Sorry about the wait!

The Eggmobile was fast, but it was not aerodynamic. That meant that it was not very energy efficient. Luckily, though, I had bases all around the world. At some point during the trip for my second chaos emerald, I made a detour to one of these bases. This base was deep underground, resting right on top of the bedrock. I took a hidden elevator down, which took several minutes. The doors opened to reveal everything just how I left it. I would have stayed for a while, but I didn't want to waste any time. I had been traveling for three hours, five metameters, and I likely had much more to go.

I traversed the Eggmobile-accessible hallways until I came across the the aircraft storage. Inside, three identical military-grade jets rested side-by-side. I booted up a nearby terminal. The screen was black with green text, and there were three sections - one for each jet.

1 - Ready

Acceleration: 4g; 40m/s2; 1.5s

Full Speed: Mach 3; 1029m/s; 3.7Mm/h

25.725 seconds to full speed

There was more information, but I didn't bother reading it. The next two sections were identical. One kilometer per second! That's double the Eggmobile! In the command center, I typed '/toHangar(1)', hit enter, and the first jet began to move backwards.

I exited the storage and headed towards the hangar. There was the jet, ready to fly. I transferred the chaos emerald, my three pieces of the Master Emerald, and my removable tracker from the Eggmobile to my new aircraft and climbed into the cockpit. I hadn't flown a jet in years, but I still remembered how. I started it, drove it to the launch track, and let down the launch gear. The launch track accelerated me towards the surface at four G's. I expected to feel a little nauseated from the pressure, but I was just fine! Another bonus if being Tails.

I was shot into the sky. I redetermined which two paths led to the chaos emeralds and resumed following the one that I was on before.

x-x-x

"How'd it go?" The sound of the wind and the pounding of feet could be heard over the communicator. Sonic was still running, as expected.

"It was a piece. We didn't get it, but it's safe where it is."

"We should've taken it," Knuckles commented.

"Why didn't you," Sonic asked.

"No good reason!" I rolled my eyes at Knuckles's retort.

"A very good reason! It would take a few days to get it legally. The mayor offered to let us steal it, but you know he can't be trusted. He would certainly blame us for a little publicity!" Knuckles grumbled something, but I ignored him. "Guess what, Sonic!"

"What?"

"Everyone on West Side Island uses Prower products!" There was a bout of laughter from Sonic.

"For real?"

"Yeah!"

"That's crazy…" Apart from the sounds coming through the communicator, there was silence. It was broken by Sonic several minutes later. "It's on my screen!"

"Is it a piece?" Knuckles asked this, finally deciding to give a positive contribution to the conversation.

"Well… I dunno yet…" There were several seconds of anticipation. "Um… I'm here, but… Oh, there it is! It's a piece."

I groaned while Knuckles cheered. "Make sure you don't leave it behind like Tails did!"

"Quiet, Knuckles!" He only laughed. "We really need to start getting emeralds - fast! We have there pieces, leaving for more, potentially. Eggman's found one thing and he's headed for his second. If he gets the emeralds, he still has a chance!"

"He's never got a chance! We always win… Oh, yeah, where do you want to meet? I have to drop off these pieces to you - my bag's full."

I checked the time and my location. If I headed home, it would be very late by the time I got there. Both Sonic and I were close to Station Square, though. "How about Station Square? From where you are now, you can get there in under three hours."

"Sounds good! See ya there!" He ended the communication. Knuckles, of course, had a complaint.

"Really? Station Square again? Why not have him meet us on our way to the next piece?"

"Because I'm starving. Aren't you?"

"No! We need to put together the Master Emerald!"

"Can't do that if we starve to death! I promise this will be our last stop until night."

"… Fine…"

x-x-x

The day was almost over by the time I came across my second emerald. I landed to retrieve the emerald, and I put it under the pilot's seat. I took back to the sky and directed myself to the nearest city in search of a place to sleep. I only had one problem. How will I pay for it? I don't have any money… and it's not easy to steal a night in a hotel… Do I even need a hotel? Can I just sleep in here? I checked my seat for a way to lay back, but there was none. Why did I think a fighter jet would have a reclining seat… I have nowhere to sleep…

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the city. The sun had already set, and the sky was black. Although the lights were plentiful in the streets, I noticed that the rooftops were very dark. Of course! I'll sleep on the roof! I'll have to land somewhere else, though… Anywhere outside the city should do! I landed the jet in a flat, open area near a forest, locked it up, and set off on foot towards the city. I flew to the top of the first building I came across. I lied down, crossed my legs, and put my hands under my head. The city noise and hard rooftop mixed with Tails's mild insomnia made going to sleep a trip and a half through hell. Eventually, though, sleep came.

There are four pieces and one emerald left to find. I may skip all that, though, because it's always the same thing. Just letting you all know, the end may be coming fast! Please do review if you liked it!