"This is Scarlet Garcia for SSTV news. Sonic Mania has been sweeping the nation with several of its citizens embracing the new 'freedom movement'. A movement meant to embrace the carefree lifestyle of the high speed hero. In fact, the international track and field association has reported that new running records are being set every day!"

…

At the high school, Keith instantly took off in a sprint, running alongside several other runners as he tried to keep pace.

"Come on, Keith!" Kat cheered.

"Keep it up, son!" Chuck yelled.

"You can do it, Master Keith!" Tanaka shouted.

With one final sprint, Keith managed to pull ahead of everyone else just as they crossed the finish line. Keith finally came to a stop, looking back to see that he had come in first.

"I… did it…" he let out, panting a bit. "Alright!"

…

Afterwards, everyone convened at Amy's Diner to celebrate.

"Keith, I am so proud of you," Chuck commended. "A new trophy to add to your collection, and a school record to boot!"

"I'm still in shock myself," Keith commented.

"Guess all that time with Sonic is rubbing off on you," Kat remarked, playfully ribbing him.

"He certainly has been a positive influence," Chuck commented. "It's hard to imagine a time where he wasn't part of our lives."

"I can agree with that," Amy commented as she came walking up with a tray of drinks. "If it weren't for Sonic, I'd still probably be some flighty little school girl."

"And here you are running your own business," Keith commented. "By the way, you think you'll be able to come by tonight? Mom and Dad are putting together a barbeque in celebration of this whole freedom movement."

"I think I can close up early," Amy reassured, finishing handing out the drinks. "See you then."

"Knuckles and I will so be there," Kat promised. "He owes me for taking his Guardian duties while he was on his Murasia hunt."

"Hey, speaking of," Keith recalled. "Any word from Dr. Cadbury on the translation of the glyphs Rouge found?"

Kat shook her head. "I'm guessing it takes awhile to translate thousand year old glyphs and sigils that have been lost to time."

"Fair enough."

"We have more than enough time to worry about that," Chuck reassured. "Let's just enjoy ourselves and relax while we have the chance."

"Good enough for me."

…

At the Kent house, Orbot and Cubot were doing some gardening outside.

"I must say, the work we get to do at the Kent house is quite therapeutic," Orbot commented.

"Yeah, and they actually say thank you and good job!" Cubot gushed. "I've never felt so appreciated in my life!"

At this time, Keith and the others returned home and started heading up the driveway.

"Welcome back, everyone," Orbot greeted.

"Hey guys," Keith greeted. "The place looks great."

"Oh, thank you. We tried to take pride in our work."

"If you think that's something, you should see the work we've done on your new moat," Cubot informed.

This caused Chuck to give a confused look. "Moat?"

"Well, I heard somewhere that a man's home is his castle, and every castle needs a moat, right?"

Orbot floated over, whispering in an almost conspiratorial manner. "Don't worry, I refilled the holes and laid out fresh sod."

"Uh… thanks. Well, we'd best get going. Still lots to do before the barbeque tonight."

"I will begin immediately," Tanaka reassured, stepping forward and falling into a large hole.

The others looked down the hole as Orbot winced. "I… haven't gotten to this one yet. My apologies."

…

Later that day, everyone had turned up for the barbeque, except for Sonic, who was absent. Everyone else, however, was enjoying themselves immensely. Al was manning a large grill, churning out burgers, hotdogs, and even some barbeque chicken in a special sauce provided by Ella.

"Alright, who wants the first plate?!" Al called out.

Several hands went up, all clamoring for food. Eventually, it was Lindsey who won out.

"Thank you, Al," she commended. "I must say it's wonderful to have everyone here tonight."

"Well with all this freedom stuff going around, a lot of people are taking it easy. Enjoying life."

He glanced over at Kat, who was playing a game of cornhole with Knuckles. "Honestly, I'm just glad to contribute a little to the happiness of my daughter."

"I know what you mean," Lindsey concurred. "With this freedom movement, I've been able to stay at home a lot more often. It's been wonderful."

"I know Keith has appreciated your presence," Chuck remarked.

"Sir," Tanaka spoke, getting Chuck's attention. "The President is on the telephone. He says it is urgent."

"I see…" Chuck let out curiously. "I'll be right there."

"Is everything alright?" Lindsey asked.

"I'm sure it's fine. You all enjoy the party, I'll be right back."

…

Inside, Chuck took the call, shocked by what the President had to say.

"What?! You're giving the go ahead for Project Homebound? I… I didn't realize… of course sir. I just need some time to prepare."

He hung up the phone, pausing for a moment to take in everything. He looked towards a nearby table, seeing a picture of him, Keith, Sonic, and the others. He picked up the picture, looking at it with a morose expression.

…

Out in the city, a hectic police chase was underway. An armored car full of money was hijacked and tearing through the streets, the driver tied up in the back with a few armed gunmen. In the back, several more goons were firing at the police to try and keep them off their backs.

"Eat lead, coppers!" one of the gunmen cried out, causing the other to give a confusing look.

"Copper? What is this, the 1950s?"

"Eh, I always wanted to say that."

The other gunman just rolled his eyes as they continued firing. As they rounded a corner, they were unaware of Sonic the Hedgehog perching himself on top of a building looking down at the scene.

"Looks like someone's got the wrong idea about this freedom movement," he noted. "Time for a refresher course."

He stretched his arms and legs real quick, wanting to stay limber for the chase. He then casually took a step off the edge of the building, before charging into a full sprint down the side. He made his way down to the street, running past and over cars as he made his way over towards the armored car. From inside the armored car, the gunman could see the approaching hedgehog, instantly becoming nervous.

"It's the hedgehog!" the first one let out.

"Relax," the second gunman reassured. "Got a little something for him."

The gunman reached into a nearby back and took out a small metal cylinder, flicking the top to cause a spark to ignite. He then chucked it towards Sonic, who ducked as it hit a light post, causing it to explode.

"Bombs!" Sonic realized. "Gotta deal with those before someone gets hurt."

He sped forward, dodging and weaving between the shots before leaping up onto the door and swinging on it so he could smack one gunman in the face. He then leapt off and kicked the second in the chest before landing on the ground and grabbing the bomb bag.

"Gotta borrow these real quick. Be right back."

He leapt out and ran off. He quickly darted up the side of a building before activating one of the bombs and chucking the back into the air. Just as he circled around, the bomb went off, destroying all the others and setting off a massive explosion that everyone on the street cheered at. Sonic made his way back to the street and sped towards the armored car, this time heading to the front part and leapt onto the passenger side door.

"Party's over boys!" Sonic declared, punching the goon in the passenger side.

Before the fight could progress any further, a bright light suddenly began to appear in front of them as they began to drive out onto the freeway. Everyone covered their eyes to shield themselves from it, allowing it to pass over them. Sonic was the first to open his eyes, only for them to go wide at the sight of a Green Hills loop-de-loop now situated right in the middle of the freeway.

"What the heck?!" Sonic let out.

The hijackers opened their eyes too, screaming instantly at the sight of the oncoming loop. Thinking fast, Sonic grabbed hold of one of the hijackers and sped him out of the truck and onto the street, being tied to a stop sign with his own jacket before Sonic ran back to the truck. He kept speeding the hijackers off one by one just as the truck began making the loop. It couldn't keep momentum as it made its way to the top though, causing it to fall from the loop and land hard on its room, buckling a bit under its own weight. Once he was sure the hijackers were dealt with, Sonic ran back over to the scene, looking it over.

"A loop… from Green Hills? Ok, this is officially getting out of hand. Gotta get back and deal with this before things get worse."

After rolling into a ball, Sonic revved up his spin dash a bit before taking off, going around the loop de loop completely before running back to the Kent house.

…

Inside Keith's room, he and Kat were working on a final school assignment before summer began. Keith just tapped his pen against his desk, trying to think of what to write, while Kat was lying on her stomach, staring at her laptop.

"I hate writing papers…" Kat groaned as she buried her face in her arms. "I mean, if it was creative writing, that would be something else, but this? It's so boring…"

"It's not that hard," Keith replied, turning towards her. "We just need to figure out what we envision for the future."

"I'm sure you've already got it all figured out. Working at Sega Labs with your dad, inventing things and saving the world with Sonic in your off time."

"That's…. Yeah, that's pretty much it. How about you? You still wanna play pro baseball?"

"Actually, I wanna do something that'll let me travel a bit more. Hanging with Knuckles has ignited my wanderlust."

"Really?" Keith paused for a moment. "Anything… come to mind for that?"

"Not really. All I know is I want to travel. Trust me, if I knew what I wanted to do with my life, I'd already have something on this damn paper." Kat buried her face again.

"I'm… sure you'll figure something out."

Kat just rolled onto her back. "You're lucky you've got your life together, Keith. Honestly, I'm envious."

Keith was surprised by that realization.

"Wow, I… uh-"

Before he could finish, a heavy burst of wind shot through the room, catching them both off guard. Keith looked around, seeing Sonic standing on the ground.

"Sonic?! Why are you coming in through the window?"

"I was in a hurry," Sonic responded. "Listen, some more Chaos Control happened in the city, and we need to deal with it."

"What was it this time?" Kat questioned. "That mobian bakery that dropped downtown was really good."

"A full loop-de-loop that dropped right in the middle of the freeway."

Both teens went wide-eyed, then Keith's bedroom door opened as Chuck came in. "I'm afraid it only gets worse from there…"

…

The three followed Chuck downstairs, joined by Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Birnbaum, and Christina. The final member was a surprise for the three as they all took their seats.

"So, what's this all about?" Keith asked.

"As you're aware, more and more of Mobius has been arriving by the day, now without the aid of Chaos Control…" Dr. Birnbaum explained. "We believe have a theory as to why."

"You do?" Tails inquired.

"As your recent expedition to Murasia seemed to confirm, there was a time in the distant past where our world and yours were once the same planet. For some reason, a cataclysmic event, the original Chaos Control, split the worlds in two, encasing them both in parallel dimensions completely unaware of the other's existence."

"We believe that the reason more pieces of Mobius are showing up on Earth is because the two worlds are trying to remerge and become one again," Chuck informed.

"But isn't that a good thing?" Kat questioned. "I mean, if the worlds were one once before, it makes sense that they belong as one."

"Perhaps if the transition was more… peaceful," Christina murmured. "Unfortunately, we have reason to believe that because the merging is so fragmented from multiple, weaker Chaos Controls, the process is putting both worlds in danger."

"As the two worlds continue to merge, the worlds will overlap, eventually canceling each other out and destroying each other," Chuck informed, much to the horror of everyone.

"There's gotta be something we can do to stop this!" Sonic declared.

"There is…" Dr. Birnbaum informed,, a sense of hesitation in her voice. "But it won't be easy…"

"The President has given his approval for a contingency plan we created should the worst come to pass with you all being here," Christina added on. "The first step of which involves finding all seven Chaos Emeralds."

"Another Chaos Control?" Knuckles questioned. "I thought we were trying to avoid that."

"Not in this instance," Chuck corrected. "Using the Emeralds, we might be able to reverse the process… by transporting the Mobians, and the Mobius Fragments, back to the pocket dimension."

"Wait…" Sonic realized. "you mean-"

"I'm afraid so, Sonic. The only way we can save both our worlds is to send you and the others back home."

There was a loud slam and everyone turned, seeing Kat with both her hands flat on the table. "I refuse to believe that! There had to be another way! A way to stabilize Chaos Control and make the merging seamless!"

"Kat…" Keith tried to reason. "If they say this is the only way-"

"No! I refuse to believe that!" She was frantically shaking her head. "We thought sending them home was the best idea before and all it did was bring Mobius here! Mobius and Earth were meant to be together! For all we know, sending the fragments back is just delaying the inevitable!"

"Perhaps," Chuck pondered. "But we have no means of stabilizing this. If there was another way, I would leap at the chance. But right now, this is our best option. I'm sorry…"

"You're just not trying hard enough! You're some of the smartest minds on this planet and you're just giving up?!" She was in tears as she jumped to her feet, running out of the mansion.

"Kat!" Keith called out.

"I'll go after her," Knuckles reassured, taking off.

"I haven't seen her that upset since…" Keith trailed off for a moment. "Since her mom died."

"Loss has always been hard for her," Chuck recalled.

"What she said about stabilizing Chaos Control…" Tails pondered. "It could be possible, couldn't it?"

"I honestly couldn't say. Chaos Control is a phenomenon we know very little about."

"More than that, all the previous instances we've experienced have not been strong enough to equal the first event that split Mobius and Earth," Dr. Birnbaum pointed out. "It's as if there is an ingredient we are missing from the recipe."

"And unless we can figure out what that piece is…"

"Us going back is our only option," Tails reasoned.

"I'm afraid so," Chuck confirmed, placing a hand on Tails' shoulder. "I will miss you, my friend."

Tails looked up at Chuck, smiling in response.

…

Meanwhile, Knuckles ran down the street, hoping to find Kat before she did something stupid. As he ran, he heard what sounded like rhythmic pounding from the woods. He followed the sound until he finally found the source: Kat punching a tree over and over again. He instantly ran towards her, catching her arm mid punch. Her knuckles were bleeding badly, both hands looking rough.

"Kat!" he let out. "Just stop! Please."

Kat tried to pull free, but the echidna was too strong. She eventually gave up, crumbling to her knees as she sobbed.

"It's not fair…" she let out. "It's just not fair… You belong here. All of you belong here so why…" She hiccuped, turning back to Knuckles with a devastated face. "Why do you have to go?"

Knuckles didn't say anything. He just pulled her into a comforting hug, letting her get out her tears.

"To tell the truth…" Knuckles responded. "I don't want to leave either. I don't think I could go back to being alone on Angel Island… and frankly, I don't want to."

Kat finally pulled away, wiping her eyes. "There has to be something we can do. I refuse to just sit back and let this happen."

Knuckles had her sit down, fishing into her bag for some bandages. He pulled them out, then began to wrap her bleeding knuckles. "As much as I loathe to admit it, none of the humans here have the know-how of Chaos Control to properly stabilize it. And we don't have time to wait around for any of the Mobian experts to appear."

"Then who do you suggest we talk to?"

Knuckles paused mid-wrap of her hand. "...Eggman."

"EGGMAN?!" Kat ripped her hands free, jumping to her feet. "Knuckles, have you lost your mind?! Eggman has a history of tricking you and looking out for himself at our expense. In fact, the last time you tried to get his help, he fooled you into almost killing Sonic!"

"I know, I KNOW! I hate the idea more than anyone. But the only reason we're even here is because of him. Nobody, and I mean nobody, knows more about Chaos Control than him. I know it's risky… but it might be our best shot."

Kat still looked upset, but she sat back down. Knuckles resumed his work. "Okay, let's pretend for a moment that we were actually entertaining this idea. How would we even find Eggman?"

"You could ask us," Orbot's voice chimed in.

The two looked up to see Orbot and Cubot hovering over to them, Cubot holding her bat. He held it out for her, and she took it with a confused look.

"You left this in Master Keith's room," Cubot explained.

"Uh… thanks," Kat replied, taking the bat.

"We couldn't help but listen in on your current plight," Orbot chimed in

"And we heard your problem too," Cubot added.

"And we were hoping to lend our services."

The two knuckleheads exchanged looks.

"I still think this is a horrible idea," Kat explained, sighing as Knuckles finally tied off her hands. "However… you're also not wrong. But! We verify everything before we act."

"Agreed," Knuckles concurred before turning to the robots. "How can we find him?"

"Our internal tracking software is still enabled," Orbot explained. "We just need to follow the signal back to the Doctor."

"Then lead the way!"

Orbot and Cubot instantly took off, leaving Kat and Knuckles to trail behind.

…

In a secret base hidden within the Mystic Ruins, Dr. Robotnik was going over several files and schematics on his various computer screens. He also had the translated manuscripts from Murasia on one of the screens, occasionally noting down important information that he skimmed from it.

"Fascinating…" he let out. "Incredible… I never could have imagined the power we were playing with."

"Doctor! Doctor!" Bokkun called out, flying in and circling around him. "You were right! They're finally home! Orbot and Cubot! And guess what?! They brought the echidna and the violent red-head!"

A smile creeped across his face.

"Well now, this just got interesting. Send them in."

"Yessir!"

Bokkun flew off, prompting Robotnik to turn his chair around as Orbot and Cubot lead Knuckles and Kat inside.

…

"Nice digs," Kat quipped as she looked around the area. "Very dirty chique."

"I never did care for his choice of decor," Knuckles retorted back. "Still, this is sad even for him."

"I hope this doesn't have anything to do with our absence," Orbot dreaded.

"You kidding?" Cubot let out. "No way this is because of us. We weren't even here!"

"Uh… right."

Just then, Bokkun flew over to the, "Doctor Robotnik will see you now!"

"He's expecting us…" Kat muttered, adjusting her grip on her bat. "I don't like that…"

A nearby door opened up, allowing them to walk inside and see Robotnik sitting at a computer console.

"Ah, welcome," he greeted. "So glad you could come by. Can I offer you any refreshments?"

"Why so cordial?" Knuckles asked. "Unless you were expecting us."

"Well… not you two specifically, but I had a feeling some of Sonic's friends would be coming here eventually. Let me guess, you're here about the inevitable end of the world?"

"Not even surprised you know about that," Kat grumbled.

"I do have a TV. it pays to keep informed about what's going on in the world if you want to take it over."

"Then you know we're only here because this whole mess is on your head," Knuckles reminded. "So you have to have some idea on how to stop this!"

"Possibly."

"With you, that means you're withholding information," Kat deduced. "Come on, Eggman. You can't rule over Earth if it's destroyed, same with Mobius. And we all know that if you had the choice, you'd kill for the chance to combine the worlds so you could rule over humans and Mobians."

"Smart girl. I see why you hang out with her, Knuckles. She raised your IQ a point or two."

Knuckles snarled in response.

"However, you are right," Robotnik confirmed. "I would love to rule both worlds after all the trouble I've gone through, and I can't rule an empire on a ruined world. So I'm going to be nice and throw you a bone."

He rolled over to his computers, typing away for a brief moment. "Tell me Knuckles, has that professor you're acquainted with translated those Murashian manuscripts yet? I'm going to assume not, since he doesn't have access to the Mobian language glyphs needed for the translation."

"But you do," Knuckles caught on.

"You know me, ten steps ahead of everyone. It was with these translations I was able to find out some key information about our ancient ancestors, as well as solve a personal mystery that has troubled me for some time."

"Personal mystery?" Kat repeated.

Robotnik turned to face her. "My dear, I just praised your intelligence. Don't make me regret my words." Kat growled, but he ignored her. "I'm talking about the fact that my grandfather was born and died here on Earth, and yet I myself have no memories of this place. My memories all begin many years ago, on Mobius, when I was nothing more than a man with naught but a name. Since coming here, I have questioned how I came to be on Mobius, then I found this."

He pressed a key on his computer, pulling up old archive documents. There was a strange crest at the top, then a list of names. Robotnik ignored them all, scrolling down until he reached the R's.

"What is all this?" Knuckles asked, walking up to the screen.

"The redacted document in regards to a secret project in a far off kingdom on Earth. What you're looking at is the names of every single doctor that was part of the project: more appropriately, every single doctor believed dead in the resulting explosion."

"How is this important?" Kat wondered.

"Just take a look and you'll see," Robotnik gestured.

The two took a closer look at the list, scrolling through the names until they stopped on one in particular: Dr. Ivo Robotnik.

"You…" Knuckles realized. "You worked on this project."

"Got it in one. Yes, I was a young man, looking to stake his claim in the scientific community. So I joined a research group out of the country. Of course, the project went horribly wrong and everyone lost their lives. It was through sheer dumb luck that I was merely transported to Mobius. For me, that was 26 years ago, but here… a mere 13.

"Is that possible?" Kat whispered.

"Two different realities, two different timelines," Knuckles replied. "It's not impossible."

"Right…" Kat looked at the list. "This project… It was Chaos Control, wasn't it?"

"A primal version of it, but yes," Robotnik confirmed. "The fool didn't even have the Chaos Emeralds to work with."

"But they still managed to send you to Mobius…" Knuckles gasped. "This… this could be the missing piece."

"Hold up," Kat interjected. "We still need to learn more about all this." She leaned in, whispering in Knuckles' ear. "Not to mention verify that all this is actually real."

"Right," Knuckles whispered back before turning back to Robotnik. "Thanks for the tip. We'll look into it."

"Hold on!" Robotnik let out. "Don't you even want to know the name of the project? It might be of some use to you."

"Fine." Kat turned around, crossing her arms. "What's the project name?"

"... the Solaris Project."

…

Back at the Kent house, everyone was waiting frantically for Kat and Knuckles to return. Finally, Sonic sprung to his feet.

"That's it," he declared. "I'm gonna go look for them."

"Sonic, calm down," Tails insisted. "This is Knuckles and Kat we're talking about. They'll be fine/"

"Doesn't mean I can't be concerned. I just-"

Just then, the door opened, allowing Kat and Knuckles to enter.

"Uh… hi guys," Kat greeted.

"Kat!" Keith let out, running over to her. "Are you alright?"

Sonic turned to Kat, noting the bandages on her hand and tensing.

"Kat… your hand…"

"I'm fine, Sonic. My own fault."

"What happened?" Keith asked.

"I just… needed to vent."

"But more than that, we have some information," Knuckles chimed in. "It needs verification, but it could be the key to fixing this and reuniting our worlds."

"Really?" Chuck let out in bewilderment. "What is it?"

"It's something called the Solaris Project. Apparently it was a clue Eggman stumbled upon from the Murasia glyphs."

"The Solaris Project…" Chuck gasped, his eyes going wide. in response. "It couldn't be…"

"Dad, you know what they're talking about?" Keith asked.

"I heard that it ended in tragedy. Everyone involved lost their lives, including the King himself.

"Whoa…" everyone let out.

"Not everyone died," Kat interjected. "Eggman just got booted to Mobius."

"He was involved in that?"

"Apparently," Chuck replied. "If this Solaris Project was responsible for Eggman ending up on Mobius… then perhaps the project itself holds the key to Perfect Chaos Control.

"Really?" Tails let out. "That's great!"

"Whoa whoa," Keith spoke up. "Are we sure this is a good idea? I mean, this intel is coming from Eggman for pete's sake."

"We can verify the information," Chuck reassured. "Make sure everything is legit."

"Frankly, I think we should have looked into the Robotnik family months ago," Tails commented. "I mean, if Eggman's grandfather lived here on Earth, he might have had other children and grandchildren outside of Maria."

"It's not a bad idea," Chuck mused. "Maybe they have some insight into Eggman's disappearance that documentation can't find."

"And we can confirm if he really was involved in the Solaris Project like he suggested," Knuckles added.

"I can't believe you guys are actually considering this!" Keith let out. "I mean this… this is crazy."

"Keith, our lives have been crazy since the day you fished a talking blue hedgehog out of your swimming pool," Kat argued. "Besides, this could be our chance to save two worlds and keep our friends here in this reality."

"Or doom both of them! It's too big a risk, and I don't want any part of it!"

He took off out of the room, confusing everyone.

"What was that about?" Knuckles wondered.

"Yeah, storming out of the room is my gimmick," Kat quipped. "Honestly, it's weird being on the receiving end like this."

"Someone should go check on him," Tails insisted. "Sonic?"

"No problem," Sonic replied. "Besides, I think I have a good idea what this is about."

…

Out at the pool, Keith sat on one of the chairs, looking down at the water and thinking back to when Sonic first crashed down. He had never seen anything like him before, but he could tell how special he was. He then reflected on all the adventures they had gone on, and how far Keith had grown in that time.

"Ring for your thoughts."

Keith perked, turning to see Sonic walking over to him.

"Oh, hey," Keith greeted.

"Feels like a lifetime since you first pulled me out of there," Sonic spoke, gesturing to the pool. "I still owe you big for that."

"Even if that were true, you've repaid that favor a thousand fold since then."

"Hey, we look out for each other. It's what we do."

"Yeah…"

"Which I'm guessing… is the reason you don't want to follow through on this. Because of what happened with Chessie and Eggman."

Keith sighed, knowing Sonic was right.

"It's just… I tried to have it both ways before. Tried to get you home and still keep our friendship… and it turned out to be a lie. I was so fixated on not losing you guys, and look what happened. Kat was kidnapped, Eggman almost won, you almost died!"

"Yeah, I remember. Not fun."

"This isn't a joke, Sonic!" Keith snapped, turning towards him.

"Never said it was," Sonic replied, holding up his hands defensively. "Believe me when I say that day was one of my worst… All I could think about was everyone getting hurt and Kat being trapped in that robot. But this… this is different. This time we're not just taking anyone at their word."

"I just… don't want to lose anyone… it still feels like too big a risk."

Sonic just looked at his friend, wishing there was something to snap him out of this state. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. He sped off for a second, causing Keith to look up in confusion. After a moment, Sonic returned, dropping a pair of skates at Keith's feet.

"Put 'em on," Sonic instructed.

Keith looked down at the skates, then slowly put them on in place of his sneakers. "What are you planning, Sonic?"

"You'll see."

Once the skates were on, Sonic took his hand and sped off, pulling him along.

"Whoa!" Keith let out, gripping Sonic's hand as hard as he could.

The two ran down the street as fast as Sonic could pull him, letting the wind blow through his hair and across his face. All Keith could do was look around, taking in the passing scenery as he looked back at Sonic, who turned towards him and gave him a smile. Keith smiled back as they continued forward, blasting off at high speeds.

…

After a while, the two came to a stop on a cliff overlooking the Mystic Ruins. Keith was trying to smooth himself out after the ride, plucking leaves from his windswept hair and adjusting his glasses.

"Heck of a run, huh?" Sonic remarked.

"Yeah… haven't done that in a while. Forgot what a rush that is."

"Yeah, it really works for me too. Thought you could use a chance to clear the cobwebs." The hedgehog sat down on the grass, plucking a dandelion. "How do you feel?"

"I guess I feel… lighter somehow. Like the issues I had… they're still there, but… don't feel as heavy."

"I'll bet. Look, I get where you're coming from on this, I really do. I want to keep everyone safe, but sometimes, you have to be willing to take risks. Even if it seems scary."

"But aren't you worried that this whole thing might… I don't know, blow up in our faces… possibly literally."

"If there's one thing my life has taught me, it's that the time we spend worrying about what could happen is the time we should spend towards what should happen. We can't let fear of what-ifs keep us from doing the things we should in life. Good or bad, nothing starts until you take action. If you have time to worry, then run."

Keith looked back out over the cliff, thinking over what Sonic had said. Finally, a look of determination came over his face.

"Ok… let's do it!"

Sonic smirked. "That's more like it!"

Sonic held out a fist, which Keith fist bumped in kind.