In another part of the city, a young hedgehog named Amy Rose was sitting on a park bench, trying to concentrate on a book.
"Oh, I can't live like this any more!" Amy complained, throwing the book down beside her. She felt the same as she did two summers ago, before she found that poor little lost bird and got dragged into another one of Sonic's adventures. Yup, exactly the same feeling, she thought glumly, nothing to do, nothing to see, nowhere to go....
"It's always the same in the end," she said to herself, "When the fun and excitement's over, everyone just forgets about me and things go back to the same old regime again! I want to have adventures too, like Sonic." She cast her mind back to better times, nostalgically. Then before that, a time not unlike now, when she had nothing to do - except shop till she dropped!
"Darn it!" Amy stood up angrily. "Am I never satisfied?" She kicked a pebble and wandered around aimlessly. Then a spark of bright orange caught her eye. She turned. "Tails? Can it be?" Amy half-whispered. She watched him go into a tall building. What was he going into the Modern Sciences Corporation research facility for? "Well, I guess I'd better go find out," she murmured, and set off after him.

* * * * *

Location - A parallel universe.

"Please, Chancellor, listen to me," Loren pleaded her case before the fairy counsel.
"No, acolyte Loren, you listen," the Chancellor told her sternly, raising his hand to call for quiet in the court. "Your job is to help in the Temple of Light and aid the Rituals of Becoming. You have directly disobeyed orders by communicating with a person on the Other Side."
"But don't you see? It's the only way!" Loren cried out, ignoring the fact that she was not permitted to speak. "That little fox boy is our only hope. He witnessed the Opening of the Orb, he's the only one that knows.... We cannot defend ourselves against the Millipede Roamers, or against the Wielder of the Orb, but in that world on the Other Side, they are made from real, powerful, living flesh. We are not. They can help us, I know it. Just give me a chance."
"Loren, that is the second time you have disobeyed orders. The people on the Other Side do not wish to help us, why, if they even knew about us, they'd kill us for sure. We will survive as we have always done, by lying low and keeping our very existence a secret," the Chancellor said gravely.
"It won't work," Loren said obstinately, leaning forward but being pushed back immediately by two Regiment Guards. Just then, the loud, resonating clang of the Arrival Bell sounded in the Tower above the dome- shaped Council Hall. Someone had arrived at the door. The Chancellor (he was very old and learned in the field of magic) sent a jet of silver light from his hands which opened the vast iron gate-doors. A fairy messenger came fluttering in.
"Sir, Lord Chancellor, sir," the messenger said, then before he could say any more he stumbled, clutching his shimmering chest with translucent hands, gasping for breath. Poor thing, Loren thought, it looked like he'd been flying for ages. It took up a lot of fairy energy to do that over a long period of time.
"Yes, go on," the Chancellor prompted him.
"Oh yes, sorry sir, it's....a most urgent message. There's been another attack....at Great Oak Lodge this time....nearly sixty injured, goodness knows how many are dead...I only...just...escaped...." The worn- out fairy was escorted to a seat by council members. The Chancellor stood up, shocked. There was an outcry of fear amongst the fairies in the Hall. Loren smirked.
"What're you goin' to do now, Chancellor?" She smiled angelically as she was led away from the chaotic scene by the Regiment Guards.
It was time to take matters into her own hands.

* * * * *

Location - Modern Sciences Corporation building.

"Just where do you think you're going, young man?" The receptionist peered over her desk and glowered at Tails as he tried to sneak past.
"Erm, I need to talk to one of the lab technicians...euh...Dr. Morrison," Tails invented, reading the name off a board behind the receptionist. "To discuss a new aeronautical design I've been working on," he added.
"Ah, yes, you're that young mechanic - Tails or something, isn't it?" Tails nodded. "I've seen you in here before. Yes, of course you can talk to Dr. Morrison, but be quick, because he's a very busy man." Tails smiled sweetly and hurried off. He had to find Block 15 before suspicions were aroused.
Ten minutes later, Tails had arrived at the top of the stairs on Block 15. He was out of breath. His injured leg had given him a bit, well actually a lot of trouble in getting up the stairs. Strange, he thought, the lifts were never usually out of use here. The Modern Sciences Corporation liked to keep everything in tip-top working condition. He allowed himself a few second's rest, then carried on.
"A red room? Well, that's what Loren said," Tails thought. "It can't be in this section, these are all theoretical evaluation rooms." He glanced briefly at the opposite end of the block. There was just a pristine white door there, like all the other doors around him except.... Except what? He returned his gaze back to the door. It was different! Instead of a white plaque on the door with black capital letters punched in, there was a small dingy window covered in metal gauze.. The door did not have a handle. The very appearance of the door suggested that whatever was inside was strictly private, or even dangerous.
"Hmm," Tails murmured as he walked towards the door. As it did not have a handle, he thrust his weight against it to try and open it. It would not budge. He tried again. Nope. It was well and truly locked. There was only one thing for it....
In a rapid movement, Tails swung his two tails around and hit the door with a powerful force. The door splintered into tiny little pieces and Tails walked through to the corridor beyond.
It was definitely dingier in here. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling and cockroaches scuttled about on the dusty floor. The walls were green and grimy, and moss grew on the floor like a carpet. Old rotten wooden beams framed the ceiling, and little flies and moths clustered round the tiny cracks that let in light from the rooms above. The corridor looked like it had not been cleaned for a century. That was very unusual. M.S.C were renowned for keeping their research facilities squeaky-clean. They would never let a corridor get this dirty and dusty and unused - unless they were afraid of whatever lay beyond it. Wasn't there a rumour that Eggman used to carry out secret experiments in this building?
There was a red door at the end of the corridor. Tails ran up to it. To his surprise, the notice on it said ;
DR. ROBOTNIK, M.S.C
PRIVATE RESEARCH FACILITY
ENTRY FORBIDDEN
"So Eggman was a member of the M.S.C? The rumour is true!" Tails said. "Looks like he was turned out of the corporation. No wonder this room's been kept a secret from the rest of the facility. Who knows what he's got in here." Tails snapped open the rusty lock with ease and the door creaked open.
Inside was an advance computer system ( which Tails greatly admired ) and stacks of files and accounts of experiments. Pushing his way through the mess, Tails soon found what he was looking for.
Tucking the precious white box under one arm, he proceeded to examine some of Eggman's previous experiments. After all, it might come in handy for future reference. Know you enemy. He became so engrossed in reading that he did not even notice the shadow in the doorway.
"Tails, it is you! What are you doing here?" said a high, perky voice. Tails whisked around and saw Amy standing in the doorway. What was she doing here?

* * * * *

The receptionist smiled as she watched Tails make his way up the stairs. What a sweet little fellow, she thought. Then she picked up her biro again and began scribbling away at her paperwork.
It was only ten minutes later, during her coffee break, that something very important struck her.
"Oh! Oh my, oh my!" she gasped, spilling her coffee over the desk. "Good heavens, I'd better phone right away!" The poor muddled lady scrambled for the telephone and with nervous fingers dialled the number, knocking her glasses askew as she held the receiver up to her ear.
"Hello? Is that Dr. Wallis?" The voice on the other end assured her that it was. "Oh, I am so dreadfully sorry, I've - I've let someone through into the labs, I know you said not to, but, oh, I just wasn't thinking....sorry, sorry.."
"Okay, okay, enough excuses. Call the security guards. I'll take care of the top secret stuff. Go on!" Dr. Wallis shouted at her down the phone before hanging up. The receptionist muttered under her breath as she fluttered around trying to clear her mind and dial the security alert number.
The only thin she did not understand was - why wasn't anyone allowed in the building today in particular?

* * * * *

"Amy! Keep it down! Someone could hear us," Tails hissed, grabbing Amy's hand and dragging her out of the red room along with the precious white cuboid. "I've spent enough time here anyway. Let's get going!"
"But...what's going on?" Amy asked as they came to the end of the corridor. She was totally puzzled. But just then a group of security guards jumped out at them from around the corner and an alarm bell went off. No time to answer Amy....just RUN!!! Tails pulled Amy along as he dodged to the side, he knew the building better than Amy so he led the way.
"Security breach on Block 15!" The first guard spoke into a walkie talkie. "We have the intruders in sight. Close off all escape routes and get ready to intercept at Tertiary stairwell. Lock off all main research areas." He clicked the walkie talkie back into place at his hip and drew out his weapon like the rest of the guards as they raced behind the two intruders.
Tails thrust open the nearest door and entered a research room, filled with odd looking machinery and strange contraptions. It looked more like a factory than a laboratory. Luckily, it was devoid of people. He looked around for a place to hide. He had to think fast, because the guards were nearing the door.
"Up there, look!" Amy shouted, pointing up at the metal stairs. There was an open door beyond the stairs.
'Yeah, c'mon," Tails cried, and they sprinted for the stairs. They were halfway up when the security guards entered the room.
"There they are!" roared the main security guard, the one with the walkie talkie. "Get them!" Tails and Amy gasped, hurrying all the more. When they reached the top, they had a surprise waiting for them, another guard came out of the door at the top of the stairs. Amy shrieked. They were cornered!
Tails spotted a metal cable above him. It ran straight across the room. It gave him an idea.
"Quick, Amy, grab hold!" Tails said, leaping into the air and grabbing the thick wire overhead. Amy caught on to his idea and hesitatingly followed. The ride began.....
"Put your hands above your heads and slowly....WHAT? You can't do that!" the guard broke off, astonished.
"Stun them!" another guard shouted, and about twenty stun-guns pointed up at Tails and Amy who were whizzing above the crowd, straight towards the -
"Window! Look out!" yelled Tails, and he shut his eyes to prepare for impact. There was no stopping now.
"Wouaaa!" Amy screamed. Jets of light shot out from the stun-guns just as there was an almighty CRASH! and the window burst, sending glass shards flying in an arc. Tails and Amy flew out with the glass and landed sprawling on the roof tiles below. The whole lab scenario lasted under half a minute.
The first thing Amy did was laugh.
"Ah-ha ha ha! Oh, Tails, I haven't had this much fun in ages! That crashing-through-the-window thing really did surprise those guys, huh?"
" I guess. Hey, it's been a long time since we've done that sort of thing together," Tails pondered. He glanced down at the tripartite device. It was unharmed.
"There's more coming up too," Amy said, "if we don't hurry and get outta here." Tails picked himself up and walked across the rooftop with Amy. Nothing gone wrong so far -
"Aiieee!" shrieked Amy, clumsily falling through a skylight; the second time she encountered glass that day.
"Ammmyyyyyy!" She had still been holding onto Tails's hand when she fell.
"Ooofff." Fox and hedgehog made contact with hard metal floor.
"Ooh, that hurt," Amy exclaimed, adjusting her hairband. "I didn't even see that skylight - eww, there's a spider! Gross!" She made a face and shuffled away from the little creature.
"Do you think that threw them off the track?" Tails asked, slowly standing up. They had landed behind a huge cylinder in a big, spacey lab.
"Well, obviously."
"Okay, it's time we....aaah, my leg!" Tails doubled over, clutching his left leg, writhing in pain.
"Tails, are you ok? What's the matter? And how'd you get that gigantic bruise on your leg?" Amy bombarded him with questions as she made him sit down and inspected his leg. A shuffling sound from the other side of the cylinder stopped her in her tracks. "What was that?" she whispered. A head peered round the corner.
"Here I come, ready or not! Game's over, kids," said the security guard gruffly.
"Aaaaah!" They were out of there in a flash, leaving the rather dumb security guard baffled.
More security was waiting for them when they reached the stairs. They had no choice but to go up. Tails's leg was throbbing more painfully than before, but he still managed to reach the top of the staircase before Amy. In the first room that he came to, he yanked open the window. They were twenty metres above ground.
"You have got to be joking. I can't jump out there!" Amy protested. But the first few guards had reached the top of the stairs.
"Well, I can," Tails answered back, and, grabbing Amy around the waist, he jumped out of the window.

"Tails, never do that again!" Amy told him as she brushed grass off her skirt. "I was so frightened."
"Well, what else have I got two tails for?" Tails said.
"What were you doing up there anyway? And what's up with the little white box?"
"I'm going to show you what the box is for once we get back to my flat." Tails answered, gently massaging his injured leg. "I'll tell you all about it on the way...."
And for once, Amy did not complain.

* * * * *