Underneath the ocean, nestled on the seafloor, the Egg Fort was once more back in peak condition. In the main control room, both Orbot and Cubot reported to their boss.
"The main engine has been fully repaired, Doctor," Orbot declared.
"Eyup!" Cubot agreed. "Everything is in tip top shape!"
"Excellent," Robotnik replied. "I still don't understand how it took so long to fix things after our little trip to Oriental City."
"Because Cubot spent most of the project trying to get a wrench off of his servo."
"Those things are hard to get off when they get stuck!"
"Enough!" Robotnik insisted. "We've still got a lot of ground to cover if we want to catch up with Sonic. Fire up the main engines!"
"Aye aye, sir!" the two bots declared.
The engines turned on and everything seemed to be working perfectly… then the power died and the engines cut out. Darkness fell on the ship, the only light coming from Orbot and Cubot's eyes.
"What… happened?!" Robotnik demanded.
"I'm… not sure sir," Orbot admitted. "I thought for sure we'd have this vessel operational at this point."
"I don't know about that," Cubot replied. "Personally I thought we'd have the ship working by now."
"Perhaps we can still repair it," Orbot suggested.
"Again?" Cubot moaned.
"Forget it," Robotnik decided. "I think it's time to retire this old heap and introduce my newest creation."
That made both bots pause.
"Say what?" Cubot let out.
…
Meanwhile, miles away, a massive yacht was trekking through the peaceful waters. Onboard was Keith, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Kat, and Knuckles, all of whom were doing their own thing on the ship. At the moment, Amy was sitting out on a deck chair, a pink journal in her lap as she wrote about the journey.
"After almost daily battles against Eggman for the Chaos Emeralds, as well as other trouble that seems to happen around us, we were all beginning to feel worn out. Thankfully, Keith's school had a long vacation coming up, so his dad decided to take him and the rest of us on a cruise. We're sailing out to see the glaciers on a nice, peaceful journey. Most of our party is enjoying themselves, and the well deserved vacation time… Well, everyone except-"
"Four days?! We've only been on this tub for four days!?" Sonic let out in horror.
"Pretty much," Keith confirmed. "We're about halfway there."
"Oh, come on pal, give me a break! I don't take to water, you know this! Can't you see I'm getting sea sick?!"
Off to the side, Knuckles was chuckling at the sight.
"What's the matter? Big tough hero scared of a little water?"
Sonic didn't seem to hear the taunt, clutching onto Keith as his eyes were literally trembling.
"Please, I beg ya! I'm goin crazy!" Sonic started running all over the ship in a frantic haze. "Get me off of this thing!"
Kat let out a snort.
"Drama queen."
…
That night, the group was relaxing in one of the ships sitting rooms.
"Hey Keith, " Tails spoke up. "I know we're supposed to be relaxing and all, but what's there to do on this ship?"
"There's lots of stuff to do," Keith insisted. "You could take a swim if you wanted."
Sonic whizzed by, but the others remained oblivious.
"I will admit, the water slides on this thing are amazing," Kat spoke up. "What do you think, Knuckles?"
"They do look pretty cool," Knuckles replied. "But if you want real water slides, you should ride the aqua roads in the Mystic Jungle."
"Those are pretty fun," Amy agreed.
"It does sound fun," Tails replied as Sonic whizzed by again.. "But a guy can only do so much swimming before he gets bored."
"I'm sure you can find something to do," Keith assured him. "Though, I'm more than a little worried about Sonic. I thought he'd be able to relax, but he's acting like… like..."
"A crazy person?" Kat offered up.
"A rat in a trap?" Knuckles suggested.
Sonic zipped passed a second time.
"Yes," Keith answered.
Sonic passed by for a third time.
"Sonic's used to having open spaces to run around in," Tails told him. "You gotta imagine being cooped up in one place for so long would be a bit much on him, especially being surrounded by water."
Sonic passed by for a fourth time. After this Amy let out a snort and got up, stepping right into his path.
"Alright, time for an intervention," she decided, holding out her hand. "Halt!"
Sonic instantly stopped right in front of her.
"We need to talk, Sonic."
"What about?" Sonic asked.
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen."
"Then you should be able to understand the situation you're in. As a hero to not just one world but two, your actions are what inspire everyone around you. Are you aware of the number of people who rely on you? Who look up to you? That's why you have to act like a hero. So you're stuck on a ship surrounded by water and can't run around for a week. That's no big deal.
"Think Amy's really getting through to him?" Tails asked.
"Not a chance," Knuckles replied.
"Now go forth, hero," Amy ushered as Sonic walked off seemingly better. "And keep your head held high!"
He made it nine steps down the hall, glanced back, then curled into a ball before flopping onto his side.
"He's sulking!" Amy exclaimed.
"Wow..." Kat let out. "What a baby."
"I've seen Sonic sulk before, but this isn't it," Tails told them. "I think he's sick or something."
"Ok," Keith relented. "I'll talk to my dad."
…
The next day, a helicopter began landing on the ship, with a much more chipper Sonic there to greet it.
"Well it's been fun," Sonic told them. "But I gotta split."
"Hey!" Amy realized. "He's not sick! He's just a big fake!"
"I knew Sonic was a wimp about water, but I never thought he'd stoop this low," Knuckles remarked.
"Eh, let the baby run off," Kat declared. "He'll just be a downer on our vacation anyway."
"Enjoy the vacay kids," Sonic remarked, heading towards the opening helicopter. "I'll catch you on the flip side! Huh?"
Before he could get on, the helicopter opened up to reveal the entire Birnbaum family. Helen, Cream, Cheese, the Doctor and her husband all came down the gangplank, each dressed in vacation wear.
"Hey everyone!" Cream greeted, waving happily.
"Hey Cream!" Amy greeted back. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Mr. Kent managed to pull some strings and get my entire family a nice extended vacation," Dr. Birnbaum replied. "Then, he had his personal helicopter come and pick us up."
"I must say, I knew Helen had made some interesting friends, but I never imagined they'd be so influential," Helen's dad spoke up.
"Yeah," Sonic spoke up heading for the helicopter. "I'm sure you guys will have a fun time. See ya when you-"
Before he could board, he ran right into Mr. Tanaka, who was standing in his way.
"Oh, hey Tanaka," Sonic greeted. "What's up?"
Wordlessly, Tanaka bent down, picking Sonic up and holding him under his arms. Before Sonic could ask what was happening, he heard the familiar sound of a helicopter engine.
"Hey, that's my ride! Let me go! Hey! Hey!"
"I am afraid I cannot allow that, Mr. Sonic," Tanaka informed him.
"What?!" Sonic let out.
"A true warrior needs his rest. Constant battle will not only exhaust the body, but the mind as well. A warrior must relax and be rejuvenated, so that when next he goes into battle, he is mightier than before."
"Hey, I'm all for that, but couldn't I relax somewhere more relaxing? Like an active volcano?!"
Mr. Tanaka just set Sonic down as the helicopter flew off, leaving Sonic to fall to his knees in despair.
"NO!"
…
Later on, the group was all about the ship, doing various things to try and relax. Tails was sitting on the deck with Mr. Birnbaum, both of them looking up at the clouds.
"When I was a boy, my brother and I would try and find shapes in the clouds," Mr. Birnbaum said wistfully. "It's been a long time since I've had the chance. See any interesting shapes?"
"Hmm…" Tails let out, looking at the clouds. "I see… I think I see an airplane."
"Nice. I see a three tailed raccoon. Say, are you the only multi-tailed creature on your home?"
"As far as I know. I used to think it brought me nothing but trouble, but ever since I met Sonic, I've been able to put it to good use."
He starts spinning his tails, hovering in the air. Mr. Birnbaum watches in fascination and awe.
"Now that is impressive."
…
Sonic meanwhile took a running start and tried leaping off of the ship. He sailed across the sky before landing in the water. From the deck, Kat watched from a pair of binoculars.
"He did it again. How many times is this?"
"Fifteen," Knuckles replied. "How far do you think he made it?"
"Dunno." Kat grabbed a radio, getting in touch with the captain. "Sir, how far did Sonic make it this time?"
"Five nautical miles," the captain replied. "You two coming to fish him out again?"
"On our way," Kat announced, stowing the radio. "Come on Knux, we've got some fishing to do."
"Alright alright," Knuckles replied before letting out a snort. "Maybe we should let him drown a bit first. That'll make him think twice before launching himself off the boat."
"Come on," Kat insisted, grabbing Knuckles' arm and pulling him towards the dinghies.
…
Elsewhere on the deck, Amy was in the middle of a shuffleboard game with Dr. Birnbaum. When she saw Sonic go flying, the pink hedgehog sighed, leaning on her stick.
"That Sonic," Amy let out. "He can't relax for one second!"
"Seems you care for him quite a lot," Dr. Birnbaum noted.
Amy let out a sigh.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Oh, quite. I take it the feeling isn't mutual."
"Not quite. Sonic's never been one to settle down. I know I'll never be more than a dear friend, but is it wrong of me to want more?"
"Of course not. You just need to make sure that you don't let the right guy slip by you while waiting for one that will never return your feelings."
Amy let that sink in, then just let out a long sigh.
…
Meanwhile, Chris and his dad were in the middle of a game of chess, the two seemingly evenly matched. At the moment, it was Chuck's turn. However, he was taking his time plotting out his moves, much to the annoyance of Keith.
"Are you going to move yet?" Keith asked.
"Patience son," Chuck told him. "Chess is a game of patience and strategy. You should know better than anyone that to go in without a plan is just asking for failure."
"I know… I just didn't think planning would take this long."
"All good plans take time and patience, not just in chess, but in real life. It pays to step back and look things over. For example…" Chuck moved his queen, taking Keith's bishop, "checkmate."
Keith did a double take, not believing that he was beaten so quickly.
"What the… how did you…"
"Like I said, patience and strategy."
…
Meanwhile, Robotnik had taken Orbot and Cubot back to the destroyed island base and down into an underwater cavern. There, he led the two into a brand new Egg Fort, one that consisted of three individual components. Robotnik laughed happily, taking his seat.
"IImpressive, isn't it?" Robotnik boasted. "Those dimwits thougessive isn't it? Those dimwits think they've defeated me because they destroyed my tower base. However, my robot factory is still intact, allowing me to construct this beauty in secret where nobody could find it!"
"When did he have time to make this?" Orbot commented.
"You can say that again," Cubot replied. "I mean, we knew about the first Egg Fort, but why didn't he tell us there was a secret factory under here."
"Because it's called a 'secret' factory duncebuckets!" Robotnik told them. "It's required of every evil genius to be smart as well as sneaky."
"Well then, let's get started!" Cubot cheered. "Egg Fort II Dragons, take off!"
"Hold it!" Robotnik spoke up. "Who gave you permission to name anything around here?! I'm in charge! I'll do the naming!"
"Well, what would you call it?" Cubot asked.
"Simple, there's the Or-ship, the Cu-ship, and finally, the Super XL Egg Final Star Extreme!"
"Well that hardly seems fair," Orbot commented. "How come we get such simplistic names while yours is so fancy?"
"Because I'm the boss, and you're not."
"Aw come on, Doc," Cubot insisted. "Cut us some slack here."
"Fine, fine, I did have some other names. Maybe those will be better." he reached into his coat, pulling out a small book. How about… Ace, Jack, King?"
"We don't even play cards," Orbot replied.
"Rock, paper, scissors?"
"Is he serious?" Cubot asked.
"Eenie, meenie, miney? X, Y, Z? Receive, toss, attack? How about Eg, Egg, and Eggy? I think that one works."
…
Meanwhile back on the ship, Sonic was growing more and more restless as the voyage went on. Not wanting to stay on the boat any longer, he began hatching an escape plan.
…
"Why would I worry about the Tornado II?" Tails asked as Sonic sat next to him.
"Well ya see, we've been on this boat a couple of days, right?" Sonic reasoned.
"Uh-huh."
"Well, well-built machines are like humans. They get lonely. The Tornado II is always with you, Tails. I bet it's getting awfully lonesome without you."
"Oh no!" Tails cried out. "How could I have left it behind?! Poor Tornado II..."
"I got him!" Sonic cheered to himself.
…
Elsewhere on the ship, Knuckles was lounging on one of the deck chairs with a bowl of grapes on one of the arm rests. As he reached to grab one, Sonic came dashing by, knocking the bowl over and scattering the grapes.
"I hope you plan on picking those up."
"Nice to see you too, Knuckles. Surprised you're taking it so easy."
"Well, not all of us have a panic attack at the first sight of water."
"Oh, I know. I was referring to… our problem."
"Right now, my only problem is three feet tall with blue spines."
"And the issue of us collecting all seven Chaos Emeralds so we can go back home? That's not on your priority list?"
Knuckles perked up for a moment.
"What are you getting at?"
"I'm just saying, we've already been in this world a really long time. Who knows what's happened to the Master Emerald since you've been gone."
Before Sonic could continue, Kat came walking up to him. She grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, holding him up to her eye level.
"What are you trying to pull, hedgehog?"
"Just making polite conversation."
"Right… and Eggman's a humanitarian. What are you up to?"
"Who has time to be up to anything? We're on vacation."
Sonic then flipped out of Kat's grip and sped off. She watched him go, Knuckles getting up from his seat.
"He's trying something, isn't he?" Kat asked.
"Oh yeah," Knuckles agreed.
"Wanna watch the fallout?"
"Absolutely."
…
"Do you really mean that, Sonic?" Amy asked as Sonic stood in front of her.
"Well sure I mean it," Sonic replied, laying on the charm so thick, rom com actors would be jealous. "I think you're just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. The way you swing that little hammer of yours around, my heart beats a million times a minute. I know, you could never care for somebody like me." he turned away dramatically. "I guess it's just the way it has to be… perhaps I could go on if you would only swing that hammer once more."
Without a moment of hesitation, Amy summoned her hammer.
"You want it, you got it!"
She began swinging her hammer wildly, Sonic grinning as she did.
…
"Amy did what?" Keith let out as Sonic relayed what happened.
"She's gone berserk!" Sonic explained. "She just kept swinging her hammer over and over. Sooner or later, this whole boat's gonna drive us all nuts!"
"Hmm, perhaps we should turn the boat around," Keith admitted. "I never imagined that everyone would succumb to cabin fever like this."
"I don't know…" Chuck pondered.
Just then, Kat and Knuckles came in, both of them looking at Sonic with smug looks.
"Don't believe a thing this blue windbag is spouting," Knuckles insisted. "He's completely full of it."
"Sonic's been manipulating everyone so that they'll act crazy, all so he can selfishly end our vacation early," Kat accused.
"What!?" Sonic replied. "Me? Come on, I would never-"
"Did he really truly say that, Amy?" Cream asked as she and Amy walked through the room.
"It's the truth Cream," Amy confirmed. "He said his little heart beat faster every time I swung my hammer. Isn't he the greatest?"
"Wow, that is so sweet!"
"Chao!" Cheese chirped as Sonic slowly slinked away.
"You know what? I think that soon, Sonic's gonna ask me to be his girl."
Sonic almost made it to the door before Knuckles grabbed his foot. The hedgehog froze as the echidna grinned viciously.
"Uh… hey there, Knuckles."
"Oh, this is gonna be fun."
Kat cleared her throat, then called out.
"Hey Amy! Sonic was using your feelings for him to manipulate you!"
Amy stopped cold in her tracks. Cream saw her freeze and instantly recoiled, running over to Chuck and hiding behind him. Anger and rage just seemed to radiate off of the pink hedgehog.
"Uh oh…" Sonic let out.
Amy turned slowly, her face red with fury as she summoned her hammer into her hand.
"He… did… WHAT?!"
Knuckles then tossed Sonic right in front of Amy before grabbing Kat and pulling her out of the way. Sonic looked up at the pissed girl in front of him, genuinely afraid for his life.
"Uh… sorry?"
"SOOONIIIC!"
…
Back at the Kent house, Bokkun came flying in through an open window, giving his signature laugh.
"Hi everybody!" He greeted. "Long time no see! Did ya miss me? No big important message today, just dropping by to say hi!"
He was only greeted by a long silence and an empty house.
"Hello? Anybody home?"
His face began dropping as tears began building up.
"Guess there's… nobody home…"
"Well well," Ella noted as she came in the door, rolling pin in hand. "Look who we have here. Our little robotic diablo. You've come to stir trouble today? Well too bad for you. Nobody's home, so you can just scram."
Bokkun began to tear up at that, then began flat out crying, burying his face in Ella's apron. She was caught off guard by this sudden onslaught of emotions and ended up setting down her rolling pin, gently patting the robot on the head.
"What's wrong, little one?"
"Nobody's here! I hate being alone!"
"Oh, pobrecito. Don't cry. You just came on the wrong day. Come back next week and we can chase you around and Kathryn can attack you with her bat to your heart's content."
"You… you mean it?"
"Of course."
"Ella… I'm sorry… for all the times I was bad. Will you forgive me?"
"Of course, dear."
"I have something for you."
"For me?"
Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out, with Bokkun flying away and laughing the whole time.
…
Back on the cruise ship, they had finally reached the glaciers. Tails and Keith were on the deck enjoying the scenery.
"Wow, look at them…" Keith said in awe.
"We're finally here!" Tails cheered.
Chuck came walking over, gently placing a coat on Keith's shoulders.
"Better put this on. It's gonna get a bit chilly up here."
"I don't know about that," Tails replied. "I think Amy's temper's gonna keep us warm for a good while."
…
Sonic was cowering at the top of the ship's main mast, a fuming Amy standing at the base with her hammer still out.
"Sonic Maurice Hedgehog, you come down here right this second! You can't stay up there all day!"
"Why not? It's actually quite cozy up here. Think I'll just hang here and catch some rays."
"But don't you want to see all the wonderful things I can do with this hammer? It's pretty amazing, but you've gotta see it up close, got it?"
"Tempting… but I think I'll pass! Maybe some other time!"
"Alright, that's it!" Amy declared, smashing the pole repeatedly. "You come down from there this instant!"
Off to the side, Kat, now wearing a coat of her own, and Knuckles just watched, sharing a bag of grapes.
"How long until she knocks him off?" Kat asked.
"Not too much longer. You'd be surprised how tough Amy can get when she's mad."
"Oh I'd believe it. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
…
On another part of the ship, Helen, Cream, and Cheese were looking over the side, whale watching. When a massive humpback whale surfaced, all three of them cheered.
"Wow!" Helen let out as it sprayed water from it's blowhole. "Mom! Dad! Look!"
The Birnbaums quickly joined them as the whale began submerging, waving its tail before diving under the water. However, something else began to surface not long after.
"Here comes another one!" Mr. Birnbaum announced.
Dr. Birnbaum squinted, then she recoiled.
"That's no whale..."
To confirm her suspicions, Robotnik's three ships rose out of the water, towering over the yacht.
"Well well," Robotnik announced over the speaker. "Thought you could take a pleasure cruise without me, eh? Well, think again!"
"This is the second time they've run off and had a vacation while we've been stuck working nonstop!" Cubot wailed. "Now they will finally pay!"
"That was more dramatic then what I'm used to from you Cubot," Orbot noted.
"I've been taking online acting classes. How am I doing?"
On the deck, Sonic smirked at the sight of the Egg Fort II. He had finally been brought down from the mast, Amy smugly sitting on him.
"Heh, I was wondering what you bozos were up to," Sonic remarked. "You two boys starting to rust yet?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Orbot lamented. "All this underwater repair work is killer on my joints."
"How come you get so many vacations anyway?" Cubot asked. "We work twice as hard as you do. Don't we deserve a break?"
"Quit your yammering at once!" Robotnik demanded. "I hope you've enjoyed yourself Sonic, because your happy little holiday is about to end!"
"If you ask me," Sonic spoke up. "The fun's just getting started!"
…
Inside the control room of the cruise ship, one of the crew members approached the captain.
"Sir, we've reached the glaciers."
"Excellent. Bring the ship to a stop so the passengers can enjoy the view."
The crewman nodded, then brought the ship to a full stop.
…
By now, everyone had gathered around the rear deck to check on Robotnik, taking immediate notice when the boat stopped moving.
"Uh… aren't we supposed to be moving?" Kat asked.
"Someone must have stopped the ship," Keith rationalized. "But why?"
That's when the PA system crackled to life.
"Attention passengers, we have arrived at the glaciers. We will be mooring for a bit so you can enjoy the scenery. Please make sure to stay on the boat and take plenty of pictures."
"Are you kidding me right now?!" Keith let out.
Sonic just smirked, getting out from under Amy and leaping onto the ice.
"Alright, Egghead! You want a fight, bring it on!"
"Be careful what you wish for, warthog! Orbot! Cubot! Activate Combination feature now!"
The three ships then began merging with one another, forming a sleek, fast looking ship with twin engines and a large, circular front.
"Egg Fort II complete, sir," Orbot reported.
"Excellent. Impressed yet, Sonic?"
"All I see is another flying scrap pile. Do your worst!"
Sonic then started running, but oddly enough, Robotnik didn't do anything. All he did was laugh. Sonic kept running, smirking the entire time.
"What's the matter, Eggman? Afraid you won't catch me."
"No, I'm just waiting for you to realize you haven't moved an inch."
"What?!"
Sonic looked down and saw he was running in place on the ice.
"Looks like you're going nowhere fast, Sonic!" Robotnik proclaimed, firing a laser at him.
It hit the ice near Sonic, sending him flying into the air.
"Sonic!" Keith called out.
"Worst! Vacation! Ever!" Sonic declared as Robotnik kept blasting him.
"Speak for yourself, Sonic," Robotnik replied. "I'm having so much fun, it should be illegal!"
The others just watched on as Sonic bounced from one iceburg to the next.
"We gotta do something!" Tails declared.
"Leave that to me," Dr. Birnbaum declared.
She began heading into the control room, taking control of the PA captain tried to stop her, but she simply held out a hand, shaking her head.
"Sonic, listen to me, it's impossible to run fast on ice. This is a time to take things slowly, one step at a time. Focus on your goal, relax, and feel the ice with your feet."
Sonic closed his eyes, trying to focus. When he opened them again, he flipped in the air, landing on the ice smoothly. He slid a little bit, then came to a stop.
"Not bad. Now if I could only keep my feet from slipping, this ought to be a piece of cake!"
"Uh, boss," Orbot spoke. "Something appears to be up with Sonic."
"Yeah!" Cubot agreed. "He looks confident!"
"Well he won't for long!" Robotnik declared. "Let's put the freeze on that hedgehog and his friends!"
The Egg Fort II proceeded to aim its guns at the cruise ship, much to everyone's horror. Mr. Birnbaum pulled Helen close, Chuck doing the same with Keith. Kat clutched onto Knuckles as the rest of the Mobians huddled together. Sonic looked on in horror, unsure if he could make it in time to save them. However, before the situation could escalate further, a terrified Bokkun came zipping onto the scene.
"DOCTOR!" He screamed.
"Bokkun?!" Robotnik let out. "What are you doing here?"
"He seems upset," Orbot noted.
"Please let me in! Let me in!" Bokkun pleaded, clinging to the windshield while crying and shaking.
"What's going on, little buddy?" Cubot asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
Bokkun just pointed behind him, where the Tornado II could be seen approaching at max speed.
"The Tornado II?" Keith let out in shock.
"But who's flying it?" Kat asked.
Just then, a familiar, spanish accented voice came on over the Tornado II's radio.
"Mocoso del diablo!"
"Ella?!" Everyone let out.
"How'd she learn to fly the Tornado II?" Tails questioned.
"I taught her how in case of an emergency," Chuck answered. "Or in this case, if a certain robot ever ticked her off."
"Let me in! Let me in!" Bokkun begged. "She's gonna dismantle me!"
"What did you do?" Robotnik demanded.
Before he could answer, Ella pulled on the lever that transformed the Tornado II into its cyclone mode.
"Now you see who's boss!"
Ella prepped the Cyclone for a kick, prompting Bokkun to scramble off of the windshield and run along the top of the ship. Unfortunately, this meant that Robotnik, Orbot, and Cubot all received the full brunt of the cyclone's kick. The windshield smashed, the metal dented hard, and the Egg Fort II was sent flying.
"Looks like Team Eggman's blasting off again!" Cubot cried out.
"Oh shut up!" Robotnik demanded as they vanished into the horizon.
"Alright!" Sonic cheered. "Nice one, Ella!"
Ella landed the Tornado II, powering it off and crossing her arms.
"Let's see that little diablo try and play me like a guitar again."
…
Later on, everyone was on deck just relaxing and enjoying the day. Surprisingly enough, this included Sonic, who was laying back in a deck chair enjoying the sun. Knuckles came over, plopping down next to him with a smirk.
"Tails wanted me to tell you that the Tornado II is all prepped and ready. He says he can take you back to Station Square if you want."
"Eh, what's the rush?" Sonic replied, much to Knuckles' confusion.
"Excuse me, do I have water in my ears?" He rubbed his pinkie in his ear to be sure. "You actually want to stay on the boat?"
"Sure. I could stand to take it easy for a while. Enjoy myself, you know?" Sonic flipped out a pair of sunglasses and placed them on his face before kicking back.
Cheese chirped relaxingly in response, landing next to the two and placing some sunglasses of his own on before leaning back. Knuckles smirked, shaking his head and walking off.
"I will never understand you, Sonic."