Sonic is relaxing at the beach of Turquoise Hill, an area just northeast of Green Hill.

Sonic's nearby radio finishes a tropical tune he was enjoying and proceeds to news on the weather:

"Good morning everyone, Michael here with the morning weather report. It's a pleasant day in South Island, a beautiful blue-sky day, partly cloudy. Temperatures ranging from 70 to 75 degrees, nothing but perfect weather predicted for the rest of the day. In fact, the rest of the week will reach a high of 78 degrees while the lowest expected temperatures will be 68 degrees, with no rain expected all week."

Sonic wags his foot as he reclines on his beach chair, sunglasses on. Most times, Sonic is a very active guy, but for right now, he just wanted to chill for a bit. Besides, he promised Tails a day at the beach.

Knuckles opted not to come since he prefers to stick with Angel Island, his home and sworn duty. But he did give an invite that the trio could hang out some time. With such a nice week ahead, maybe Angel Island will be on the agenda sooner than later.

For now, though, Sonic is just sipping lemonade and enjoying relaxing.

---

A map of South Island, the location of Sonic 1 (SEGA Genesis), Sonic 1 (Megadrive), Sonic 2 (Game Gear) and Sonic Chaos (Game Gear)

https://tinyurl.com/m77zm2fs

(Source: https://www.deviantart.com/fol...e-hedgehog-583107307 )

A big shadow passes over Sonic for just an instant.  A quick glance in the direction of the sun shows the Tornado biplane doing a sweeping turn to line up for a landing.  Not surprising is that it is outfitted with pontoons for landing on the gentle ocean waters.  What's different this time is that there is no hum of the engine.  But the plane looks to be operating just fine.  A few minutes later the plane is pulling up on shore with no more noise than the whoosh of a window fan.

Tails weighs anchor, hops out, flies up to Sonic, lands, and strikes a triumphant pose.  With a proud grin he asks, "Notice something different?"

Sonic didn't expect Tails to show up in his plane. But given the obvious new tech, it was clearly an irresistible thing to show off.

Sonic acts all cool, watches the plane land, then when Tails walks over to Sonic, he peers over his sunglasses at him with a smirk. "Haircut? Looks nice on you, Tails!" in a clearly teasing manner.

In the blink of an eye, he's on his feet. He waits for Tails' reaction before saying, "Yeahyeah! I noticed the plane's quiet." he grins. Then looks up at the plane with a look of marvel. "I know I'm hearing clearly, so... how'd you do it?"

The radio in the background continues playing nice, tropical music.

Tails blink-blinks and reaches up to check his hair.  Maybe the wind messed it up?  "Not on purpose...  Oooh.  Heheh, you got me, Sonic!"

The young fox puts on an apologetic look at first, but on noticing Sonic's marveling instead of disappointed with the change, he brightens right up.  "I finally took the plunge and went electric!  Took out the whole engine and replaced it with a salvaged motor!  No more burning fuel and making lots of noise!  Ah.  Erm.  Kinda.  So turns out the birds really need that loud noise to know to steer clear.  So I have a looping track for the PA system to emulate the old engine's sound.  But with a flip of the switch, stealth mode!"

Tails takes a dracula pose, arm hiding his nose and mouth, to further punctuate "stealth mode."

Sonic put his sunglasses on Tails. "Guess you should be the one wearing these, eh little guy? And very good thinking for the birds. I'm glad we can still have the ol' biplane sounds whenever we like."

Sonic looks at the biplane, shading his eyes with his hand. "Waaay past cool."

He then looks back at Tails. "Still performs the same? Wanna give it a test run? Like... do some aerobatics with me riding on the wings?"

Biig smile on Tails' face upon his hero's approval and sharing his sunglasses.  When asked about performance, though, his heart sinks.

Feet shuffling and eyes downcast, Tails reluctantly admits, "It's not going to perform quite as well as a gas engine, unfortunately.  Even factoring in the weight of a full tank of gas.  The trade-off for going with electric is that although it's better for the environment and has the stealth mode option, there's less acceleration, top speed, and range.  Oh!  And electric's more reliable!  Far fewer things can go wrong with the motor than the engine.  I have a couple ideas for compensating for the difference in performance.  Still a work in progress.  But there's no harm in going for a spin!  Battery's all charged up!"

His eyes suddenly go wide as he has an eureka moment.  "Oh.  Wow.  I just figured out how to make electric several times better than gas!  If I install a treadmill for you to generate electricity for the motor!  Can't do that with gas!"

Sonic holds his hands up, "Wo-hohooo there, Tails. Sounds like I'll need a chart to see the pros and cons. And that treadmill will take a while to set up, but sounds fun. For now, though, I'd still like to take a nice, chill cruise through the sky. I was just layin' about staying still anyway. Why not do so up in the sky for a bit?"

He starts hopping aboard the biplane, as if to get Tails movin'.

Tails gives a nervous chuckle.  You know you're getting ahead of yourself when Sonic tells you to slow down.  "I didn't mean right now..."

And there he goes hopping on without a giving a chance for much of a reply.  Sometimes Sonic's impatience is not a good thing.  Not this time!  Now Tails doesn't have to explain himself and can just get to the fun!  With a big smile Tails hops in the pilot's seat.

"Alright!"

The biplane takes off and flies as Tails would expect. No problems. In fact... the quiet seems to be pleasant for Sonic as he spreads his arms, turns to face Tails, closes his eyes with a smile on his face, enjoying the breeze to his back. "So calming... This is really cool, Tails..."

But even while Sonic's facing Tails, Tails can see past Sonic is another flying vehicle of some kind, headed towards the biplane. It is a distance off at the moment, so no emergency yet. But notable since nobody tends to fly around this area of South Island besides Tails, really.

The lil fox is so happy his hero likes the new and debatably "improved" Tornado!  Since Sonic was enjoying calming, Tails had the throttle at cruise speed.  Noticing the incoming flying object, he eases back on the throttle to bleed off a little altitude.  With a little luck, the other plane won't think to descend at this altitude.  Either way, need to warn Sonic.

"We've got incoming, Sonic," Tails answers, wishing he had time to respond to Sonic's compliment instead, "With any luck, they'll simply pass over us.  But I'm kinda worried.  Normally it'd be rude to take an intercept course on purpose...  Unless something's really wrong."

Tails flips on the engine noise just in case whoever it is wasn't looking where they're going and need to hear where they're going.  Then for good measure he turns on his broadcast radio.  "This is the Tornado biplane headed west at 1,200 feet and falling hailing incoming aircraft: please climb.  I repeat, please climb."

Sonic looks over upon being told about the oncoming craft.

The oncoming flying vehicle also begins to descend even as Tails descends. There is no answer from the plane.

Sonic yells over the now-activated noise, "Tails, steer to the side and I'll try to hop aboard when we pass 'em! I wanna see what's goin' on!"

Should Tails follow Sonic's instructions, Sonic does as he said he would and hops onto the other plane! But Tails is able to see as he passes the other plane that the pilot is an unconscious human child.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:06, Fri 15 Apr 2022.

Tails gives Sonic a thumbs-up then nudges to the right.

"I'm turning to YOUR left.  I repeat, I am turning to YOUR left."

The fanboy knew Sonic could easily handle hopping from one moving plane to another going the other direction at these crazy speeds and changing trajectories.  Still.  Not a stunt they've ever tried before.  Heart pounding for more reason than one.

Tails doesn't like to have to pull dangerous stunts without good reason, but being ready to pick Sonic back up before the plane he's in crashes into the water's a good reason.  So full throttle, pull up vertical, barrel roll, stall, drop back down, regain speed, then level off to start catching up to Sonic.  Doing all that instead of a slow bank turn should save several precious seconds.

"I'm hardly one to complain about a kid flying solo, but... it is pretty unusual."

Sonic always assumed Tails did such moves because Tails is epic. But if he knew it was because Tails is a flippin' genius who at the snap of the fingers knows this would work better... he'd still assume Tails is epic. So no change of opinion really!

Sonic surprisingly manages to guide the plane towards the beach for a crash-landing, figuring it will be easier to clean that up than if the plane parts were under water. Besides... free parts for Tails, right?

Meanwhile, he grabs the boy, holds him tight and then oh-so-deftly hops back onto the Tornado. He smirks over at Tails and gives a thumbs-up with his left hand (his right hand occupied with holding the boy)

"Sweet moves, Tails!"

And then SMASH! The boy's plane crash-lands on the beach, shredding itself into a 100-foot long smear of mechanical parts.

(( And now we know why all the bandages wrapped around the shoes.  They make for a convenient way to strap an airplane's control stick in place so it flies where you want it to without a pilot. ))

Tails does the responsible thing and reports the emergency to the authorities even though he knows Sonic'll have everything handled long before they ever show up.  He is rather proud of the fact that the Electric Tornado was able to catch up to the other plane in time for Sonic to hop back aboard with the rescued kid.

"Thanks, Sonic!  But you're one to talk hopping from plane to plane midair like it's a game of hopscotch!"

Tails cringes at the crash landing of the other plane.  No way to have prevented that, really.  Holy cow Sonic's aim making the crash happen on the sand was absolutely perfect to minimize damage to the environment!  Line up for a landing, being sure to keep plenty of space between the Tornado's final mooring and the wreckage.  No avoiding that it'll be a bumpy landing with a sudden lurch at the end when the pontoons dig into the sand, but nothing the superhero can't handle.  Weigh anchor out of pure habit.

"I've got a first aid kit, but it's mostly for cuts and stuff.  If he passed out from exhaustion, I doubt there's any treatment for that besides just rest."

Sonic grins, winks and thumbs-up at Tails' comeback compliment.

Sonic lays the boy down in his beach chair. "What could be his story, I wonder? He seems OK, aside from being unconscious, but I'm no doctor."

The boy starts to stir awake. "Uuuuhh.." he peeks his eyes open a little and says, "H... help... Gigapolis..." is all he manages before fading back to sleep.

"Wow.  Pushed through exhaustion and risked his life to deliver that message.  We gotta do something!"

Tails checks his mobile device for the latest news from Gigapolis.

"I have a feeling that whatever it is hasn't happened just yet, but is about to.  What would be the quickest way to get there and still be of most help?  Hard to say what I'd need to bring without knowing the nature of the threat, which suggests a 'Take everything on a giant flying fortress' approach."

Sonic watches Tails pull up the news. There doesn't seem to be anything special, Gigapolis just telling about a puppy fundraiser, weather, and some little league baseball game.

Sonic says, "I'll be in touch." and zooms off! Gone so fast, he disappears over the nearby cliffs in about two seconds! At the speed he's going, it should take him 3 to 5 minutes to get to Gigapolis.

Tails can easily reach Sonic and continue talking with him via his com-watch.

The boy remains unconscious, but breathes steadily, indicating he is OK. Tails is able to calculate easily that given the distance to Gigapolis and the particular plane the kid was piloting, it would have been a 25 to 30 minute flight from the southwest-most part of the city. So why was the kid so tired after only half an hour? Either something made him tired, or he was pulling an all-nighter (something Tails would be personally familiar with).

Even having braced himself, Tails stumbles from the sudden gust resulting from Sonic's departure.  Being essentially alone now, Tails talks out his thoughts.

"If this is Robotnic, he'll be monitoring all frequencies.  And if I call the Gigapolis authorities, that'll tip old Eggman to the fact that we've been warned.  But what would a kid in a plane know of an evil genius' future schemes?  Probably not Eggman.  So I'll risk using the airways."

Tails looks up the Gigopolis police's number and calls directly rather than go through 911.  "This is Tails Prower, friend to the famous Sonic The Hedgehog.  He's on his way and will arrive in a few minutes.  We just got a tip that Gigopolis is going to need saved in the near future.  From what exactly, we don't know yet.  Which is why I'm calling.  I need you to put out an APB for anything suspicious that might hint at a city-wide threat.  Like maybe a warehouse that gets lots of deliveries, but there's no sign of anyone working there.  Or a bunch of mysterious trucks parking outside the fundraiser.  Underground maintenance in lots of places all at once.  Things like that.


"Soon as I see our informant safely in the hands of first respondents I'll be on my way myself.  You can reach Sonic through me.  1-555-Go-Sonic"

Time being of the essence, he picks up the boy by his belt, flies him into the Tornado, pulls up the anchor, and heads for Gigopolis.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Fri 22 Apr 2022.

A masculine voice comes on the call, "This is Officer Jenkins. We hear you, Tails. I'll make sure the G.P. keep a look out. In the meantime, I'll be assigning an officer to you in case you need any kind of immediate backup. How do we reach Sonic so I can patch him into the call?"

Sonic comes through on the com watch, "Yo, Tails. I booked it double-time, so I'm already here. I'm not seeing anything immediately wrong. Pains me to say it, but you have GOT to try to wake that kid up and get more details. Whatever is wrong, it won't be obvious until it's too late."

Judging from the sound of warping wind funneling in the background, Sonic is not wasting time and is searching even as he asked this of Tails.

Times like this Tails wishes he went with voice command tech instead of insisting on button pushing.  Oh well.  Engage auto-pilot, release controls, punch buttons on wrist com to turn separate calls into a 3-way.

"I've got you all on the same call now.  Sonic, this is Officer Jenkins of the Gigapolis Police.  Thanks for taking this seriously, Officer.  Sonic's got so much experience saving the day he can feel when a tip is real.

"Sonic, I can give it a try, but I don't think he's waking even if I dump water on him.  (We both kinda already did get a little wet from take-off, and he's still out cold.)  I'm guessing someone at the airport knows about him.  May have heard his story and helped him out.  It's not easy to just take someone's plane.  I'd probably have heard of this boy if he owned his own plane.  At the very least, they'll know about his take-off and whether or not he was cleared.

"Speaking of landing.  I'm going to have to land on the river.  Haven't outfitted my pontoons to be able to double as landing gear yet."

Sonic asked that he try, so he's gunna try.  He unbuckles, turns around to face the back seat, and pat-pats the boy's cheek.  "Hey!  Wake up!  Save Gigapolis from what?  Where's the crisis?  Sonic can't find it!"

The boy slowly opens his eyes to look at Tails. Seems to take him energy for every word he speaks, so he takes a breath between words. "Under... ground.. entrance...  private... airport... closest... to us..." he is fighting to keep his eyes open, as if waiting further questions. He seems barely there, but trying his hardest.

Officer Jenkins says, "So it turns out there were reports of multiple planes taking off from the private airport he's referring to, assuming he means the one closest to Turquoise Hill. However, those planes were back within a few minutes, and none of them were on the main airways, so it wasn't alarming. This all happened about 30 minutes ago."

Sonic cuts in with, "I'm at the airport and searching it for secret passages. Tails, if you were to keep a secret underground passage in your own airport, where would you put it?"

"We're on it, buddy!" Tails encourages the boy, figuring if the shoe were on the other foot, he'd really want to know his warning was taken seriously, "Where in the airport is the entrance?"

A couple of guys having a fun outing in private planes together off the main airways is nothing out of the ordinary.  But for them to only go flying for a few minutes?  And not notice one among them is a kid flying toward the beach, never to return?  That's weird.

The boy's eyelids are heavy as he gazes at Tails. "Entrance..." he starts. "ih... inside... where... they keep.. airplanes..." he struggles as if trying to find the word and starts to cry. "If I was there, I could point to it!" he yells in frustration. He smacks himself, leaving a red mark on his cheek. He seems to be hyperventilating.

Officer Jenkins says, "He's describing a hangar, I think?"

Sonic says, "Thanks to Tails, I can show this kid what I'm seeing. Putting watch on visual, Tails! I'm in the hangar."

Tails is receiving the video feed of the hangar. Sonic is clearly pointing the watch outward from himself.

Tails takes off his watch and turns it to face the boy.

"You're doin' great, buddy!  As you can see, Sonic's almost there!"

Whatever it is must be super urgent for a kid to beat up on himself like that.  A secret entrance under the hangar?  What could be the crisis?  Well whatever it is, Sonic'll save the day with time to spare!

The boy looks. "Forward... to the plane on your left. Between there and... the back wall the floor opens up. That's the entrance."

Sonic goes to the spot indicated and begins quickly checking each floor panel. "Warmer..." the boy says. "Hot. HOT!"

Sonic uses his spindash to pop open a floor panel. "Well would you look at that..."

Sonic shows Tails a ladder that leads down to a door. He slides down the sides of the ladder, landing on the bottom and opens the door. As he enters, the connection to Sonic begins getting interference. "Yo Tails... as I thought, this place is interfering with our connection. If you don't hear back from me in the next... 2 minutes, then I probably found trouble."

Officer Jenkins says, "I'm sending some squad cars that way now."