Tails was starting to run through his regular routine in cranking up Sonic's airplane and apply any required maintenance that was necessary. He sat in the cockpit of the plane making some checks and double checks if all functions were working properly. This had to be done because there was always something else that occurs after each adventure with Sonic and usually Tails was needed to assist by often times taking one of his flying machines into action. The plane he was presently sitting in was his common choice for air adventures. It always managed to pull through, even by the toughest of situations. Tails had a rag beside him and used it to polish off the steering handle making it reflect it's metal beauty. The kid fox then paused for a moment having thoughts come to him again as he rubbed the steering of the plane. He slumped into a slouch in his cockpit seat, having his hands held together on top of his body while glaring at the plane's functions. He had recently finished his analysis of the watch and he had no idea what it's purpose and ability. The only hint he got from his hard studies of the black watch was what seemed like a trademark inscribed on the back. "Galactic Sword Duel" was the written imprint. What in the world was that? Was it some sort of tool used in space marine combats? Tails didn't know for sure what it was. Cream was sitting down below on a chair reading a magazine with Cheese next to her wanting to hang out with him. It would be rather useless to ask Cream what it was because she hardly knew more then what Tails would have knowledge of.

Tails wanted to report his troubling situation to Sonic about the watch but he was not back yet and guessed he would return soon. He resumed his operation on the plane and furthered any more inspections that were needed. Tails had hopped out of the plane and grabbed his tools that were in a toolbox on the floor nearby. He opened a compartment from underneath the plane to get into the internal parts of the aircraft.

"Tails." Cream shot out at Tails kindly. She had placed her magazine to her lap as she lost interest in it.

"Yes, Cream." Tails responded, having his eyes remained on his work.

"Will we ever get to see Chris again?" came her question. It actually got Tails to pause his cranking of his tool and glared into thought. Tails briefly didn't do anything but think because his memories he and his friends had with Chris. He was a young human boy who gave his heart totally to Sonic and his friends. He was never seen after he left back to his own dimension. Which is the dimension we live in dear reader.

Tails turned his head and eyes directly to Cream absent mindedly. "I don't know" he said. He had already thought about that question many times in his head more then what you could count on your figures. Cream had not taken much of a huge deal about it, but may have been in slight disappointment. She stared for a moment, not too long. She then put the magazine aside and stood up from her chair and glanced at Cheese with a smile.

"Come on, Cheese." exhorted Cream "Let's go out and play."

The hovering Cheese agreed with a cheer. The two young-hearted buddies carried on to the exit. Tails had escaped his thoughts and resumed his work on the airplane. What was his problem? It's just that all kind of things interested his mind and had a few flash-backs. Here Tails his having all kind of mind boggling questions, yet Sonic earlier showed little disturbance from all what's going on. The watch, Knuckles' story, and suspicion for Eggman's long disappearance is defiantly something that shouldn't be ignored so easily. Where was Sonic? Tails really would be glad he was able to report his observation. Or perhaps Sonic already knew. There was only one way to find out.

Cream skipped happily on along the cement ground outside the garage with Cheese pleasurably flying by her side. She didn't have anywhere plan to go, only to go where you desired and amused to go like any youngster. It was nice to just get out of the garage and go into the sunny atmosphere of outdoors. Cream and Cheese past their time running in the fields of grass. Additionally they picked up some beautiful wild field flowers and eventually together as one stack had a bunch with Cream holding on to them a walked with them as if part of wedding. She headed back to the garage with Cheese to check on Tails and give a few of her flowers to him to get a smile of friendship. Cream had slowed her pacing as something down the road caught her eyes down the road. Immediately Cream had dropped her flowers with her eyes looking wide and an open mouth of joy. Amy was approaching!

"Cream!" Amy shouted happily out to her best friend first. Cream called out to Amy in the same matter and giggled. The two girls quickened their pace into a near run towards each other with wide arms. They greeted each other with an embrace of friendship love for each other. Amy only hugged Cream with one arm as her other was behind her back that had the watch. Cream gave a gleeful smile to Amy, showing her happiness for the pink hedgehog's arrival. They let go of each other and Amy gave a half truth and half pretend smile while placing both behind her back. Cream had talked about her day with Tails and when Sonic and when Knuckles reported in also.

Amy tried to act normal "Really, Cream?". Amy thought maybe after all it wouldn't be such a bad idea to tell Cream what she had held behind her back when Cream knew the whole business of the watch. In fact, more. Why should she be so cautious? She didn't want to spoil her meeting with Cream since she was a truly special friend. Cream did not take any suspicion on what Amy was doing with hands behind her back but she could tell Amy was not in a talking mood at the moment.

"Is there something wrong, Amy?" Cream questioned with concern. Amy was not going to deny it. She placed a hand out in front and revealed it to Cream. Amy's impression, when she saw Cream's eyes widen, was thinking she was in trouble.

"Tails! Tails!" Cream cried out in the direction of the garage then Cream grabbed Amy's arm and tugged her along, insuring that the watch was still in good hand. Cream seemed to alarmed by something but in the way Amy thought it was. "Amy has got the same weird watch that Knuckles showed you!" Cream continued on to shout as she rushed for the garage, hoping Tails was hearing her cries. Amy was not keeping up well with Cream but she was relieved to hear that she had done nothing wrong from what Cream's shouts were all about.

Tails came stepping outside from the corner entrance of the garage's main door in emergence to see what Cream's calls meaning were. Amy was dragging along behind Cream with urgent speed towards Tails. He looked out to them questionably with a sharp attention. What trouble was going on? Cream and Amy came to halt in front of Tails with a little taken out of them from the intense running but soon passed away.

"Hello Amy" Tails said dully and awkwardly as he examined the two. "What's the problem, Cream?"

Amy wasted no time explaining and showed Tails the watch. "This, Tails, is a present for you." she said. She placed it in Tails' hand.

Tails looked up to Amy with a hard face. "Hey wait a minute! How did you get your hands on my watch?"

Amy was surprised "this is your watch?"

Tails was uneven with Amy and he just started to talk to her. "What do you mean this is my watch? Of course it's my watch. Right?"

Amy tried to make it clear for both of their sakes. "I don't understand because this came in package Sonic gave me."

"Your saying Sonic had one of those watches as well without informing me?" Tails then talked to image of Sonic in his head. "Sonic, what a crazy thing to do!"

"Sonic probably didn't know he had it when it was all sealed up in a box. It's just probably a coincidence, that's all." Amy assured.

"I'd say it must be," presumed Tails "because it is not normal for Sonic to do such a thing. In fact weird."

Amy was not far off in disagreeing with Tails because Sonic was acting strange when he came to visit her. The only proper word to describe their meeting together was awkward. That wasn't important at the moment, all Amy desired there was to fulfill her task by giving the watch to Tails to examine.

"Here you go, Tails." informed Amy as she placed out a closed hand to Tails. He followed up the action positioned his opened palm of his hand out underneath Amy's hand in which she dropped the watch in his gloved hand. Amy gave a friendly smile. "Sonic mentioned that this would get your attention because you would be busy but apparently you aren't so...could you please try to figure it's functions for me?" she asked pleadingly sweet.

Tails put a hand to his forehead in wariness "oh Amy, I've already tried analyzing the same watch back in the lab."

Amy went easy on him. "That's okay, Tails, nobody is forcing you to over bear yourself with brain work." Amy then changed her attitude to being serious. "Hey wait a minute. Did you say you had a watch back your lab?"

Tails turned away and walked off while starring at the watch "I did." he replied. Amy and Cream went to follow Tails, not wanting to part from him just yet.

"Then why did you suspected that 'I' had your watch?" Amy questioned.

The answer was much easier for him to explain then he would for the watch. "Because, perhaps, Cream might of took it and maybe gave it to you...or you got it because I only believed that there was one unique watch like this made. But I was wrong, which really interests me now."

"Just like Sonic predicted." Amy said with a sigh. "He guessed that you would take interest in that jewelery."

Tails gave correction to Amy as they made their way to his lab. "Well, the thing is, Amy, these watches are not a form of collective jewelery but more like a tool for something. But I don't know what."

Amy nodded in interest to Tails' research. "Uh-huh" she said.

Tails continued. "I hacked into it's data base but I could not translate the code. Not a computer language I'm familiar with anyway. That's what gave me a headache. It's design were obviously programmed for only limited reasons."

"Did you at least get it to turn on?" Amy asked.

Tails was strong to his response. "No, actually, that's the funny part about it's function. No matter what button or how you press a button, it will not turn on. But I've done electrical test to it and the readings display that battery power to the system is at full power!"

"That is funny." Amy remarked in thought to what Tails mentioned. "Maybe something needs to be done before it can be allowed to work." she suggested.

Tails shook his head with uncertainty. "Not a chance. I know these kind of things and there is an obvious theft protected system installed in it and is irremovable."

The three friends chatted more along the way until Tails had reached his lab which was a next room to the garage, just by going through a door.

Amy and Cream know what to expect from Tails' lab, it had super computers, advance chemistry station, futuristic biological studying center and in the middle of the room was the main item analyses glass container. To our standards, these advances would be considered science fiction equipment but were everyday and perhaps their yesterday technology.

"Right," Amy confirmed. "Let's get down to business."

Tails really didn't want to face the mind breaking job once more but it was either that or nothing else. There was already a watch rested upon the surface of an analyzes, glass containment unit table. Tails handed Amy's watch back. He approached the table were he then inspected Knuckles' watch thoroughly and carefully to insure he didn't miss any important evidence. It didn't take long before Tails walked over to one of his computers and began typing rapidly at it's keyboard causing lots of words and data to appear on the monitor. Amy and Cream watched as Tails gave commands to the electronic, they barely could make out what the genius fox had typed. Only to guess Tails was knowing every meaning of what was displayed in computer language.

"What are you asking it to do, Tails?" Amy questioned for confirmation.

Tails answered with no hesitation as he continued to type. "I just finished telling to scan the watch and now am giving order of steps to attempt identify deeper about it's function."

"What vital information have you gotten from it so far?"

Tails was not so quick to respond. "Well... 'Galactic Sword Duel' is encrypted on the back for one exterior reason. The interior thing about the watch is that it's well sealed. I could try to smash it open to find the hardware but I probably would bust the poor contraption. That's why I have to rely everything on my computers to give me a 'inside-perspective'. I still don't know what's its origin is."

"What's Galactic Sword Duel?" Amy asked. "I sounds like some sword fighting battle. But we aren't in the Medieval age anymore."

"Watches weren't even invented back then either." Tails said "It must a company name or something like that. But..... " he wanted to correct himself. "there is no existing company that carries the name Galactic Sword Duel."

"Wait!" Cream cried out. She then left in a hurry with Cheese following of course. Tails and Amy stared, puzzled at Cream's sudden outburst. Shortly Cream came back with the magazine she was reading earlier. Tails and Amy watch intently as Cream flipped magazine so that they were facing directly at the back cover.

Tails gave a remark about his observation "I don't believe it!"

End of Part 8. My next part may take a bit longer as it isn't pre-written.