Tangle vs. Whisper: Out of Control

Chapter 6: Rescue, Part 1

Leuco hid amongst the crowd in the Spiral Hill Market. Occasionally, someone would look her way at the sight of her massively enlarged antennae, but after that, cease to pay attention. Tangle, freshly slimed, was making her way up the hill to the village, where Leuco had the perfect place for the first attack: Jewel's Mineral Museum. The town would be shocked by the lemur's betrayal of her best friend, and soon the events would only escalate!

As Tangle set foot in the village proper, she attracted the attentions of passersby, who stared into her pulsating green sclera.

"Tangle?"

"What happened to her?"

"IS SHE POSSESSED?"

Knowing she had to keep in-character before the big attack, Leuco had Tangle play it cool.

"Yep, heroine of Spiral Hill, guilty as charged! I've been at a hospital in the big city because I had an eye infection. That's why my eyes are like this, and where I've been the past couple of days. Yeah."

ACTUALLY, I'VE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY AN EVIL SNAIL WHO WANTS ME TO COMMIT CRIMES!, Tangle screamed into the empty void of her mind.

The civilians merely talked amongst themselves, or shrugged their shoulders, and went along with their day.

Unseen to all, both Tangle and Leuco flashed sinister grins as the former approached the Mineral Museum.

-

"Hey Jewel, I'm back," the lemur warned as she entered the museum, where her beetle friend was simply adjusting things on her desk.

LOOK OUT, JEWEL!

"Oh! Hello, Tangle!," Jewel piped, appearing surprised. "What have you been doing these past few days?"

"The same thing I'm going to do to this museum," Tangle smirked. "Smash it to pieces!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Jewel smirked right back.

Tangle gasped as Amy Rose suddenly appeared from behind one of the museum's displays, charging the mind-controlled lemur with a battle cry and a swing of her hammer.

"Sorry, Tangle!," the hedgehog cried as the hammer made impact with Tangle's body, launching her out the door, where Amy and Jewel approached to check on her.

"Grr..." The lemur dragged herself to her feet and glared daggers at the current and former leaders of the Restoration. "So Whisper managed to let you guys know of my situation. Shame, then, that you're only hurting me, and Leuco is free to go where she wishes!"

She's in the market, Tangle internally screamed. She's right there!

Tangle and Leuco alike were unaware of Carole, Cling and Tails, who were making their way through the market, in search of someone matching Lanolin's description.

"She's got to be around here somewhere," Tails affirmed Tangle's parents. "Criminals always return to the scene of the crime."

"When we find this Leuco person," the ring-tail affirmed, "she's gonna suffer the wrath of Carole!"

Cling simply patted her wife on the head. "Yes, darling, she will."

Meanwhile, the crowd gave Tangle and Amy a wide berth as they squared off. The pink hedgehog swung her hammer once more, but was caught by the lemur's tail in the shape of a grasping hand, which, with the lemur's great strength, yanked the hammer from Amy's grip. As the hedgehog ran to claim her weapon, Tangle simply stuck out a leg, tripping Amy to the ground.

"This lemur is surprisingly versatile in and out of combat," Leuco commented. "Perhaps I shall make her my next permanent vessel."

Amy, managing to reclaim her hammer, smashed it into the ground, creating an impact wave that knocked Tangle off her feet momentarily, however, the lemur righted herself using her tail.

"Give up, Rose!," the lemur cackled. "I can keep doing this all day!"

"You sure about that, Leuco?," Tails quipped, suddenly right behind the snail. "Found ya."

"WHAT?," the snail gasped, whipping around to see Cling and Carole accompanying the fox. Before Leuco could react, Cling's stretchy arms flew out and wrapped around her tightly. From out of nowhere, a large red cylinder, the Energy Ball Cannon, materialized itself on Tails' arm.

"Either you stay put right there," Carole growled, "Tails blasts you, or I break you in half!"

"Grr... My slime can slide me out of any restraint you put on me!," Leuco snarled. "And I have a certain lemur to help me escape!"

"As you said, Master," Tangle smiled. "Ms. Rose, it's been a fun fight, but I have bigger fish to fry."

Internally, the lemur was panicking. As horrible of a person as Leuco had clearly made herself out to be, Tangle believed that everyone deserved a chance to live. Even Mimic, bastard that he was, would have left a permanent scar in Whisper's mind had she been allowed to kill him. Tangle didn't want a death to scar the mind of her friend Tails... or her own mother.

Stop, she weakly protested internally. STOP!

The lemur pushed aside the crowd, making a beeline for her parents and her controller.

"I swear, I'll shoot!," Tails warned.

"You won't have to," silently uttered a voice from on high.

From atop the roof of a nearby building, Whisper leapt, equipping her Wispon's Hover Mode and descending directly into Tangle's path.

"Grr..." Tangle snarled. "You!"

"This is it, Tangle," Whisper warned. "I'm getting you back. Whatever it takes!"