Sonic was crushed by Dane's death. He could barely sleep and was in a desperate attempt to try and get his head straight for the Jungle Run. He was heading to the airport to get his flight to Opetopian so he can compete in the race. Knuckles greeted him as he walked into the airport lobby.
"I heard everything" he told Sonic. He shrugged.
"I just want to push Dane to the back of my head. I'm trying to get ready for the Jungle Run" he said. Knuckles looked away solemnly.
"I would like to say I'm sorry" he said.
"Thanks. He was a good competitor and a good acquaintance of mine" Sonic replied. The cars were being loaded on the plane. First was The Thief, followed by the Blue Blur, and then Big Red. The numbers on each were 34, 78, and 7. The speakers crackled, and a voice announced the flight to Opetopian was beginning to board. The trio began making their way over to the gate, having their passports stamped while they were getting on.
"This is going to be some race, huh" Tommy said as he sat on the aisle. Knuckles was in the window seat and Sonic was crushed in the middle.
"Yeah. It is. Let's wait until we get there" Knuckles retorted as the plane began to taxi the runway. The flight was pretty smooth, until a flight attendant approached Sonic to inform him of noises coming from his car in the cargo hold. He walked down there with her.
"Ma'am, I am telling you. There is nothing wrong with this car nor am I kidnapping anybody. Here I will open the trunk to prove it" he angrily said to her. When he opened the trunk, Tails popped out. Sonic and the flight attendant were both taken aback.
"Tails! Just how did you...get in there unnoticed!" Sonic exclaimed. Tails climbed out with his suitcase.
"I just went in there behind your back. When you were mourning Dane, I found it prime time to sneak in" he replied. Sonic looked over the attendant.
"Don't say a word. We'll get his passport stamped at customs" Sonic told her. He walked back to his seat, cramming himself between Tommy and Knuckles.
"Tails snuck aboard" he told them. Both of them lit up, as they wanted him and his mechanical expertise. Soon, they touched down in Opetopian. Once they got Tails out of the cargo hold and his passport stamped, the four of them were in the airport lobby.
"Look at who we're up against. We have some pretty stiff competition" Knuckles said. Sonic looked around.
"We certainly do" he said. They began walking out to their cars, getting in them and driving off to find a hotel. They were going to need to rest up for the race, which was coming up in 3 days.