It was just a regular night in South Island at Tails' lab. The Phantom Ruby is locked away in the vault after it suffered some damage after Sonic struck Tabuu with the final blow. The Chaos Emeralds are each resting resting in seven different sockets on a table. Two Amusphere's rest on a shelf. And Sonic and Tails are both just chilling out, playing Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania. Very soon, Tails' character reaches the goal right before Sonic does.
Tails: YES! I WIN!
Sonic: Dang it! You're really good at this, man!
The hedgehog gives the fox a shoulder pat.
Tails: Hey, I mean, we're both equally good.
Sonic: Yeah. Well, it's a pretty easy game. Either of us can win.
Tails: Apparently.
Suddenly, Sonic's phone rings, and as it does, he starts getting a straight face.
Sonic: I swear, if it's Kikuoka again...
Tails: Kikuoka? What about Kikuoka?
Sonic: Oh, uh, nothing.
Tails: Wait. Have you been getting any contacts from him?
Sonic: Emails, and phone calls that I'm ignoring? Yeah.
Tails: But are you sure it's okay to ignore his calls and messages? What if something serious happens? Don't forget that we have to deal with Phantom Coffin.
Sonic: Well you know. I honestly don't trust Kikuoka at all. Especially with the incidents with both Death Gun and Underworld. But after Underworld, I literally started to hate that guy.
Tails: Believe me, I was pretty ticked when he kidnapped you, Kirito, Mighty, and Ray. But still, if it's about Phantom Coffin, we should at least do something.
Sonic: Oh relax. If something happens, we're gonna be there.
Sonic looks at his phone and notices that it's actually Kazuto Kirigaya calling me.
Sonic: Oh. It's Kirito.
Tails: Huh... So it's not Kikuoka this time.
He answers the call and puts it on speaker.
Sonic: Sup Kirito!
Kazuto: Hey Sonic. How's it going?
Sonic: Pretty good. Just chilling with Tails in the lab.
Tails: Hi Kirito!
Sonic: So, whatcha up to?
Kazuto: Well, I'm at the IS Academy right now. Me, Asuna, and the students just had a meeting with their instructors and Mr. Kikuoka.
Sonic: OKAY! Well, I shouldn't have asked what you're up to then.
Kazuto: Sonic, come on.
Sonic: Nope! I already have enough headaches dealing with that punk.
At the IS Academy, Kazuto holds on to his phone, while Asuna, Ichika, and a few of his friends listen in to Sonic on the other side of the line.
Sonic: So I'd rather not bother with him, thank you very much! The guy's a miserable jerk, and he stinks!
Ichika: Woah...
Rin: Yikes.
Charlotte: Just what kind of quarrel does Sonic have against Mr. Kikuoka?
Cecilia: He really seems to dislike him quite a lot.
Asuna: It's a rather long story.
Kazuto: Look, Sonic. Just listen for a little while. You know that Phantom Coffin is out there, right? We were called over here to help put a stop to them.
Sonic: YOU AND ASUNA?! Dude! Aren't you guys putting yourselves in danger? You know you and Asuna are civilians, right?!
Kazuto: And we're probably already in danger, since we have a history with Laughing Coffin! In fact, our family and friends might be in danger too if we don't protect them! Sonic. We need your help here. All of us have something we need to protect. I want to protect Yui, Sugu, Liz, Silica, Sachi, and everybody else. And I know you want to do the same. Or are you saying you don't?
Sonic jumps in shock after hearing that last question, because he knows that he can't say yes to it.
Sonic: What?! No! That's not what I meant! I want to protect them just as much as you do! It's just that...
Kazuto: Then help us out. Please. You don't have to deal with Kikuoka at all. Just help us protect our friends.
The hedgehog stays silent for a brief moment, and then sighs to give his answer.
Sonic: Fine. I'll only do it just to help you. Cause you guys are my friends, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you or the people you love.
Kazuto: Thank you.
Asuna and the IS students all give a smile, relieved that Sonic's willing to help out.
Houki: Thank goodness.
Vishnu: It's a relief that he's coming with us.
Luanyin and the Comet twins all squeal in happiness, excited to finally meet the blue hedgehog.
Luanyin: Wow! So we really get to meet Sonic!
Fanile: I know! I can't wait!
O'Niel: Me too!
Kazuto: See you soon, Sonic.
Sonic: Yeah. See ya.
And so Sonic hangs up the phone. He knows that he must do whatever it takes to make sure everybody makes it home safe. Just like how he was the hero that defeated Tabuu.
Tails: I'll get the Tornado ready tomorrow morning.
Sonic: Okay. Let's get some sleep. And let's pack up the Chaos Emerald's too. We might need them.
Tails: Sure thing.
A little while later, they both get ready for bed at the bunk bed. Tails gets the top bunk and Sonic gets the bottom, and the two of them have a conversation just before getting some sleep.
Tails: Yeah. I can't really blame you for ignoring Kikuoka. Still, now we both know what it's about.
Sonic: Honestly, I just wanna punch that guy in the face because he deserves it. Either way, we got a job to do. And I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for everyone else.
Tails: I'm with you there, honestly. But I'm sure things will work out okay. Everyone's pretty strong.
Sonic: You bet. Well, let's get to sleep now. Goodnight, pal.
Tails: Goodnight, Sonic.
Sonic turns off the lights and the two best friends start getting some shut-eye. It becomes quiet for a little while in the lab aside from the AC blowing in cool air. However, after a minute, the hedgehog's ear twitches, making him open his eyes. Confused, he looks around the place while in his bed to see if anything's going on and he doesn't see anything. He figures it's just his imagination so he closes his eyes again to go back to sleep. However, once again, his ear twitches and he wakes back up.
Sonic: The heck?
He gets out of his bed and starts looking around the lab to find out where the noise is coming from. He soon realizes that it's coming from outside. He takes a look out the window and sees something approaching really fast.
Sonic: What the heck?!
Very soon, it strikes him at great speed, breaking through the lab's walls from one side and out the other. It turns out to be a blonde IS pilot, grabbing Sonic, and bringing him in the air.
Sonic: Hey! You know that we're trying to sleep, right?!
Rain: Like I even care! Phantom Coffin says hello! The names Rain Meusel. Nice to meet you.
Sonic: I figured.
He breaks free from her grasp and uses his spin attack to push her back, then, another IS pilot with dark blue hair strikes him down all the way to the ground. Very soon, he gets back up, and faces the two pilots.
Forte: And my name is Forte Sapphire. Remember that.
Sonic: Sure I will. Though I'll probably forget because I really don't care. What do you guys want?
Rain: We were asked to give you a little surprise visit. But to be honest, you messed up my Aunt pretty bad during the Subspace Army incident. So we're just gonna give you a little punishment.
Sonic: So you ARE related to that scorpion lady. So, what is your goal? What are you people after? I'm sure it's more than just wanting to kill me and my friends.
Forte: I don't even care at all what our organizations goal is. And I could care less about what happens to you or anybody else.
Rain: You'll find out in time what we're after. Killing you and your friends is one thing.
Then, the two-tailed fox runs quickly out of the lab to see the hedgehog.
Tails: Sonic!
Sonic: You know what to do, Tails!
Tails: Right!
He activates the labs defense mechanisms. Two turrets appearing on the roof fire at the IS pilots. However, they both quickly evade their shots and start shooting weapons at the turrets, destroying them, and then going after Sonic, who also evades their shots, and uses his homing attack on both of them. Unfortunately, it was blocked by their shield. And with Sonic wide open, Forte uses her IS' freezing ability on Sonic, making him fall back down on the ground.
Tails: Sonic! Are you okay?!
He breaks out of the ice, quickly.
Sonic: I'm fine! But we gotta get these two out of here, fast!
The hedgehog starts running off, and the two IS pilots chase after him throughout Green Hill, firing weapons at him. Pretty soon, Sonic comes across a 90 degree, 12 meter slope, which he uses his spin dash to go up it, and about halfway, he jumps off, directly hitting the blonde IS pilot, and then using his homing attack on the other one, making them both fall down on the ground.
Forte: Ngh! Rain! Are you okay?!
Rain: I'm fine.
They both come face to face on the ground with the hedgehog, and just as they were about to use their IS' element abilities, Sonic hits them both with a spin dash, and damages both the weapons and thrusters on their units.
Rain: You've got to be kidding me!
Sonic: If I were you ladies, I would go home and look for new jobs. Trust me. You don't want to go down this path. And I'm not somebody you wanna mess with.
The two pilots growl and look at each other for a moment, deciding on what to do, and they decide that they have no choice but to retreat.
Rain: Let's fall back right now.
Forte: Right.
Rain: You're lucky this time, Hedgehog. We'll be coming after you soon enough.
The blonde girl throws down a smoke bomb, blocking Sonic's sight for a moment, and as it clears, they are no longer there.
Sonic: Good riddance. For now anyway.
?: Sonic!
The fox flies down from the above with his two tails to see Sonic.
Sonic: Sup pal?
Tails: Guess they got away?
Sonic: Yup. But how's the lab looking?
Tails: The defense turrets are destroyed, and there are holes in both the left and right side walls. I should be able to get them fixed soon. Thankfully, nothing was taken.
Sonic: That's a relief. You got the parts to fix the holes?
Tails: Yeah. It's gonna take about 30 minutes.
Sonic: Well, let's get to it then.
The two best friends work to patch up the holes in the lab. About half an hour later, they finish and head back inside.
Tails: Well, it's not the best patch, but that should cover it up for now. Man, I'm baked.
Sonic: Yeah. Lost a bit of sleep tonight. Let's get some sleep right now and we'll take off in the morning.
Tails: Right. Still, I'm wondering why those two girls showed up in the first place.
Sonic: All I know is that they're bad guys. They definitely wanna mess with us. I know they're gonna do anything to come after us.
Tails: Right. And we gotta put a stop to them.
And so, the hedgehog and fox get back to sleep so that they may get ready to depart the next day to the IS Academy. Though, as they sleep, Sonic starts thinking about certain things, like wondering what Phantom Coffin's goal is, especially when Rain Meusel said that he and the others will find out soon enough. However, it's clear that Sonic, Kirito, and Ichika must be careful about the choices they make, as it is difficult to predict their moves. With both Phantom Task and Laughing Coffin together as one, one single mistake can put their friends and family in serious danger.