The water sparkled in the brilliant sunshine, dotted by pools of green where algae coated the rocks. Sonic shielded his eyes, pupils tracing over the waves and into the horizon. Not a piece of trash in sight. He felt so at ease. He didn't have to worry about comic book agents or badniks or reporters or anybody. They'd never get him out here.
"Sonic! Hey Sonic!"
A pair of fluffy tails glowed in the white sunlight, glossy with good health. A metal toolbox clunked against thin legs.
"Oh, hey Tails," he breathed.
"Come take a look at what I've added to the Tornado!" Tails said. Sonic shrugged and nodded his head.
"Sure thing. Hey, have you seen my sunglasses?"
"No, I haven't, but that's not important right now. You gotta see this!"
He followed the sound of Tail's clanging footsteps. They stopped in front of the biplane and Tails turned to undulate towards… whatever it was that was so special.
"Well, it looks the same as it did yesterday. Nice!" Sonic snickered. Tails rolled his eyes and slammed the open hatch shut, ears pressed to the top of his head.
"Allow me to introduce you, Sonic, to the new and improved Tornado-1!"
The whole world rumbled and quaked with the plane's wild dancing, its body compacted into a bullet shape. Sonic's eyes watered against the blistering heat and the high-pitched squealing. Shards of sand stung their skin. Recoated red and yellow wings folded into a neat X shape, the plane's wheels disappearing beneath the cockpit. In a flash the plane sat still, and the vibrations rumbling through their bones settled to a purr.
"Woah…"
"It's the latest in high-flying weaponised technology, complete with charge blasts for maximum damage," Tails grinned, rocking on the balls of his feet. Sonic ran a hesitant finger over one of the cannon barrels and snapped back. The tip of his glove was charred. Sonic circled the plane and stopped before the propeller, nodding his approval. "I see you're staying active this summer."
"It's the least I can do. I'm still working on the boat upgrade but I can't finish it until the tides go down, it's too risky to take it out in the storms," Tails said. Sonic peered up at the sky.
"The weather has been pretty weird this year. Lots of rain," he frowned. His blue spikes dunked into the cockpit and muffled the rest of his observations, several pairs of shorts and sandals flying onto the sand behind him. Tails scrambled to catch the falling articles.
"Hey, I found my sunglasses! Great work Tails, the new Tornado's super cool."
"Thanks! I hope the waves calm down, it looks like we might have a hurricane," Tails pointed at the steel clouds pillowing on the horizon. He didn't remember those being there before…
He looked around and blinked.
"Sonic! Don't forget to wear sunscreen!"
Sonic waved a hand, not bothering to turn back. He picked out a place to doze and flopped down, spines bent comfortably against smooth, sun-soaked rock. Every inhale brimmed with the smell of salt and sand. He stretched his sore legs and sat up, struck by an idea. The surf crashed in frothy white waves against the rock, the spray of sea foam cool on his tanning flesh.
A sweaty hand reached to unstrap his shiny red sneakers. His yanking scraped them against the healing blisters and sores on the back of his ankle and stung horribly, making him wince. Once the shoes were tugged from his swollen feet he threw them as hard as he could in an unseen direction. His socks were, fortunately, much more pleasant to remove. He pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes and peered into the celestial blueness of the sea. Hesitant, but determined, he dipped a clownishly oversized foot into the depths. The water swirled around his feet. As his skin adapted to the temperature he found it to be incredibly soothing, warm as liquid sunshine bouncing against his shins. It was… relaxing.
He lay back against the rock and closed his eyes. The sun beat down on his exposed belly but he couldn't care to wear any sunscreen. He kept his mind a total blank, the sound of wind in the palms and the roaring of waves now music to his soul, interrupted only occasionally by Tails's hammering on the Tornado.
One ear flicked. Tails was always so loud. Clingy, too. He was a great kid, and probably smart enough to actually take over the world, but boy would he kill to get some space every once in awhile.
The thoughts echoed in his brain and disintegrated into the water. All the soreness and tension in his muscles melted away with the last of his stress, and as his mind slipped further into the depths he began to reflect on just how great it felt to be off his feet. This vacation was exactly what he needed. The perfect reward for all the good things he'd been doing. And for once he didn't have to share it with anybody. This trip was all about him…
His ear flicked again, this time with a hint of agitation. He let his body soak into the hot rock and clean ripples of sand. He felt as if he were bobbing in a warm bath, completely motionless. Drifting away. Not a single care in the world. His heavy eyelids sank together into a curtain of dark orange, and the farther he slipped into unconsciousness the deeper his breathing became. He was a rock, sinking slowly to the bottom of the ocean…
"Sonic! Sonic listen here!"
A deep, husky call flipped him from his doze. The blurred shape of a familiar echidna hit him full force and flung him to the hot beach. He scrabbled through the sand. Where are those stupid shoes?
Knuckles laughed heartily and clapped him on the back, wincing as he pricked his hand on one of the spines.
"Woah, you're totally naked!"
Sonic scowled and forced his shoes back on, a blush burning in his muzzle. Knuckles flipped a long red ponytail over his shoulder and crossed his arms, beige cowboy hat pulled over his brows. He shooed his eyes away from Knuckles' gaze.
"I see you've brought back the rodeo clown look. What's with the ponytail?" Sonic smirked.
Knuckles glared at him from under the brim of his hat.
"I get hot. It's not a ponytail I just have my spines up."
"Mhm, sure. What are you doing away from the master emerald?"
"I got some suspicious readings and sensed someone was tampering with the chaos rings. Business as usual, huh?"
"Chaos… rings..?" Sonic asked.
Knuckles clapped Sonic's shoulder again and shot him a violet stare.
"Well, Sonic, looks like we're going to be stuck together. What do we have to do around here? Been to any good restaurants?"
"Hey! Don't change the subject like that!"