"Great news, Tails! Our metals supplier just called to let me know our latest shipment came in. We can pick it up first thing in the morning."

"That's great, Chuck!"

Tails beamed, and Chuck Thorndyke wore a look of deep enthusiasm.

Ever since Tails and his friends had arrived in the world of Christopher Thorndyke a few months earlier, he had developed a close friendship with Chris's grandfather, Chuck. At the moment, Chuck and Tails were tinkering around in Chuck's secret laboratory, which he had built underground, beneath the Thorndyke mansion.

Chris's father Nelson was the CEO of a major home appliances company, and his mother was a famous actress. As a consequence, their family income was "comfortable", to say the least. Nelson shared a part of his wealth with his father, and this gave Chuck a sizable amount of spending money, which he used to construct an entire research laboratory underground as part of his passion for engineering and theoretical physics. Sadly, however, most of Chuck's projects did not go much of anywhere. Chuck helped look after Chris while his parents were away (which was almost all the time), and he found that he did not have that much time to commit fully to his research projects.

This all changed when Tails arrived.

Despite being only eight years old, Tails possessed a more extraordinary mind than Chuck Thorndyke had ever encountered—even including his years as a physics professor.

Amazingly, Tails seemed to have no idea he was any different from his friends. Chuck first met Tails after he had helped Sonic rescue Cream and Cheese from a military compound called Area 99. To disrupt the military as part of the rescue, Tails had used these tiny radio-controlled airplanes which he had personally designed. The design was extraordinary by all standards, but when Chuck had complimented it, Tails had merely shrugged and replied, "It's nothing special, not in the world we come from."

However, when Chuck later asked Sonic about Tails's inventions, Sonic had laughed and confirmed that Tails was grossly underestimating himself. Tails thought of himself as "nothing special", but in reality, almost no one else in Sonic's world could come up with the inventions that Tails did as efficiently or as effectively. Perhaps the only one who could really compete was Doctor Eggman.

"With those parts, we should be able to make those improvements we talked about to the X Tornado," said Tails, who happily fluttered his tails about in excitement as he pored over a blueprint.

Chuck didn't immediately respond. Instead, he stared once again in awe at the kid-genius in front of him. When Tails had first revealed his age to be eight years old, Chuck had nearly fallen to the ground in shock. How could someone so young be so gifted and yet so modest about themselves?

"You really are amazing," said Chuck abruptly.

Tails broke his concentration on his blueprint and tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"To understand how to engineer improvements to jet-propelled aircraft like the X Tornado at your age—Tails, you might be the most amazing kid I've ever met."

Tails blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not that amazing," said Tails. "In the world I come from, anyone could—"

"I don't think that's true," interrupted Chuck. It was an excuse that Chuck had heard from Tails constantly. Whenever Chuck tried to praise Tails, he would respond like a broken record that in the world he came from, inventions like his own were commonplace and not worthy of any special recognition. This time, however, Chuck wanted to insist on pushing back.

"I asked Sonic," said Chuck. "He said no one else in your world can do the things you do."

Tails raised his eyebrows in surprise and tried to hide his grin. "S-Sonic said that?!"

Chuck nodded, and Tails wiggled his tails again in happiness. After a few seconds, however, he froze. It was as if something took the wind out of his sails.

"He's just saying that," said Tails, eyes pointed to the ground. "Just look at all the things he can do. He fights Doctor Eggman everyday like it's his job, and he makes it look so easy."

"It only looks that easy because he has you to help him out," said Chuck.

Tails smiled in response to this, but Chuck got the impression that Tails didn't fully believe it. Softly sighing, he decided not to press Tails further on it tonight. It dismayed Chuck that Tails didn't recognize his own accomplishments, but he knew that improving the young fox's self-esteem would not necessarily happen overnight.

Through his conversations with Sonic, Amy, and Cream, Chuck had gotten a rough sense of where Tails's low estimation of himself could be originating from. Apparently, long before Tails had arrived in Chuck's world, and before Tails had even met Sonic, Tails had been bullied because of his extra tail and because of his apparent nerdiness. For a long time, he didn't think much of himself because no one was there to tell him how special he really was. Even after he met Sonic, it seemed to Chuck that Tails depended on Sonic a bit too much. Whenever Tails had an idea, it wasn't uncommon for him to propose it tentatively and look to Sonic for validation that it was a good one. If Tails had a catchphrase, it might very well be: "Right, Sonic?" To Tails, Sonic was the coolest guy in the universe—and in order to be just as cool, Tails felt like he had to be more like Sonic, running fast and destroying Eggman robots. In Tails's eyes, inventing gadgets and doing math wasn't a part of being amazing.

Chuck and Tails continued working for a few more hours. After a while, Tails started yawning.

"It's getting late," said Chuck. "How about we call it a night? Look forward to getting that shipment in tomorrow."

Tails nodded, smiling, and the two turned out the lights to the laboratory and ascended back to the ground level to head to their bedrooms. Tails, Amy, Cream, and Cheese all slept in the attic space above the garage, which was a separate building unconnected to the main mansion. Sonic liked to sleep by himself on the rooftop of the main mansion, where Chuck had his own bedroom. The entrance to the underground laboratory was inside the basement of the main mansion.

As Chuck and Tails emerged from the basement, they realized they had worked much later than they had realized. The house was dark, and it seemed like everyone else was already asleep. They could also hear a pattering noise above them. It was raining.

"Aww," whispered Chuck. "It was sunny just this afternoon before we started working. The weather here in Station Square can be so fickle some days."

Tails chuckled softly. "It's the same back in the world we're from. One moment it's bright and sunny, then just a few hours later—"

All of sudden, there was a flash of light from the window for a split second. Tails immediately froze on the spot. Then, after a few seconds—BOOM! A crack of thunder coursed through the home. Tails gave a short yelp and wrapped his tails around himself, shutting his eyes tightly and covering his ears with his hands. A few seconds later, another bolt of lightning momentarily illuminated the dark living room, followed quickly by another crack of thunder. Tails started trembling violently.

Chuck wasted no time in kneeling down and pulling the poor fox into a warm embrace. When the second clap of thunder shook the house, Tails whimpered and grasped at Chuck's coat, tightly returning his embrace. They hugged each other in silence for a full minute.

"Tails…" said Chuck, trailing off. He realized that nothing really needed to be said. Although Tails was the most impressive kid that Chuck had ever met, at the end of the day, he was still a kid. It was only natural that he might be scared of thunder. If anything, Chuck felt a small sense of relief. After spending hours speaking with Tails as a research companion, it was refreshing to see the kid in Tails come out. At the same time, however, it pained Chuck to see Tails look so helpless and frightened. He was determined to help, no matter what it takes.

Chuck stroked Tails's back to comfort him as the sound of rain grew louder and the storm intensified.

Tails understood from a logical perspective there was no reason for him to be so afraid of the thunder, but for reasons unknown to him, his body just wouldn't comply. Every thunderclap sent his panic levels skyrocketing. As the minutes dragged on, Tails got the feeling that Chuck was probably pretty annoyed at him for keeping him up at night like this. Tears started forming in his eyes at the thought that Chuck might not like him anymore because of how scared he must look right now. After all, everyone looked up to Sonic, and Sonic was always so brave and strong. In comparison, Tails felt so timid and weak. There was no way that anyone would look up to someone like—

"Hey now," Chuck said softly, noticing the tears and interrupting Tails's thoughts. "You're safe. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

Tails sniffled, then managed to speak softly, in almost a whisper, "Sorry."

Chuck looked out the window. The rain had only gotten stronger since they emerged from the laboratory, and in order for Tails to return to his usual bed above the garage, he would have to walk a short distance outside in the storm.

Yeah, no chance that's happening, thought Chuck.

"Tails, would you like to sleep in my room tonight?"

For a moment, Tails said nothing, but as the silence grew, so did his anticipation of the next thunderclap. Before the lightning had a chance to strike again, Tails gave a short nod.

Slowly and carefully, Chuck wrapped his arms around the small fox and lifted him up. Now that he was in his arms, Chuck realized how tiny Tails was. The young fox was less than three feet tall standing up and as light as a feather.

Chuck's bedroom was upstairs. As Chuck began to climb the main staircase with Tails in his arms, the front door to the mansion suddenly opened. Unfortunately, at the same time, another flash of lightning brightened the room, and because the door was open, the subsequent thunderclap roared unmuffled, causing Tails to squeak in fright and squeeze Chuck tightly.

Chuck whipped around. Who in the world would be opening the door this late at night in the middle of a storm?

In the dim light, Chuck saw a small, shadowy figure standing in the doorway, no taller than about three feet and clearly soaked from having been in the rain for some time. The figure's gaze fell upon the fox cub in the professor's arms, and he quickly closed the door. Shivering from being wet, the shadowy figure walked up to Chuck. After a moment, lightning briefly illuminated the figure's face, but Chuck didn't need the light. As soon as he had laid eyes on him, Chuck realized who it was immediately.

"Hey, Tails," said the figure. "You alright, buddy?"

Tails's ears perked up. "S-Sonic?"

"The one and only," replied Sonic, smiling.

Tails opened his eyes—which had been squeezed shut ever since the thunder began—and looked curiously at the rain-soaked hedgehog, then looked back at Chuck, who was still carrying him in his arms. The young fox's cheeks began to turn red in embarrassment as he realized how pitiful he must look. He wanted Sonic to see him as strong and capable, and right now, he felt everything but that.

On the other hand, Sonic took one look at the situation and understood immediately what must have happened. Sonic and Tails had been best pals for years. They were like brothers. At this point, Sonic knew Tails like the back of his hand.

Sonic had spent the day exploring the country. He could run so fast that he was able to reach the farthest corners of the continent within a day and still come back to the Thorndyke residence before dark. Today, however, heavy rain had prevented him from running home on time. Sonic hated being wet because it reminded him that he still did not know how to swim, so he tried to avoid running in the rain where possible. However, as soon as the first bolt of lightning struck the ground, Sonic knew he had to race home as fast as he could. He needed to be there for his lil' bro.

Not tonight, however. Tonight, someone else had gotten there first, and Sonic felt extremely thankful to that man.

Sonic made eye contact with Chuck and smiled warmly. Chuck, in turn, smiled back. This wordless exchange was all that was necessary. They didn't need to speak a word.

Sonic looked back at Tails and reached out to ruffle the fur on his head a bit.

"Just wanted to say good night, little buddy," said Sonic before turning to head back out the door.

"...Good night, Sonic," whispered Tails, so soft that Sonic barely managed to hear it over the sound of the rain outside.

As Sonic left, Chuck continued up the stairs and nestled Tails in his bed before turning out all the lights. Thunder continued to rumble outside, and while it was still a little scary, Tails could only think of one thing as he laid in bed: how lucky he was to be surrounded by people he could call his best friends in the whole wide world.

Those were his last thoughts before falling asleep.