to charge any survival equipment they had. The Seedrian was full on Rings, but she figured it was a good idea to get into the habit of collecting them when and where she could.
Cosmo knew that getting blindsided even once by Eggman's robots would send her plummeting to the bottom of the canyon, so she kept herself alert and kept her eyes on the open spaces around her. However, she nearly didn't notice that the rail she was on ended suddenly. Fortunately, there were rails on either side of Cosmo. Not having time to think hard about it, she leapt over to the left-hand rail. The actual distance between rails would have been negligible, if misstepping didn't mean death.
Not used to rail-hopping, Cosmo was still wobbly from her jump. While concentrating on regaining her footing, she didn't see the curious black box on the rail until it was too late to avoid it. Even with the sparks, Cosmo was moving too fast to discern details about the box in the dark of night. Instead of tripping, Cosmo shot down the rail like a bullet when she went over the box. While the sudden acceleration scared her, Cosmo would not have completed the loop-de-loop without the extra speed.
What purpose could that possibly serve on a railway!? Cosmo thought distressingly. The Seedrian's pupils became pinpricks when she saw she was headed for another black box. At least she had stabilized herself by this point, not that it stopped her from screaming as she sped down the rail again.
"Oh my god!" Cosmo exclaimed, as she saw that there were massive bricks with spine-length spikes set on the sections of rail she was grinding towards.
While there was no danger of her being impaled as long as Cosmo had Rings to power PSG, she would trip and fall off the rail if she collided into the bricks at the speeds she was grinding. Cosmo did not want to find out if the lifesaving device she had been given would save her from deadly falls. So, the young Seedrian did her best to avoid the spikes and stay on the rails. Much like the rhythm game she had played with Nicole, Cosmo did surprisingly well as the stakes rose. She almost danced in the night; deftly jumping from rail to rail, turning with her landings to face other rails, and collecting all of the Rings possible. Cosmo also happened to find an odd red Ring with an equally scarlet star within.
Cosmo found she had no choice but to stop at one of the platforms Eggman built in the canyon, as the other rails she could have hopped to curve and split away from her. She was by herself but not alone, as there were plenty of robots on the platform. These platforms served as both maintenance workshops and refueling stations for Eggman's trains. However, they also served as a pathway leading straight to Dreadnaught Plateau. Each platform Cosmo could pass through was another step to saving her brother and the other members of the Oak Clan still held prisoner.
Emboldened by her recent victories and how close her real objectives were, Cosmo leaned into the rail's incline to arrive that much faster. She jumped off the rail, just short of where it connects to the platform, and used her speed to barrel into the closest robot. It was instantly forced to the floor, broken, and it slid forward with Cosmo on top of it. Cosmo ripped the head from the Egg Pawn she had landed on and used it to bat away the gun leveled at her head, causing the Buzz Bomber hovering next to her to shoot another robot. Cosmo slammed the head into the Buzz Bomber before moving on to the next robot.
Cosmo jumped up on the guard rails and grinded towards another Egg Pawn. The robot had one of the oversized laser guns instead of a lance and shield but was rotating the wrong way. Cosmo leapt off the railing and stomped onto the head of the Egg Pawn, her foot crushing the head like a soda can. The springs built into her shoes made it that much easier to jump onto the next closest Egg Pawn. Eventually, she had to land on the floor and tumble to the next robot. Between her adrenaline rush and the momentum of her tumble, Cosmo was able to punch the last Egg Pawn hard enough that her fist shattered one of its eye lenses and went straight into its skull.
Cosmo pulled her arm out of the machine and checked it for wounds. She didn't know if she was moving fast enough for the PSG to trigger, and she didn't know what limitations it had. Cosmo was pleasantly surprised to see that, not only was she unharmed, but she hadn't even torn the sleeve of her dress. On a hunch, Cosmo checked her PSG and saw that she was missing Rings. I don't have to worry about hurting myself as long as I have Rings, but I will actively loose them by fighting directly. Cosmo made a note of this and found a computer terminal.
Cosmo was largely ignorant of technology, but modern devices were made to be user-friendly. With little to no trial-and-error for Cosmo to pull up a map of the rails. She quickly figured out which rail would take her closest to Dreadnaught Plateau and darted for it. Cosmo wasn't sure if she could recover quickly enough to continue the mission if her adrenaline crashed, and getting back into danger was the best way she had to prevent that.
AUTHOR'S NOTES-
Not a whole lot to say here. Tails isn't perfect, and I think he would be mature and mentally stable enough to know that he doesn't have to be at this point. He definitely cut it closer than he would have liked when he got Cosmo out of Brother Brass' blast radius, but he didn't get hung up over how Sonic or anyone else could have done it better. could have done it better.
The user-friendly thing isn't hand waving on my part. IRL governments don't use Windows 11 because it's so easy to mess with. A good quality to have for public consumption, you barely need to know how to read for everyday uses on modern computers, but dangerous when you're using it for matters of state. Eggman also needs to keep things simple to quickly build facilities and to make sure the dimwitted AI in his minions can operate them. I like to think Neo-Metal's coup d'etat is why Orbot and Cubot have such crucial flaws, being lazy and stupid respectively. The reason Sage is a person is because tapping into the Ancients' Cyberspace upgraded her, and I think we can safely assume that she had another similar flaw that designed to keep her from rebelling before then.