Chapter 2: the invitation
Tails wiped sweat off his fore head. He was a small orange fox with, who would have guessed it, two tails. He grabbed a socket wrench from his tool box and crawled under the plane he was working on. It was Sonic's original Tornado-0, a red biplane with white stripes going along the sides. He was hoping to finish it today for Christmas. Tails finally did, and smiled. "Sonic is going to love this." "Sonic is going to love what?" Tails jumped and spun around. It was Knuckles, a red echidna with a white stripe called the guardian symbol on his chest, and two spikes on each fist. He was also the last of his kind. He walked over to the Tornado and poked around through it. "I'm guessing this is what Sonic is going to love." Tails, who was a little calmer now, nodded. "Yeah. It crashed years ago, and I've had it in storage ever since, and somehow, he never found out. So, I thought It would be nice to fix it up for him. And what better time to do than Christmas. Anyway, what did you need?" Knuckles looked around at him, and remembered. "Oh yeah, Amy is having a party at her house for Christmas and you weren't picking up your phone, so Sonic called me to come ask you." Tails looked surprised. "Yeah, I'll go. I'm done with the plane anyway. What time is it at?" Knuckles scratched his head for a moment, and said "I think she said something along the lines of 11:30." Tails smiled. "Tell her I said I'll be there." Knuckles walked away assuring Tails he would. This perfect! I can ask Sonic if he wants to stay over, and then in the morning, I can show him the plane! Tails smiled. It really was perfect. Now he just had to make sure it worked.
Sonic ran at full speed. He had to get to hardware store before they closed. Sonic had forgot to get a present for Tails, and he saw him staring at a certain pressure tank for his inventions that was way out of his price range. But lucky for him, Sonic had spent most of his life collecting gold rings. He got there, and sighed with relief. The last of the shoppers were leaving, but the store was still open. He walked in, and started to trek through the maze of isles until he stopped in front of the one he remembered seeing Tails stop at. He began to move down it until he saw it: a giant magenta pressure tank the size of himself. Sonic sighed. Trying to get it out would be a chore. So, with as much dignity he could muster, he went to the nearest store attendant and tapped his shoulder. He turned to face him, and Sonic could tell by the look of his face and his depressed sounding voice that he was a teenager. "May I help you?" "Uh, yes, actually. There is a big pressure tank over there, and I need assistance getting it out." The attendant looked over Sonic's shoulder, and sighed. "Yeah, I'll help you." He and Sonic walked over to the tank, and on the count of three, lifted it. It was super heavy, and they had a tough time getting it outside. Once they did, they set it down. "So… where's your car?" Sonic scratched his head. "I actually ran here…" The attendant stared at him, and turned around. "You're on your own." Sonic twisted his head, and saw the attendant close shop. Teenagers… Sonic thought, as he realized he was probably a little older then him. So, he called Amy. Soon after she arrived in front of the store, and they crammed the tank in the back seat. "What is the tank for?" she asked him. "Oh, I forgot to get Tails a gift, and I saw him staring at this. I think he'll like it." Amy drove them back to her house, and together they unloaded the tank. They got it in the house, and Sonic got paper to wrap it. "Well, how are the preparations coming?" Sonic asked. Amy came out of the kitchen and sat down. "Pretty good. All that's left is to finish the food and hang lights. What time is everyone coming?" Sonic pulled out his phone. "Shadow and Rouge are going to be here first at around 11:00, then Silver and Blaze at 11:15, Cream, Vanilla and the Chaotix at 11:25, Then Knuckles, Tikal and Tails at 11:30. That should be everyone." Amy laid her head back. "Good. It's 6:51 now. That should be enough time." She got up and went back to the kitchen. Sonic decided he needed a nap after this.