Outside Tails' Lab in Central City.

"Damn it, so much for a walk in the park," Applejack said as she, Tails, Whisper, and Tangle saw Eggman's Faceship.

"Let's cure that rush hush with the Doc's paten Metal Virus!" Cozy exclaimed as she laughed as the Faceship drop more Metal Virus gunk.

"Change of plans! We'll get downtown and-" Tails was stopped by Whisper.

"No. Stay."

"She's right," Tangle agreed. "You have the important job, of finding a cure. We'll handle evac."

"Are you sure two handle yourselves?" Applejack asked.

"Relax AJ, we become a pretty good team."

Fast forward to now several Zombots roam the streets of the city.

"I know Pinkie means well," Tails said. "But why does she have to jinx it?"

Yo! Tails! Anyone there?. Sonic's voice came through the Montier,

"I'm here!" Tails answered as he sat down. "Where are you?"

"Me and Rainbow Dash are not far from Barricade Town," Sonic says as Rainbow Dash was running collecting data.

How things on your end. Rainbow asked.

"So far the data from bio-scanner Twilight invented is coming along nicely,"

"But Eggman hit the Central City just as we arrived."

Yikes, hang we'll make a quick u-turn....

"Don't you need to keep running, we need the speed data, it may be the only we to find a cure! Plus we got something just in case."

Got stat safe you two.

"Will do."

Tails is then made to jump by a crash outside; one of his cameras reveals that it was just a Zombot falling over some trash cans nearby. Following this, Tails ends his call with Sonic before contacting Amy at Restoration HQ; he reports that he is slowly making progress with the cure for the virus but is remaining cautious of the Zombots nearby. When Amy asks if she needs to send Rescue Shuttles to Central City, Tails replies that he has been too busy with his research to check the situation, but will ask Tangle and Whisper for a better answer. Regardless, Amy tells Tails that she will tell the pilots to prepare to depart and wishes him luck.

Tails then contacts Tangle for an update, finding the lemur busy fending off Zombots. She states that the mission would be cooler if it was not such a horrible situation. After being spooked by a Zombot close behind her - causing her to climb atop a lamp post with her tail - Tangle reports that she and Whisper managed to save a few civilians and are guiding them down to a dock, also asking Tails to hurry up with the cure. Tails acknowledges this and says that he will let Amy know where to send the shuttle.

The fox cub then turns his attention to the task at hand; by reviewing the Metal Virus at a microscopic level, he now understands that it looks and acts like a real "live" virus. He is aware that Sonic's speed manages to deteriorate the virus' structure, but wonders how that is and how he would be able to apply that to others, not wanting to risk the vaccine being too weak or only partially effective. Tails considers retrieving a sample of the virus itself to help out. Finding no Zombots around, he flies to the top of his lab with a contraption to reach a small puddle of the Metal Virus on the road. As Tails does this, he notices a flock of Zombot Flickies fly overhead. Nonetheless, he manages to get a sample of the virus into a test tube and celebrates an early victory, unaware of the Zombot Cheese and Chocola watching him from nearby.

Meanwhile, in their castle in Lava Mountain Zone of the Lost Hex, Zor reports to Zavok that the Eggnet is in chaos due to whatever Eggman was up to on the world below. They are soon met by Dr. Starline, who introduces himself as an assistant to Eggman and wishes to ask for the aid of the Deadly Six. He explains that Zavok and his team have unique skills that Eggman needs to contain a certain issue. Zavok suspiciously asks if Starline was sent by Eggman; the doctor replies that he was present unofficially, feeling as it would be better to ask forgiveness rather than permission at this point in time. When Zavok asks what the Deadly Six will get out of helping the Eggman Empire again, Starline tells him that they will be able to make amends with Eggman, command incredible power and finally destroy Sonic the Hedgehog. Considering the deal, Zavok agrees to help Starline, requesting some time to gather his team. A gleeful Starline states that he will reach out to the Zeti soon and takes his leave. Following this, Zor comments that Starline made a mistake. Zavok agrees and intends to capitalize on it. He instructs Zor to assemble the other Zeti.

Back in Central City, Tangle distracts several Zombots from atop her lamp post. A particularly large Zombot begins to damage the perch in an attempt to dislodge Tangle. Luckily, Whisper uses her Variable Wispon to shoot the Zombots below the lemur. Tangle quickly moves out of the way so that Whisper can use her Wispon in its Rocket Mode to create an explosion among the Zombots. While she does this, Tangle attempts to contact Amy for an update on back-up; when she gets no response, she tries getting through to Cream and Vector but to no avail. Beginning to worry, Tangle contacts Silver to ask for back-up; unfortunately, the hedgehog is occupied with a Zombot outbreak in Ice Paradise.

Deciding to worry about the lack of backup later, Tangle and Whisper press onwards. The former wonders if it was okay for Whisper to shoot her Wisps at the Zombots but Whisper explains that the Wisps are pure energy when they are fired, rendering them immune to the Metal Virus. The duo are soon stopped by a horde of Zombots, but Whisper manages to use the Hover Mode on her Variable Wispon to float away from the street. Tangle uses her tail to bring them down to a rooftop, where they see that they are now further away from the rendezvous point. Whisper suggests calling Tails, which Tangle promptly does, reporting that she and Whisper have been cut off from the dock by a horde of Zombots with no one to help out. She asks after the cure, to which Tails replies that his computer was almost done processing Sonic's speed data; by applying the hedgehog's biometrics to the fresh sample of the Metal Virus he retrieved from outside, he can apply the data in real time to test models for immunization, as well as the reversal of the contagion. When Tangle asks for a more direct answer, Tails states that he believes he has a cure. He begins to upload the information to Restoration HQ's server before preparing to head out and help Tangle and Whisper, but his computer suddenly shuts down. The fox frantically tries to switch the computer back on, unaware that Cheese and Chocola are busy destroying the lab's main power supply outside. Trying not to panic, Tails removes the server blades from his computer, intending to take them to the HQ instead. He is interrupted by a Zombot who rips into the entrance of the lab and swipes the server blades to the ground, breaking them.

Tails quickly runs to his garage while several Zombots follow in pursuit. They pound on the door for a moment before it is blown open by the Cyclone. Frustrated by the loss of his data when he was so close to a cure, Tails rams his mech straight out of his lab, being chased by Cheese and Chocola. He performs evasive maneuvers to avoid the infected Chao brothers, quickly leaving them in the dust. Tangle contacts Tails to tell him that she and Whisper were heading back down to the dock, asking where he is. The words have barely left her mouth when Tails quickly drives in, knocking aside several Zombots in Tangle and Whisper's way. A starstruck Tangle compliments Tails' moves while he tells her and Whisper to protect the survivors while he covers them with the Cyclone

At the dock, Tangle sees a Rescue Shuttle arriving, wondering why only one was present. As it lands at the dock, Tangle and Whisper make sure no Zombot followed them and thus begin guiding the survivors onto the ship. Tails continues to fend off Zombots until the shuttle begins to take off, at which point Tangle calls for him to hop on. Seeing the Zombots beginning to rip apart the Cyclone, Tails apologizes to his mech before abandoning it and taking flight. As the Cyclone explodes beneath him, Tails flies up to the Rescue Shuttle to find a despondent Amy and asks about the other shuttles. Amy tells him that their shuttle was the only one left; Restoration HQ has fallen, along with almost everyone that was in it.

Next Chapter: The Last Minute Part 2 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 54 Minutes