"Hey, Miles, there's someone at the desk for you," the University's head librarian, a parrot named Dawn Flower, called. She walked over to the young fox, and waved an arm to get his attention.
Miles Prower put down the books he had been sorting. "Oh, sorry!" he squeaked. "What do they need?"
"It's a literature major that needs help with a paper about engineering," Dawn explained. "I figured I'd let you handle that. Don't worry; I'll sort these books for you, and then you can take the afternoon off. How's that sound?"
"That would be great, Mrs. Flower! Thank you so much!" Miles bobbed up and down with excitement, then ran out of the back room towards the front desk.
"No problem," she chuckled, then turned to the boxes of books.
Miles climbed up a step-stool, and stood up on top of the reception desk. He was now eye-level with a very surprised-looking dingo student, probably a freshman.
"Hi there, my name's Miles!" he exclaimed, shaking the student's hand. "I heard you need help with a paper?"
"Oh! Uh, yes, that's right." The dingo laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Flower said she'd have her assistant help me, but I didn't expect…how old are you anyway?"
"I'm four, but don't let that fool you," Miles crossed his arms and tapped a foot. "Just give me a chance, and I'll make sure that you get an A on this paper, alright?"
"Of course, of course, sorry!" The student waved her arms. "I shouldn't have asked. So, I'm in a class called 'History and Philosophy of Technology,' but they're using a lot of math and technical terms, and I just don't understand any of it! I want to be a writer; I never even thought about all this…other stuff before!"
"Is there a particular topic you want to focus on?" Miles tilted his head. He didn't like her earlier dismissal, but she seemed to be coming around. "Or maybe something you want to understand for yourself?"
"Well, we're supposed to write a paper that covers the history of a particular technology, from the earliest times until now," the dingo scratched her ears. "Oh, uh, my name's Mist, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Mist," Miles nodded perfunctorily. "Okay, so is there something you always wondered about?"
"Hm," Mist let her gaze wander for a minute. "Well, one time in school we went to a hydroelectric power plant–"
"Oh, that's perfect," Miles hopped down from the desk onto the floor, this time on the side where Mist was standing. He started to run into a row of bookcases, gesturing for Mist to follow. "You can talk about the history of water wheels! There's a lot more than you'd expect. Chun-Nan made a lot of the first innovations, but they also used water wheels in Apotos and Shamar as well. Later on, during the Industrial Revolution, they invented the water turbine. The two main kinds are the Francis and Kaplan turbines, and later on there was the Pelton turbine…"
Mist's surprise grew larger and larger as the fox continued talking, finally pulling her towards a shelf and sitting her at a table.
"Lemme get you some books," Miles climbed a ladder and took a few books off the shelves. Some of them were as big as he was, and he had to blow the dust off a couple of them. He hopped down with remarkable grace, and set the books in front of the bewildered student.
"These just cover the beginnings. Leonardo da Vinci, Bernoulli, Zigong, those guys. And this one's just a general text in fluid mechanics, to get you familiar with the principles."
"Can you help explain some of this stuff to me?" Mist asked, flipping through the pages of the general text. "My trouble is, I don't understand all the math."
Miles looked over his shoulder. "Well, Mrs. Flower hasn't called for me yet, so sure!"
A couple of hours and several dry-erase markers later, Miles was confident that Mist could at least do basic fluid mechanics. The rest of the paper would be up to her.
"Wow, thanks so much!" Mist said, gathering the books and her notes. "I'll be sure to tell Mrs. Flower how much help you were."
"Much obliged," Miles said, laughing and bowing lightly. "Have fun!"
"See you!" Mist ran off into the courtyard.
Miles returned back to the reception desk, where he saw Mrs. Flower negotiating late fees with an embarrassed-looking senior.
"Hey, thanks Miles," Mrs. Flower turned to him for a moment. "I'll say, you're a better teacher than at least half the professors at this university!"
"Eh, at least she paid attention," Miles smiled. "That's more than I can say for some of the people I've tried to help."
"Well, you can run along now," Mrs. Flower continued. "I did promise you the afternoon off. So go have some fun!"
"Okay, see you!" Miles waved to his boss, and ran off.
—
Sonic the Hedgehog whooped to himself when he saw the first green speck of land pop up on the horizon. His excitement grew as the land began to grow and take shape in front of him. Yep, that was definitely West Side Island. He was certain that he had seen Eggman going this direction, after he had defeated the evil genius on South Island. He just hoped he wasn't too late.
Sonic circled around the island a couple of times before he landed. It wasn't as large as South Island, but it looked nice.
Slowly he descended, and located the airport.
"Unknown aircraft, this is West Side Island Air Traffic Control," he heard on the radio. "Please identify yourself."
"Hey West Side, this is Sonic the Hedgehog in the Tornado," he replied. "Think you can make room for one more?"
"West Side to Sonic, you're cleared to land on Runway Two," they replied. "You can store your aircraft in Hangar C if you so choose."
"Thanks guys," Sonic replied. He took the Tornado down to the airport, and landed as instructed on Runway Two. He decided to make use of their hangar as well.
Once his plane was secure, he sped off on the white limestone road to Emerald Town, the capital of the island.
Sonic blazed through the streets, stopping from time to time to admire the shops and restaurants that caught his interest. It was a large town, large enough to have its own university. In fact, Sonic realized he wasn't accustomed to the large crowds in the streets. And apparently, this was still nothing compared to how big human cities got!
Sonic had a quick lunch at a random diner; not bad, though he hadn't seen anything resembling chili dogs yet.
As he explored, he came upon a small hotel on the beach. It didn't look very busy, so he decided to poke his head in. He might end up staying here for a few days after all. Eggman could be sneaky.
"Hi there," a fox receptionist greeted him. "How can I help you?"
"Do you have a one-person room, for maybe a week?" Sonic asked.
"Certainly," she nodded. "What floor do you want?"
"The ground floor is fine."
"Okay, you can take Room 6. Here's your key. Are you here for business?"
"Nope, just looking for adventure," Sonic chuckled.
"Well, West Side is pretty quiet, but I'm sure you'll find something," she said.
"I'm certain of it!" Sonic smiled. "See you!"
The blue hedgehog was impressed by his room. It was small, but clean and well-kept. It had a view of the hotel's small swimming pool, and the ocean beyond. He didn't care much for swimming, but it was still a relaxing scene.
Sonic set down his backpack, unpacked his few belongings, and got bored immediately. Well, he'd never seen a university before. Perhaps he'd meet some interesting people.
He took a map of the island from the front desk, and sped off.
—
Miles Prower sat down at a bench at the side of the university's sports field. He pulled out a can of soda and a new book from his backpack. He had finally tracked down a copy of The Cyberiad, by the old human author Stanislaw Lem, and he was excited to crack it open.
Between the hot Sun above him, the cold soda, and the sounds of the students playing around him, it was turning out to be a good day.
He alternated his attention between the book, and a group of students playing soccer. He wasn't up to playing those sports himself, especially with people five times his age, but it was fun to watch.
"Hey," a voice from behind startled Miles, causing him to drop his book. Someone else swooped in front of him, and took the book. "You didn't really need that book, did you?"
"Huh–hey!" Miles whipped around, looking at the nuisances that had surrounded him. Two foxes, one in front and one behind. One had grabbed his backpack, and the other one had his book. "That's a rare book! Give it back!"
"How old are you, four?" one fox sneered. "There's no way you could be reading something like this, right? We'd better take it back to the library, huh?"
"It's not your business," Miles said. "I work at the library anyway. Not like you two would know." He stood up on the bench, but he was still not quite eye-level with his bullies. He waved his two tails around in annoyance.
One of the foxes gasped, and looked at his friend. "Oooh, you're the two-tailed freak we've heard about so much!"
"What?" Miles stuttered
"Didn't you know?" the other fox asked. "That's what they call you. The two-tailed freak. We thought our friends were making things up, but now we know it's real!"
"I don't believe you," Miles growled. "Everyone there is nice to me, unlike you."
"Well, I guess you can get used to us calling you that," the two foxes cackled. "Two-tailed freak! Two-tailed freak!"
The two foxes ran off, taking the book with them.
"No!" Miles called out. "Come back!" He ran after the foxes, but there was no way he could keep up.
The two foxes stopped when they were almost out of sight. Miles stopped running, and threw his soda down in frustration. His eyes widened when he realized that they were running back to him.
Miles screeched, and ran the other direction. His tails flapped in full force, pushing him along just a little bit faster. But it wasn't enough. He stopped when he realized he nearly ran into one of the hills that surrounded the athletic fields.
The two foxes were nearly on him. Surprisingly, he noted, one was still holding the book, but he tossed it to the side once his prey was in reach.
"They look so fluffy," one fox teased. Miles grabbed his tails and pulled them closer to himself, but the other bullies were too fast. One of them grabbed Miles's two tails, and yanked the young fox towards him.
"Haha, you're not really so smart, are you?" The other bully stuck out his tongue. "Not smart enough to escape from us!"
—
Sonic had to admit, he was impressed by the University. There must be thousands of students and teachers in the old brick buildings. Sonic had never enjoyed school himself, and he had half-expected the University to be a dour and boring place. But the people in it were clearly full of pride and passion for what they were learning.
It was refreshing to walk through the courtyards and see people having picnics in the grass fields, playing frisbee across the sidewalks, reading in the nooks and crannies that the buildings provided.
He made his way over to the athletic fields, where students were playing a variety of sports. As he jogged over, however, he slipped and fell on a carelessly discarded can of soda.
"Gee, who would just litter like this?" Sonic said to himself, pouring out the remaining soda and looking around for a trash can.
But a far more pressing matter soon captured his attention. Across the field he saw a young fox crying for help, apparently being terrorized by two older members of his own species.
And nobody was stepping in to help! In fact, the scene had only created a bubble in the area that everybody was walking around. It was enough to make Sonic's blood boil.
Sonic crushed the soda can in his hands, and ran off in the direction of the foxes. He had to time this one exactly right.
—
"Just give me the book!" Tails cried, pressing his head between his fists. "Pull my tails, insult me all you want! I just…"
Tails closed his eyes and wailed. No! a small corner of his mind shouted. You have to be stronger than this! You have to survive on your own!
But he couldn't do anything except close his eyes and cry.
"Haha! You'll have to–ow!" The one fox stopped pulling. In fact, both of Miles's bullies were suddenly laying flat on the ground, rubbing their heads.
"What happened?" One of them looked around.
Suddenly, there was a blue flash, and the two bullies went flying a few feet into the hill. The blue flash materialized into a hedgehog, older than Miles but still too young to be a student.
"You okay buddy?" The hedgehog picked up the book, and dusted it off. "Is this yours?"
"Yes, thank you!" Miles went over and hugged the hedgehog's leg. "You saved me."
"Aw, I was just doing what's right," the hedgehog shrugged. "I'm Sonic, by the way. Are you lost? Where are your parents?"
"I don't–" Miles glanced over at his two bullies, who were pulling themselves to their feet again.
"You're right, we should run first, talk later," Sonic nodded. "Follow me!" Sonic grabbed his new companion's arm and ran off.
Miles tried to keep up as well as he could. He had to push himself along with his tails, relying on them even more than….
Miles realized that his feet were no longer touching the ground. He was flying! He was really doing it!
"Whoah, you can fly!" Sonic gasped. He finally slowed down at the edge of the University. "Sorry to drag you all the way out here. Are you alright? How do your tails feel?"
"I'm fine," Miles sniffed. "Those two guys were trying to take my book."
"I'm sorry," Sonic said, handing the book back to Miles. "They looked like real jerks."
Miles nodded.
"So uh, do you have any parents?" Sonic asked. "Did you get lost?"
"No, I work in the University's library," Miles replied. "Mrs. Flower takes good care of me. My parents died a couple of years ago, and I didn't want to be adopted."
"That's terrible," Sonic whistled. "Where do you live?"
"I'll show you," Miles tried to smile. "This way!"
A few minutes later, Miles and Sonic were sitting by a small, cool natural spring, eating a few bananas that Miles had picked that morning. There was a large tent on the other side of the spring.
"I know it's not much, but it's home for me," Miles gestured, as if he owned the entire island. "Bet you didn't expect this, huh?"
"Actually, I've been living out of a tent too," Sonic shook his head. "I ran away from home on Christmas Island a few years ago, chasing this guy called Eggman. He was trying to capture all the animals, and turn the island into one big factory, but I stopped him!"
Sonic puffed out his chest, then sighed. "But the thing is, he keeps trying. He tried to capture Little Planet last year, and I saw him flying to this island just a couple of days ago."
"That's not good," Miles gasped. "What are you gonna do?"
"Fight him again, I guess," Sonic shrugged. "He's a jerk, but I like the adventure."
"Can I help you?" Miles looked up at the hedgehog with absolute earnesty.
"Sure!" Sonic grinned. "With tails like those, how could I refuse?" Sonic ran a hand across Miles's tails.
"Awesome!" Miles laughed.
"Hey, you know, I finally saved up enough to stay at a hotel this time," Sonic noted. "Do you wanna stay with me?"
"Really?" Miles flew into the air from excitement. "That would be great! Can I grab a few things first?"
"Sure."
It turned out that between the two of them, they could actually carry everything that Miles owned, including the tent. Sonic didn't seem to mind carrying the load. In fact, he held Miles's hand the whole time as they walked back to the hotel.
"Oh, this is incredible!" Miles flew around the room like a butterfly. "Thanks so much for letting me stay with you."
"Not a problem," Sonic said while trying to arrange Miles's belongings in the hotel room's small closet. "Anyway, what do you want to have for dinner, Tails–I mean Miles?" Sonic covered his mouth. He couldn't believe that he had slipped up like that.
Fortunately, Sonic's companion just laughed. "Tails, I like that!" He finally touched down to the floor. "In fact, that's what I want you to call me."
"Okay, I can do that," Sonic sighed. "What kind of food do you like?"
"I haven't eaten at a restaurant since, well…" Tails trailed off. "So anything would be good."
"Alright, I saw this good-looking sandwich place downtown. Let's go!" Sonic sped off, leaving almost no time for the fox to react.
A few minutes later, the two of them were seated at "Sally's Sandwiches," looking over the enormous menu together.
"Hm, I'll have two Reubens, the minestrone soup, and a cup of pasta salad," Sonic decided.
"Uh, just one Reuben for me," Tails added. "And some fries,"
"Coming right up," the waiter smiled and walked off.
"Sonic, that's a lot of food," Tails remarked.
"Well, you work up an appetite when you run as fast as I do," Sonic shrugged. "Speaking of that, you should start eating more too. You're scrawny!" Sonic ran a finger along Tails's shoulder, feeling the collar bone stick out as he did so. "Seriously."
"Okay, I'll try," Tails said.
A few minutes later, their food came out. The two of them ate greedily. Just as promised, Sonic finished all of his food, looking no worse for the wear after it. Tails managed to eat his sandwich, and about half of his fries.
"Want dessert?" Sonic asked.
"No way, I'm stuffed!" Tails shook his head. "But thanks."
"Of course."
"Can we go to the swimming pool?" Tails asked once they got back to the hotel.
"Sure, I mean you can," Sonic agreed. "I don't really like the water."
"Aw, would you go in the jacuzzi with me?" Tails made his eyes big. "It's shallow enough you can stand up. I don't want to go in alone!"
"Hm, okay," Sonic shook his head. He led the fox out to the pool in the back.
"Actually, this is kinda nice," Sonic admitted, watching the Sun set over the ocean, painting the clouds red, and the water yellow.
"Yeah, it's almost like flying," Tails said, floating on his back.
"Well, we can't stay in here all night," Sonic yawned. "We'll both turn into fish!"
"Aw, okay," Tails flipped around and then dog-paddled over to the side. Sonic jumped out and handed him a towel.
"Do you wanna watch anything on TV?" Sonic asked once they were dried off and back in their room.
"Hm, do they have any games?" Tails asked.
"A couple," Sonic answered, looking in the cabinet. "Ultra the Pangolin…Sins of a Lunar Empire. That sounds intense."
"Oh, let's play that one!" Tails exclaimed. "It's a great strategy game."
"I think I'll just watch, if that's okay," Sonic chuckled.
"Okay," Tails said, already setting up the game. "So, you play as one of five species that live on the moons of a gas giant. Your goal is to control the solar system…."
Most of the explanation flew over Sonic's head, but it was wonderful to see Tails so enthusiastic. He watched intently, and tried to offer comments when he could.
"Say, Sonic, your parents are still alive, right?" Tails asked out of nowhere.
"Yes, why?" Sonic looked down at Tails.
"It's just, it's nice to imagine that they're still alive, even if you don't talk," Tails sniffed.
"You're right. I should appreciate that more," Sonic looked up at the ceiling. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened–"
"My parents were doing research for a United Federation company," Tails replied instantly. "They were studying the venomous jellyfish that live around a nearby island. One day their gloves broke and…."
Tails was trembling.
"They went to bed that night and never woke up. The company collected their bodies that morning. You know what they gave me in compensation?"
Tails practically spat the last word. Sonic had never imagined he could see so much acid and rage in those big blue eyes.
"They gave me a check for twenty dollars. Twenty dollars!"
Tails punched the bed a few times, and shuddered.
"Tails, I'm so sorry," Sonic held the fox close to him.
"I just want them back," Tails sobbed. "I want my real family."
"Tails, I can't…" Sonic choked up. He couldn't believe what he was about to say. "I can't be your parents, but I could be your brother. I mean, if you want. If that's okay."
Tails looked at the hedgehog. Some of the rage had faded. "You mean that?"
"Absolutely," Sonic gulped.
"Okay," Tails took a few deep breaths, and tried to wrap his arms around Sonic. "That would be good. You're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time."
"I think you're the best thing to happen to me too," Sonic patted Tails on the back, and Tails curled up on the bed. "Do you want something to help calm down? You've had a long day."
"It's late; you don't have to go out again," Tails insisted.
"Really, it's fine," Sonic stood up. "What do you want?"
"Some chocolate would be nice," Tails admitted. "Mint if they have it."
"No problem!" Sonic sped out of the room, and returned a few minutes later. "Here we go, a mint chocolate bar and a few ice pops."
"Aw man, thanks!" Tails smiled. He accepted the chocolate happily, and ate it in a few bites. Sonic opened one of the ice pops and put the rest in the hotel room's freezer. He ate his ice pop with similar speed.
"I think I understand what you mean now," Tails commented. "How running makes you so hungry."
"Oh, yeah," Sonic laughed. "Don't worry, we'll have a good breakfast tomorrow."
"That sounds good," Tails stretched, and then curled back up. Sonic realized that his fox companion had just fallen asleep. He carefully picked Tails up off the bed, and then tucked him under the covers.
Sonic went to the bathroom to brush himself off one last time. He spread the fur on his chest, revealing an extensive network of scars from his last bout with Eggman. He hoped that Tails would never end up with scars like that.
His grooming complete, Sonic got in on the opposite side of the bed, and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Tails," he said, and turned off the bedside light.