"…Tails, you ready?" Sonic asked over the walkie-talkie.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Tails replied, feeling a little bit uncomfortable. Rouge just had to make everything risky…but, if they wanted to keep Sonic's reputation safe….they had to do things her way.

"Hey, Sonic?" Tails called back.

"What?" came the hedgehog's voice.

"Are you sure Rouge will do her part? We can't exactly trust her…"

"Tails, relax. She's got her emerald; that's all she really wants," Sonic answered.

Tails nodded, trying to reassure himself. Rouge was unpredictable; you could never tell which side she was truly on….but if jewels were involved, she would be in.

"You ready?" Tails could tell by the slight tension in Sonic's voice that his friend was as nervous as he was.

"Sonic, that's the second time you asked that," Tails said dryly.

"Oh…well," a chuckle on the other end, "Just do what you need to do, okay?"

"All right. Let's hope this works," the fox ended the conversation as he guided the TORNADO down slightly to search for any signs of the pink hedgehog. Inside, he doubted that Amy would believe Sonic—no one would! And that's what scared Tails. It was either that their plan worked, or they all be true freaks of nature…

………

"…Sonic, are you where you are supposed to be?" Rouge called over the radio.

Sonic leaned against the railing on top of one of the tallest buildings in Station Square. "Yep," he replied.

"Good," Rouge said.

Silence settled until Sonic asked, "What time is it?"

There was a pause, and then Rouge replied, "Almost 7: 30. That fox-boy better hurry up if we want this plan to work."

Sonic didn't answer. Instead, he started hopping up and down, one foot onto the next, seeing that there was nothing else to keep himself entertained. After all, Sonic isn't one to stay put for a while.

Maybe I could run around for just a little bit…it wouldn't take very long, and I'd be back before Amy gets here! The blue hedgehog thought. Yeah...maybe I could do that!

With that thought in mind, Sonic dashed off, wanting to get keep himself entertained.

…….

Tails leaned forward in his seat, his blue eyes still searching for Amy. "Where is she…?" he seemed to ask no one.

The fox plopped back down in his seat—but not before he spotted her with Cream….and somebody (or something) else.

"Wha--?" Tails questioned, leaning forward again. He directed the TORNADO downward to get a closer look.

What he saw was Amy and Cream…but also something that looked like a silver, gigantic robot toy…

Tails' eyes widened in realization. "Oh no…" he whispered. "This is bad….REAL BAD!" In an instant, he spun the TORNADO around and called into the walkie-talkie, "SONIC! ROUGE! WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"

"What?" came Rouge's voice.

"Someone beat me to Amy…and I'll give you three guesses."

Actually, it only took one.

"Eggman!" Sonic growled. "What does he want?"

"I don't know….but we've got to do something. Now that Eggman has interfered, our plan is ruined!" Tails informed.

"Not yet," Rouge said, "It can still work if we hurry."

"Okay…..so you got another plan?" Sonic asked.

It was obvious Rouge was smiling as she replied, "You bet."