Chapter 13: Settling Down, part I

"You said you found a way to save Robotnik. What was it?" Tails asked, flying the Tornado not at full speed but rather at a much more leisurely pace, for once.

Sonic was also doing something that would have seemed usual to most people but not to Tails – actually sitting in the plane's backseat. "I found him unconscious in the bridge, but it looked he was preparing to eject from the place, as in, the whole bridge itself, before he fell down and hit his head. The computer already showed it was ready, so I pressed the button and got out of there," he answered matter-of-factly, and then he shook his head. "No idea if it worked though, at least in time."

"Huh, I see," Tails commented. The airport was already in view, lit up by large numbers of white lights. "I wonder what Knuckles would have said if you told him that you actually saved him."

"Well, I don't know if I really did save him, and Knux was miffed enough back there," Sonic said, barely able to suppress a chuckle, but then he got serious. "But yeah, I guess he wouldn't be too happy about it."

"What about Alan?" Tails asked as well.

"I think we both know the answer to that after how he, um, reacted."

"Yeah," the fox agreed as he looked for a proper location on the vast, grey space to put the aircraft down. Although he and Sonic hardly ever went to airports, he was rather sure a large, public one like this was unlikely to support fighter jets, but there weren't really any alternatives now. "Then…what about the world, Sonic?"

Sonic appeared distinctly uncomfortable at that question. "What do you mean exactly?"

"It's like this. At least in Old Mobius, most of the people who ever had their lives affected by Robotnik never really said much about it, or anything else, with other communities beyond a certain distance. A lot of communication gaps, you know?" Tails turned to briefly look at Sonic, a worried expression on his face. "But I used their internet earlier, Sonic. I was in a hurry, of course, but their media…it looks like it covers pretty much the whole Earth, even the poorest areas. Basically, it's like all of Earth is New Mobius, and I think I know now why Alan found Old Mobius so strange. Anything Robotnik does here, the whole world will know sooner or later.

"Basically…" he paused for a while to let the reality of the situation fully sink in, "we can't just keep up a war of attrition between him and us here like back home. We have to really, actually catch him. Otherwise it'll affect a lot of people's lives, they'll all know about it, and it's make a lot of them scared or distrustful. Of us. Just imagine all humans reacting like Alan."

"Hmm," Sonic grunted as he comprehended his friend's deduction. He had always been confident in his and Tails' own abilities to stop Robotnik before he could do any major damage. Their track record of stopping his plans had been pretty good so far. Not perfect, of course, since they wished the death toll of his actions remained at zero, but they nevertheless had managed to keep that number impressively low considering the sheer number of Robotnik's attacks.

Unfortunately, they'd never really managed to find a way to stop him permanently without killing him. The doctor would simply come back after a hiatus, no matter how long or short it was. Sonic remembered that this was due to, of course, the sheer number of underground bases with spare robots which Robotnik had acquired for himself. That was when the hedgehog realized it.

"You're right, Tails," Sonic spoke up in acknowledgement, but added more confidently, "but I think that'd be much easier here. Unless Robotnik has a lot of secret robot bases on Earth here as well, I can't see how much he can really do now. That's the main strength he's always had, and here, he doesn't have it. Not anymore, at least," he finished, remembering the fiery defeat of the fortress earlier.

Tails had decided to choose a spot somewhere near one of the terminals that had been held hostage earlier and already deployed the plane's landing gear. "Good point. Kinda encouraging, I guess," he said somewhat hopefully, but it was quickly replaced by worry as he continued, "it's just…this is Robotnik. You never know what he might just do or when he'll come back."

"Where do you think he could go now, realistically speaking?" Sonic asked.

The Tornado had gently touched down on the ground just a ways from Terminal 2, on an area where it would hopefully not obstruct other planes. "I'd need to check the map of the area, but my guess is the bridge may have propelled itself towards the nearest landmass it can detect. At least, that's how I would design it. If that's the case, he should be found by some locals sooner or later. Unless he ends up on an uninhabited island, or something."

"Then I guess we don't need to worry about it so much," Sonic commented, sounding a lot more relaxed now, and was now smiling.

"Maybe, but it's just my conjecture. You never know. Sonic," Tails said as he shut off the engines and took off his goggles, "we have to be prepared for anything that could happen, and we need to get the world to do the same. It's only responsible."

"We'll do that," Sonic said, nodding. Then, looking over the area just as the canopy popped open, he noticed several flashing police car lights coming in from the distance. "Looks like they're coming," he pointed out.

"Yeah," Tails said, unable to keep the apprehension from flowing into his voice.

"Don't worry. Just stick by me. I can do most of the talking," Sonic assured before hopping onto the ground.

"Um, okay," the small fox said, gulping slowly as he followed the hedgehog. He silently scolded himself for being so dependent on Sonic for this kind of thing, and so timid, but there wasn't much he could do about it now as the approaching police cars and trucks stopped a distance away from the plane. It would at least be slightly better if he wasn't still covered up in black muck, which he really hoped could still be washed away.

"Alright," Sonic declared as Tails walked up next to him, "here goes nothing."

Several police officers stepped out of the cars and trucks before pointing their guns at the duo. It surprised them at first, but then remembered that they both had appeared here from out of nowhere, even if it was to save the hostages. It made sense for the police to find it suspicious.

"Both of you, stay where you are!" one of them ordered through a loudspeaker. "Raise your hands above your head and get down on your knees, or we will open fire," he warned.

Sonic and Tails knew that they could easily dodge the gunfire at this distance in such an open area, but were also aware of how counterproductive that would be to their image. Both of them complied with the police's orders. They had to make a good first impression, though Sonic felt that their rescue of the hostages already should have counted as exactly that. Okay, fine, good second impression.

Several tall men dressed in armor and gear similar to what Alan had approached the hedgehog and fox, aiming their submachine guns at them. The tactical flashlights attached to the weapons momentarily blinded them as they shone into their eyes.

When they could see properly again, Sonic noticed that their uniforms were in fact exactly the same as Alan's, right down to the three large letters on their vests: FBI.

"You," one of the agents called out as the others surrounded them, addressing Sonic, "is your name Sonic the Hedgehog?"

Both of them froze completely at how these agents had learned about their names before they even got to speak. "Uh, um, yeah, I'm Sonic," he replied, sounding confused rather than confident, which was how he intended to introduce himself. He reminded himself that he could still do that later in front of the public.

"And you," the same agent said as he pointed his weapon at Tails, "you are Miles Prower, also called Tails?"

The wide-eyed fox gulped before answering. "Y-yeah, that's-that's me," he stuttered.

"You've both met Special Agent Alan Doherty, is that correct?" he asked further, his voice clear, serious and no-nonsense, actually quite like Doherty's.

"Uh, yeah, we know him," Sonic answered, still wondering how they could have known about all this.

"He contacted us regarding you. You are to come along with us to the field office and wait there until Doherty returns from Venezuela," the agent elaborated.

With that mystery cleared up, Sonic thought about what the agent just said. It didn't sound like a proposition or offer they could simply turn down. Certainly they were going to be asked many questions about themselves and their earlier actions, which didn't seem like an appealing prospect.

On the other hand, it was a fixed, proper spot in which they could stay and wait for Alan, at least temporarily, which was better than running around and hiding from everyone, including the authorities. That was even less appealing. Not to mention it was only fair to explain as much as they could about everything that had happened…except for possibly the part about saving Robotnik. "Okay, we'll come with you," Sonic agreed.

"Wait, wait," Tails spoke up nervously. "What about the Tornado? I-I mean, my plane? Do I just leave it here?"

"Yes, at least for now. There'll be a few men placed around it to make sure it stays there."

"I'd like your word that your men or others don't touch it, otherwise we won't follow," Sonic said, daring to sound a bit demanding.

"You have it," the agent simply replied. Sonic and Tails looked a lot more relieved after hearing his answer. He stepped back a bit before looking away. "Get up. The van's this way."

"We're gonna sit in a car there?" Sonic asked incredulously.

"Yes we are. We know where the building is, do you?" he asked.

That left Sonic quiet for a brief moment. "Touché," he said as he and Tails got back up on their feet. "Although, could I ask for one more thing?"

"What is it?" the agent asked impatiently.

"Is there, uh, a place where my friend can wash up?" Tails glanced at Sonic as soon as he asked that, half in surprise, the other in gratitude.

Neither of them had ever been in a car or van, though Tails had fixed a few before. No one spoke a word throughout the entire ride, which Sonic silently endured. It made him feel a little indignant, but he did his best not to show it. He decided that it wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that it ended up lasting an hour due to the traffic.

When the vehicle's doors finally opened up, Sonic was more than glad. It was so boring being stuck in something that moved way slower than he did for so long, not to mention full of people that were suspicious of him and his friend. Tails, for his part, had avoided all eye contact with all of the other agents present, looking at either the floor or Sonic, who had to give him a reassuring glance every now and then.

"Alright, let's move," a man outside said loudly, and Sonic wasted no time obliging as he stepped out of the van, Tails beside him.

They saw that they were brought before a large, blocky building full of windows. The agents ushered them in through a double door entrance leading to the parking lot. Before they entered, they could see various camera flashes coming from both sides. The media was definitely going crazy over this now.

Inside the entrance, Sonic and Tails were gestured to walk through a metal archway of some sort, and they did so. As Sonic walked through, the machine emitted a buzzing sound, causing the man standing beside it to walk up in front of them, crossing his arms.

Both of them stood there looking confused for a moment until it finally hit Tails. "Oh, I got it," he said, reaching into Sonic's ear and taking out the earpiece there, and then unstrapping the wrist device he hid under his left glove. After putting the earpiece into its slot on the device, he handed both out to the man standing next to what he now recognized as a metal detector. He examined them for a while before nodding, and motioned for the two to walk through the detector again. It did not sound again as they did it.

"What does this thing do?" the man asked.

"Uh…" Tails needed a while to come up with answer. Somehow it never occurred to him to actually name the device, at least with something descriptive. "It's my…wristwatch computer. Data storage, calculator, communicator, clock, mapping system, camera, audio and video recorder…" He trailed off.

"You made this?"

"Uh, yeah," he replied, sounding more hesitant rather than proud, as one would have expected.

"Interesting," the man simply commented. "I'm going to have to hold onto this for a while. You can get it back on your way out."

"What? Aw, come on!" Sonic cut in. "That's not fair, why-"

"Sonic, it's okay," Tails quickly spoke up before Sonic could carry his objection further and possibly cause trouble. "I understand, uh, sir," he said to the guard politely.

"Good. Just hold one moment," the man said in relief as he opened up and reached into a desk drawer behind him. His hand brought out two clip-on ID tags that would mark Sonic and Tails as visitors here. He looked at the duo and paused for a moment, having just realized they did not wear shirts that the tags could be clipped onto. A few seconds later, he decided to simply clip them onto their torso fur. It was thick enough so that the clippings did not pinch their flesh, though it still caused them to briefly give awkward looks. "Alright, move on."

Sonic and Tails were escorted through a large working hall full of computers, TV screens and cubicles. All of the people working there abruptly stopped as they stared at the new guests, which caused the fox to be visibly unsettled. A news channel on one of the wall TVs showed the same building that they were in now, and the reporter seemed to be trying not to make speculations.

They were first escorted into the men's bathroom where Tails could wash himself. There were no showers, of course, though the fox was short enough that the wall faucet was a good enough substitute, as he could just sit underneath it. He never imagined that would be a reason to not become too tall. After rinsing for a while, Tails' body, gloves and shoes were mostly clean again and thankfully no longer smelled, though he would still need a real shower later. The agents were helpful enough to get him a towel from somewhere, all without any comments. At least not in front of them.

"Wow, you've no idea how long I've been waiting for that," Tails said to Sonic with great relief in his voice.

"Yeah, must have really stunk. No pun intended," the hedgehog answered with a smirk. "Thanks a lot," he said to the men waiting outside, one of whom simply nodded in response.

After leaving the bathroom and going up a nearby flight of stairs to the balcony that overlooked the area, the agents ushered them through a glass door into an office. The office, in fact. "They're right here, sir," one of the men said.

Behind the wooden desk at the far end of the room, a man in a suit was hurrying to finish up his phone call. "Yes, sir, you have my word. Anyway, they're here. I'll tell you how it goes later." After putting his cell phone into his side pocket, he got up from his leather seat. "Thank you, gentlemen. Now, if you may…"

The agents got the message and closed the door without another word. The new stranger got around from behind the desk and walked up to the visitors, who were new not only to this building, but to this planet as well. "Hello and welcome to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And Earth," the wrinkled and grey-haired gentleman said warmly. "Special Agent in Charge Daniel McLaughlin. I'm Agent Doherty's superior." He held out a similarly wrinkled hand at the hedgehog.

Sonic wasn't expecting such a welcome after the rather detached treatment he got from the others, so he just stood there motionless until his manners kicked in."Oh, uh, hey!" he quickly said with a grin as he shook the man's hand. "Sonic the Hedgehog! And, uh…darn, I need to think of a good intro motto sometime…I run fast!"

"Well, I guess that we all saw," McLaughlin simply commented, ignoring Sonic's awkwardness. He turned to Tails. "And you, son?" Though they weren't humans, the SAIC could tell this one was rather young, even younger than Sonic, who himself seemed an adolescent at most.

The small fox hesitated at first as he glanced upwards at the six-foot-tall man's eyes, before reaching his own hand out. "Hi. I'm Miles Prower, though my friends call me Tails," he said, giving out his usual prepared self-introduction, even though it was hardly ever actually used. He suspected that would very likely change while he was on this planet.

"Nice to meet both of you," McLaughlin said in return after shaking the youngster's hand. "Please have a seat," he added, gesturing to the blue couch against the wall. The two promptly sat down on, or rather, climbed onto it before sitting.

"So, uh, I guess you're the one who wanted us to be brought here?" Sonic decided to ask as way of starting a conversation.

"Yes. In a way," he replied, sitting down on another couch opposite theirs. "Though I would say it was more of Doherty's idea."

"Oh?"

"He called me a few times earlier to suggest it, and then I had to make a few more calls after that…it's complicated. But you're here now, and I hope you're fine with that."

"We're good, don't worry," Sonic assured, "gives us a place to wait, at least. Though I wonder where Alan is."

"His plane should be arriving within forty-five minutes. Then if the traffic clears up, another fifteen to come here…" he guessed out loud. "Though I'm guessing he won't be touching down at LAX," he added, annoyance creeping into his voice.

"Oh yeah, could I ask how're things there?" Sonic quickly asked, having been reminded of the whole ordeal, which naturally made him concerned.

"The hostages are shaken, but no one was hurt," he answered, now sounding relieved. "Ah, my manners and I…thank you very, very much for that. Both of you, and your, um, red friend."

"No problems. We'd do it all over again," Sonic casually said with a grin and thumbs up, while Tails next to him was smiling as well. "Well, not so sure about Knuckles, but we two? Definitely."

"Glad to hear that." McLaughlin paused for a moment to cough, and then continued, in a highly curious tone, "who was that man who did all that anyway?"

Sonic's expression suddenly became serious as his smile faded, as did Tails'. "Doctor Ivo Robotnik," he answered straight. "Mad scientist genius. He comes from this planet, you know. And he's got some serious engineering skills. Someone like that must have been…I don't know, famous? You sure you don't know him?"

"No," the elderly man said. "I've had my people run an identity search the moment he gave his broadcast. We couldn't find anyone that matched."

They blinked at the answer. "Wow, now that's weird," Sonic remarked.

"If you could tell us more about him, we should be able to track down who he is. Or was, rather. Perhaps we could start with…hmm, how he came to your planet in the first place."

"It was because of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic immediately responded. "According to Alan there had been this mysterious green gemstone that had been on your planet for thirty years or so, right? You saw those things on Angel, I mean, the floating island?"

McLaughlin remembered seeing the video feed from the Marine helicopters of the place and realizing how familiar the glowing gemstones on the stone structure looked. He nodded. "Indeed, yes."

"Yeah, that's the one. He must have been a scientist working on it in, I dunno, some secret area?"

"Area 51!" Tails suddenly blurted out. "Robotnik mentioned that that's the place he worked in. Remember, Sonic?"

"Oh, yeah, now I do. Good one, bro."

"Makes sense," the SAIC observed. "Even we don't we get to probe that place or the people that work there, despite what conspiracy theorists believe." He let out a sigh of relief at having made a bit of progress, though it was followed by a frown. "But this doesn't explain his actions. He seemed obsessed with having those things, but only so that he could do something else with them."

Oh boy. Here was the hard part. Sonic had to remind himself that admitting it, at least to a certain extent, was the responsible thing to do. He closed his eyes briefly before opening them and replying. "Long story short, some people back on my planet…they weren't so nice to him when he arrived. They drove him crazy and put him in a position of power. I've been fighting his robots and world-conquering schemes for ten years now." He realized he actually felt some relief as he finished explaining.

"I see. Very well," McLaughlin simply said, "and I suppose those gemstones enable him to do so?"

They both simply nodded. "Those things are really powerful. Robotnik knows it, but fortunately so does my pal Tails here. Knuckles too, actually, but since he's not here…" he shrugged as he faced his friend while the fox rubbed the back of his head with his hand, looking a bit sheepish.

"Um, put it this way," Tails began, "it's what causes the floating island you guys saw to, well, float. And what made Robotnik's flying fortress earlier so dangerous. And my plane to fly that far and fast."

McLaughlin became rather wide-eyed at the answers. "So you and Robotnik are able to do with those gemstones what our best scientists could not for thirty years?"

Tails couldn't help but smile, albeit more out of humor rather than pride. "Heh, that's almost exactly what Alan said when I told him about this."

"Of course," the SAIC said, hitting his palm with his fist, having just realized it. "What happened to Doherty three days ago happened to Robotnik. That must be it." He settled down properly in his leather chair before continuing. "Speaking of him, that's the next thing I'd like to discuss. The nature of your relationship with Alan Doherty so far."

"Sure."

"How did you meet him?"

"I'm the one who met him first. I saw him lost in the woods while out on a run, and was really wary of him at first, of course, the reason whould be obvious, but then I realized the way he acted didn't seem like Robotnik at all. He almost got killed by some villagers just because he wanted to nicely ask them questions, so I saved him and brought him to Tails' house where he got to stay."

"Interesting," the SAIC remarked before doing a double take. "Wait, you have a house? Your own house?" he asked Tails incredulously.

"Y…yeah, I do," the fox admitted. "Sonic and I help take care of it." Now that he thought of it, he really hoped nobody would break into the place while they were away, though if the advanced keypad door lock didn't stop people, the fact that the residence belonged to them probably should.

"Very well. Did he do anything during his time with you?"

"He helped us stop one of Robotnik's plans. Went into one of his hidden bases and spied for us. Actually, he kinda helped to do it again too, which is why we all ended up on Earth. He'd been looking for a way to come back, though I guess this wasn't really how he imagined it," Sonic said, suppressing a chuckle.

"Did you talk to him a lot, and vice versa?"

"Yep. About what we do, what he does…I think he's a really interesting guy. I've never met anyone like him. At least, you know, he helped us not to think all humans are like Eggman, er, Robotnik."

"Understood," McLaughlin acknowledged, "although, that reminds me. What were you both and Knuckles doing when you flew your plane towards the fortress earlier?"

Any relaxed expressions Sonic and Tails had quickly vanished when the question was asked. "We…we wanted to get Robotnik. Alive," Sonic managed to say. It was true, after all.

"I guess you failed?" McLaughlin's tone wasn't accusatory, just honestly curious, with perhaps a hint of disappointment.

"Well, yeah, obviously," Sonic slowly answered with a sigh. "Though less obvious is whether or not he survived. I honestly don't know."

"He managed to escape before the whole thing exploded?"

"Like I said, I don't know," the hedgehog repeated. "But if he did, we'll find him and deal with him again. It's what we've always done, and what we can do again," he declared confidently. "And to be honest, the Chaos Emeralds kinda wore themselves out, and, uh, we're actually going to be staying on this planet for a while. A few years, until they recharge. It's best if you could get people to search the ocean, or any nearby coasts, 'cause if he's alive, he has to be there."

Special Agent in Charge Daniel McLaughlin took a moment to carefully consider Sonic's words. After that, he made his decision. "I believe you," he said before letting out a short cough. "At least for now. I'll inform the other relevant departments of your…suggestion."