Upon his release, Tails made sure to keep himself on the move, knowing that the Freedom Fighters were surely looking for him. He may have disobeyed Nicole's orders, but he was only eleven years old. The worst they could do was ground him. Still, if that happened, he wouldn't be able to help Sonic.
It just so happened that he was making a quick spin to Spagonia to report to Sir Charles about his encounter with Sonic. He didn't expect to find old Uncle Chuck... in the depths of the clock tower.
He was suspended on a platform about a story high. As Tails used his namesakes to propell himself upward, he noticed the old hedgehog drawing on a chalk board with diagrams and equations he couldn't even dream of understanding, and that was saying something considering that the kitsune was a prodigy.
Tails landed on the platform shakily. Charles looked over at him nonchalantly, as if he were expecting him to come. "Ah, any progress?"
The kitsune sighed sorrowfully with downcast eyes. "Not really," Then he perked up slightly. "But I did find Sonic,"
"R-really?" the inventor stammered. He honestly hadn't expected Tails to be successful. He had hoped that he would be... but never brought himself to believe it. He walked closer to Tails briskly. "How? What happened?"
"I tried sneaking into Eggmanland... but I got caught. Luckily, it was Sonic that interviewed me. I tried to talk him out of the whole revenge thing. I tried hard, Chuck," His eyes turned soft and pleading. "I really did. But he wouldn't listen and he locked me up. But after a few hours, he let me go and told me not to come back," Tails decided not to recall how Sonic's eyes and running blur flashed red. He figured it was his imagination playing tricks on him. He did however go on to describe everything he'd witnessed other than that, including the other prisoners, which were noticably all humans.
"So, he's keeping them until they're roboticized?" Charles inquired nervously.
Tails nodded. "I think so. But how do we stop them? If we send in GUN, they'll try to kill him,"
Charles hummed thoughtfully for a moment, but was interrupted by a deep rumbling coming from outside. He opened a window and stepped over to let Tails get a view. Outside, people were emerging from their homes and businesses looking up. Just as the kitsune and hedgehog looked up, they were greeted with the sight of a fighter jet soaring through the skyline, leaving a trail of whitw in it's wake.
"That wasn't a GUN jet," Tails noted. "What do you think it is?"
Charles paused for a moment. "That design is familiar... It's Eggman's jet,"
"So... Sonic?"
Charles nodded and stepped away from the window. He pulled out a compass and examined it carefully. "That jet is heading straight north. Sonic is sending his forces to Holaska,"
"Why would he do that?" Tails asked.
Charles merely shrugged. "I'll let the Freedom Fighters know. In the meantime, you need to leave. I have work to finish,"
"Okay. Well... it was nice seeing you, Chuck,"
The old inventor smiled and ruffled the child's bangs. "Be sure to visit again, Tails. If you see Sonic," he pulled out a slip of crinkled paper. "give him this,"
"Gotcha," Tails said with a quick thumbs up. As soon as he did it, he realized he'd picked that up from Sonic and momentarily faltered. He masked his discomfort with a smile. "See ya later!"
He used his tails to lift himseld off the platform and slowly lowered himself to the ground. He was tempted to sneak a peak at the slip of paper in his hand, but figured that words for Sonic should stay exclusively for Sonic.
A/ N: Not much to say here. DWTL out!