Note: Here is a thanks to Pybro2 for yet another chapter beta-read

December 28, 2023 update: Some changes to the confrontation and other knock-on changes from the Chapter 5 update

January 8, 2024 update: Minor re-write of Mighty/Ray and Diamond Cutters encounter.

During the flight, it was mostly surprisingly quiet. Tails noticed that Tangle was looking around using her hand to block sunlight while Sonic was spooked. (How did you get used to this, Sonic?)

After landing, Sonic had stars in his eyes, "Oh wow this…I mean, see you guys later, Gotta go fast!" Sonic ran for the closest loop, but first hit a tree (I'm getting real tired of running into stuff!).

Amy then said, "I'll go follow 'him'." And so she ran off at a less fast but very fast speed.

Tangle then began running, "Hey wait for me!"

Tails however shouted, "Wait!"

Tangle stopped and said, "But we need to keep up with Sonic-"

Tails interjected, "You are Sonic, aren't you?"

Sonic tried to insist otherwise while sweating, "Have you lost your mind Tails?! That's a bigger stretch than my tail!"

Tails countered, "The meteor transfers energy between points. I didn't know what to make of that until you came. Please just admit it, Sonic."

Sonic was sweating a storm with a huge fake smile as he desperately denied it, "That's Sticks talk, Tails. How would you even know that's possible?"

Tails glared, "Have you even met her?" Before Sonic could answer, Tails smirked and pressed further, "Besides, remind me what nearly happened to you at Scrapnik Island?

"That was with a robot! How do you know it's possible between two living beings?" Sonic unthinkingly countered.

Tails did a cocky smile, "Because you just told me!"

Sonic tried to protest further, "How did?-" Only to freeze in horror as he realized he'd replicated Tangle's exact mistake from yesterday. He dropped the façade with a sigh and an authentic smile, "Well played, Tails. You really are the smartest guy I know."

Tails however had one final question, "Sonic, why did you try to keep this secret from me?"

Sonic's eyes shrank, What does he suspect? It then dawned on him and he gave a concerned grin with his own question, "You're wondering if I like this?"

Tails sheepishly nodded, "Kind of. I don't mind if you want to be a girl. As your brother, I just need to know."

Even after the last day of waking up as Tangle, being crushed on by Mighty, getting trapped on a date with Whisper, and everything else up to this point, Sonic had never felt less comfortable with this situation than Tails asking that question, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Tails had to cover his ears at the sheer volume of the shout, "You don't have to shout so loud..."

Sonic sighed with a deeply uncomfortable look on his face as he slumped forward, "Tails, you couldn't be more wrong. Every reminder I'm in a girl's body fills me with dread. I like the tail, but this was why I kept it secret. I never want to be like this again and will be glad to leave this behind me."

Tails had been told…A lot, and was apologetic, "Sorry, Sonic. But, if that's the case, why did you agree to this?"

He lifted his head, "Tangle had been running into things all day yesterday. This is a unique situation so I wanted to give her a chance to truly cut loose and experience my speed. It's the least I can do after learning all the awesome things she's capable of."

Tails prodded him, "I don't doubt that, but you sure it wasn't also to explore a familiar locale with different abilities?"

Sonic scratched the back of his head, "That too. Gotta make the most of this situation while I still can."

Tails smiled, "Then what are we waiting for? We'll just make sure you return to normal when we get back."

Sonic then ran over to hug his little bro, even wrapping the tail around the two of them multiple times, "Thank you so much for your understanding Tails!"

Tails was left to awkwardly ask, "Sonic, what are you doing?"

Sonic winked, "Hugging you like Tangle would!"

Tails was confused, "And you're doing this because?..."

Sonic winked with his signature confident smile, "Because this is my one chance to REALLY show how much I love and appreciate you, little bro!"

Tails was genuinely touched at the remark and hugged back, "...Thank you, Sonic. But you don't need Tangle's tail for me to know how much you care. You're the best older brother I could ask for."

Sonic whispered with a smile, "Thank you Tails." He then released the two of them and began slingshotting to a nearby hill, "Now let's go find Amy and Tangle!"

Tails began revving up his tails, "Sounds like a plan!"

Tails had one last tease as they traversed, "Do you really have a thing for Tangle?"

Sonic laughed at the question before answering, "Nope. We're only together because we are each other. I also want to give Whisper her chance first."

That caught Tails' intrigue, "You think Whisper has a thing for Tangle?"

Sonic confidently answered, "Whisper asked her out on a date, that I was forced to go on, of course she does!"

Tails asked, "Should we tell Tangle?"

Sonic laughed, "She knows now!"

Then Tails did a double take, "Wait, you went out with-?"

Sonic cut off his question, "Long story. Let's focus on finding them."

That's when they ran into Tangle and Amy again. Amy was clearly exhausted. Then Tangle said, "Hey Tangle, how's-"

Sonic then replied, "Tails already figured us out."

Tangle said with an embarrassed grin, "Maybe you should have used my tail to block sunlight."

Tails glared to the side, "I was already suspicious before we left my house."

Sonic said while hugging him with an arm, "He's a genius and I couldn't be more proud of him." Sonic then gave an affectionate noogy with Tangle's Tail.

Tails replied during this, "Stop it, Sonic, you're embarrassing me!"

Witnessing that made Tangle wonder, "Heh, what if I was Tails' adoptive sibling instead?…"

Tails smiled, "You kind of were after the Metal Virus, remember?"

That made Tangle smile, "I was, wasn't I. We need to hang out more, maybe go on our own adventure."

Sonic released Tails and affectionately acknowledged, "Thanks for that." He then did his iconic thumbs up and a wink, "Know that I approve."

Tails mused, "Seeing Tangle's body do your poses is so weird."

Sonic put hands behind his head, "Can't help it. No-BODY can change who I am!"

Tangle added, "Agreed. I'd just set up parties even faster!"

Amy, however, had to interject, "So when Tails figures it out he gets praise and an offer to adventure with Tangle?"

Sonic shrugged, "Come on, they'd make a great team."

Tangle then ran and grabbed each of their tails, "We'd be weird tail buddies! Maybe Belle could join us too!"

Sonic and Tails were caught off guard, Tails asking, "Uh, Tangle, hands off the tails please."

Tangle apologized instantly, "Sorry Tails." She released his two. Then she asked Sonic, "You okay with this?"

Sonic winked with a smile, "It's still your tail."

Amy smiled modestly at the scene, "You're all adorable."

Tangle smiled with glee, Tails smiled with smug confidence, while Sonic wasn't sure how to take that except to tease, "Tangle, your glee looks wrong on my face."

Tangle then counter teased, "Oh hush you. Let's race to that loop!"

Sonic smiled, "You're on!"

They headed towards the loop, but as Sonic was slingshotting and swinging with the tail, he noticed Tangle in his body jump on top of a badnik with his shoes and then jump off again. The robot seemed confused. Sonic then immediately shot to land in front of her, "What on earth was that?!"

Tangle sheepishly replied, "Did I do something wrong?"

Sonic exclaimed, "Very! You're supposed to roll-up into a ball, not bounce on them like you're Mario!"

Tangle looked very offended, "Hey! Mario and Luigi are awesome! What's wrong with emulating them?"

Sonic glared to the side, not wanting to fight over that, "They're fine, I've met them. But, that would get me nowhere. If you jump into a ball, then you could break those badniks."

Tangle then jumped into the ball shape, asking as she did so, "Like this?"

Sonic smiled, "You got it!" Then he noticed she wasn't rolling out of the ball, "Tangle, wait, you're going to…" Sonic knew what was coming and jumped out of the way as Tangle in his body shot off into the nearby S formation. Tangle suddenly found herself flung high into the air as Sonic tried to catch up to where she landed.

Tangle collapsed to the ground suddenly being so dizzy, "I don't know what that was…" She then shook her head out of the daze with stars in her eyes, "But that! Was! Incredible! Can I do that again?!"

Sonic smiled and giggled, Even in my body, Tangle's enthusiasm is infectious. He then replied, "Maybe after you learn to spin dash."

Tangle was thrilled to hear that, "I always wanted to know how you do that. But then, what was that?"

Sonic answered matter-of-factly, "Drop Dash. Similar, but it's much weaker."

Tangle then said, "Then let's do it!"

Tails and Amy then caught up, upon which, Sonic asked Tails, "Oh, hey you two, where have you been?"

Tails said, "I had to answer some messages from Jewel."

Sonic then said, "You're just in time to show Tangle how we spin dash."

Tangle was confused, "Why not teach by demonstration Sonic? I'd love to see myself do it!"

Sonic frowned, "Trust me Tangle, I learned the hard way yesterday that your body can't."

Tangle pouted in response, "Awwwww…"

Sonic then reassured, "But your body's awesome too. Take pride in what you can do, not shame in what you can't."

Tangle lit up again, "Thank you, Sonic."

Tails then said, "But, I know how to do the spin dash! First curl up into a ball." Tangle then did so. "Now start revving up in-place like this!"

Tangle looked in his direction and tried, barely able to get some action going. Sonic smiled, "You're getting it!"

That threw Tangle off and she launched with barely any speed, "How was that?" She asked as she unrolled herself.

Sonic looked to the side, "Passable for a first try. Now do a few more revs, see how fast you can launch off that ramp!"

Tangle grinned in determination with an expression worthy of Sonic himself, "With pleasure!" She then revved up 5 times, but was aiming straight at a wall. Realizing this, Sonic began panicking, "No no no, wait!" But she launched, hitting it at full force.

After unwinding, Tangle spoke in her daze, "Who am I?"

Sonic didn't know how to respond, Amy asking in horror, "Please tell me we aren't now dealing with an amnesiac 'Sonic'."

Tangle then shook her head, "Hehe, got you good didn't I!"

Sonic frowned while glaring to the side, "That might have gone a little far Tangle."

Tails and Amy nodded, Tangle responding, "…Sorry."

Sonic offered, "How about you roll up and then I point you this time?"

Tangle agreed, "Sounds good to me!"

After they did so, she revved up 20 times before Sonic noted, "You don't need to rev that many times, Tangle."

But she didn't stop, leading to her getting too dizzy to launch and unrolling as a result. "Yes Lanolin, I do need to name every attack. Have you ever watched Anime?"

Sonic tried not to laugh at Tangle's remark. Tangle then finally regained composure, "Please don't tell Lanolin I said that." She requested in desperation.

The others nodded, Tails stating, "Your secret is safe with us!"

Sonic winked, "Nothing wrong with having good taste! Want me to set you up again?"

Tangle denied it this time, "I think I got it." She used her arms to point herself, then began revving up, doing it 6 times. She then launched off a ramp, going 30 feet into the air, unrolling at the peak. She took in the scenery as she began to fall, landing with a thud. "No wonder you're known as the fastest thing alive, that was awesome!"

Sonic grinned proudly, "Just another day in the life of Sonic the Hedgehog. Now let's get racing again!"

The two then went off again, running and swinging around the zone.

Amy and Tails and Sonic tried to keep up with Tangle, but the speed of Sonic's body proved too much. She was now really entering the flow state, No wonder you love running Sonic, this is exhilarating!

Shortly after Tails had left, Jewel sent out a team of Restoration members to protect Tails' place. This would include two new recruits, Mighty and Ray.

A Cat member grumbled, "It took me a week of orientation to qualify for this position. How come they get to be fast tracked?"

Another hamster member who had seen them appear and be given permission to skip it reassured, "They're friends of Sonic's who've fought alongside him. That makes them overqualified, if anything."

The first member was still frustrated, "Then where have they been?"

Mighty had to assert himself, "You think Sonic can help everywhere?"

Ray also asserted, "We can be just as helpful too!"

Jewel then came in through their communications system, "Please stop bickering. It's extremely important to protect it so Eggman can't have it. Tails has just unlocked the door. You two will be watching the Meteor from the inside. Mighty, Ray, and the rest will be guarding from the outside."

They then waited around and inside Tails house, unaware of Eggman putting a trojan horse program to use to disable and take control of Tails' security systems, having successfully tricked Tails into clicking his "Alicorn" Trojan a while back.

Unbeknownst to the protection team, Eggman had taken the underground approach, burrowing carefully to break into the inside.

He then used his infiltration virus to enable access into Tails' home. With access into the house achieved, he quickly disabled security checks to begin obtaining the meteor which Tails had gathered, turning metal tentacles he had been using to measure the meteor against the two members. Two touched the meteor while two others touched the two guards, knocking them out.

Then Eggman entered the inside that was now unguarded. "Did they really think third rate guards and Tails' security were enough to stop me? Still, better scram before anyone figures out I was here. However…" He put microchips on the two fallen guards, "I'll be very interested in what that did."

Having successfully obtained what he was there for with his own rubber gloves, he left Tails' lab with the meteor in tow. "I look forward to discovering exactly what you're capable of! Hahahahahaha!" As he headed back to his base.

After a frustrating lack of answers after visiting 3 different bases, Lanolin said to Silver and Whisper, "Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way."

Silver agreed, "We haven't found any clues yet, so maybe. Did anything unusual happen recently?"

Whisper gave an honest answer out of reluctance, "…We had a meteor fall outside Spiral Hill."

Silver was intrigued, "Anything weird about it?"

Whisper replied, "It knocked Sonic and Tangle unconscious after they touched it."

Lanolin was infuriated, "You didn't think to tell us sooner?!"

Whisper didn't respond. Silver followed up, "That sounds really powerful. Where is it?"

Whisper answered, "Tails and Amy took it."

Lanolin facepalmed, "You need to be more up front with these things, Whisper! It could have saved us a lot of time! We will be heading there immediately!"

Silver then began lifting them Telekinetically to begin flying them to it, "Let's get going!"

As Lanolin and Whisper were thrown off-balance from the lift, Lanolin commented, "A little warning would be nice!" Whisper nodded in agreement.

Silver apologetically grinned, "Sorry."

The three then flew to Tails' current home. It was currently being guarded by Restoration forces. "If it isn't the Diamond Cutters! What brings you here on this fine day?"

Before Lanolin could answer, a different member questioned, "I thought it was three girls, not 2 girls and one guy. Also, since when did the Diamond Cutters have a Psychic?"

Whisper suddenly looked depressed, except her expression was blocked by the mask. Lanolin introduced them, "We are indeed the Diamond Cutters. Tangle couldn't join us for…reasons." Glaring at Whisper. She continued, "...And Silver is a temporary member for now."

The mention of Tangle caught Ray's and Mighty's attention, Ray asking, "You know Tangle?"

Silver then answered, "Correct, she's a founding member, along with her dear friend Whisper and Lanolin." Pointing as he said their names.

Mighty, curious, asked, "Why isn't Tangle with you?"

Whisper went silent, Lanolin doing her best to answer, "I don't know. Whisper insisted we go without her and has been quiet about that ever since last night."

Ray raised an eyebrow, putting things together from remembering discussing last night with Mighty, "Would it have anything to do with a date?"

That struck a nerve with Whisper, causing her to tense up. Mighty asked, "You're bringing that up now?"

Ray thought about it more and shrugged, "It was just a hunch."

Mighty pondered it aloud, "Well, whether you're right or not, I'm sure that they had a great time. Whoever it was is real lucky to have a girlfriend like her." This was causing Whisper's tears to start forming.

Ray noted too, "I'm too young to date, but I'm sure hers are a blast."

Mighty also mused, "Of course they would be. She reminds me of Sonic in many ways."

That was the last straw for Whisper, causing her to break down crying, running away. Silver and Lanolin were taken aback, Silver agreeing, "I guess that confirms it." He then chased after her. Mighty and Ray also followed shortly after.

Lanolin was glad to at least have an answer, but was left frustratedly narrowing her eyes, "That's what happens when you bottle up too much…While they're off, anybody know about the Meteor that's being analyzed by Tails here?"

Another member said, "Tails has uploaded what he could find about it. It's extremely powerful and amplifies its power when touched at multiple spots. Two others are guarding it from the inside."

Lanolin then texted Tails, "Could we enter your house to check on the meteor?"

Tails, who was then watching Sonic help Tangle learn how to spin-dash, Quickly answered, "Sure." He then unlocked the door to the house.

She then opened the door. As they looked, the two guards were unconscious, there was no sign of the meteor to be found, but there was a hole in the floor. Lanolin sent another message, "No sign of it and there's a hole in your floor?"

Tails answered, "...Sounds like Eggman. But, that shouldn't be possible. That should have triggered an alarm!"

That made Lanolin grimace, "Your security must be broken." She messaged.

Tails wasn't convinced, "No, I check it regularly."

Lanolin frowned heavily, "...I don't know what to tell you. I'll update Whisper and the others when I have the chance." She then told the others, "As for us, let's get these two to the hospital!"

As Sonic and his friends failed to keep up with Tangle in his body, Tails responded, "Wait everyone!"

Amy and Sonic immediately stopped, Sonic asking, "What is it Tails?"

That was a moment when another relayed message from the Diamond Cutters came in. Tails explained, "I got an alarming update from Lanolin."

Amy was concerned, "About what?" Tangle stopping to run back to them.

Tails then explained, "Eggman stole the meteor!"

Sonic's and Tangle's eyes shrunk in horror at the revelation, being rendered speechless at the implications.

Amy tried to comfort the hedgehog now trapped in a girl lemur's body, "You know, Sonic, if you're stuck in Tangle's body, I can help you with 'being a girl'."

It took all of Sonic's strength not to scream in emotional agony at the thought, having an incredibly pained grin, "…Thanks."

Tangle then said, "You think that's bad? How am I supposed to handle the world-ending threats you attract?!"

Sonic scratched the back of his head, unable to argue, "This is quite the…Tangled mess we've found ourselves in, isn't it?"

Tangle rolled her eyes hard, "Gee, never heard that one before…"

Sonic was exasperated, "I was trying to lighten the mood!"

Tails dispelled them, "Arguing will get us nowhere. Let's just head back."

The three others agreed, heading back to the Tornado to return to Tails' home.

With his latest base gone, Doctor Eggman had been hiding out in a base in a secret water cave on the Human continent. He'd successfully obtained that mysterious meteorite. He was watching the tracking microchips intently for whatever came of the two KOed guards.

"Orbot and Cubot, your presence is requested!" Eggman shouted.

Both proceeded to answer his call, "Yes, sir, what is it you need?" Said Orbot.

Cubot asked, "Is it a date?"

Dr. Eggman answered, "What?! No!"

Cubot asked, "What is this thing?" And slapped it. "Wow this thing tickles, and I learned what tickling feels like!"

Eggman declared, "Stop that Cubot! I'm surprised it didn't fry you on touch!"

Orbot asked, "What are we watching then?"

Eggman menacingly grinned, "We're watching what that Meteor does! I tagged two 'Restoration' fools with trackers to see what happened to them."

One then woke up, "Ugh, what happened to me…Wait, why do I have a long tail?! Why do I have claws on my fingers?! What's going on?!"

The other had their own comments to make, "I feel so small…Why do I not feel my tail? Am I still dreaming?"

Orbot mused, "Wow, they sound like they got mixed up or something!"

Eggman adjusted his glasses, "Hmmmm…This is a great finding!"

Cubot queried, "But we didn't find anything!"

Eggman shouted in aggravation, "No, you imbecile, we found everything! That meteor seems to have the…bizarre ability to swap peoples' bodies." He thought about it further and began laughing maniacally, "Hahahahahaha, no wonder Sonic was running into everything yesterday, it was actually that pesky lemur! Ohohohoho, this thing is so much better than any Chaos Emerald! Now I know exactly what to task Metal Sonic with-"

Said robot had been watching the entire time and immediately flew over to Eggman with a dramatic fist-landing entrance to make his presence known. "Oh, there you are. I thought you were asleep. But, if you're ready, I demand that you catch that 'Hedgehog'!"

Metal sonic gave a salute and flew out to find his target. "If this goes according to plan, I will never need to worry about that rodent ever again!"