"One-Hundred, thirty-seven days...Hundreds of scans, dozens of hours sifting through news articles and photos...Where are you, Sonic?"

Tails brought his third cup of coffee to his lips, grimacing as he found it had gone cold. He didn't sleep much these days; how could he? His best friend was missing and he might be the only person who could find him.

Cosmo had gone that morning to check in on Amy, leaving Tails alone with his equipment. The corkboard in his workshop, usually adorned by photos of friends and family, was now covered in pushpins and strings like a mad conspirator's. Photos, maps, possible locations, all strung together in an erratic pattern across the board. His desk was covered in clutter that he'd been too busy to clear off, he hadn't showered in several days... He'd thrown himself full force into finding Sonic and coordinating ongoing relief efforts.

Tails opened the window, dumping the cold coffee outside before plopping back down on his chair. He rested his head down on the desk with a groan; Chaos, he was exhausted...

"Rough morning?"

Tails' head snapped up again as a voice spoke from behind him, and he just about fell out of his chair turning around. "S-Shadow!" He stammered, catching himself on the desk. "...Hi."

"Hello, Prower." Shadow looked around the workshop, "...Looks like you've been working hard."

Tails sighed, "I would take a nap, but then I might miss something... The Chaos scanner's on almost twenty-four seven, but it'll only give us a ping if he uses his chaos abilities."

Shadow nodded slowly as he overlooked the screens, "Which he doesn't use as much as me or Silver..."

"What about you? How's it going being in charge of all of GUN?"

Shadow gave a sigh of relief, leaning back against the Tornado. "Tower should be cleared to return to duty in a few days... And then I get a chance to go back to field missions, thank Chaos."

"You never did seem to be a cubicle-person."

"Not at all..." Shadow overlooked the corkboard, "Calls are constantly coming in with updates on the relief efforts; Station Square's almost got all of the main roads cleared."

"That's good...That really just leaves Sonic..."

There was a long moment of silence, before Shadow finally spoke up again. "...Is it possible he's not even here?"

"What do you mean?"

"When the Metarex attacked, Sonic sent all of the Chaos Emeralds off into space. Eggman's ship was in orbit, so... Do you think Sonic might've been jettisoned off-world too?"

"I sure hope not." Tails got up from the desk, wincing at how stiff his legs had gotten from sitting in the chair so long. "If he was, then we might never find him." He gave a sigh and shook his head, "...I'm doing everything I can think of to find him, and it's...It's not enough."

"You'll find him, Prower. I can't let myself believe he's gone forever either, as much as he drove me up a wall in the past."

A rare smile appeared on Tails' lips, "Yeah...He has that effect on people."

"You checked on Amy lately?"

"Cosmo's over there now. She's better at comforting her than I am..." Tails returned to his desk, overlooking the files and findings he'd been studying. "...One clue is all I need. He wants to be found, I'm sure of it. I just need a breakthrough..."

"You need a break, is what you need."

Shadow looked around the workshop and then gestured to the X-Tornado out on the runway. "When was the last time you flew, Prower? There used to be a time when I never saw you not in the cockpit of that thing."

"I know... I miss it..."

"Then go. I'll keep an eye on the scanner for you."

"Seriously?"

"I may be able to go for a long time without rest, but even I need to step away from work for a few minutes and just let loose."

Tails was still for a moment, and then nodded. "Call me if you get anything."

"Of course."

Tails hurried out of the workshop, and Shadow took a seat at the desk, overlooking the papers himself. News reports from all over the world, satellite images, radio transmissions... Tails truly hadn't been missing any form of information gathering. Shadow was almost impressed with the little fox.

Tails overlooked the X-Tornado to ensure no maintenance wasn't needed, and then hopped into the cockpit. The familiar controls welcomed his grip, and he felt some of the stress begin to melt away as he started it up. "...Just a quick circle around town, and then right back."

The boat taking Sonic from the Missing Isle was tiny and barely noticable as it wandered across the sea. Another trait that suggested a sentience to the Isle was that whenever someone left the isle, it was always not too far from one of the landmasses. It could be in the middle of the Tundran Sea one moment, and as soon as the boat left port, the boat was just an hour out from Eurish.

Sonic sat huddled on the deck, his cloak wrapped around his shoulders as the boat tossed and turned in the waves.

"You doin' okay, Boy!?" The captain hollered from the helm.

"This is why I hate being on the water...!" Sonic moaned, trying to hold down the breakfast he'd hastily scarfed down before departing.

"Ya git used to it after while!"

"Sure...!"

Sonic pulled the cloak tighter around him and didn't look out over the water. His finger fiddled with the object hanging from a chain around his neck, spinning it around in a circle.

It wasn't the fanciest, but it was unique and made by the Isle's metalsmiths during his time there. He wasn't sure if it was a waste of time; he hoped it wasn't. He'd had a lot of time to think, and he hoped Amy hadn't moved on...

That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

Sonic rolled his eyes as Sandy interrupted his thoughts, You two have been playing a game of tag that's lasted a decade. She could live for eternity and not move on from you.

"Gee, thanks for the pep-talk, Glitterbutt."

"What was that, Boy!?" The captain hollered.

"Nothing!" Sonic assured, pulling his hood over his quills. You think she'll think it's weird that I'm talking to myself all the time?

...Yeah, probably.

You're not much help in the encouragement department, Sandy.

I know.

Sonic sighed, clenching down as a particularly large wave rattled the boat. "Just a little bit longer...!"

With the fog surrounding them, it was hard to tell exactly where they would end up docking, but shortly after, Sonic's ears pricked at the sound of a harbor. "Finally... Solid ground...!"

He heard Sandy giggle, and then the hedgehog forced himself up onto his feet to look for the shore. The silhouettes of other ships appeared, bobbing in the waves side by side, and finally Sonic caught sight of a flag flying over them. "Londoon..."

It had been some time since he'd been here as well, and last he'd heard, a friend of his had been hurt protecting it from Eggman's bombs. It was also all that remained of a world he'd once saved, Amanda being one of the few survivors still remaining thanks to a spell turning her to stone for centuries.

As the boat came into port, Sonic stumbled clear of it and landed clumsily on the dock, just grateful to be on something solid again. Sandy was laughing in his head, but he didn't even care.

"Good to see you, Sonic..."

Sonic looked up to the hand held out, looking at a face that was almost identical to someone else he knew. "Venice... You knew I was coming?"

The gray hedgehog smirked, using his other hand to tap his head. "I got the stronger telepathy and weaker telekinesis, remember?"

"Flip-Flopped from Silver, I remember..."

Sonic remembered the first time the two had met. Eggman had attempted to clone Silver in an effort to level the playing field, but Venice had managed to escape before Eggman could input his evilness into him and make him loyal to him. Venice had been found by Silver first, and with help from all of them, Venice had forged his own life elsewhere.

Sonic took his hand and allowed him to pull him up onto his feet, "You talked to Silver lately?"

"A few nights ago. He was finishing up work in Empire City cleanup... You okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine." Sonic lied, knowing that Venice wouldn't believe him. "I'm just a little seasick."

"Uh huh...Come on, we'll get you back to the house and cleaned up. You look like you could use a decent meal and a nap."

Sonic smirked, letting the other hedgehog lead the way. His smirk faded as he thought about his friend again, "...How's Mandie?"

Venice smiled, "She's awake and doing much better... It'll be a few more weeks before she's cleared for work though."

"Digging up artifacts isn't that much work, is it?"

"When you're spending all day standing up and squatting down in tight spaces, yeah it is. But she loves finding leftover remnants of her old culture; she says it makes her feel close with her parents again... But that first find will always be her favorite."

"Oh yeah, your housemate. I knew there was a reason why I didn't come over here that often..."

Venice chuckled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Oh come on, Cal's not that bad."

"You didn't have to listen to him call you 'Knave' for two weeks! Trust me, the novelty of having a talking sword will wear off..."