And It Begins (Archive)

RickCressen:  Out in the middle of the wilderness, far away from Kawa Crossing, Rick Fox was going for a hike in the woods. He needed some time to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city of Kawa Crossing, as well as the recent incident with the Tanuki Tribe wreacking havoc throughout the city. Now that they were in jail, Fox could concentrate on getting some extra quiet, which he fully intended oin doing. He walked along the dirt path, with a little smile on his face for once.

Genisay: "YahooOOOOoo!" Rang through the trees above as a blast of blue color bounced off a tree trunk, then streaked for a second across the sky, disappearing as quickly into the branches of the trees ahead.

RickCressen:  Fox blinked. He had absolutely no idea what that blue burst of color was initially, but it hadn't hurt him or anything. But...could it have? He looked around, then got on the defensive. Who knows what was going to happen around here.

Genisay: Just as soon as the leaves in the trees had stopped rustling by the the passing, there was a moment of utter silence, then the next thing Fox would know is that a blue Hedgehog was standing right in front of him with a large grin.  "Huh?  Ain't never seen you around before.  Quite the duds you got there." He said, looking the other up and down, then giving a whistle.  Yep, just out, going for a run.  Did a Hedgehog really need an excuse when the urge for adventure bit him?

RickCressen:  "Heh, thanks." Fox said. And then...it dawned on him who it was here. Speed? Blue hedgehog? Yeah, he'd heard of him! It only had to be...  "You must be Sonic the Hedgehog, right?" Fox asked. It was a little exciting. He'd never been in the presence of someone so renowned before! He kept it cool though. He'd never met him before personally.

Genisay: "Ha, yup! One and only!" He replied with a smirk.  "Was out for a run, and saw a face I didn't recognize. Thought I'd investigate." He shrugged like he did that all of the time. "What brings you to this neck o' the woods?"

RickCressen:  "Honestly? Vacation. Things were gettin' too loud at home, so I figured I'd get in some quiet time for a bit." Fox explained. "Thought it wouldn't get any quieter than in the middle of the woods." He said with a chuckle.

Genisay: The smirk kicks up again.  "Hey, I feel you on that one.  I gotta do the same here and there." He chuckles as well, then ducks his head a little and flattens his ears, but his tone is humorous.  "Oh, whoops!  Guess I kinda ruined that!" He snorts at his own joke, then promptly sticks out a hand, tapping one foot as though he has an up beat song in his head. "Well, welcome to the woods, pal!  Seems you know of me already, so how's about you?  What do they call you back home?"

RickCressen:  "They call me Rick Fox. Nice to meet ya." He said with a small smile, extending a hand. "So you nearby here or you just out far away to get away from it all yourself?"

Genisay: Sonic gives a firm shake to that hand, then folds his arms. "Alright then, Rick it is." He tilts his head a little, and starts walking, though more to Fox's pace.  "You could call it far away, though nothing too far when you got the speed."

RickCressen:  "Oh I can only imagine. The miles fly by faster than the seconds with you, I bet." Fox joked, figuring it was close to the truth. "Ha, if only I had that kind of speed. Then I'd have gotten here faster, possibly."

Genisay: A snort is followed by a chuckle.  "Some would say that.  Any yeah, you probably would have.  Eh, don't feel bad about it, everyone has their own thing, mine just happened to be speed."  He scratched behind an ear. "So, any thing exciting planned for this here vacation?  One way or the other, keep your eyes peeled for badniks, and you should be fine."

RickCressen:  "Absolutely not. Though if anything comes to want to spoil my rest, they'll be resting in a hospital bed." Fox said, adjusting a glove. "They'll be pickin' the wrong fox to mess with."

Genisay: "Nice.  Good to hear you're one dude who's hide I wouldn't have to pull from a fryer any time soon." He quirked the other a grin. "So...was this just wandering, or you got a destination in mind?"

RickCressen:  "Nah, not really. Just been roughin' it for the most part." He said. "I don't usually do that, but there really was a lot of hubbub in town. Gang tried to run rampant in the city." He explained.

Genisay: "Yeesh.  Yeah, sounds like you guys got your own problems.  What town would that be?"

RickCressen:  "Kawa Crossing. Lived there all my life." Fox explained. "Closest major country area would be the Dragon Kingdom. Not sure if you've been there or not." Fox explained. "The Dragon Kingdom, that is."

Genisay: "Huh...now that's odd..." He said with a head tilt and his arms folded like he was thinking.  One ear twitched.  "Yeah, been to the Dragon Kingdom, Dulcy's from there, but don't think I've ever heard of Kawa Crossing." He shrugged. "Not impossible.  I'm sure Mobius still has plenty to offer me."

RickCressen:  "It's not necessarily a place you could just run to." Fox said. "Unless you can run across the ocean and not think twice about it. Best to probably take Carrington Cruise Lines there."

Genisay: "Ah, that explains a few things, though I have run across /parts/ of the Great Mobian Ocean before."

RickCressen:  "That wouldn't surprise me one bit." Fox laughed. "Can't say I've done that, but I've sure practiced fighting for a long time. It's somewhat common there for people to do."

Genisay: "Hee. Sounds like an interestin place. " He gave a challenging grin as they walked along. "How long's a long time?"

RickCressen:  "Probably since I was about seven or eight, I got into it and I just kept training ever since." Fox said. "Done pretty good in some local tournaments."

Genisay: "Wow, guess you really have been at it a while.  Hmm..maybe longer then I have. Kinda depends on if you are older then me. Hee."  He looked up at the tree leaves above them, letting his ears fall back and the light breeze caress his face.  "We stared the FF when I was....six, I think....started out with just messing with badniks here and there.  Been fighting a long time, now that I think about it." He gave a lift to his shoulders, then looked down again.  "But tournaments, you say?  Sounds like my kinda place!"

RickCressen:  "Hey, people come from the surrounding islands. If you wanted to, I'm sure that they'd allow you in there. I mean, you have quite the name and all. It'd be an honor!" He said.

Genisay: "Hey yeah! That would be a great idea!" Sonic bops the side of his fist in his open palm.  "I'll have to do that some time, might even bring more people to your island for the games."

RickCressen:  "Sure. We certainly need more people for Hammer to fight. He's a buddy of mine. Tends to win all the tournaments." He said.  "But yeah. I'm curious Sonic, what brings you out here this time of day? I dunno, just seems like...you'd be other places I guess."

Genisay: "Yeah, and if I could talk old Rad Red into it, then we have a heck of a bruiser added to the roster."  Good luck with that Sonic.  Knuckles is often hard to predict on such matters. "What's the prize, anyhow, besides the glory?"  He blinked a couple of times.  "Huh? Me?" He paused and gave his ear a scratch.  "Not much going on with things right now, and I was getting bored with city life.  Knothole was pretty quiet too, so I just went where my feet took me. Which happened to be here.  Guess Eggman's been laying low since the last time we kicked his butt."

RickCressen:  "That's what I'd have to assume. He's never been to town thankfully, but he should know if he ever comes, he'd have a handful to contend with." Fox boasted. "How far's Knothole from here?"

Genisay: Sonic stops in his tracks, giving Fox an odd sort of grin.  "Most of us live in New Mobotropolis now, but...you wanna visit Knothole?"

RickCressen:  "Oh...right! Forgot about that. Well, that's up to you if you want. I got nothin' but time on my hands right now."

Genisay: The grin only widened, and Fox may or may not have had a couple of seconds to wonder what he was getting himself into before Sonic grabbed him by the arm and hoisted him up onto his back.  "Well, you better hold onto those shades then, cause this express only has one speed: sonic."

RickCressen:  "Well! Looks like I better!" Fox said, putting a finger to his sunglasses to keep them on.

Genisay: He'd barely had time to carry out his action before the blue streak was suddenly gone again.  Only the leaves twirling in the gust of wind were left to even show he'd been there.

RickCressen: Fox was launched at a speed that he could have never attained at all! His trench coat and two tails flapped loosely like flags in a heavy wind. He closed his eyes, but found the intense speed far too intense for what he was used to!

Genisay: "Hey, if the wind is bugging you, "Sonic called over his shoulder, "duck your head to the side of mine like Sal does."

RickCressen: "Thanks!" Fox shouted, not sure how good the hearing would be as he ducked his head some.

Genisay: "Hey, it's cool. And don't need to shout, I can hear you fine." He grinned and turned his face back to the wind. This close, Fox may have been able to feel the exileration charging the fleet footed hedgehog's body. It was clear, that to him, this was what it meant to be alive.

RickCressen: "Sorry man, didn't know." He said. Now that he was getting used to the speed this...this was quite thrilling! He enjoyed this ride quite a bit, he just had to hope there were no sudden stops that he would get thrown off Sonic at.

Genisay: Aww, come on, he'd never drop you Fox. XD "Yeah, you're losening up! Starting to enjoy it?"

RickCressen: "Yeah! Quite a lot of fun honestly! Wish I could do this more often!" He said, actually laughing for once. This was rare!

Genisay: Sonic let the wind blow his head back, his spines and ears waving in it. "I know! /This/ is what I was born for!" It was a truely amazing feeling, one he knew many didnt' get the chance to experiance, and certianly not like this. He loved being able to share that experiance. For the rest of the journay, he ran in silence, simply enjoying the trill of such pure speed, and focusing on dodging trees, bolders, leaping over a river and running right up a cliff face like it was nothing. Soon enough though, he came to a screeching hault, being careful to keep a tight grip on Rick so he would not fall off his back when he stopped. Before them sat a single, old tree stump.

RickCressen: Once they stopped, Fox hopped off and brushed his coat and tails off, then looked at the large stump. That...that was what was left of it. He'd heard of the destruction of it, but to see it firsthand almost seemed disheartening. He was distanced from it personally, but it just seemed to give a sad tale of what used to be.
"This is it, huh?" He asked, at a loss of what to say

Genisay: Sonic took a moment to stretch while he waited to for Rick to brush himself off. "Thought I'd give you a moment to catch your breath. ...Thhough...brushing yourself off might be a little premature...." With an easy flick of his foot, Sonic tripped a switch in the grass that he could find in the dark or even in his sleep. There was a faint clicking noise, then the top of the log opened up. The blue hedgehog gave a smug grin. "Good ol' Great Oak Slide. For the longest time, it was the only way in or out after old Robotnik hit Knothole with his Ultimate Annilator." He gestered toward the top of the log. Go ahead, jump in!"

RickCressen: "Whoa, didn't think that you still had stuff working here." Fox said. He scooched down to have a look, then, just for the fun of it, he flipped into a handstand and landed having a seat to slide down it. Hey, if Sonic was going to show off his speed...

Genisay: Tapping his foot, he waited, something he had never much liked, but could do, until Fox would have made decent distance down the slide. Then, leaping into the air in his classic spin ball, he lept into the old, oak log and whooshed along the twisting passages.

RickCressen: Fox had a nice ride down to the bottom at least! Once he got to the bottom, he hopped off and had a careful look around the area while he waited for Sonic...if he didn't get to the bottom first!

Genisay: Shortly after Fox would have landed in the hay heap just outside the mouth of the slide, a blue, rolling ball came flying out of the slightly upturned exit, flew through the air, and stuck a perfect landing. "And it's a beautiful touch down! Full points as the crowd goes wild!" He intoned in an announcer sort of voice, hands thrown up in the air. Then he doubled over laughing. "Oh man! I haven't done that in s-so long!"

RickCressen: Fox smirked. "Should just come back and do it for fun every now and then."

Genisay: "Yeah, no kidding." He chuckled, regaining some of his composure, but then sobering a little more. "Eggman's been keeping us pretty busy though." There was a small commotion in the distance, and the squealing of small voices. Shortly, a group of three or four youngsters came running up, giggling and squeaking the hero's name. Most of them barely stood taller then his knees or half way up his thighs. He laughed, reaching out to pat a few heads or ruffle hair. "Haha, hey! Glad to see you guys! Hi, it's been a while." Giggles resounded again as the youngsters danced around his feet. In the distance, and older woman approached, gray to almost white hair bunned up on the back of her head, and her dress conservative.

RickCressen: "Oh, some people still live here? That's good." He said with a nod, scooching down to greet the kids with a friendlier face. He then stood back up and saw the old woman. "Ah, good day, ma'am." Fox said with a respectful bow.

Genisay: As the old woman approached, a hand went to her mouth. "Well bless me! Why, they were right, it twas you. My how these dears love you!" The older woman blinked at Fox, smiled, then turned her glance back to the young man that stood before her. "It has been some time since we last saw you." She said in her age roughened voice. Sonic turned away from the kids and a giant grin spread on his face. With two quick steps, he easily lifted the older woman from the ground and into a fond embrace. "Rosie! I knew with all these squirts around, you wouldn't be far behind!" He gave another tight, but careful squeeze before setting her down. "Glad to see you are still keeping up with em'. Why, you haven't changed at all since the last time I saw you, have you?" The woman leveled him a stern glance, but there was mirth in her voice. "Now don't you be turning that charm on me, young hedgehog, flattery won't get you anywhere." She grinned and laughed. "Oh, my, but how it is good to see you again." She reached a hand up and ran it along the quills just at the back of his head. "You are looking good. No doubt the Princess making sure of that. And who would be this charming young man you brought with you?"

RickCressen: "Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Rick Fox. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said politely with a smile.

Genisay: "My, tis is a polite one." She said, beaming. "Mayhaps, young Mr. Fox, you could teach some of those manners to this one here." She laughed, giving Sonic a light poke in the ribs with her elbow.

RickCressen: Fox looked over at Sonic. "Yeah, dude. Mind yer manners and stuff." He joked with a little chuckle. He then looked back at the lady. "Yes, ma'am. I'm from the city of Kawa Crossing. It's par for the course there." He informed.

Genisay: Sonic stuck out his tongue at Fox when Rosie was facing away from him, but he made a sheepish face as she turned to catch him. "Mmhhmm..I know your antics, mister." They both chuckled. "Hmm. Kawa Crossing? I can not say I have ever heard of that name." Sonic shrugged. "Niether had I, and I've seen a lot. Guess it's in the Dragon Kingdoms some where. Might have to go there some time with Tails and the Tornado."

RickCressen: "Oh yes, your buddy Tails. He back in New Robotropolis, I take it?" He asked.

Genisay: He gives a quick nod. "Yup. Tails was busy fixing up some stuff Sal plans to use for future sabotage missions." Rosie stared rounding up the children. "Time to go, children. Say goodbye to Sonic and Mr. Fox." She shooed them away. "I really should get them back to their lessons. Oh, and Sonic, you will stop by and see Nathaniel while you are here, won't you?" Sonic blinked. "Nate is here? When'd he get back from his trip?" "About a day and night ago. He stopped here before making his way to the city." She said. Sonic nodded, waving as Rosie continued shooing the rambunctious children. "Right, well, I'll have to say hi then! I'll see you again, Rosie, take care."

RickCressen: "It was a pleasure to meet you, Rosie. I hope we meet again." He said with another friendly bow. He then looked back over to Sonic after Rosie started to leave. "Feel free to go wherever you like. I'm in no hurry to go anywhere. This is actually kind of nice, to be honest."

Genisay: "Knothole really is a nice place. There are quite a few people still living here, though most are probably busy this time of day." He put his hands behind his head as they walked, gazing up at the afternoon sun peaking through the leafs that acted as Knothole's natural roof. "I spent most of my life growing up here. No matter where I've been, this is still one of my favorite places."

RickCressen: "I can see why. It's quite an amazing place. Never imagined I'd actually see it in person, honestly. I mean, it's pretty much famous for, well...you nowadays."

Genisay: "Haha, I guess it would be. Hero's home town and what not." He stretched, then let his arms down to his sides. "Well, hey, enough nattering, let's go find Nate! I'm sure he'd love to meet some one new!"

RickCressen: "Hey, I don't mind at all. I'll try to keep up behind ya. You lead though. Don't think I'd be any good at finding him." He said.

Genisay: "Hmm...not entirely sure where he might be either." He snaps his fingers. "But I do have an idea. Wait here." Like Fox could have kept up anyhow as the spedster wound up and took off. In five seconds, he was back. "Found him!"

RickCressen: "Alright, well, he on his way then, I should assume?" Fox asked, not sure who exactly he was going to be talking to now other than some guy named Nate.

Genisay: "Now we don't have to spend a lot of time on looking for him. Come on, I'll show you where he is. Found him in Rotor's old lab, working on something or other."

RickCressen: "Oh alright, sure." Fox said. "What kinds of things does this guy work on anyway?"

Genisay: Sonic thinks about that as he puts on a more casual pace to show Fox where Nate is. "Lots of different things. He likes mechanics, like Tails does. I dont' really under stand all of it, but he's actually one of the guys responsible for the power rings."

RickCressen: "Ha, well no kidding. I've heard of those, but I'd never actually seen one." Fox stated. "Jewel might know somethin' about 'em though. She's a techie friend of mine."

Genisay: " A techie? I'm sure Tails would get along with her great." He lead fox around a path that stretched around Knothole and between several buildings, before finally branching off to several buildings at it's end. Sonic chose the largest, and stepped through the open hut like door. "Yo, Nate! Long time no see. And say hello to my new friend. Rick Fox, this I Nathenial Morgen. " A small, wrinkled old man, shorter then Sonic or Rick by almost a head turned around on the stool he sat on, and flipped up the red goggle patch that sat mounted to his glasses frame. His skin was a deep brown, and his hair was wirey and black, with steely strands of silver that almost out numbered the black. "Well, I thought that blue breeze must have been some one I knew." The man gave a smile that increased the wrinkles around warm eyes that also bore a touch of sadness. "Sonic. How have you been, my dear friend? And it is a pleasure to meet a friend of his, Mr. Fox...or are you perhaps a 'Sir Fox'?"

RickCressen: "Just Rick Fox is fine, sir. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Morgan." He greeted, bowing politely to him. "I hear I'm in the presence of a great techhnician?"

Genisay: "Alright. Rick then it is. Please, you may call me Nate." He glanced at Sonic, his eyes crinkling again. "Oh, is that what he said, did he? Have you been telling stories again?" He laughed at Sonic's drool face. "No, I suppose that would be right. I have spent most of my life building, studying and fixing things." Sonic inclined his head. "I told him you helped make the first Power Rings, Nate." The old man raised one shaggy eyebrow. "Well, then, it is no wonder he would think me a great technician. Yes, it was a great feat indeed, but it was not I alone, Sonic." Sonic frowned. "I know...but I don't like to give old Robobutt credit for that, even if it was before, while he was still Julian." Nate gave a low chuckle.

RickCressen: "Thank you, Nate. Even still, what you've helped to accomplish is incredible. Granted, I have never actually seen one of the power rings in action, but I have heard of them." He said. "But are you working on anything else at the moment, if I may ask?" Fox asked respectfully.

Genisay: "It is good to hear someone else appreciates the work I did accomplish, despite some of the tragedies it lead to." Sonic actually gave the man a concerned look at this, but didn't say anything. He knew what Nate was talking about, and what had happened because of it. And he'd told Nate plenty of times before how he'd felt on the topic. Then the man let out a soft laugh. "Stay with this energetic younger, and believe you me, you will see what they can do in due time. Some how, I think meeting Sonic was far beyond coincidence. After all, he is the son and nephew of two of my dearest friends, and remarkable with the power rings." He glanced back at Sonic. "Speaking of which, how are Jules and Sir Charles?"

RickCressen: "I have a feeling I will. I have a good week in which to find out a lot of stuff that I hadn't expected to find out about." He commented, then went quiet to let Sonic answer Nate, since it seems they hadn't seen each other in some time.

Genisay: "Dad and Mom are doing fine, and so is Uncle Chuck. He's busy as always trying to help us stay one step ahead of Eggman, and the delegation keeps him pretty tied up, but I think he likes being part of the new Council." Nate nodded, please to hear his old friends were well. Then he blinked back at Rick. "Oh, pardon me, I never did answer your question, did I? I must be becoming more of an old man then I thought. As to what I am working on, not as much now. More that I was just going over my notes that I had taken while in the Northern Archipelago. It seems there is some unusual seismic activity happening over there, and I am starting to suspect it's cause is not natural. Perhaps, Sonic, some time, when the both of you are free, I could get you and young Miles to accompany me? I think the two of you could greatly help me with my research." Sonic nodded. "Sure thing, Nate. I'll see what Tails and I can work out."

By this time it had already gotten rather late, and after some more conversation with the older Overlander, it had been decided that there would be no problem with Fox spending the night in Knothole while Sonic returned to New Mobotropolis, having other things he needed to take care of that night, and returning to his own home. Sonic had promised to meet Fox the next day before they parted ways. No way would he skip the opportunity to show this new Mobian more of his old home as he got to know him better.

**************************************************

Genisay: A gust of strong wind swirled through the village on a rather windless day.  The source was not an act of mother nature, rather, a streak of blue motion that threaded past buildings and down streets, finally coming to an abrupt stop in the middle of town.

RickCressen:  Funny enough, that's where Fox could be found. He decided to relax in the middle of town by taking out his sketchbook and just doodling some various things in it. His tails twitched in concentration as he put pencil to paper. It wasn't much, just some half-done practice sketches of random Mobians he'd seen walk by, but it was enough to relax him. He was playing around a bit with the shading when something whooshed by! He looked up to see just what it was when he saw Sonic there. "Oh, hey Sonic." He said. "What brings ya this way?"

Genisay: The blue hedgehog blinked at him, then laughed.  "Well, that was easy enough.  I was done at the palace for now, so thought I'd see how you were getting along here.  How's the 'ol vactation going?"

RickCressen:  "Going great, actually. Everyone's been really nice here. Glad you stopped by to check on me." Fox replied, closing the sketchbook and standing up. "It was almost getting too quiet." He joked.

Genisay: There was another chuckle, then a brief look of curiosity crossed the other's face and he stared near the bottom edge of Fox's coat.  Striding over as brazenly as could be, the curious hedgehog lifted the edge of the coat out of the way, and blinked a couple more times, his mouth hanging open. "No way!" he said, a quirk of a grin starting to spread at the corners of his mouth. "Those for real?  Way past cool!  Tails is gonna flip when he hears!"

RickCressen:  Fox's tone seemed to sink a little bit, but...well he knew Sonic was curious. He was just uncomfortable with the attention toward the oddity of having a duplicate tail. "Yeah, they're real...just...yeah, try not to go pointing them out if you visit at home, alright?" He requested, trying to be polite about it.

Genisay: "Oops..."he let go of the coat edge and scratched sheepishly behind an ear. "Guess I got carried away.  But.....I've never seen anyone else like Tails before.  We always thought he was the only one, you know what I mean?  Are there others, too?"

RickCressen:  "Mmm, just me in Kawa Crossing." Fox said. "I always figured it was just sort of some weird medical luck of the draw, but some of the townsfolk seem to think otherwise." He explained. "A little too much otherwise."

Genisay: He shrugs. "Yeah, that's what they always told us.  Just a mutation, but whatever, I ended up with a heck of little buddy." He grins, then folds his arms.  "Otherwise?  Oh, how so?"

RickCressen:  "Alright, well, it's commonly believed that there is a benevolent, multi-tailed fox spirit simply referred to as 'The Great Kitsune Spirit' that watches over Kawa Crossing and helps protect it. So, some of the natives there think I have some kind of latent magic power or something. If they tell you that, don't let 'em kid ya." He said.

Genisay: "Ha, unless you can do more magic tricks then fly, I have yet to see two tails mean 'great-and-powerful-fox-spirit-thing'.  ...Thhhoughhh...tails is a mechanical magician."

RickCressen:  "Fly? What are you talking about?" Fox asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like I said, I ain't got any kind of a special trick. Just good with various arts."

Genisay: He raised an eyebrow. "Huh, guess you never had anyone to help you figure that one out when you were pint sized. Didn't you know? Flying with his two tails is like Tails' trade mark." He taps a foot a moment, then gives a self satisfied grin. "Then again, you didn't have me around either."

RickCressen:  Fox thought about it for a moment and...yeah, he had heard about that now that he recalled it, but he just put it out of mind, almost too well. "Oh yeah, I remember now. And yeah, having you around would definitely do it." He chuckled. "Where's Tails hangin' out at anyway? I'm kinda curious to see him now."

Genisay: "Hmm...well, he's back at the castle, and knowing him, he's probably tinkering with something...." his grin turned mischievous, "But....I think I could work something out. Give me just a few quick moments."  From a small backpack, he pulled out a tiny radio headset and held it up to his ear.  Tapping his foot, he seemed to be waiting, not exactly patiently, for the line to be answered.  "Yo, bud! Hey, you got some free time to meet me at Knothole? ..............Hey, yeah, sure!  Bring the Tornado. .....Right then, see ya when you get here!"  He tucked the communication device away again with ease.  "Sweet, Tails oughta be here in ten or so."

RickCressen:  "Alright then, cool!" Fox replied. "Didn't think it'd be so easy to pull him out of his mad labratory of mechanical parts." He joked. "So, the Tornado is...the plane, right?" Fox asked, again having recalled it somewhere, but he wasn't sure where exactly.

Genisay: "Right.  Man, we've had that plane through thick and thin.  I originally found it at an old building site.  Tails loves that thing.  He was so good with machines, I put him in charge of it. He spruced it up and maintains it.  The Tornado was a valuble asset in our fight againt Robotnik, and Eggman as well. "

RickCressen:  "Nice!" Fox replied. "Never really done a whole lot of flyin' myself. Boat travel, however, is a much different story."

Genisay: He shrugs. "Eh, boats are okay.  Not enough freedom though."  He could handle a boat ride if that was the only way to get some where, but he prefered the skies and where his feet could take him on land.  Also, he wasn't going to mention that he was afraid of deep water.

RickCressen:  "You could probably take the Tornado over though, but it's quite a hike anyway." Fox suggested. "You'd probably have to park it outside of the city."

Genisay: "No sweat.  It wouldn't take us long to hoof it the rest of the way.  We'd just need the Tornado to cross that ocean you said it was in the middle of."  Then he paused for a moment, and a 'light bulb' grin sprang to his face.  "Hey!  I got it!  When you need to to go back, Tails and I could take you!  Then we could visit Kawa Crossing, and you could show /us/ around."

RickCressen:  "That's not all that bad of an idea." He said. "It's a lot safer now that the Tanuki Tribe is locked up. Rough gang of jerkwads they are." Fox explained. "That's actually why I took this little vacation. It was their fault everything was too hectic."

Genisay: "Oi. Hope for your sake they aren't as bad as the Legionairs or the Archne.  Those guys were all bad news.  We don't hear much from the Archne anymore, but I'm sure the Legion is still skulking around some where."

RickCressen:  "I don't think really that bad, though don't assume the mayor of Kawa Crossing is one of them. He may be a Spider, but he's one heck of a good guy. He commands the Kawa Crossing Defense Clan, which is made up of a few of my pals. Nice guy, but don't cross the Crossing." He said, half-jokingly, though it was true. You mess with Kawa Crossing, you mess with Mayor Nakagawa.

Genisay: "Oh?  Hey, don't worry.  The Archne was just one bunch.  Most of the other Spider Clans were actually pretty cool guys.  Heck, their princess decided to help us with our efforts to over throw the Iron King and Queen a while back."  He made a gesture of the issue being no bother.  

RickCressen: "It's not much, but you guys could crash at my place if you wanted.  I can bring over some extra bedding."  

Starting to walk from the center of the village to the edge of town on the eastern side, Sonic surveyed the skies, then looked back to Fox.  "Really?  That would be awesome! Not like Tails and I couldn't find a place to hang while we were there, but having a place ahead of time is pretty sweet."

RickCressen:  "Yeah, I'm not gonna have two of Mobius' finest heroes sleeping out in the cold or something. And I can't say I know how much hotels or whatever cost over there, so might as well just stick with me. Seems like it'd be the easiest choice. I don't mind." He said with a little smile. "Hey, at least you've been gracious enough to show me around here."

Genisay: "Sure, it was the least I could do for a visiter new to the area, and not like the Knotholers mind a friendly, but unfamiliar face.
He reaches over and ribs Fox slighly with one elbow.  "And don't worry about it.  Tails and I are good house guests." He chuckles, then his ears shift as he hears a sweet, familiar sound in the distance.  "Ah ah!  Well, enough yaking, Tails and the Tornado are coming in to the eastern field right now.  We better get over there."

RickCressen:  "Right on then. Should I let you lead the way or am I gonna be hitchin' a ride again?" Fox asked.

Genisay: "Nah, it's not far.  Just on the other side of these buildings." He pointed. "Over there.  Come on, let's go!"

RickCressen:  "Meet ya there!" Fox said, scooting on over. Of course, nothing could compare to Sonic's speed, but Fox was still fairly quick in his own right. At least compared to normal Mobians. He ran around to the other side to meet up with the only other two-tailed fox that he knew of.

Genisay: Sonic chuckled, then broke into an actual easy trot.  There had been some things in his life that had taught him that, sometimes, it was okay to not do things in a hurry. As the two would step onto the outer edge of the field, a sleek, blue bi-plane with yellow trim would make a wide loop to turn toward the runway, then an expertly smooth landing. Taxing in, a small, yellow fox in the pilot seat looked up, pulling back his goggles from his eyes, and waved as he saw his oldest and dearest friend approaching.  "Sonic!!"

RickCressen:  He was certainly impressed to see Tails' landing skills for himself. He really was quite the whiz with these things, even using them. He stood by Sonic watching Tails with a little smile. He'd let them get their greetings out of the way, but he did wave real quick in greeting.

Genisay: Well, Fox wouldn't have much choice in the matter, as Sonic wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him a little closer to the plane. "Yo, Tails!" As the younger fox in question dropped to the ground, his attention was drawn to the fox in black. "Hey, let me introduce you to this awesome guy I met in the woods a coupla days ago!" He give Fox a little nudge to bring him closer to Tails.  "This guy is Rick. And you're never gonna believe it, but he's got two tails, just like you bro!"  Tails brushed his bangs back away from one eye, then stepped forward, extending a hand.  "A pleasure to meet you." He said with the voice of a much younger Mobian. "I'm Miles Prower, but Tails is fine."  He blinked at Rick, then at Sonic. "R-really?" He said in surprise, then looked back at Rick again.  "You do?  T-that's....." he didn't seem to know what to say," ..well..../amazing/, really!"  "I know, right?  That's what I thought too." Added Sonic.

RickCressen:  "Heh, yeah, I do." Fox said. "I don't usually go around showing it off, but..." He said, kind of "splitting" up his tails, so that both of them could be seen, one behind him on the left, and the other on the right. "No tricks, Tails. No tricks." He said with a little smile. "Just born this way."

Genisay: Sonic just grins, and Tails nods. "So was I.  But I take it you mean you didn't learn to do anything else with them, such as flying, like I did?" He takes to a foot or so off the ground to illustrate.  His tails spin like the blades on a helicopter.  "But I have Sonic to thank for the idea, and helping me first get off the ground.  I had to practice hard to strengthen my tails enough to fly for any length of time on my own." He lands again, and his two tails fall behind him, swaying casually. "Even so...it's wonderful to meet some one else like me."

RickCressen:  "I can't say I ever learned anything like that. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought something like that possible unless I'd seen it myself." Fox said. "Heh, maybe I should learn how to do it sometime. I just shouldn't do it back home." He said. "Too many prying eyes might take it the wrong way."

Genisay: Sonic seemed content to let them chat.  Tails laughed, and looked over to his friend, who'd taken to leaning against the Tornado's front wheel brace, his eyes closed.  "Sonic thinks of a lot of things other people don't." He glances back to Rick. "Well, if you'd like, I could show you where to start at least." Then the young fox blinks and frowns. "Oh...others were not accepting of your 'difference'?"

RickCressen:  "It's...weird. I'll go into it later. Let's just say for now, it's a lot of unwanted attention." He stated. "But I wouldn't mind if you wanted to show me how to get started." He agreed with a smile.

Genisay: "Ah, I think I might understand some. Being heroes and all...." he shrugs.  He and Sonic knew more then enough about getting attention, and not all of it wanted.  "That will be fun!  I've never had anyone else to teach.  But um...." he glanced over at Sonic.  "That's going to have to wait till later. Sonic!" The lounging hedgehog opened one eye. "Hmm...yeah?" Tails explained as much with his hands as he did his words.  "Sally caught me before I came out here.  She wanted us to check out a disturbance out near old Western Robotropolis.  It seems some of Eggman's drones are hunting around for something, but we don't know what."

RickCressen:  "Ah, looks like some serious business." He said. "Well I still got a few days left here before I gotta take the boat back to Kawa Crossing, so I assume there's still going to be time." He said.

Genisay: Sonic pushed himself away from the side of the plane.  "Eggman's up to no good again, one way or the other. I just wonder what kind it is this time.  Well...who knows, maybe we can find what he's looking for first!" Flicking a hand to Fox, he addressed the black clad Mobian, though far more casually then some would have liked. "Hey, new guy.  I know you're on vacation and all, but would you /want/ to come help us trash some trash?"

RickCressen:  Fox cracked his knuckles. Normally, he wouldn't want to do this, but working with the big timers? Who could turn that down?! And with Eggman, no less. "Count me in." Fox said. "The last thing they'll want to do, and actually do, is come after me." He said, not brashly, but more matter-of-factly. Fighting was certainly his forte, and he was going to prove it to them.

Genisay: "Awesome!" The spunky speedster flashed him a thumbs up, then with an impressive bound, leaped straight up, rolling in a ball, and landed on the Tornado's top wing, facing forward on the plane. Tails nodded to Fox, then clambered up the side of the plane himself with ease, then held down a hand to Rick, should he need it.  "Right, you can sit in the seat right behind me."

Rick Cressen: *Fox uses his parkour to flip up into the plane with no trouble and take the seat behind tails*

Genisay: Sonic waited till Fox was settled, an amused grin crossing his face, then crouched low on the plane's wing.  "Let's get there the way I like it,Tails: Fast!"  "Right!" Tails hit a button, and the plane shifted from being a bi-plane, into a jet as the wings shifted so that they formed an 'X' along the plane rather then two straight lines.  Sonic was tilted a little at an angle. "X Tornado is a go!" Tails reported as a top compartment closed down over himself and Fox.  "Alright, everyone ready?" Sonic wore an excited grin.  "Then let's DO IT TO IT!"  The engines roared, Tails taxied the plane around, and with a thrust that blew back Sonic's ears and spines, the Tornado was shortly off the ground.

RickCressen:  "Well I'll be darned! Wasn't expecting that one!" Fox said with a laugh, then he sat back and thought about it. This vacation was totally turning out to be the total opposite of what he'd expected it to be, and for the first time ever, he didn't mind it one bit. He pushed his sunglasses up a little bit as he let himself relax in the Tornado. This was great! So exhilerating!

Genisay: Sonic seemed to be having a blast as well from his perch on the wing.  It was a dangerous place to ride, but his easy posture made it clear he was comfortable with his location, as well as his ability to make the minute, instant adjustments necessary to not falling. The ground below the Tornado quickly wizzed by, and it's young pilot scanned the land ahead of them.

RickCressen:  "So how far away these 'bots supposed to be, anyway?" Fox asked, after a little bit of relaxation. He wasn't expecting to be there instantaneously, but he wanted to be ready for when they did arrive. He had no way of knowing what to expect.

Genisay: "Not far," Tails replied over his shoulder, "At least, not in the X Tornado. We used to make trips out here all of the ti...." His ears and his whole body suddenly shot straight. On the wing, Sonic's eye's widened.  "Incoming!" Shouted Tails just as the plane started to bank to the right to avoid a flame tailed rocket.  The rocket exploded nearby. "Hold on!" Tails shouted as the plane shook from the concussive force, then leveled out again. "Well, well, looks like they rolled out the red carpet cause they knew we were coming." Came Sonic's voice over the speakers of the plane.  He was already wearing the head set Fox had seen earlier. "Tails, find a place to land, make sure you're covered when you do. " Sonic stood up on the tilted wing. "I'll clear the skies for you."With that, the blue hedgehog ducked his chin to his chest, his eyes sparkling. With a leap, he dove from the plane wing. "See you guys on the ground!" Tails waved, but he was already out of sight.  A matter of moments later, a streaking blue comet hailed from the sky, and smashed right through the chest of the Egg Trooper with the rocket launcher.

RickCressen:  "Geez!" Fox exclaimed, holding onto the plane for dear life as the concussive force slammed into the plane. He couldn't really tell whether or not the plane was alright, since he didn't dare look over the side of the plane at the moment, fearing getting a nice missile to the face. Hopefully the guns wouldn't be that big once he landed, but it was Eggman's robots after all. There was no telling what kind of heavy artilery would be in them, and Fox had not had to deal with some of Eggman's bots before; Kawa Crossing had managed to escape his treachery somehow. However, he was smart enough to treat the bots as his most worthy adversary. He would be unwise to treat any new foe any less.

Genisay: Tails nodded to himself, and resumed looking this way and that for a proper landing spot. He seemed highly focused as he dodged a few smaller laser shots here and there, but no alarms were going off, and tails did not seem worried about the condition of the plane. "Seems like excessive force, right?" He did not look back, but he spoke up as if having heard Fox's thoughts.  "Eggman doesn't spare anything when he knows it's us."

RickCressen:  "I'm starting to notice this." Fox replied. "Must be pretty desperate by now."

Genisay: Tails shook his head a little, in disgust.  "It used to just be a game to him, but not too long ago, he decided he was through playing."  The small fox's ears tilted down at the sides of his head, showing some of his emotion, despite Fox not being able to see the boy's face. "He's always hated Sonic.  He doesn't like the rest of us either, but Sonic...... Eggman came from another reality, but he was originally the Robotnik of his own time.  He beat the Freedom Fighters there, and when our own Robotnik was out of the picture, he replaced him, looking for a new challange.  His fights with Sonic are nothing new to either."  The plane banked as Tails spotted a likely landing sight with decent cover.

RickCressen:  "If he's like the old Robotnik, then I'm sure he pretty much hates everything that isn't bowing down to him. Or at least that's what I heard he was like." Fox responded. "Well if he wants a new challenge, he's got one." Fox said, and then realized...this could put Kawa Crossing in his crosshairs. "...So long as he isn't spyin' on me on the way back."

Genisay: "That place you came from what you are worried about, right?" He hadn't heard much yet and didn't even know about the tournement. "It's probably better he doesn't remember you were here.  Though, he's not well known to remember most Mobians unless you become a big enough thorn in his side to be remembered, like we are. Oh, hold on!  I'm gonna bring us in to land."  With that, the plane banked sharply, then in mid air, shifted back into a bi-plane so it could land on a smaller section of land then the jet would need.

RickCressen:  "If I have to fight, I'm gonna fight. I'm just more concerned about him coming just from my association with you guys." He stated, before Tails started to bring the plane to a land. As he did, he held on tight and watched, waiting for Tails to make the landing so he could hop out. And hopefully there would be no more missiles.

Genisay: "Well, he's likely to be so focused on Sonic, he probably won't even know /I'm/ here, let alone you."  As the plane bounced to a hault in the space Tails had decided on, he lept from the plane into a crouch and glanced around.  "Alright, looks like we have an all clear.  They probably already have thier hands full, if I know Sonic."

RickCressen:  "Let's go check on him just in case." Fox said from the plane after unbuckling. Once he got the all clear, he stood on the seat and did a side flip out of the plane, landing on his feet. He sure had practiced his parkour quite well! He took a look around to see if he could tell where Sonic and the 'bots were just by looking.

Genisay: "This way!" Tails motioned, having remembered which way they had flown, and how far. As if on cue, a few shots of laser fire burst into the air.

RickCressen:  Fox followed Tails to the area where Sonic was, at the ready to dodge if need be. Thankfully, the lasers weren't on him, so he didn't have to worry too much about that...for now.

Genisay: Sliding past a set of Egg bots at a speed that made sure he could clearly be seen, the impudent hedgehog twiddled his fingers from his ears and blew a raspberry at two of the metal minions.  "Ptthbp!  You metallic morons couldn't hit the broad side of your boss if he was a foot in front of you!"  As the two bots fired, the speedy blue figure was gone again, only to pop up near Tails and Fox.  "Yo!  Was starting to wonder if you guys were coming."  Tails just ignored what he knew to be a casual joke.

RickCressen:  "I was wondering if you'd have taken these things out already. Not so quick now, are ya?" Fox joked back, but he was back in his stance, which meant he was ready for a fight. "These things easy to take down?"

Genisay: Sonic shrugged.  "Nah, I figured I'd just have some fun with em'. Didn't want them to break too fast, that would be no fun.  'Sides, I shouldn't take all of the fun."  He flipped over another bolt of laser fire that was aimed at his side, landing on the bot's head and delivering a solid smack of his heels that took the Bot's face to the ground.  "Aww come on. You can do better then that!  At least next time try shooting from where your opponent can't easily /see/ you."

RickCressen:  "Well if you can distract 'em, I can take care of at least one of 'em. We'll have to see how sturdy they are to me." He stated. He was ready to show his stuff now!

Genisay: "Can do, and already done!"  Sonic flew off the bot he was standing on, and smacked a new bot in the back of the head with his open hand, then put two fingers to his mouth. "*Fweet!*  Hey, look this way!  Priority One Hedgehog right here!"  Tails had already picked his own target.  Not a bot, but figuring out what Eggman was looking for.

RickCressen:  With the bots effectively distracted, Fox ran and lept into the air, doing a forward flip for extra momentum, Fox came down with a leg aimed at one of the 'bots' heads, effectively prepared to leap off that one and throw a kick toward another nearby bot if the kick did its job properly.


Genisay: Tails, knowing the other two could likely handle themselves, flew to a place where he would be out of the way as he pulled out some hand held equipment and ran some tests on the area.  Meanwhile, the large bot biffed it, cracking it's face plate on the hard ground.  Another turned toward Fox as he was aiming for his second take down, but it was quickly dispatched by a horizontal spin.  "Got you back!" Sonic chuckled in good humor as he landed behind Fox.

RickCressen:  "Ha, thanks!" Fox said, quickly scanning the area for any more bots that were ready to take them down.

Genisay: Between the two, the remaining bots would be made short work of.  Glancing around at the piles of junk that lay strewn across the ground, Sonic patted his hands together as if dusting them.  "Well, that wasn't hard." He grined at Fox and gave him a thumbs up. "Hey, you were pretty good out there!"  Then, shielding his eyes from the sun, one ear twitching, he looked up to where Tails had landed.  "Yo, little buddy!  Any more of these tin cans walking around?  Surely this wasn't Eggman's only search squad?

RickCressen:  "Thanks, Sonic." Fox said, glad to be able to show off his battle readiness. It was nice to know that his training did indeed pay off against Eggman's minions. The big thing now was to see if any more of Eggman's robo-goons were going to be around to scramble.

Genisay: Tails stood and turned to face another direction, then walked along the roof of the building, seeming semi-distracted. "There is another bunch about three miles south by south-west, but I think I found something that will interest you even more, Sonic."  With that, Tails easily descended to meet back up with his folded armed companion. "Oh? Well, you do have my attention.  Go ahead and shoot!"

RickCressen:  "What could be more interesting than that?" Fox asked, running a hand through his bangs and getting back at the ready.

Genisay: Tails couldn't help but grin at Fox with innocent amusement. Then he turned serious again as he looked back to Sonic.  "It's a Chaos Emerald!"  Sonic blinked, then gave a low whistle.  "Wow, no wonder Eggman had his goon-bots out here!  Yeah, we can't let that fall into his hands for sure."  He scratched at the side of his ear.  "So where exactly is it?"  "That's the really interesting part.  I'm not sure how it got there...though weird things do happen regarding Emeralds, but according to my readings, it seems to be in some kind of old, large vault.  Like, large enough all three of us could easily fit in it.  And it's not just an old manual combination lock either, it's an encrypted, time sensitive lock.  And it still seems to be functioning."  Sonic raised an eyebrow.  "It's a who what now?"

RickCressen:  "Sounds like it's one of those things we just let Tails mess around with." He said. "Think that's what the 'bots are after too?"

Genisay: Sonic let out a bark of laughter.  "Oo-ho, I think that's the best way I've heard it put yet.  I like the way you think!" He slaps Fox on the back.  Tails gives them both a droll glare, but soon laughs as well.  When he's had a good chuckle, Sonic nods.  "Yeah, if it has anything to do with a Chaos Emerald, I can can guarantee that is what they are after."

RickCressen:  "Ha, thanks! That's just what I do with Jewel when I don't know what she's talking about. I get some things, but not others." He explained. "Yeah, but if it's that they're after, well, we ought to beat 'em to the punch. Guess we just kind of let them funnel into where the emerald is and then give them all a swift beating?" He suggested.

Genisay: Sonic chuckled. "Yeah, that's about the way it goes for me.  Gets /too/ technical, and starts going over my head." He looks back to Tails.  "Well, what's the word, little guy?" Tails considers the information he has been able to get.  "Hmm...I don't know....the structure's pretty tight.  If they don't all go in at once, and I don't think they know where it is yet, they could trap us in our own trap.  But if we can get closer, I might be able to hack the lock on the vault so we can get in and get the emerald even before Eggman knows where it is."

RickCressen:  "So we're gonna pull the thing out and get it to a safer place, then?" Fox asked Tails.

Genisay: Tails nods. "That's the plan at least."  Sonic taps a foot.  "Well, okay, now that that is decided, lets snag us a gem.  Lead on, Tails."  Tails gives a nod of confirmation, checks his readings again, and points them to where they have to go.  "Let's travel high.  Most of the Eggbots seem to be on the ground levels. Also, that will give me some cover as I try to break the lock."

RickCressen:  "Alright, Tails. You gonna risk it with the plane again or you just gonna fly yourself?" He asked.

Genisay: He blinked at Fox.  "Oh, I meant all of us."  Then he seemed taken aback.  "Oh...I mean, if you can find a way up the building. I guess I didn't think about...I'm just so used to...." Sonic held up  a hand, cutting him off.  "Tails, don't sweat it. Honest mistake.  If he needs it, I can give him a lift."  Sonic turns and surveys the surroundings before them.  "Hmm...that looks like a good place to start over there."  He points to an old building, about three stories tall, made of concrete and metal accents.

RickCressen:  "Yeah, don't worry about it, Tails." He said. "So yeah, let's head on over there and do it. Go ahead and lead the way, I'll follow." He suggested.

Genisay: "Okay."  With that, Tails took to the sky, ascending as he moved forward to reach the top of the building. For Sonic, it was a simple matter of running right up it's side.  As Tails continued on ahead, still leading them to the spot he needed to be in, Sonic turned back tot the edge of the building and looked down to Fox.  "You got this?"

RickCressen:  Fox took a look at the building. If he had places he could grab on or places he could rebound off of, he could scale this baby no problem. If it was smooth all the way up, or if places to grip or land on were sparse, he wasn't going to make it up at all.

Genisay: The building had window ledges here and there, as well as some piping, some of it broken.  Robotnik's old structures were often of a store house like design, though remnants of the city's original inhabitants remained among the junk, rubble and filth.

RickCressen:  "I'll go up as far as I can, and if I need you guys, I'll give a shout." Fox informed. He then hopped up, grabbed a ledge and started using his agility to climb up the building. It wasn't speedy, but it was quite a bit to behold, watching Fox use his parkour skills to nimbly scoot up the side of the building.

Genisay: Not as a diss to him, but Sonic nodded, then only watched long enough to see that Fox was getting some where, then stepped back from the edge of the building to get an idea of what the on going path looked like.  "Not far from here." Tails said in a distracted manner, watching the read outs on his tracker. "We should...bare a little more that way, and come at it from the left."

RickCressen:  Fox did manage to get to the top and rolled up over the side. He brushed his coat off and then took a look around where they were. "Alright, so, you guys onto something while I climbed up here?" He asked.

Genisay: "Hey, glad to see you made it." Sonic grinned, then with out another word, he flipped up on a nearby pipe that ran from the roof they were on, and connected to the roof he wanted to get to.  A quick dash across the pipe, and he arrived on the other side, a good ten feet or so away.  He waved back to the others with an all clear.  Tails followed, taking for him, the simple route, straight by air.  "Just over there.  That should be close enough for me to try tapping into the lock remotely."

RickCressen:  Fox easily made it to the other side. After all, he'd just easily made it up the side of the building, after all! Once Sonic gave the signal, Fox followed along nimbly clearing the obstacle and looked up at Tails, then checked to see if there were more enemy units on the ground.

Genisay: Once they settled, Sonic and Tails seemed to fall into an easy routine with out even having to communicate their thoughts.  It was easy to tell the two had worked together for years.  Tails crouched on the building's roof, and pulled a secondary small handheld from his back pack.  The device opened up to be a small computer, and the young technician started typing away.  Sonic kept a watch out along the side of the street on the building opposite of Fox, and carefully watched the air as well, giving his pal cover to work.

RickCressen:  "Give me a heads-up if you see anything." Fox asked Sonic, keeping his eyes and ears peeled. This was the point where he'd expect something bad to happen.

Genisay: Sonic glanced over his shoulder and gave a quick nod, then went back to watching as Tails worked quickly.  In a rather short amount of time, Tails looked up from his computer with a triumphant grin. "Got it!" He announced.  "Nice work Tails." Sonic grinned as he walked over to get the low down on what was next.

RickCressen:  "Awesome! Alright, so now what's next?" Fox asked, listening attentively.

Genisay: Tails glanced back down to his computer.  "Well, there is a catch. This isn't going to be as clean, cut and dry as I'd hoped for.  There's a difficulty curve, but I think we can still pull it off." He gave them a moment to process that before continuing.  "You see, the locking system is archaic.  With out more time to study it, I can't completely break the lock.  I /can/ however confuse the encryption system enough to get the shutter to open.  But as soon as the system realizes I've generated a dummy passcode, it will reset.  That means, the shutter is only going to be open a few seconds...."  Sonic nodded. "Right, so I see where I come in.  And I'm guessing that's going to be a short, but intense battle in it's own right for you, so Rick's part is providing cover in case the bots get uppity."  Tails nodded.  "Right.  Only you'd be fast enough to get in and out again in time.  Generating a second code would take more time then we really have to work with. I can work on the dummy while you get into position. When you are ready, you can signal me." Sonic gave a thumbs up and checked his radios' connection. "Roger. Give me a visual, and then let the games begin."  With a few clicks of keys, Tails brought up a rough schematic of the building. "Awesome, got it!"  With that, Sonic was gone.  Tails looked to Fox.  "I guess it's just us for the time being.  I'm counting on you to watch my back.  If I don't time this right, Sonic could get stuck inside, so I have to stay focused."

RickCressen:  "Consider your back watched." Fox reassured. "I don't play around, especially in matters as important as this. If he did get stuck though, it would be possible to get them out if I held off the 'bots long enough? Just in case some weird stuff happens or whatever." He asked.

Genisay: "I'm sure I could pull something, but it would take even more time.  And thanks."  He looked back to his computer screen and did more typing.  "But as long as I don't mess up the timing, Sonic has a rough idea of where the emerald is in the vault, and he should be fast enough to get in and out again."

RickCressen:  "Alright, good enough." Fox said.  Fox stayed ready in a defensive position, ready to intercept anything that might try to come at Tails while he worked. He walked around a bit, but kept a vigilant eye out as best he could, unsure of where or when the 'bots were going to attack.

Genisay: Then Tails put a hand to his right ear.  "I hear you loud and clear, Sonic!  You're ready?"  He paused a moment. ('Born Ready!') "Haha, some how I thought that would be your answer." Putting both hands to the key board again, he nodded to Fox. "Okay. Ready!" With that, the small youth's fingers flew over the keyboard. "Now!" He said a second before tapping one last key.

RickCressen:  Fox stayed on his guard the whole time, expecting the 'bots to come running now that Tails had activated the door. This could get extremely messy, extremely quickly. However he was prepared to take them out as soon as they got up. He also kept an eye out for any projectiles that might head toward Tails or the computer.

Genisay: Tails kept typing stings of code into his computer, trying to keep the door open as long as he could.  Sonic was fast, but even he would need more then a split second to cross the vault, retrieve the emerald and make it back out again.  The expression the youth wore was intensly focused.  Over head, a lazy eye in the sky cruised over the ruins of the city, scoping things out.

RickCressen:  Fox looked up and saw something overhead. Suspicious of it, he relayed it to Tails. "Be on guard, something might have spotted us." He informed. He knew Tails was concentrating, but it was important info to let the kid know.

Genisay: Tails gave a highly distracted nod, as though he had barely heard Rick, then he suddenly jumped as a muffled, resounding 'thud' issued over his communicator.  His fingers left his keyboard.  "Sonic?  What was that?"  
*There was a second gate we didn't know about.*
"A second gate?  It closed? How could I have missed that?" Tails put his hand over the com in his ear, and leaned back with a weary sigh.  
*Eeeh...it caught me off guard as well.*
 Tails was silent a moment, then gave a rueful chuckle.  "Rick so called this too....."

RickCressen:  "Don't worry about it. Nothing's here yet so just keep going as quick as you can. Can you open both gates at the same time or close to it?" Fox suggested, still keeping his eyes and ears peeled.

Genisay: "I could try." He said to both.  "I'll have to...." there was another muffled thunk "And there goes the second gate.  I'll have to isolate the other gate first and figure out what tripped it.  It could have just been motion." The youth sighs, then cracks his fingers and sets to work.  But he soon pulls up again, and speaks to Rick.  "He says don't bother.....apparently there is a ventilation shaft above the chamber he's in.  There is also a small hole in it, which might explain how the emerald got into the vault in the first place."  A pause.  "Right, I was thinking that too.  Might have gotten in from an exhaust vent then rolled down the shaft till it fell through the hole. Sorry I didn't know about that sooner, Sonic.  I could have gotten you in that way."  
*Don't sweat it, Tails.  I know you didn't have the whole schematic.  It's cool, I'll just use this as a way out.*
 Meanwhile, the eye in the sky halted, looking down on them.

RickCressen:  "...Something's spotted us." Fox said, looking up at the now still eye in the sky. A sense of foreboding hit him as he knew there was going to be some bad stuff happening. Bad to worse? Yeah, but he could handle it. At least he hoped he could.

Genisay: "Sonic, we got issues on our end.  I think Eggman knows we are up here, or he will shortly.  I'm packing up operations.  I'll see you when you get out."  
*Right. I'm in the vent.  Easily enough widened with a good old Sonic Spin. Looks like it only goes one way.  I'll figure out where it comes out at and join you.*
Tails flipped his computer closed and was turning to rejoin Rick when a four legged, vaguely spider like bot with a round body scrambled over the side of the building, followed there after by several on other sides.  "Uh oh..."

RickCressen:  "Good timing. How good are you at fighting?" Fox asked, getting into a stance and getting close to Tails.

Genisay: Tails slipped his computer into his bag.  "Are you kidding me?  I've been working with Sonic for years.  Bot trashing is a specialty!"  He grinned and smashed the first Eggwalker that came near him with a well placed kick.

RickCressen:  "Good!" Fox said running over to another spider bot, spinning and swinging downward with a hard kick. He landed in a semi-crouch before doing a side flip, landing on top of the spider-bot in a handstand. From there, he swung his feet down together and gave it a hard kick in the rear to send it spiraling back down from whence it came.

Genisay: Tails dodged a bot, and got his double appendages under it's side, and with a heave, flipped it right off of the building.  Two down.....five more to go.  Well, the odds were bothersome, but nothing he hadn't dealt with before.  
*Tails, I should be rejoining you guys soon.  I just found a joining vent I can use to get back into a room outside of the vault.*
Tails could hear a vent grating open in the background as he landed several blows on another Eggwalker.  
*Be with you in three, two, o.... *
  There was a strange noise, and the line went to static suddenly.  Tails froze, eyes wide. "....Sonic....Sonic?  What was that? Can you still hear me? What happened?  Sonic?"  An Eggwalker made a flying leap at the young fox as his suprise was quickly turning to distress.

RickCressen:  Fox quickly turned to see the young fox attacked by another one of the spidery walkers in a momentary lapse of attention due to something...something happening with Sonic? He couldn't think about that now. He immediately switched his focus to his new buddy and leaped at the walker with a kick, looking to intercept its leap and get rid of it. A basic maneuver, but he didn't have time for the flair.

Genisay: Tails blinked as Fox eliminated another bot.  He shook his head, getting his senses back, but worry was clear on his face.  "Sorry. Thanks."  He lept away from another Walker, and using his tails to blind it, pushed it over the side, but more climbed up to replace the ones they had knocked over.  Tails glanced around.  "We can't stay here fighting these things!  At this rate, they are going to leave us no space to fight, and something happened to Sonic.  I don't know what...." his ears sank to the side of his head, "but I have a bad feeling.  We need to get into that building."

RickCressen:  "Where's the entrance? I can keep 'em off for a little bit while you look, but don't take too long."

Genisay: "No, it's better not to get seperated again.  Besides, I have a better idea."  Grabbing Fox's hands as another Walker was making for them, Tails lept, his tails working at fulls speed and he quickly rose, taking Fox with him.  It was apparent that doing something like this put a little strain on him, but his arm and tails muscles had built up over the years of flying Sonic and others around like this.  Soon they were out of reach of the Walkers, and Tails was flying down along the side of the building.  He soon spotted an open window and swung Fox in through it, then followed him.  "Quick, let's move before they know where we went."

RickCressen:  "Oh yeah, I kinda forgot about that." Fox replied. "Maybe I should learn to do that just in case..." He added in mid-flight. Once at a window, he was swung to it and hopped in with ease. "Where to?" Fox asked, moving away from the window blindly.

Genisay: His ears fell for a moment, and a look of angish crossed his face as he just stood there.  "I.....I don't know."

RickCressen:  "Well don't worry about it. Keep in touch with him and see if we can get some bearing on whatever route he took, and let him know where we are." He said. "Plan B, little buddy. Plan B."

Genisay: Tails' ears perked back up. "R-right.  Plan B.  We'll figure out something." He seemed to regain his confidence, even if it was mostly out of a need to force it back into being.  He tried his radio again. "Sonic, do you read me?  Can you hear me at all?"  There was a pause, then he shook his head and let his hand lower from his ear.  "I'm not getting anything.  Either the comm is broken, we some how lost signal or if he can hear me......he can't answer."  The yellow fox took a deep breath and closed his eyes a moment.  This was no time to let himself panic.  "Alright.  We can try locating where the ventalation system runs so we might be able to figure out what floor he was on when he left the ducts.  I can try to get a better schematic, or we can search manually.  If all else fails, we search the floors.  We know he stared on the third.  I hope he finds us first."

RickCressen:  "I hope he does too. We can begin probably by tracking his route. Where was the Chaos Emerald supposed to be located?"

Genisay: "Third floor, near the middle of the building.  There was a room set back fromt he main hall on that floor that contained the vault."  Tails thought for a moment.   We're on the fifth floor now."  He gave a nod, as if to himself, then headed for the nearest stair case he remembered from the rough schematic.

RickCressen:  "Alright, so let's go down a couple of floors and try to retrace his steps as best we can." Fox suggested, looking around now for a way down. He just hoped this place wasn't built all maze-like and everything. There was little time to waste navigating and going in circles.

Genisay: "This way.  There was a stair case over here."  He found the stairs and stared down them.  Part way to the next floor, the stairs fell away.  No problem for him, he could just fly, and the distance didn't seem too far for Fox to jump.

RickCressen:  And Fox did jump with ease. He didn't necessarily want to jump back up it if he had to, but going down was easy. He continued down and when they reached the fourth floor, he took a peek around to make sure nothing was stirring, not even a trap.

Genisay: There was a clamor from down the hall, and what sounded like lazer fire, then everything went silent.  "What was that?" Tails said to the air, glancing around the corner as well.  "I didn't like the sound of it.  I think we should check here first."

RickCressen:  "Roger, kiddo." Fox said. "I'll go first." And with that, Fox crept out quietly toward where the laser fire was coming from, ready to hop out of the way at a moment's notice.

Genisay: Tails nodded and followed Fox silently.  When they came to a turn in the hall, the passage lead to a larger room with old broken furnature here and there; perhaps once a meeting hall of sorts.  Across the room in dim light, near one of the back walls, there were three Egg Troopers; similar to the Eggbots, but larger in size and more heavily armed.  To one side of the Troopers floated a round, silver and yellow hover device with a black bottom.  In the personal craft sat a mildly rotund man with an odd orange mustache. He leaned forward in his seat, a giant smirk on his face as he looked past the bots at a weakly struggling blue hedgehog hanging from one of the Trooper's grasp.

RickCressen:  "Watch it, Tails." Fox said. "We're gonna spoil a party and there's gonna be fireworks" Fox then turned the corner carefully, staying in the shadows the best he could. If he could give a swift pounding to the craft, he'd be able to do something, but he might not get close enough if he were detected, so for the moment, he went as fast as he can in an attempt not to compromise silence for the sake of speed.

Genisay: Tails couldn't help but gasp as he looked around the bend and saw that an Egg Trooper had his best friend by the neck. "Careful..." he whispered as Fox started to creep out into the room, "Those are Egg Troopers, they are not nearly as weak as the Eggbots."  As Fox made his way across the room, Eggman blithely continued leering at his captive.  "So, how was it you managed to dodge my little trap.  It was not an easy one to set up, you know?  First I had to lure you here, then make sure you only had one way out.  Also, I had to compinsate for that blasted speed of yours by setting the lasers to fire on a delay after being tripped.  I had to catch you at a moment when you would be stuck until you recovered from your landing.  Not an easy thing to time; the window with you is very small." He held his index finger and thumb close together, then pulled at his mustache.  "No matter, how ever it happened, it still seems my trap did enough to serve a purpose."

RickCressen:  Oh, but there was someone he just couldn't anticipate! And he was sneaking right up behind him while he was preoccupied with Sonic! Poor, poor Eggman, about to get a whoopin'! Once Fox was in range, he made a fast leap toward Eggman's vehicle and threw as hard a kick as he could toward Eggman in his personal craft (or the windshield thingy if he's protected like that). He knew he had the element of surprise, and all he needed was a moment to distract Eggman and try to get the contraption to release its grip on Sonic.

Genisay: Eggman was totally caught off guard, got hit by the kick and was knocked forward. His craft tilted wildy and almost crashed before he managed to get it leveled again.  The two Troopers that were not pre-occupied began firing at Fox, trying to take him down.  "No!" Eggman shouted.  "Even when things are so well planned, the chaos factor is still there!  Well, I won't let it win this time!  All of you, this is it."  Eggman reached to press a button on his craft, but before he could bring his hand down, a small sphere bounced into the fray between the Troopers, and with a mild flash, the ball detonated.  The effect was instantaneous.  As Eggman pressed the button on his craft, nothing happened, and rather, his craft wobbled crazily.  Though, with in a matter of moments, he had it flying straight again, it seemed all other functions had been cut off, as well as a marked change in the Egg Troopers.  They seemed scrambled and disoriented, and the one holding Sonic released it's grip as it tried to keep it's balance and shoot Fox at the same time.  Rather, it succeeded in shooting one of it's fellow Troopers, causing the other to topple over and shoot wildly at the ceiling.  Sonic fell to the floor, crumpling and coughing hoarsly. Eggman flapped his arms in his own state of chaos while trying to fly around mis-fired shots.  "No, you idiots, shoot them, not me!  Them!"  A few more near close calls, and the doctor decided it was time to cut his losses.  "Darn you, hedgehog!  You got lucky this time, and so did your friends, but it won't always be like this.  One of these days, it will be I who triumphs!"  With that, the egg shaped craft smashed through a wall and flew away into the distance, leaving Fox, Tails, and Sonic to deal with the scrambled Troopers.

RickCressen:  Fox rebounded off the craft in a backflip, and then caught the Troopers turning to fire at him. Fox retreated to dodge the lasers and kept on the move to avoid their repeated fire until a flash changed everything! Moments later, Sonic was let go and the 'bots stopped firing at Fox. He went over to Sonic and carefully tried to get him up and out of the line of fire, not knowing exactly who they were going to go for next...until they accidently started firing at Eggman! Either way, he didn't want Sonic gettng hit by a stray shot, so he wanted to try and take a route that would avoid having to get in the line of fire as much as possible.

Genisay: The hedgehog let out a groan with a sharp wince and sucked in shallow breaths as Fox tried to get him to his feet.  His neck still ached, and blood dribbled from gash just below his chest, though, thankfully, it was not too deep or wide.  But he was almost a dead weight against Fox when he finally struggled up to stand, and he seemed only half lucid. Depending on how much Fox could see in the dim light, or from his angling, he may or may not have seen the two singe marks that dotted the back of Sonic's right shoulder, and the few that were on his lower back and left calf.  The going would be slow, but Tails came dodging through the lazer fire to join them.  "Glad I still had a couple of those scramblers on me.  How is he?" The youth questioned over the din.  Something caught his eye on the floor, and he blinked at it a moment, then quickly scooped it up and put it in his bag.  With that, he slid under Sonic's other arm and took up the weight on that side.  The hedgehog had never been all that heavy, but dead weight was a difficult thing to manage. "Come on, let's get him out of here."

RickCressen:  "He's pretty beat up it seems." Fox responded. "Gimme a moment to clean house, if you can just move him out of the area." Fox said, taking control of the situation since Sonic was out of it. He helped Tails to a point, but then he had to go take care of the remaining 'bots that were still there. As Eggman shouted at him out of of frustration of being fired at and having his plans foiled yet again, Fox looked over to him and came a bit closer, more confident now that the bots had turned on their master in a confused state. "Keep dreaming, nutjob." Fox shot back at the fleeing Eggman, who ended up making a hole in the wall. As to ensure that Eggman got gone, he kicked one of the Troopers out of the newly-created escape hole that was made. "And stay gone!" he fired back.

Genisay: Tails shifted his hold on his friend and took the weight at Fox let go.  "Right.  I'm going to get out of here and fly him back to the Tornado.  I'd rather not take any risks of running into the Egg Walkers or any more Troopers." He glanced back to Fox.  "You remember where we landed?  Can you get there safely on your own?"  He seemed a little worried about leaving Fox behind, but it was too dangerous to stay here with Sonic hurt like this.  Frowning, Tails nodded again to Fox, and started for the door.  It would be better to at least get away from the Troopers before the scrambler wore off too much.  Then he could shift his hold on Sonic to make flying easier.  "Come on, Sonic." He said in a soft, gentle voice, trying to sound reassuring.  "We're gonna get you out of here."  The hedgehog's eyes were pinched closed, and he mumbled confused concerns about Eggman.  "It's okay...he left. Fox can take care of the Troopers." Tails forced a smile and a lighter tone to his voice, but his dipped ears gave away his worry.  They had almost cut it too close this time.  Eggman was upping the game, and Sonic had paid the price.

RickCressen:  "I'll figure it out." Fox said. "If I'm not there shortly, you know who to look for. I mean really, how many two-tailed foxes in trench coats do you know?" He reassured. With that, Fox lept into battle with the confused Troopers, hoping to use the confusion to shift the focus into having them shoot each other. If he couldn't, swift kicks would suffice, but he'd rather go with the surefire destruction if possible.

Genisay: One out of three was already down, or out a make shift window, to be more accurate.  The other two were milling about, thier blaster fire hectic and nearly hitting each other anyhow, as well a Fox.  They didn't seem to have a real focus and were just shooting ramdomly.

Genisay: They had ended up on the fourth floor of the building.  There were a few small window ledges and a drain pipe a bit if a harrowing leap away.  Part of an old fire escape dangled from a few floors up, but the ladder and part of it's walkway had long since dropped to the ground below.  Egg Walkers milled around on the various sides of the building, trying to find an entrance that would permit thier round bulk and four spindly legs.  Most of the windows that still had their frames, even if there was not glass, posed them problems.

RickCressen:  This was probably not the best way to go leaving the building. Carefully, Fox started trying to retrace his steps back to the window which they originally entered in, leaping over the gap in the steps once he found the stairway again. He could only hope that the window could provide a safer arrangement to go back down on.

Genisay: Once the window was achieve, though there were still Walkers here in there, this side of the building proved more places to stand down it's length, as well as things that could act as hand holds.

RickCressen:  And that's where Fox could slip down at! Fox needed to focus on leaving the building first. The walkers wouldn't pose too much of a threat. Fox started to carefully climb down, nimbly grabbing, swinging, and leaping down the building until he finally got to the ground. Once there, he took a careful eye on where he was and where the Tornado had landed. He remembered which direction it was in thankfully, and moved around the building until he found a straight path back, making sure to give swift kicks to any Walkers that might be in his path.

Genisay: He was probably assualted here and there on his path to the Tornado.

RickCressen:  But that was no problem for him. One or two good swift kicks took care of the Walkers. He then finally made it back to the tornado. "Hey guys, you here?" he called out.

Genisay: There was a moment where no one responded, then Tails became visible over the edge of the plane's cockpit.  He waved to Fox.  "Rick, up here!  I'm glad to see you made it back okay."  He smiled, but it faded too quickly and he looked worried.

RickCressen:  "Yeah I'm fine, how's Sonic doing?" Fox asked, hopping up into the Tornado.

Genisay: Tails had readjusted the seats some, pushing the sencond passanger seat behind the one fox had sat in back as far as it would go.  He's managed to lean Sonic into it.  Persperation dotted the short spines over the hedgehog's forehead, making them glisten, and his eyes were closed but his face was pulled tight and his ears were flattened agains his skull, his breathing labored.  Tails looked a Fox for a moment then turned back to wipe some of the moisture from Sonic's brow with a dry cloth. "It shouldn't be this bad......" He mumbled to himself in confused concern. Something wasn't right, but he didn't have much time to dwell on it right now. 
The gash low on Sonic's chest was dressed, and he bore several other bandages from his shoulder to his hip and leg.  "It's no wonder they were able to catch him."  Tails said, his voice tight with concern.  "He's hurt worse then we thought. Eggman was talking about a trap....it might not have done what he'd hoped for, but it did enough."  Tails put down the cloth with a sigh, then rummaged in his bag and pulled out a coupled of large fragments of what looked like a broken emerald.  "Also, I found this."

RickCressen:  "Looks like they did a number on the emerald too." Fox said with a frown, taking one of the fragments and looking it over curiously. "So where to anyway?" Fox asked, still inspecting the emerald.

Genisay: Tails shook his head.  "No. It's not an emerald."  There was something sharp under his tone.  "Emeralds almost never break.  I've only seen it happen once, and that was the Master Emerald, which we were able to reforge with it's Guardians help.  It happened because the emerald was put under too much stress....no such thing happened this time."  For a moment, the youth paused, gritting his teeth.  "I scanned the fragments.  This is not a chaos emerald....." Tails clenched his fist around the piece he still had in his hand.  "IT'S A FAKE!"  There was acid in his voice, and anger.  "It's a /fake/ Eggman made!  But it reads like an Emerald!   He lured us to that spot!  This whole /thing/ was never about him finding an Emerald, the whole things was a /trap/!"  He lifted the fragment in his hand as if to throw it out of the plane, but frowned, and with an effort and a shaking hand, thought better of it and tucked the fragment back into his bag.  He needed to study it better later, maybe it would prove useful.  For a moment, the youth's head hung.  "And we fell for it..." he mumbled.  His shoulders shook, and he took a few deep breaths.  When he appeared to be calmer, he lifted his head again and looked to Sonic.  "He needs medical attention.  I was only able to provide first aid, but I can't do enough."  He bit his lip.  "That place that was mentioned on our way here...Kawa Crossing?  That was in the Dragon Kingdom, right?  That's closer by plane then returning to New Mobotropolis.  Do they have an infirmery or a hospital?  Would they treat him?"

RickCressen:  "Yeah, it's kinda close to there. It's on an island chain before reaching the shores of the Dragon Kingdom. I can point it out to you, that's not a problem. They'd most certainly treat him." Fox said. "So let's head there then?" Fox asked.

Genisay: Tails gave a sharp, grave nod.  "Right."  With a quick motion, he jumped over the passanger's seat, and the back of the pilot's seat and started firing up the Tornado.  "I'm switching to X Tornado mode.  Rick.....?"  He was silent a moment, "...keep an eye on him, will you?"

RickCressen:  "Absolutely." Fox said, looking over to Sonic. "Hey, buddy. Stay with me, alright? We're gonna get you some medical attention." Fox said, then turning to Tails. "That first-aid kit within reach?" He asked.

Genisay:  Tails nodded as he flicked switches on the plane's control board, and the engine started.  "It has a holder under the seat right there in front of you.  That way it can be reached from either the front passanger seat, or the back one."  Another couple of switches and the engine's volume grew in intensity, but it still ran smooth enough that they could talk.  Tails began to taxi the plane out of the landing spot, and get it turned so they could take off.

RickCressen:  "Thanks." Fox said, pulling the first aid kit and started to try to clean Sonic's wounds some. "You holdin' up alright, buddy?" He asked Sonic, concerned. he wasn't sure how responsive he was.

Genisay:  Sonic moaned as the plane rounded and lurched into motion. He winced at Fox's minstrations and mumbled something, the only word that was really intelligible was 'Eggman'.  Tails gunned the throttle once they were in the clear, and they where soon airborn.  In moments, the plane shifted again from it's bi mode to the X Tornado, and they quickly picked up speed.

RickCressen:  "Just stay with me, Sonic. We're gonna get you some help." He reassured, carefully dressing what he could for the ride of Sonic's wounds. They could get to the hospital easily once they got there, it was just a matter of getting there first, and hopefully Eggman wasn't going to be tracking them back home. That was the absolute last thing that they needed. "Don't worry about Eggman now, he's outta here."

Genisay:  It was hard to tell whether or not Fox was actually heard, or if he had been, there was no outward reaction to indicate it.  Laying propped up between the two passanger seats, the battered hero turned slightly as the plane shifted direction, as one might while suffering a foul dream.  Sweat beaded his tight brow.  Tails was silent, seeming to be considering his own thoughts, his mood sullen.

RickCressen:  "You got a navigation thing on that plane, Tails?" Fox asked. "If so, how far are we to the city? Can't tell over the ocean here."

Genisay:  "I'm not completly sure where your island is, but we should reach the Dragon Kingdom in another ten minutes or so if we keep up this speed."  He checked with a few instruments on his dash, then turned his head ever so slightly, but did not quiet look back.  "How is he?"

RickCressen:  "He's still conscious." Fox said. "If you're approaching the Dragon Kingdom going west, it's before that." He informed.

Genisay:  Tails nodded, and turned his full attention back to the trip ahead.  "Okay.  I'll keep any eye out for the islands.  From there though, you will have to direct me.  And I'm going to give the engine more thrust."  He suited actions to words and the plane gained some more speed.   "Ugggg....." Sonic groaned, ears shifting.

RickCressen:  "We're almost there, Sonic. Hang on, buddy." Fox said to Sonic to reassure him. "Hospital's coming soon." He then turned to Tails and started looking over the side toward where Kawa Crossing must be. He spotted a couple of islands, and some very tiny boats in the distance. He followed them, and sure enough, he could see the city of Kawa Crossing within minutes. "Right there, Tails. You see where things are built up and the boats are going to?" He asked.

Genisay:  Tails leaned to the side, and looked down over the edge of the plane. "Right, I think I see what you mean."  He studied the city in the distance.  "Which is closer to the hospital, the piers, or the a runway?"  He checked some of the monitors on the plane, then leaned back a little to look at Fox.  "There is a storage compartment in the floor in near where the med kit was.  See the lever on the side of the front passanger seat?  The short one?  Pull that up to make the seat slide forward.  You should be able to get into the compartment there after.  There is some camping gear, and a few rolled blankets. Can you try to get him wrapped up in those?"  There was a sudden bumping and the plane rose and then dipped.  "Careful...got a little turbulance from the ocean air."  He slowed the plane a little, and flew toward the city.

RickCressen:  "The runway would be your best bet. The port's all backed up like crazy. Go for the smaller runway thought, that's for private planes and stuff." Fox said. "And being as you guys are known the world over, I don't think anyone's going to object to you landing there." "But yeah, I'll try to get him wrapped up in those." He said, looking into the compartment and fiddling around with the camping gear before finally getting the blankets out. The turbulance didn't help any either.

Genisay:  The plane finally leveled back out as Tails wrestled through the bucking winds.  "Sorry about that...better to be ready for more though as we get closer, just in case.  Lookes like there is a minor storm pulling into our air space."  Tails flew over the city, getting a look at the arrangement and ignoring any other bouncing that occured.  When he had an idea of where the run ways were located, and which was likely the private runway, he flicked a switch on the dash, then began to turn and drop altitude at the same time.  His radio scan picked up an open line at the terminal.  "This is the Tornado, from New Mobotropolis!  I am going to make an emergency landing, please keep all personal away from the private lanes.  ETA is two mintues!  I repeat, this is the Tornado, I need to make an emergency landing!"  He didn't wait for a response to tell him whether or not he was clear, he dropped the nose further as they rounded back on the city and aimed for the lighted, smaller runway.  Rain began to splatter on the glass that covered the cockpit as they passed below a cloud bank.

RickCressen:  Good thing Fox had gotten those blankets over Sonic! It must've been one of those rainy spell in Kawa Crossing. Now that they were coming in, Sonic should be able to get to safety in a relatively short amount of time. Fox kept his eye on Sonic. "You comfortable? Just gimme a nod if you're alright with the blankets and stuff if you can." Fox said, trying to make Sonic feel as comfortable as possible, but he did realize Sonic probably barely knew what was going on, much less what Fox was saying.

Genisay:  Most of the response Fox had gotten had been a few moans as he'd shifted the light hedgehog to get the blankets wrapped. But, indeed, it seemed Sonic either did not hear him, or was not in a state to answer.  Tails tried to ignore his friend's sounds of discomfort, but his mouth set in a thin line as he dropped the plane and approached the run way.  He hoped the fact that an angry voice on the radio had not greeted him meant the Kawa terminal had recognized and accepted his credentials and were familiar with the Tornado.  This would be one of those times that being so well known was to their advantage.  "Hold on." He said sharply.  "I'm bringing her down!"

RickCressen:  "Once we get there, you stay with him and I'll run and get a medic, alright?" Fox told Tails. "The hospital's not too far away so it shouldn't take me that long to come back with some help."

Genisay: "Okay."  Tails said in a distracted fashion as he leveled the plane off and there was a sharp, but quick bump as the front wheels made ground, the second set following shortly there after. He engaged the breaks and reverse thrust, and brought the plane to a hault.  There was little in the way of conversation as the cock pit hatch popped open to let fox out. Tails nodded to Fox, he doubted he needed to tell him to hurry.

RickCressen:  And Fox wasted no time with hopping out and making a mad dash for it toward the streets of Kawa Crossing. Thankfully, the hospital wasn't that far away, and he definitely knew of someone who could help him out! He wasn't Sonic, but he might as well have been Kawa Crossing's equivalent right now. Dodging crowds of people, he made it into the hospital and informed the first doctor he saw, thankfully Dr. Kaminari who happened to be outside in the waiting room finishing with a patient and waving them off.

Genisay: Tails closed the hatch as soon a Fox was out.  For a moment, he watched the other leave, then he climbed over the seats and crouched near Sonic, taking up the cloth again. "I'm sorry this happened.  I should have sensed that it was almost too easy, but I didn't."  Then a small smile crossed his face as he thought about what Sonic would say.  He'd likely joke that he hadn't caught on either, even with his quick thinking. But the smile soon faded at a groan that issued from his friend. "You're always taking care of me... I'll make sure your okay this time.  Everything will be fine." He wiped at the sweat on the hedgehog's face, then looked out the glass at the rain.

RickCressen: It didn't take long before someone did come to help Sonic...Rick Fox, accompanied by a medical team! They arrived with a stretcher and Rick Fox pointing the way, and a couple of the EMT's stepped up to the plane to check Sonic over. Fox arrived after and stood over by Tails, patting him on the shoulder as the EMT's started to prepare Sonic to go on the stretcher. "It'll be okay buddy, he's got help now."

Genisay: When he heard the arrival of the team, Tails glanced at the road nearby and saw them coming up it. As they approached, Tails climbed back to the pilot's seat and opened the hatch. He sat in the seat and watched as the EMTs worked. "I hope so..." he said as Fox patted his shoulder.

RickCressen: "Should we go meet him at the hospital?" Fox asked. "The EMTs have him now, so...yeah. Maybe get something to eat on the way?" He suggested.

Genisay: Tails looked up from where the medical team was. This seemed unreal, with a sense of wrongness he couldn't place, and it all left him feeling numb. "Um....sure...." he started to climb down from the plane. "It will be okay here?" He glanced around, then shook his head. "Not really sure how hungry I am."

RickCressen: "Yeah, it should be." Fox stated. "I'm sure if it isn't, someone would have told you already." Fox added as the EMTs began to leave. "We could do something for a bit while they go patch him up better, or we could just head to my apartment and get you situated. Whatever you feel like doing, buddy."

Genisay: The youths' head hung as he looked down to the rain soaked ground. He didn't seem to pay much attention to the rain dampaning his fur. What he really wanted was to follow them and wait at the hospital, but he knew that wouldn't really do him any good, or make things happen any faster. He lifted his head, water dripping from his bangs, and sighed. "I don't really know....maybe just going to your place. I don't really feel like doing much."

RickCressen: "That's fine. We can head to my apartment for a while." He said. "We can check on Sonic a little later. Perhaps we just need to rest a little bit. It's been relatively action-packed today. Ready?" He asked.

Genisay: Tails nodded. "Yeah, maybe that's it....I just need to relax for a while." He looked after the medics as they left, his brows tightened and his ears turned down. He watched them go, his mood heavy. He turned back to Rick and nodded again, letting him lead the way.

RickCressen: Fox led Tails to his apartment, letting Tails go at his own pace and standing beside him to be reassuring. "We'll stop at Lynn's place a little later and we'll get some bed stuff. For now, if you want to just take a nap or something, you can doze off on my bed." He said. "I'll make us both something for supper, but if you don't want it, I'll put it away for later."

Genisay: "Okay." He replied, sounding a little hollow. "I am kinda tired." He looked out at the streets before them, but didn't see much more then the lamps that were coming on and their reflections on the rain water. "This is just......"he shook his head a little, "stuff like this rarely happens to him...he gets into trouble, a lot more then others....but he's like Houdini. He always gets out of it again some how. But this time.....something was different....if we hadn't' been there....Eggman almost won."

RickCressen: "But the important thing is that he didn't win. We still won and Sonic is going to be okay, it's just going to take a little bit." He reassured. He took the quickest route to his apartment from there. "It's just taking him a little longer to get out of the restraints."

Genisay: The young fox gave a brief smile at the other's joke. He knew Fox was trying to cheer him up, but it wss hard to think of his friend in the shape he was in. "Yeah....I guess you could put it that way."

RickCressen: "That's the spirit, buddy." He said. It wasn't long from there though, a turned corner and they were at the apartment. A nice little two-story apartment area. He led Tails up the stairs and to the farthest door on the left. "Home sweet home." Fox said, taking the keys out from a pocket and unlocking the door. He opened it up and allowed Tails to go inside first.

Genisay: Tails followed, then stepped into the room beyond the door. He looked around, quietly, taking the place in.

RickCressen: It was a small, yet nice little apartment that was kept quite neat. The door opened into the kitchen, and a doorway straight ahead led to a small living room area. The bathroom, which door was open, was on the left of the living room while Fox's bedroom was on the right. Fox had a few awards on display in his living room, and a couple of plants even. It felt like a very relaxing place.

Genisay: Tails glanced to Fox, not sure where he should go. This was some one's else's place after all. He moved a little further into the main room to let Fox in.

RickCressen: "Go ahead in, make yourself at home." Fox encouraged him. "Just get comfortable, alright?" He said with a smile on his face.

Genisay: Tails nodded. He still seemed rather glum. Glancing around, he took a seat on the couch and pulled his knees up to his chin, his two tails falling to either side of him.

RickCressen: Fox had a seat near Tails. "When Sonic gets a little better, care to give me a flight lesson sometime?" He asked.

Genisay: "Uh...s-sure." He said, trying to smile. He let out a light sigh. How long had it been since he'd last felt this timid. What had happened between Eggman and Sonic, and the trap and fake emerald had him feeling all out of sorts. He chuckled wryly to himself, realizing that even though he's gotten older, and grown more independent, in some ways he was still reliant on his closest friend. He let his legs down, and stood. "I-I'm sorry, Rick. I should report what happened and about the emerald to Princess Sally before I get too settled."

RickCressen: "That's fine, go for it." He said. You got a way to do that?"

Genisay: He nodded. "Yes. I'll...I'll be back shortly. I won't go far." He stood there a moment longer, then stepped back out into the hall in front of the apartment. He activated his communicator to Sally's line, then waited until it was answered. He knew he should keep this a business call, but... He spoke up, letting his voice break with his emotions, dropping his brave mask."......Aunt Sally?"

RickCressen: He let out a silent sigh while Tails went to go inform Sally of the incident. He just couldn't figure out a way to cheer Tails up a little. He slumped down a bit on the couch to rest, his tails moving to the sides.

Genisay: He was glad the hall was empty as he sank down with his back against it. It was hard to say that from where he was whether or not Fox could hear the muffled sobs through the door and walls. A little while later, Tails opened the door to the apartment and let himself in quietly. His eyes were slightly red, but he seemed to have calmed and was trying to look mature about the matter. "I let her know what happened, where we are and about Eggman's fake." He said quietly as he sat down on the couch again.

RickCressen: "You feel like having something to eat?" He asked. He noticed Tails' red eyes, but didn't hear the sobs. He was rather worried though about him. "Whatever you'd wanna have." He said. If he couldn't offer words of comfort, he could at least offer comfort food.

Genisay: "I'd say chili dogs...but that is Sonic's thing." His ears sank as he remembered the damage the Troopers and the trap had done. He shook his head a little, trying to push the vision away. "Something like stew sounds kind of good." Sally would make warm milk too when he we upset, but he didn't' say anything about that.

RickCressen: "Yeah, I can do stew. I've only done it a couple of times, but I can see what I can do. You like any kind of stew in particular?" He asked.

Genisay: He shrugged a little. "Classic?" He hoped Fox knew what he meant. He leaned back against the back of the couch, letting his heels dangle over the edge. Even at fourteen, he was still kind of short. "Something like tea would be nice too, if you have any."

RickCressen: "Oh yeah, I got plenty of that. I'll get the kettle going." He said. "Anything else?"

Genisay: "No thank you. I think that's okay." It seemed kind of odd at times. His best friend was so brash, and he was so polite.

RickCressen: "Alrighty-O, little buddy. I'm on it, 'cause I'm starving myself." He said. He got up into the kitchen and started to whip up some dinner. He was no cook, but he could at least follow a recipe. Once the stew got going a little more, he got the kettle going as well.

Genisay: It was kind of different. He'd just noticed how much Fox had taken to calling him that. "You know....Little Buddy...Sonic would call me that all of the time." He was silent again for a moment. "I'm sorry we had to end your vacation early."

RickCressen: "Don't worry about it. Stuff happens sometimes. And hey, I was gonna bring you two here anyway. It just happened sooner rather than later. I hope you enjoy it around here. I wouldn't mind showing you around some when you feel up to it." He replied, trying to give a smile to his voice. He didn't usually smile a whole lot in the city, but well, things were different.

Genisay: "I'd like that. It would be better if Sonic could come too." He took a deep breath, then another. "The stew is starting to smell really good."

RickCressen: "Oh he will." Fox assured. "And thanks! Mom's recipe. Mom was always a good cook, but I never picked up on it quite like she did."

Genisay: "I'm getting used to that myself. I spent most of my life with out my parents. Sonic, Sally, Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor were my family. A few years ago I got both my mom and dad back. I think getting used to having parents again was easier for me then it was when Sonic found his." He thought of how his friend had struggled with that. He loved them, but trying to readjust had been harder on the independent hero.

RickCressen: "Used to be just my mom and I, honestly. Dad left when I was real young." He said. "No idea where he is at the moment, but it's okay. I've accepted things as they are." Fox said, right before the kettle whistled. He turned the heat down on that and got some mugs out.

Genisay: " A lot of families were broken apart when Robotnik betrayed king Max. Many kids like ourselves were displaced. When we found Knothole, we tried to move as many survivors as we could there." He was silent a moment. "Do you know why your dad left?" He hoped he wasn't' crossing ground that was too sensitive.

RickCressen: "Never really found out. Don't think I'd find out unless I found him." He said. "Not sure how much I'd want to do that though."

Genisay: "I guess I can understand that. I thought sometimes what it might have been like to find my parents, but I never really knew until it actually happened." He gave a small smile. "Really...it was Sonic who found them and helped them come back to me."

RickCressen: "He really is quite a good guy." He said. "How'd you two first meet anyway?"

Genisay: "Sonic and the others lived in Mobotropolis before the war started. They all knew my parents. We were pretty much friends from the day I was born." He gave a small smile. "When my parents disappeared, Rosie took care of us. Sonic and the others became my family."

RickCressen: Fox nodded. "That says a lot. No wonder you two are such good pals. Speaking of good pals, maybe we can stop by Lynn's if you don't mind, and I'll see if I can borrow some stuff from her so you guys can be comfortable." He said. "I can get the couch to fold out. I got it just for guests."

Genisay: "Oh...sure." He said, a little hesitantly. But having some one to talk to seemed to have made him feel a bit better. "How much longer does the stew have?" He was wondering if Fox meant they could go and come back before the stew was done.

RickCressen: "Oh! Hmm, well it's still got a bit to go." He said. "Just gotta cook for a while. Actually, now that I think of it, wanna hop out and grab the stuff? Maybe see how Sonic's doing too?" He asked.

Genisay: Tails stood and gave an emphatic nod. "Yes, please." Any kind of an update would be better then just waiting.

RickCressen: "Alright then. C'mon buddy, let's go." Fox said, making sure that the stew was going to be alright.

Genisay: Fox was followed out of the apartment by the shorter vulpine.

RickCressen: So Fox led Tails over to the hospital where Sonic was being observed at. It was still early enough where visitors were still being allowed. They had got Sonic checked in and everything, though security was tight, obviously due to Sonic's worldwide notoriety. However, they were allowed in. It was a short list on who could go in, and they were on it! The receptionist pointed the two foxes in the direction of Sonic's room, and Fox began to lead Tails to it.

Genisay: Tails had been able to vouch for Fox as a friend, and mumbled a quiet thanks to the receptionist before leaving the desk and following Fox silently down the hall to the room that they had been directed to.

RickCressen: Fox went into Sonic's room and went to go see how he was doing. He had no idea if he would be awake, coherent, or what have you at this point. He just hoped for the best when he walked in.

Genisay: Tails entered behind him and quietly closed the door behind himself. The blue hedgehog seemed to be asleep when they entered. A wrapped bandage covered his lower torso, and part of his chest. His neck bore bandages, as well as the places where he'd been burned by the laser trap. A wrap with several soft pads also bound his forehead. He lay still on his side to keep pressure off of the burns, a pillow like pad supporting him. Tails walked over to the bed, and picked up the clip board hanging from it's foot. He flipped over a couple of pages, his expression grave. "Minor concussion, three broken ribs," he read aloud, " bruises on neck, laceration on upper torso and deep tissue burns on shoulder, pelvis and calf of left side." He let the pages fall, and replaced the board on it's holder. Walking to the side of the bed, he placed a hand over one of Sonic's. "I'm sorry I didn't know it was all a trap." He mumbled, though he doubted he was heard. "If I'd known....."

RickCressen: Fox looked over the injuries too. They were pretty bad, but well...looks like he was going to be spending a lot more time here than he thought. He did, however, pick up some of Tails' mumbling, though nothing sounded all that audible, he just thought he heard him speak. "Tails, you alright there?" He asked, going over to him.

Genisay: The youth lowered his head and his shoulders shook. He looked and sounded miserable. "No...I don't think I am."

RickCressen: "I know Sonic's hurt, but just...the only fault it is is Eggman's. Next time we see him, we pay him back in spades." Fox said, nodding a little with a serious look on his face.

Genisay: Sinking to his knees by the bedside, Tails rested his head on a clear space on the bed, one arm around his face. He stayed there for a time, silent.

RickCressen: "Just...I dunno. That was a dirty trick. No way we could've known it wasn't real. And Sonic's gonna be alright." He said. He didn't really know what to say, but he was trying his best to be comforting. He really did wanna give a real hurting to Eggman though.

Genisay: "It's just....I should have known it seemed too fishy or something...I should know Eggman well enough by now to know that there had to be more to it. Maybe I could have.....I don't know..."he wasn't really even sure what he could have changed if they had known it was a trap. Would Sonic have taken the chance that Eggman /wasn't/ searching for a Chaos Emerald. He sighed. "Even if we'd known.....he would have wanted to check it out anyhow." Tails sat back on his heels, and looked at his best friend. "He's like that."