For the first time in what seemed like ages, peace had once again graced Sonic's world. Dr. Robotnik, otherwise known as Eggman, had not attempted an attack for a solid year since his last humiliating defeat. It was rumored that the once power hungry doctor had taken up a hobby other then creating destruction-archaeology. A few people claimed that they had seen him digging somewhere in the Mystic Ruins. This story was confirmed last fall, and had been a top news story for 4 straight weeks. Could it be that he had given up his dream of world domination for good?, reporters asked. But slowly people became complacent to this welcome change, going back to their normal lives. Eggman's activities slowly faded from the eyes of the public.
The last of the snow had finally melted, marking the beginning of spring. It had been the coldest winter on record, and now that the temperature had risen, people eagerly started enjoying the outdoors again. Tourists and amateur archaeologists began swarming all over the Mystic Ruins. A few tried to explore Angel Island, but a certain red echidna prevented them from doing so, concerned that anyone might get too close to his emerald.
In his workshop overlooking the ruins, Miles "Tails" Prower had brought the Tornado out of hibernation. He had been working on it for a month now to get it into peak condition. Setting down his tools, the young genius stepped back and viewed his work proudly. The Tornado was ready to take off! "It's the perfect day for a flight," Tails thought while revving up the aircraft.
From his shack, Tails could hear the clanking of picks and shovels and voices chattering excitedly. The noise didn't bother him, though, it was refreshing. It had been 3 months since he had even seen another person, even his best friend, who had left just before winter started. Tails had never been without Sonic so long. He missed him, but part of him was glad. Tails had noticed his friend's edginess after Eggman had stopped attacking, and knew it would take him some time to make the transition from hero to citizen again.
Tails opened the workshop doors and took a deep breath of fresh air. There was not a cloud in the sky that morning, and the fox lingered in the doorway for a moment, letting the sun warm his face. "I'll bet Sonic's enjoying this weather too."Tails thought. Suddenly, on an impulse, the fox grabbed his goggles from his workbench, leaped in the Tornado's cockpit, and took off into the pure blue sky.
Soon he was flying over the gently sloping green hills, eyeing the terrain like a hawk. Tails knew that this was his friend's favorite place to run. Sonic often came here when he was sad, needed some alone time, or just wanted to blow off some steam. He'd always thought it was strange that Sonic enjoyed this area of all places so much though, since his self proclaimed girlfriend lived very close to here, unless-
A flash of blue moved in the corner of his eye, interrupting his thoughts. "There he is," he whispered to himself with a smile, then put his plane into a low dive along side the speedy hedgehog.
Sonic saw the Tornado descending and slowed his pace to run alongside it. "Hey Tails," he grinned."Long time no see! So... What's up?" Tails shrugged."Just thought a friend of mine might like to get a chili dog with me, but if you're busy-"
"Are you kidding!" Sonic laughed, "I'm never too busy for a friend- who's gonna treat me to a chili dog! Come down lower so I can hop on!" "You got it," Tails chuckled.
Sonic, although he enjoyed running, got a thrill out of riding on the Tornado's wing."After all," he thought, " I'm still going a decently fast speed and its just about as awesome as extreme gear or surf- Whoa!" Tails stopped the plane suddenly to hover in midair, causing Sonic to tip forward, nearly losing his balance."Look Sonic, it's Eggman!" The hedgehog, still clutching his chest, looked in the direction Tails was gaping in. There was the doctor himself in his Eggmobile, circling around a giant drill-robot-thing, which was making an awful racket. Sonic was grateful for this, for it drowned out the noise of the Tornado hovering overhead.
"That's a Megadrill bot," Tails exclaimed wide eyed. "Those are really expensive! Sonic, what do you think he's up to? Do you think he's plotting another one of his evil schemes?" Sonic, not really thinking that the doctor's activities looked particularly threatening, pretended to think. "Let's see, its been about a year now since his last embarrassing beat down, so he is about due. But seriously Tails, everyone, even Eggman, is allowed to dig here. And he doesn't look like he's up to no good to me, unless he's trying to drill this place in half with that thing. So let's forget Eggy and go get that chili dog!" Tails considered this a few seconds, then smiled. "Roger!"
