REVIEW RESPONSE

PurpleCobra247: Thanks for the confidence boost. Hope it turns out ok for everyone. Glad you like it.

Nightw2: I have the same problem. I like Mario but hardly ever read Mario fics due to laziness. Isn't author alert a wonderful thing? Anyway, I'll work hard on this. Please enjoy it.

Sonicron: No offence, but I can't improve of you don't know what my description needs. It was probably the short chapter that did it, I know I have that problem. I tried to keep to Knuckles' character when I wrote that chapter. I'll try and keep him in character as much as possible.

Burner the Echidna: Glad you like it. I always enjoy a positive review.

Sorry for the delay in this story

Why the return?

Tikal stepped out of the meteorite and looked at her surroundings. Not much had changed over the two years since she was freed from the Master Emerald with Chaos. She looked at Knuckles, who had now lowered his fist and had stepped backwards. Tikal took a step towards Knuckles.

"Yes Knuckles, I have returned." Tikal said. Knuckles was taken aback by what she had said.

"What do you mean by that?" Knuckles asked.

"You have been waiting for your people to return for years haven't you?" Tikal asked. Knuckles hesitated.

"Well, yes, I have." Knuckles replied.

"Well, I'm the first to return." Tikal said. Knuckles was shocked.

"You're going to stay here?" Knuckles asked.

"Yes." Tikal replied.

"But I thought you ascended to the heavens with chaos." Knuckles said. They were interrupted by the sound of an engine.

"Someone's coming." Tikal said. Knuckles had already run up to the altar to get a better look. Noticing this, Tikal followed. They saw the Tornado 2 heading towards the island.

"What's Sonic coming here for?" Knuckles asked himself. He started running down to where the Tornado 2 was about to land. Tikal stayed with the Master Emerald. When he reached the site, the Tornado 2 landed right next to him and Sonic jumped off the wing.

"Hey guys." Knuckles greeted.

"Hey there Knuckles." Sonic replied, giving a thumbs up gesture.

"What are you two doing here?" Knuckles asked.

"We saw something crash into the island and came here wondering what it was." Tails replied, climbing out of the cockpit.

"Yeah, what was that ball of fire?" Sonic asked.

"A meteorite. It didn't do any damage." Knuckles replied.

"That's good. We thought it was some kind of missile." Tails said.

"But come and see who was in the meteorite." Knuckles added, running back to the altar.

"Did he say who?" Sonic asked.

"Who could travel in a meteorite?" Tails asked. They both followed Knuckles to the altar. When they reached the altar, they screeched to a halt when they saw Tikal standing with the Master Emerald.

"Tikal!" Sonic said in amazement.

"It's nice to see you again." Tikal greeted.

"What are you doing back here?" Tails asked.

"I'm simply returning to Knuckles. He was waiting for his tribe to return." Tikal replied.

"Does that imply that others will return?" Tails asked.

"I don't know for certain." Tikal replied.

"I hope they do." Knuckles muttered.

"Well, you're no longer alone now." Sonic said.

"I know, but I still need to protect the Master Emerald." Knuckles replied.

"Sonic, we'd better get going." Tails said.

"I am nervous about leaving those two alone." Sonic replied with a laugh. Knuckles looked offended, Tikal laughed and Tails looked confused.

"What does that mean!" Knuckles shouted. He lunged at Sonic

"Hey, calm down Knuckles." Sonic replied, leaping out of the way of Knuckles' punch. Knuckles ended up punching the ground, creating a crater as big as he was.

"What do you mean by that remark?" Tails asked. Tikal walked over to him.

"It'd be better if you didn't know." Tikal said to Tails. She then went over to Knuckles and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You calm down, Sonic was only joking." Tikal said sternly. Knuckles took a deep breath and glared at Sonic.

"No more jokes like that again." Knuckles said to Sonic.

"No problem Knuckles." Sonic replied.

"Come on Sonic, let's go." Tails shouted.

"I'm coming." Sonic replied. He ran over to the Tornado 2 and jumped on the wing. Tails climbed into the Cockpit.

"See you some other time." Tails said as he started up the engine of the Tornado 2.

"Fly safely." Tikal called out. Tails looked slightly offended but let it slide.

"Come on Tails, you said you wanted to show me something." Sonic said.

"Oh yeah, it's at my workshop." Tails replied. He turned to Tikal.

"See you later." Tails said to Tikal.

"Welcome back." Sonic added.

"Bye." Tikal replied. The Tornado 2 flew off the island and went off into the distance.

After a while the Tornado 2 had arrived at Tails' workshop in the Mystic Ruins. Tails landed the plane on the landing strip and steered the plane into the hangar. The hangar was cluttered with boxes of electrical devices and other gadgets that Tails made in his spare time. There was also a desk with several blueprints and a bookcase stacked with engineering books. Tails climbed out of the cockpit of the plane and walked to a door in the corner. Sonic jumped off the wing and followed him. Tails then pushed a button next to the door and it opened to reveal an elevator.

"So, where's this thing you wanted to show me?" Sonic asked as he stepped into the elevator.

"It's in the basement. I think you'll like it." Tails replied, pushing a button to make the elevator go down.

"Is it a new transport vehicle or something?" Sonic asked.

"Yep. A few days ago, I realised that Eggman may get wise to us and build a base under the sea." Tails replied.

"So…?" Sonic asked. The elevator reached the basement and the door opened.

"I've built a submarine." Tails replied, pointing to a blue submarine in the water. The sub was twice as big as the Tornado 2 and had the same design. There were hatches on the side and an opening on the top. Sonic was very impressed.

"Wow, nice job Tails." Sonic remarked.

"Thanks." Tails replied with a nervous laugh. Sonic jumped on top of the sub.

"You going to show me the interior?" Sonic asked. Tails climbed up on top of the sub with Sonic.

"Of course." Tails replied. He opened the hatch and climbed inside the sub. Sonic followed him and looked in awe at the sight. The sub was like one giant computer with electronic viewing screens, radar and a control area. There was also a living quarters with a sofa, refrigerator and Television.

"Wow, you did a good job." Sonic remarked.

"The sub is also equipped with homing torpedoes, but we only have a limited supply." Tails said.

"How many can it carry?" Sonic asked.

"About a dozen at a time." Tails replied.

"And how far underwater can we go?" Sonic asked.

"This sub can go down to the bottom of the deepest ocean." Tails replied.

"Now Eggman will have nowhere to hide." Sonic said.

"Any other questions?" Tails asked.

"Just one, do you have a name for this sub yet?" Sonic asked.

"Yep, I call it the Tsunami." Tails replied.

(A/N: Again, sorry that the chapter is short and sorry for the delay. The chapters will get bigger when Eggman attacks, which won't be much longer. Anyway, this will be my last upload for a while as I'm working on two stories at once and I have to pack up to head home as I'm finally finishing at my boarding college Jumps for joy. I'll update as soon as I can.)