"And so they just took off with your plane?" Tails and Rotor were in his lab, the place was just as he left it, he didn't exactly have a maid to aid him in cleaning his messes; not that he got worked up over it. "Did you see the guys see who did it? Didn't you report it?"

"Well, technically, it was Sonic's plane, and no I wasn't really able to see clearly who they were – there were a lot of them though." The pair had done nothing but talk; namely Tails' adventures with the Blue Blur himself and the formation of the Freedom Fighters.

"So why didn't you report it?"

"Well, I thought of doing it, but then we saw some really big creatures chase after them," he made clawing motions with his hands to emphasize their beastly appearance. "Sonic figured, that they were just trying to get away from the creatures. We would've tried to help…but we had no plane to help out."

"Well…I guess that was punishment enough," Rotor laughed. "But how is it you guys get around now?"

"We've just been taking it slow! Not that Sonic enjoys it," he chuckled. "I mean, Sonic's really fast, so I can't even dream to keep up with him. So I'm working on a new plane as we speak; it's back at my workshop – not too far from here."

"You've yet to fail at impressing me! I'd love to be able to see it someday."

At that moment, Sonic walked in "Get out your sleeping bag Tails, we're spending the night!"

"Really? Awesome!" Tails leapt, overjoyed. The sad truth was, they had no sleeping bags. "Can we stay with Rotor?"

"Sure, if he'll have us. I don't think we're one-hundred percent welcome at the castle anyhow" he said, gesturing at Antoine and Sally behind him.

"I would be honoured to share my space with you," Rotor said, his hand clenched to his chest.

Sonic looked around "Quaint place you got here. Homey!"

Sally cringed and winced at the mess around them "But there's food and clothes lying about everywhere…" she muttered to herself. "Honestly, I don't understand how he's able to stand such disorganisation…" Sally flung her head around, thinking she heard a squeak. "Or, how Sonic can describe this as 'homey'…"

"I believe it is ze step up from what he is being used to…" Antoine sneered, following closely behind, much to her discomfort.

"Well…" She paused briefly, as she tried to stabilize a leaning tower of computer junk from collapsing on her and the coyote behind. I'm glad that you've found a place to settle yourself in," Something then bleeped from her pocket. "Oh, NICOLE!" she said reaching for the small device.

"Hello Sally," the computer greeted.

The young fox's eyes widened and sparkled like the night sky in his curiosity "Woah! What is that?" he exclaimed, zipping over to peer upon it.

"Greetings!" it responded, "I am N.I.C.O.L.E, the Naturalising Intelligence Communication and Online Logistics Employment system."

"How long did it take for you to come up with that?" Sonic teased the blushing chipmunk.

"I am the personal assistant of Princess Sally Alicia Acorn and her Freedom Fighters; providing them with reminders, communicating over great distances in several languages, providing complete and easy access to the world wide web and many other features."

"That is just too cool," Tails said jumping up and down "Oh-oh! And it's not just pre-recorded speech either, is it?"

Rotor proudly rubbed his knuckles against his chest "Of course not. As she said; I've installed a multitude of different languages and their rules into her firmware. She can communicate them all as if she were a native speaker. Plus, when I gave her unlimited access to the net, as well as an upgrade to her A.I, she's learnt even more!"

"And zat was English?" Antoine shook his head, confused.

Tails' eyes widened "You mean, you've built a self-learning artificial intelligence system all by yourself?"

"Heh, you're not the only genius around here little man!"

"I'm so glad that someone speaks English!" Tails laughed, glancing at Sonic.

"Hey! I heard that!" Sonic smirked and dived after him, shoving him into Rotor, who in turn also fell into the mess.

"EEK-hahaha! I know; that's why I said it loud."

"I am confused," Antoine said, tapping his nose "He implied zat only he and Routor spoke ze English. But I am speaking ze perfect English as well. Non?"

Sally just looked at him blankly.

"Oh, a smart guy huh?" Sonic said.

"Yeah-hahaha! He said genius, genius!" Tails laughed under the influence of tickling.

"Oh yeah? Then it looks like its noogie time!"

"NooHoHoHoHohh!" Tails giggled as he tried to wrestle his way out "No Noogie, No Noogie! HAHAHA!" He reached out to the Walrus "R-Rotor! Help! HAHAHAH!" Rotor couldn't help but laugh himself.

Sally rolled her eyes. Oh yeah, he's going to be alright here for sure.

"Sally," NICOLE beeped again.

"Oh Sorry NICOLE, I forgot you contacted me. What is it?"

"Your parents wish to remind you of dinner and they have stressed how they want you to be on time, this time."

"Rats! I've lost track of time! How long have I got?"

"Approximately twenty-six minutes and thirty-two seconds to be seated and ready, Sally."

"I better run!" She ran to the stairs out, turning to the guys below "Sorry guys, I've got to run. Good Night! And I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow Sonic!" She dashed off before anyone else could say something.

"Wow." Sonic gave out a short whistle. "I bet she doesn't have many breaks," he gestured over at the door that had recently slammed shut.

"She eez ze Princess of all of ze kingdom of Knothole," Antoine said with his arms raised out to signal its importance and grandeur. Sonic took no notice of him though.

"She does a lot, yeah," Rotor sighed.

"Why does she do so much?" Tails asked, his innocent eyes pointing up to Rotor's. "Is there something wrong with the king or queen?"

"Yeah, and what about her brother?" Sonic chomped into an apple he grabbed from the fruit bowl, he threw the doggy bag of leftover chilli dogs over to Tails.

"Everyone's well. It's just that Sally just likes to go the extra mile. I mean this whole Freedom Fighter initiative…she's doing that without her parents' consent." He rubbed his very tired eyes before continuing "She's put a lot on the line for what she believes is right."

Sonic glanced back over to the door. It seems like this whole thing means a lot to her, he thought.

"Ah, she's on time!" King Max called from across the grand dining table.

"Sorry-sorry, I lost track…" Sally rushed in, taking her seat. "And what's gotten you in such a good mood?" she asked Elias, who appeared to be smiling to himself.

"Oh nothing." His head rested atop his wrist as he watched his sister. "So, Sally, how was your day?"

"Why are you asking me that, that's usually Mom."

"Well, how was your day then, Sally," her mother added.

Sally ignored Elias, turning to respond to her mother instead "Oh it was fine, Mom. Beautiful day!"

"It certainly is indeed," her father said, "Its days like today that really take away the stresses and worries of…oh, the food has arrived!"

The royal waiters circled in with their banquet of dishes. The aroma of food swept in to every crevice of the hall; leaving very little room for the oxygen itself.

"So, nothing interesting happened at all today?" Elias continued.

"No…" Sally raised an eyebrow.

"C'mon now, sis? I believe there's something that Mom and Dad would find very interesting about your day."

Sally twitched.

"Bon, appetite!" the head waiter announced as he departed.

"I say! Is that true, Bean?" Max said, unveiling the cover from his food dish.

He knows, he knows! Sally thought. But how could he know?! No-one's told him. Did he see us leaving? Coming back? What do I do?

Alicia laid down a napkin upon her lap "Come now, dear. If Elias thinks, it's all that interesting, then you might as well let it out."

She began fiddling with her hair again "W-Well…uh, you see?"

Elias laughed "Ha! She did that when I found out too; should I tell them instead?"

"I-I-I can explain!"

"I believe Sally met someone today…"

"Someone? Who, dear?" Alicia asked, buttering her bread roll.

Met someone? Wait, so he doesn't know about our mission…But what's he…oh no…

"A boy…"

The sounds of crashing cutlery against the wooden table reverberated through the hall. Servants just outside even stopped for a moment at the sound.

"Haha!" Max cried, "What can you expect, when she looks so much like her mother."

"Oh, Max." Alicia turned her attention back to Sally "But a boy? What's his name, what does he look like?" King Max appeared to be laughing, but his face drooped down to one of worry and dread as he turned back to his food. No father enjoys hearing about their daughters meeting boys.

"I…heh, I honestly don't know what you're talking about…" Sally turned a death glare to her brother.

Elias, who had not noticed the soul-piercing stare, said "Oh, don't be so shy. I'm actually, quite proud." he began tucking into his plate. "My little sister with her first boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?!" Sally and Max exclaimed.

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Ah, so he does exist," he smirked.

Rats! He was always good at that.

"So, what's his name?" Alicia pressed her again.

"It's Sonic…" she said, through her teeth. "But he's not…!"

"Sonic? How, interesting."

"Let's hope he lives up to his name and keeps away from my Bean, with speed," Max coughed.

Alicia elbowed him gently "Oh, let them be. Don't you remember how we started?"

"Mom, we're not in love – I barely know him! I already told Elias, he's new in town and we were just showing him around."

"Well, you're seeing him again tomorrow though, aren't you?" Elias teased.

Sally blushed "W-well, um…"

"Oh leave her alone. Elias, how about you tell us about your day." Alicia patted down her dress; its golden colour was radiant and outshone the drapes that hung upon the enormous castle windows. The reflection of the setting sun made it shine ever brighter.

"Well, it was just the usual; visiting our royal forces and sparring with Geoffrey."

"Ah! How is Geoffrey doing by the way?" Max asked.

"Good, good. As you can see from my bruises, he's still better than me."

"Oh, I remember how a young Sally had a little crush on him…" Alicia smiled over at Sally.

Sally reddened again in return. She thought they had left this topic already. "Mom, I was thirteen. And can we stop with the topic of my relationships now…" she slumped her head down onto the table.

Elias tapped his fork to get her attention. She lifted her head up slightly to see. "Hey; look, I get it, really," he said. "You don't think that he likes you back, am I right?"

She dropped her head back with a thud. Kill me now, just kill me now…

"Look, there's nothing that a gentleman finds more attractive, if he proves to be a gentleman, than a lady that is aloof. Let him be the one to worry about who likes who."

Sonic had gone out for an evening run. Running was the best, the only medicine, for a troubled mind as far as he was concerned. He dashed in and out of alleyways, on rooftops and even strange looping rock formations.

Moving at the speed that he goes at requires a bit of concentration; avoid trees, trip hazards, people and buildings. His lightning-fast reflexes made this surprisingly easy, but it was enough to get him out of thinking about what really troubled him. And as the moonlit environment he ran through began to remind him of it, he realised running from his problems wasn't going to do anything either. No matter how fast he ran.

It wasn't just a matter of getting the best player on their team. Sally cared. He could still picture her hurt face when he first rejected their invitation. The girl genuinely cared about this whole Robotnik war – even after her team was nearly killed by his army's hand; she was ready to go back out there. She had obviously seen something in him to keep her going.

But at the same time, he had his own mission – him and Tails. They didn't have time to play hero with their team. It wasn't his fault she saw a shred of hope through him! It wasn't his responsibility! He gritted his teeth and ran hard through the forest. The trees around him shook slightly with the force he exerted as he sped past.

Skidding to a halt, he stopped upon the 'doormat' to their temporary place of lodging. Rotor's lab entrance looked somewhat like a rundown bomb shelter. But, knowing the genius types like Tails, it was probably an intentional design feature.

The blue hedgehog crept down the stairs into the lab, figuring the two were asleep. The sound of the walrus snoring bounced off of the crusty white walls as he tiptoed down the hard concrete stairs.

"Sonic?" a tired voice called out softly.

"Tails buddy?" he responded, quietly. "You awake?" he crept over to where the fox boy was tucked in, clothed in his star-decorated pyjamas. They labelled out the constellations.

"You can't sleep either?"

"Nah. My mind's running too fast," he smiled. "Also…" he paused briefly, looking over at their walrus friend whom was fast asleep and snoring loudly. "It's…kinda weird…being around other people like this…for as long as we have."

"I kinda feel the same. Well…I don't know. Maybe it's kind of a good thing."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, we've both been alone for so long – and you long before you met me. It makes sense you feel weird with others around, but that doesn't mean it's bad, right?"

"I know. They're good people too; I'm not saying I don't think they are." They sat in silence for a little while, all except for the snoring. "Y'know, I'm supposed to tell the princess tomorrow if we're gonna stay with them…"

"What're you thinking?"

"Well, we've still got our mission. Do you think we can do it with them?"

"I'm usually the one asking you this…" He yawned as his eyes grew heavy. "But I like them…" He closed his eyes "And it would be kinda cool…being with a bigger group…more…" his mouth opened broadly with a final great yawn "...friends."

"More friends, huh?" Sonic muttered

"Good night, Sonic."

Sonic climbed into his own sleeping bag "G'night bud; sweet dreams." He laid there on his back for a while. His mind was still running. "They seemed to know your folks too; like you're from here…" He turned his head over to Tails, but he was fast asleep again.

Sonic smiled. "Sweet dreams, indeed."