Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There were a million projects to get done, and between aiding the restoration, fighting Eggman, and keeping up with his growing friend base, he was losing track of what he wanted to do. 

It was a crisp November morning, just after dawn, and Tails was already in his workshop, soldering away at the new steel panels he cut for his plane. The repairs were long overdue, but the battle with Dr. Eggman over at one of the restoration warehouses was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The entire frame of the cockpit was dented on one side and smeared with residue on the other. It wasn’t something a few touch-ups wouldn’t fix. 

Still, touch-ups for an airplane took time and patience, and luckily, Tails had both of those things to spare today. The doctor would be licking his wounds for at least a week after Sonic dismantled his latest robot with a couple spin-dashes and Tails’ mechanical expertise. The Voltator-2000 was a success, neutralizing the robot once it was hooked into the circuitry. With Sonic’s speed and his genius, the two of them were a sight to behold on the battlefield, and Dr. Eggman was their main audience. 

Although they won the battle, there was a strong likelihood that Eggman would return for the next round, and Tails wanted to be prepared. Besides, this was a convenient excuse for him to finally attempt some fine-tuning and touch-ups he’d shelved months ago. 

He put his shield down over his face and angled the blowtorch between the metal sheets, the sound of the hissing fire overtaking Amy’s clicking heels as she ran up the driveway. However, it did not overtake her shrill voice: 

“Tails!” she called. “Tails, I need your help!” 

And just like that, Tails could feel his free time getting sucked into someone else. Perhaps it was his own fault, but he couldn’t say ‘no’ to a cry for help, which was probably why all of his personal projects were rolled up on blueprints and stacked on the highest shelf in his workshop. 

Tails lifted the blowtorch and his mask, his brow creased with concern. “Yeah? What’s up, Amy? Wait, I thought you were helping restock the warehouse this week. Is something wrong?” 

“Well—” Amy stopped on the other side of his workbench and crossed her arms, tapping her elbow with an impatient finger while she contemplated his questions. “Yes, I was doing that, and it’s going well. The problem doesn’t have to do with the restoration, thankfully—or maybe not thankfully because this is worse.” 

“Worse than Eggman trying his hand at taking over the world again?” asked Tails. 

“Oh—I’ll just come out and say it–-Sonic is missing!” 

“Missing?” 

Sonic was known for short term disappearances in the past, many of which could be attributed to long jogs, miscellaneous adventures, and sometimes both, but he was never usually gone for longer than a week at a time without checking in, and Tails could have sworn his chili stash was down by one can when he checked the fridge this morning. 

Or had he miscounted? Erratic sleep patterns were known to contribute to short term memory loss and confusion. 

“You heard me!” Amy cried. “You know how he normally lets me, you, someone know before he sets off to who-knows-where, but when I stopped by your place, he wasn't there!”

Tails laughed. “He doesn't technically live in my house, he just likes to pretend he does.” 

“I know that, Tails. But hear me out. When I couldn't find him there, I went to his favorite restaurant in Central City, and they said they hadn't seen him in a week! ‘Okay’, I thought. ‘That's a little odd, but not unheard of’. So, I was asking around, made a few more stops by the Chao Garden and the other restoration warehouses, but no one has seen him! Maybe I'm just overreacting, but something feels off, and I can't seem to get my mind off of it. I mean, what if something happened to him while he was out, and we didn't know about it! He can't swim, Tails! All it takes is one misstep and he'll be at the bottom of the ocean!”

Tails blinked. That was a spiral he hadn't been prepared to go through, and he was at a loss for words. Comforting Amy wasn't really his expertise. 

But if most of what she said was true, then there was a possibility Sonic needed their help and wasn't able to get a signal through his watch. Or more likely, he forgot his watch at the house again. Either way, he wasn’t willing to put his best friend on hold for a pretty airplane. He needed to make a plan to find out what happened to Sonic. 

First things first, he would have to keep Amy calm before she went on another worrying spiral. 

“That is a little concerning,” Tails cherry-picked his words with this one. “But I'm sure there's no need to get worked up over it yet. It's a good idea to gain as much insight as we can before we jump to any conclusions, and there might be some places we haven't looked.”

Tails set his blowtorch on the rack beside his supercomputer and set the metal sheets against the wall. He threw a tarp over them and secured it with a couple zip ties. He set a sticky note with a reminder on a crowded bulletin board. He decided that he would have to come back to the repairs later. After that, Amy followed him to his computer where he pulled up a large world map on all four screens. 

“You said you've already been to these places–let me just–hold on.” Tails marked the places Amy mentioned with a red cross. “Is this correct?”

“So far.” Amy nodded. “I didn't even think about Angel Island!”

“That’s probably because Sonic doesn't visit Angel Island very often.”

“Yeah, well, Knuckles isn't exactly the most welcoming host,” Amy said. “I can hear him now: ‘get off my lawn!’.”

Tails was glad that they could lighten the mood with a quick laugh. With Amy on board, finding Sonic was going to be a breeze. 

“Then why don't I fly us up to Angel Island, and we can ask Knuckles what he knows?” Tails suggested. 

Amy turned to the poor, misshapen plane and raised her brow. “On that? Tails, you’re the best pilot I know, but even you can't be trusted flying that thing until it gets fixed.” 

Tails’ ears flattened dejectedly. “Alright, then what do you suggest?” 

Amy thoughtfully tapped her chin until the inspiration came, and her eyes lit up. “I know! Since you have other means of flying, why don’t you head on up to Angel Island, and I'll go here.” 

Amy pointed to a lineup of beach huts on the outer edge of West Side Island. 

“We can't rule out Sonic squatting on a remote beach, or at your other house,” she said. “And speaking of, can’t you guys decide on one place to live and leave it at that!” 

“That would be like asking Eggman to have one lair, or Rouge to have one gem,” Tails laughed. “We have to be plenty prepared for disaster to strike at every possible angle, and the best way to do it is to be at every possible angle!” 

“If you say so, but I’ve managed just fine with my one apartment in Central City,” Amy sighed, stepping aside to let Tails pass through. He exchanged his welding helmet for a pair of aviator goggles sitting on the shelf, and picked up the two donuts on the desk along the way. He offered one of them to Amy. 

“Don’t you also have a room at the Restoration HQ?” Tails inquired, grinning when Amy flushed and snatched the donut from his hand. 

“That’s different!” 

“If you say so,” Tails echoed as he led her onto the driveway and shut the garage behind them. 

Amy watched the garage door close and flinched when it landed with a loud thunk! When she turned around, Tails was already winding up his hind tails for his flight.

“W-wait!” She grabbed him by the wrist to stop him just short of his take off. When he turned around, she hesitated. 

“I just wanted to say sorry—for bothering you about this. It's probably not how you wanted or remotely expected to spend your day. You'll let me make it up to you, won't you?”

To be honest, Tails wasn't too terribly put out by this spontaneous side mission. He was used to Sonic barging in on him day and night, and besides, he could never say “no” to a friend in need. His plane could wait. 

He tried to reassure Amy with a smile. “Its not a big deal. I can work on the Tornado anytime. Friends are much more important, and definitely more fun.”

“Right,” agreed Amy in relief. “Then I'll check in with you later if I have any updates, and you'll keep me posted?”

“Can do!” Tails snapped on his aviator goggles, waved and lifted off toward Angel Island. 

Chapter Text

Tails didn't think he could ever be tired of the ruins that turned Angel Island into a giant, ancient puzzle. Winding, stone pathways, and old building plots serrated the landscape. Broken columns stood like stone trees with flickies perched on their peaks. A natural growth of vines with leafy bundles wove between the ruins, threading through the cracks. And when the rising sun hit the island just right, it gave everything a glittering, honey glow. 

Looking back at the vast sea of cotton clouds behind him, Tails understood the appeal. 

His friend Knuckles was the sole guardian of Angel Island and its most precious resource: The Master Emerald. The Master Emerald was a safeguard for their world. It had the power to neutralize the combined energy of all seven chaos emeralds if they so happened to fall into the wrong hands. Knuckles’ was the last surviving member of an Echidna tribe that swore on their lives to protect the Master Emerald, and rarely left it unguarded. He lived, ate and breathed everything to do with Angel Island—and it was all remarkable. 

Tails landed on the remains of a courtyard and followed the path leading to the Altar of Emerald, where he suspected he would find Knuckles on patrol, pacing on the wide steps and basking in the green glow of the Master Emerald. 

That was not, in fact, the case. When he approached the altar, he was baffled by its empty stairs and the bat laying on top of the Master Emerald without an escort in sight. 

“No, not like that, you big oaf!” 

Rouge was resting on the crook of her arm, facing the opposite direction and talking into the forest as far as Tails could see, but he assumed Knuckles must be somewhere on the other side.

Tails climbed the stairs and stopped at the edge of the Master Emerald’s pigmented shadow, impressed that their conversation was so intense. Even in the quiet lull, they didn’t hear him panting to catch his breath after his long-haul flight, or call out to them. 

It wasn’t until the third try that Tails decided to shout, “Rouge!” and the bat jumped up from the emerald in a panicked flight, and landed softly on her toes in Tails’ direction. 

“Oh, hiya there, hun~!” she called down to him. “Didn’t see you! How long have you been standing there, exactly?” 

Tails shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Where’s Knuckles?” 

“Oh that ol’clown? No idea,” she hummed thoughtfully. 

“What do you mean ‘no idea’? I asked a yes or no question, and what are you lookin’ at—Tails!” Knuckles came around the altar and quickly blinked away his surprise. “Why—how—what are you doing here?” 

“I didn’t mean to interrupt, uh, whatever it is you’re doing—” Tails paused, flying high to catch a stray balloon that lifted up behind Knuckles and started drifting in his direction. From above, he could see a whole stash of balloons tied to various rocks behind the Master Emerald, and it gave him pause before he made a slow descent back to Knuckles and handed him the string. 

“What are you doing, exactly?” he asked. 

“Stuff,” Knuckles answered swiftly. “Somethin’.”

“Blowing hot air, more like,” sighed Rouge. 

“Hey!” Knuckles growled at her before he hurriedly tucked the balloon behind his back and gave Tails a sheepish grin. “You know—experimenting? Isn’t that what you science-y people call it?” 

“That’s about right,” laughed Tails. “But that’s what I’m asking! What is your ‘experiment’? And why does it need so many balloons?” 

Knuckles and Rouge exchanged silent glances with one another, which only roused Tails’ suspicions. Whatever he had planned must have involved her because she hadn’t taken off with the Master Emerald yet, and with how tight-lipped they were acting, they clearly didn't want him involved. 

Does their weird behavior have something to do with Sonic going missing? 

It was a plausible explanation. Knuckles and Rouge weren’t exactly known for their commitment to the greater good of everyone. Sometimes, they were part of the problem and out to achieve their own goals. 

But Angel Island isn’t in danger, considered Tails. And Rouge invests most of her schemes in Team Dark, unless Knuckles was a pawn? But that seems too low, even for Rouge. And besides, it wouldn’t be a wise decision in the long-run because that would risk their friendship, and any foreseeable partnerships down the road. 

“Uh…what’cha thinkin’ about there? Tails?”

Tails stopped pinching his chin in thought and studied the sweat lining Knuckle's brow, and the growing smirk on Rouge’s lips. 

“You guys haven’t happened to see Sonic nearby, have you?” asked Tails. 

“Sonic? No way!” scoffed Knuckles, releasing the balloon in order to wave him off. Rouge caught it before it could drift too far out of reach and flew off to tie it to a tree branch. 

“Never even heard of him,” Knuckles added, to which Tails put his hands on his hips, cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. 

“Never even ‘heard of’ Sonic?”

Having his words played back at him made Knuckles flinch. “I meant that I haven’t heard from him! Not lately. Come to think of it—he hasn’t come around for a while. Is he doing okay?” 

“I heard he went missing~” Rouge cut in, swooping down to join them on the altar. “No one’s seen him in a long time. Isn’t that a little strange? I thought he couldn’t go far without his little groupies.” 

"We’re not his—” Tails collected himself with a huff. She was just trying to rile him up. “—Yes. Amy’s been looking for him, and so am I. Have any leads? We’re worried that he might be in trouble.”

“Nothing to report on my end,” said Knuckles with a resolute tone, shaking his head. “Like I said, he hasn’t come by to butt heads with me in a while, but if you do figure out where he is, you let him know that I’m ready for our next round. Except I’m setting the rules. Lifting only.” 

Tails felt like he was gaining more questions than answers. “Next round of…?” 

“Yeah! We’re in the middle of a best-of-the-best bet, and we’ve already found our current top speeds. Now, we’re going to see what our best deadlift is. After that, we’ll have to find out—” 

“—Who the best balloon blower is? I think I can already tell you who would win,” Rouge commented, looking over her shoulder at the decorated outdoor arena. “Sorry, hun. We’d love to stay and chat all day, but Knuckles needs to save it for the balloons, and I can’t leave until he gets it done because of some silly promise I made to ‘help’. Good luck in finding your bestie though.” 

“Yeah, man, good luck,” said Knuckles, but Tails chased them down the steps of the altar, a few balloons spinning in his tailwind. 

“Well, I might be in a hurry, but I don’t think Sonic would be too upset if I took a few minutes to help a friend out. Do you guys want help with your balloons? Or at least let me know what this is all about? I might be able to give you some suggestions?” he asked. 

Knuckles refused to look back at the sad pile of un-blown balloons covering his favorite sitting stump like a load of unwashed laundry. “Fine. I’ll tell you, but you have to swear not to laugh.” 

“I swear,” said Tails. The baffled look that Rouge sent him from behind wasn’t lost upon the perceptive fox. Whatever he was about to learn was of utmost secrecy. Knuckles inhaled to prepare himself. 

“I—am creating a backup plan for Angel Island,” he said. “In case the Master Emerald goes missing, and it starts to fall again.” 

Rouge and Tails both blinked. 

“You’re saying that you’re going to keep the island afloat with…balloons?” Tails asked for clarification. 

“You heard me,” Knuckles replied. “But I don’t need or want your expertise with this one. I’ve made up my mind. You see, balloons are a cheaper investment and easier to manage than any of those techno-gizmos you having flying around—” 

Tails threw his hands out in disbelief. “But Knuckles! I could easily make magnetic levitation support discs that can—” 

“N–ope!” Knuckles threw his hand out to stop him there. “I don’t want any whatcham’callit doohickies or wizard gadgets you’ve got. Last time you sent one of your screens up here, it showed up with a picture of you and Sonic and I couldn’t get you guys to shut up, or make it go away. I chased it all around the island before I finally got a-hold of it and tossed it over the edge.” 

“So that’s what happened to my Facetime Flier,” Tails muttered. 

“—So, that’s why I’m deciding to do things the old-fashioned way. Pure, raw, airpower. Balloons. See, I was thinking that if a hot air balloon could do it, why couldn’t I? With enough balloons, I’m sure I could keep this island off the ground.” 

Tails was moved by his determination, even if the estimates were pure speculation, borderline fictitious. But who was he to judge? They’ve all beaten impossible odds before, and at the very least, it was a temporary hobby that would help Knuckles whittle away the loneliness for a couple of days. With Rouge cheering him on, he would have all the support he needed too. 

Tails finally let out a soft laugh and scratched the back of his head. “My bad, Knuckles. I shouldn’t have doubted you. Guess I’ll leave you to it then?” 

“Sounds good. And don’t forget about what I told you to tell Sonic either,” said Knuckles. “Seriously. That best-of-the-best mission should be one of his top priorities.” 

“You got it!” Tails laughed, his feet lifting with his airborne backside. “Good luck with your balloons!” 

Knuckles nodded, watching him go until he disappeared into the clouds. Then, he turned to Rouge, who was still shaking off the shock from that entire interaction. 

“Impressive,” she admired. “I really thought he would figure it out, but you did well. I didn’t know you had it in you to think on your feet.” 

Knuckles grinned, intentionally brushing against her arm as he passed by on his way to the arena. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”