Station Square - morning

Knuckles stood uncomfortably in the middle of Station Square, just outside the train station, feeling more than a little overwhelmed.

This was the first time he had been in such a crowded place, never mind a human-dominated place. He wasn't good with people. Just taking the train from where Angel Island fell to here had been humiliating enough.

He'd found the station occupied by a single person, a human woman, dressed in a slightly wrinkled uniform and looking tired and bored. The train was mercifully already in the station as Knuckles approached, walking up creaky wooden steps to the tiny outdoor platform. "Hey," the station master had said, waving a hand sleepily. There were dark circles under her eyes.

"Where does this lead?" Knuckles had asked.

"Station Square, hon. You didn't know? S'the only way from here to there that doesn't mean off-road backpacking." She grumbled a little. "And I'm the lucky lady who gets to be stationed all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere…."

Knuckles frowned. She seemed all too calm considering her proximity to Angel Island. "You didn't notice the gigantic island falling from the sky nearby just a little while ago?"

"What?" She rubbed at her eyes and peered closely at him. "I was asleep, man. Not much to do around here when there's no train in the station. You sure you're not hallucinating or something?"

In the end, Knuckles had gained access to the train for the price of a single ring, which had formed near the Master Emerald earlier that evening and which the woman had deemed "sweet" - he supposed rings were not common in human areas, after all - and now here he stood, squinting in the bright light of the morning sun, in the middle of this unfamiliar city.

"It's up to me to find the missing pieces of the Master Emerald," he said under his breath, trying to steady himself. Pieces had flown off everywhere, in all directions from the island, and there were sure to be some here - picked up by curious citygoers thinking they'd found a shiny trinket, or lying abandoned in the shadows on the side of the road.

He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He would find them all, no matter what it took. This was his duty - a chance to fix his mistake.

"Guess I'd better start looking anywhere I can…."


Above Station Square - morning

High above the city, a clunky, old-fashioned gray plane crossed the sky, drifting just below the clouds. It wasn't pretty, but the engine buzzed with a surprising amount of power, and the rising sun glinted off the dull metal of its frame. Its pilot, a small yellow fox, smiled happily into the wind.

"Everything's working great!" Tails said aloud, tilting the plane slightly to give himself a better view of the city below. The sun had only risen a few hours ago, but already the city bustled with activity - residents heading for work, tourists chattering as they saw the sights. From up here they were tiny. He righted the plane and closed his eyes for a few moments, simply enjoying the flight.

Opening his eyes, Tails readied himself to test his new engine. "All systems go!" he said, upping the plane's speed in a sudden burst of confidence. "Full speed ahead!"

The acceleration pushed him back into his seat and he laughed as it gathered speed. This was the first plane he had built himself - and finished, anyway - and he couldn't believe how well it was working. He pushed it faster… faster… and suddenly a horrible grinding noise came from the engine.

"Uh oh…."

Smoke began to billow from the front of the plane, sending Tails into a coughing fit as it flew back directly into his face.

Not good, not good - !

Then the nose of the plane began to drop.

"Nooooo!"

He pulled up hard, and the plane shuddered as it tried to respond to his command, but it was rapidly spiraling out of control. All Tails could do was scream and hold on tight as he plummeted past the city limits and straight toward the ocean.


Station Square hotel - morning

Sonic was still curled up in a lounge chair next to the local beach hotel's pool, where he'd been since the previous night's battle. He'd hopped the wall into the hotel limits earlier and picked a chair to sleep in, and so far no one had seen fit to kick him out, which was fine by him.

He might have continued napping all morning, but the faint sound of yelling roused him from his sleep.

"Huh?" he said, raising his head, still feeling a little groggy. The sun hovered over the ocean just ahead, casting glittering bright lights across the water - but Sonic noticed something was passing erratically in front of it. It looked like an old-fashioned biplane, and just barely visible from this distance, piloting the out-of-control vehicle, was….

"Tails?" Sonic said, jerking to full awakeness and scrambling to his feet. The tiny fox was only a yellow speck in the seat of the plane from here, but it was unmistakably him. The plane, trailing thick gray smoke from the engine, disappeared from view behind a cliff, still spiraling.

"Watch out!" Sonic kicked into action immediately, racing across the pool area (ignoring the "no running" signs plastered on the walls" and hopped over the hotel's outer wall onto the soft sand of the beachfront. "You're gonna crash!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he heard a distant, muffled whump from further along the beach. Sonic shook his head in frustration and worry. "Ah, Tails…."

He dug his shoes into the sand, gaining purchase, and took off. The waves washed gently against the shore beside him, seagulls crying overhead, and in spite of his concern for his friend he couldn't help enjoying himself. The beach was long and extended into the sea as a series of small, picturesque islands, wooden bridges connecting each landmass for the explorative pleasure of the city's residents and tourists. Sonic could see a small wispy plume of smoke rising from one of the furthest ones out, far into the sea, and skidded left, adjusting his course and building up speed.

"Hey, that's Sonic!"

The cry came from his other side, and he glanced over to see a few vacationers sitting on beach towels and pointing excitedly. "Hi guys!" he yelled, grinning and raising a hand in quick greeting, then poured on the speed, their cries of delight following him as he sped along the beach.

He crossed the first bridge, the wood creaking from the tempo of his feet pounding on the slats, and ran upward along the side of a rocky outcropping. He never planned his route in advance, simply ran wherever the landscape took him. At the top he had a split second to process the dropoff in front of him and the smooth rock wall extending outward to his right, and altered course just enough to plant his feet on the wall, running sideways just as he had on the skyscrapers of Station Square last night. He'd never dared himself to run along a sheer surface for such a distance before, but falling meant plunging into the foaming water of the cove below, and he didn't plan to get wet today. Not without knowing how deep that water is, anyhow….

Thirty feet - twenty - the rock wall curved suddenly outward, leaving him no more space to run, and he pushed off hard, grabbing the fronds of a palm tree growing out the top of the cliff. He used his momentum to swing around and up, let go and flipped for good measure, and landed solidly on the top of the wall, still running. "Woohoo!" he yelled, pumping a fist in triumph as he reached the end of the wall and slid down a rocky slope back onto sand once again. The smoke was closer now, and it wouldn't take him long to reach Tails.

Another bridge lay before him, this one the longest yet. It was a straight shot, perfect for pushing his speed to its limits - the soles of his shoes slapped against the wooden boards as he balled his hands into fists, faster, faster - he thought he was home free until just a few feet ahead, the bridge exploded into a thousand wooden splinters.

There was no time to think - he jumped, feet landing on the orca whale that had just destroyed the bridge from beneath, and pushed off with all his might, flying high into the air and shouting ecstatically. Before he curled up to prepare for a landing, he took a moment to glance around - the whole ocean lay before him, sparkling under the light of the newly risen sun, the resort and city behind him coming to life with a new day.

Gravity took its course, and a few moments later Sonic was back on solid ground. He spotted a twisted grayish shape just ahead and skidded, kicking up a wave of sand in front of him until he slowed to a stop just before hitting the thing. The plane! And sitting in front of it, looking dazed, was….

"Tails!"

Sonic knelt down to check on him. He looked a little rough, a few small scraped showing through his fur - no doubt due to crashing down onto abrasive beach sand - but after a few moments he opened his eyes fully, and noticed the form hovering over him.

"Uhh… Sonic?"

"You okay buddy?" Sonic said, straightening back up and offering a hand. Tails accepted it, and once on his feet he began to brush himself off, looking a little abashed.

"Hey, Sonic," he said, shaking himself and sending grains of sand flying everywhere. "Been a while, huh?"

"You're lucky I saw you come down," Sonic said, crossing his arms. "I'm just glad you're okay.

"I didn't even know you were in the area."

"Just got in last night. I meant to come visit you today, but it looks like you had other plans." Sonic glanced over Tails' shoulder at the wreck. "Uh, anything you can salvage from that thing? It looks pretty beat."

"Oh right, yeah." Tails turned and dropped to his knees, and began to wrestle with something at the nose of the plane, where the smoke seemed to be emitting from.

"What happened, anyway? You're too good of a pilot to just crash like that."

Tails shrugged his shoulders a little, and though Sonic couldn't see his face, when he spoke he sounded a little embarrassed. "Yeah, it was just a test run using a new prototype propulsion system, and it's not fully compatible yet. I thought that linking it in directly to the engine would produce enough lift to offset the cost of the…."

Sometimes I'd say that kid's too smart for his own good, Sonic thought, shaking his head affectionately. Tails chattered on about power systems and internal wiring, working away at the panel he'd opened.

"Why not just use the Tornado?" Sonic asked when Tails paused to take a breath. "You know I let you borrow it whenever you want."

"Thanks, Sonic," he said absently, yanking something from the plane's interior, "but if I can make this work, it'll run circles around yours."

Sonic huffed a little.

"Look - check out my new power supply!"

He straightened up and turned to face Sonic, triumphantly holding out a glittering purple gem in his palms. Sonic's eyes widened.

"A Chaos Emerald!"

"Yep!" Tails looked immensely pleased with himself. "I just happened to find one of them during one of my test flights. This thing's got unlimited power, you know… so I figured, why not reconfigure the engine to use it as a power supply? Super charged!" At this, he lifted a little into the air, twin tails whirling, and did a quick backflip, all negative effects from his crash seemingly already forgotten.

Sonic whistled, impressed despite himself. "Sounds good to me. Think you could outfit the Tornado with that kinda power too?"

"Ehh, the Tornado's a little old for that," Tails said. "Don't get me wrong, it's a good plane, but…."

"No worries, buddy!" Sonic gestured back the way he came. "Wanna start heading back? We might have to find another way over that bridge, though…."

"Oh… what happened?" Tails peered around Sonic at the floating wreckage of the bridge. Sonic rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, long story."

"Well, that's no problem." Tails tucked the emerald away and grabbed onto Sonic's hands. "Allow me!"

Sonic laughed as Tails' namesakes began to whirl above his head, and the ground fell away beneath him as they took off.

"You gotta come over to my workshop in the Mystic Ruins, Sonic!" Tails said as he reached the peak of his flight and they began to descend back onto the intact part of the bridge. "I'll show you what I've been working on. The fastest way should be by train, from the station in the city."

"What, faster than me?"

Tails giggled a little, setting him down on the planks and landing beside him. "Sonic, you know I can't keep up with you at top speed, at least not in a straight line…"

Sonic opened his mouth.

"…and the last time you gave me a piggy back ride, I got slapped in the face by your spines. A lot."

Sonic grumbled a little under his breath. "…gotta point." He winked at Tails. "Get it? Point?"

Tails rolled his eyes, then grinned, looking suddenly mischievous. "Hey… race you back to the city!"

He took off, twin tails whirling once more, heading for the top of the same rocky outcropping Sonic had just traversed. Sonic snickered to himself, pulling at the edge of one of his gloves and adjusting his stance.

"All right, buddy… you got it!"


Station Square - noon

Heads certainly turned at midday as a six-and-a-half foot purple cat stepped out of the train station and into the heart of Station Square.

"Wow," a little girl said in awe, craning her neck to stare up at Big. "What a huge cat! Meow!"

"Meow!" he repeated good-naturedly, though he didn't know what it meant, and she giggled.

Big sobered quickly as she walked on and he began to stare around at the square. He'd seen Froggy hop onto a train in the Mystic Ruins just before the doors closed, leaving him behind, bereft of his long-time best friend. He'd waited around for the next train for hours, determined to find Froggy and figure out what was wrong with him no matter what, but looking around at the sheer size of everything in the city, he felt daunted. He'd lived his whole life in the jungle, meeting only the occasional human explorer or fellow wild Mobian - a human settlement of this scale was positively mind-boggling.

"Yoohoo, Froggy," he said, wandering from side to side uncertainly. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

No sign of Froggy, but he got a few odd looks from passersby.

"Oh man…." Big looked around at the cars and people rushing past, far faster than anything he was ever used to. "Where could my pollywog pal be, anyway?"

His ears drooped slightly, but nevertheless he hoisted his fishing pole back up against his shoulder, striding further into the city.


Station Square city hall - noon

"No!"

"If you'd just listen to - "

"I said no!"

Knuckles closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. He'd been arguing with this man in a suit, who claimed to be the mayor, for a ridiculous amount of time now, and he was rapidly getting tired of it.

"This is a crime scene as of last night, as I'm sure you can tell from the police tape surrounding the area!" The mayor jabbed a finger at the yellow tape covering the entrance to the courtyard Knuckles was currently trying to gain access to. "Police Line - Do Not Cross" was printed in bold letters along the entire thing.

"I can't read," Knuckles deadpanned.

"But you can sure as well hear, and I'm telling you no! If I catch you trying to climb over the tape into the city hall courtyard one more time, I'm calling the police! Now scram, you little anteater!"

The mayor stalked off, and Knuckles puffed out his chest in anger before sighing and deflating, looking down at the shard clutched in his hand. It was only one single shard, found lying in a back alley on pavement thinly carpeted with tourist trash, but it was all he had right now. He'd been able to faintly sense its presence from close by, but now, with it on his person, sensing the other pieces of the Master Emerald around the city was becoming easier. His internal compass told him that one of the shards was somewhere in the vicinity of the city hall he'd just been denied access to.

What do I care how they react? Restoring the Master Emerald is my top priority. If these humans don't like it, too bad.

But it wouldn't do to have the local law enforcement after him before he completed his search. That would only complicate things, and Knuckles didn't like complicated. So how to get past the tape without being seen…?

He turned around to see the mayor glaring at him suspiciously from across the street. Rolling his shard around in his hand, Knuckles sighed, slumped his shoulders, and strolled back the way he'd come, away from the city hall, until he was sure that the mayor wasn't watching him anymore. Then he ducked into an alley between two nearby buildings.

"This'll work," he muttered, and, storing the shard safely away, punched his fist into the wall.

It stuck, and he smiled. Perfect.

He climbed up several stories in this manner, all the way to the roof, and pulled himself up over the edge. From here he could see across much of the immediate area in the city, cars rushing past far below him. And without so many buildings blocking his way, he realized he could feel a faint tug from several different directions - more shards.

"They're all over the city!" he breathed. It wouldn't be easy to get them all back, but he could do it. He knew how to find them now. The wind blew his quills gently as he turned to look back at the city hall. There was definitely a shard somewhere near there, he could feel it. He backed up, took a running start, and leapt off the rooftop, aiming for the next one over. The air caught beneath his quills, and let him glide with just enough distance to grab onto the flat roof edge.

Knuckles made his way back to the city hall like this, gliding from rooftop to rooftop with the people on the ground below him none the wiser. This was a far better way to travel than walking amongst the humans, most of whom were unfairly tall compared to him, making it difficult to see where he was going. Once he was sure no snooty humans in suits were looking in the direction of the city hall, he dropped down into the courtyard.

The mayor had been right, Knuckles observed grudgingly - there was evidence of a fight having occurred here earlier. He noticed a few stray bullet casings lying on the ground, swept into corners by later activity and forgotten, and part of the pavement in the center of the courtyard was cracked as if from a strong blow. He knelt down, running his hand over the spiderwebbed markings. Hmm. If this had happened only last night, the same night the Master Emerald had been shattered… could there be a connection?

He shook his head to clear it. Focus, Knuckles. You're not here to play guessing games.

But speaking of the Master Emerald… the pull was strong here. The shard was definitely close. He stood back up, closing his eyes and walking slowly in the direction his senses were pulling him to. There… no, here….

Something hit the toe of his shoe, and his eyes popped open. He sucked in a breath. Here it was! Lying discarded in this far corner of the courtyard. No sun would have reached it in this time; it might have looked like an empty green bottle from afar, just another piece of tourist clutter. Knuckles bent and took it in his hand. Yes, this was it - another shard.

He couldn't waste time congratulating himself, though. There were numerous other shards to find, and the longer Angel Island was grounded, the worse things could get. He stored the shard away on his person, and leapt back up onto the courtyard wall, away from the square. He could already feel another emerald shard somewhere nearby, and he was determined to get it.


Mystic Ruins - early afternoon

Maybe Tails had been right - Sonic would have been far too fast for him to keep up had they run directly from the city - but Sonic was still thoroughly restless by the time the train finally rolled into the station at the Mystic Ruins.

He was out before the doors had fully opened, bolting out and nearly toppling off the edge of the raised platform. "Geez!" He waved his arms wildly to regain his balance. "What kind of a station is this?"

"A wooden one," Tails said, exiting behind him. "It's not like the ruins are a popular hangout spot - they're mostly uncharted and out of the way. Not a lot of people come out here. Mostly explorers, I think - and me!"

Sonic took his first look at his surroundings from his high perch. Straight ahead, a sheer cliff face rose tall above the landscape. A waterfall splashed out of the side into a small lake filled with greenish water and huge lilypads. Closer by, the ground was mostly made up of dirt and coarse grass, with a few scattered trees. To the right, a wood-marked path led to a large hill with stone steps carved into the side leading to the top, where a small shack stood - and beyond that, a dropoff to the ocean, dozens of feet below.

Sonic could hear the splashing of the waves from here. He whistled. "Nice place! Not a lot of room to run, though." He decided to forgo the rough-cut wooden stairs leading down to the dusty ground, instead leaping off and landing effortlessly on his feet.

"But a lot of room to work," Tails said, landing next to him. "That's why I chose it - and the train leads directly into the city if I ever need supplies."

"Meh. Too much water for my tastes."

"You could always head into the jungle nearby," Tails said, shrugging and glancing off to his left. "Or the…."

He frowned.

Sonic followed his gaze to see a small cluster of humans in explorers' gear, chattering to one another near the cliff face.

"That's weird," Tails said. "I thought the big expedition wasn't planned until next week."

"Expedition?" Sonic said, following after Tails as he approached the group. "What expedition?"

"Um… hey…" Tails said as they drew near, twin tails flicking around behind him.

One of the humans took notice and looked down. "Hey, look! It's a little fox boy!"

"My name is Tails, actually…."

"Tails?" Another explorer raised an eyebrow, and the whole group turned to look. "You mean the Tails who owns that workshop up on the hill over there?"

"That's the one!" Sonic chimed in, throwing an arm around Tails' shoulders. "The one and only! Tails, buddy, you didn't tell me you were famous."

"Ah hah…."

"And you must be Sonic!" The explorer grabbed Sonic's free hand, and he watched in vague surprise as she did all the work shaking it. "What brings you all the way out here? You're a great hero!"

"I was just showing him my workshop!" Tails said quickly, looking proud of himself. Sonic took his hand back from the woman and readjusted his glove. "I had a new project I wanted him to see."

Sonic shrugged, still itching to go for a run. "Couldn't miss it."

"But anyway," Tails said, "what are you all doing here? I heard there wouldn't be an expedition into the jungle for several days."

"Well, we were originally going to come for the jungle," said a different explorer, who looked like the leader. He crossed his arms and leaned forward conspiratorially. "But… we found out something interesting. You see…."

The first explorer chimed in again. "We heard that a giant island from the sky crash-landed in the Mystic Ruins!"

"Sheesh, Richard. You can't just go around saying crazy things like that!"

"Giant island from the sky?" Sonic said, a memory coming back to him. He and Tails exchanged a knowing look.

"I left my wife and daughter back home early to come on this expedition. What am I gonna do, lie about it?"

"They're just strange mountains that appeared out of nowhere! Not some mystical 'floating island' rubbish."

"Oh yeah, like that sounds any less crazy - "

"Well, fellas," Tails said, though they hardly appeared to be listening. "We'd best get going - I have a project to show my friend, after all…."

The woman who had shaken Sonic's hand looked over cheerfully and waved. "Bye, Sonic! Bye, fox boy!"

"It's Tails," Tails muttered as they walked away toward the workshop.

"We know of a floating island already, don't we, buddy?" Sonic said, staring at the cliff face and thinking hard.

"Now that I think about it, I really don't think I've seen those mountains in the distance before. That really is strange…."

Together they began climbing the steps to the top of the hill.

"Well, we can figure that out later. Right now, I've got something really cool to show you!"

Almost vibrating with excitement, Tails bounded up the last few steps and rushed forward - then let out a yelp.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't Sonic and Tails!"

A very familiar floating vehicle was hovering in the middle of the flat hilltop, blocking the way to the workshop ahead and bearing an unmistakable figure in the pilot's seat. Sonic walked up behind Tails at a leisurely pace and put a hand on his hip, grinning, hardly surprised by this turn of events.

"Hey, look, Tails! It's a giant talking egg!"

"Silence!" the doctor snarled from behind his mustache. "I am Dr. Robotnik, the greatest and most cunning scientific genius in the world!"

Ironically, the way he puffed himself up in anger only caused him to look more egg-like by the second.

"Whatever you say, Eggman!"

"Enough!" Eggman leaned forward on the front of the Egg Mobile, glaring down at Sonic and Tails. "I've been working on a grand master plan, and it's time I finally put it to work!"

"That usually means trouble, coming from you." Tails puffed up his tails behind him.

"Yeah, everyone knows you're always up to no good." Sonic raised an eyebrow, knowing how much his cocky attitude annoyed the doctor and playing it up for kicks. "Now whaddaya want?"

"I want the Chaos Emeralds," Eggman lowered his voice an octave and Sonic snorted. Guess he's trying to scare us. "And you'd better not interfere - or else!"

"Or else what, ya big loser?"

Eggman grinned dangerously, fiddling with something on his control panel. "Or else I'll take them from you - the hard way!"

He slammed his hand down on a button with dramatic flair, and panels instantly opened on the side of his vehicle. Twin engines slid out of their compartments on either side and roared to life, deadly-looking spikes protruding from the front of both. Sonic barely had time to grab Tails and dodge sideways to the ground as the vehicle rushed forward, plowing through the space where they had stood just a moment before.

"Behold my latest creation," Eggman crowed as Sonic and Tails scrambled back to their feet. "The Egg Hornet!"

"Egg, huh?" Sonic said, not bothering to hide his amusement. "So you admit you are an egg, then?"

"Gah!" Eggman whirled the Hornet around to face them, and Sonic saw missile chambers sliding open in the front.

"Tails, get outta here! I'll handle this!"

"No!" Tails clenched his hands into fists and held them out awkwardly. "I can help too, just watch me!"

Sonic glanced at Tails. "No offense, buddy, but this really isn't the time for - "

"Look out!"

He turned and saw missiles exploding out of the front of the Hornet, heading straight for him - but at the last second he felt a pair of hands slip underneath his arms, and he was jerked up into the air, barely avoiding the blast that heated his feet from below.

"I gotcha!"

"Thanks, bro."

Tails lowered them both back to the ground a short distance away from the blast mark, and Eggman laughed. "Well, Sonic, I didn't think you needed the help of a puny fox cub to save your skin! Perhaps you're not as tough as I thought you were!"

Sonic gritted his teeth. He would have liked to respond with another taunt, but the moment was lost. The spikes on the front of the machine began to whir and spin, and the machine rose into the air, then nosedived straight at him.

"Watch out for the drills!"

Sonic rolled to the side at the last second, and watched with amusement as Eggman drilled the front of his Hornet into the ground, rendering it stuck.

"What a hunk of junk!" Sonic said, leaping into the air and curling into a ball. A few rapid strikes against the engines later, and the Egg Hornet was trashed, leaving just the base vehicle intact with a fuming Eggman inside.

"Sonic!" Tails rushed over to him, looking abashed. "I'm sorry - I hope I didn't get in the way - "

"Hey, it's no problem, pal." Sonic ruffled the fur on his head, and he laughed, looking a little happier.

"Besides, we beat him, right? He didn't even get the - "

"Chaos Emerald! AHA!"

Sonic turned in shock to see a claw attached to the still-askew Egg Mobile, dropping the purple emerald into Eggman's waiting hand.

Tails brushed a hand frantically through his fur, looking stricken. "Oh no - I must have dropped it in the fight!"

Sonic rushed forward, already reaching for the emerald, but a flash of poisonous blue in front of him sent him skidding to a halt again.

"Ah ah!" Eggman wagged a finger. "Chaos could use a little snack!"

"Chaos?"

The creature, now fully formed, only stared down at Sonic with its blank green eyes.

"Hey, that's the monster I fought yesterday!"

"Uh, monster?" Tails' voice quivered slightly.

Eggman laughed with glee and tossed the emerald. "Come on, Chaos, time to eat!"

The creature - Chaos - raised its arm, and the purple emerald sank into its liquid body. Instantly, a flash of light erupted, and Sonic flinched, throwing a hand over his eyes. "Ah, geez - !"

"Yes! Yes!" Eggman's voice came from the other side of the light, and Sonic looked up to a sight that sent a shiver down his spine. "It's really happening! Just as the stone tablets said it would!"

Chaos had grown by a good foot, and strange bonelike structures had formed in the arm the Chaos Emerald had landed in. The emerald itself was nestled in the middle of the bones, and the arm had grown, leaving Sonic with the odd impression of a creature with one buff arm and one skinny one.

"Chaos' strength increases every time I feed him a Chaos Emerald!" Eggman said, that wicked smile still on his face. "All he needs is all seven emeralds in him, and he'll be invincible! Then he will turn Station Square into rubble, and on its ruins, I'll build the ultimate city - Robotnikland! I will rule it all!"

"Ugh," Sonic muttered. This spiel again. Out loud he called, "I dunno, I think 'Eggmanland' has a much nicer ring to it!"

"Just you wait, Sonic." Eggman's vehicle began to rise. "Your defeat is close at hand!"

Sonic prepared himself for the beast to attack, but instead Chaos melted - bones, emerald, and all - into a puddle once more, and sank into the grass underfoot. After a few seconds, there was hardly any evidence it had been there at all.

"Chaos and I are off to find another emerald," Eggman crowed from above as he flew off. "Ta-ta, boys!"

Soon Eggman was just a speck in the distance, and for a moment silence reigned.

"Sonic…."

Sonic turned to see Tails' ears drooping. "I'm sorry… I can't believe I dropped the emerald…."

He looked close to despair, and Sonic didn't want any of that. Instead, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it's okay, buddy," he said, and Tails' ears perked up a little. "But we can't let that monster get any bigger. It could get ugly!"

Tails giggled a little. "As if it isn't already." He straightened up and ran a hand through the fur on his head. "We can't let Eggman get away with this, can we?"

"No way!" Sonic glanced up towards Tails' workshop. "There won't be time for you to show me your project, though."

"That's okay. I can show you later!" Tails ran in a circle around Sonic, suddenly reenergized. "Without more emeralds, the monster can't transform. So it's up to us to get the emeralds before Eggman does, huh?"

"Right! So where do we start?"

"Umm…."

They stood in silence for a moment, stumped. He hadn't heard any news on Chaos Emeralds in a while, and now that they'd lost their first one, tracking down another was going to be more difficult. Sonic found himself staring at an orange firefly floating nearby. I wonder what that's doing out at this time of day, he thought absently, and then heard the barest echo of a voice.

"Go to the Windy Valley…."

"…the Windy Valley?"

Sonic blinked. Both he and Tails had spoken at the exact same time.

"Uh… there's lots of stuff in the Windy Valley," Tails said. "It's right nearby."

"You think we could find a Chaos Emerald there?"

"Well… rings form out of excess Chaos energy." Tails glanced over the hill, looking at a crevice in the cliff face beyond. "If we go there, and find rings, there's a good bet we've found an emerald too."

"All right," Sonic said, beginning to feel pumped. This was just what he needed - a new adventure! "To the Windy Valley it is!"


Mystic Ruins - early afternoon

Despite Sonic's enthusiasm and easy forgiveness, Tails still felt anxious.

He'd let a Chaos Emerald slip out of his grasp, and straight into Eggman's. Sonic didn't seem too troubled, just eager to go for a run, but Tails couldn't help feeling guilty. If he made too many more slipups like that, he could put both of them - and the entirety of Station Square - in big danger.

But he kept up a brave face. He couldn't let Sonic see how doubtful he was. If he was too much of a downer, then Sonic would have no reason to want to hang out with him anymore, and….

He shook his head as he led Sonic to the crevice in the cliff face. He knew this cave, having explored once or twice what lay beyond, and now he found his excitement growing at the thought of showing it to Sonic. He'll love it! Danger, excitement, lots of places to run….

"I warn ya, they don't call it the Windy Valley for no reason." Tails stopped in front of the hole at the end of the cave. From below, strong gusts of wind blew upwards into another hole in the ceiling, and Tails knew it would get even stronger from there.

"You just have to jump in, and it'll take you to - "

"Sounds good!" Sonic rubbed his hands together and readied his stance.

Uh oh….

"Here we GOOOO!"

Sonic leapt into the current and was sucked straight up.

"Why did I expect any different?" Tails muttered to himself, jumping in after him and using his tails to guide his ascent. He emerged above and landed lightly on the rock. On one side, the ocean glimmered far below - on the other, the cliff face continued to wind around, leaving only a narrow path leading further into the heart of the valley.

"C'mon, Tails! This is great!" Sonic beckoned happily from ahead, then took off, already gaining speed.

"Hey - wait up!"

Tails lifted off, flying as fast and far as his tails would carry him, even though he was nowhere near Sonic's speed. Here and there along the path, he could indeed see a few golden rings glittering in the weak sunlight. We must be on the right track after all. Sonic was racing along rickety wooden bridges and jumping headlong into invisible air currents, yelling with glee as they blew him onto a higher ledge. Several rings were already looped around his arm, Sonic scooping them up as he ran. Tails' brow furrowed in concentration as he used the gusts of wind to get higher, until he was far above Sonic's location.

He could see a trail of leaves fluttering from one ledge to the next, and realized what Sonic was about to do a split second before he did it.

"Let's go!" came his shout from below, and he sprinted straight into the current. His feet moved so fast that somehow the sheer force of the wind kept him from falling into the deep water below. Tails watched with his jaw nearly on the floor as Sonic slipped, tumbled, then landed unharmed on a lower patch of grass, already moving again.

"He should try parkour," Tails muttered under his breath, then took off again with a running start.

Tails flew over the scene, following the growing clusters of rings and keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of the distinctive glimmer of a Chaos Emerald. He was so engrossed in his search that he didn't realize he'd passed Sonic until he looked down and saw no sign of his friend.

Hey - I'm beating him! Tails pumped and fist. "Yeah!"

He turned his gaze back ahead - and his stomach dropped.

"I mean, no! Tornado! TORNADO!"

And I don't mean the plane!

Tails hadn't noticed the sky darkening, or the small but certainly deadly funnel cloud making its way toward the earth, but now he was in big trouble. He reversed course and whirled his tails as hard as he could, straining, but it was no use - the current was sucking him in.

"SONIC!"

Just before he disappeared into the whirlwind, he caught sight of Sonic, running at top speed, arms held back to aid his aerodynamics. "Just relax!" he yelled over the noise. "You'll be fine if you just - "

Then the roar of the tornado drowned him out.

For several heart-stopping moments Tails was battered about in the winds, curled into a ball, hugging his tails to his chest and holding on for dear life. He dared to crack open an eye, and to his astonishment caught a glimpse of Sonic, hopping from debris piece to debris piece in the center of the whirlwind in an effort to reach him.

All at once, the air cleared, and Tails felt himself dropping.

On instinct, he unfurled his tails and began to whirl them around again, stabilizing himself and controlling his descent. He gasped for breath, disoriented after such an adventure. But once his vision steadied, he looked below and his eyes widened in astonishment.

The tornado had carried them above the clouds into a brilliant blue sky, the sun beating down from overhead - and below were countless islands, floating in the air. Some were the size of a large house, others barely bigger than Tails himself. He'd only known of one floating island before this, not dozens - and every single one glimmered with golden rings.

If there's anywhere to find a Chaos Emerald, it's here.

Tails touched down on one of the islands, about the size of a small car, and saw Sonic stick his landing on an island further down. He glanced up to make sure Tails was okay, flashed him a playful salute, and took off again, hopping from island to island. Determination swept over Tails.

And I'm going to be the one to find it first!

His tails kicked into gear again, and he rose high above the scene, scanning carefully. He touched down on island after island, circling the area and taking care not to fall, accidentally knocking a few rings off the edge. They went spiraling down into the clouds, disappearing in a puff.

Tails flew onward, suddenly sure he was close, until….

"There!"

He hadn't meant to shout it, and Sonic heard him. He looked up and followed Tails' gaze until he, too, was staring at the speck of brilliant blue just ahead.

Tails launched himself forward, flying faster than he ever had before, straining until he knew he would be sore the following morning. Sonic hopped from island to island just below him… surpassing him….

Then Tails' eye caught sight of just what he needed - a trail of leaves.

He darted directly into the stream, letting the wind carry him at a speed far greater than he could ever reach on his own straight toward the emerald. "Yahoo!" he yelled in triumph.

The wind dropped him and he fell toward where the emerald lay, discarded on the grass of a large island. He dropped - stretched out his hand -

- and another hand closed over the gem at the same time.

He and Sonic tumbled with the force of their impact, ending up in a heap on the dirt, still both clutching the emerald. They lay there and simply panted for a few moments, until Sonic broke out into breathless laughter.

"Nice… job, Tails!" he said, grinning up at the sky. Tails couldn't help laughing too.

"Well… I almost won."

Sonic rolled over, letting go of the emerald so only Tails kept his grip, and winked, causing Tails to smile widely. "Let's just call it a tie."