Sonic would make the doctor pay. Not only would he kill him, but he'd make it a long and painful death. He'd make the shrewd man feel the pain on the outside that he felt on the inside. An eye for an eye, he decided.
No... killing him was too merciful. What if he killed someone he cared for? No, no. Eggman loved none but himself. Sonic didn't even think he loved Snively, his own nephew. Besides, he still needed Snively.
Torture? Er... that was a little too barbaric for Sonic's tastes. He may have risen to villiany, but he still had his limits and torture was past them. So how could he efficiantly make Eggman suffer?
The idea hit him like a comedic lightbulb as he stared out the window on the silent flight to Holaska. The clouds wisped around the plane whimsically and softly. The sun was just starting to set like a dying flame. When one flame died in the sky, another was lit in Sonic's mind.
His robots. His eggmobile. His badniks. Those material things were his life. They were the only thing other than his own skin that he actually cared about... his life's work.
Sonic smirked slyly and a mischievous spark filled his emerald green eyes. Oh, how Eggman would come undone if he destroyed everything he owned. Not even the base the man currently resided at would still be standing by the time he was done. And when he was done, he'd finally kill Eggman, the man that made his childhood a living nightmare and took away the girl he loved.
Tails knew he wouldn't be able to beat Sonic to Holaska. For starters, the hedgehog had had a head start. Then there was the fact that he was using a fighter jet. Tails only had a bi plane.
Still, Sonic would have to prepare for whatever he was going to do, he knew. Whether it would be to gather supplies or plan, Tails would use that time frame to find him. Then again... what would he even say? Sonic had already sent him off and told him not to come back. Would he catch and release again or punish? Would he scold him or avoid him?
Tails shook his head in exasperation at himself. He'd just rushed in and-
His radio whirled to life in a mix of static. Then a voice.
"Tails! Land right now, youngin'!" a female demanded in Southern drawl that the kitsune was all too familiar with. Bunnie.
Then came a French accented voice. "Look below zee plane,"
Tails did as he was asked. Several yards below the Tornado's belly, Bunnie was propelling herself into flight with her rocket boots and holding Antoine in her arms. Antoine's gaze was wild and panicked; he constantly squirmed in his wife's grasp. Tails had expected nothing less from the coyote.
"You can't stop me!" he yelled at them. "I can get through to Sonic! I know I can!"
"And how'd it go last time, sugar?!" Bunnie exclaimed. Her voice could be heard both in the radio and from below. It hurt Tails's ears to listen to two sources of the same sound. "Ol' Chuck told us what happened. If Sonic ain't listenin' to you now, he ain't gonna later,"
Tails stuttered for a moment, trying to speak faster than his mouth could process coherently. "No! It was my fault! I brought Sally into it and offended him!"
"Then he needs to check himself and realize that this scheme of his is insane on his own," Bunnie argued.
Antoine nodded and added. "There ez nothing you can do, monsieur,"
"N-no! I can help him if you let me! I... I..." Tails trailed off. Logic told him that the two elder Mobians were right. Sonic simply wouldn't listen to him. One thing that hadn't changed was his stubbornness. But he refused to believe it. He refused to believe that his big brother was plunging himself and the human race into a dark era. The real Sonic was in there somewhere; he just knew it!
But... the only one who could bring that Sonic back was Sonic. Not Tails.
After a moment, the deflated kitsune frowned sorrowfully and nodded. "Okay. You guys win. I'm turning around to Knothole," For the time being, he almost added.
Nicole stared at the kitsune standing in Freedom HQ's doorway with a mix of happiness, sadness, and anger. He was back to her, but he obviously missed Sonic. Then again, he abandoned his post...
"Glad you finally started listening to logic, Miles," the lynx said stiffly. She crossed her arms and narrowed her bright green eyes. Tails winced. People usually only ever called him Miles if they were mad at him. "Maybe if you had the mind to cooperate with us, you'd know that we're planning an organized expedition to Holaska. It'll be a while before Sonic finds Eggman's hideout, I assume, so we're leading an organized assault,"
Tails shifted uncomfortably. "You won't hurt him, right?"
"This ain't child's play, kid," Bunnie said from behind him. Her words were stern but her tone sympathetic. "We'll do whatever we have to to get that hedgehog in prison where he belongs,"
"I guess that's better than killing him..."
Tails hadn't even considered that. If Sonic somehow saw the error of his ways and stopped roboticizing humans, what would happen to him? Would he be put under trial for his crimes? Would he run away and spend the rest of his days as a fugitive? If he did run away... would Tails come with him?
It was decided that Tails stay in Knothole under probation for abandoning his post, so he was sent to Vanilla's house. Usually, he stayed with Sonic but for obvious reasons that wasn't an option.
That night, as he sit up straight in bed, he pulled out the slip of paper that Charles had given him. He considered opening it, but knew he shouldn't. It was an invasion of privacy andCharles wouldn't appreciate it. But his mind still burned with curiosity.
He climbed out of bed and set the paper on the nightstand. He tip toed through darkness down the hall, down the stairs, and through the kitchen. On the island was a pad of paper and a pen from where Vanilla had written her grocery list earlier that day. Tentatively, he picked up the ppen and started writing his own message for Sonic.
A/ N: Hmm... I wonder what Tails is writing. Sorry I've been MIA for a few days. I've been busy. Sayunara!