Lmao I'm sure a lot of you thought you saw the last of me. Well I'm not dead but I have graduated from college! So hey, I have time to work on this again! Enjoy!

Doctor Eggman was angry, no, he wasn't actually angry.

He was downright pissed.

After so much preparation, after running all of the numbers! He should have come out on top! Instead that stupid blue rodent breaks in during the single moment of weakness he had and attacks a main power core like a bumbling idiot with no regard for his life or the others around him!

AND THEN HE WENT AND KIDNAPPED MILES.

Doctor Ivo Robotnik had never felt so insulted in his life. To do all of this and then kidnap his assistant? That was just pouring a pound of salt into his wounds! And he would not let it stand, he'd get his revenge and put that hedgehog six feet under this time!

His base had taken heavy damage from the explosion of the Death Egg, but it wasn't anything he couldn't get his robots to fix! In the meantime, he had to hunt down those chaos emeralds again before Sonic could. It wouldn't be very difficult, considering he still had the tracker, but he'd also have to hunt down that fox… wherever Sonic had dragged him off to. He would figure this out! He always did.

"Orbot!" He snapped, kicking aside from rubble in his main lab, the room taking the worst damage beside the Death Egg itself.

"Yes doctor?" The small bot said, already holding a broom as he swept up the dirt in the room.

"Launch a full force search for those emeralds! We have to get them back before that blue rat gets his hands on them!" Eggman was storming over to his main computers, Sonic hadn't been kind and shattered the screens, but the hard drives were untouched. Thankfully the hedgehog had no idea how computers actually worked.

"But what about Miles-"

"We'll get to Miles! The base is destroyed, I have to see what was blown up in the Death Egg and the emeralds are loose!" He yelled at the bot, his anger already taking control as Orbot shrunk down slightly.

"Right away sir." Orbot moved off to start his work, sighing once he was out of the room. Hopefully when the doctor had calmed down he would focus on finding Miles as well. Though he supposed it was only fair the Doctor focused on the emeralds more- they were the most important thing to his plan. Wherever the kit was Orbot doubted it was where he wanted to be.

Orbot shook his head as he moved off, leaving Doctor Eggman to his own devices, and anger.

Eggman himself was standing over his broken electronics, his anger stewing more and more until his hands suddenly came up and punched the already cracked screen. Shattering it completely.

That hedgehog was so infuriating! How was it that a single mobian could foil all his plans he spent so long completing?! He was one little speed adept, and while he was a powerful one, that shouldn't give him the skill to do the things he does!

"I should have known from the start that blue rodent would be a non-stop pin in my side." He glowered, sitting down in his broken chair as it creaked loudly. No matter what he did it was like that hedgehog knew just how to get under his skin! Oh he'd show that blue rat what it felt like!

Wait, that gave him an idea.

"Yes… yes that will be perfect!" Eggman stood up with a large grin on his face, grabbing a pen and some useless notes from before as he began to sketch up a new design, a new robot that would put Sonic in the ground!

"You seem to take everything I throw at you, so let's see how you fare against yourself hedgehog!" Eggman cackled, sketching away what would be his greatest creation yet!

Sonic hadn't planned to have a little tag along on this adventure, he had been sent here because there was some trouble- from the start he had a feeling it was Eggman, and he had been right all along.

Eggman had never been a good person, Sonic knew that personally, but kidnapping a kit that didn't even seem to be six years old? That was a new low even for him!

Still… Tails didn't seem very keen on talking to him, after their original conversation the fox had pretty much closed off from Sonic as they traveled through the forest together. He noticed how the other would pull his jacket around him using the pockets, trying not to fidget too hard. Sonic couldn't help but worry about the kit- he seemed so jumpy! However long he had been with Eggman had obviously put the young kid on edge. .

It was in Sonic's nature to help, he just… had to figure out how to help here. This wasn't a case where he just ran in, bashed some bots and then. The duo continued to travel through the forest, which Sonic was getting pretty tired of, beautiful sure! But from chasing after Tails before and trying to find him after he was grabbed, he had been tripping and catching on roots all day! Though he didn't have much room to complain right now, as Sonic walked with the kit, his thoughts went back to what happened before he had arrived.

He had been on that floating island for a while, once he landed Sonic had- well it wasn't exactly a nice encounter with his new red friend but one with a misunderstanding they had thankfully cleared up before someone actually got hurt. He had just wanted to see the cool floating island, not steal anything!

They had exchanged stories about their lives and Knuckles even showed him the Master Emerald when he heard that the other had connected with the chaos emeralds. A beautiful gem that made him shiver just remembering it.

But the chaos emeralds… one day when the duo were looking around they had both- felt something from the island, from the chaos inside of them. Sonic got a vision of West Side Island, with the emeralds there seemingly calling for him. Knuckles seemed to have picked something up as well, because it wasn't long before the other was pushing him off the island telling him to find the emeralds and bring them back here for safe keeping.

Now Sonic wasn't sure if he agreed with keeping those things in one place, they were powerful he knew that first hand but they were probably safest Knuckles above all else. So he headed off towards West Side.

Unfortunately, Eggman had beaten him there, by a while it seemed. A lot of the island was empty, towns wrecked and mobians and animals alike captured for whatever Eggman's plan was. He hadn't found anyone else except Tails, and his rough up state… he could only fear the worst. Regardless, he was here now so he was going to fix all of this! He just had to gather the chaos emeralds again, wish for the island to go back to how it was before and then get back to Angel Island with Knuckles. Simple enough, not like anything could throw off his grove once he had a plan in motion!

Well- except his new tag along, but he was pretty sure he could keep Tails out of danger and Eggman's hands while he saved the day. Though he was curious about how the other had managed to stay outta the other's clutches for so long.

"Say Tails, I gotta question for ya as we head into the first zone. If you don't mind."

Tails had been off in his own head, Sonic could only assume it was a lot for the kid so he wasn't too surprised. Tails himself snapped back to reality with a flick of his ear, glancing over at Sonic as he frowned, but it dropped after a bit as he looked curious.

"Uh- yeah Sonic?"

"You're the first one I've found on this island that wasn't captured. How'd you avoid it for so long?"

Tails made a face, with an expression Sonic didn't get a chance to name as the other quickly looked away from him.

"The… I don't live with the townspeople. So when everything happened, I wasn't around. Afterwards I just really stayed hidden in the forest."

"Huh, that makes sense… but why weren't you with the villagers? Your family like their privacy or somethin?"

Sonic said it offhanded, but noticed Tails wasn't following him anymore. He stopped and looked back to see the fox glancing down at the floor, sighing before crossing his arms.

"I don't… have a family. It's just me out here."

"You… don't?" Sonic was surprised, turning to Tails completely in concern. Maybe it was the tone of his voice, but Tails quickly looked annoyed as he started forward again, his ears moving down.

"It doesn't matter right now! We gotta- um- find the emeralds! The best place to start is dead ahead." Tails quickly hurried off, Sonic following after him, he didn't wanna push it knowing they were still on a rather rocky start, but the knowledge was pushed in his mind for another time.

The duo finally broke through the treeline, Sonic's eyes widening as he looked around the lush fields ahead of him. Tails next to him glancing around as well.

"If we're going to find an emerald, one will probably be out there somewhere. Welcome to Emerald Hills." Tails motioned forward as Sonic squinted, attempting to see more of what was in front of them. Though he only kept that up for a few seconds before he grinned and started stretching.

"Well now, that makes this way easier than heading through that forest! Though I must say, if I had a nickel for every time an adventure started in some rolling green hills or mountains I'd have three nickels! That's lucky right?" Sonic grinned at Tails who just blinked and looked a bit confused, his head tilting slightly.

"Uh… yes?"

"Ha I'll take it! Alright Tails, gotta speed keed!"

"I told you to stop calling me-"

Tails was cut off by Sonic taking his hand and gripping it tightly before he sprinted off. The words dying in the fox's throat and being replaced by a yelp as they suddenly darted across the zone. Tails' eyes widened when he realized just how fast they were going, he had no idea anyone could even reach these types of speed all on their own! It was faster than he had ever gone even with using his tails! Once the dizziness faded from the sudden take off, Tails couldn't help but- feel excited with how cool this was. Seeing the world pass at such speeds made him feel something he wasn't too sure how to explain but he knew he liked it.

Racing around, Tails was more focused on the sights as Sonic kept his eyes ahead. It didn't take too long into their run before a familiar and less than pleasing sight reached their eyes. Sliding to a stop, he made sure Tails didn't go flying before putting him down beside him. The fox stumbling for a moment, before shaking himself off and looking over at Sonic.

"Whoa… why did we stop?"

"Baddies at ten o'clock! Stay behind me, I know how to handle these guys." Sonic smirked, letting go of Tails before he curled up into a ball and spin dashed forward. Tails' eyes widening at the sight before he looked towards what the other was attacking.

He hadn't noticed them before, but the badniks had been roaming around the area. Moto bugs, bee bombers, and plenty of others he didn't know the names of. Regardless, he had fixed at least one of each so he knew their parts pretty well- at least he thought he did.

Most of the badniks Eggman had him repair had most of their weapons removed, they didn't need him messing with something too dangerous after all.

Though it just made it harder to watch as Sonic darted forwards and so easily broke all of their hard work. Tails' eyes widening before he covered his face from the sounds of crunching metal and Sonic laughing. How could the other enjoy ruining their creations like that?! This hedgehog was so mean!

Sonic, on the other hand, smiled as he released the last of the small animals inside of the badniks and waved them off before looking back.

"Okay Tails! Path is clear, come on!" Tails slowly moved his hands away, looking at the scrap around them and tried not to make a face. He swallowed before he moved over up beside Sonic again.

"You… sure broke those bots fast." Tails said, watching everything as Sonic chuckled, rubbing under his nose happily.

"I know how they work inside and out! Next time I'll show ya so if something happens you won't get hurt!"

Tails wanted to argue, but for a moment he stopped and thought. He had to stay on Sonic's good side and- as much as it hurt they could repair any badniks that were destroyed.

"If you think I could pull something like that off.." Tails glanced away from the other, Sonic seemed curious before he chuckled patting the other on the shoulder.

"Of course you can! It might take a while to learn, but the rolling attack and spin dash are good tricks to learn when you practice enough. Now come on, let's get going, we have a whole zone to get through!"

Sonic reached out for Tails' hand again before the other shooed it away. Looking partially annoyed and mostly determined.

"I can keep up without you dragging me along." The fox sounded sure of himself, and Sonic didn't want to doubt him, but he couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty fast, keed. I'm sure you could tell already."

"I'm aware! And I'll prove you wrong so you stop calling me that!"

Tails looked determined, which just made Sonic chuckle and grin at the other. Raising his hands up in defeat.

"Alright, you keep up and I won't use the nickname again."

Tails was willing to take that challenge, he didn't really want to show off his abilities, but the first thing Sonic did was put his extra tail on display with that nickname. So he'd live up to it for the time they spent together.

"Lets go Tails! We got a zone to clear!"

"Under- er- You got it Sonic!"

Tails grinned at Sonic who raised an eyebrow before he smiled back and ran off. Not at full speed of course, he'd keep an eye on the fox while they were heading through. He could choose to go slow for a little.

Though that thought was stopped when he realized Tails actually wasn't that far behind him. Sonic couldn't get too good of a look since he couldn't turn around, but he saw orange outta the corner of his eye. The fox was… keeping up with him? That had never happened before and that-

Well that was pretty cool!

"Heh, You know I'm liking you more and more Tails! Lets see what you got!" Sonic called out behind him before speeding up and running through the zone. Tails followed after him as he felt his namesakes start spinning faster and pushing him forward. For a moment a warm smile on his face appeared, Sonic's compliment making him feel happier than expected- though he caught himself as he shook his head and kept a determined look on his face. No- he had a mission!

He couldn't get caught up in one cool hedgehog when he was the enemy! He just had to play his part and be Tails while they collected the emeralds. The other might think he was cool now, but when he learned the truth Tails knew his tune would change.

Not like it would matter, because once he got the emeralds back to the doctor he wouldn't have to worry about any of it. And he'd be able to drop that nickname and become just Miles again.

Me being serious for a second, sorry about not updating in… like two years. College really was picking up so I made a choice and that was focusing on school. I can't say I'll be able to have a regular upload schedule again but you guys won't have to wait for an entire year for it I promise. I still have lots of ideas for this au! So please enjoy what I put out!

Also PS, kinda sucks that I have to say this but another reason I stopped uploading was because someone wouldn't stop harassing me over this story so- don't do that. It seriously kills my drive to continue stuff like this.