Chapter 2: Tornado Time

Kicking his legs back and forth as he sat at a bus stop, Tails stared into his Miles Electric tablet, tracking several moving dots traveling along a map. Sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth, he traced a gloved finger between one of these dots and the blinking circle representing his current location.

"According to this app, the next bus should be arriving in two minutes." The young fox tucked the computer into the dirty, grey rain jacket he had found abandoned a few miles back. It was a bit too large for the small Mobian, but it was perfect for hiding away his namesakes. He kept his head down, the hood protecting him from the rain. To any passersby out and about near midnight, he would've looked like a normal human boy fully veiled in a jacket instead of an alien, anthropomorphic kitsune.

"I sure hope Sonic's okay…" Tails replayed images in his mind of what had recently transpired back on Mobius, an incident which now felt like a lifetime ago. The orange kitsune vividly recalled watching as his older brother was shot through the torso by an Egg Pawn's laser gun followed by the bout of rage that filled him as he defeated all the robots out of vengeance, and finally…

He remembered his transformation.

"I suppose it stands to reason," the orange fox pondered, raising a gloved hand to his chin. "After all, if Sonic can transform into a super form, then why can't others? I just never would've imagined it to be me, of all people." The young kitsune remembered tapping into the power of the mystical Chaos Emeralds to heal his older brother and defeat Eggman's super mech, only for the gems to be stolen back by the evil madman, who threatened to use them to blow them all up if Sonic wasn't turned over. As it turned out, the "bomb" didn't cause an explosion at all.

"The Chaos Emeralds must've realized they were being manipulated for evil, but was transporting us to a new world the only way to counteract Eggman's deed? Or did the emeralds have a purpose in mind for sending us here?" Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he stared down at them intently before balling them into fists. "Sonic…where are you?"

"Heya kid?"

"Huh?" Tails looked up to find the bus he'd been waiting for parked along the curb in front of him, the driver staring back at him. "Ya hoppin' on or what?"

"Oh, yes sir." Tails nodded his head and he slid off the bench, landing firmly on the sidewalk below before stepping up the large steps and walking past the driver.

"Ya forgot to pay."

"Huh?" Tails turned around and cocked his head, keeping his face lowered to protect his identity.

"This ain't a free ride. Either ya pay or you get off."

"Ohh…" Tails fished around his namesakes, hoping at least one of the items he picked up along the way could serve as a form of payment. Yanking the first thing he found, he handed over a small French fry, one he was saving for sustenance but could live without if it meant retrieving his biplane faster.

The man observed it in his hands before peering back at the cloaked boy in front of him. "You take me for some kind of fool?"

"No, no, no!" Tails stammered, raising his arms forward while shaking his head. "Sorry…how about…" he reached into his namesakes once more. "…this!" He handed over an article of clothing to the driver, whose face grew red with anger as a vein bulged out of his forehead.

"Are you messing with me, or do you actually think you can pay with lady's underwear?"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Reaching into his tails for a final time, he pulled out a few small, metallic disks, trading them back for the clothes and fry.

"Ah, much better." The driver snickered as he deposited the coins into a small box on the dash, shifted the gear stick, and pulled out into the road. "Ya had me goin' for a sec. Now no more jokin' around, we're runnin' behind schedule as is."

"Yeah, right…" Tails sighed as he took a seat on the nearly empty bus, the only other passengers sitting near the back.

"Let's see…" the orange kitsune muttered to himself as he pulled out his tablet once more, having configured his portable computer to be fully compatible with the human network. He pulled up pictures of United States currency, and sure enough, the coins he gave to the bus driver were standard legal tender. "Well that sure was lucky, wasn't it?" Slipping his computer back into his jacket, he twiddled his thumbs as he kicked his legs back and forth once more.

"Hey, pipsqueak."

Tails peered up to find the three men from the back of the bus now surrounding him. All had some form of colored mohawk and wore loose-fitting clothing and various metal facial piercings.

"Oh, hello there!" Tails waved up with a bright smile. "Lovely evening, isn't it?"

"Oh, it's a lovely evening all right," the man in the middle said with a snicker, cracking his wrists as the two others stood on either side with evil grins. "I bet your mommy's worried sick about ya, huh? Bet she'd do anything to get ya back, right?"

"My mom?" Tails asked, pointing a gloved finger at himself. As he did this, the hood of his jacket fell back, revealing his furry, Mobian muzzle. "Sorry, I don't have a mom. I was abandoned as a kid…" The humans' jaws dropped, frozen in disbelief.

"What…is this thing?" The punk on the left asked.

"That looks way too real to be a furry costume," the thug on the right added.

"Hey kid…" The ringleader bent his knees, staring at the young fox at eyelevel. "What are you exactly?"

"Oh, me?" Tails asked, planting a palm against his chest. "That's easy. I'm Miles Prower…but my friends call me Tails."

"Not your name, kid…" he extended his neck out slightly to get a better look at the creature's face. "You some kind'r alien or somethin'?"

"Well, I guess so?" Tails replied with a shrug. "You're practically the first human who didn't yell at the top of their lungs at first sight of me." The young fox sighed as he remembered all the Earthlings he had negative interactions with since arriving to Station Square.

"Is that so…" The suspicious human snickered once more. "If you come home with us, you can meet all kinds of friends who wouldn't be scared of ya."

"Really?" Tails' triangular ears fluttered.

"Oh yes," he replied. "Just get off at the next stop with us, and we'll…keep you safe."

"Oh, no can do!" Tails smiled while folding his arms. "I'm already on a mission." He yelped as the man pulled out a switchblade from his pocket, pointing it within inches of his black nose.

"That wasn't a request, kid."

"Yeah, do what the boss tells ya to if ya know what's good for ya," the punk on the left ordered.

"If you value your life, you'll do what he says," the right-most man added.

"I'm sure your fur would fetch a pretty penny on the Black Market," the leader declared, "or maybe we can find someone who'd want to keep ya as a pet? So many possibilities!"

"Oh, I don't think so." Tails' look of shock and worry quickly dissolved, replaced with piercing eyes and a confident grin. He whipped his namesakes from behind, slapping the switchblade out of the punk's hands before launching himself forward with his feet, landing a punch square to his face. The ringleader went down without a fight.

"Playing the helpless kid is a sure way to trick goons like you into a false sense of security," Tails taunted before spinning himself around, his ambidextrous namesakes wrapping around the remaining punks' legs and pulling them off their feet. "Letting your guard down was your first mistake."

"Hey!" The leader yelled as he pulled himself up, covering his bleeding nose. "You're not gonna get away with that!" He glared at his henchmen, who scrambled to recover from their falls and approached the orange kitsune, cracking their knuckles along the way.

"And your second mistake?" Tails grinned as he charged a spindash, launching himself at the punks in front of him and sending all three crashing through the back door, their screams fading as the bus pressed on. "Underestimating me." With a confident chuckle, he attempted to close the backdoor only to find it unable to lock in place.

"Excuse me, sir?" Tails called from the back. "I kinda…broke your door."

"Don't blame yourself, kid," the driver chuckled from the front seat. "I watched how you took down those thugs with your own two hands. Those guys have been a real pain n' the ass for months. Now they'll think twice before boardin' my bus."

"Sorry about the damage, though…" Tails' ears drooped down as he held one arm with the other, looking back at the open exit, guilty and embarrassed.

"That's a small price to pay." The bus driver fished around his pockets, giving Tails the contents of what was within.

"What's this?" Tails asked, analyzing the $20 and $10 bills and the coupon for a restaurant called Taco Bell.

"Well, it's no secret that you're far, far away from home, if ya know what I mean." He chuckled once more. "This should be enough to get some warm food in your belly."

"Gee, thanks, mister!" The orange kitsune fluttered his namesakes from behind, wearing a bright smile as he tucked the items into his tails.

"Don't mention it!" The driver peered to his side. "N' speak of the devil, looks like there's a Taco Bell right at the next stop." Tails pulled out his tablet and navigated to his map app.

"Hey, that's where I'm stopping!"

"Welp," the bus driver concluded, pulling off to the side of the road and opening the door, "it was nice to meet ya, kid. Thanks for teaching those goons a lesson."

"It was my pleasure!" Tails replied with a thumbs up. "C'ya later!" Stepping out of the bus, he waved goodbye to the driver as he drove off down the dark streets.

Maybe these humans aren't so bad after all…

With a warm smile and a renewed sense of determination, he spun around and observed the welcoming fast food establishment only a few meters away. He felt his stomach gurgling at the thought of what lay within.

"I guess I could go for a quick bite." Tails giggled, his furry muzzle blushing as he clutched his belly. "Let's see if they're any good." Zipping up his rain jacket and securely hiding his namesakes, the orange kitsune followed the welcoming smell of delectable food.

Slowly returning to consciousness, Sonic opened his eyes, raising his head as he placed a gloved hand against his forehead.

"Ah man, what happened?" Peering around the white, sterile laboratory, the blue hedgehog found himself trapped in a transparent, green tubular pod extending to the ceiling of an otherwise empty room. Picking himself up, he watched as a row of humans stared at their computer monitors through a wide window.

"Heh, do they really think this flimsy prison can keep me out?"

Rubbing the base of his nose, he charged a spindash, rolling himself into spherical form and crashing through the holding cell, the glass shattering upon impact. Turning around, he dusted his hands off in accomplishment before heading to the metal door to his left, triggering an alarm. As he stepped into the hallway, he saw a group of heavily armed humans running toward him, machine guns in-hand.

"Time to mosey on out of here!" Entering a moderate jog, he ran the opposite direction from the soldiers, dodging their gunfire with ease as he turned a corner. "That was too ea—" He was cut off by a laser strike he dodged milliseconds before impact. Peering up, he found several security cameras dotting the hallway, their lasers trained on him and ready to strike once more.

"The ol' 'camera laser trick', eh?" Sonic snickered as he stepped forward. "Plllleeeeaze, this is child's play compared to Eggman's toys." The nearest laser fired once more, a blast which was easily dodged by the blue hedgehog. Running up the wall, and grabbing hold of the camera to pull himself up, he spun it around so it faced the second nearest laser. The weapon auto-fired, obliterating the cameras down the path. "Got me some target practice, too! Tails'd be proud."

With another snicker, the blue hedgehog dropped to the floor, rolling into a spindash before his sneakers could touch the tiles, and launched himself down the hallway, turning at the nearest stairwell and zooming up until he found himself on the roof.

He covered his eyes as the sun above blinded him. After adjusting to the natural light, he stepped to the edge of the roof and looked around, observing the rows of bland, white buildings forming what appeared to be some sort of military base in the middle of the desert. Shifting his focus away from the man-made structures, he noted the impossibly large expanse of sand and gave a long whistle.

"Well, my friends are missing, and I have no idea where to start lookin'...they may even be here, for all I know." He shrugged his shoulders as he jumped to the edge. "Guess this is a good place to start, but which building do I try first?" Walking to the center, he stood still as he heard heavily armed soldiers running toward him from all directions.

"A party for me?" Sonic chuckled as he was encircled by the humans.

"Halt, we have you surrounded!" yelled the frontmost soldier. "Get on the ground with your hands up."

"And why would I do that?" Sonic asked, folding his arms. "I'd love to stick around n' chat, but I've gotta juice." He bent his knees, preparing to jump across the wall of soldiers to complete his escape.

"That's what the last one said," the commander replied, "but they didn't make it very far." Sonic straightened his legs and focused his attention on him.

"What do ya mean?"

"Another one like you tried escaping. She got through our guards but passed out in the desert. Her little pet did its best to protect her, but we brought them both back."

"Cream…and Cheese?" Sonic balled his fists as he slowly approached the commander. "What did you do to them?" The other soldiers trained their guns on the blue hedgehog.

"They're unharmed," he replied. "They're being watched over as we speak."

"Thanks for the info," Sonic said in a stern voice, turning around and giving him a backhanded wave, "now I just gotta rescue 'em and get outta here."

"Not so fast, hedgehog." The commander ordered. "You'd be making a grave mistake if you left so soon."

"Oh yeah," Sonic spun around and folded his arms once more, "and why's that?"

"It's simple, really." The commander lowered his gun. "The little bunny is safe at the moment, but one call back to headquarters is all I need."

"You wouldn't dare." Sonic snarled as he stepped closer, balling his fists tight, only stopping as a trail of machine gun bullets obstructed his path.

"Oh, but I would, and I will if you take one more step." Sonic withdrew a few paces, his anger quite palpable as he growled under his breath. "Very good. Now you will come with us. If you comply with our orders, we will ensure your little friend remains safe."

"Yeah, you better," Sonic grumbled as a soldier approached him with handcuffs, securely restraining his wrists, "because if you lay a single finger on her, you're gonna regret i—" A soldier whacked his head with the end of his machine gun, sending him to his knees.

"That's just about enough of your smartass mouth." The commander spat to the side. "All right, soldiers, I want you six to escort our guest to his holding cell while the rest of you return to your posts."

"Sir, yessir!" they exclaimed in unison before following their new orders. Two of the soldiers pulled Sonic from the ground while the remaining four followed closely behind with guns trained on his back. The other soldiers, meanwhile, dispersed back to their original posts.

Sonic remained silent as he was led to a room like the one he escaped earlier, complete with two tall, cylindrical holding cells, one of which would serve as the blue hedgehog's prison. Before he could step inside, however, he was stopped by a hand against his shoulder. Turning around, he found a scientist with a lab coat holding a syringe.

"All I need to do is give you this medication, and you will be able to relax while in confinement," the scientist said as he flicked the needle.

"Hey, this wasn't part of the deal!" Sonic yelled at the soldiers, who immediately trained their weapons on him. Finding himself staring into multiple muzzles, he realized his unfortunate situation; while he could almost certainly escape unharmed thanks to his supersonic speed, he was not about to risk Cream's safety for his own. Therefore, with a long sigh, the blue hedgehog extended his right arm out.

"Just make it quick," Sonic said with a grumble, looking away as the scientist applied some rubbing alcohol to the area of his upper arm before piercing his skin, causing him to wince. Sonic held his eyes closed, his muzzle scrunched with pain as medication was forced into his body. Finally, the scientist removed the needle and applied a bandage.

"What does this even do, anyway?" Sonic asked, groaning as he rotated his sore shoulder.

"This long-lasting medication will keep you calm and sedated for several hours," he replied as he placed the syringe into a toxic waste-marked garbage can at the side of the room. "Expect to be receiving many of these in the coming months."

"The…coming months?" Sonic asked as his legs started to wobble. Before he could weigh any sort of possibility of escaping the base with Cream and Cheese, though, he passed out, falling out of consciousness before hitting the ground.

"All right, soldiers," the scientist began, "put the hedgehog back in the machine so we can run our preliminary tests." Doing as they were told, two lifted Sonic into the chamber and locked the glass door before exiting the lab, leaving the sleeping hedgehog alone in his new prison.

"Welcome to Taco Bell," said the squeaky-voiced teenaged human male at the front counter, "can I take your ord—" He froze as he registered the sight of the only customer in line.

"Hello, sir!" Tails said in a cheery voice, waving his hand to greet him, "I'd like the, ummm…" He squinted at the menu above. "…I'll have two Doritos Locos Tacos, a large bean burrito, some Nacho Fries with extra dip, a Crunch Wrap Supreme, two Cinnamon Twists, and…a large soda."

The teenager peered down at the alien lifeform in amazement, completely speechless. Before he could muster up a response, however, a colleague of his, appearing to be of similar age, tapped him on the shoulder.

"It's okay, man, he's probably just here for that anime convention."

"Ohhh, I gotchu," the order taker replied before returning his attention to the orange kitsune. "Sorry 'bout that." He typed his order into his touchscreen display. "Will that be all, sir?"

"Yep!" Tails fluttered his namesakes from behind.

"All right, that'll be $25.11." Tails handed over some cash and the coupon.

"With the discount, that'll be $18.25." Handing the fox his change, he grabbed the food items from the warming rack behind him, placing them on a rectangular tray as Tails went to fill up his cup at the nearby self-service station.

"Huh…these sodas are foreign, but they look quite similar to the ones we have at home." Shrugging his shoulders, he dispensed himself a sizzling blue cup of an appealing beverage labeled "Mountain Dew Baja Blast", returning to the counter as his order number was called and hauling his food to a table in the corner of the restaurant.

Tails salivated at the sight of the neatly arranged fast food items before him, his stomach gurgling as he reached for the bean burrito. He squealed in delight moments after taking his first bite. "Man, this is really good!" He took a sip of his soda and proceeded to finish half of his meal in a matter of minutes before taking another long swig of his beverage and pulling out his Miles Electric.

"According to the map, I'm only a mile away from the Tornado, and it hasn't moved at all since it first pinged." He took a thoughtful bite of his taco as he stared out the window, the rain gently pattering on the empty parking lot outside. "Sonic…I sure hope you're okay out there…" He took another bite. "What am I saying," he declared with a mouth full of food, "of course he's okay! He's Sonic! He's my big brother! We've dealt with weirder stuff before." With a small smile on his face, he took a big bite of his dessert, stopping halfway through the Cinnamon Twist as he felt a pain in his belly.

"Owww, I think I ate too fast…." He analyzed the half-eaten Crunch Wrap Supreme in front of him. "This food seems a bit more artificial than what we have back at home. Maybe that's why I…" The young fox covered his mouth as his cheeks bulged out. Hopping off the seat, he ran to the nearest restroom, returning several minutes later clutching his belly with one hand and holding himself up against the wall with the other.

"Well…lesson learned, I guess." Feeling another burst of pain from his stomach, he rapidly spun around and returned to the restroom, coming back to his table several minutes later after yet another unpleasant vomiting spell. Peering down at his plate of half-eaten food, he raised a gloved finger to his chin in thought. "Maybe I'll keep these and ration them out later. At least they have some nutrients, and if I eat them sparingly enough, I shouldn't get sick." With a sigh, Tails stored the food items in his hammerspace before turning to the door.

"We hope you enjoyed your food!" the worker said from the counter. Tails simply waved in response, lacking the will to tell the employee the meal didn't agree with him.

"Hang in there, Tornado," Tails declared as he stepped across the parking lot, "I'm almost there. Just another mile until we're finally reuni—" The orange kitsune stopped as a flashy advertisement caught his eye along the window of the neighboring restaurant. He noted the yellow "M" identical to the one he had found on the bag with the half-eaten burger in the dumpster. The fox couldn't take his eyes off the green shake on the poster.

"Shamrock Shake, huh?" Tails turned around. "But I shouldn't. I'm so close…I don't need any more distractions!" He shook his head as he walked away, only to return to the poster moments later. "But it looks so good!" The young kitsune salivated as he studied the poster once more. "I could really use a mint treat right now…" His stomach gurgled at the thought of the delectable ice cream, having recovered from the Taco Bell incident and hungry due to the lack of nourishment.

"Okay, then…it's settled." Planting a fist against the open palm of his other hand, he stepped into the restaurant, swearing this would be his final detour before reuniting with his beloved biplane.

Opening his eyes after a restless sleep, Sonic found himself slumped against the inside of the cylindrical holding cell. Even as he allowed himself the time to fully awaken, however, he still felt sluggish and fatigued.

"Ah, geez…" The blue hedgehog pulled himself up, but he fell face-first against the floor. "What did…those guys…do to me?" Gritting his teeth, he gathered as much strength as he could muster to roll himself to his side. He stopped his efforts, however, when he noticed a familiar figure in a holding cell meters from his own.

"C-cream?" The blue hedgehog watched as the young bunny slept in her own tubular prison. Her orange dress had already been in tatters while she was imprisoned by Eggman back on Mobius, but the young bunny appeared even worse now, no doubt from trying to escape the Earthling military base. He noted scratches on the outside of her long, flappy ears, and her blue necktie was loosely wrapped around her neck, its knot long undone. Her white gloves were caked with dirt and sand, as were her yellow and orange sneakers.

"…and Cheese?" Turning his head slightly, the blue hedgehog observed the small, blue chao resting against Cream's side, their soft breathing matching Cheese's own. Like their owner, Cheese's red bowtie was loose and grimy, and dirt covered their body, from their dumpling shaped head to their stubby, yellowish green feet.

Sonic's ears pricked up as he heard the door creak open. Four scientists sporting white lab coats made their way to Cream's cell, tablets in-hand as they vigorously took notes on the young bunny's current condition.

"Poor kid," one of the humans said while pushing up her glasses, "stranded without her parents, a bunch of scary people abducting her…I feel bad for her."

"Feel bad for it?" replied one of the other scientists with a scoff. "You're too sentimental. Ya know that, right? In this line of work, we must be prepared for the unexpected, including aliens like these. Besides…" He knelt to get a better look at the sleeping rabbit. "…we all saw the security footage. It escaped a small army of soldiers on its own. It may be cute n' innocent on the outside, but actions speak louder than words."

"S-shut up…"

"Huh?" The male scientist turned his attention to the blue hedgehog sprawled on the floor in his tube.

"Ya…heard me…" Finding the strength within, Sonic pushed himself up, leaning against the glass wall with the open palms of his gloved hands. "You…leave Cream…n' Cheese alone."

"Or else what, huh?" The human approached Sonic and tapped the glass surface separating them. "You're far too drugged up to be escaping here anytime soon, and we'll be keepin' ya sedated until we learn everything there is to know about you." He snickered as he peered down, laughing at the sight of Sonic's angry snarl. "I wonder what we'll do next…maybe we'll study your DNA…or drain your blood…or maybe even harvest your organs for…further analysis."

"Quit it, Liam!" The woman shouted, her tablet shaking in her arms. "Can't you see he's suffering enough?"

"Or perhaps still," Liam continued, licking his lips, "we'll rip this bunny apart first…and force you to watch."

"That's enough!" She was beyond angry, a vein appearing on her forehead above her brown, pony-tailed hair. "If you continue, I will be forced to lodge a complaint!"

Liam scoffed. "Whatever, Mandy…" Turning his attention to Sonic for the final time, he tapped on the glass casing of his prison once more. "We'll be seeing you again real soon…freak." His bellowing laughter filled the room as he stepped out, followed by two of the scientists. Mandy stayed behind, slowly stepping toward Sonic's cell before tapping a few keys on the lock to open the sliding glass door. Sonic watched in awe as she knelt and gently lifted him so he was leaning against the side of the cell, his back pressed against the wall.

"Sorry about his behavior." Mandy pulled a small, rectangular object from her pocket. She unwrapped it to reveal a sweet-smelling brown block within. "Chocolate?" She brought the candy bar closer to Sonic's face, allowing him to sniff at it.

"S-sure…" Having regained some of his strength, he was able to grab hold of the snack and bring it to his mouth, taking a small, thoughtful bite. "Hehe, this is…pretty good…better on our world, though…" He winked at Mandy above with a smile as he took another bite.

"We're going to be running some tests," Mandy said as she stepped out of the tubular prison and closed the glass door. "You'll see some lights, and the cell will vibrate a bit, but you and the bunny won't be hurt."

Sonic gave Cream a worried look before returning his attention to the scientist. "P-promise?" Sonic stared up at her intently.

"Promise," she replied with a nod and a smile. "You have my word." Sonic returned this reassurance with a thumbs up before she walked away, joining her colleagues on the opposite side of the windowed wall separating them from the Mobians.

As Sonic finished his chocolate bar, the lights in the laboratory grew dark. The cell began to vibrate around him, startled him only slightly before he remembered Mandy's warning. Finally, he watched as a ring of light made its way around the circumference of the tube, starting from the top and slowly reaching the bottom. He felt nothing, save for the vibrations of the machine, as his biometric data were captured.

As the circle of light made its fifth lap, the blue hedgehog turned his attention back to the young bunny and her blue chao, both of whom remained asleep as they were analyzed.

"Cream…I'll…get you…out…if it's the…last thing I…do…"

Stopping near the street corner of a quiet suburb neighboring Station Square, Tails happily consumed his mint shake with a smile on his face. Peering around as he took another long sip, he found the house he had identified on his map application.

There it is…the Tornado is right behind that house…

Taking a final few sips, his ears drooped in disappointment as he reached the bottom of the cup, tossing it into a nearby public garbage can. "Note to self: get another one on the way back. Not as good as Mobian Scout™ mint chocolate chip shakes…but still decent." Dusting off his hands, the fox stepped across the street as he furrowed his brow in determination.

He observed the small home before him. No lights were visible through the small windows dotting the aging, working class abode, and he detected no security systems as he stepped across the yard, tiptoed below the windows, and climbed up the backyard fence.

"That's strange…" Tails pulled his Miles Electric from his namesakes and examined the blip he was standing over. "The Tornado should be here…unless it's wrong?" He glanced at the clock on his tablet. "1:30 AM, huh?" He yawned as he turned around. "I guess I'll have to start back from square one tomorrow…"

Creak.

Tails spun around. "I recognize that noise anywhere." Hearing the metallic sound once more, his ears pricked as he used them to detect the source, leading him to a tall oak tree. Peering up, he gasped at the sight of the Tornado 2 biplane, its majestic blue finish glistening in the moonlight above, its dual wings caught between the tree's thick branches, and the glass-covered cockpit undisturbed by the interdimensional travel.

"I finally found you!" Activating his rotary namesakes, Tails flew up to his plane and wrapped his arms and legs around its side, giving it a big hug. "Oh, I've missed you so much! You're not too cold, are you?" He glanced around with a concerned look. "Well, we'll getcha all fired up once we find a way to ground you." Spinning around, the orange kitsune looked down at the grass from below. "How exactly do we get you down, though?" He raised a hand to his chin in thought. "I suppose I could cut down the oak tree, but that'd be too dangerous to do by myself, and you'd just fall out of the tree and get damaged anyway. Plus that wouldn't be exactly fair to the tree…"

"In any case," Tails continued as he reduced the spinning speed of his namesakes, returning to the ground with a gentle thud, "I'll have to do something with the tree, even if that means cutting a few branches." He crossed to the house, spinning his tails ones more to get a good look at what he could find through the small gaps between the blinds of the first-floor bedroom. "I think…I see someone sleeping…"

Tails tapped on the glass window.

Tap. Tap.

Tippy. Tap. Tap.

The fox waited patiently for several seconds before giving it another try.

Tippy Tippy Tippy Tap.

"There, I think they're getting up now." Tails cleared his throat, hoping to make a decent enough first impression to make the biplane removal project as smooth as possible. Finally, he watched as a young girl opened the blinds, her long, blond hair rustling behind her, reaching back to the edge of her wheelchaired seat.

"That doesn't make any sense," the girl said to herself, her voice mostly muffled by the window separating the two. Raising a hand to her chin in thought, she analyzed Tails' plane intently, its owner below her peripheral vision. "I hope the pilot didn't get hurt."

The young fox, in a last attempt to get her attention, tapped on the window a few more times.

Tippy Tippy Tippy Tap.

"Huh?" The girl peered down to find the orange kitsune below. Tails increased his altitude so they were eye-level.

"Hi!" he greeted with a smile. His smile quickly faded, however, when the girl fainted out of shock, slouching back in her seat.

"…Hello?" Tapping the window a few more times, the young fox tried waking her up, but to no avail.

Darn it…

I hope you all enjoyed the second chapter! Special thanks to fellow members of the r/MilesPrower Discord server for helping me answer an important question: what would Tails order if he went to Taco Bell?