//------------------------------//
// Green Hill: Green Hill (Vs Eggman) 
// Story: Sonic Forces: Resistance is Magic 
// by MetalJrock 
//------------------------------//

Twilight's eyes snapped open, letting out a scream as though something scared her. Her head looked left and right, as though she was searching for something. Her hooves felt the rough surface of the bed. It wasn't exactly comfy, but she was aware that this was the best the Resistance could do.

The alicorn wiped the sweat pouring from her head. She saw it again. The same thing that flashed in her mind when Infinite threw those strange red cubes. The lavender pony shook her head, trying to get those thoughts out of her head for good. She thought she could nap it off while she recovered from her fight. But it didn't work. She breathed heavily, using the method Cadance taught her.

Her ear twitched upon hearing the sound of footsteps coming closer to the room she rested in. She looked at the door once she heard it knock and inhaled, "Come in..." she muttered quietly.

The door creaked open, revealing Sonic. The hedgehog looked a little concerned, "You alright, Twi? I heard you from my room." he asked the princess.

Twilight weakly nodded, still feeling groggy. "I am."

Sonic raised a brow, skeptical at her answer, "You sure about that? I thought I heard you screaming a name or something..." he paused, "I'm not gonna pry you, I just want to help."

Twilight nodded again and said, "It was. I-I don't want to bother you in case you have another mission."

Sonic sat down, "I got some time to kill. Amy and Fluttershy suggested I rest for a bit like you anyway."

Letting out a sigh, Twilight began, "I'm... just worried about Spike now. Normally I'm fine with leaving him alone in Equestria, but here and now? If he's in this world, he could be alone! Maybe even scared. Who knows what he'll run into since he doesn't know where to go! He could find Eggman, Infinite or even one of our enemies!" she let out, her pupils shrinking at the idea, "I know he's not defenseless, but I just don't want him or any of my friends getting hurt..."

The hedgehog sighed, "I know where you're coming from. If those six months were torture in anyway, it was by not knowing how my friends were doing." Sonic paused as he tried to find the right words, "I may not have known you all for long, but Spike seems like he can handle himself in a jam. Didn't he save the Crystal Empire before? Rarity and Rainbow Dash brought it up to me a while ago."

"He did." Twilight replied, "But what we're dealing with here, it just feels more dangerous. Him being alone is much more of a risk here."

Sonic lowered his gaze to the ground, "Trust me, Twi. I kinda know how you feel."

Blinking, the alicorn faced the hedgehog. He did? She wondered how that was. With a sharp exhale, she managed to ask, "How so?"

"Tails." Sonic answered in a surprisingly sad tone.

Twilight bit her lip. Of course. She felt bad for forgetting, "I'm sorry, Sonic. It-it slipped my mind. With Infinite, the war, everything that's happened we--" 

Sonic managed a thin smirk, "You don't need to apologize, Twi. Yeah, I'm worried about him, but I know he can handle himself without me. He's shown me that plenty of times. I have that same gut feeling with Spike too." an idea dawned an him, "You want me to convince Knux to start a search at least? I'm sure some of the troops wouldn't mind it."

"C-Can you? If we can that is." Twilight responded. She just wanted to know if he was safe after all and hoped that she wasn't compromising anything to do so.

"Heh. I'll go talk to Knux and see what's up. Are you sure that's it? Nothing else bothering you?" Sonic wondered.

Twilight smiled and said, "N-Nope. That's it. Thank you, Sonic."

Sonic gave a thumbs up, "No problem. If you and the others need any help just give us a ring. And we'll make sure Spike and Tails are safe and back here. I promise." the blue hero closed the door and left Twilight to dwell on her thoughts.

Yeah, she didn't exactly tell Sonic everything that was bothering her. But she didn't want to burden him with too much. She hoped that her friends were faring better than her mentally.

And she wondered how Spike and Tails were doing. She had no idea what either of them were doing, or if Spike was even here at all, and although the current circumstances worried her, she had faith her and Spike will reunite as well as Sonic and Tails one way or another. 





After destroying the Oil Ocean Refinery, Tails, Spike and the Sonic from the alternate world were in the Tornado nearing their next destination. The dragon scratched his head, "So Tails. Where are we heading to this time? Do you have a map or something?"

Tails nodded, "You can borrow my handheld. I can fly the rest of the way from here."

"Cool. Thanks." replied Spike, grabbing the Miles Electric from Tails. 

"To answer your other question, we're heading to Green Hill to track down that energy surge."

Sonic raised a brow and turned to Tails. Green Hill? He wondered how that place was faring compared to his last visit. He hoped it wasn't as bad as the city or even Oil Ocean. Then again, the latter never looked all that great to begin with. But still, Green Hill was kind of becoming a good running ground for him. He wondered if his other self liked heading there when he had nothing else to do too. 

"Uh, Sonic?" Spike called out to the small hedgehog, snapping Sonic out of his trance. "You kinda zoned out there."

Sonic smiled sheepishly in response, mildy embarassed. He waved a hand and went back to looking ahead. Tails slowly asked, "Is everything alright, Sonic?" said hedgehog turned back around, pointed a thumb at himself and then to the island in the distance.

Spike blinked, "...Did you get any of that?"

"I did. Yeah, the Sonic of this world liked going to Green Hill too. I haven't been there since before the day of the takeover though, so I don't know how bad it got the past few months." Tails answered Sonic's question. Sonic smiled and nodded at the fox.

"I still have no clue how you can translate him." Spike muttered while looking back at the map. Sonic tapped his foot at the comment. If only he could talk! The dragon now wondered this Sonic was so insistent on being silent when the one he knew spoke just fine.

"Practice. Actions spoke louder than words back then. Either that or Sonic's vocal cords were messed up when he travelled across worlds for some reason." Tails theorized. "But that wouldn't explain why you can talk, so maybe he was just more silent than I remember." he added, not coming to a conclusion then.

Sonic scowled at the discussion. It wasn't that hard to talk to him, was it? Ah well. He decided to just roll with it. He didn't really feel like talking anyway. Spike looked at the slightly offended hedgehog, "Wow. You really have an attitude, huh?" Sonic turned to glare at him and the dragon raised his palms, "Okay, sorry. Yeesh."

Deciding to look ahead, Sonic pointed down at the giant mass of land that awaited them below, spotting nothing but green. "Looks like we got back to South Island sooner than expected. Buckle up, Spike. Oh, and hold on, Sonic. We're gonna land in just a moment." Tails warned his comrades as he held on to the controls of his plane. Luckily, the landing should be smooth.





The Tornado was parked in Green Hill once it landed. Sonic hopped off and took a moment to admire that the checkerboard patterns he knew still haven't faded. He gagged, able to smell that typical industrial stench that came with the territory of Eggman's industrial areas. It made him sick to think that Eggman ruined one of his favorite spots.

"Wow. This place is a Green Hill." Spike admired. "It looks pretty nice here actually."

Tails said, "It is surprisingly. Minus the smell of course. For a world conquered by Eggman, this area is surprisingly kept safe." he inspected what was ahead, noticing the usual checkerboard patterns on the grass, the rocks, the floating platforms. Everything was pretty much how he and Sonic remembered it.

Sonic, however, pointed towards the distance. "Are those... Pyramids?" Spike asked, squinting his eyes. "Whoa, it's like a desert all the way over there. How did that happen?"

The fox scratched his head and muttered, "I have no idea. It was probably Eggman who built them. It wouldn't be the first time he used a pyramid as a base anyway." he squinted his eyes, "Hey, Spike. Do you see that over there?"

Spike narrowed his gaze and looked ahead, spotting the tallest pyramid in the distance, noticing that it looked quite bent up as well as a few others near it. Sonic took notice of this well, "Hm. It looks pretty messed up. How the heck did that happen? Did you do it?"

Tails shook his head, "I didn't. Which most likely means my friends did, at the very least we know they're safe."

Sonic noticed Spike biting his lip, "Do you think my friends are alright too?"

"They probably are. In fact, my friends probably got them to safety by now. I'm still wondering how you all got separated if you ended up in the same rift though. Or why you showed up with Sonic near me." Tails wondered aloud. "It's quite odd how this turned out."

Spike rubbed his head, "Things are weird like that I guess. If anything, I'm just glad that I ended up in the city and not completely alone. I imagine Sonic would've been fine alone though." he gestured to the small blue hedgehog, who just shrugged in agreement.

Said hedgehog tapped his foot and pointed behind him, basically telling the two to get a move on. "Alright, jeez. You're starting to act like Rainbow Dash." when Spike only got a blank stare from Sonic, the dragon responded, "She's a pegasus-- Actually, never mind. We'll probably meet her and the others soon enough hopefully."

Sonic ran first, prompting Tails and Spike to catch up. The dragon wrapped his claws around Tails' wrist, holding onto the fox as he propelled his tails. Luckily for them, the hedgehog kept his pacing as not to lose them. He looked at his usual running ground, seeing just how it ended up. The grass felt dry beneath his feet, the plant life was dying around him, the water was replaced with sand, and smoke could be seen in various spots, hinting at the mechanical transformation he swore to stop for so long. It tore him up a little inside to see just how dire things looked. Spike and Tails took notice of their friend's mood shift, but chose not to bring it up, aware that this must be some form of culture shock.

If Sonic found Eggman, he'll make him pay for doing this. Not just for South Island, but for this world and his own.

"Hey, Tails. Sonic looks a little... sadder than usual. It's kinda odd." Spike whispered.

"I don't blame him. Green Hill is a special place for him. He hasn't been on the adventures the other Sonic and I went on to understand just how cruel Eggman could be nowadays. He knows that Sonic likes this place, so to turn it into... this, is perfectly fine with him if it means spiting Sonic. What's sad is that Green Hill possibly got it better compared to other spots around the planet."

Spike bit his lip. The three of them had quite a ways to go before this world was safe then. He thought back to the city and how it was constantly being demolished by those giant robots. He couldn't imagine how the rest of the world was handling this. 

The three of them stopped once they went down a slope taking them into what appeared to be a cavern. Sonic smashed a Motobug, taken aback by its new look for a moment. Luckily, they're about as easy to trash like the ones he knew. "How are you holding up, Sonic?" Tails managed to ask his friend.

Sonic gave a thumbs up and feigned a smile. He didn't want Tails to worry about him. He had a reputation to keep after all. "You sure?" Spike added the question. Sonic frowned and nodded again, not wanting to be pried any further in this discussion. "If you say so." the dragon stated, believing the younger-looking hedgehog.

The blue blur stopped Tails and Spike once they reached a wooden bridge. Out of no where a line of Choppers jumped from the sandy river and made an arc near the wood surface. "That's right. There were Badniks around these bridges. Good looking out, Sonic." Tails complimented. 

"You didn't know?" Spike asked with a raised brow.

"It's not very often I come here. And when I do, it's usually not because of Eggman." Tails admitted. The Choppers appeared again and went back into the sand.

Sonic got to a knee and began charging a Spin-Dash. When he heard the Badniks chomping, he charged through and destroyed the robots, freeing the animals inside. Tails and Spike took a moment to guide them to safety while Sonic stood up, telling them it's safe. The two crossed the bridge and paced themselves up a slope, Spike caught off guard by a spring appearing out of nowhere. "Whoa!" the dragon yelped, flailing his arms and legs in midair. He tried to hastily perform a Spin-Jump to get his bearings. Luckily, he managed to curl himself just right so that he flipped and landed on his feet, croucing to lesson the impact on his legs. He shivered. "I never want to do that again."

Tails dusted himself off, "Ditto. I never understood how invisible springs could exist anyway."

Spike shrugged, "Maybe they're like Pinkie Pie: they can never be explained. Twilight learned that lesson before. Though it took a while for her to do so." he chuckled, recalling the antics they went through in trying to figure out the pink mare's Pinkie-Sense.

The fox smiled, "Is she that random? I never really got to notice."

"You have no idea..." Spike muttered.

Sonic tilted his head. He kept hearing about these ponies and was growing quite curious about them. They'd probably run into them soon enough if they were here as well, he mused. 

The trio jumped on top of another platform, Spike clinging onto the ledge with his claws. Luckily, Sonic and Tails helped him up, and the dragon gave his gratitude. They noticed another platform descending downwards before moving upwards. "How the heck do you two go through this? I can barely keep up."

"Experience." Tails admitted, Sonic proudly giving him a thumbs up in approval. "I take it you're not used to all this?"

They jumped on the platform when it was near them and hopped back to the pathway above the cavern, able to see the desert once more. Spike said, "Yeah. I hardly travel by myself, and sometimes the girls and I just take a train. And when I don't take a train, it usually doesn't require jumping everywhere."

Sonic and Tails chuckled, "I see where you're getting at." 

Using another spring, the trio propelled themselves towards an upward path, Sonic destroying some Egg Pawns that were ready to aim their blasters at them. He bounced off each of them one by one, blowing them up with ease. Once they were in the clear, they continued on with Tails taking out his handheld. "Has anything changed, Tails?"

"Not yet. But I am detecting a larger energy signature reading on the moving on the island. The readings are off the charts!" Tails exclaimed. 

Sonic was quite curious now. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Maybe it was another one of the villains like Chaos or Metal Sonic. No matter what, he was confident he'd take them down. He turned his head to Tails when he noticed the fox's finger was raised, "Actually, the reading is... right over us?"

Looking up at the clear blue sky, Sonic, Tails and Spike watched as a red blur zoomed away, not even noticing them. "Holy moly! What the heck was that thing?!"

"It looks like..." Tails' eyes widened once he pieced it together, "it's the same person that defeated Sonic!"

Sonic was taken back. He might just end up confronting the very person who took his doppelganger down. "T-The person who defeated Sonic?" Spike shivered. "What the heck are we gonna do? There's no way we can fight someone that powerful!"

Tails rubbed his head, "I know that, and I don't want to put either of you at risk. We have to follow him though."

"Follow him? Tails, that's crazy! What if he finds us?" Spike wondered, genuinely afraid of what could happen.

The fox tried to calm the dragon down, "Look, Spike. We need to find out why he's here of all places and if he's connected to that other energy source. He won't find us and we won't have to fight him. Just... Can the two of you trust me on this?"

Sonic responded to that question with a firm nod of his head. If he could trust anyone with an idea, it was Tails. He pointed at his chest, signifying that he was willing to go.

Spike gulped, "A-Alright. If you think this'll work, I'm with you."

"Thanks, guys." Tails said. "Now let's hurry before we lose track of him."

And so, they ran in the direction they saw the blur fly to. Sonic ran around a loop while Tails flew Spike around it, converging back on the grassy path. Eventually, they found a longer bridge lined up with Chompers ready to attack from the sand. Just to be safe, Sonic gently placed his foot on the surface, where he heard a large creak and felt the whole thing shake upon contact. Surprised, he swiftly moved his foot back, realizing this bridge was weak.

Spike said, "Something tells me this is gonna be dangerous."

"And the last thing we need is to take a dip in the sand... In fact, I think it might be quicksand. We need to get across this bridge as fast as possible then." Tails realized. He faced the hedgehog, "Ready whenever you are, Sonic."

Sonic was the first to dash ahead, with Tails wrapped his hand around Spike's arm, allowing him to keep up. The three of them narrowly avoided the Chompers that leaped out of the sand and made it back on solid land as the bridge collapsed under their weight. "That was a close one." Spike muttered.

"No kidding." Tails laughed off, "We should be close to that masked creep now."

Eventually, the three saw the figure they were looking for nearby and slowed down. Tails gestured to a boulder large enough for them to hide behind. They saw the masked being holding something in his hand and admiring it, a dark purple gem. Something about it seemed familiar to Sonic, but he couldn't figure out what it was. "What is that?" Spike whispered.

Sonic shrugged while Tails said, "I have no idea."

The trio ducked once they heard another noise. What sounded like a small turbine. Raising his head slightly, Tails immediately recognized the round hovercraft and the mustached man who was piloting it. He let out a quiet gasp, "Eggman."

Upon hearing that name, Sonic and Spike sat up. Indeed, the person across from the villain was none other than Dr. Eggman himself. "Dr. Eggman?! Why is he here?"

Eggman snickered, "Ah, Infinite, I see you retrieved what I had requested from you. Now it's time to finish your mission."

Infinite nodded and crushed the gem in his hand, "So with that, the disposal of the Phantom Ruby Prototypes is complete." he revealed.

Phantom Ruby? Sonic definitely remembered that name. It was the gem his Eggman was searching for. The same thing that led to him getting stuck here in the first place. Curious to see how it all connected, he continued listening.

"It was a defective model. It could only record the DNA of the one who triggered it." Eggman stated.

Infinite pointed to himself, "Only a being with my strength of will could ever activate it."

Eggman tapped his chin, "Well it doesn't matter now with the lab shut down in Mystic Jungle. Speaking of the Mystic Jungle, didn't you run into Sonic and his little pony friends there after he escaped?"

"I did, but they were powerless against me. There is no need for concern." Infinite revealed smugly.

The scientist growled, "You let the hedgehog live?! That is a great source of concern!"

Infinite placed two fingers on his mask to adjust it while speaking, "For you perhaps. He has beaten you for years, yet I defeated him in our first encounter."

Tails whispered to the two as a thin smile grew on his face, "Phantom Ruby Prototypes? And Sonic... is alive?"

"And the girls are safe too. Thank goodness." Spike said.

The three ducked once they saw Infinite turn in their direction. Eggman questioned this action, "What is it?"

The masked villain shook his head and folded his arms, "...Nothing. We move forward with the plan?"

The doctor grinned, "Of course! When it's complete, the Resistance will be destroyed. The world will be nothing but ashes, from which the glorious Eggman Empire will triumph!"

Infinite hovered and extended his arms, one lense on his mask flaring red as the strange gem on his chest glowed, "And the Resistance will yield to the Phantom Ruby's power. All will submit." Eggman silently nodded and watched as Infinite flew off.

Sonic scowled. Now was his chance. He jumped from his hiding spot and started running, Tails trying to reach for him. Eggman was surprised to find him of all people here and gasped, "What? You?! What are you even doing here?" he wondered.

The hedgehog didn't respond and instead jumped on the rim of Eggman's Egg-Mobile, causing the doctor to grunt in pain, causing to tilt in one direction for a moment. Spike snickered at the sight. Eggman rubbed his forehead, "You'll regret doing that, you little rodent." he activated his jets and flew away. Sonic made haste and dashed after Eggman, jumping across the rock formations.

"...We should probably go after him." Spike said, pointing in the direction Sonic went.

"We should." Tails agreed. "I wish he'd stop running off like that though."





Sonic stopped in his tracks once he noticed that Eggman stopped as well. He was a little confused once the doctor startd laughing and pointed at him. Eggman sat back down and raised the windshield over his Egg-Mobile, when a chain connecting to a buzzsaw dropped from the bottom of his hovercraft.

The small hedgehog put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes. The wrecking ball again? Maybe this Eggman wasn't much different from his world's after all.

"Surprised to see this here? I admit I was anticipating the Sonic of this timeline to appear, but you'll have to suffice. Crushing two Sonics would be more than satisfying if you ask me." Eggman boasted.

Sonic jumped on one of the platforms and curled into a ball, smashing Eggman's windshield, causing him to bounce onto the other platform. Eggman turned the Egg-Mobile around and the wrecking ball began to swing in the hedgehog's direction. The blue blur jumped down right before it hit him and hopped around the chain, dodging the upgraded ball. His hand grabbed the chain and he used it to spin, getting enough momentum to reach the other side.

Eggman said, "Hm. You're a lot more agile than I expected."

With a smirk, Sonic climbed back onto one of the platforms. Unfortunately, the buzzsaw weakened the floating surface collapsed beneath his feet and he fell to the grass below. "Oh ho ho!" Eggman laughed, "That's why I upgraded this old invention. I knew you'd fall into old habits. You Sonics are predictable."

Predictable? Sonic gritted his teeth at that comment. If anyone was predictable it was Eggman, he thought. Seriously. He could predict the outcome of this very fight. He might as well provide the usual expectactions.

Not wanting to disappoint, Sonic jumped and smashed Eggman's hovercraft again, earning a grunt from the scientist. He bounced to the other side and ducked from the buzzsaw. Seeing an opening, Sonic jumped up once more and hit Eggman, the glass shattering upon contact this time.

Annoyed, Eggman retracted the buzzsaw. "You little pincushion. Did you really expect me to be easily defeated?"

The ground began to rumble. Sonic scrambled on his feet, wondering what it was. Hovering out of nowhere was perhaps the biggest mech Sonic had ever laid eyes on. It was even bigger than the Death Egg Robot! Eggman flew his hovercraft into the top where he then gained control of the robot.

The robot was bulky and red. It had a drill on one arm and a gun on the other. Wings extended from its back, and there was an opening for the Egg-Mobile on the top.

As brief as the memory was, Sonic did recall seeing this mech before. He thought it to be the one his counterpart destroyed before he showed up. The problem is that he never fought it before so he had no idea what to expect from it. It didn't help that it was quite a distance away from where he was standing. He needed to come up with something, a way to destroy this robot.

Eggman shouted, "You have a lot of nerve for a pint-sized Sonic from another timeline. Prepare to be skewered!" the arm cannon was extended and aimed right at Sonic.

The hedgehog ran left and right and jumped when necessary, dodging the artillery with ease. When that didn't work Eggman shot of his drill missiles at him. Sonic yawned and moved to the side, avoiding his crosshairs and the small explosion the projectile made.

Now agitated, Eggman moved the bottom of the robot to sweep up boulders on the narrow pathway Sonic was on. The hedgehog was nearly squashed, but luckily he made it out of the way before he was crushed on both sides. Unfortunately, Eggman managed to stack the checkerboard boulders so that they were too high to jump over. He could probably Spin-Dash them so they bounced off, but he didn't want to risk getting crushed by a loose rock. Their was only spikes in front and behind him where the paths ended.

Eggman then shouted, "The other Eggman was too weak-minded to destroy you once and for all. It seems I'm gonna have to be the one to finish the job. Say farewell, Sonic!"

Up in the sky nearing the battlefield was Tails and Spike, the former flying while holding the latter's wrists. The fox's eyes widened when he noticed the drill on the robot's arm beginning to charge up, "Uh, where's Sonic?" Spike asked.

"In between those boulders!" Tails bit his lip. He lost Sonic once, there was no way he'd let it happen again. They needed to act fast. "Spike, I'm gonna try something. When I throw you, use your Spin-Jump!"

Spike shouted back, "What? But I'm not good--"

"Listen, Spike. I know you can do it. We can't lose Sonic here. Not when he has to get back home. It's the only way we can save him from where we're at. Don't worry, I'll catch you." Tails eased, trying to convince his dragon friend.

The dragon gulped nervously, "A-Alright then. Let's do it."

"Thanks, pal."

And so, Tails began to spin around horizontally, gaining enough speed to throw his friend in the proper direction. Once he was ready, Tails released Spike, where he began to flip so that he mimicked Sonic and Tails' Spin-Jump. He bounced off Eggman's cockpit, where Tails swooped in and grabbed him. "What the--?!" Eggman shouted, wondering what hit him from his spot.

The two landed and Tails activated his arm cannon, shooting the high stacked boulders to pebbles, freeing Sonic and allowing him to bounce the remaining ones in Eggman's direction, landing on the giant robot and damaging it a bit. "You alright, Sonic?" Tails asked, the trio reuniting at last, receiving a nod as a response. "I really wish you wouldn't run off like that. You never fought the  Egg Dragoon before. What would've happen if we hadn't gotten here in time? The last thing we want is for you to die here."

Sonic looked at the ground in slight shame. He had a point. This isn't his world, it's new territory for him. He needed to get back home after all. He sighed.

"Well well, look who decided to show up: the sidekicks." Eggman said in a mocking tone.

Spike hissed, "Hey, we're not sidekicks!"

"Please. You two can barely function without Sonic and your pony friends being by your sides." Eggman taunted.

Tails smirked, "Are you still sore from when I destroyed your mech twice?"

Eggman said, "You better hold that tongue if you wish to keep it. I'm merely stating facts."

"What facts?" Tails wondered, blasting a beam of enegy directly at Eggman.

"The fact that you two are merely holding Sonic and your friends back." Eggman stated coldly. “The fact that you’re powerless against me.”

Sonic wondered what Eggman is getting at. Holding him back? They were doing quite the opposite, he noted, never doubting his friends for even a second. Annoyed by his doppelganger's nemesis, Sonic pointed at the Egg Dragoon, "Aw, what are you gonna do, you little rodent? You're nothing more than an outcast!" he shot a missile at the three, the trio dodging it with ease right as Tails shot another orb of energy from his arm cannon.

"Hey, leave Sonic out of this!" Spike warned. Eggman swept up more boulders their way. The dragon performed a Spin-Jump and managed to knock the debris back at the robot, causing it to stumble in midair while Eggman tried to recalibrate the controls. "Whoa. I actually am getting the hang of this!" he proudly told himself, still slightly dizzy.

"You'll pay for that, you annoying lizard." the doctor mumbled.

Tails began to spin his namesakes around and hovered, allowing Sonic to grab his hands. The two hovered in the air, "We heard enough from you, Eggman." he told their enemy, throwing Sonic so that he boosted right to where Eggman was sitting, before being tossed back onto the field. Tails decided to add on using his arm cannon and shot through some of the Egg Dragoon's armor.

"Hey, Tails! Any advice on how to stop this thing?" Spike asked.

Once he landed, the fox spoke to Spike and Sonic, "My world's Sonic told me that the head and lower part of the of the Egg Dragoon are the weak points, butt the whole thing can be damaged. We can probably use some of the debris he throws at us when he recharges his ammunitions. To do so, we'll have to Spin-Jump underneath one of the boulders at the same time to toss it right back at him with enough force. Sonic, think you can taunt Eggman for a moment so he can do just that?"

Sonic gave a thumbs up. He jogged away from the fox cub and dragon so he could face Eggman on his own. He waved to the doctor and stuck his tongue out. Eggman growled, "Why you--!" he began shooting at the hedgehog. Sonic smiled and jumped all over the place, not breaking a sweat while he swiftly dodged until it stopped raining bullets.

When he noticed this, Eggman began to sweep up more debris from underneath him to get his enemies. Sonic met back with Tails and Spike and looked up, noticing a giant shadow covering them. "Now!" the two-tailed hero ordered, the three of them jumping at the same time. Once they hit the boulder, it was pushed back from their Spin-Jump, landing directly on the Egg Dragoon, it emitting smoke once the debris smacked right into the middle of its torso. "Yeah!" Tails cheered, glad that their tactic worked.

"You have a lot of fight for a bunch of kids." Eggman grumbled.

Spike responded, "These 'kids' are kicking your metal butt!"

"It won't matter in the end. My upgraded Egg Dragoon shall mop the floor with you. It's brilliant design exceeded even my expectations!"

Tails said, "But that means you miscalculated. That's a failure in my book."

"Nice one." Spike chuckled.

"To surpass expectations is the ultimate of genius! I wouldn't expect you to understand." the Egg Dragoon then shot a few drill missiles in their direction, prompting Sonic to grab hold of his friends and dash from where they were set to land. More bullets were then shot out of the left arm's minigun.

"Look out!" Spike warned, getting Sonic's attention. The small blue hero managed to backflip, leaping over the ballistics that were aimed for the ground. Once they were spared a moment to breath, Spike panted and gagged, "I'm never getting used to that..." he moaned, wiping sweat off his head.

Tails glanced at the ground, and noticed a large shadow covering them, unaware that Eggman even acted in retaliation. "Okay, now!" he said. The trio jumped up and managed to bounce the checkerboard piece of debris back at the Egg Dragoon, putting some serious damage on it. Dents were visible and even more smoke began to appear to cover it. 

"Alright. I've had it with you pests!" Eggman snarled. "I hope you're ready for a roast, because I'm gonna burn you to ashes!"

The Egg Dragoon began to fly towards Sonic, Tails and Spike. "Grab on, guys." the fox said. He spun his tails around like a propellor and grabbed Sonic's wrists with Spike grabbing Sonic's legs. The three ascended, with Tails mustering as much energy as he could to keep them in midair long enough.

"I think we can hit him together, Tails." Spike pointed out, "Once he gets close enough that is... Wow, that sounds crazier than I thought."

"It's not actually. I'm gonna try out my Thunder Shoot technique. When he's near us, the three of us are going to Spin-Dash right at him at the same time!"

When Eggman was near them, Tails threw Spike first, his body covered in a yellow electric aura. The same happened to Sonic when he was tossed at the Egg Dragoon. Time seemed to slow down for Eggman as Tails followed suit. The three of them continuously bounced all around the mech, damaging it as much as they possibly could. Eggman grunted and hissed once he realized he was losing control of the robot, the controls scrambling. He ducked underneath Spike, seeing that the circuits were now exposed.

The trio bounced their way back to the path, where they watched Eggman eject from the Egg Dragoon right as it exploded. In order to save face, the scientist hissed, "It would be too easy to destroy you here. I'll round up the Resistance one way or another! Just you wait!"

When they saw Eggman fly away, Spike pointed at him, "Let's get him!"

While they gave chase, the scientist was barely able to keep himself moving before the Egg-Mobile crashed and slid on the grass, creating a small patch of dirt as it topped over, the doctor groaning while rubbing his sore head.  

Once they caught up, Tails shouted, "Okay, Eggman! It's all over now!" he tried to hit Eggman with a blast from his arm cannon, but it bounced off the hovercraft, leaving him, Sonic and Spike confused. "What the--?"

"Hohohoho!" laughed Eggman, "Did you really think I didn't have a failsafe planned for this event? I can't believe you all think you have a chance of winning. It's adorable." he smirked as he tried to rev up his mobile, "It almost makes me feel bad that we're never doing this dance again."

Sonic raised a brow, wondering what he meant by that. As if to answer his unspoken question, Eggman raised a few fingers, "In just three days, my plan will eliminate the bothersome lot of you!" the trio looked at one another in confusion.

"Wait, three days? And what plan?" Spike asked.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise! You know what they say, the anticipation of the end is worse than the end itself!" the scientist finally managed to get his Egg-Mobile working in spite of Sonic's Spin-Dashing attempts on his temporary forcefield. However, once it was hovering, Sonic could only look up as the doctor finished his statement, "Maybe not in this case though. Mwahahahaha!"

They could only watch as Eggman flew away. Spike kicked a pebble in frustration, "Aw man. We almost had him too! We could've ended this for good."

After a silent moment, Tails exhaled and rubbed his head, thinking back to the battle, "I know..." he glanced over to Sonic, causing the hedgehog to look at him, "Hey, Sonic, since we have a moment to rest... Look, I know Eggman's the last person I should be listening to, but... Am I actually holding you back?" he wondered.

Sonic immediately shook his head, reaching a hand for the fox's shoulder. He pointed to his friends and then himself, as if to say that they had each other's backs. The last thing he wanted was for Tails to think he was a burden. He never once thought that about him, even back on his world, and he was sure his doppelganger felt the same.

"I wonder if Twilight think I'm a burden..." Spike sighed to himself, sitting on the grass.

Tails sat next to Spike and said, "You're the opposite of a burden, Spike. You even helped defeat Eggman! Look, I know we haven't really gotten to know each other for long, but you're a good friend."

"Friend?" Spike repeated.

"Yep. We fought Eggman together back in Equestria, you managed to knock me out of a six month rut to get back into fighting in the war, and Sonic and I wouldn't have made it this far without your help. How could I not think of you as a friend?" Tails asked. "Trust me, Twilight and the others are lucky to know you." 

Spike chuckled, "I guess we do make a good team. What do you think, Sonic?"

Sonic nodded in agreement. True, he knew the Equestrians less than his doppelganger, but he had to admit Spike was competent when he needed to fight. He sat down in between the two and looked in the distance, wanting just a bit to rest before they went back to work.

"Heh. We totally kicked Eggman's butt back there. Not bad for a couple of 'sidekicks', huh?" Spike laughed, bringing some levity to their current situation.

"Nope." Tails snickered, "I guess that's what happens when he dared to fight the Hero of the Crystal Empire."

Spike smirked, "The Heroes of the Crystal Empire and Station Square. I'm not gonna take full credit for it like Rainbow Dash would." Sonic pointed his thumb to his chest, wanting a title for the fun of it, "Oh yeah, and the uh... The Hero of... Mobius?"

Sonic shrugged. Good enough he supposed. 

They sat there, letting silence overtake them. It was surprisingly nice and serene. Quite a contrast from the war they were dealing with. "This is pretty cool. The three of us just sitting here, relaxing, hanging out. If we weren't fighting for our lives every second, I'd say this is a pretty awesome vacation.

Tails inhaled and replied while sitting up, "Ditto, but as much as I want to take a break, we have to get back to business."

Spike and Sonic agreed, "Alright. What's next?"

The fox gestured in the direction they came from and said, "We have to find my world's Sonic and tell him about Eggman's plan."

Sonic immediately got up as did Spike, “Awesome! Let’s do it!”