Greetings yall! Joe Stalin here, bringing you Part 2 of 'The Guardian'!

Sonic and Tails explore the Floating Island, but they are not alone. Sonic's past is about to catch up to him as True Blue and Rad Red come face to face. Is Tails ready to meet...Knuckles?

Yes everyone, its time! Our crimson Guardian is ready to make his debut! Enjoy!

Note: To get the full story behind this new series, please read 'The Fox, The Gem and The Hedgehog' and 'New Surroundings' first.

Disclaimer: I do not, nor indeed will I ever, own Sonic or any other SEGA characters. This fic is written purely for enjoyment.

Sonic: Year One

The Guardian

RAD RED

Sonic's socks were full of holes.

Of all the things I'd seen on this day, a day that had thrown me into a world of madness and insanity I couldn't have dreamed of in my wildest delusions, this should have been as far from my mind as possible. But yet here I was. Enthralled by the fact that Sonic's hitherto unseen socks had more holes in them than a sieve.

Perhaps it was because my brain was still struggling to process everything around me, to comprehend this...surreal...impossible world I'd been brought to. Maybe that was why I was clinging to something so ordinary and mundane in comparison.

Let me remind you, dear readers, that this day hadn't been easy for me so far. Before today the world had seemed so small, so manageable, so very easy to understand. But now? Now I didn't know what to think, because what I thought I knew had turned out to be so very, very wrong.

So far in this past week I'd come to be aware of several things- a guy called Eggman apparently ruled the world (news to me), a blue hedgehog was fighting a never ending battle to stop him, pools of water in the middle of forests sometimes created magical rings (though I'd yet to see this) and a floating island which I was currently trekking across had apparently existed all this time with me being none the wiser.

This, as you can imagine, wasn't exactly a normal week for me.

In my old life, floating continents didn't exist. Or maybe they had, and I was the only one who'd been oblivious to it. Was the whole world in on the secret, was I the only one kept out of the lurch? How could anyone not possibly know about this place?

My brain hurt. This was waay too many questions for one day. I was going to give myself a migraine if I wasn't careful. Back to the present.

We'd been walking for what felt like hours, I'd cursed my lack of foresight to bring a watch along and only the throbbing pain in my feet gave a possible indication of how long we'd been traveling through the undergrowth. Sonic had finally called a halt to the proceedings when we'd come across a stream, a break in the canopy opening up to reveal a cosy little brook. A large tree stump made for a makeshift camp, my legs collapsing under me in gratitude as I struggled to get my breath back.

The last rays of sun were struggling to pierce the thick forest roof above, the twinkling water of the stream a brilliant amber. We hadn't brought any supplies with us, and that water was looking very tempting to my parched throat. But I wasn't about to act like a stray dog lapping from a puddle just yet, even though my drooping tails and matted fur were making me look more and more like a mutt by the second. I still had some dignity left.

I cast an envious eye at my blue companion, incredulous at how cool and relaxed he was whilst I was sweating buckets, my cheeks flushed and ears wilting from the heat. The humidity of this place was unreal, yet Sonic didn't have so much as a bead of sweat on his forehead! Whatever his secret was, I wanted in on it before my body called it quits on me.

He sat opposite me, his back to the stream as he stretched his legs out, the tips of his shoes twitching as he flexed. He flicked his shades up onto his head, emerald eyes twinkling with that same carefree expression. His previous concern from earlier had faded gradually over the course of the day, but every once in a while I'd caught his gaze shifting from side to side, wary for any further nasty surprises that might catch us out. My torn glove was a reminder that this place wasn't exactly the most hospitable of environments, something that had seemed to even shock Sonic judging by his reaction when I'd almost skewered myself.

Based on that, I imagined that the last time the blue hedgehog had been here, lethal booby-traps hadn't been a problem.

I wiped my forehead clear of sweat as Sonic kicked his shoes off, catching me by surprise as this was the first time I'd ever seen him sans-sneaker. His white socks were a mess, blue toes poking out from the litany of holes and tears that barely kept them attached to his feet. For a guy who wore so little to start with, I was amazed at how rag-tag his appearance was and yet how indifferent he seemed about it. One thing was for sure, the 'No Shirt, No Service' rule would have kept Sonic out of most of my previous haunts.

A random piece of long-grass clamped between his teeth, and the blue hedgehog would have been the very picture of a furry Tom Sawyer. Rather appropriate, in my opinion, he had the attitude down to a tee. He crossed one leg over the other and leaned his head back, arms folded as a makeshift pillow. I really hoped he didn't plan on taking a power nap, I wasn't keen on finding out what sort of predators lived on this island alone.

"Uhm...Sonic?" I spoke up after my heart had finally stopped pummeling my chest, my back still leaning heavily against the tree stump.

He lifted one eye up at me, the other remaining closed "Yeah bud?"

"I was...just wondering," I ran a hand through my matted hair, the humidity playing havoc with my sweaty fur. "Where exactly are we heading? I know you said something about a 'Mystical Ruin..."

"Mystic Ruins, little buddy" he corrected me, shades flopping down comically to cover his eyes again. He didn't seem to mind though.

"Right," I stood corrected. "But, what I wouldn't mind knowing...is what exactly this place we're in such a hurry to get to is? Or were, before we, you know...stopped"

Sonic ran a finger across his ear, idly kicking one of his feet as I waited for him to answer.

"Well technically Tails, we actually don't need to get to Mystic Ruins specifically, we're just trying to find The Guardian. Now, Mystic Ruins is one of his main stomping grounds, so ergo..."

He paused and looked at him, it took me a few seconds for me to catch on "...that's why we're going to Mystic Ruins"

"Correct amundo!" he smirked, then grimaced as if he'd swallowed something sour. "Remind me never to say that again"

"Will do" I replied, smirking a little at the corny line. Hey, they couldn't all be gems.

Sonic gave another stretch, craning his neck round and cracking it with enough noise to make me wince. I looked behind him to the gently running water of the stream, my eyes undoubtedly shimmering as they caught the light. This place was so quite and peaceful, it almost made me forget that we were suspended thousands of feet in the air. Almost.

He straightened up to look at me suddenly, one arm propping him up as he took off his shades and set them down on the grass "How are you feeling, Tails?"

I looked at him in confusion "Uhm...well, fine I guess. Why, shouldn't I be?"

"Of course you should!" he smiled warmly at me, but he had that same look of concern on his face as he'd done earlier "But I just want you to know...you're doing well"

I tilted my head, unsure what to say to that remark "Doing well...at?

"At taking this in," he gestured with his arm all around us, pointing at nothing in particular. "All of it. I don't blame you for freaking out earlier, its a lot to take in and I probably should have explained a bit more before we got here"

"Yeah, about that" I wrung my hands together (I really needed to stop doing that) and looked at him sheepishly. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. It was just such a...shock. It still hasn't really sunk in, but I should have kept my head instead of going nuts on you"

He waved his hand dismissively "Tails, you have nothing to apologize for. This is big stuff, stuff that you've never seen or even thought about before"

He sighed softly and lay back on the grass, staring up at the canopy "This place is just so familiar to me...I didn't even think about how you'd react to it. Not everyone takes stuff like this for granted like I do"

I rubbed the back of my head as I felt another angst moment rear its ugly head, and I worked to steer the conversation away from it as quickly as possible.

"So tell me more about it" I smiled as that caught his attention, head snapping back up to face me as I got to my feet despite my still tender pads "Quit hogging all the secrets to yourself"

He chuckled at that remark, probably noting my unplanned use of the word 'hogging', and jumped to his feet with all the grace of a dancer.

"Ask, and ye shall receive little bud!" he winked, putting his shades back on before looking round for his discarded sneakers. "But I think the best person to tell you all that is The Guardian"

I watched as he fumbled for his shoes, not so graceful as he tugged one on whilst hopping to keep his balance. "Hey, you haven't told me a single thing about this guy, don't I at least get a name?" I asked as he almost fell back on his tush.

Sonic grunted as he tugged his other sneaker on, no doubt putting a new hole in his sock judging by the force he used "I'll leave the introductions for when we meet him, its only fair"

I exhaled and folded my arms, my nose twitching as the bangs of my hair drooped with the heat "This guy sounds even more mysterious than you, and I at least got a name out of you when we first met. What exactly is he a 'Guardian' of, anyway?"

He flashed his teeth at that, like a shark staring at a particularly tasty fish. "Oh no no no, you don't get to know that yet. You'd never believe me, and I intend to milk this moment for as long as I can!"

I bit my lip, unsure whether to be amused at his reaction or concerned. He'd had the same reaction when we'd first got the summons to come here, that same mad glint that I'm sure I'd got whenever I'd seen a particularly thick wallet. It was a new experience to see it on someone else's face for a change.

His smile didn't waver as he flung his arm around me, propelling me back along to continue our trek through the wild. My blistered soles screamed in protest, my mouth tightening as I struggled to keep it from registering on my face.

"You know, I'm excited for a number of reasons today" Sonic said suddenly, fingers drumming on my shoulder. "But do you want to know the main reason?"

I looked at him, his smile was infectious as I felt my own lips twitching upwards. "No, do tell"

"You're the first person I've ever brought here," his hand squeezed my shoulder warmly. "I want it to be worth remembering, for both of us"

Suddenly, the pain in my feet and the humidity didn't matter. For all I cared, we could have walked for another thousand miles and I wouldn't have complained. Sonic cared enough to bring me here, cared enough to admit it to my face, and he was going out of his way to make sure I enjoyed the whole experience, as maddening and confusing as it was.

I was determined in that moment to make sure I did.

We were lost. Completely and utterly lost. At least, that was how it felt to me.

Night had fallen completely in the hour or so since we'd resumed our trek, and with nothing able to penetrate the canopy we were left in total blackness. My night-vision wasn't exactly great to begin with, but my eyes had been forced to adjust as the last light disappeared until I could barely make out my hand in front of my face.

It didn't help that the ground underfoot was so rough and hazardous, rocks and gnarled tree roots causing me to trip and stumble in the dark, my already aching feet now burning. The only way I kept from landing flat on my face was keeping my hand clamped on Sonic's shoulder, the blue hedgehog somehow still being able to see his way through the mire. If I could see his face, I could imagine his emerald eyes would be the only thing I could make out, staring determinedly ahead.

The chirps and shrieks of hidden insects occasionally caused my ears to perk up, otherwise they were the only sounds other than our own combined breathing. Sonic had been silent for most of the trek, unnerving me slightly after I'd lost sight of him in the darkness and presumably because he was concentrating on where we were going. How he knew where to go I'll never know, he either had the route mapped out in his head or he had a sixth sense that kept him from losing his bearings.

A sudden breeze ruffled my fur as I suppressed a shiver, the humidity that had lasted throughout the day now long gone. I felt Sonic's quills brush across my hand, comforting as I couldn't see him but knew he was still there.

My stomach growled ominously, sounding all the louder in the nocturnal silence which I was glad for when I felt my cheeks flush in embarrassment. Breakfast had been a long, long time ago and I doubted we'd be eating any time soon. We'd brought no supplies with us anyway, and I sure as heck wasn't going to take my chances with anything growing out here. A boiled egg would have hit the spot right then, my mouth salivating as another rumble erupted from my gut. Sonic didn't say I word, but I imagined he was smirking as my stomach continued its protests.

I was very surprised when my foot suddenly hit something solid, the rough dirt path ending suddenly as solid stone replaced it. Though I still couldn't see, the dull echo of our shoes rung in my ears as the path continued through the jungle, my grip on Sonic's shoulder not easing in the slightest.

I thought I was seeing things as I began to make out a distant glow in the distance, my eyesight clearing ever so slightly as a dim orange began to shine through the foliage. It grew brighter as we approached, flickering through the shadows and lighting up the path we were walking across. It finally dawned on me what it was as a faint crackling noise reached my ears. Flames.

My eyes took in the sight as Sonic lifted up a branch blocking our way. Burning torches on either side of the wide stone path cast the whole area in a warm amber glow, the poles they were attached to bigger than Sonic and me combined and stretching out as far as I could make out ahead of us. The stone slabs we were stood on were cracked and moss covered, yet felt remarkably solid underfoot. Above our heads I could barely make out a few stars breaking through the canopy, twinkling in the ebony blackness.

Sonic cleared his throat as I finally removed my hand from his shoulder, now that there was light enough for us to continue on without the risk of losing sight of each other.

"Not far now bud, just stick to the path" he said as he turned to look at me, his eyes shimmering in the glare of the torches. His face was half cast in shadow, giving him an almost unnerving look despite the smile on his lips. He must have caught the nervousness in my eyes, as he gave me a wink.

"Trust me, I'm Sonic T. Hedgehog"

I nodded my head in acknowledgment, and we continued on ahead with the blue hedgehog in front, still leading the way.

It was almost haunting as we walked down this torchlit corridor, the path beyond us still shrouded in shadow until we reached the next area of torch light. The warmth from the flames heated my fur slightly, small embers dropping from the torches and briefly floating in the breeze before going out in a flicker of smoke.

It was so quiet out here. Other than our soft footsteps, it was so very very quiet. Unnaturally so, even the insects had stopped chirping.

The fur on the back of my neck was standing up for some reason as Sonic walked ahead of me, my shoulders suddenly stiffening against my will. A shiver ran through me as I cast my eyes sidewards, trying to look into the thick blackness beyond the torches. I felt unsettled all of a sudden, edgy despite the fact we were now in the light. My ears were perked up in alert mode, but I couldn't understand why.

Though it sounded like a massive cliche, I couldn't shake the feeling. I was being watched. Something was staring back at me through the darkness.

I didn't believe in monsters, never had done even as a kid. I'd had enough real problems to be scared about without imagining any more. But I quickened my pace to try to keep up with the blue hedgehog ahead of me, the crackling torches guiding my way.

Sonic had walked some distance ahead, his blue form occasionally disappearing into shadow as he walked between the gap of each torch. My legs strained as I fought to keep up, my shoes thudding off the stone slabs as I forced myself not to run. What I didn't need now was to look like a scared little kit not wanting to be left in the dark, even if at that moment I felt exactly like one.

I came to a halt as I almost collided with Sonic's back, so quickly and silently had he stopped walking. He didn't turn to face me, nor did he say anything as I slowly moved up to his shoulder. I noticed the grin on his face immediately, amber flames lighting up his face. His eyes were almost glowing, two green gems burning as hot as the flames above our heads. He had that look again, the one he'd given me back in Pickles's mansion. Ancient, primal...awe-inspiring.

He lifted up his hand and pointed downwards, his whole arm extending outwards.

"We're here"

His voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. I followed with my eyes to where he was pointing at.

My eyes shot open, jaw dropping at what I saw beyond us, all my previous fears evaporating as suddenly as they had come.

The stone path descended down into a valley, but the thick jungle which had hemmed us in had opened up and the canopy above our heads was gone. Moonlight bathed the entire area in silver, a thousand stars specked across the skyline and lighting up the valley below us for all to see.

It was a city, massive in size, an archaeologists dream come true. Huge Olympian pillars rose from the ground, thick vines of ivy wrapping tightly around their columns. Ancient crumbling temples sprawled across the landscape, their domed roofs broken and holed yet still glowing in the moonlight. Statues of various sizes lay either sprawled on the ground or tilted at angles, some close to toppling yet still standing tall as vines and plant life slowly reclaimed them.

At the very centre of the city was what looked to be an altar, a huge flight of marble stairs leading up to its plinth. A wide groove lay in the exact middle, dotted by seven small pillars like the numbers on a clock face. Whatever it had held was long gone, the bottom cracked and split like a a giant spiders web.

I knew where we were before Sonic could even say it. This was Mystic Ruins, and the blue hedgehog hadn't been wrong. This place was the very definition of 'mystical', like someone had taken every ancient temple and palace from history and molded them into one. The ruins of Apotos, Adabat, none of those places that I'd seen pictures of in books came even close to this city. All I could do was stare, fighting the urge to pinch myself just in case this was a dream. I didn't want to wake up from this, no way.

Sonic's chuckle broke my concentration, his arms at his hips as he enjoyed my amazement, like a child showing off his most secret of hiding places.

"Go ahead," he said, crossing his arms across his chest. "You can say it"

I just shook my head in bewilderment, a bemused smile crossing my face as I almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"This...this is just amazing! I...I can't believe...never in my...I just..." I inhaled as I quickly ran out of breath. "...wow"

Sonic ran a finger under his nose, eyes closed in satisfaction "Yeah, that's what I thought. Surprised you didn't swear, but I can live with that"

I didn't bother to admit just how close I had come to turning the air blue with my reaction, my head still unconsciously shaking from side to side as I worked to deal with this new absurdity I'd been plunged into.

How was this place so well hidden? It was so vast, so massive! Metropolis Zone wasn't as big as this place for goodness sake!

That was a question I still couldn't figure out, but right there and then I didn't care. We were here, it was real, and now all we had to find was this 'Guardian' that Sonic was so obsessed with.

How we intended to find him in this maze of temples though, I didn't have a clue.

Sonic answered my unspoken question for me as he slapped a hand on my shoulder, other hand held up in a 'stay' motion.

"Stay here little buddy. Enjoy the view, I'll be 'literally' two seconds, k?"

I tilted my head as I watched him kick the dirt from his sneakers, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders. The shades had returned to his face, reflecting the light from the moon in both eyes. How he intended to see with those things on...

"Why? Where are you going?" I asked as he finished what I presumed was his pre-run warm-up.

He pointed down at the altar in the centre, a little blip in the middle of the giant city.

"I want to check that out before we go on ahead" he replied, his voice having a tinge of puzzlement to it, like he'd been expecting something that had turned out to be missing. I noticed he was nibbling his bottom lip as well.

"I was actually expecting..." he seemed to catch himself before he could finish, as if he'd come close to blurting out a secret.

"...yeah?" I tried to get him to finish, leaning my head closer as I could almost see his eyes moving from side to side under his glasses.

"Nothing" he answered, smile returning though I wasn't fooled for a second. I was used to the blue hedgehog keeping secrets from me by this point, but it didn't make it any less annoying and I was really getting sick of it now. He either thought I was extremely gullible, or was still hell-bent on keeping the surprise he'd talked about earlier. Either way, it was really starting to tick me off.

"You sure?" I countered, arms folded tightly as I furrowed my brow, trying to convey my annoyance.

He either didn't notice or just blatantly ignored the look I was giving him, rubbing his hands together and cracking his fingers.

"Absolutely. Like I said, two seconds! Promise!"

With a blast of dirt that had me scrunching my eyes, the blue one disappeared. My nose tingled as I struggled not to inhale the dust-cloud I'd been subjected to, not able to stop a single cough from escaping my throat. I smoothed down my ruffled chest fur with a sigh, tapping my shoe petulantly.

Despite the amazing view my mood was now sour. I didn't like being treated like a kid, being told to just sit and wait while the guy who acted more like a kid went off exploring. I was new to this place, I admit, but what was the point of the blue hedgehog bringing me here if he was just going to leave me at the first opportunity? Did he just want someone to show off to, to polish his ego and be amazed at everything whilst keeping every important bit of information to himself? And he still hadn't told me anything about this Guardian guy...

I trusted Sonic, but I still didn't get him. If this was some grand plan of his, I wouldn't have minded being given some insight into it.

I rolled my eyes and kept my arms folded as I started counting slowly in my head.

One...two...and Sonic was already a liar...three...four...

I never got to five, as my head exploded in agony as something hard and heavy made contact with the back of my neck. My vision turned white as I felt the ground rise up to meet my chest, the breath knocked out of me with a yelp of pain. I felt a wetness on my scruff, the blood rushing in my temples as I choked in agony. My body instinctively curled up into a protective ball, my twin tails wrapping round me to cocoon me from this unseen threat. I blinked away the tears that were suddenly at the corners of my eyes, my vision blurred as I made out two big feet only inches from my face.

"Get up" the sudden voice came as a shock to me, my ears still ringing from the impact of whatever had hit me. The ringing seemed to amplify the growled demand from my assailant, sounding like it had been spoken through gritted teeth.

"I shan't tell you again" was said a few seconds later when I made no attempt to get up, focused instead on keeping the rising bile from surging up my throat. "Get up!"

Another explosion of pain wracked me as my ribs took a solid kick from one of those big shoes, another yelp torn from me. I rolled with the impact, my tails still wrapped tightly round me as I scraped across the stones, grazing my elbows and knees as I came to a halt, sprawled on my back and looking up at the stars above me. I heard footsteps approaching me slowly, my eyes swimming in tears as I struggled to get up from the floor.

"I'll make you get up" whoever it was spat, my chest fur being gripped in a huge fist and my entire body being dragged upright. My legs were numb, but they weren't given the chance to support me as my back was slammed into a nearby tree, my eyes snapping open as I yelled out in pain.

Two violet eyes leered back at me, burning with a rage I'd never seen on any sane person before in my life. I caught a shock of crimson fur as my neck was pinched by a thick white glove, lifting my head up as I looked at my attacker square in the face.

He was a mobian, but that was all I could tell. I had no idea what species he was, my vision too blurred to make out anything other than those eyes of his. I'd been given looks like that in the past, disgusted or just plain angry. But this was something else, his eyes were full of hate. Hate for someone he'd never met before but yet had decided, for whatever reason, was a threat.

What caught my attention right after that was the hat he was sporting, which would have made me laugh if not for the perilous predicament I was currently in. A tan fedora with a wide brim, tilted low down over his forehead which had the effect of casting a line of shadow across his face. It almost looked like a highwayman's mask, though I hadn't been asked to stand and delivery so much as been body-slammed into the nearest solid object. Thick dreadlocks cascaded down his back, not stiff like Sonic's quills but floppy and loose, the same colour as the rest of his fur apart from a single splash of white on his chest.

The material of the glove so tightly holding my neck was thick like leather, but extremely rough and ending in thick cuffs at the wrists. The guy's fur was almost blood-like in its shade, a tan muzzle capped with a small black nose that jutted barely inches from mine.

What worried me almost as much as the thick hand choking the life out of me were the dazzling white teeth clenched in a snarl that looked sharp enough to bite me in half! I really hoped whoever this guy was had no plans to see whether he enjoyed the taste of fox...

"So, the big guy decided to send someone living for once," his voice was like sand-paper, his teeth still clenched together in an almost feral expression. "No biggie, you'll still break just as easily..."

My back was wrenched from against the tree as I was tossed aside, my feet skittering across the floor as I fought to keep my balance. Without even thinking I lashed out as I stumbled, my tails extending out in a flash that caught the guy by surprise as the tips of my appendages swatted him across the face. A growl of pain confirmed the damage I'd done as he threw a hand up to his cheek, giving me a momentary respite as I fought to stay on my feet. His white glove came away stained red, an angry wet welt on his cheek from where my tails had connected. My moment of triumph was short lived as my heart almost stopped at the ferocity on his face, his pupils dilating as he swung his head to face me.

"Oh, you are really going to pay for that..."

I fought he was going to charge me right there and then, his pupils like slits as he clenched his fists closed. But he took his time, slowly walking towards me as I backed up hurriedly, my eyes wide and desperately looking for any sign of my cobalt rescuer. I didn't care who this guy was, what his problem with me was, or anything like that. All I wanted to know was why Sonic's two seconds had long, long since past.

My attacker cracked his knuckles, the blood from his cheek now running down his face though he didn't seem to care. My own life blood ran cold as I realized his gloves ended in two very sharp looking claws, and I had no illusions as to where they were going to end up. Each step he took caused my heart to almost skip its beating, his yellow and green shoes capped with steel toes that was the reason why my ribs felt like they were on fire.

"When I send you back to Eggman, I'm gonna pack you in very...small...boxes" he was grinning like a feral, teeth flashing like a shark out of water as blood dripped down his chin.

I wanted to scream, to beg, to cry out to any deity merciful enough to be listening for help. But I couldn't get any noise to escape my chest, the taste of bile in the back of my throat and my neck feeling hot and, more worryingly, damp. My tails were rigged behind me, twisting against one another as he kept coming towards me, any second now he was going to...

He launched himself at me, fist extended directly at my face. I panicked, I lunged myself aside, knowing full well I'd never be able to dodge...

My feet didn't touch the ground, the ground disappearing from underfoot as I jumped...and kept going. I watched as the guy ran directly underneath my legs, the momentum carrying him forward several feet before he realized I was no longer in front of him. His head snapped to look up, to stare in disbelief as I continued to...hover?

When...could I hover? How could I hover? Why was I, in that very moment, hovering several feet off the ground?

I didn't have time to answer any of those very good questions, as gravity once again took hold and I hit the ground hard, as whatever had been holding me up suddenly gave way, my knees buckling as I landed hard on my rear. My attacker was still staring at me in disbelief, his eyes wide as he, like me, tried to figure out what had just happened.

It didn't last long as he sneered at me, lifting up his fist as he slowly began to approach me again. Only this time I had no strength left to attempt whatever had just happened again.

"I don't know what you are...but I am gonna throw you off this island...right...now!"

I shut my eyes tight for the inevitable.

"HOLD IT!"

My head snapped up at the sudden voice, so loud it left my ears ringing. My attacker stood stock-still, arm still extended towards me where he'd come inches from laying into my face. His ears were upright against his head, eyes almost as wide as mine as he looked in the direction the voice had come from.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in my head as my saviour ran to my side, bending down to look me square in the face.

"Tails? Tails, are you okay?"

I was seeing double, the blue hedgehogs face swimming and refusing to focus as he ripped the sunglasses from his face. The taste of copper was in my mouth as I felt his fingers brush across my scruff, coming back wet and sticky. His green eyes were wide and panic-filled, as he helped me get upright, just in case I felt the urge to pass out.

A sudden snarl caused me to flinch, my grip on Sonic tightening, until I realized it hadn't come from my attacker.

"What...the hell...did you do?"

I'd never heard Sonic's voice like that before, I didn't even know he was capable of sounding so angry. He was staring at the red guy with a look strong enough to kill, quills almost standing on end. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, his gaze softening in a second as he turned to look back at me.

"I'm...I'm okay, Sonic" I said through gritted teeth, holding on to him as I crawled back to my feet, holding a hand to my forehead as I tried to shake off the dizziness. When I opened my eyes again, my vision was clearer, and I looked to where my assailant was stood, still mutely staring at me and Sonic. He hadn't even bothered to wipe the blood still running down his cheek, just staring back at the blue hedgehog who continued to keep me on my feet.

"Who is he Sonic? Do you...know him?" I ran a glove over my mouth, wiping my chin as Sonic inhaled heavily. He wasn't looking at me anymore, he was staring straight at my attacker, eyes still pulsing with anger

"This...wasn't the introduction I was hoping for"

My heart almost stopped, a strangled grunt escaping my lips.

No way! No way did he expect me to believe that...

Sonic slapped a hand to his forehead, his head slowly shaking from side to side "Tails...this is Knuckles"

I very, very slowly turned my head to each guy in turn, blue to red then back again, almost daring Sonic to finish his sentence.

"He's...he's The Guardian"

Next time in Sonic: Year One- The introductions have got off to a bad start. Can Knuckles explain himself to Tails? And what exactly is his reason for summoning Sonic? Find out next time!

Don't forget to review guys! Joe.