[PAUSED] The Heart of a Project

Chapter 2

It was midday. The two hedgehogs had retired to their beloved hut, teasing each other and talking about anything and everything that came to mind. Suddenly, they heard a loud rumbling noise above then. On instinct, Shadow pulled Sonic closer and turned his attention to the sky, prepared to fight if need be.

Above them, a blue plane flew overhead, it's engine smoking a bit and wavering slightly. It didn't seem dangerous — quite the opposite, actually.

"What's that?" Sonic asked, peeking past Shadow's protective stance over him at the blue plane. Shadow hummed as he stood back up, forcing himself to relax.

"Looks like some kind of vehicle," the ebony hedgehog replied. "Like one of the ones from the ARK..."

They both winced at the mention of the spacecraft, but quickly shook it off as they hurried to their home.

"We should check it out," the blue hedgehog proposed, turning his emerald gaze back to the sky. Shadow shook his head.

"No. It has nothing to do with us. We should leave it." Sonic gave him a look, clearly not pleased with this response.

"It didn't seem like the craft was stable," he argued. "Someone could be hurt."

Shadow looked at him, frowning disapprovingly and Sonic met his gaze defiantly. Finally, Shadow sighed in defeat. He was never good at saying no to his partner.

"Fine," he mumbled. "But at the first sign of danger, you run." Sonic frowned.

"And leave you behind? As if!"

"It wasn't a question, Sonic."

"Whatever, we'll see. Let's go!" Sonic led the way through the trees towards where they had spotted the plane heading. Apparently, it hadn't made it very far and was spotted in a clearing, smoking and buffering. There didn't appear to be anyone at the helm, but the engine was open.

Sonic and Shadow exchanged glances before they made their way cautiously over. As they did, Sonic spotted a pair of orange twin tails, making him pause a bit.

This definitely wasn't a human, but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

Shadow circled around, standing behind the stranger who appeared to be a short orange fox, preoccupied with the plane's engine, muttering to himself quietly and not noticing the two watching him.

Sonic went and stood beside Shadow, tilting his head slightly before he decided to clear his throat, making their presence known.

Poor thing jumped nearly a foot into the air, hitting his head on the hood of the engine and yelping in pain, though he quickly shook it off as he whirled around, coming face to face with the two hedgehogs.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know there was anyone living out here! You see, my plane kind of broke down and well... I'm stranded. But I'm trying to fix it so I'll be out of your file in no time!"

It was clear he was nervous, his sky blue eyes darting between the blue and black hedgehogs as he fiddled with his fingers, kicking at the dirt. Shadow crossed his arms, standing straight and glaring down at the fox, only increasing his anxiety.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his gaze unwavering as the fox gulped. His wide eyes landed on Sonic, pleading and nervous. Sonic gave him a small smile of reassurance and nudged Shadow to get him to lighten up a bit.

"Uh... I-I'm Miles! Miles Prower!" he stammered, trying to compose himself and seem more confident than he actually felt. "B-but... But my friends call me Tails!"

It was very clear why.

Sonic placed a hand on his hip, looking up at the plane Tails was trying to fix.

"Well, Tails," he began. "Where are you from? If it's too far, you'll probably need to stick around a bit."

He was aware of Shadow's disapproving glare, but Tails seemed to beam at the question. Odd, but it was better than the nervousness be had before.

"Oh! My home isn't actually that far," Tails replied, turning to point into the forest. "Just that way. In the city of Mobïus."

Sonic and Shadow exchanged a glance again, surprised. A city? What's that?

"A city?" Shadow asked, voicing their thoughts as he looked at Tails again. Tails shrunk slightly under his razor red gaze.

"Uh... Yeah! A city... I'm assuming you've never been in Mobïus...?"

The two hedgehogs shook their heads and Tails smiled.

"Well! Maybe I should bring you with me!" his eyes gleamed with excitement before he turned to his plane, clearly forgetting his predicament and he chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and smiling back at the hedgehogs, his cheeks pink with embarrassment.

"Once I can get the Tornado fixed up, that is..."

_____________________________

It's the boy Tails! Poor guy has anxiety around the e-hog (Shadow). Luckily, he had Sonic to hide behind for the time being.

Anyway hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

Stay fresh, cheese bags <3

~Sonikku293