Author's Note: Well, I'm betting there were a lot of people who were surprised when the update notification for this chapter. Am I right? I'd like to apologize for how long this took. It was honestly not my intention to leave this story languishing for a year or more. Sorry to everyone who's gotten miffed about that. I would like to promise that updates on this story will start coming rapid-fire, but I'm afraid that's not in the cards since I have two more projects in the works and one is taking absolute priority over everything else since its meant to make money. Still, there's no need to fret. I still work to finish this story, so yes the updates will come sooner (no more year long hiatuses), just don't expect weekly updates too often. ;-) Hopefully we can shoot for monthly updates again (or maybe bimonthly now that I have my own personal computer to use).
On a side note, I've decided that it's time to start equalizing the past and present segments' individual lengths a bit more. After all, half of the point of this story is to see Sonic and Tails's life before AND after the… event. So expect in the following chapters to see more of Sonic's life trying to deal with life under its new terms.
Well that should be all. Thanks again to everyone who kept on reviewing despite the lack of updates. Hear from you all real soon.
Present
"Home sweet home," Sonic said as he unlocked the front door of the house in Mystic Ruins. This far away from everything, actually locking the door was somewhat unnecessary but, given the enemies he'd made over the course of his life, Sonic wasn't in to making things too easy for anyone who found this place.
As he and Amy stepped into the warm home, Tails squeezed past them, zooming around the living room with his hands and arms held out in front of him as he pretended to fly through the air. That the little fox actually COULD fly and the position of his arms had NOTHING to do with such a feat made the play-acting seem just a bit odder to Sonic. Still he was not about to stop the boy's fun. At least not at first.
"Tails, don't you dare start jumping on the furniture while you're still wearing those dirty snow boots," the hedgehog warned his charge as he saw the orange fox prepare to leap up onto the sofa. Realizing he'd been caught, Tails twirled his twin namesakes, using them to keep his wet and muddy boots from touching the fabric of the sofa and propelling himself over to his hedgehog guardian.
"Sorry Sonic," the fox said sheepishly as he fell down to his butt and began to remove his footwear. Sonic took the snow boots from the cub and placed them by the door to dry, and then he took the fox's winter coat, scarf, and hat and hung them up for him.
"Okay, now you can go," the hedgehog said, causing the vulpine to scamper off happily and resume his role-playing game. The movie they'd gone to see was, in Sonic's opinion, a bomb in every sense of the word, save that it hadn't actually exploded. Maybe if it had, it would have been better.
The tale had started out all right. Hero returns from deep space, Archenemy comes up with sinister plan to use Hero's own alien tech and weakness against him, and the world is imperiled. There was even a cool subplot wherein the Hero's ex-girlfriend, having married someone else, had apparently given birth to the Hero's kid, though he didn't know it. Amy had been very quick to latch on to that little plot point, much to Sonic's annoyance.
But then the movie had devolved into the same "beat 'em up" cheese-fest most movies tended to, trying to substitute computer animated special effects for good acting and a plot as it did so. The only good thing the hedgehog could say for the show was that it had managed to keep Tails entertained for its duration. Now he just wished the cub would stop trying to imitate the lame hero in the story.
"Well, well, you finally made it home," came a sultry voice from the kitchen that surprised all three Mobians. "I was beginning to think you two had moved away when I wasn't looking." From the kitchen a familiar white bat exited, one hand holding onto the doorframe as the other rested on her hip.
"Rouge," Sonic said, "so nice to see you again. And letting yourself into my house without my help too. Such a timesaver." The blue hedgehog's body relaxed as he recognized the intruder to not be a threat. If the bat had come here for a fight, she would not have bothered to announce her presence before attacking. Many qualities could be attributed to Rouge, but a fair fighter was not one of them. Still, she had broken into the house and, while Sonic was sure if she were here to steal something she wouldn't have waited around for them, which meant something was up.
"Who are you?" Tails suddenly asked, the fox having wandered over to stand right in front of the bat. Sonic's eyes narrowed just a bit as he watched this, sending a clear warning to the thief and spy not to try any funny business.
"Ah, don't tell me you've forgotten your dear Auntie Rouge," Rouge said as she bent over and tussled the cub's head fur, a pleasant smile on her face as she did so. "Auntie Rouge?" both Sonic and Tails asked, though Sonic placed more emphasis on the title the white bat had apparently given herself. The hedgehog couldn't help but notice that this position gave him a rather hard to miss view of the flirtatious chiropteran's cleavage, a tactic often employed by the thief to throw others off balance. It had worked more than once with the easily embarrassed Knuckles. Of course this was not something that slipped by Amy at all.
"Is there a reason you came here, or are you just really into breaking and entering?" the pink hedgehog snippily said, making sure the conversation stayed on track. Rouge ignored the veiled insult, grabbing hold of Tails gently and walking with him around to the front of the couch before taking a seat and placing the cub in her lap.
"Such hostility," she said to the fox, keeping his blue eyes locked on her own aquamarine as she used her nails to gently scratch under his chin. "You would think Amy wasn't happy to see your dear Auntie."
"Why don't you like Auntie Rouge Amy?" Tails asked, looking back at the pink hedgehog. Caught between the proverbial rock and the hard place, Amy could only feign a smile as she answered.
"Its not that I don't like 'Auntie' Rouge Tails, its just I'm surprised to see her here. Last I heard she was living on an island."
"Yeah, what's the deal Rouge?" Sonic asked, having stripped off his own winter gear and taken a seat in a chair near the bat.
"I need your help Sonic," the female said frankly, causing Amy to snort in derision, though she said nothing. Sonic was a different story, however.
"I'm outta the hero game Rouge, you know that," he said in no uncertain terms. "I stopped going on adventures two years ago, you know that."
"And yet you still do occasional work for the government…" Rouge reminded him as she began to scratch behind Tails's ears. Though the fox hadn't really been comfortable in his supposed Aunt's lap at first, this constant treatment was doing a lot to get the cub to warm up to the strangely familiar bat. Of course Sonic noticed this.
"That's entirely different," Sonic pointed out before adding, "and watch how far you go with that." Rouge smiled at his somewhat paranoid accusation, even as Tails failed to understand what he was talking about. As far as he was concerned, "Auntie" Rouge was a master at giving ear scratches.
"Don't worry Sonic, what I need you for isn't dangerous, but it's important all the same."
"How so?"
"It's Knuckles." At the mention of the echidna's name, Sonic's back went just a touch rigid. Next to Tails, Knuckles was, had been, one of the oldest of Sonic's friends, one of his favorite rivals. But then…
"Knuckles and I haven't spoken for almost two years," Sonic pointed out.
"I know," Rouge said, an uncharacteristically sad look coming over her face, "but I think if anyone can help him, it's you. You might be the only one who can help him."
"'You think?' As in Knuckles has no idea you're here?" the hedgehog asked, shaking his head in disbelief. He knew Knuckles was a stubborn Mobian, but the echidna usually had the sense to ask for help if he got too far in over his head. And if Rouge could see such was the case, Knuckles had to. Unless… "What's going on?"
"He's… different." The sad tone of Rouge's voice made the hedgehog believe the normally flighty bat's assessment.
"Different?"
"Look, you know how our relationship works, the dance Knuckles and I go through. I try to steal the Master Emerald or the Chaos Emeralds, he comes to stop me, we fight, a good time is had by all. It adds some excitement to what must be the most boring life on the planet, and I get a shot at the rarest of all gems."
"Yeah we know all about the two of you and your method of dating," Sonic snipped, unintentionally causing the bat to glare at him angrily. To her credit, Rouge was still very much in control of herself and her hands did not accidentally ball into angry fists, something that might have caused the furry kit in her lap to yelp in pain. The anger drained from her face as she remembered why she had come.
"Lately that hasn't been the case," she said. "He's been getting… sloppy."
"Sloppy?" Amy asked, concerned now. Knuckles had been her friend too after all.
"He moves slower, doesn't attack as passionately. In our last fight he barely held his own against me." Immediately Sonic could see what she was saying. Knuckles was amongst the world's foremost experts at hand-to-hand combat, the hedgehog was fully aware a lot of the victories he'd gained over the echidna were due more to the fact that he was so much faster than the Guardian. No normal opponent had a chance against him and, though Rouge was indeed vain, the batty thief had never been stupid enough to buy into her own hype. She knew very well Knuckles had qualms about turning his full strength against a member of the fairer sex and that he tended to hold back and use only as much force as he needed to, even against someone as clearly dangerous and capable as Rouge. That she held back too was a mark of how little either one earnestly sought a permanent end to their rivalry.
But there was playful fighting, and then there was getting sloppy, and if Rouge was noticing Knuckles getting sloppy… How long before someone with no qualms about ending the echidna's life saw it as well?
"Is he sick or something?" Amy asked, concern now deeply etched on her face. Even Tails seemed to be picking up on the gravity of the situation as he had stopped smiling over the sharp nail scratching behind his ear.
"I… I don't think so," Rouge responded. "But he does look it."
"Huh?"
"He's skinnier than he should be, he's got thick black bags under his eyes, and he looks so… tired."
"Is it possible someone's been attacking the island?" Sonic asked, though he knew this was grasping at straws. "I mean, he could simply be overworked."
"Nuh-uh," Rouge said, "if someone else had designs on the emeralds, I'd know about it, trust me, and they would be very sorry." Sonic didn't doubt that they would. "I really think he needs help, and I just don't know how to help him."
"I hate to point this out, but Knux is the one who doesn't want to see us, not the other way," Sonic pointed out, just a little bitter.
"But if he needs our help…" Amy began, causing Rouge to look at the pink hedgehog with a raised eyebrow and wonder when the bat had asked help of Sonic's girlfriend.
"Look, I know you don't have a lot of reason to rekindle your friendship with Knuckles. I know he's stubborn, tactless, and has all the personal warmth of a brick wall, but he needs someone's help and let's be honest, you're the only one who's ever been able to break through his stubborn pride long enough to get him to accept something like that." So saying Rouge lifted Tails off of her lap and set him down on the ground before getting up herself to leave. "Just promise me you'll at least think about my request Sonic. If not for his sake than for the sake of the chaos emeralds that would become easy targets without him." And with that, the white bat simply gracefully made her departure.
"And with a final blow from the axe, the beanstalk began to fall, and with it so fell the giant. They say the hole he created when he landed became a lake, feeding the drought ridden farms of the entire Kingdom. And as for Jack and his mother, with the golden goose, the magic harp, and all of the giant's gold, they never went hungry again. The End." With that proclamation, Sonic closed the thin book and looked down at Tails who was lightly snoring as he lay asleep in his bed. The young fox looked so content his hedgehog guardian couldn't help but reach out and pet his forehead affectionately, causing the kit to snuggle against his hand. "Good night kid," Sonic said with a smile as he put the book back in Tails's bookshelf and exited the room, turning off the lamp he'd been using for illumination as he closed the door.
His tasks for the night done, Sonic quietly descended the stairs to the first story of the house. Thanks to his brain rewiring itself, Tails was a deep sleeper, and it would probably take more than creaking steps to rouse him from slumber, but Sonic didn't want to take any chances. In the living room, Amy sat on the couch, entertaining herself by watching one of the television sitcoms she liked so much. In point of fact it was one Sonic liked too, but his mind was on other things.
Knuckles. He hadn't given much thought to the red echidna in the past two years. Out of sight, out of mind and all that. But now Rouge's visit had pushed the Guardian of the Floating Island back into the forefront of Sonic's mind. Knuckles hadn't been able to reconcile Tails's condition when he'd been told, not that it'd started out that way.
He'd called Sonic a dummy for being too stupid to tell the echidna about this problem before it'd progressed too far, suggesting that they use the reality warping powers of the chaos emeralds and their Master to try to purge the fox's body of the virus afflicting him. It had seemed like a plausible solution and, with the sudden gravity of Tails's condition; Sonic had been willing to try. They'd spent a week on the Floating Island as Knuckles had prepared to altar to receive the fox. Once the preparations had been complete, the echidna had called them both over to the shrine.
Tails had been laid upon the Master Emerald, the seven servers had been placed into their usual pedestals, and Knuckles had begun his chant. Sonic had been quite hopeful as the spell had begun, after all the chaos emeralds had never failed to save the day before.
Of course there was always a first time for everything. The gems had flashed, their powers had radiated and… nothing had happened. Tails had not returned to his former self and a check-up with Dr. Labris had revealed the contagions had not left his system. Aside from the pretty lightshow, Knuckles's efforts had been in complete vain.
And the moment the echidna had heard this, he'd declared the fox cub forever banned from his island. Tails was not to set a single whisker upon the Floating Island, ever again. There hadn't even been a provision for if the cub had ever gotten better, it was just blanket banishment.
Sonic had angrily pointed out how mean that was. Knuckles had been unmoved. Sonic
had demanded an explanation. Knuckles had clammed up. Sonic had raged in anger. Knuckles had remained obstinate. Finally Sonic had declared that if Tails was unwelcome on the Floating Island, it was not longer a place the hedgehog considered fit to visit. At that, Knuckles had given the barest inkling of a flinch, the very slightest tensing of muscles, before he'd simply stated "You do what you think you must."
And that had been the end of one of the most fun rivalries Sonic had had in his entire life. Sonic and Tails had returned to their home in the Mystic Ruins. Merlin's Disease had allowed Tails to forget about their former friend, but Sonic never had. He'd always known Knuckles was a hard case, but he'd also known the echidna to be honorable and fair. That he would so suddenly turn on them… he hadn't even expected that reaction from Shadow. And now Knuckles just might be in trouble.
'I don't owe him anything. Not anymore,' Sonic thought to himself as he contemplated his former comrade for the first time in two years, the old anger rising in his gut. After all the times they'd saved that STUPID island. After all the times they'd saved that stupid ECHIDNA. 'I should just let him wallow up there. 't's not like it's my problem.' More and more did Sonic heap on the reasons why he should just ignore Rouge's request. Knuckles had lost the right to Sonic's help two years ago.
And yet…
And yet even now Sonic couldn't deny that part of him that understood the echidna. Hadn't he spent years globetrotting; only checking in on Tails sporadically in order keep from having to think about the poor cub's problems? Was it really Knuckles's fault that his lack of social graces made him less capable of accepting such a thing? More importantly, was a grudge potentially worth the Guardian's life? Never mind the headaches having the chaos emeralds up for grabs would cause, could Sonic live with himself if he didn't at least TRY to help the echidna?
After only a few hours, the hedgehog finally came to a decision.
Twelve and a half years in the past
"Hmmmm," two voices sighed in contentment, coming from a fox and a hedgehog lying on a pair of towels on Station Square's famous beach, a giant cooler nearby and a large umbrella between them. Both creatures were each wearing a pair of swimming trunks so loud they almost bordered on obnoxious, as well as sunglasses over their eyes to prevent the yellow orbs rays from disturbing them. The only other apparel the two Mobians were wearing were a pair of flip-flops adorning their bare feet, standard footwear of beach goers everywhere. With another yawn, the duo turned over simultaneously on their towels to their bellies, allowing the streaming sunshine to warm their backs for a while. The twin tails of the fox flicked lazily about, a sure sign the adult vulpine was becoming drowsy where he laid, a fact that did not go unnoticed by his younger companion.
Sonic loved days like these, lazy days where he could just relax and let his mind wander. Though the beach was not the hedgehog's favorite place in the world (too much water for his tastes), it did offer some unique benefits over other favorite hangs. Two examples of said benefits were currently walking by; a pair of teenaged beauties wearing nothing save a pair of bikinis that only barely qualified as coverings. They were heading towards a group of such lovely creatures who were standing near a volleyball net. Casting an aside glance at his guardian, and noting the soft snoring Tails was producing, Sonic carefully pulled his limbs under his body, rising from his towel as he prepared to go get see if the volleyballers needed a cheerleader to help them out.
"It's such a lovely day," said a voice that froze Sonic in his tracks as the hedgehog just barely had gotten to his feet, "I'd hate to have to ground a young boy for setting even one foot off his towel, especially if he still wants to go to twinkle park with everyone tonight."
"Uh… Ah-ha-ha," Sonic laughed uncomfortably, unsure how Tails had caught him. The fox hadn't even opened his eyes. "I was just, uh… going to take a look around. See some interesting sights, you know."
"Uh-huh," came the fox's unconvinced response. "Trust me when I say there are no 'sights' around here so interesting you can't get a good enough view from here." Realizing this was not a battle he was going to win; the hedgehog fell backwards onto his towel in a sitting position. Tails had told him not to leave, but he hadn't said the hedgehog could still watch the volleyball game. It was probably for the best, in retrospect, as a few minutes later a group of teenage boys approached the girls and the two groups began to play with each other.
'Ah well, another time perhaps,' Sonic thought as he reached into the cooler for a root beer.
Sonic had to admit, he liked the Spring Breaks here in Station Square much more than he did back in Green Hill, even if they were shorter (Green Hill having switched to a year round school year over the nine month version). Tails's parents, and by extension Sonic's grandparents, had come to visit for the week, eager to see son and grandson under conditions less dire than their last visit.
The sound of the waves attracted Sonic's attention, causing him to turn his head. He was quite delighted to see a pair of surfers riding some of the waves, performing all sorts of tricks on their boards as they moved with perfect balance. Well, almost perfect balance, as evidenced when one of the riders fell. His attention thus occupied, Sonic laid back down on his towel to enjoy the show.
"Okay Sonic, time to go," said a voice as someone began shaking the hedgehog awake. The blue quickster hadn't even realized he'd closed his eyes, let alone fallen asleep. The one shaking him turned out unsurprisingly to be Tails who had packed up his towel and the cooler as well as the umbrella and was now looking down at Sonic expectantly. Stretching a bit, Sonic lifted himself off his resting spot and casually tossed the cloth over his shoulder to carry. Thus prepared, the two headed back to the beach's parking lot where the private vehicle of the CEO of Prower Aerodynamic waited for them. "You weren't as nervous around the water as you have been Sonic," Tails noted as he drove the car back
"Yeah, it's a lot less scary when it isn't rushing up to meet you at a billion miles an hour," the hedgehog responded, though inwardly he was feeling rather proud. That was the closest he'd been to the ocean in a while. He still wasn't entirely comfortable being covered in water (even now he only took showers), but it had been a while since he'd frozen up at the mere sight of any body of water greater than a spoonful. If anything, his attempt to go play volleyball and subsequent nap were proof that his hydrophobia was, if not disappearing entirely, at least going down to manageable levels.
Quietly Sonic pushed his own amateur analysis out of his mind as he resettled on even better ideas, such as the knowledge that soon he would be going to Twinkle Park. It was the last day of Spring Break and the trip to the park was how they were going to celebrate. Not just Sonic and Tails, but Sonic's grandparents and all of his friends from school, as well as their parents, in a last hurrah before school started up again. Sonic was especially looking forward to seeing Mighty and Ray again, as both armadillo and squirrel had been out of town for most of the holidays. Carl was a great friend, but even the monkey could only do so much to make up for the loss of the other two, and Sonic was quite sure he was a poor substitute for two friends as well.
All two soon the fox pulled his car into the underground parking garage of Sky Top Towers, parking the automotive in its assigned parking spot. This time when Miles divvied up their cargo for carrying, Sonic found himself stuck not just with his own towel, but the beach umbrella too, which was all he could do to carry as they made their way to the elevator and up to their apartment. As Miles moved to open the door, the sound of two feminine voices could be heard talking.
"So I looked the man square in the eye and said, 'Look, if you're having problems understanding what I'm saying in basic common, perhaps I can go speak to your commanding officer and HE can explain what I want in terms you can understand,'" Evelyn Prower said before taking a sip of whatever was in the cup her hand held. Across the table Mrs. Axelby nodded her head sagely as she listened to the story.
"Some people believe that a little power entitles them to become tyrants of their own little world," the large woman responded. Then she looked over as the front door opened. "Hellooo Miles, hellooo Sonic."
"Ladies," Tails responded, bowing at the waist to the two females, no mean feat considering that he was still carrying the cooler. Sonic settled for a quick wave before dumping the umbrella on the floor.
"Hey Grandma, did you and Mrs. Axelby like the movie?" At the hedgehog's question,
both of the elderly matrons let out a laugh.
"Oh Sonic dear boy, it wasn't a 'movie,'" the human woman informed him. "We went to the theater to see a play. One that I, in my less experienced youth, once performed in as it happens." At this Mrs. Axelby's chest seemed to puff up a bit with pride.
"Okay, so how was the play?" the young hedgehog restated, not entirely sure why such a difference was important.
"As dreadfully boring to watch as I remember it being to perform in," the former actress asserted. "Honestly, how some of these theaters expect to remain in business with such dull fare is beyond my level of comprehension."
"Oh stop, Catherine," Mrs. Prower said playfully. "It was an excellent production. I thought the story was quite entertaining, and the actors were very well versed."
"Oh yes the actors were quite good. A lot of young talent in that crowd, but I merely lament the fact that they have to cut their teeth on such an awful play. Give me something done by the Immortal Bard, or even one of the old Greek plays for something that gives a young starlet a challenge. These new playwrights are just so concerned with not offending anyone or making their audience think about the plot." So saying Mrs. Axelby let out a sigh of remorse before looking at Sonic. "I weep for your generation, dear boy."
"S'no skin off my nose," Sonic pointed out, "movies got better special effects anyway."
"More's the pity."
"Sonic, go get yourself cleaned up so you'll be ready to go when Grandpa gets back," Tails said. Kicking off his sandals, the blue boy was off like a shot for his bathroom. With a slightly aggravated grunt, Miles picked up his son's discarded footwear and glanced at the scuff marks created on the floor from Sonic peeling out, also trying very hard not to acknowledge the smug grin on his mother's face. "Not a word, Mom, not a word."
"Not even a peep dear," Evelyn responded with a quiet smile as she took a sip of her drink.
"Yo Boy Blue! Over here!" Mighty yelled, jumping up and down and waving his hands to attract Sonic's attention, much to the embarrassment of the older female armadillo standing next to him. Angela, or Angie as she was most often known, was not known for her incredibly high tolerance for her little brother's less dignified moments. As if sensing the teen's discomfort, both Ray began to mimic his friend's actions, creating such a display as to attract the attention of everyone in the vicinity, not merely the Prower Party. Taking note of the three adults present with Sonic, Angela quickly collected herself in an attempt to distance herself from her "immature" wards.
"Mr. Prower, so good to see you," she said in a measured and very in control voice, the same voice most teenagers used when they wanted to sound more grown up than they really were. Miles extended his hand in greeting.
"Always a pleasure Angie," he responded, looking around a bit. "Where are your parents, if I may ask?"
"Mom and Dad are getting the fast passes for everyone," the teen answered, pointing towards a booth where two armadillos stood patiently only a few places from the front. "Ms. Squivel couldn't make it tonight, so we got stuck lugging fuzzy… I mean Ray here with us. Not sure where the Mendels are though." As Carl Mendel lived in the same building as Sonic and Miles, it was probably expected that if something had happened to change the monkey's plans, they would know about it.
"Traffic over here was simply beastly," Mrs. Prower commented. "I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they got stuck in it."
"And of course they'd take it slower, what with Mrs. Mendel in her condition," Miles pointed out. "We can afford to give them a few minutes." At the fox's words came a threefold groan from younger members of the group. While Carl was certainly their friend, it was very hard to consider waiting for the absent simian. After a few minutes they were joined by Mighty's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Armadillo, both of whom offered words of greeting to Sonic and his family. It was at this point that Angela asked to be dismissed, her babysitting duties having been discharged for the night. Apparently a few of the girl's friends from school were also at Twinkle Park and the feeling was that parents and younger siblings were not conducive to advancing social standing in high school. With orders to be at the front gates by ten, the teen left.
It was only about twenty minutes later that Ray, perched on top of Mighty's head, finally spotted the final members of their party. The two adult monkeys were indeed traveling at a slower pace than their son; mainly because of the slow gait Mrs. Mendel had to take thanks to being six months pregnant and her husband seemed to feel even a single errant misstep could shatter her like glass.
"Sorry we're late. Dad couldn't find a parking spot he liked," Carl explained.
"We're almost two hundred feet from the entrance," Mr. Mendel quipped. "It's a good thing they have that tram of theirs to pick up patrons with; otherwise I might have simply driven right into the park." This somewhat half-joking statement succeeded in getting a laugh from everyone present. But it was short lived as the four younger members of the group began to voice their desire to commence with the evening's activities.
"Come on. Now that everyone's here we can finally get to the rides," announced Mighty, his patience frayed by having to wait so long.
"Yeah, I wanna go down the Shooting Star," Ray concurred, turning to his other friends in excitement. "You guys've gotta see it! The cars actually shoot out fire so it looks like you're riding a comet!"
"Sweet! What are we wasting our time standing here for?" Sonic asked, snapping his fingers as he did so.
"Yea-Hey," Carl answered suddenly realizing the thinly veiled jab at him. A long arm suddenly came down on Sonic's head, retribution for his comment. Of course, such an attack could not go uncontested. Very soon monkey and hedgehog were rolling around on the ground, with Ray and Mighty egging the two combatants on.
"Ah-HEM!" came a noise as Mr. Armadillo reminded the quarrelers of the adults' presence. Instantly four young backs went rigid as four cheesy innocent smiles plastered themselves over four faces. "I trust bringing you four here was not something of a mistake on our part."
"Ah relax Dad, it's not like we're five or something," Mighty pointed out
"Then kindly refrain from acting like a group of uncivilized ferals, Algonquin." At the sound of his real name, Mighty's cheeks went flame red to match his shell.
"Daaaad," the pup hissed in embarrassment as his friends snickered behind him. He favored Olgilvie with a particularly venomous stare, promising to get the hedgehog back for his insensitivity. "I told you not to call me that in public."
"Okay then," Mr. Prower said, clapping his hands as he did so, "now that all that is settled, let's go check out this Shooting Star thing. Afterwards perhaps we can pay a visit to some of the games stands and I can 'school' you little munchkins in the art of winning prizes." Now it was Tails's turn to look embarrassed.
"Yeah, and we can also go to the castle funhouse," cried an excited Carl. "They're supposed to have a giant mirror maze in there."
"Well we're not going to get to see anything if we don't get a move on," pointed out Tails.
Present
"How's it hanging back there Ames?" Sonic asked as he turned his head back to look at the pink hedgehog. Amy sat in the passenger's seat of the Tornado 5, the last plane Tails had been built for Sonic before his mind had begun to go. A pair of goggles adorned her eyes, allowing her the pleasure of viewing the scenery as it zoomed by. In her arms lay the slumbering form of the plane's creator, a snug pair of earmuffs on his head to quiet the roar of the wind and rumble of the engine.
"We're doing just fine Sonic," Amy reassured her blue beau. The retired hero hadn't really intended to take either his girlfriend or his ward on this trip, even going so far as to attempt to sneak off, but Amy had been adamant about not allowing Sonic to face Knuckles on his own, especially if the echidna was still feeling belligerent. And, since this meant he had no one he could trust to leave Tails with, the fox had had to come along as well. Fortunately an abbreviated session of sleep had left the cub too groggy to really consider anything abnormal about the trio's hasty exit. Fortunately the weather had lessened a bit making take-off much easier.
According to the old global positioning equipment in Tails's lab the Floating Island was several miles off Station Square's coast. The Tornado could easily cover the distance, but it was still a three or four hour trip.
'Which should give me plenty of time to figure out just what I'm going to say to the old knucklehead,' the pilot thought. 'With any luck, we can get this over with quickly and leave before he even knows Tails is on his oh so precious flying dirt clod.'
"Hey Sonic, what if Tails wakes up before we get there? Is there… is there anything I need to tell him?"
"He should still be good from our 'pep; talk earlier, and I bet the ol' Floatin' Island'll be more than enough of a sight to occupy the little guy's mind." The fox in question fidgeted a bit in his sleep. Sonic sighed. Hopefully this would be an uneventful flight.
To Be Continued…