Sonic had always loved dawn. There was something about the way early mornings lit up the world, combined with the fact that there were very few people around that made it a joy to be running at this time.

Admittedly, it was rare that the hedgehog would be up this early, but today something had kept him awake. For most the night Sonic had just laid there, unable to properly rest. He spent most the night trying, but officially gave up around five AM, and was off on a sprint several miles away just minutes later.

Sonic kept running west, away from the sun for two reasons, firstly to stop the sun getting in his eyes, and secondly, to prolong the early morning look. The hedgehog hadn't done much morning running, so seeing the world like this allowed him to explore the places he'd been millions of times and get a chance to glimpse them in an entirely new light.

There was one other benefit to be had, bar the scant few early workers no-one was around, and there was very little traffic, allowing him to enjoy the full luxury of going full pelt on smooth tarmac without worry for traffic. At a slow pace, sidewalks and pavements were smooth, but bursting down at hundreds of miles an hour, the difference became obvious, even with the padding in Sonic's now trademark red sneakers.

Sonic eventually found himself by a cliff edge facing out into the ocean. This was lands' end, the point defined as geographically furthest from the centre of the island. The blue hedgehog decided to take a few minutes just to sit here, watching the ocean. Sonic detested being in water, but from here he felt far enough away for it to not worry him.

The ocean lapped lazily against the beach bellow. Sonic sat there, watching the currents, relaxing and enjoying a moment of calm. As much as Sonic would tell everyone he loved to go running and exploring, even he would admit that if you didn't stop to look to where you'd run to you might just as well be running in circles.

The morning was calm, and bar the seagulls squawking, the only noise came from the ocean itself. But still, after ten minutes, Sonic was bored with the ocean, and decided he needed to explore just a little bit more, to find a different place to take in the sights.

The sky had other ideas. A crackle of electricity shot through the air, causing Sonic to shiver. He looked towards the source, an ominous swirling vortex, hanging in the sky over the sea. It fizzled slightly, before dropping something and disappearing.

"What was that?" Sonic asked rhetorically, "I'd better go check that out."

This was enough to excite Sonic. Carefully, the hedgehog made his way down to the beach, eager to get a better look at what had just appeared. The tide slowly bought the object closer, making Sonic anxious with anticipation. Whatever it was, it wasn't alive, so Sonic wasn't willing to get in the water to fish it out. Instead, the hedgehog waited, albeit very impatiently, with the longest stick he could find on the beach ready to pull it closer.

As it drifted in Sonic saw it was a note, curled up inside a glass bottle, with a cork in the top. Prying at it with the stick, the hedgehog eventually got it close enough to pick up. As the hedgehog opened the bottle a faint smell of cinders filled his nose.

The hedgehog's eyes scanned the note. Its contents were indecipherable, written in a language the hedgehog didn't even recognise, much less understand. Filled with fresh energy, Sonic dashed back through the zones, noticing more people on the way back as he made his way back to where he knew Tails was.

The young fox was sound asleep when Sonic returned; still carrying the bottle he'd retrieved. Unfortunately for Tails' sleep, Sonic was not a patient hedgehog.

"Tails," Sonic said relatively loudly, "Hey Tails, you awake yet li'l buddy?"

Tails rolled over to face the hedgehog, "No," He murmured, before snoring.

Sonic sat there for a moment, unsure whether his friend was kidding or sleep talking. Assuming the former, Sonic kept talking. "Tails, I found this in the ocean just now." Sonic presented the bottle to the fox.

Tails opened his eyes. It was still much too early for the fox; even if his alarm was due to go off shortly. "You woke me up for a bottle?"

"There's a note in it."

"...and?" Tails asked, "What's so special about a message in a bottle?"

"I don't know."

Tails shook his head wearily, "Well what's written on it?"

"I can't tell," Sonic said, "The writing doesn't look like any I've ever seen." The hedgehog passed the note to the fox.

"So you woke me for a note in a foreign language?" Tails was evidently not a morning person, or at least, not a six in the morning person.

"But it fell out the sky!" Sonic said, trying to convince his younger buddy to see it as important.

The fox sat up in his bed. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't going to be able to get rid of Sonic as easily as he hoped. The fox questioned the hedgehog's last comment, his eyes trying their best to look confused, but only managing fatigued.

"There was a burst of energy, and a big swirling thing opened in the clouds. This bottle fell out into the ocean. I don't think it's from our world."

Tails had finally figured out what would get rid of Sonic. "So you want me to 'do something sciencey'," the fox said, almost mocking Sonic for his simple way of describing experimentation, "to this bottle to see if it's fallen from out of space or something?"

"Yes," Sonic said, before adding, "If you wouldn't mind."

"Fine," Tails relented, "I'll do an experiment, later." he emphasised, "When I properly wake up, now go away."

Sonic finally relented. The fox closed his eyes again, and just started to drift off when Sonic slammed one of the doors.