The Fox and the Seedrian: Frontiers
by milesprower06
Chapter Three
"What do you think, hun? How do those feel?" Tails asked, having already selected his hiking boots at the Topaz Harbor Outlet Mall.
Lily leaned down to lightly press into the sides and toe of her tan boots, making sure there was just enough room. They came halfway up her calves, and would be invaluable for helping prevent any sprained ankles.
"These feel pretty good," she responded to her dad, putting her shoes into the box that the boots had come out of.
"I'll wear these around the lab for a day or two, but how would you feel about walking home while I take the Tornado back? You're gonna want those broken in by the time we're ready to hike the island, or you won't be getting very far," the two-tailed fox warned his daughter.
"Sounds like a good idea to me, I'll grab a bottle of water on the way out of town once we get the plane loaded up. So what's next?" she asked, as she slowly started pacing the aisle with her new boots on.
"Good pairs of hiking socks. The best boots in the store aren't going to do any good if you don't have the right kind of socks to keep your feet dry. Then. serious backpacks; those being comfortable and form-fitting are going to be just as important as your footwear. Then the absolute bare essentials to go in them; sleeping pads, sleeping bags, and small tents."
"Yeah, I'm guessing our big tent for the three of us wouldn't fit," Lily offered.
"Right. The best safety precaution is to be completely self-reliant on our own packs," Tails replied.
They left the footwear section and made their way down to the backpacks. They would each need one in different sizes. Even after her growth spurt, Lily was still just over a head shorter than her dad. The manager of the backpacking section was able to get both of them measured for appropriately sized backpacks.
As they continued gathering the essentials, Tails was hoping that Sonic was approaching this trip as seriously as he and Lily were. He knew the hedgehog could sleep nearly anywhere, but the difference in climates on Angel Island were absolutely otherworldly, and if they were going to stick together, he wasn't going to be able to zoom off to wherever he wanted; the point of having him along was having his experience to keep them as safe as possible. He didn't think Sonic even owned a backpack, let alone camping gear. Granted, they probably wouldn't need to set up camp every night; Angel Island had more than its share of caves and interiors that were somewhat protected from the elements. Some freeze-dried provisions probably wouldn't hurt, for when they would be away from the food-producing plants. Some basic climbing gear probably wouldn't hurt just in case he wouldn't be able to fly Sonic or Lily to where they needed to go. Some basic first aid would be essential for each pack. There would be no preparing for every conceivable emergency, but they had to cover the basics and still stay lightweight. Luckily, technology had advanced a little bit since their first adventure on Angel Island, and if a dire situation came up where their trip would have to be cut short, they could call the Tornado X3 to them as long as they had open sky, which they would have for most of the journey.
"Well, fancy seeing you here," Tails heard a familiar voice call from behind him once Lily had gone down to look at hiking socks a few aisles down. The fox turned, and saw his best friend who had just come into the boots aisle.
"Hey there," Tails greeted, offering a fist bump, which the hedgehog immediately returned. "You didn't tell me you were gonna be here today."
"Well, I wasn't really planning on it, but Amy told me that our family camping stuff wasn't going to cut it for this kind of backpacking trip," Sonic told him.
"Well, then I'm glad you have her to point you in the right direction. Lily's decided that she wants to follow your path from your first trip across the island, and that's going to take a week minimum. I've cleared a week-and-a-half starting on Monday, just in case we need the extra time," Tails told him as he picked up his boxed up hiking boots from the bench. Sonic followed him down several aisles to the socks, where Lily was currently going through the selection, and she noticed the pair join her.
"Hey there, Sonic. Thanks so much for agreeing to do this with me and dad. I know with you along, it'll be a lot safer," Lily told him, coming in for a quick hug.
"Well, it won't be for my lack of trying," Sonic replied with a snicker. "But it'll be a nice getaway, a trip down memory lane, and hopefully get you closer to some kind of explanation as to why you've been dreaming about the altar."
"I know it might be something of a nostalgia trip for you two, but I still appreciate it, nonetheless," Lily said.
"Even if we're ready for a rather strenuous hike, how's the weather looking? The waterways, the glaciers, the Sandopolis ruins, and the Lava Reef have plenty of shelter, but for the rest of it, we'll be at the mercy of the elements," Sonic warned.
"Well, we were just about to go look at one-person tents after we get our socks. Shouldn't be too hard to find something to withstand a bit of rain and wind," Tails offered. "After that, it's on to backpacks and sleeping pads."
"Sounds like I'm tagging along with you two, then. I didn't really make a list of things to get," Sonic confessed.
"Don't worry, we'll get you prepared, pal," Tails replied, chuckling softly, realizing Sonic probably was planning on not getting anything before his wife wised him up.
Two hours later, the trio had gotten everything they needed, and had gotten the majority of it loaded up in the Tornado, save for Lily's new hiking boots, which she was wearing, and her new backpack, which was at half capacity. Tails didn't want her to put too much weight on before her new boots were broken in.
"Alright, sweetheart. If you can make it home with that on by sundown, I'd say those boots will be plenty ready for the island," Tails told her as he climbed into the cockpit of his plane.
Lily gave her dad a nod and a smile.
"You got it, dad," she answered before turning to Sonic, who was about to speed away with a cart containing all of his hiking supplies. "See you on Monday, Sonic?"
The hedgehog gave her a thumbs up and a wink.
"You can count on me, Lil'. See you then."
Later that evening, Tails sat at the desk in his bedroom; a holographic projection of Angel Island front and center in front of his keypad, as he took a pointing device and mapped out the route he believed Sonic took through Angel Island, and how it would clearly have to be altered in some places. The jungles off of the coast wouldn't be a problem, and they'd likely be able to safely repel down into the Hydrocity waterways. But it was obvious they weren't going to be able to follow Sonic's adventurous, death-defying route exactly. They wouldn't be able to count on an eruption of water ejecting them out into the marble gardens; they'd have to carefully make their way up. Clearly they weren't going to let a leftover carnival cannon blast them over Azure Lake into the ice cap glaciers; they'd make their way around the lake.
Tails wasn't too worried about the inherent dangers of the trip until the Sandopolis ruins and the lava reef; he remembered what Sonic had said about the spirits in the pyramid catacombs; would they still be a problem? Would their lanterns last through the night? To say nothing of the lava reef. Even if the volcano was inactive, one false step could be very bad news.
Then, of course, there were the locations that were very likely inaccessible, both due to the battles that had happened at the time, as well as all the time that had passed since then. Eggman's carnival park was likely rusting away and half grown over, his flying battery ship had to be nearly completely buried in the sands outside Sandopolis by now, and obviously, the floating Sky Sanctuary didn't exist anymore, but would be scattered pieces of white stone all over the island now, hopefully none of which would block their progress.
He heard the bedroom door open, and Cosmo walked in fresh from her shower, with a sky blue bathrobe tied around her waist.
"Planning the route for your trip?" she asked, coming over to his desk.
"Yeah. Hard to say if we'll stick to it yet. There could be any number of things in the way that could cause us to change course," Tails replied.
"As long as you all stay safe out there," Cosmo replied, giving him a hug and kissing him on the cheek as she went over to sit on the bed.
"I just hope she gets what she's looking for, and that it's good news," Tails told her, shutting off the display and pushing away from his desk. He got up and stepped around his chair to join his wife on their bed.
"I do too, and no matter what comes of it, we'll deal with it together, as a family," the seedrian reassured him.
"Will you be okay without us here for that long?"
Cosmo scoffed.
"You don't think I can keep myself occupied for a week? Don't worry, sweetheart. Even if I start to go stir crazy here, there's always the garden out back, helping Cream and Helen with the shop downtown, and if all that fails, then there's always Amy and Aurora. What about Chris? You don't think he'll go stir crazy in the lab?" Cosmo asked.
"Well, that's on Bokkun and Helen to pull him out of the lab every now and then," the fox replied with a smirk.
"One more day to get everything packed. Will you be ready?" Cosmo asked as she got under the covers, letting her head sink into the pillow.
"Yeah, we will be. Ready for camping, that is. I don't think I'll ever be ready for her to grow up any more than she already has," Tails confessed.
Cosmo smiled at him sympathetically.
"Then enjoy this time you'll have. Because it'll likely come less and less. Sweet dreams, Tails," Cosmo bid her husband good night with a kiss, and he did the same.
"Sweet dreams, Cosmo. I love you."