Note: Another Pybro2 thank you. Hope I can make it up to you somehow...

As they grabbed the lemur's hands, Sonic felt the energy of the Emeralds start flowing through her-Tangle's tail. It felt incredibly weird, being the conduit of Chaos energy for once instead of its wielder. Eggman was frustrated, "No! I won't allow it!" He started a psychic barrier, and used it to explode the fire vortex.

This did blow back Blaze, and sent Sonic into the ground. But, he'd already given them all the energy they needed. The Dragon Trip and Super Shadow forms had been attained.

Eggman was frustrated, "NO! The Chaos Emeralds are mine!"

Trip answered with a fire breath. Whisper, meanwhile quickly ran over to Shadow, who snarked, "What? Do you need pointers on my Super Form?"

Shadow smiled, "To fly, imagine yourself moving in that direction and you'll go that way."

Whisper tried, first jumping and holding in the air. Once that was done, she darted at Eggman. Shadow smirked, She's as confident as me.

Eggman smugly smiled, "Please…Just try and stop me from inside the latest and Greatest Death Egg! Later!" He dashed over to 'Sonic', grabbing him, "CHAOS CONTROL!" And they disappeared.

Whisper was frustrated, "We'll have to chase him down!" Trip nodded, as did Blaze, the trio flying away at blitzing speeds.

Amy wondered, "Is there anything we can do now?"

Then Tangle was unplugged by Ray, and spoke, "Funny story Tails, Ariem's security recognized me as Metal Sonic. Good thing she verified me herself, right?"

Silver had walked out at this point, noting it, "Does that mean anything, Tails?"

Tails thought about it, "Actually…It might! I'm gonna ask Belle for help with this one! Tangle, stick around with us!"

Tangle saluted. Mighty asked, "Then what about us?"

Jewel called, "Uh…Guys! We've got an Egg shaped problem!" She showed the Death Egg, flying about the world high above.

Tails nodded, "We know Jewel. I'm working on it!"

Amy ran over to her crush, who looked crushed on the ground after that move, "Sonic? Are you alright?" She gingerly poked a cheek.

He groaned, "Ennnnhhhhhh…" As he awoke, something weird was starting to happen, Tangle's body was glowing, including a vibrant glow of the purple eyes. "What happened?"

Tangle saw him get up, geeking out while still being in Neo-Metal's shape, "EEEEEEEE! You're glowing!" She somehow did star eyes with her current pupils, "I've always wondered what my Super form would look like!"

His eyes shrank, taking a look at this new state his borrowed body was in. It felt…familiar, this was definitely the Emeralds' doing. But, also not quite right. His initial thought was more depression, I really am no longer-STOP THAT, you are Sonic! Don't let this get you down! …Thank you.

He then grinned, "Guess we'll find out!"

Shadow rolled his eyes, "Of course. Mind sharing that power, Sonic?!

Sonic was still analyzing it, "Not yet Shadow, I'm not sure I can. Let me test run this form first!" First, Sonic took it on a lap around the island, back in less than a minute, "At least as fast as my normal self…Neat!" He took a look at Tangle's tail, "Now…Let's see what this super powered tail can do!" He took it to the forest, wrapping it around a tree, and stretching it around a bunch of others until it started hurting too much, face clearly in pain, "Okay…Still has its limits." He quickly unstretched it, breathing a sigh of relief, "That must be what Tangle meant when she said I was gonna 'pull her butt off'..."

Tangle was around, having shapeshifted to her lemur form, to watch that and teased, "Yep, not a pleasant feeling, is it?"

Sonic slumped forward in pain and dread, "Not remotely."

Next, he got snuck up on like an assassin, the invisible voice prodding, "Would be a shame to lose a butt like that!"

Sonic was initially flustered at the mention. But, being the fast thinker, recognizing Espio's voice, and also recognizing the nature of the comment made him quickly realize what was going on: Espio must have been swapped with Rouge. So…He grinned maliciously, "At least it's bigger than yours now!"

Rouge, feeling deeply cut, appeared suddenly and sounded genuinely hurt at the remark, "Sonic…Not cool..."

Sonic looked up into his eyes, "You started it." Then he flicked the tail, "What goes around comes around."

Tangle whispered knowingly, "Do you really need revenge on Rouge?"

Sonic nodded. Rouge revealed, "Was it just revenge?" She pulled out her phone, "I saw the GUN loaned drone's footage. Never thought you could be so proud of your borrowed femininity, Sonic." Sonic froze in embarrassment, Rouge keeping up the pressure, "What, you're not gonna at least reflect on why you fit her mold so well?"

Shadow joined in the ribbing, "Isn't that right, 'Male Tangle'?"

Sonic shrieked, tail accidentally punching a tree nearby, "IT WAS AMNESIA, OKAY! Besides: I immediately afterwards took pride…in her…" Sonic realized mid sentence how much of a self-own that was, now wrapping himself in Tangle's tail, "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Then, some ninja stars and another lemur tail came in to break up the argument. Tangle spoke, "Seriously, guys. He's still recovering from his amnesia. Stop taking out our dysphorias on each other."

Sonic groaned somberly, "...It's true." He somberly noted to himself, At least you all remember being yourselves…

Espio had heard from above, inserting, "At least you aren't stuck with miss bat thief's body! It's so awkward to walk now!" He then pulled at a glove in annoyance, "And these clothes are annoyingly tight! Why would anyone wear this?!"

Rouge took offense, "I wouldn't expect a man to appreciate my natural beauty and feminine outfit."

Tangle poked fun at that, "Feminine outfit? Seems pretty tacky to me!"

Rouge dismissed, "Of course a flat rapscallion like you would dismiss it!"

Tangle waved her tail hand dismissively, "Feminine beauty is overrated anyways."

Lanolin now joined this discussion, "Tell me about it. But…we have more important things to do right now! Like Sonic, can you share that power with Shadow?"

He shrugged, "I can try!" He used Tangle's tail to grab him, "Get over here!"

Shadow rolled his eyes, Yep, saw that coming!

As they, or more accurately Sonic, hugged the current wolf, he started to glow too. This gave him a chance to appreciate it, but he rejected the chance, "Whatever. At least it's a step closer to normal. Now LET ME GO YOU-OOOO!"

Sonic threw him into a nearby rock hard enough to dent it. It didn't hurt due to the super form, but he glared in fury, Sonic maliciously smiling as he recalled, "Hey, you asked for it!"

Tangle watched the scene and it disturbed her. Lanolin noticed and asked, "Problem, Tangle?"

She confided in her leader, "The way they interact makes me uncomfortable, like I'm peering into an alternate universe where Whisper and I hate each other…"

Lanolin put a hand on her, "Remember, they aren't you two. Sure, you and Sonic have a lot in common. But Shadow and Whisper?…not so much. And your relationships are anything but similar."

Tangle giggled, but asked clarification, "I know, but it concerns me. What if Whisper and I did drift apart and we became enemies?"

Lanolin grew serious, "You seriously think that could happen?" She chuckled in amusement, "You'd have to go out of your way or directly betray her to Eggman. Now tell me:" She glared seriously again, "You gonna do that?"

Tangle scratched her head, "Don't plan on it…"

Lanolin smiled, "Good." She then suggested, "Sonic, if it worked for Shadow, how 'bout you go see Silver?"

The two of them nodded. Sonic knocked on the door Silver was behind, still looking depressed, "Oh…hey guys!" Seeing them glow caused him to become giddy for the first time in a while, "You guys are glowing! Does that mean."

Shadow nodded and answered, "Yes, Silver."

Sonic stretched over the tail, "Now it's your turn!"

He felt the energy flowing into Eggman's body, but then, he felt himself faint. They were alarmed, but, then they heard Silver's normal voice in the room, "Ennnh, what happened?" He then stood up out of Eggman's body, having become some kind of strange emerald ghost, "Oh…I'm a ghost?!" He put hands through his head and then teased, "Spooky!"

Shadow groaned, "Why does he get to be a ghost?"

Sonic then added, "Sorry Shadow, we're not just girls anymore." He then posed in a feminine manner, "We're SUPER girls!"

He announced in response, "And I'm Super done with this! Catch me at Restoration HQ!" He then flew off.

Silver shrugged, "Don't I get to talk?"

Sonic shrugged, "Sorry Silver, you were too slow."

They started to leave for the Restoration HQ, but then Tails reminded Tangle, "Wait, Tangle."

She nodded, "Oh…Right."

After they left, he hooked Tangle up, "Tangle, I'm sorry I have to ask to do something this invasive, but I need to examine your…file properties."

Tangle shapeshifted back into Neo Metal, "Okay Tails…"

After being plugged into his computer again, Tangle appeared on his screen. Tangle was clicked, "That tickles!"

He clicked on properties, finding the file name: METAL SONIC. He took a step back…"How? Why?"

Tangle wondered, "Tails?"

He was initially worried, but, he had an epiphany, "...Of COURSE! How did I not think of that before?! This is huge!"

Tangle smiled, beginning to run out, "That's great Tails!...Whatever you mean by that…Now can I?"

He shook his head, "Sorry Tangle, but you're gonna have to remain a program. But it confirms it: your file properties are that of Metal Sonic!"

Tangle's eyes widened, "You still trust me…Right…PLEASE DON'T DELETE ME TAILS I'M JUST A POOR INNOCENT LEMUR TRAPPED IN A ROBOT I WOULD NEVER-"

Tails giggled, "Tangle, I trust you. It's not your fault. It's simply that when the meteor swapped you, his file system had no way to comprehend a new being inhabiting his robotic body…So it kept his file properties. Point is, as far as Eggman's systems know: You're Egg Tech. That should give us some huge exploits into his network."

Tangle grinned in a manner worthy of Sonic, "Oh…I like where this is going…Should we get Belle's help too? She's technically Egg Tech too…"

Tails grinned, "Already did!"

Belle knocked on the door, Tails answering, to which Belle asked, "Tails…What is it now?"

Tangle answered, "We're gonna infiltrate the Eggnet!"

Belle grimaced, "O-o-o-okay…!" She sighed, "Do what you need to…"

Tails nodded, preparing to hook her up like Neo-Metal's body nearby. Then Tails prepared to put on the helmet he'd put on Sonic earlier, "This might be risky...But if we have any chance…We'll have to do it together…"

At the Restoration reception desk, a certain Skunk brother duo was on their knees begging Tumble, "Please! We'll do anything! Please let us see the meteor!"

The receptionist, a cat demoted due to…complications, replied, "Trust me, I'd love to see it too! I was put on receptionist duty after too many incidents with this dumb tail! But we don't! Deal with it!"

Rough, stuck in Tumble's body, finally agreed, "Okay…"

Then Sonic's crew came by the entrance. Tumble, with Rough's agility, ran up to say, "Rouge! Remember me?"

But, actually being Espio, he looked confused, "What?"

Then the actual rouge tapped him on the shoulder, "I'm the real Rouge. Are you Tumble then?"

He nodded, "Yep!"

Rough, with Tumble's limbering presence, had his eyes shine at Tangle's presence, hugging 'her', "Tangle! It's been too long! Can we be besties again?"

Sonic was too shocked to react, Tangle, you know these idiots?! He asked, "Uhhhh…"

Rough and Rouge requested, "ROUGH! Let him go!"

He sighed, "Okay…"

Sonic wondered, "Wait…" He laughed, "You two got swapped as well?!" How'd that happen!"

Rough announced, "...Well."

(The night after the meteor landed.)

It was late at night. Whisper was still watching guard, desperately trying to stay awake.

Pink tapped her shoulder, "Wha…Oh…Thanks Pink." She was determined. No sleep until Tails comes back!

That was when she was suddenly approached by two notorious thugs.

"It's late at night!"

"You better not Stumble!"

"Cause this now belongs to Rough & Tumble." The brother duo boasted.

Whisper fought through the drowsiness, "No. Stay away from that."

Rough looked at it closely, "How much do you suppose this is worth, Tumble?"

Tumble smirked, "We sell this thing, we'll be gazillionaires in no time! We simply need to find the right buyer."

Whisper noticed she hadn't been heard, "I SAID BACK AWAY FROM IT!"

Rough feigned horror, putting a hand on the Meteor, "Oh, what're you gonna do? Howl at us all night!" He thought in his head, why does this thing feel so tingly?

Tumble teased, "BARK BARK BARK!" He moved his hands toward it, "Guess we better get goi-" As he touched the Meteor. After the blinding flash, both skunks were on the ground.

Whisper looked at them in disbelief. She'd never run into a problem that solved itself easily. Speechless, she annoyedly dragged the unconscious duo as far away into the nearby forest as she could without letting the meteor out of her sight. She then went back to guarding the meteor for the night.

Rough then explained an alternate recounting of what happened to them, preparing to boast, "It was an epic struggle! We found it in an ancient tomb of great peril!"

Tumble agreed, "It was full of booby…heh…traps that we masterfully outsmarted!"

Rough continued, "And then we finally got to the shrine and grabbed it together. Unfortunately, we didn't know it would knock us unconscious…"

Tumble, finished, "…And when we woke up, not only were we mind-swapped, but someone else stole the sacred gemstone right out from under our noses!"

Rough cried to the skies, "IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Rouge rolled her eyes, "That's an interesting tale you spun."

Sonic snarked, wiggling the tail for emphasis, "And a stretch so extreme even this tail couldn't handle it!"

They looked dumbstruck, "You don't believe us?!" Asked Tumble.

Rough begged, "Come on Tangle. I know I'm mixed up, but you remember our good times together…Right?!"

Sonic grinned as he admitted, "You know I'm Sonic, right? Tangle and I were the first victims of that thing. It's a meteor, you dummies!"

They both went wide eyed, "Uhhhh…No, it's not!" Whined Rough.

Tumble suggested, "Drop it, bro. We aren't winning this argument…"

Rough moved on, "Fine. Regardless," He then kneeled, begging, "Could you please help us back to normal! I badly want my tail back!"

Tumble, in the background, was hugging his new tail, "I love this floof! I hope we never have to part!"

Rough groaned, "Please! I'll do anything!"

Sonic stroked his chin, "You got it! Follow us then!"

Lanolin gave a glare following that, "But…You step out of line, you'll regret it!"

He shrank in intimidation, "Y-yes, ma'am!"

They followed to Jewel's big meeting room.

There, Knuckles and his group sat, causing Amy to ask, "Knuckles?"

He folded his arms, "The Mechas flew off as quickly as they came!"

Vector shrugged, "They must have been a distraction!"

Knuckles looked in the direction of the Sonic and noticed, "Woah! 'Tangle' you're looking extra hot today!"

Sonic rolled his eyes, "Yes, I thought I was Tangle. Hardy har har."

Shadow joined in on the tease, "What's wrong with being in touch with your feminine side?"

Sonic glared back, "Remind me which one of us has Chest fur again!"

Shadow gave a wicked grin in response, "And who first pointed that out?"

Sonic responded back, "And then what happened to you! Karma much?!"

Lanolin put hands on both their mouths, "I know who you both are, but I'm tired of hearing my friends' voices arguing!"

Amy sighed and closed her eyes, "Thank you, Lanolin."

But, Lanolin whispered to Shadow, "Though, amusingly, he did brag about 'never being manlier' to Tang-"

Sonic smiled snidely, wrapping the two of them together with Tangle's tail like a lasso, "Sharing my most embarrassing moments with Shadow, eh Lanolin?"

Lanolin looked at him, "Sonic, what are you doing?"

He teased, "Playing matchmaker. You two are perfect for each other, so when's your first date?"

Lanolin flustered in frustration, "We're about to fight for the fate of the planet and you're doing this?"

Sonic did a tongue in cheek response, "Unless you're too chicken."

Lanolin smirked, "Like that's gonna wor-"

Shadow interrupted, "Done."

Lanolin looked at him in frustration, "I get a say in that too! Even if you're not just engaged in some competition of pride, save it for later!"

He unwrapped them and shrugged, doing a triple hand guns maneuver, "Let me know if you dooOO!"

They both gave a combined "Hmph".

Amy asked Sonic, "Suggesting people get together now? Was that Tangle's hormones again?"

Sonic winked, "Maybe."

Charmy asked Vector, watching that, "Vector, does becoming a girl change you that much?"

Vector gritted his teeth, "No clue Charmy, but I suspect it's just an excuse for Sonic to hide his girlier behavior behind."

Sonic snarked with a wide grin, "Wow, rude! I would never!"

Mighty whispered into Sonic's ear, "Does Tangle's hormones really influence you?"

Sonic whispered with a playful grin, "That's the fun part: I don't know."

Jewel then whistled to get everyone's attention, "Everyone! We have a crisis here!"

Lanolin went on to explain, "Eggman's launched the Death Egg…Again."

Vector griped, "What's he plotting with it this time?"

Lanolin then felt the need to check in with Whisper, "Whisper, what's the situation with the Death Egg?"

After completing the Chaos Control back to the Death Egg, Eggman growled, "Hmmmm…Should have known better than to give them an opening."

'Sonic' agreed, "You really are more like me than you care to admit."

Eggman groaned, "Quiet you! I don't have time to think, they'll be here any minute. So…" He quickly plugged the Emeralds into his new Death Egg console. With the power of the Meteor, Solar, and a certain Tenrec, he'd had the energy to re-launch the Death Egg…Barely. But, with their combined powers and the Chaos Emeralds, this version would be unstoppable.

The powers of the 7 started to fill the gigantic spacecraft, giving it a bright, dark-red glow. Just in time too, as a trio of super-beings had arrived.

Blaze immediately trained a fire lazer on the spacecraft, Trip aiming at the same spot, then Whisper volleying as many Chaos Spears as possible on one spot. But, to their disappointment, it didn't even leave a dent.

Blaze's eyes went wide, "What?! Impossible!"

Eggman used the encoder to laugh in their faces with the familiar voice, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cute! You Dilettantes really thought you stood a chance!"

Whisper glared and clenched fists and teeth, "Big words, Eggman!" She shouted, "CHAOS CONTROL!" Trying to get through the barrier, but was instantly rejected, "What?!"

Eggman snickered, "I don't boast when I can't back it up! You 3 are helpless to stop me! Now how about you skedaddle to your friends!"

The three of them scowled, which is right when Lanolin called up Whisper…

Whisper answered, "We can't break through! His shields are too strong!"

Silver exclaimed, "Dang it! I thought you'd be able to!"

Whisper froze at that voice, "Silver! Is that really you!"

Silver sheepishly responded, "Not exactly in the flesh, but yes!"

She started crying tears of joy, "It's…So great to hear you again!"

Shadow spoke from their side, "Ugh, I can feel the sweetness from here. It makes me want to puke! Can we get back to figuring out a way to get through his security first?!"

To everyone's surprise, Tangle's voice came through the current meeting room intercom, "Stop being a party pooper, Shadow!"

Rough wondered, "Tangle! My dear! Where are you?!"

Tails came next, "We're giving a quick report as we try to hack the Eggnet!"

Belle spoke, "Wish us luck…This could get ugly!"

Jewel wondered, "Tails, how are you with them?"

Sonic winked, "He knows what he's doing!"

Jewel pondered and suggested, "Okay Tails. I know what we do now! Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, head down to our biggest with everyone else! Once Tails finds a way to create an opening, you need to Chaos Control into whatever spot they suggest. We'll discuss further from there!"

Lanolin nodded, "You heard the Commander! Move it!"

They all got into their places, preparing for the hopeful opening.

The digitized trio of Tangle, Tails, and Belle had made their way to the digital entrance into the Eggnet. Tails folded his arms, "Here we go. You first, Tangle."

She smiled, "You got it, little bro!"

Belle smiled, "You're siblings now?"

Tangle wrapped them together with her digital tail, "Adoptive. But, we're also the 'weird tail trio'! Isn't it great!"

Tails groaned, "Between you and Sonic, I'm gonna get real tired of hugs. Could you just try and enter now, Tangle?"

Tangle released them, "Okay…" She ran into firewall, and was instantly granted access. She smiled, "Sweet! It worked!"

Tails eyes lit up, "Great! Now we just need to get through somehow!"

Belle tried first, but was denied. That frustrated Tails, "Belle's Eggtech so if she can't easily get through, then there's no way I am. Maybe we can hack our way in?"

Tangle tried grabbing them both with her tail to drag them through, "Or maybe I can drag you through!" But…That didn't work. The harder she tried, the more it rejected them, "Just…gotta…try…a…little…harder!"

Belle shook her head, "Tangle, firewalls don't work like that!"

Tangle stopped, accepting defeat, but then got another idea, "How about I encapsulate you guys with my tail…Then pull you through?"

Tails thought about it, then got another idea, "I don't think that would work exactly…But you're onto something!"

Belle was intrigued, "How so?"

Tails explained, "You ever heard of a trojan? It's like where a seemingly harmless file is let into your system, but then once it's gotten access to your computer it can start corrupting your computer and take administrative actions to take control of it and-"

Tangle interrupted, "Tails…Too much computer mumbo jumbo. Can you explain in terms I can understand?"

Tails giggled, No wonder Sonic could mistake himself for you, Tangle. He then scratched his head, "Uhhhhhh…Eat us?"

Belle and Tangle's tails stretched in shock at this, Tangle asking with shrunken irises, "You can't be serious!"

Belle shook her head, "Sorry Tangle, but I think he means it…"

Tails scratched his head, "Uhhh…poor choice of words. But…We do need to become part of you. Maybe…uhhhhh…like we share your digital form. Point is: We would be hidden from Eggman's security."

Tangle thought about it, "Hmmm…I guess like…" She then shapeshifted into a bus, "Like I'm your ride!"

Tails snickered, Belle…Not so much, "A bus?"

Tangle blushed, slightly embarrassed, "It was from a game I played." She then pushed them, "Now stop dawdling! We need to save the world!"

Tails nodded, "You got it, Tangle!"

Belle did the robotic equivalent of a sigh, "Okay. Here goes nothing."

They stepped inside, Tails telling her, "Tangle, maybe you can try reverting to your normal form now…"

Tangle groaned, "Do I have to?"

Belle re-assured, "Regretfully, yes. We can't exactly travel through his systems as a bus, that would look too weird."

Tangle spoke through the intercom, "Okay guys! Keep your hands, feet, and tails in the vehicle at all times!" She then reverted to her normal form, and initially she didn't feel any different, which made her panic, "Guys! Guys! Where are you?!"

Belle and Tails could now see what Tangle was seeing. Belle spoke from inside their now shared head, Tangle! We're in your head now! We're fine!

Tails confirmed, Yep! Well done Tangle! You're now our Trojan!

Tangle cheered, "Yes! Glad we're digitized cause…Nevermind. What now?"

Tails suggested, Could you try letting one of us take control?

Tangle winked, "Sure thing, little bro!"

Tails tried, and found it surprisingly easy. As he did, Tangle's eyes turned blue. He looked at Tangle's tail, grinning wide, "I've always wondered what your tail was like!" He gripped at the base, then experimented with stretching it, bouncing around, swinging into the Eggnet.

Belle shouted, Tails! I'm glad you're enjoying wielding Tangle's tail, but shouldn't we be more careful in the Eggnet?!

Tails stopped, "Oh…Right."

Tangle teased, You really are Sonic's little brother. She admitted, But seriously, Tails and Belle, I don't understand this Internet stuff. You're probably better off taking control from here.

Belle agreed, Thank you, Tangle.

Tails countered, "You're not wrong, but there is one thing: you're the one who's learned to shapeshift. Could you turn us into Metal Sonic real quick?"

Tangle nodded, briefly taking control to do so, Okay Tails. Best of luck.

As they navigated, they found their way through to the new Scrapnik part of the base. A hologram appeared in front of them resembling Sigma, "GREETINGS, MASTER TAILS!" The hologram created a shield from outside view, "WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE?! IT'S DANGEROUS!" Tails took a moment, getting the reassurance, "FORGIVENESS REQUESTED, I'M HERE TO HELP YOU. WE'VE HAD A FEW SCRAPNIKS GATHERING INTEL ON EGGMAN. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?"

Tails thought, Okay, we're safe, go ahead and reveal us, Tangle. Tangle shapeshifted their form into Tails, and he spoke, "Sigma, we need to create a gap in Eggman's shields for our friends to bust through!"

"UNDERSTOOD. THE GATEWAY TO HIS NEW DEATHEGG IS THIS. BEST OF LUCK, MASTER TAILS AND HIS BRAVE FRIENDS." Tangle reverted to Metal's form and they were freed to go on to the satellite, transmitting them up to the Death Egg.

That was how we get to the Death Egg? Thought it'd be more…spectacular. Mused Tangle.

Belle shook her head, We're just bytes of data. And he's got his own protocols for that.

Tails agreed, Absolutely. It's a shame he only uses them for evil… He found the port for the Death Egg, a good point to teleport. He and Belle located each possible camera into it to hijack and override with a seemingly normal image. Then came the last step: Preparing to disengage the chaos emerald protection. It could only be for a millisecond, so he sent a message back to the Restoration…

The preparations had been made. Sonic and the others now just needed to wait for the signal to pull this massive Chaos Control to make their move. Jewel saw the message, letting them know, ready to command from her office, "Okay, Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. Chaos Control at precisely 5:23. Also let Whisper know too, if she can manage it."

Sonic winked, "You got it!" As the time came close, the trio slowed down their perceptions of time. Once it hit precisely that moment, they shouted the signature catch-phrase, "CHAOS CONTROL!" When it was done, they'd made it inside the Death Egg. To their pleasant Surprise, Whisper had managed it too.

With their infiltration accomplished, Whisper asked, "What now?"

Omega shouted, "DESTRUCTION TO EGGMAN!"

Jewel insisted, "No! We're gonna need to play this carefully! Knowing Eggman, he's definitely booby trapped this place, probably with that meteor, so the only ones who should be venturing into the base are those with Super Strength. Everyone else will be guarding our escape ship. Any other suggestions?"

Amy suggested, "Yes! Knuckles, you prepare the Master Emerald to power down the Chaos Emeralds!"

Lanolin nodded, "Okay. And Silver, you will-" But the ghost of the gray hedgehog was gone.

Whisper facepalmed, "He's gonna rush in, huh?" She suddenly does a combination of dread and endearment to the thought, I really do have a type…

Lanolin sighed, "Yep. Big, Vector, Mighty, Amy, Tumble, and Rou-Espio, you all head in there. Make sure to use rubber gloves!"

Rough groaned, "No, I'm Rough remember!"

She sheepishly apologized, "Sorry, this is confusing."

Rouge teased, "And it's probably about to be more so. If any of you end up like me, do let me know…"

Espio glared, "What's that supposed to mean?"

She stuck out his hidden but long tongue, "You should know by now…"

Espio blushed in annoyance, "Of course…"

Amy asked Sticks before she went, "I dunno why, but I have a hunch you've seen that meteor in your dreams. Any advice about handling it?"

Sticks shrugged, "Sorry Amy. I only saw it in my dreams once."

Amy shrugged, "Okay, wish us luck!"

Sticks winked, "You know it!"

Then Kit announced, "I'm going to find Surge!"

Jewel tried to stop him over the ship communications, "Wait, Kit, I don't know if that's a good idea…"

Lanolin explained, "I don't think we can stop him…" She sighed, "It's a good thing we gave him a supply of water."

Tails gave them a message, "Great! We'll help disable security, where possible. But…Be careful. We can't hide the infiltration forever…"

The 6 walked down the halls, being cautious. Espio, being now able fly, was being careful to notify, "Okay, we're clear!" They went down further.

Amy, as they walked, was crying a bit. Mighty noticed it and sighed, "Amy, do we need to talk right now?"

Amy sighed, "It's disappointing. Going from dating Sonic to him agreeing to one with you in a matter of days…"

Mighty explained, "Don't think too much of it. I want to help my friend, that's all."

Amy teased, "You sure you're not helping yourself too?"

He admitted, "Okay, I need to start separating my feelings between Tangle and Sonic too. It's scary for me, having to consider if my feelings were for him all along."

Rough growled, "Keep your gay thoughts to yourself, please!"

Big tilted his head, "Uh…Why?"

Rough took it back, "You know what…Never mind!"

Vector asked, "Actually: Are you and that other skunk metaphorically or literally brothers?"

He spoke again, "NEVER! MIND!"

Mighty and Amy giggled, Mighty whispering, "And we thought Sonic was insecure."

Amy admitted, "He is, but at least for our sake too. This dude's just ego driven."

Espio added, "Focus, guys!"

Tails sent them a message, "We're almost there!"

After the door was opened, they saw it, the cause of this entire mess. But, right after opening that door, the 4 on the ground were suddenly shocked by a surge of electricity. Espio, flying, flew down to begin waking them up.

He first started with 'Mighty', who woke, "Ennnhhhh…Why do I suddenly feel so naked?"

'Big' awoke next, "Ugh, I feel like I ate nothing but fish buffets for my entire life!"

'Amy' giggled, "Hehe, Fish…My breasts and butt feel funny!"

'Vector' mumbled, "WhY dos mi f8ce feoL su Beeg?"

'Big' commented, "Awkward to be stuck with an alligator mouth, huh?"

Rough as Tumble had gotten lucky this time, avoiding the shock, "Guess we're all mixed up now! Ha!"

Espio scolded, "Please don't gloat." He next asked, "So who are you all?"

Jewel called him up, "Don't worry about identifying each other right now! We don't know if you'll be getting swapped further. Try to focus on getting the meteor out."

Espio complied, "Sure. Any update Tails?"

He updated, "The security on the meteor is really intense! Be ready to grab and go once I crack it!"

So they nodded, waiting in the room somewhere they shouldn't get shocked.

In a different part of the base, Kit was making his way around. He was still a genius too, so he'd found schematics for this Death Egg model, knowing where to go to find Surge.

Once he got there, he found it surprisingly easy to get in. Tails had opened it for Kit, it was a gesture of goodwill. He saw his dear friend Surge, and it made him ballistic! Surge looked drained in the most literal sense, like her eyes couldn't glow anymore if she tried. He shouted, "SURGE!"

Surge opened her eyes for a bit, "K-k-kit?"

He glowed with joy, "Surge! It's really you!"

Surge groaned, "Kit…help…me…"

Kit began to dislodge Surge from the machine, "Absolutely, ma'am!" He worked hard at the security console, trying every password combo he could. Eventually, he gave up and tried to soak it out of functioning, which somehow worked. After doing so, he began to bring her back towards the group of Restoration fighters.

Kit smiled, "Surge…We're gonna get you out of here!" He made a mad rush, but there's only so much Tails can hide from them…

Sage and 'Sonic' waited, seeing the energy bars building up. They had confidence that the energy required for the warp would be reached soon. Sage smiled, "Get ready Sonic. You're gonna need to do the trick once we have the energy built up."

The hedgehog grinned maniacally, "Looking forward to it, sis! What do you think about the chance of stealing that cat's body? Seems pretty sweet, right? We'll be like speed siblings."

Sage gave a neutral expression, "...Sure…Brother…"

'Sonic' raised an eyebrow, "You don't seem thrilled. Why not?"

She looked at her hands, glitching a bit, "I may not have a true body, but I conceived of my appearance. I feel like myself." She looked down, "I don't want to become a flesh being. I'm happiest how I am, free from gravity and other flesh concerns, with a form I chose."

'Sonic' thought about it, coming to an idea, "Have you considered suggesting taking the gray hedgehog's body?"

Sage thought about it, "Interesting…But I'm a girl, that's a boy's body."

Her brother chuckled, "Like you know anything about either. I only barely learned what it's truly like being a real boy. You'd probably adjust fine."

Sage acknowledged the possibility, "...Maybe…But would Eggman be fine with becoming that princess?"

He snickered, "Probably. He's about power first. I'm sure any dysphoria would be a price he's willing to pay for her sol emeralds and empire…" He grinned maniacally.

Sage closed her eyes, "Thank you, brother. But first, we need to win! Get ready, we've almost finished the charge!" She sent a call to Eggman, "Father! We're ready! Will you come help us do this interdimensional teleport?!" She didn't get a response.

'Sonic' bickered, "Oh well, his loss!" He then began to channel the emeralds, attaining his 'Overlord Sonic' form with its dark schlera, red eyes, and white spots on his spines. He grinned again, "Here we go! CHAOS CONTROL!"

He began channeling all the power of the emeralds and ship, preparing to launch them into another dimension. It disappeared for a moment. He was ecstatic, YES! The Eternal Eggman Empire is in business!...For my 'oh so loving' father…

They reappeared in front of what looked like earth, "Yes! We did it! Interdimensional travel is ours!"

Sage looked at the planet closer, and quickly realized, "Brother…That's not a different planet…" She ran quick calculations of their coordinates, "We seem to have traveled precisely two meters away from Earth."

He made a primal scream, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! HOWWWWWWWWWWW!"

Sage analyzed the security footage of the Death Egg, noticing a suspiciously small amount of activity and a decreasing amount of energy generation from their power sources. She suggested to him, "Something's not right, brother. We need to investigate!"

He growled, "On it sis!" He sped out of the room, rapidly searching throughout the vessel for anything amiss.

In the throne room, Eggman had put back on his resized outfit and patiently waited. He was preparing for if this new model of the Death Egg could build up enough power to travel dimensions. It was the final reassurance he needed to know he was about to become an interdimensional overlord. He had plenty of other fun traps to cook up for that infernal princess and anyone else if he could only prove this could work.

'Sonic' and Sage were watching the Death Egg console in a different chamber to make sure nothing was amiss. Things were falling into place.

Silver, being a ghost now, had been following what his instincts had been telling him, and found his stolen face. It was deeply distressing to witness. It really shouldn't be, he just looked bored, but still, this was the definition of an 'out of body' experience. Except worse since he knew the one behind his face was someone who'd done so much wrong to him, his friends, and countless more.

Silver sensed that he'd become a ghost for this reason: To take his body back. So he tried to sneak attack him.

Eggman schemed, "So…What next? If I get to the Sol Dimension with this version, do I hold her planet hostage if she hands over the Sol Emeralds? Do I manage to steal her body? Never thought I could call myself Empress Eggman, but taking the gender of a stolen body? That's just tacky, I don't want to end up like the former Sonic, do I?"

Silver took the chance to do a spooky ghost shout, "NO! Your reign ends here!"

Eggman was caught briefly offguard, then realized, "Oh! My voice! How scary! You can't scare me, I'm Eternal!"

Silver then flew into his stolen body, causing them to both enter his mindspace as Silver's body fell to the floor unconscious…

Sage had just returned to her father, seeing the gray hedgehog lying on the ground unconscious, "FATHER?!"

In the head of Silver, it was initially a dark void. Silver couldn't see much of anything except himself. He was trying to process what happened since re-entering his stolen body, but to little shock, he heard Eggman's voice boom into it shortly.

"My my, you're a pesky little rodent, aren't you!" He thundered.

Silver snarled back, "Since you became me, what's that make you?!"

He grinned from the shadows, boasting, "Smart!" He then delivered a hand smack to the hedgehog, adding, "Powerful beyond your worst nightmares."

Silver maintained his bravado in the face of his body-jacker, "As if! I know my friends will defeat you! Blaze is my friend, she can stop you too!"

Eggman then took advantage of this dreamworld to step up his mindgames against the hedgehog, turning into Blaze, putting a hand on his shoulder and speaking with an imitation of her voice, "You sure about that, tiger…" He then used the cat tail to tickle his nose and pretend playful pawing and, "Rawr."

Silver was…stunned by this maneuver, not knowing how to handle this except to remind himself Eggman's playing mindgames. Silver just needed to come up with a counter, calling him out on that move, "That's racist! You're as much Blaze as that Octopus could be!"

Eggman chuckled, "Please, that pathetic coward can only imitate." He summoned out an imitation, "But with this thing…" He touched it between each word becoming someone else he knew Silver knew, "I…could…become…anyone…you…know!" He cycled through again between each laugh, "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

Silver clenched his teeth in fury, "Not on my watch, Eggman!" Silver ripped out several big boulders with his psychic powers, "Take! This!"

Eggman cackled evilly, transforming into Silver with his resized outfit, redirecting with a red aura to differentiate from the former and current unwelcome inhabitant of his new body. On accomplishing this, he boasted, "AMATUER!" Next he teleported behind Silver, using his psychic powers to crush his rival's head a bit.

Silver cried, "OWWWWW!"

Eggman confidently asserted, "That's the difference between us: You're a pathetic simpleton who only knows to attack with volume. I'm a calculated genius whose 300 IQ brain knows the most vicious ways to apply it. Face it: Your powers were WASTED on yo-OWWWWW!"

Silver had used a similar Psychic maneuver to inflict some serious damage on Eggman. Silver was feeling a bit out of his depth but tried to counter, "This world isn't real, I have no use for mercy here. Besides, it's not about effectiveness, you don't deserve my powers!"

Eggman smiled widely, doing a shadowy face to answer back, "I deserve to rule the world, Whatever that takes!"

Silver glared at him, "What?! Is that your ego?" Next, he remembered what he'd read about Eggman in books of his time, "...Or is it about Maria?"

Eggman froze, Oh boy…Is he about to psychoanalyze me? This oughtta be fun… He asked, "There's an interesting claim. Go on…"

Silver begged him, "I know what GUN did to Maria and your grandfather. I'm sorry that happened to your family, but is world domination seriously a proper response?!"

Eggman snickered, "They deserved it!" Before Silver could respond, "Why? Because they kowtowed to that pathetic excuse of an organization like chumps! They were weak, I am strong!"

Silver was disturbed to his core. He'd gazed into the abyss that was Eggman's very soul, and found a man more depraved than he'd realized. In his rage, he summoned a gigantic meteor in this space, "You're not human. I don't know what you are!"

Eggman grinned wide back, "Of course I'm not human!" He summoned a giant version of his human arm to block it.

Silver responded with breaking it apart and reforming it around the hand, attempting to nip his next argument, "Don't call yourself a hedgehog either!"

Eggman summoned another to stop it and break it apart, "Don't need to, this is fate! I'm Eternal!"

Silver was panicking, "What?!"

His evil counterpart teleported next to him, taking advantage of the memories he'd been siphoning off the unwanted guest, showing his future version, "You know it to be true!"

Silver was going into a mental breakdown, refusing what this was implying, "No…NO! I need to save the future!" He used his powers to grab Eggman, trying to throw him out of this place and hopefully his head, "Get out of my head!"

Eggman briefly played along before stopping, then doing it back to him, "Tsk tsk. I decide my future, and your future is mine now!" Thus he was sent flying out of his former head.

Silver felt forcefully rejected from his stolen body, stopping before he left the room. He started to shed ghostly tears, looking at his still intangible self and punched the ground, "Why? Why couldn't I take my body back? I thought that was the point of this new form…"

Eggman awoke, with that evil grin Silver had never wanted to smack off his own face so hard. He boasted, "You're just like my dead family: Spineless and cowardly, going with the flow. In fact, I doubt you came alone…" He floated up to the Chaos Emeralds, bringing in their power to regain his 'Eternal' form. He finished, "So how about I pay your friends a visit." He took a look at Sage, "Daughter…Where are these pests?!"

Sage consulted the cameras, "Unknown Father…They aren't appearing on Cameras…"

He growled, "Of course it couldn't be that easy…" He called up 'Sonic', "Sonic, report in!" But he didn't get an answer. He complained, "Ugh! He's gonna do something stupid, huh! Sometimes I think I made him too much like the real Sonic." He spotted their team with his psychic sight, "There you are, Chaos Control!" But it failed. His eyes became bloodshot.

Silver taunted, "Ha, too much energy interference to do it, isn't there!"

He screamed, "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! Fine, I'll fly to them myself!" He began to make his way to their spaceship…

Sage took a look through the systems, spotting something very amiss: The door to the Meteor room was open. She was alarmed, moving through the Eggnet as quickly as possible to investigate that…

Back at the Spacecraft, Sonic and Shadow waited around, Sonic complaining, "Ugh…This is so boring! Can't we go in too?!" He looked at his now glowing borrowed tail, "We could wreck this place in no time!"

Jewel and Lanolin insisted, "Sorry guys, you know why the Master Emerald is so important!"

Knuckles looked at his mostly still disassembled Master Emerald, "Working on it!"

Shadow groaned, "You know what, I'll start helping too." He sat down with him, looking at the pieces.

Knuckles got lost in the pretty eyes of wolf, "Oh…Hey, you're pretty hot yo-OW!"

Shadow immediately slapped him, "I'm not actually the wolf girl, remember!"

Knuckles put a hand on his cheek and got back to the re-assembling, "Right…Sorry. I can only imagine how awkward being a girl must be…"

"You might get to. Just wait…" Came a whisper from someone he couldn't see. He didn't hear it. The Chameleon shrugged, Your single-minded focus is adorable, Knuckles… She revealed herself, "Guess I should join this endeavor…"

Whisper and Trip stayed on guard as many entrances into the bay as they could. They'd gotten it about 20% completed when Knuckles asked, "Hey Sonic, you got another quip for me?"

Sonic was about to speak, but the tail was grabbed by black streak, "Oh phooey!" He was then dragged outside of the Death-Egg barrier. Lanolin saw and spoke for that, "He just got snatched!"

Tails came in with a notice, "Guys…Get ready. Eggman's coming!"

The three super-powered beings prepared themselves, Whisper running over to Shadow quickly, "Shadow." She ripped off the inhibitor rings, "Hold these."

Shadow nodded in approval. They then went where Tails told them too…

Sonic felt himself being dragged outside the ship, by the tail too, giving him another near-butt rip-off experience. He was still glowing, so he wasn't instantly suffocating, and as he re-oriented himself, he saw his stolen body, in all its corrupted glory…

He opened his eyes, with the whites of their eyes turned black and glowing red eyes, and a grin that looked like one he'd do, but gave a vibe of murderous intent. He spoke, "Hey girlfriend! For what occasion do our paths cross this time? Fate, perhaps?"

Sonic folded arms with a stern glare, "That's a funny way to say 'I stole your body and now want to own you to boost my ego'!"

'Sonic' grinned back, "Give it time, you'll come around to my view soon enough."

Sonic growled back, "NEVER!"

He instantly sped up to the face of the lemur, "That wasn't a request!" He kicked as hard as possible, "It was an order!" He kicked again. "I am your OVERLORD!"

Sonic snickered loudly, even as he struggled to stop, "Gee, what a creative and 'totally not Metal Sonic' title." Then Sonic used the tail to show off having stolen his shoes, "Too bad the Overlord has no clothes!"

He grew infuriated, "Wha…HOW DARE YOU! GIVE THOSE BACK!"

Sonic held them to the side like a cape, "Toro! Toro!" Dodging as the hedgehog charge at them, stomping his side as he tried, "Sorry Edgelord 'Sonic'!" Flying during this attack, Sonic followed up with successive punches between words, "NO SHIRT! NO SHOES! NO SERVICE!"

He fake laughed, "Ha…ha…Did you seriously take them only to make that DUMB joke?!"

Sonic honestly suggested, "Maaaaaybe?"

'Sonic' clenched teeth in fury, "Shut! Up!" He attempted to dash in for a punch.

Sonic narrowly dodged, setting up the tail to slingshot him back towards him and punching his stolen face. Upon recovering from the blow, Sonic boasted, "Make me!"

'Overlord Sonic' grinned in a way worthy of Eggman, revealing a power he'd regained from his Neo-Metal days: Electromancy, delivering of truly vicious shock on his hated enemy, "Oh…I will alright! Sonic always gets his way!" He then did it again, "Or I just kill you! Win-win!" This had blown the lemur away, forcing him to drop the shoes, 'Sonic' instantly putting them back on.

Sonic was in intense pain, but, that shock made him feel something, familiar. deciding to go for broke with pushing his enemy's buttons, "Come on then, tough guy." Then Sonic used the tail to stroke his former chin, "Give me all that you got!"

'Sonic' shouted in rage, "You CREEP!", and he gave into the request, "Fine, you want to taste my full power!" He delivered his most intense shock yet, "TAKE IT!"

Sonic grit his teeth, Look who's calling who a 'creep'. He could feel Tangle's body absorbing a level of electricity he figured should have killed him by now. And yet…he looked at Tangle's fingertips. Were they…Glowing…brighter? Or was that? Sonic was starting to realize what to do next, "OH NO! STOP IT! YOU'RE GONNA KILL ME! HAVE MERCY!"

It worked like a charm, 'Sonic' used both hands now, "Not a chance! I'm your Overlord, and I will Overload you until you're dead!"

Sonic smirked, now looking at Tangle's arms. They were starting to gain a different color sheen. Sonic knew it was working, Just a little bit more! Just a teensy bit more! Once he felt this energy had populated every part of his very being, he grinned, Okay…My turn! Sonic shouted, "aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

'Sonic' mused, "Your pain is music to my ears." But, then he realized what was going on: That lemur's body…It was glowing… "WHY WON'T YOU DIE!" He gave a final push, giving everything he had to ensure his hated enemy died.

As a result, the lemur's body exploded in a yellow glow. 'Sonic' looked at what was left in the explosion, and saw the same lemur as before, but was now glowing yellow, the hair looked a bit sharper, and the eyes remained closed for the moment. Sonic chuckled, "Did you miss me?"