A blue figure was lying back casually in front of a tall, but simple, homestead. Green rolling hills stretched out in every direction, a thick wooded forest off to the left of the house. A few birds chirped, but other than that and the sound of the gentle wind, everything was quiet, as a sunset threatened to spill over the world.
"Sonic!!" came a loud, young voice, shattering the silence. The blue figure sat up, a blue hedgehog with red shoes, and an obvious attitude.
"Yes Tails?"
"It's finished, but we still don't have a power source…" the golden-furred, two-tailed fox said, sky-blue eyes averting to the ground. "The chaos emeralds can't be used because you need them…"
Sonic tapped his chin, trying to think of a solution to the energy problem, and a sly smile appeared on his face. "Well, you could use emeralds. . . or you could use emerald."
Tails inclined his head to the side, not having any inkling as to what Sonic was getting at. "Oh!" the small fox exclaimed, jumping so that about a foot of air was between him and the ground. He landed quickly, turning on his heel and leaping into the air, twin tails rotating so he flew through the air, towards the house, and then around it. Sonic glanced towards the opposite horizon, the smile still stretched across his mouth. He then turned and sped after tails, leaving only the shifting grasses and a blue streak that faded just as one looked at it; and indeed, the friends were being watched. Two bright green eyes disappeared from sight within the forest.
"Hop on Sonic!" Tails exclaimed excitedly, already clambering up into the cockpit of the plane. It looked like the X Tornado, but about twice the size, and clearly two crafts that were interlocked somehow. One had only one spot for the pilot, the other, the one Tails was seated in, had two. Sonic looked over the craft one more time, and then jumped into the second seat, watching as the glass slid to cover the cockpit and seal them in.
"Ready Sonic?"
"Ready!"
With a push of a button and the flip of a few switches, the plane took off and was in the air within a few seconds, shooting towards the horizon Sonic was looking towards just minutes before. Tails was busy trying to fly the new aircraft, doing fairly well, and marveling at how smooth the large plane flew. It was designed for speed, though was equipped with various weapons and also a thick outer layer for withstanding offensive attacks.
"We'll be there in about four minutes," Tails said, pushing a lever forwards and making the craft double it's speed. The hedgehog in the back seat just nodded, wriggling with excitement. They were heading to a different world to find some new invention ideas for Tails, and the golden fox was excited as well, but had no doubts about where they would land. Sonic was quite confident in his friend's abilities, and the only kink in the plans was trying to get the Master Emerald out of the Guardian's hands, more specifically, spiked fists. That task in itself was difficult, and then they had to drag it back without getting caught, yet the hedgehog was hopeful that Tails had thought of a way to get it.
Before he knew it they were less than a mile away from the floating island that housed the Master Emerald and the Guardian. "So… Tails. How are you going to nab the Emerald?" The blue hedgehog asked curiously.
"Simple. I built in a claw that is big enough to go over the Emerald and pick it up without dropping it. All you have to do is distract Knuckles if he notices us." Tails said, pulling a lever towards him, which in turn made the engines cease the roaring speed and settle into a casual purr.
Sonic smirked, rolling his shoulders, "That Knucklehead? No problem Tails, see ya later!" With a swoosh, the glass cockpit opened, and he catapulted himself off. He fell a good fifty feet, executing a spin dash to save his legs from taking the force. As he uncurled himself from the spiny ball, he stretched, checking to make sure everything was okay. He was perfectly fine, save for the bright red mark across his right arm where a tree branch snapped him as he plummeted towards the earth. "Stupid trees, next time I need to find a clearing to land in." he grumbled, poking the welt and then shrugging it off.
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A bright red echidna was rummaging around through the forest, trying to find some berries in the dense area. There was a sort of grim smile upon his face, for what reason, only he knew. There wasn't much to be smiling about, the air was humid, and nothing exciting had happened in a while. Perhaps that was the reason he was smiling, everything was quiet, way too quiet. The red echidna straightened up, dreadlocks falling down the back of his head as he looked up towards the sky, eyes narrowing. A surprised gasp came from his mouth as his keen, violet eyes caught the slight movement to his immediate left, after he had made a 90 degree turn from where he was. A sharp growl split the silent air, coming from none other than the echidna and finally the soft purr of an aircraft met his ears.
He turned, nothing more than a red blur, and then started to sprint back towards the pedestal where the great green emerald sat. The echidna was running as fast as he could, though not nearly as fast as Sonic, back towards the Emerald. The blood roared and pounded in his ears, that is, until a bright blue blur hurtled itself out of the thick green and sent them both tumbling at least twenty feet until they stopped.
Sonic was the first one to get up, brushing the dead foliage off with a whisk of his hand. "Hey there, Knucklehead."
Knuckles sat staring at Sonic for about five seconds, then leapt to his feet, putting all the power he could into a punch. The spiked fist hit Sonic squarely in the gut, the speedy blue hedgehog taken completely by surprise. Now it was Knuckle's turn to talk, his voice slightly gruff with rage.
"What are you doing here Sonic?" He growled as the hedgehog leapt back to his feet. Violet orbs bore into green, and the green ones glared right back.
"Well…" Sonic started, and apparently he was taking too long to answer, for the echidna threw another series of punches, before realizing that the hedgehog was just stalling. Knuckles then turned and started sprinting the last quarter-mile to the Master Emerald, leaving Sonic stunned for a slight moment.
"That didn't go as planned," he grumbled, stretching his limbs to free them from the bruises and knots. Within half a minute he was back on his feet and running full speed where the foliage was still trembling from Knuckles' passing. Sonic skidded into the clearing, the bright green gem gone from the pedestal, and the bottom of it disappearing into the underbelly of the aircraft, piloted by Tails. The belly doors closed and it sped off in the direction it had come from, Knuckles just now appearing in the clearing, fuming with rage.
"Get out of my way!" he bellowed, rushing past Sonic and heading straight after the ship. A smirk covered the blue hedgehog's face as he darted after the red echidna, catching up and passing him within fifteen seconds.
"See ya, Knuckles!" Sonic shouted, knowing the words wouldn't be lost in his slipstream, and continued heading after the silver aircraft. Even though Knuckles had been passed and was losing sight of the plane, he continued after it, never once slowing.