Chapter 8

The sounds of theme park rides and people yelling to be heard amongst themselves over the sound of the rides was all the hit Sonic's ears as he exited the elevator that had whisked him into Twinkle Park. Sonic glanced around, looking for any signs as to which way Amy and the Flicky bird had run off in, but despite having taken the very next elevator, he had managed to lose track of them.

"Great…And with Eggman's robot running loose, there's no telling if I'll find her first or if it will," said Sonic to himself. He then started walking into the crowded theme park, looking around for any decent vantage point to start his search. Spying the nearby Starlight Coaster, which snaked through nearly half of the park, he decided that was as good a shot as any to see if he could spot Amy. Noticing the long line at the entrance to the ride, he just grinned. "Hah. Who needs to wait in line when you don't really wanna ride?" With that, he leaped over the fence enclosing part of the track, then jumped up onto the track itself and ran up to the top of the hill where the coaster cars normally started their race around the track. Looking down, he saw that there was still a minute or two till the next set of cars would come by, seeing as how the current set had just docked at the start of the ride. By now, people were starting to take notice of the hedgehog standing at the top of the ride. Many were pointing and talking amongst themselves as to what the he was up to, but these fell on deaf ears to Sonic, who was busy combing the pathways of the park, trying to spot any bright pink heads out of the mix of dark and light colored hair of the humans.

"Come on Amy…Where the heck did you run off to?" asked Sonic to himself as he gazed about the park. Not seeing anything to indicate where the pink hedgehog was at, Sonic gave a sigh. A cranking noise caught his attention, looking down to see the next set of cars coming up the ramp, the humans running the ride apparently not having noticed him. The riders were making a fuss at the mobian that was blocking their way. But seeing the ride coming towards him, Sonic decided to have a little bit of fun on the humans' part. Stepping to the very edge of the direction the cars were intending to fall towards, he smiled as he waited on the cars to reach the very top. He then turned and started racing down the hill just as the cars came chasing after him, screams of terror coming from the human passengers mouths at both the intensity of the ride and the fact that a mobian was racing along right in front of them. As the cars raced around the track, Sonic started laughing he was having so much fun leading the chase.

But as they reached the first loop, Sonic decided that was enough horsing around and leapt from the track, landing on the outcropping of one of many towers that encircled a fairly large castle situated in the middle of the park. Bounding from tower to tower, he kept his eyes peeled for any signs of Amy, but after one full lap of the castle, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the hedgehog girl. Leaping down off the towers, he landed on the drawbridge leading into the castle, startling several patrons who had been walking across it.

"Sorry…Didn't mean to scare you guys," said Sonic, a sheepish grin on his face.


Meanwhile, Amy walked around the inside of the castle Sonic was just now scaling, wondering if it had been such a good idea to run away from him. She sighed as she walked through the mirrored hallways, the Flicky bird still clutched in her arms.

"Oh birdy, I'm not so sure that was smart of me to run into the park like that. I lost track of Sonic," said Amy sadly. The Flicky chirped a few times, as if to say it was okay. As Amy came to a stop, she turned and looked down the hallway, noticing that for the park being so busy, there was no one else that had followed her into the castle. That's strange. There should be plenty of humans inside this castle. It's almost as if people are scared to come in here, but why would that be the case? she thought to herself. Her question was quickly answered as the robot that had appeared just outside of the park came crashing through one of the mirrored walls, spraying glass everywhere in its wake. "Guess that answers my question!" she cried, turning and running in the opposite direction. The robot, having spotted the female hedgehog enter the building, had literally crashed through the wall to give chase. Now having spotted its quarry, it was intent on capturing it as it turned and gave chase. Amy reached the exit to the mirrored castle, but realized that if she returned to the crowd outside, there would be no way for her to outrun the robot.

Swallowing her fear, she set the Flicky on the ground before reaching up to the hammer pendant around her neck. Slipping the chain over her head, she held onto the tip of the hammer pendant with both hands before clicking a small button on the top middle of the pendant. Suddenly, the hammer grew to a size that was nearly as big as Amy herself. Let's see if this thing likes taking a good hit from my Piko-Piko Hammer, she thought to herself. She quickly, but quietly, walked over to the edge of the corner she had just rounded, hearing the hovering noise the robot was making getting closer. She swallowed hard, trying her best to keep herself steady. As soon as the first piece of metal rounded the corner, she swung for all she was worth, the hammer slamming hard into the midsection of the robot, sending it sprawling to the ground in a heap, its systems temporarily stunned by the blow it had just received. Amy then clicked the same button on the hammer, the weapon shrinking back down to its pendant form. Slipping it quickly back around her neck, she scooped up the Flicky and ran out of the castle, leaving her pursuer behind to recover from her attack. As she ran for the exit of the park, she couldn't help but be proud of herself for taking a stand like she had. Back when she had been living with Sonic, she had always managed to get into trouble and had to rely on Sonic to save her more times than she wish had happened. She looked down into the Flicky in her arms.

"It's okay birdy. We'll go back to my place for the night. We can look for Sonic again in the morning. I just wish I had told him where I lived so he'd be able to come by and see we're alright. I just hope he doesn't spend all night looking for me," said Amy as made her way through the crowd to the park's exit.


"This seems hopeless," said Sonic to himself as he walked along one of the pathways of the park. "For all I know, she could've left the park almost as soon as she got inside." As he rounded the back corner of the castle, he arrived to see several park officials talking amongst themselves. Realizing something was up, he walked over to them. "Hey guys. What's going on here?"

"Nothing that concerns you, mobian," said one of the officials. Hearing that response brought a frown to Sonic's brow.

"Okay, well what if I make it my concern," said Sonic, walking into the rear exit of the castle.

"Don't go in there! We haven't figured out why it's in there yet!" shouted another of the officials. Not paying them any mind, Sonic walked inside the castle. As he rounded the first corner, he came face to face with the robot that Amy had clobbered with her hammer. He also noticed there was a good sized dent in its front armor.

"Well, guess it's safe to say Amy managed to slip away from your metal butt," said Sonic to himself as he eyed the damage Amy's attack had inflicted. Suddenly, the robot shot upright, causing Sonic to jump back in surprise. Without saying a word, the robot activated its thrusters and flew straight upwards, crashing through the roof of the castle floor. It continued undaunted as it plowed its way free of the castle and zoomed off into the night. "Oh that's not good. I'd better find Amy before that thing does." Sonic then turned and ran out of the castle and headed for the exit to the park.


Back at Mystic Ruins Airport, Tails was hard at work on the Tornado's engine, having to rebuild it from the ground up to install the upgrades he had planned to do to it. It had been nearly two hours since the young fox had returned, Tom having decided to stay behind for the night to keep the young fox company.

"So…How's hooking this emerald up to your plane going to make it more powerful than it is?" asked Tom as he looked over at the softly glowing emerald on the workbench. Tails looked up from inside of the Tornado's engine hatch to wipe a bit of sweat that had beaded on his forehead.

"Well, if I do everything right, then I should be able to get a lot more speed out of the new mode I upgraded into the Tornado a few weeks ago. The problem in the past was that the emerald shorted out the test engines I had tried it on till I discovered how to protect the machinery from its negative effects while allowing the machinery to tap into a Chaos Emerald's power," said Tails, trying to keep it simple.

"I see. So what is this 'mode' you're talking about?" asked Tom.

"Sorry. I didn't tell Sonic that surprise, I'm not telling you in case he comes back and you accidently tattle on my secret," said Tails, looking back at Tom with a smile on his face. Tom merely chuckled, raising his hands in defeat.

"Alright fine. Have it your way," said Tom. "But in all seriousness, how long is it gonna take you to finish this work?" At this question, Tails face turned from having a smile to a much more serious look to it.

"Truth be told, I'll probably be up most of the night to finish it," said Tails.

"You sure it's wise to be up that late Tails? You're still a kid, skilled pilot and mechanic or not. You need your rest," said Tom. Tails just shook his head before returning his attention to his work.

"Sorry Tom. Sonic needs me to come through for him on this. It's the only way we're going to stand a chance at stopping the Egg Carrier. And for all I know Eggman could be planning to attack the city at any moment. I don't have time to rest," said Tails. Tom got up from his seat and walked over to where the young fox was working on the plane's engine. He then placed a hand on Tails' shoulder, causing him to look up at the human.

"Alright. I'll let you finish, but as soon as you're done, you let me know, cause I'm gonna make you go to sleep whether you want to or not. I'll keep an eye on the skies from the radar tower after that to make sure that you're the first one to find out if the Egg Carrier shows back up on our scopes," said Tom.

"Thanks Tom," said Tails, giving him a smile before returning his attention to the engine.

"Just be sure you stop Eggman when its time, you hear me?" asked Tom. Tails gave him a thumbs up, not looking up from his work to do so.


As Sonic exited Twinkle Park, he gazed around the surrounding streets for any sign of Amy. But to his annoyance, the pink furred hedgehog wasn't anywhere around. Well that's just great. And I have no clue where to start looking for her either. Oh well. She always has a way of showing up when I least expect her to. And she usually brings trouble with her when she does. I'll probably run into her again tomorrow, thought Sonic to himself. He then took off down the street, heading in the direction of the nearby highway to blow off some of the aggravation that had built up with him after the day's events. As he reached the highway, he raced up onto the first overpass that led onto the busy streets above. Racing alongside of the various cars that lined the streets as people headed home for the day, a chorus of horns started blaring at the blue hedgehog, their owners obviously not happy that a mobian was using their roadways for a trivial run. As he passed by a cop car that was on the roadway, its lights and siren suddenly came to life as it began to chase after Sonic.

"Well well…Looks like I've attracted some attention," said Sonic as he looked over his shoulder to see the cop car chasing after him. "Still, isn't much for competition. Oh well." With that, he sped up, reaching over a hundred and fifty miles per hour and leaving the squad car in his dust. As the hedgehog vanished from view, the human behind the police car was calling in what was going on back to his superior.


"Calm down, Carl. What did you say you were chasing?" asked the chief of police of Emerald City as he sat at his office desk back at the downtown police station.

"I said it's a mobian. Blue fur. Was way too fast to get a species ID," said the voice over the radio.

"Tourists…" said the chief as he gave a sigh. "Fine. I'm calling in our usual mobian catcher to get him."

"I thought she was on vacation?" asked the voice over the radio.

"Well, it's officially over. I refuse to have a lousy tourist running around on our highways with no regard to the laws we put into place," said the chief. He then reached over for the phone.


Near the very edge of Emerald Coast, a single apartment complex overlooked the scenic coastline. While not as luxurious as the hotels that lined most of the coast, it was still decent enough for the middle class worker to enjoy all the fruits of their labor. In the penthouse apartment complex, a lone mobian mongoose girl was just finishing a refreshing shower. Her long purple hair flowed down her back, complimenting her yellow fur and green eyes nicely. As she wrapped her hair up into the towel and wrapped a second towel around her body, she walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom of her apartment. Humming to herself as she walked over to her dresser, she opened a draw and pulled out a pink night gown. Just as she started to remove the towel from her body, the phone on her nearby nightstand began to ring. Sighing, she replaced the towel before walking over and picking up the phone.

"Hello, Mina speaking," said the girl. Her happy demeanor quickly turned to one of annoyance at hearing the voice on the other line. "Sir, I told you I was on vacation till next week." Listening to the voice on the other line, she sighed. "All right sir. Just remember you owe me for doing this." She listened to the voice's response, then smiled. "Yeah. I'd say a ten percent raise to my yearend bonus will do just fine. Let me know where you last saw him at."


Sonic sat at the top of one of the many lights that spanned the highway, looking at the twin moons above while the cars went by below him at what was to him a snail's pace. He had been there for nearly twenty minutes when he finally noticed that the noise of the cars had vanished. Wondering why they weren't on the road anymore, he dropped down to the street below just in time to see something come racing in his direction. A look of curiosity crossed his face as he noticed this object was coming at him at nearly twice the speed the cars had been moving along the street. The object then began to slow as it approached him, a few seconds later Sonic realized it was a mobian that was headed in his direction. A smile worked its way across his face at the thought of what a speedy mobian other than himself was doing out on the highway. Finally, the mobian reached him as it came to a stop. Sonic realized it was a female mongoose, probably in her late teens by the looks of it. She was dressed in a black tank top, brown shorts, and green boots and gloves. Attached to her waist was a pair of handcuffs. Her long purple hair wafted in the late evening breeze as her yellow fur shone in the moonlight.

"Hmm….Didn't think it'd be this easy to track you down," said the girl.

"And why were you looking for me exactly?" asked Sonic.

"Because you're irresponsibly breaking the law, hedgehog," said the girl.

"And what law would that be?" asked Sonic, confusion on his face.

"The law that states no pedestrians are allowed on the highway, even fast mobians like yourself. Too much of danger to the traffic," said the girl.

"Really? Well, that's a stupid law in my opinion," said Sonic. Hearing that, the girl's face turned to one of annoyance.

"I don't make the laws, pal. I enforce them. You caused enough trouble that we had to shut down the highway till we caught you," said the girl.

"So does that make you a law officer?" asked Sonic.

"That's correct. I'm Mina Mongoose, and I handle all the mobians who can outrun the humans' cars," said the girl.

"Mina huh? Nice name," said Sonic. He then smiled. "So you say you catch the 'fast' mobians that break the laws around here, right?"

"That's right. You included," said Mina. She then reached for her handcuffs as she started walking towards Sonic. "Now come along quietly and there won't be a problem."

"Sorry Mina, but I don't have time to sit in a jail cell. I've got things to do," said Sonic. He then turned around to face away from Mina, who stopped in her tracks. "Of course, if you think you can actually catch me, feel free to do your best. You'll be eating my dust for the rest of the night." With that, he took off, racing away from her at nearly a hundred miles per hour.

"Why are the cute ones always the stupid ones?" asked Mina to herself, sighing before she took off after him, rapidly gaining on Sonic as the two raced down the highways. As Mina pulled within about ten yards of Sonic, she called out to him. "I'm only warning you once, hedgehog. Stop now or I'll take you down hard." Sonic looked over his shoulders, a smile still plastered on his face.

"And like I said, you're welcome to try," answered Sonic before he poured on more speed, pulling away from Mina, who increased her own speed to keep pace. Sonic looked back over his shoulder to see the mongoose girl was keeping up with him so far. Not bad. We're going about a fourth of what I can run and she's still keeping pace with me, thought Sonic.

"So is this as fast as you can go hedgehog?" asked Mina as she caught up to just a few feet of him.

"Not even close," answered Sonic as he sped up to over two hundred and fifty miles per hour, quickly racing away to leave a somewhat shocked Mina lagging behind him. A frown etching its way onto her face, Mina also sped up to match Sonic's sped. Spying an exit to the highway, Sonic's smile turned into a grin. "Hey Mina! How well do you do running this fast when you're actually in the city?" With that, he raced down the off-ramp, Mina hot on his heels. The two began weaving expertly in and out of the light traffic of the outer skirts of the city.

"Stop already hedgehog! This is getting dangerous for both us and the traffic!" shouted Mina. As they came up to a red light with traffic whizzing by in the center of the intersection, Sonic gave a laugh as he bounded over the intersection with a solid leap, landing and coming to a stop amongst the traffic. He turned around to see Mina had stopped, unwilling to risk taking a leap like that or going through the busy intersection.

"Come on Mina!" hollered Sonic. "This isn't gonna be much fun if you chicken out on me!" He could see Mina glaring at him through the cross traffic. He had obviously pushed one of her buttons. As soon as there was a slight lull in the traffic, Mina took off like a shot, passing through the intersection and heading straight at Sonic. "That's more like it!" he cried before turning and taking off again, the two weaving through the traffic once again.

"I swear when I catch you hedgehog I'll make sure you're locked away for a long time," yelled Mina, their speed now pushing three hundred and twenty five miles per hour.

"You'll have a tough time doing that if this is as fast as you can run," said Sonic over his shoulder. "I'm still not even going half speed right now."

"This isn't a game hedgehog! Stop already before one of us gets hurt!" shouted Mina, trying to reason with Sonic while at the same time trying not to wipe out from running as fast as she was. But the cerulean hedgehog only grinned as the two of them raced through the downtown section of the city, coming rapidly upon the Station Square district. As they made their way to the oceanfront, Sonic raced onto the beach, Mina following but very nearly losing control of herself from the abrupt change from solid ground to sandy beach. Sonic slowed down a little after seeing that Mina was having a hard time keeping up with him on the sand. While he liked leading her along like this, he didn't wish for her to have an accident. Returning his attention forward, he spied the Emerald's Glow hotel in the distance.

"I doubt if she's learned this little trick," said Sonic to himself. Returning to the pavement of the nearby street, he sped up to over four hundred and fifty miles per hour, pulling away from Mina who was watching in shock as the blue hedgehog pulled away from her, her own speed now maxed out at three hundred and seventy five miles per hour. As Sonic came upon the hotel, instead of stopping, he hit the wall and started racing up it, shooting high into the air as he cleared the hotel's thirty story wall. Mina watched him as he performed the stunt, realizing that he'd land on the roof. A smile worked its way onto her face as she raced inside of the hotel as Sonic landed on the roof. Sonic calmly walked over to the side of the roof, looking down at the street below, expecting to see Mina staring back up at him. But not seeing any sign of the yellow mongoose below, he began to wonder if he had lost her back on the beach. Hearing the only door leading to the roof swing open, he turned around to see Mina, half out of breath, staring back at him.

"You should've stayed on the ground hedgehog," said Mina as she began walking towards him. "Now I have you cornered." Sonic merely smiled again at her.

"Maybe you do, or maybe you don't," said Sonic as he turned and leapt off the building.

"No don't!" shouted Mina, racing over and grabbing Sonic by the arm before he had cleared the building, causing him to stop midair. Unfortunately, this also pulled Mina off balance because of Sonic's forward momentum, nearly pulling her over edge. As Sonic fell, however, Mina didn't let go and was unable to keep herself from falling over the side of the wall. Sonic, realizing now that Mina had been pulled over the edge by grabbing ahold of him, flipped onto his backside, reaching up and grabbing Mina's arm as she fell head first at him, her cries of terror echoing in the night. He then pulled her close to his body.

"Hold on tight! And sorry if this makes you dizzy!" shouted Sonic, curling around her as best he could before going into a spindash. Below them, a cart carrying several dozen pillows was being pushed through the lobby of the hotel by a bellhop. Without warning, Sonic and Mina crashed through the sunroof of the lobby, slamming fairly hard into the pile of pillows, spraying feathers everywhere.

"Oh my gosh!" cried the bellhop, coming around the cart to see the two mobians lying inside the bed of feathers. "Are you two alright?" Sonic sat them both up into a sitting position, noticing that Mina was shaking with fear still from the scare of the fall. Sonic looked back up at the bellhop.

"Yeah. We're fine. Just give us a minute, okay?" asked Sonic. As an afterthought he called out, "And tell the manager I apologize for the pillows!" He then returned his attention to Mina, who was still shaking slightly. "Hey. You okay Mina?" The yellow mongoose looked up at him, finally realizing that the danger was over.

"Yes…" she said shakily as Sonic got them both to their feet. "Who are you? I've never seen anyone able to do something like that."

"Would've guessed you'd have figured it out by now," said Sonic. Mina just stared blankly at him. Sonic only smiled seeing her blank stare. "The name's Sonic." Suddenly Mina's eyes lit up as the realization of who was standing in front of her hit her like a lead brick.

"You! You're Sonic Hedgehog!?" she practically yelled, causing Sonic to wince from the volume of her cry.

"Yeah. Don't have to shout it though ya know," said Sonic.

"Well no wonder I couldn't keep up with you," said Mina. Suddenly she realized something else that had just now occurred to her, her look of shock quickly changing to one of anger and annoyance. She suddenly punched Sonic hard in the arm, causing him to give a small cry and pull away from her.

"Oww! What was that for!?" exclaimed Sonic.

"Because, you idiot, if I had known it was you out there I'd have left you alone and we wouldn't have risked our lives like that," said Mina.

"Why's that?" asked Sonic.

"Because our office was specifically told by Mayor Pepper to not interfere with you at all while you were here, regardless of what you did," said Mina. She then sighed, before giving a small smile. "Still, that was the most intense high speed chase of my career. You're the first one to ever outrun me before."

"Glad I could make your night one to remember," said Sonic. He then reached out a hand towards her. "Friends?" Mina's smile widened as she reached up and took Sonic's hand with her own.

"Friends," said Mina.

"Okay. Now that that's settled, how about I treat you to a meal? Mayor Pepper's covering my tabs regardless of where I go in the city," said Sonic. Mina smiled slyly at him.

"So do you ask all the girls to eat a meal with you when you first meet them?" she asked him.

"Not usually. But I had fun tonight, so figured I'd at least treat you to someplace as a 'thank you'," said Sonic. Mina cocked her head thoughtfully for a couple seconds, then looked over at him.

"Actually, I know a pretty good twenty four hour dinner a few blocks down the road that I like to frequent," said Mina.

"Alright. Lead the way," said Sonic.

"Okay. But while we eat, I want to hear why you're down here in our city and what you've been up to other than causing trouble on our roadways," said Mina. Sonic's only response was a smile.


As the hour neared four o'clock in the morning, an exhausted Tails was tightening the final bolt on the Tornado's engine. As he turned the bolt one last time, he gave a soft sigh. Pulling his head out of the engine compartment, he reached up and slammed the hood back down, the noise waking up Tom who had drifted off to sleep a couple hours earlier in his folding chair that was situated near a small foldout table. Giving a small yawn, Tom looked over as the two tailed fox slowly descended the metal stairs leading up to the engine housing of the plane.

"Well, you finally finished?" asked Tom, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah. Finally got the engine put back together with all its upgrades installed," said Tails, taking a seat in a folding chair next to Tom. "Eggman better be ready, cause this time he won't know what hit him."

"Sounds like you're pretty sure this plane can take on anything now," said Tom.

"I know it can," said Tails, looking back at the blue bi-plane. "I've put everything I have into making this plane the best it can be."

"I have no doubt you did, my young friend. But you do remember our deal, don't you?" asked Tom, looking over at Tails.

"I know, I know…Time to get some rest," said Tails with a smile. He then got out of the chair and started making his way back towards the cots. He stopped suddenly, then looked back over his shoulder at Tom. "Hey Tom…"

"Yeah Tails?" asked Tom.

"Thanks for not judging me by my age. Not many people believe I can do more than just be in the way," said Tails.

"I don't see why. You're one of the brightest kids I've ever seen, mobian or human. Anyone would be lucky to have you at their side when it counts," said Tom.

"Sally doesn't think I'm old enough to help out when it counts," said Tails, looking away from Tom.

"She's probably protective of you, am I right?" asked Tom.

"Just a little. Anytime there's danger, she tells me to stay behind," said Tails.

"She just thinks that's best for you, that's all. You should talk with her, tell her how you feel," said Tom.

"I know I should, but…I don't know…I'd feel better if Sonic were there to back me up," said Tails.

"He can't do everything for you Tails. There are times when we all must stand up for ourselves," said Tom. Tails looked back over his shoulders.

"That's the same thing Sonic told me years ago. Stand up for myself," said Tails. He then smiled. "Before we came down here, I don't think I had it in me to do such a thing. But now…Something's different. I feel like I can make a difference if I try."

"I know you can make a difference Tails. You just have to trust in your own abilities," said Tom.

"I do," said Tails. He then turned and started walking in the direction of the cots again. "Let me know if the Egg Carrier show's itself again."

"Will do," said Tom as he stood up out of his chair and started walking out of the hanger and in the direction of the radar tower.


"And then I ran into you," said Sonic, finishing his tale of what all had transpired over the last couple of days to Mina right before taking his last bite of the chilidog he had been eating. Mina was enjoying the last few bites of a hamburger, listening to Sonic retell the last few days' events.

"So you say the friend you're trying to find is named Amy Rose?" asked Mina. "You know, I'm not supposed to do this, but seeing as all the effort you're going through to save out city from Eggman, I'll let the rules slide." She then got out of the booth the two of them were seated at, walking over to the bar where a mobian robin was busy cleaning the countertop. "Hey Greg, what's the word?" she asked the robin.

"Oh not much Mina. People are a little on edge after that airship flew above the city earlier today, but other than that it's been pretty quiet," said the robin.

"Mind if I use your phone?" asked Mina. The robin merely chuckled as he went about his task.

"I've told you before, my phone is your phone," said Greg, reaching into his apron and retrieving his cell phone out of the pocket. Mina thanked him as she walked back over to the booth and sat back down.

"Friend of yours?" asked Sonic, jerking a thumb at the robin.

"Yeah. We go back a few years. I've been dining in his restaurant ever since I was hired onto the force," said Mina as she punched a number into the phone. Holding it up to her ear, she waited till the other line picked up. "Hey Carl, this is Mina. Can you run a name through the database for me, I'm trying to find an address." She listened for a few seconds before she rolled her eyes. "Yes Carl, I caught the mobian you saw on the highway. He's actually sitting right here with me." A few more seconds went by as she listened to the response. "Yeah, about that…I'm not bringing him in." She jerked the phone away from her head as a garbled yell came out of the receiver. She frowned before putting the phone back up to her ear. "Because, you idiot, we were chasing Sonic Hedgehog. He was supposed to be left alone by order of Mayor Pepper." She listened to the response. "I'll tell him your sorry, but please run the name for me real quick. I'm looking for the address of Amy Rose." She waited patiently, motioning to Sonic to get a pen and paper. Looking around, Sonic spied a pen used for signing credit card receipts, grabbing it while taking a used order slip off the counter, handing the objects to Mina. She then began to write down the information. "Okay…Got it. Thanks Carl, and don't tell the chief I asked you for this favor."

"So you know where she lives?" asked Sonic.

"Actually, turns out your friend was briefly on our lost persons list for the day, the parents having just dropped the case saying she had returned home about the same time you and I started racing around the city," said Mina. "As for where she lives, I'll give it to you, but I suggest waiting till later on this morning to go visit her. I know I'm ready for a nice warm bed, and I'm sure you could use a bit of a rest yourself."

"Yeah…That doesn't sound like a bad idea. I doubt that robot that's after her will find her before I can meet up with her tomorrow," said Sonic.

"Ready to go?" asked Mina, getting up from the booth.

"No time like the present," said Sonic. Mina then handed him the piece of paper with Amy's address on it. As the two walked towards the door, Mina looked over her shoulder at Sonic.

"By the way, I wrote down the radio frequency I use for work. If you need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call," said Mina.

"If I think of anything, I'll let you know," said Sonic as the two exited the diner, both walking off in a different direction.