-Tails-

"What happened to the street signs?"

I laugh at Sonic's sarcastic comment. It's just how he used to be, and it dispels some of the tension I'm feeling. This will go all right, like it always used to. Sonic and I are working together again, like I'd almost given up hope we'd ever be able to do! Shadow chuckles a little, too, and I look sideways and smile at him. I haven't felt this good for a long time.

Sonic looks up and down, and turns right; I wonder if he has any reason for it, or if it's just a random choice. Either way will lead us where we need to go in the end, though, and I follow him without asking. There's no real need to ask. He speeds up, running, slowly enough for him, easily slower than my own top speed, and I stay just behind him, Shadow behind me. It feels so good to be with him like this again.

We carry on for a few corridors without running into anything at all – then, as we round a corner, Sonic still in the lead, we see several robots hovering in the air ahead, sharp and dangerous blades spinning around their sides.

"He's still using these things?!" Sonic shouts even as he dashes ahead, leaping into the air, skilfully avoiding the blades of the first robot to land on top of it, curled up and spinning around, his spikes as stiff and sharp as knives, cutting through the metal easily! The robot falls to the floor in a clatter of wreckage, but by the time it hits ground Sonic's already halfway through the next one. He moves fast enough and accurately enough to rebound from every robot almost before it's begun to fall apart, and only a few seconds into the lightning onslaught, they're all gone, reduced to smouldering wreckage. Sonic lands lightly, half-turning to flash us a confident grin before he runs on, and Shadow and I follow. That was easy, easier than most fights have been for us for a long time. I don't think it'll stay this easy – but we've still got a pretty good chance!

We see more robots as we run, some powered down in alcoves awaiting activation, some active but only for a moment as Sonic dashes effortlessly ahead and destroys them in a hail of metal fragments to land again and run on. There's little for Shadow and I to do, just follow him, no need or even time for either of us to help, even though we're only moments behind Sonic. It's not long before I see signs that we're approaching the Chaos Emerald, but I almost want it to go on forever, just because I'm running with Sonic again, just like the old days.

"Sonic," I call to him, "look up ahead!"

"I see it!" he shouts back to me, and though he's facing forwards I can hear that confident grin in his voice. The big, thick door ahead looks too strong for us to break through, but I'm even better with computers and electronics than I used to be, and it should only take me a few moments to get it open. Even while I'm thinking that, we reach it, and Sonic skids to a halt, Shadow and I close behind. I walk forward, look at the huge, imposing door – designed to intimidate, although quite who I'm not certain, since he only ever uses robots – and head for the little panel with the controls. We set the alarms off almost as soon as we entered, when Sonic destroyed those first few robots, and the door's probably locked. But I don't think that should be too much of a problem.

Tapping briefly at the keypad, I see that I was right. The security locks are engaged and require a code before they'll disengage again, but I pull the panel cover off and try touching some of the wires together. I know just how keypads like this work, after all; if I can just make it register as having sent the correct signal...

...Got it! That was easy! I hear the heavy locks inside the door undoing themselves, and Sonic flashes me a grin. I smile back and bend back over the panel... touch this wire to that one... and the door starts to open! It's a big, heavy door, and it's only moving slowly, rising into the ceiling, and as soon as it's high enough, Sonic ducks and rolls under!