"You did it, buddy!" Tails cheers!

He turns and buckles back in.  What a hair-raising experience.  That's the longest he's ever flown blind.

"Rodger, Sonic.  I'm closing in.  Will land as close to airport as possible.  Officer, it would be a huge help if you could get some E.M.T.s to where the river is closest to the airport.  I don't want to just leave him with the plane, and carrying him all the way to the airport will slow things way down."

The boy stares for a moment and says, "Oh... right... my name... is Maverick." before flopping back in his seat and conking out.

2 minutes come and go, but no word from Sonic. Most assuredly, he has found the trouble he was looking for. But no major explosions or alerts come through.

10 minutes later, Tails is able to land at the river. Still not at the airport, but at least it means his plane trip didn't take too long. There are EMTs waiting and they drive over to the closest spot to Tails, rush out and take hold of Maverick.

There is also a squad car and out of it peaks a cop. "Tails! Over here!" he brings something to his mouth and Tails hears on his com "It's me, Officer Jenkins. I'm the one waving atchya. Come get a ride to the airport, bud."

Whew!  I'm no Sonic, who coulda pulled that off without even being in the plane, but boy was that a good landing! Tails is thinking after having successfully landed the tornado just so that he had just deep enough water to not damage the pontoons, soon enough that he didn't risk going under a bridge, not so soon he'd have a long way to go to get to the EMTs, and just close enough to the shore that a little tail rudder sticks him in the shore for a quick and convenient mooring.  Still, weigh anchor out of habit.

"Thanks for taking care of him," Tails says to the EMTs, "His name's Maverick.  And judging from the fact that Sonic's taking more than 2 minutes, this boy just saved your city from a huge problem!"

Tails smiles and waves back.  He grabs his toolbox, flies over, gets in, and buckles up.  "Thanks so much, Officer Jenkins!"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:02, Thu 28 Apr 2022.

Gigapolis was the more human-populated area of South Island, so Jenkins and the EMTs being mostly humans (with one dog EMT) is not surprising. Jenkins is your stereotypical mustached cop.

"Buckled? Good boy." Jenkins says with a serious face, then drives towards the airport, sirens going so he can zoom there!

On the way there, Jenkins asks, "Why is it always you poor kids getting stuck in these horrible situations? Well know that the police are proud of you and the kid you rescued! Doing the right thing isn't always easy, but you guys are made of tough stuff!"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:48, Thu 28 Apr 2022.

Tails considers the question.  How would he have felt if an old man were in Maverick's place?  Maybe?  Grownup would make more sense, at least.  So why was it a kid instead?  Murphey's Law?

Tails shrugs.  "Dunno.  Maybe it's statistically the same for all ages, just more noticeable when it is kids.  And thanks!  I'd say I'm used to it by now, but that's not really true.  Even though I know Sonic will win, I still worry every time."

He fights the urge to call Sonic on the communicator.  If things are this dire, at best it's pointless because the signal's blocked.  But there's also the chance that getting closer will reconnect the signal and his call will distract Sonic at a crucial moment.

Jenkins pulls up to the hangar at the private airport and some men in suits are there. They proceed to have a legal argument with Jenkins, claiming he needs a warrant to so much as be on the premises.

Jenkins explains in a calm but stern manner, "The only "warrant" I need is a little boy who escaped from this place, pleading for help. You can cooperate, or you can act like someone who has something to hide. Neither is going to stop me and mine from searching the area he fled from to find out what is going on."

One of the suits reaches up to his ear as if listening to someone.

Tails keeps quiet while the adults talk.  All the while, he's fiddling with his handheld computer looking for a reason for the interference.  Most likely the underground passage was constructed with a faraday cage to avoid any detection, but you never know.  There could be something else here.  A mysterious wifi connection for remotely opening something, perhaps?  Relay for sending updates to the mastermind about the progress on their underground weapon?

"Please be sure to tell your bosses that the tip we got involves an imminent calamity level event that could destroy the entire city.  Ya know...  your homes and theirs?"

He's working under the assumption that both the guards and the rich people who own this place will want to not die.  And that his reputation as Sonic's sidekick will convince them that this is to be taken seriously.

But what if the rich people already know about the threat?  Like, maybe they're tunneling for gold and their geologists warned them that there's a 1% chance of hitting a fault line?  And they got legal permission to dig anyway because they blackmailed the guy at the permits office?  Still they kept the whole project secret because there'd be a huge public outcry if the citizens found out rich people were gambling with their lives.  Tails scans the airways to see if he can pick up what's being said to the guard on his earpiece.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:23, Sat 30 Apr 2022.

The men in black don't seem impressed. But they are also vastly underestimating Tails as he easily hacks into the signal the suits are receiving;

"... -all as much as you can. We have the hedgehog handled."

Meanwhile, the cop is headed for the panel, but the suits trip him and point guns at him. They are also sure to back up so they have enough distance to be at a stand-off rather than in melee range. They at LEAST didn't underestimate Tails or the cop in that respect.

Tails figures these guys are robots, or just really really dumb.  Like every villain.  Still doesn't understand how they shrug off consequences as if playing with fire won't burn you.  The bit about The Hedgehog being "handled" has him very concerned, though.  Did they blast a tunnel, trapping him inside?  No time to worry about that, need to think fast.

Tails switches his watch to transmit only, hoping the other officers will hear and raises his hands in surrender.  "No please don't shoot!  There must be some misunderstanding.  Officer Jenkins really is a police officer!  We really are searching this hangar to protect the city!"

Here's hoping that's enough to tip off the police, but not so much as to tip off the goons that Tails is giving his location.  He looks for some way to escape, but hesitates to think of what they might do to Jenkins if they panic.

Officer Jenkins frowns, holds up his hands and says, "Pointing a weapon at a police officer may be a crime, but make no mistake nothing can or will save you if you fire those weapons on us."

One of the men says, "Not our concern. If the boss orders it, we do it. Even things that end our lives."

Sirens blaring can be heard as multiple cop cars are driving to the scene. One of the men holds a hand to his earpiece.

Jenkins mutters to Tails. "Be ready for anything..."

Tails can hear on the com channel, "Kill the cop and if possible, take the fox hostage. Then meet me in the base."

Tails' eyes go wide and he gasps upon hearing the orders.  Yes, he can spin-dash, but at maybe one tenth the speed and power of Sonic, so there's no way he could take out all these guys before one of them shot Jenkins.  So instead he tries the oldest trick in the book...  with the legitimate shock and horror written on his face lending credence to his bluff.

"OH NO!"

He points behind the guys.

"I warned you!  RUN!"

Immediately followed by a spin-dash to Jenkins, grabbing him by the wrist, and using his momentum combined with a little extra burst with the spinning tails, tries to fling the officer to cover!

The old trick works! Instead of the typical "you think I'll fall for that?", both of the men briefly glance.

But a fraction of Sonic's speed is still outrageously fast as Tails manages everything he set out to do in a split-second! The men try firing at the thrown cop, but their aim is messed up by the suddenness and they even wind up firing a few bullets at Tails! They miss, but the danger was there.

The cop cars surround the area. The men are now focused on trying to capture Tails as they try gripping at him. But there is only two of them. Fighting through cities' worth of badniks makes dodging these guys a piece of cake. Now it is only a matter of whether to go into the base to try and rescue Sonic and hope the cops can be his backup in time, or flee to hide behind a cop car until the 2 suits are dealt with.

Tails was sooo expecting to get shot and thanks his lucky stars they missed.  He remembers hearing the orders to stall, so realizes that there's a chance that if he acts really decisively, the boss will be foiled.  So into the shaft it is!  For once it's an advantage to be small since he can just fly down.

"How in the world am I going to handle something Sonic couldn't all on my own?!"

Desperate, he calls Knuckles.  "MAYDAY!  SONIC CAPTURED!  ENTRANCE IS THE PRIVATE AIRPORT IN GIGOPOLIS!  I NEED YOUR HELP, KNUCKLES!"

He keeps repeating the distress call down the tunnel till he's certain the signal won't get through.

Tails soon finds himself in a large indoors factory of some kind. The conveyor belts are still moving with random machine parts laid upon them.

There doesn't seem to be anyone present in the large room. A voice comes over the speakers, however, and says, "Ah Tails. Welcome! So glad you could come! Worry not! Soon, you will be joining your friend Sonic!"

With that, some automated cranes begin swinging towards Tails. Tails' comm picks up binary commands on the airwaves and informs him that the cranes are not the only things being given commands; there are some sort of lasers preparing to fire on him.

Tails is quick to duck underneath the conveyor belts.  Or some other expensive-looking cover if there's no way to get under the belts.  He's guessing that the automated defenses are programmed to keep damage to the machines to a minimum.  But just in case, he'll keep moving.

"Congratulations on making yourself a brief speed-bump to Sonic.  Not many can boast of inconveniencing him for more than a few nanoseconds.  But you don't really stand a chance to actually accomplish whatever insane long-term goal you're after here.  But since you're not Robotnik, I may as well ask: are you smart enough to realize it's time to turn yourself in to negotiate a reduced sentence?"

He takes in the area, looking for a likely place to try and hack the system in relative safety.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:45, Mon 09 May 2022.

The villain laughs. "Ah the diehard fan of Sonic! So adorable. Nay. My goal is almost here. And Sonic is unable to do a thing about it. But YOU, on the other hand... if you can get to Sonic and rescue him in the next, oh, minute, then YOU and ONLY YOU will bring a halt to my plans. You see... much if what you worship about your blue friend fails to see that he needs you every bit as much as you need him. Sonic fell right into the trap I prepared for him like a lab rat to cheese. And just like Sonic, you will dance just like a puppet of my own design as well. See... I will even give you a map to where Sonic is held. Along with a timer. Enjoy!"

Tails's watch beeps showing a minimap of the place along with seconds counting in the corner: 59... 58...

Don't lose your head.  Chances are he's lying.  About everything.  And even if he's telling the truth and using reverse psychology, panic won't help.

Tails takes a deep breath to calm himself and takes off his watch.  With a bit of gum he sticks his watch on the underside of the conveyor belt, hoping to trick the guy about his real movements.  He then starts stealthily following the power cables to what he's hoping will be a main fuse box.  Not much of a plan, but if he can take the power out, that'll hopefully buy some time.

Whoever this is, whether he is Robotnik with a voice disguiser for some weird reason, or just some other mad genius, he apparently employs the use of robots! An all too familiar scene for Tails as some robots enter the room, searching for Tails.

Tails spots a fuse box. But he would have to be out in the open with robots watching in order to reach it... it is about 30 yards from his current cover.

Tails would immediately recognize Robotnik's style of badnicks if that's what they are.  Either way, he's wanting to lend more validity to his false location and hopefully make a diversion while he's at it.  Quietly grabbing a rubber tube from his toolbox, useful for sooo many things besides this, he uses it to slingshot a small pebble across to where he's thinking his watch should be by now.  Or a small socket if a pebble isn't handy.  Inwardly he's patting himself on the back for making foam cut-outs for each individual tool.  The idea was to keep the tools from getting damaged, but stealth toolbox is turning out to be a great side-benefit.

Hoping the diversion worked, Tails spin-dashes for the fuse box!  30 yards never looked so far away.  If there's an obvious main power switch he'll reach out to switch it off.  If not he'll risk smashing the box with his body like Sonic would.

The fuse box is switched and the room goes dark. Then gets lit by dim red lights indicative of backup power. The mad scientist's voice comes through in a sarcastic tone, "Oh no! The fuse box! Not the fuse box!"

But given it shut off most of the machinery in this room, Tails may be onto something. Most, though, as the robots run on battery power like most free-roaming robots.

Speaking of Tails being onto something, he can also see the wiring and piping of this room seems to not branch off, so he is able to deduce there is really only one way to go from here to find the next room. The only downside right now is that his watch is elsewhere and the place is dark where the robots likely have the ability to see in the dar-

The robots turn on flashlights that are attached to their arms (think like how the SWATbots did that to see in darker places). Maybe Tails really is on a level playing field when he shuts power off. Either way, this room is clearly not where Sonic is being held.

Tails then hears a girl's voice inside his head, "Hello. I'm a friend. The map Dr. Brainstein gave you is technically correct, but the time limit is a lie. Your time IS short, but not 30 seconds short. He wants you to be reckless and stressed. And there are alternate routes to Sonic. You can do this."

"Yes!" Tails cheered when the lights went out.  Then immediately dove for cover again.

Kinda expected there to be back-up power.  I'd have back-up power if it were me.  Sarcastic taunts when the main power's shut down, too.  Maybe.  But this proves the villain had sense enough to have the intercoms tied into the backup, at least.

Oh!  A telepathic friend?  Uh... hi!  Nice to meet you.  And thanks for letting me know that.  Hmm.  Chances are, Dr. Brainstein has his robots' eyes tied into a wireless network so he can see what they see.  I could use that, but...  He was able to hack my watch, so I need to be especially careful trying to access...  Oh wait!  You're a telepath!  Can you hack Brainstein's brain and tell me how to get past his security?

Tails begins working on using his handheld computer to try and gain access to Brainstein's network.  Specifically looking for anything he can do to hinder the villain's ability to follow Tails' movements and react.

"Can't. The guy keeps me prisoner because he knows about my powers. So he has this helmet he wears that keeps me out of his head. But everyone slips up... his only concern was what I could do to him, so he didn't think about if I could talk to invaders. I at least know he knows you and Sonic and was prepared for your arrival, 'cause he bragged about it before you got here."

The network seems to be consistent with the map Tails was given earlier. And it is all very efficient. But as for blocking Brainstein from tracking Tails, the only sure bet would be to not carry networking devices. "Come now, Tails!" the voice comes over the com, "Surely computers are only a convenience for that magnificent mind of yours! You can find another way, you brilliant fox!"

Tails gets a smug smirk upon seeing what he found.

Efficient means a general lack of redundancy.  Smashing one hub will very likely take out the network if I can find it.  Getting you out...  I should be able to cross-wire any lock panel.  Yeah.  I can do this without my computer!

Tails removes the tracker from his toolbox and leaves the tracker and his computer behind.  Then heads for where he's guessing the girl is being held.

Tails' educated guess gets him to a room where there was sufficient energy diverted for a living space, but not much else, as per the efficiency. There, he finds a blonde human girl wearing some kind of silver tights with circles at various spots that seem to indicate locations to hook up wiring.

The girl looks hopeful at Tails. "You came for me first?"

Tails gives a grin and thumbs - up like he'd expect Sonic to do if asked that same question.

"I had a feeling that you'd be the easier rescue. And I doubt I can rescue Sonic without your help. Willing to lend a hand?"