Sonic the Hedgehog

Dawn

Despite their botched plan, Sonic has to give the Starlight agencies some credit. In under an hour, everything Tails requested were supplied right outside of one of their Northwest facilities. To most, including the brilliant fox's friends, the unrecognizable pile of varying equipment that sat before them looked like unusable junk. Not to Tails, however. No, they were his instruments. His buckets of paint. And he was the brush.

Without any further delay, he got to work, arranging the various parts in a somewhat manageable order. Watching him work, not too far away are Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles. The agent from earlier gave them his best regards before going back home to his family. Not a single ounce of optimism was on his face when he departed. Everyone could see as much. And Sonic is sure no one here blames him. At the moment, all odds seem stacked in Robotnik's favor. It's clear why he's been hiding for so long. He wanted his triumphed return to be a glorious demonstration of ingenuity and power. All these years, while Mobius assumed he was hiding, he was waiting...

Waiting. That's all Sonic can do at the moment, and each passing second feels more painful than the last. While he does so, he can't stop his wandering mind from revisiting each of the five chances he's had to save the day. So many things he could've done differently. So many possibilities to prevent things from getting as bad as they are now. All of them forever chalked up to what could have been.

To think they call me a hero.

"It appears he's almost finished," Knuckles comments, watching Tails's invention come together. "I offered my aid, but it was strangely denied."

"Don't take it personally, Knux," Sonic says, leaning back. "When Tails gets in the zone, anything that isn't a tool or his two hands gets in the way."

"You two seem to have quite the history working together," Knuckles acknowledges. "How did you come to meet?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Amy says.

"Well, it's like our friend said earlier, Robotnik has a talent for bringing people together. My friendship with Tails is the only good thing to come from the chaos he creates. Well... and you, Amy. You've yet to win me over, Knuckle-head."

Amy's cheeks turn bright red while Knuckles gives Sonic a light push.

"I can't believe I ever mistook the likes of you for a conqueror," he grins.

"Okay, are you guys ever going to explain this 'conqueror' thing to me?" Amy asks.

"No, we will not," Knuckles declines folding his arms.

"Yeah, I agree," Sonic nods. "Not around Knuckles at least."

"Why, you-!"

"Guys, it's finished!" Tails calls out.

With their playful conflict interrupted, Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy all look over at Tails, but more specifically, what's sitting right next to him. All of their jaws go agape, gawking at what came out of a few, uninterrupted hours of hard work. Fully built, coated in a blue and yellow color scheme is a small aircraft mirroring the size of a bi-plane. Its four wings resemble a giant 'X', and behind the cockpit are two vertical seats. On the bottom of the fuselage is a rocket booster, sure to give this vehicle some serious speed. Sonic is sure this isn't as fast as the previous Tornado. No, it's even faster.

"I call it the Tornado Two!" Tails announces. "I know, pretty cool, right?"

"Cool?" Amy says. "Tails, it looks great!"

"I'm no craftsman, but this is mighty impressive, fox."

Walking past the others, Sonic approaches his two-tailed friend. The boy's smile fails to hide the pain and fatigue under it. Building something like this in such a small time frame, while recovering can't be good for his body. But he still did it. And not without a single complaint. Sonic brings his arm around his bro's neck, pulling him close.

"You did good little, buddy," Sonic says. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Sonic," Tails replies. "Anytime."

"Hey, Tails, how come there are only three seats?" Amy observes, expecting the plane from the side.

Sonic and Tails exchange glances, both grinning. In an unseeable dash, Sonic now stands on the top of the aircraft, his right arm hanging onto the right wing.

"Because, Amy, the view from here is much better."

Dawn breaks, with the morning sun rising over the horizon. Its bright rays break through the darkness, shining down on the four Mobians as they prepare to take flight.

...