In the deepest reaches of the Eggman Empire, Dr. Eggman toiled away, night after night, studying each of his battles with Sonic and his friends. No longer would he summon a monster or a giant robot without an overall strategy to finally defeat that blasted hedgehog himself. Eggman knew that Sonic was already a threat on his own, but with his ever growing list of friends, that pesky hedgehog was more than he ever bargained for. Eggman took careful notation of his past attempts. He was surprised at how much he had forgotten over the years. After many days of careful studying, Eggman leaned back on his chair and gave a loud laugh.

"Muhahaha! This new plan possibly cannot fail! Sonic, you shall finally be defeated, and the glorious Eggman Empire will begin!" Eggman looked at his list of essential items he needed, and went straight to work on building and reviving robots to carry out his evil plan.

Sonic was running along at full speed, like usual. The rush of the wind against him excited him, and he felt the need to push himself even harder. Sonic turned a corner and found himself at a dead end. It didn't matter much to him, because he found one of the most powerful items in the known universe, a 1up, with its ability to save Sonic and his friends from death.

Sonic turned and prepared to run off when he saw a shadow pass over him. He ran out of the dead-end and saw a red figure running along the mountain above him. Sonic rolled up into a ball and spin dashed to the top of the wall. He reached the ledge with ease and proceeded to chase the red figure. Sonic was right behind it in a matter of seconds.

"Hey Sonic, long time no see," the red figure called back.

"Right back at ya," Sonic responded, to him. The red figure was none other than Mighty the Armadillo. Sonic sped up a bit so that he and Mighty were neck and neck. "So where ya been buddy?"

"Here and there. Just wanted to get out and see the world. I've explored most of it, I think, but still got a ways to go."

Sonic looked around for a bit. "Hey, where's Ray?" he asked Mighty.

Mighty shrugged his shoulders.

"Wasn't he with you Mighty?"

"He was at first, but then I got captured by Dr. Robotnik."

"Actually, we refer to him as Eggman now," Sonic interrupted.

"Really?" Mighty paused to laugh. "Well, anyways, I'm sure Knuckles and Vector have told you all about our adventures. Vector asked me to join his detective agency, but I said, 'No, thanks.' I decided to continue with my quest to see the world, but without Ray or anyone else it was kinda lonely."

"Aw, I missed you too Mighty," a voice above them said. It was Ray, floating down to join Sonic and Mighty. "How's it been guys?"

"Ray! You're back too?" Sonic said, delighted. Two of his best friends had returned on the same day. "Mighty here was just about to tell me of his amazing adventures."

"They're not that amazing," Mighty responded. "At least, not compared to what you and the others have done."

"Yeah, I can't believe you stopped the Ark from crashing into the planet," Ray chipped in.

"Nothing big," Sonic told them. "Hey, why don't we go back into town? I'm sure you guys would want to relax some after all your adventures around the world. You can also meet all of your old friends and some new ones too."

"Sounds like a plan!" Mighty and Ray said. The three friends ran off to meet the others in Station Square, finally finished construction after the Chaos incident.

Eggman pulled a ratty old doll from storage. He fixed it up a little bit and suspended it in one of his revitalization machines. After a few days suspended in this state, the doll finally opened its neon red eyes. The Tails Doll was reborn.