Flying through the clouds of Mobius started as an adrenaline-rushing joyride for the blue blur. Sure, he had been to every city and every landmark in Mobius, and sure, his speed slightly exceeded that of the Tornado. But of all the things he's managed to do in life, flying wasn't one of them, which is why it was a blast to finally do so. However, now as the sun completely disappears from the horizon and the sky turns pitch-black with stars gradually becoming visible, the hedgehog can't stand being stuck in one place for much longer. This is easily the longest he's ever gone in his life without putting his legs to work, causing them to long for the ground.
He looks over at Knuckles who kneels on the wing parallel to his, staring up at the night sky. Sonic wonders if the echidna feels the same thing he's currently feeling. The intense desire to stop sitting and take some immediate action. Of course, such a thing is impossible at the moment, but that doesn't stop the speedster from feeling what he does regardless.
"Guys, we're coming up on something," Tails says, looking at Miles Electric.
Sweet, sweet music to Sonic's ears.
"What makes you so sure, fox?" Knuckles asks, staring at the unfamiliar device in Tails's hands.
"Because Miles Electric is picking up an energy source up ahead- now another one! And another one! And-"
Tails watches in awe as the radar of his very recently built contraption fills with red dots until the screen is a square of incomprehensible red.
He looks ahead and his eyes catch what the other two sees. Lights. Ahead of them, below the sky of grey clouds, a display of green, blue, and purple lights completely illuminates the sky, looking as if one big party is being thrown before the confused trio. Tails descends lower, breaking through a cloud before it makes sense where he and his allies are.
Grand Metropolis. Knuckles can't believe his eyes as he studies the city below. The entire area looks like one giant maze of blue, transparent roadways leading to an endless array of destinations. On the cyan pathways, cars with no wheels travel at break-neck speed inches above the road they're hovering over. The traffic is busy, but certainly not slow, with packed cars traveling alongside each other at jaw-dropping speed.
The entire thing looks like Sonic's idea of a Hot Wheels set. Tails thinks to himself with amusement.
Around the roads are large, intricate buildings in an assortment of colors, with most of the giant and important ones dawning a green look to resemble the familiar HEXAeco energy company. While prominent in a few other parts of Mobius, the company, run by Boomer Walrus, mostly resides in Grand Metropolis as its base of operations, since it was where it was originally founded. What started as a charity to restore power and reconstruct damaged homes after the Metal War blossomed into a corporate juggernaut, turning what was originally a small town into the most industrialized place in all of Mobius. While a little too busy for Sonic's taste, he can't deny its beauty.
"Can you still locate an emerald if it's here, Tails?" Sonic asks, turning to his two-tailed friend.
"Already on it," Tails responds with a smile as he adjusts the scanner to only locate massive sources of energy.
It takes a lot of tuning and specifying to drown out the mass amounts of electricity fueling the colorful city below. However, the young boy eventually spots a giant red dot on the green radar amidst all of the other faint red ones.
To even Tails's surprise, the crowning achievement of a city couldn't mask the energy that is most certainly being emitted from a chaos emerald.
"I got something!" Tails calls out to the others. "It's most definitely an emerald. I'm going to find somewhere to land."
"Roger that," Sonic says before he takes notice of Knuckles who's still staring down at Grand Metropolis with an unreadable expression. "Quite a view, huh?"
"Yeah... it is," Knuckles answers. "I've just... I've never seen anything like it before."
Sonic smiles and joins Knuckles in admiring the gorgeous city below.
...