-Tails-

Sonic's been gone way too long. Nobody's saying it, but I know they're all worried about him. I'm worried about him. I know Sonic used to run off sometimes, but not like this, never when things were this serious! I don't even know what he was thinking. Why'd he run away? Sonic, I don't understand...

I can hear footsteps coming up behind me. It sounds like Amy. Shadow's feet always click on a hard floor because of the metal of his jet boots, so it can't be him. They're too light to belong to a human, and Blaze and Crossfire both move almost silently. Chess' steps are different again, too.

"Tails?"

"Yeah, Amy?" It's nice to know I was right, I guess, but it's really not that hard to work out.

"I want you to get into Robotnik's network. It's been too long – we have to find out if something's gone wrong, if he's been caught."

"You got it, Amy!" I wanted to do this half an hour ago! That's why I've been sitting here at this computer all this time! At least she's letting me do it now, I guess. The computer's already up and running, and the first thing I do whenever we find a new base is always to set up a way of linking to Eggman's network. All I have to do is get myself in, and that's fairly easy!

Amy watches over my shoulder as I type in commands, hacking into the world network. I hear another set of footsteps coming in, clicking on the floor and limping a little, so it's Shadow this time. Amy moves a little. I guess maybe she's looking at him, but I don't look to find out, concentrating on what I'm doing. My heart sinks the moment I'm in; the network is in a state of full alert. Sonic's been seen, if nothing else...

I go through higher and higher levels of security, getting closer and closer to whatever Robotnik himself must be seeing right now. I'm all too aware I could be detected any moment, but I have to find out what's going on – and then I find something, patrol files flagged as urgent.

Patrol 521
Directive: Patrol area 115B.
Threat Protocol: Standard.
Status: Malfunction.
Last Report: Engaging threat.

Recon Hunter 5
Directive: Observe patrol areas 115A-P.
Threat Protocol: Neutralise and retrieve subject to advanced situational analysis.
Status: Active, recalled. Medium damage sustained. Functionality level 68 percent.
Last Report: The target responsible for the elimination of Patrol 521 shows a 100 percent correspondence in all observable characteristics to previously inactive target "Sonic". Target has been neutralised. Returning with target.

No! He- he can't have been caught, he just can't! He must have escaped somehow, he must have! Robotnik can't have caught him! He can't... but he has... ...we've gotta go rescue him! Galvanised back into action, I search for anything relating to Sonic, find a Priority One video feed, access it...

Sonic's image comes up on my screen. He looks beaten, exhausted. The tip of his right ear is missing, and he looks like someone's dragged him across broken glass. There's a robot holding his arm, a robot that looks like him, and Robotnik's there too, laughing at him...