Island Getaway (from me)
by Asher Tye
Disclaimer: Sonic and crew are all copyrighted to Sega and DiC.
Author's Note: Okay, so as you might be able to tell, this a bit of departure for me. I'm writing in the "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" universe, which is a lot less stringent on silly things like continuity, characterization… the laws of physics. I wanna see how funny I can make this, so any reviews to that affect would be greatly appreciated. One bit of order however. Though my vocabulary is quite voluminous, I in no way approach the level of description displayed by the show's resident walking thesaurus; Dr. Robotnik. That being said, I will try to use his alliterative and entertaining method of description whenever I can, but if I end up repeating myself, particularly when he's insulting others, please bear with me. Now then, ON WITH THE SHOW!
Act One: Repeat after me, I need a vacation.
"Hey Tails, take a look, you gotta see this," Sonic told his orange furred chum as he stared out the window of the passenger plane the duo were currently riding in. In the seat next to him Tails slept peacefully, a pair of headphones on his ears and a pillow behind his head. Not entirely unexpected as it had been a long trip. But still, Sonic wouldn't consider himself much of a 'Big Bro' if he let his best friend sleep through one of the most spectacular sights Mobius had to offer. Impatiently he shook the fox, causing him to stir.
"Mmmmph, wha, wha?" the kit asked sleepily, just a bit confused by his unfamiliar, and somewhat uncomfortable, surroundings. Brain cells snapped awake as the young Prower soon remembered he was on an airplane. "What's up Sonic? Did we land yet?"
"Not yet lil' bro, but I wanted you to see this," the cobalt hedgehog said as he helped Tails out of his seat to get a better view through the window. "I told you this trip was gonna be worth it, and here's the down payment on that promise." As azure eyes gazed out the window, they could only widen at what they saw. When Sonic had woken him up three days ago declaring he wanted to take a vacation, he'd told his double tailed colleague he'd had a special place in mind. Still the inexperienced fox's brain had not quite grasped how special until now.
Outside plane, four islands could be seen. What made this scene so breath taking was the fact that each island was floating, not on some body of water, but through the air itself. Even on a world that boasted so many wondrous natural phenomena as Mobius, the sight of four fairly big islands sailing through the air in perfect formation was indeed awe-inspiring.
"May I present, the Flying Archipelago," Sonic said to his dumbfounded charge.
"Archi-what-ago?" the fox asked, looking quizzically back at his big brother.
"Archipelago," the hedgehog repeated before explaining, "Fancy talk for a group of islands linked together." Tails "oh"-ed and went back to staring out the window.
"And we're really going to them?"
"Well only one for now; Mushroom Island, the resort." So saying the cobalt hedgehog pointed out the largest of the islands for Tails to see. A large beach complete with what looked like a sea dominated one half of the island, and the young engineer was hard pressed to figure out how the natives kept the water from spilling over the edge of the island itself. The other half had several large buildings, palm trees, and small secluded areas littering its face. Even from this vantage point Tails could see the beach was crowded with hundreds and hundreds of umbrellas, no doubt owned by Mobians who, like Sonic and Tails, were seeking relaxation and fun. Of course what got the little kit's attention most was the rather large looking amusement part situated near the beach; so bright and glittery it looked like a mini-sun on the island.
As the plane banked to give its passengers a better view of their destination, a custom for flights going to the Flying Archipelago, Sonic continued his mile high tour of the location. As it came up, he pointed out Echidna Island and the bustling city of the island chain's indigenous Mobians, the echidna, which stood upon it. Up next came Wild Island, the second largest of the four, possessed of a dense, untamed forest perfect for hiking and camping as well as three snowcapped mountains that, as Sonic so eloquently put it, had "the best darn snowboardin' in the entire world." Sharp eyes spotted what looked like buildings dotting the mountain, and thus was Tails told of the hot springs that were present as well. Knowing a little something about geothermal activity, the fox again had to wonder how the echidna managed this without a physical connection to the planet's own geothermal power source. He dismissed this as the last island came into view, this one flatter and possessed of fewer features than its more impressive siblings. Indeed it seemed to be dominated only by rolling hills and grass, with only a few trees, sometimes appearing in fair sized clusters, dotting the landscape. Despite this, there did seem to be animals moving about on the island's surface, and there was also a rather large, walled compound set up on the section closest to the other islands. Come to find out this was called Sanctuary Island, a sort of wildlife refuge where Mobian visitors could get a look at the non-sentient wildlife of the islands.
"Wow," Tails said for the umpteenth time as Mushroom Island came back into view.
"Yeah, it's breathtaking no matter how many times you been here," Sonic confirmed, causing his foxy sidekick to look at him.
"You've been here before Sonic?" he asked in a wondering voice.
"Sure, before I met you. Haven't been back since though," the hedgehog explained. When Tails gave him another quizzical look, Sonic continued. "We have been kinda busy keed." This explanation seemed to satisfy the ever curious vulpine, who turned back to look out the window.
"Excuse me, sir," began a stewardess as she leaned over to stare at the two Mobians, "we've been given clearance to land, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you and your little friend to buckle up in your seat." Obediently Sonic and Tails complied, though not without a disappointed groan from the kit. As he once more sat in his assigned seat, Tails cast a wistful look out the window again, hoping to catch one last look at the islands before he was actually on them. Though initially disappointed Sonic had opted to use a public airplane rather than fly Air-Tails, the kit had to admit the plane had provided a breathtakingly spectacular view of the Flying Archipelago the fox himself wouldn't have been able to match without several rest stops.
Only a few hours later, Tails's opinion of the Flying Archipelago, and indeed of flying in general, had taken a decidedly frosty turn, as evidenced by the grumpy look on his face, complete with triangular ears lying flat against his head.
"Come on Tails, it wasn't that bad," an equally irritable Sonic said as he hefted a large suitcase off the curb outside the airport. Not possessed of a great many material goods, the two friends had decided to split a suitcase filled with their essentials, namely changes of socks, gloves, and toiletries, with plenty of extra space to cart back gifts for their friends back home. At Sonic's words, Tails merely turned his angry gaze on the blue hedgehog, causing the speedster to roll his eyes in frustration before heading off to the hotel they'd be staying at. "Everyone has to go through customs, kid, there's no point in pouting just because you didn't like it." And indeed, had it merely been going through airport customs, Tails might have simply let the event die. Unfortunately, that had not been the case.
Though they had opened their islands up as a vacation spot, the echidnas were notoriously obstinate when it came to security. Unfamiliar with check-in procedures, when asked if he had anything to declare, Tails had gone into a long litany, declaring his love for games, how much he enjoyed running, and several other inane little tidbits the fox was eager to share with anyone who'd listen. The overworked echidna running the check in station, unwilling to tolerate what he perceived as an ill-mannered surface brat making sport of him, had been fairly quick to snap at the cub. Of course Sonic had stepped in to defend his little bro, but by then the damage had been done. Both Mobians had been pulled aside for "additional" screening.
That the echidna security guards had been adamant about him proving every detail of his passport was accurate (as if he'd grown or something during the flight over) had been irritating enough but then the subject of his unusual posterior appendages had come up. Because a previous traveler had used a fake tail to try to sneak contraband onto the islands, Security had insisted young Miles prove both spinal extremities were his. Apparently the fact that both were waggling about quite anxiously was not enough. That his guardian had currently been embroiled in a rather heated argument with his own inspectors as to why he needed to confirm his real name did not help. And so Tails had stood quietly as the echidnas passed a handheld scanner over each fluffy appendage, checking them for any form of fakery. In the end, both Mobians had managed to come out of the Security Office unscathed and ready to start their vacation, though Tails had been informed that, as a minor, he was required to wear a computerized locator band around his wrist so they could keep track of him. It was at that point the fox had made his second mistake, stating unequivocally that the next time he came to visit the archipelago; he'd just fly up himself. This might not have been so bad if he had actually paid attention to Sonic's frantically waving hands and not proceeded to demonstrate the unique talent his twin tails gave him.
An hour later they'd finally been allowed to leave, though Tails had been informed there was now a very detailed file on him and that he would be in violation of the Islands' laws if he were to ever appear unannounced. Needless to say, this had all contributed to the fox's bad mood, a mood he'd only kept when they arrived at their hotel.
"Okay, you wanna be huffy, fine, then just stay with the bags here while I check in," Sonic said as he set down the suitcase for Tails to sit on and then walked over to the desk. Left alone with no one to see how angry he was, the fox's mood eased up a little as he looked around the hotel. Though it was not the poshest hotel on Mushroom Island, it was still very nice looking. Native plants sat in pots all over the place, while a fountain sat in the middle of the check-in area. Several paintings dotted the walls, though Tails's artist's eye could spot that these were merely prints. Not that he was surprised; after all, what were the odds that the real "Moaning Eliza" painting was hanging in a hotel. A few flags were also hanging as well, most notably the Flying Archipelago's own depicting five rings of differing colors bound together in a circle with what looked like a crystal in the center. Finally his attention wandered down to his wrist and the band securely attached around it. Before his fertile mind could think of something to do with it, Sonic returned baring two plastic cards in his hands. "Feeling any better?" he asked.
"A bit," Tails admitted as he hopped off the suitcase for Sonic to collect. The two rode the elevator up to the fourth floor of the hotel and quickly found their room. After one or two attempts to synchronize pushing the keycard in and turning the handle, both fox and hedgehog managed to make it inside. Inside the room had a desk, a sofa, a dresser, and a single king-sized bed for the fox and hedgehog to share. Ever the walking stomach, Tails made an almost immediately bee-line for what looked to be the room's honor bar, rummaging through it as he looked for something good. Thinking that an influx of sugar would help to further take the edge off his little buddy's mood, Sonic simply told him to only take one candy bar before dropping the suitcase and flopping up on the bed.
"I hate jet-lag," the blue one said as he stretched tiredly on the mattress and reached for the remote to the television so he could see what was on.
"Oh, see if you can get Professor Von Schlemmer's Scientastic Phoogin-Grabbin," Tails suggested. Though not an avid TV watcher, there were some programs the young fox found he couldn't resist.
"Sorry keed, only programs that show up here from the surface are basic channels. This place needs to be closer to an actual station to get surface stuff, an' they only do that for special stuff," Sonic explained as he tuned to the local sports channel. Tails frowned at this news but soon opted to forget about it, hopping into the bed and snuggling up against his hero and mentor. The trip must have taken more out of him than he let on because very soon a light snoring sound was coming from the kit's mouth. Only a few minutes later the same sound was coming from Sonic as he too fell asleep.
With a loud yawn Tails awoke from slumber. He felt much better than he had the day before. At some point during his siesta, someone had decided to put the little boy under the covers of the bed, and it was perhaps a mark of how tired he'd been that he hadn't even noticed. It was then that he realized that he was now alone in the room. Azure eyes cast about, but there was no sign of Sonic the Hedgehog, nor did it sound like he was availing himself of the facilities in the bathroom. For a few brief moments, the confused cub wondered what had become of his best friend. His thoughts were interrupted with the sound of the door handle jiggling about as someone tried to gain entry. A frustrated curse could be heard as again the door jiggled, this time the handle successfully turning as from behind it Sonic let himself in.
"Promise me when you become a big time inventor, the first thing you're gonna do is make these stupid doors open when ya want 'em to," the hedgehog said as he noticed his companion was awake. Tails let out a small laugh before he noticed Sonic had not returned to the room empty-handed. He was balancing two trays of food, which probably accounted for his trouble with the door's lock. Carefully Sonic set down the two trays on the nightstand, and Tails moved over to inspect the contents. Bacon, eggs, toast, and a cup of juice sat on each one, obviously intended to be breakfast.
"Eat up quick, kid, we got a busy day ahead of us," the hedgehog said.
"Mmf thou-mff we were mff vacation, mff-nic," Tails pointed out, his mouth stuffed full with a slice of toast that caused him to spit soggy bread crumbs as he talked. Making a hard swallow, the mouthful disappeared down the vulpine's throat as he continued. "What do we have to do?" Wiping his face of the debris caused by his best friend talking with his mouth full, Sonic gave the kit an annoyed look before answering.
"Well, I thought we'd get in some sightseeing, then we have a friend to go visit."
"Friend?" the fox asked. "We know someone up here?"
"Well; I know someone up here, but don't worry, you'll get to meet him too, provided we don't miss our ride. Now eat your breakfast, bro." Very soon both trays were emptied of their contents and both Mobians' bellies were full. Taking a few moments to make sure Tails combed his fur and looked presentable, the duo once more left their room heading downstairs and past the receptionist's desk. In doing so, they also passed the complimentary breakfast bar, inadvertently garnering the attention of one its patrons; a short creature wearing a non-descript trench-coat that covered his entire body… save for the long thin, gray and red tail coming out of the bottom and the large, clear light bulb sitting on top. As soon as the hedgehog and fox had safely exited the building, the "mysterious" stranger quickly grabbed hold of his tray (actually four trays bonded together to hold the gargantuan amount of food that had been piled upon them, much to the annoyance of the line's other patrons) and bolted for the elevator.
Meanwhile, in the penthouse suite of the same hotel, events of an all together different nature was transpiring.
"Careful with that you neanderthalic numbskulls," a gruff voice yelled. This voice came from a large, egg-shaped gentleman with a large red nose and sporting a bright red mustache that seemed to shoot out past his shoulders. Of course this could be none other than the nefarious Dr. Robotnik, Mobius's number one national villain, full time near-do-well, and international sudoku champion. The rotund doctor shook his meaty fist and stamped his stubby leg as he yelled in fury, his normally pink skin now a deep fuchsia thanks to his venting temper. The object, or rather objects, of his rage were his two lackeys; Scratch, a five foot tall robotic rooster, and his identical twin brother Grounder, who resembled a two foot high mole on tank treads. Held betwixt the two of them was what looked like a giant can with lights and wires attached to its top, all blinking and buzzing with electricity despite the noticeable lack of a power source. The two primary members of the Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad carried the contraption over to a wall, setting it down next to a second, identical machine.
"Remind me again, your most Supreme of Super Scientists," Scratch began to ask in a warbling voice that sounded as though it had been ground by a millstone, "why are we moving these things again? They were hard enough to sneak into the hotel last night."
"Because it gives you something to do," Robotnik replied with his usual flourish. "If you're busy doing something for me, then the odds become significantly less that you'll be messing up something else, thus preventing me from having to visit terrible pain and damage upon your watered down wetware."
"Ah, that's nice of you," Grounder said in his ever chipper, much more musical voice. Once the cylinder was secured in place, the hands the mole-like robot had been using to grip it retracted into his forearms, quickly being replaced by a pair of gray drills that were his usual appendage of choice.
"Yes, well, I do spoil the two of you rotten. A character flaw I suppose," the mustachioed madman rationalized, even as both his minions uttered placations along the lines of him possessing no flaws whatsoever. "Now where is that lazy layabout Coconuts with my breakfast? I'm so hungry, I'm practically wasting away to skin and bones," the doctor lamented as he stood before a mirror, opening up his nightshirt to reveal a body that was anything but skin and bones. Even at their sycophantic best, both Scratch and Grounder found themselves turning their heads away in disgust at the sight of their creator's bulbous and blubbery physique.
Robotnik's lamentations were soon interrupted by a rapid fire series of knocks at his hotel room's door, startling all three of the occupants. Quietly Robotnik made a few hand gestures, mimicking the actions of an army sergeant he'd seen in some war movie. That his movements meant nothing itself meant nothing as both of his minions got the gist of their orders. Grounder's left drill returned to his forearm and a baseball bat soon appeared even as Scratch readied a handy-dandy laser pistol he always kept stashed in his tail feathers. Though Dr. Robotnik had legitimately rented this room, under a clever pseudonym, of course, but still legitimately, more than a few of the pieces of equipment they'd brought with them would clearly give them away if spotted. Carefully Dr. Robotnik placed a red eye against the door's peephole.
"Who is it?" he asked, his voice innocent and saccharine sweet in an approximation of the most innocent creature he knew, namely Sonic's two tailed little sidekick.
"Doc, Doc, you gotta let me in! Da keycard ain't workin' and I got news!" Coconuts answered back, his voice clearly excited and agitated as he continued to make a disturbing racket. Realizing that such a commotion would invariably draw unwanted attention, the wide girthed human quickly opened the door and yanked his simian creation into the room, almost causing the monkey-bot to drop the trays of food. Quickly Robotnik had the red and grey robot put the tray down so as to prevent this from happening in the future as well.
"Now then, what is this news that's so important you nearly destroyed my breakfast?"
"I saw Sonic, Doctor Robotnik, right here, in the hotel, yup yup!" the agitated ape began to screech.
"WHAT!" Robotnik bellowed, a horrible sinking feeling appearing in the pit of his stomach.
"Yeah, yeah, him and his sidekick Tails was down in the lobby while I was there!" The human was no longer listening to his underling, however, having felt a weakness in his legs that caused him to sit down upon his bed.
"How did the hated hedgehog know I was here?" Robotnik queried. "I didn't even tell my milkman I was leaving the fortress. We cannot allow him to interfere with my plans."
"Plans?" Grounder asked in confusion, staring at his creator from behind sunglasses and having donned a rather loud floral print shirt and a straw hat. "I thought we came here for vacation."
"No you ninny-bot, we're not on vacation- or, at least, you three nimrod-trons aren't."
"Ah nuts." At this news the small green robot dejectedly removed his vacation gear and stuffed it in his torso compartment.
"We're here for one purpose, and one purpose only, to steal the one item on this island which will give us the power to conquer the entire world," Robotnik declared, his voice rising in volume to the point where it could be heard through walls. That his own actions might have blown his cover was completely lost on the Doctor. "And I will not allow that hated hedgehog to spoil our chances of obtaining this priceless artifact."
"I don't think they knows we're here though, Doc," Coconuts interrupted, causing the flamboyant scientist to look at him.
"What, hey?"
"Well, Sonic and da fox brat didn't even notice me, an' I was standin' right there. 'Course I was in disguise an' all, so they probably wouldn't ah anyway. But it looked like they had other things on their minds," the cyber simian related back. Even as he did so, the CPU that housed his artificial intelligence began to call up and play back the images captured by his robotic eyes just moments ago for his own clarification. "Yup, they definitely didn't seem ta be all that concoined about us bein' here."
"Well what else would they be here for, the-" Suddenly, the angry frown that had decorated the doctor's face for most of the morning vanished, replaced by a wide smile that effectively showed off each one of the human's meticulously cared for pearl white teeth. The tips of his moustache rose into the air, the red hairs almost seeming to become brighter as his mood elevated and a twinkle came to his red and black eyes as realization dawned on him. "They're on vacation…" As he spoke, each of the three robots in the room with him leaned in closer, processors working over time as each tried to reach the same logical conclusion as their master. More advanced than Coconuts and not encumbered by a multitude of subroutines that tended to scatter Grounder, Scratch was the first to make a theory.
"They don't know we're here," the chicken-bot half stated and half-asked. When his creator's smile did not fade, he knew he'd hit upon the right train of thought.
"Precisely. Sonic and Tails are no more aware of us being here than the echidnas. They're just here to relax, soak up sun, and have fun; a fact that we can use to our advantage and finally be rid of that meddlesome blue busybody."
"Ooh, ooh, me, me," Grounder begged as he jumped up and down with his treads and waved his drills about excitedly. When Robotnik's attention fell on him, the green robot smiled. "And then we can just take what we need from the islands without anyone to stop us, right?"
"Correct maboy," the demented dictator replied. "And then, the world will be our giant, egg-shaped, oyster!" Robotnik turned to Coconuts. "Now then, my little informant, just where did our spiky speedster go?" The robot monkey opened his mouth happily, ready to reveal this bit of crucial information to the mad scientist, only to suddenly realize he had no idea where Sonic and Tails had headed after they'd opened the hotel door and left. At his hesitation, Robotnik began to get impatient. "Well?"
"Uh, heh-heh, I kinda didn't pay… attention," Coconuts squeaked a bit, backing up to what was hopefully out of the doctor's reach. He proved to have underestimated the length of Robotnik's arms as a meaty hand suddenly grabbed him by the light bulb on his head, yanking him right up to his creator's face.
"WHAT?"
"Well I just thought you'd want to know Sonic was here, so I left as soon as I could so I really wasn't watching when they left," the desperate monkey tried to explain. As he noticed Robotnik's large teeth were now cracking as the ovoid human ground them, Coconuts realized his explanation had failed to placate the doctor. "This is gonna hoit, ain't it." Coconuts's answer came with the sound of something very hard hitting something not quite so hard as bits of monkey-bot suddenly hit the wall of the suite, followed closely but Coconuts's severed and dazed head. "Eh… I go through more spare parts dat way."
"Cowabunga!" Sonic cried as he rode his surfboard across the rolling waves of Mushroom Island's famous beach. A side glance caused the teen hedgehog to notice he'd garnered attention from the shore, namely in the form of three very curvaceous beach bunnies that were waving and whistling at him. Clearly all three were very interested in what they saw. Testosterone surged through the speedster's body as he did what he normally did when he found himself with an audience; namely put on a show.
Suddenly he was a blue blur as he bounced about his board, performing handstands, posing like a crane, and even doing a bit of break-dancing, much to the amusement of the three lapines. Unfortunately Sonic was so busy with his showing off that he forgot to keep track of the wave he was riding. Thus it was that a sudden surge of water was able to throw his board out from under him, causing the azure Mobian to go flying into the artificial ocean. A few seconds later, a spiky head broke the surface, spitting out water from his mouth as a humiliated Sonic swam miserably over to his waiting surfboard. Another glance at the beach confirmed his worst fears. Lacking free entertainment, the three ladies' collective attention had refocused to someone else, someone with large, bulging muscles who was currently busy flexing them in the sun.
"Ah nuts," Sonic said dejectedly, cursing his own noodley arms lack of girl pleasing biceps. The sound of water spraying broke the hedgehog from his funk as Tails pulled up alongside his big brother, his tails spinning in reverse to propel him forward on the small, spongy body board he was riding.
"That was so totally awesome, Sonic; the most epic wipeout I've ever seen," the fox proclaimed excitedly. Despite the slightly annoyed look Sonic was currently giving his biggest fan, the hedgehog had to admit the cub was providing a refreshing breeze of accolades to his bruised ego. Deciding he couldn't bear to burst the kit's bubble, a smile quickly appeared on the teen's face as he climbed up on his board to sit.
"Like I always say, lil' bro, anything worth doing is worth doing big time." A shrill whistle broke up the charm of the moment. From the beach, a purple echidna with a silvery whistle in his lips was waving his arms and doing all he could to attract the two Mobians' attention. Annoyed looks came now to the faces of both hero and sidekick as they recognized this as the sign that the rental time on their water toys was almost up. Looking back at his younger brother, Sonic made a suggestion. "Hey, Tails, how about a race back to shore?"
"OnetwothreeGO!" answered the fox as his namesakes twirled up and he quickly zoomed off, taking as much of a head start off the surprised Sonic as he could. Watching his protégé as he took off, the hedgehog could only shake his head.
"You'd think he'd learn by now." Tan arms spun so fast that they appeared to resemble tan disk, hands dipping into the water as the blue surfer took off like a shot. Shouts of surprise and cries of fright came from all the other hapless vacationers caught in the rather violent wake created by the impromptu race. As he moved, Tails couldn't help but smile as he saw the beach draw nearer. The distance between their former position and the shore was not terribly great, the equivalent of a short sprint for the two fastest creatures on Mobius in actuality, so in all likelihood the lead he'd taken would prove enough to let him beat Sonic. An underhanded victory maybe, but the fox was willing to take it, particularly given Sonic constantly boasted he was the fastest thing alive. Just as the young boy could taste the sweet flavor of victory, the feeling of a finger tapping his shoulder drew his attention. Tails looked to the side just in time to see Sonic grinning at him as the hedgehog zoomed by, his arms two blurs of motion as he easily passed his best bud. Mere feet before his surfboard would have hit the sand, Sonic jumped off, flipping through the air to make a perfect three-point landing on the beach.
Unfortunately, in his haste to show off, Sonic had forgotten about the cord fastened to his ankle that connected him to the board. As soon as that cord had been pulled taut, the surfboard had left the water and gone sailing through the air, smacking itself flatly against the hedgehog's head and sending him splayed to the ground rather unceremoniously.
"Sonic, are you all right?" Tails asked as he raced up and flipped the large board off his big brother and hero.
"Ouch," came the reply in a semi-sarcastic tone. After all, it wasn't as though the teen speedster didn't possess a rather high threshold for pain thanks to all his battles with Dr. Robotnik.
"Hey you," called the echidna salesman who had rented the water toys to the fox and hedgehog, "you better not have scratched up my board with that stunt, or you can kiss your deposit good-bye." Just a little annoyed by this lack of concern for a customer, Sonic was on his feet in a second.
"Scratch your board? SCRATCH your BOARD? You're stupid board just flattened my nose," the hedgehog complained, pointing to his aching shnoz as he did so. Not to be out-angried, the echidna was just as quick to get in Sonic's face.
"It's no less than you deserve. What kinda idiot tries a stunt as stupid as you did with a piece of wood attached to his leg?" the Mobian yelled back before pointing to Tails. "At least your fuzzy little friend over there knows how to treat someone else's property with some level of respect. You could stand to learn a thing or two from him." At this impromptu praise, Tails beamed a bit, only hiding his proud smile when he noticed Sonic's look of annoyed betrayal. Before either of the two heroes could react, the echidna grabbed hold of his surf and body boards and took them back to his rental stand.
With no more reason to hang out at the shore, Sonic and Tails made their way back to the umbrella and two beach towels they'd claimed until noon. With a thud, Sonic sat down on his towel, grabbing hold of the sunshades he'd left there and putting them on as he lay back down on his arms.
"So… what are we gonna do now?" Tails asked, at a loss for activities to keep himself occupied until it was time to go. Whatever special appointment Sonic had set up for them, the hedgehog was keeping the details close to his tan furred chest.
"Well, I don't know about you Mr. Responsibility," Sonic said, getting in a bit of ribbing on his best friend, "but I intend to sit back and soak up some rays." So saying, Sonic's foot rose up to tip back the umbrella a bit to let the sun shine on him. A disappointed look came to Tails's face. While lying back in the sun might have been Sonic's idea of a good time, a lad of the kit's age couldn't bear to remain still with so many things going on around him.
"Maybe I'll just have a look around then, see if I can't find someone to play with," the fox said, getting up to go for a walk. A gloved hand suddenly grabbed his furry arm.
"Uh uh, remember the rules kiddo."
"I know, I know. No going where I can't see you or you can't see me, and no talking to any adults I don't know," the younger Mobian said as his guardian released him.
"Just makin' sure little bro. Just 'cause we're on vaykay doesn't mean we toss out ALL the rules." With that said, Sonic once more settled down for a nap. Casting a glance about the beach, foxy eyes soon landed on an abandoned pail and shovel. Suddenly a mischievous grin soon crossed the vulpine's face.
An hour or so later, Sonic began to stir again, yawning as he did so. He was quite surprised to find himself suddenly getting a mouthful of sand. His eyes opening all the way, the blue hedgehog was quite surprised to find himself covered in sand. An intense giggling nearby told Sonic exactly who was responsible for his current predicament. Turning his head to the side he was not surprised to see Tails clutching his belly and laughing over successfully having buried his hero in sand. More than that, the fox had apparently found the time to sculpt the sand, transforming Sonic into a rather skillful representation of a merhog. It didn't help the situation that a crowd of beachgoers had gathered to "ooh" and "aah" at the kit's creation, saving the moment by snapping pictures of Sonic's predicament.
"Okay, okay, enough already," Sonic said, wiggling his way out of his sandy tomb and collapsing it on the towel he'd been laying on. Sensing that the show was now over, the crowd dispersed though the culprit of the crime continued his merry laughter. Casting the vulpine a look, Sonic pulled free his towel. "A whole beach to play in and this is all you could come up with?"
"I thought about making a sandcastle, but I didn't want to get too far away from you," Tails responded, an innocent grin on his face. Sonic sighed a bit before glancing at his watch.
"Well it's getting close to go time, so we better return our stuff." The azure teen draped his towel over his shoulder before collapsing their umbrella, and then tossed the overly large items towards his small entourage. "And since you're so full of energy, Mr. Fun, you can carry it back for me."
"Ah, but it's so heavy."
"Ah, but it's only a few yards," the teen mocked back, pointing to the stand that was really not that far from them. "Besides, thanks to some furry little person who will remain nameless, I gotta go wash the sand outta my quills. Now meet me over by the shower stalls when you're done, and I'll let you keep the deposit the vendor gives ya, okay?" His spirits buoyed up by the prospect of easy money, Tails trotted off with the umbrella and towels as Sonic went to wash himself off. It took little time of course, but it certainly made the hedgehog feel better. Soon dried thanks to one of the complimentary towels, Sonic stepped out to find Tails waiting for him, hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall, a wondering expression on his face.
"We good?" Sonic asked of his little brother, referring to the return of the beach equipment. The last thing he needed was for some hotheaded echidna to come tromping after him believing he'd stolen the Mobian's wares. Tails nodded at his big brother, and then opened his mouth.
"Sonic, why do all the flags have those five rings on them?" the fox asked, indicating a banner that hung from the rental shack, and indeed every other structure they could see.
"Oh that? That's just the Flying Archipelago's national flag," Sonic said absentmindedly as he and Tails began to leave. "'One ring for each of the islands in the chain, linked together in a show of eternal unity.'"
"Oh," Tails said, seemingly satisfied with this answer. Then his eyes widened as he thought of something else. "But there are only four islands."
"Huh?"
"When we got here, I only saw four islands. So why are there five rings?" It was at this point that Sonic got a shifty look on his face, his eyes darting from side to side before he kneeled next to Tails.
"Can you keep a secret bro?" he whispered into one of the kit's overly large ears. Looking about and trying to see what Sonic was suddenly so wary of, Tails quickly nodded. "Okay, well here it is. Supposedly there's a fifth island, Angel Island, that floats in the center of the main four, rising and falling throughout the day between them." At this seemingly fantastical tale, the fox cub's eyes widened. Even given the tremendous faith he placed in his hedgehog hero, the young inventor might have found this a little too wild a story to believe… if it weren't for the fact he was currently standing on an island that was already flying through the air. What was one more that couldn't decide on its altitude in the grand scheme of things? Still, he had to be sure his big brother wasn't pulling his leg.
"Seriously?" he asked in a hushed voice.
"If you don't believe me, just wait till we get where we're going, lil' bro," Sonic said with a smile as he resumed their trek back towards the interior of Mushroom Island. Eagerly his twin-tailed companion followed, very much excited to see a flying island up close. Even the other sites of Mushroom town, a town designed with the idea of keeping tourists' attention, did little to distract him. The two Mobians raced across the island, stopping only when they reached the guardrail fence that cordoned off the edge. Crowded at the fence was what looked like several dozen surface Mobians, all holding cameras and "ooh"-ing and "ah"-ing at the view. Of course it didn't take long for the fox to realize that these people weren't here merely to look down at the planet from afar, especially when above them all he could see what looked like a titanic rock slowly descending through the air. The fox cast a questioning look at Sonic, only to receive a sheepish one in return. "What can I say; worst kept secret on Mobius."
Before Tails could walk up and take his place near the rail to view the mysterious Angel Island, Sonic suddenly grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him off.
"Sonic, where are we going? I thought this is what we were waiting for," the fox asked as he gave a token struggle, not wanting to miss the show.
"We gotta hurry or we'll miss our chance to get onto the island," Sonic said matter-of-factly, even as he fiddled with the tracking device attached to Tails's wrist.
"They let people go out to it?"
"Uh… not exactly," the hedgehog admitted in a hushed tone as he managed to get the tracker off of Tails's wrist and laid it carefully behind a bush where hopefully no one would find it. Turning back to his little brother, the blue hedgehog then motioned for him to follow quietly as they moved away from the group. Once they were someplace private, Sonic gathered up the twin tailed kit and crouched down, his legs in position to sprint. Before Tails could ask the obvious question, Sonic shot forward, his legs a blur as he sped towards the guardrail just as Angel Island drew level with Mushroom. Making a short jump, the hedgehog positioned himself on the barrier quickly before making a fantastic leap from the edge of the island. Fox and hedgehog hurtled through the air in a spectacular fashion, Sonic tucking his body into a ball around Tails as he moved to keep his hold on the kit. For a brief moment or two, the orange and blue blur shot through the air before disappearing into the dense foliage that protected the perimeter of Angel Island.
To be continued…