Chapter 6 - Waking Up

''Hmph! It won't budge at all!''

Pushing against the entrance, the blue hedgehog kept leaning against it in hope that it would open by some convenient miracle. He didn't bother figuring out if it was actually closed shut entirely or just rusted to the point of uselessness. The building seemed to be enveloped into a single gigantic layer of iron, hidden behind an entangled garden of vines and moss that made it its home in the past few lonely years. The two hedgehogs weren't able to find the real opening anywhere due to the amount of overgrown greenery, so they had to satisfy themselves with the backdoor entrance, which like the rest of the factory appeared impossible to open. The windows were humongous and significantly darkened as to prevent any insight into it… or hide something from the outside world. Placed in a particularly random order, most of them were strengthened to withstand even the worst of storms or sudden attacks.

''Are you still bothering with that?'' Shadow sighed harshly when he returned from his search, only to realize he would've had better luck searching for a needle in a haystack. He left the Blue Blur alone by the door when he became aware of the fact that his rival wasn't going to move away from it. That is, until he got some results out of persistent pushing. Since he was determinate enough to get it open, the older mammal finally managed to breathe out on his own without Sonic bumping into the scenery the entire time.

His younger counterpart didn't even turn around and merely continued with his current irritation, ''I don't see you doing anything,'' he growled out with an impatient tone and pushed against the metallic doors one more time before losing his breath entirely.

Sonic brushed his gloves against each other and turned to the black hedgehog with a predictable question, ''Anything?''

''Nothing,'' Shadow's answer was as swift and clear as always, but no help at all.

Pouting sullenly, the Blue Blur started tapping his foot against the grassy ground, ''Geez… this is our only chance to get inside. If I could just…'' positioning himself against the metallic entrance, he kept pushing against it regardless of the situation he was presented with.

In the meantime, the older hedgehog only managed to roll his eyes at his meaningless endurance, ''I still don't see why is it so important for you to get inside,'' his suspicions managed to arise once more.

''I came here with high hopes,'' the emerald eyed hero replied after a long pause he had taken during his struggle with the door, ''I'm not leaving until I find something worthwhile in this place.''

His initial excitement was beginning to be torn to shreds by a massive letdown this island represented for the past day. He wasn't used to such unfulfilling adventures in the past, especially considering the blue hedgehog volunteered for this mission. Sonic could've given up and searched for another more interesting location to scavenge about, but it was already too late as he pretty much refused to budge away even an inch from the building.

As far as the black mammal could understand, his rival came looking for an adventure, yet it looked like they were both going to leave with nothing more but faint memories of an unusual greenish silence and outright dullness, ''You clearly sound disappointed. I don't think anything here is enough to make up for it.''

This ruined city was the only thing that managed to spice up the massive and confusing jungle, but at the same time, this was possibly the most underwhelming discovery ever found in the past century. Shadow doubted there was anything here that would make him suddenly realize that this place might not be so bad after all… It was clearly impossible by this point. All that was missing was a gigantic yawn to accompany it.

''That's why you gotta be persistent!'' the blue one chuckled out lightly.

Shadow folded his arms while his head tilted to the side, ''You mean pushy.''

''I like persistent better,'' Sonic blurted out with the last of his breath before taking another break, but as it was in his nature, he continued to be stubborn about it. He could pretty much feel that his darker counterpart was glaring right into his blue spines, but he was going to try anyway before announcing the whole idea was completely pointless. Sonic could've asked the black hedgehog for help, but sometimes there were things he preferred to do on his own. He wasn't as strong as Shadow when it came to a full blown physical strength, since he had little interest in fighting outside his spin dash and homing attacks that have made him remain as his worthy ally for years. Boring but practical.

''Wait… I heard a creak…'' after getting his attention back, the blue one flattened his ear against the surface and pushed lightly, just to confirm he heard it correctly. Looks like his persistence did something good after all, as he started forcing the door aside with all his might.

Tired seeing the blue hedgehog trying to get them open, Shadow nudged his finger at him to indicate that he wanted him out of the way. Sonic stepped away with a pouting appearance as the Ultimate Lifeform positioned himself on the far left, ''Simultaneously now…'' the older mammal replied as he waited for the blue annoyance, ''On the count of three… one, two, three!''

The two pushed against the metallic surface, struggling for a few seconds until they finally got it off the ground. Once the door finally managed to move aside for an inch, the Blue Blur started rejoicing sooner than usual, ''Jackpot!'' and after a few well positioned pushes against the rusted doors, they managed to pry it open just enough for the two to possibly squeeze through with some effort.

Shadow removed himself to the side, leaving his hand open as if letting his counterpart to take the first step inside. The other was slightly confused, ''What?''

''After you,'' the crimson eyed agent pointed it out, even though it was obvious what he was showing, ''It was your idea after all.''

Snorting at his darker counterpart, the Fastest Thing Alive slightly rolled his eyes and looked through the gap. He sighed lightly, as the inside seemed as dark as the night they had to spend here. Since this really wasn't the time to be backing out, Sonic decided to squeeze past the door.

Luckily, the blue hedgehog had the ability to contort his limbs and body more than an average Mobian, making it easier to slip through tiny spaces like this. It was a useful ability in daily life, although pretty much required for him and others for the trademark spin attack by transforming into a destructive ball. Using your own body as a weapon against sturdy machines didn't sound like an exceptionally brilliant idea, but it was the most convenient one for him, especially hedgehogs. Curling up into a buzz saw was a standard yet dangerous attack, but luckily he learned to adjust the spine's muscle intensity to prevent accidentally cutting or impaling someone outside of battles. Only during fights were they actually sharp enough to hurt anything, while Sonic let them sway around in the wind completely harmless until further use.

The place he ended up was completely dark, although the blue one's eyes managed to adjust to the faint light which was always a pleasant welcome in these kinds of situations. It was merely a small hallway with a pair of stairs leading upwards into the building, ''It's only up from now on,'' Sonic remarked as he noticed his rival arriving through the gap as well, ''I hope it's not rusted down like that one was.''

He went on without Shadow, reaching up a flight of stairs quickly. The blue hedgehog still had to search the surface more thoroughly to find the handle due to poor visibility in the area. Once he found it, the older mammal realized that Sonic was hesitating and only stood there for a moment. It was just a second, but when you're one of the fastest living beings in the world, you start to notice delays such as these. It's especially noticeable when you're confronted with another speedster type such as yourself.

With a quiet breath finally out of his system, the Blue Blur casually turned the handle. Remarkably, it actually worked for once, ''Hey… that was actually pretty easy,'' he pushed them inside with an annoying screech echoing through the entire building.

The room they stepped in was at least marginally more exciting than the previous one, but not by much. The only thing this place had to offer was a more bearable investigation, what with an actual lighting this time coming through the tinted windows. As interesting the building looked, its insides didn't match up to it. It was almost completely empty, with dark iron walls covering every square inch of this bleak space. You could argue this was merely a lobby or some type of a common room, but why did it have to be so dull and lifeless? It seemed like a waste of space, although the speculation of it being a factory was still a little too vague to get the point across.

''Whoa… it's even duller than the outside,'' Sonic could barely believe his eyes. After investing a lot of his time searching through the silent but at least somewhat colorful jungle and then trying to open a door for many minutes straight, this was starting to get massively disappointing on his part. They finally managed to find something more interesting than a rundown town, but they could've at least made it look a little more cheerful.

The black hedgehog caught up with him immediately, ''What did you expect?''

''It's supposed to be a factory,'' the younger one yelped out, with the older one mildly nodding his head to indicate negativity. He only said it looked like a factory, not that it actually was. Sonic started to twirl around with the most astonished expression on his head, ''Where are the easily breakable… uh, stuff making machines?''

''The outer appearance must've been intentional for some reason,'' Shadow thought for a moment, ''Besides, we're barely one room in.''

''Two rooms, technically speaking,'' the blue hedgehog corrected him laughably and without further ado, ran all the way to the other side before the black one could say anything in return. He skated after him, stopping before the only door in this entire room. Ridiculous, considering the size of it.

Not wanting to stay in the blandest space he has ever seen in his life, Sonic quickly rushed through them with no hesitation, ''Okay, let's see what's hiding behind door number 2,'' he announced playfully and stared at the ceiling that managed to be slightly more interesting at this moment.

However, it didn't help him feel any better, ''Ding, ding, ding… boring!''

The blue hedgehog thought it was impossible, but it was just as equally bleak as the previous one. Unexpectedly, the Blue Blur visibly shivered immensely when a recognizable thought flashed through his mind. This is what Eggman's vision of a future world usually looked like… a gray dystopian backdrop. He couldn't imagine anyone living in a mess like that. Sonic didn't know why or how the inhabitants found places like this to be a perfect settlement.

Shadow however was more or less feeling right at home… well, almost. Even Space Colony ARK was livelier than anything he has seen in this place and that was saying something. The only breathtaking thing he could see from up there was the blue planet and millions of distant stars shining onto them through thousands of years before, even though some of them might actually be completely dead at this point. The only noticeable different thing between this and the previous room was a great circular gap in the middle of the room. Looking down into it, there was no bottom to be seen from this height.

''Heh… it's a Sparta pit'', he noted and made an awkward kicking move over it.

Shadow wouldn't get the reference even if he tried. Seeing the black one raise his eye ridge was enough for the blue hedgehog to reconsider his next reply, ''Nevermind. I'll tell you some other time. Next room!''

Sonic dashed toward the other side quickly. Considering how excited he seemed about investigating the mysterious building earlier, the Blue Blur now looked like he couldn't wait for the entire tour to be finally over, although he could see why it was like that in the first place. Shadow sighed heavily at himself for going along with his plan as he was expecting nothing more but a huge letdown all over the place.

The Fastest Thing Alive literally flew through the entrance and started cracking his knuckles with some vague amusement on his face, ''Now we're talking! This actually looks tolerable. Conveyer belts, my favorite!'' for once it managed to shift into something more exciting. It didn't excuse the ever present grayness of it but it was somewhat different after all.

''Would you stop jumping on those?'' the sound the manufactures started making under Sonic's shoes were a pain to listen to.

''… why is it so quiet?'' the Blue Blur shivered lightly as he crouched down, just as the low temperature began settling onto them. The only sounds echoing through the room in this very moment were Shadow's footsteps and nothing else. However, it wasn't until now the building started to resemble a factory after all. Huge conveyer belts worthy of the mad Doctor himself led into the enclosed walls or up into curiously shaped tubes, except they were usually more elaborate and full of spikes. One could only wonder what was happening here in the past, although some of its more confusing inventions would make OSHA have a field day with this particular place.

With a grumbling noise out of his system, Sonic leaned on his folded hands and started getting annoyed at the silence that's been running about for ages, ''Ever since we came here there hasn't been a decent noise. It's deserted, but c'mon…''

He eventually jumped off the belt, holding his head and grunting out childishly, stomping toward the next visible door right away. The black hedgehog was quick to question him, ''Where are you going?''

''Somewhere…'' he replied in a higher tone, ''I can't stand this anymore! I need something interesting to happen.''

''Wait a second…'' Shadow stopped him in the middle of his alleged yawn, having finally heard a suspicious sound somewhere in their closeness. Although he firstly believed it was just a figment of his imagination, as soon the emerald eyed hero stopped in his place to listen up more closely, it emerged again from just about anywhere in the vicinity. It was muffled and silent, travelling through the walls like a ghost that wasn't meant to be disturbed after all these years. Twitching his ears slightly, the older mammal approached the wall from where the sounds originally started, having grown more omnipresent as the scene progressed.

Sonic walked over to his counterpart on tips of his shoes, as if afraid to make any more noise than it was necessary, ''What was that?''

''You've been waiting for a noise,'' the crimson eyed agent pointed at the wall, ''Wish granted.''

Chuckling slightly, the blue one scratched the back of his head with a seldom embarrassed look on his face, ''You know what, I changed my mind. I liked the silence better.''

''Where is it coming from?'' touching the metallic surface, Shadow trailed it all the way toward where it must've disappeared to and eventually flattened one of his ears against the wall to listen to it more carefully, ''Or better yet… where is it going?''

As collected he managed to be at this point, even now any source of strange sounds that weren't his or Sonic's was generally a surprise for a quiet place like this. While silence and darkness usually managed to draw a more ominous atmosphere than a horrifying scream out of nowhere, having finally heard some noises created a tenser situation in their case. It made him wonder just what the hell was really going on here. Did they accidentally step into a haunted house?

Sonic initially drowned them out, as they were gone for now and knew they will probably never come back. Nearing the door again, he reached out for the handle with a halfhearted grin, only to stop stiff in his place as a cold shiver trailed down his spine. It seemed like it coming from the room he was only a second from opening, ''Sh… Shadow…''

Having heard him call his name, the black hedgehog turned around, ''What?''

''There's…'' with a widened appearance, the Blue Blur noticed he was still holding onto the suddenly cold handle and literally jumped away from the door in a disturbed manner. The Fastest Thing Alive managed to compose himself, but the fact stood firmly that he wasn't about to return anywhere near the door, ''… something beyond that door.''

''Why don't you open it?'' although he could clearly see that his blue counterpart was quite startled, that didn't stop his from testing him out.

With an awkward smirk, he step sided onto a safer distance, ''I'll… leave that to you.''

''You're closer to it,'' Shadow folded his arms and looked at him in the most bored out fashion he managed to portray. He managed to snort in his mind once he realized just how incredibly scared his younger counterpart was looking with every passing second.

As he presumed, the blue hedgehog wasn't going to do it after all, ''Old people first…'' even with that kind of hypocritical grin plastered all over his façade, he won't be able to hide the fact that he's too panicky to even move correctly, courtesy of an almost unnoticeable but admittedly creepy sound behind the walls.

He decided not to beat around the bush any longer, ''Sonic, if you're going to be a scaredy cat…''

''I'm not!'' the other hedgehog yelped at him with a pointer finger, ''I just don't want to open it.''

Smirking at his younger rival, the Ultimate Lifeform approached the door himself and as he did, the sound managed to return once in a while as if to intimidate them one last time, ''Leave it to me then. Why don't you go and hide under that table in case you start to scream?''

''Nuh uh, I don't need to. I'm staying right here,'' Sonic defied any sort of laughable comments against him and pulled himself into a pose that originally belonged to the black hedgehog himself, although that was nothing new by this point in time. The two supersonic hedgehogs constantly plagiarized the other's moves out of a subconscious reflex as to establish who was more worthy of them. It was a good thing they didn't trademark them or they might as well start suing one another.

''Suit yourself,'' the G.U.N. agent couldn't see him, but he could feel that the Blue Blur behind his back moved a few steps backwards just in case.

Grabbing a hold of the cold handle, the noise returned for a short while, creeping towards them from beyond whatever remained in the room. As much he had a bad feeling about it, the black hedgehog wasn't about to back off like his counterpart did just earlier and went with it all the way, whatever may happen with him in the process. Taking a few good breaths, Shadow turned the handle downwards and literally threw the door aside into the next unexplored place as he quickly switch to his attack pose to strike down anything that would come out and get in his way.

Almost amazed, aside from the annoyingly screeching noise the rusted door provided, nothing came out of it, which at the moment was a gigantic relief to him, ''See? It's nothing,'' he replied with a condescending tone, ''You can stop freaking out now.''

Just when the blue mammal thought it was safe to speak again, the muffled sound returned, this time from another direction entirely. He started spinning around his axle again as if to determine the exact location of it and pointed into several directions as it moved around with every living breathing second. It still confused them both as the younger one yelped, ''But it's still doing that… this place is screwing with us!''

He couldn't stand it anymore. This was getting weird and he was pretty determinate not to stick around this place anymore as he started sweating along with twitchy fingers, ''You know… maybe it wasn't a good idea coming here after all.''

''Sonic?'' he wasn't sure anymore if this was actually his blue counterpart he was talking to at the moment. The Fastest Thing Alive looked visibly bored and yawning all over the place every so often while watching a horror movie, but cringed and screamed like a girl at the mere thought of reading a sappy romance novel or hell, watching one with his eyes wide open. Ever since they came to this island, he started to act somewhat abnormal in a way that was completely foreign to the black mammal. Even if he tried to hide it behind that mocking grin of his, Shadow could see there was something very wrong with him. He wasn't the kind of hedgehog to show fear of any sort, so why was he freaking out now?

''I'll just…'' Sonic tried to reply with an awkward chuckle before he blurted out the rest of his sentence as quickly as possible, ''I just need some fresh air! See ya!''

As soon he turned the other way to quickly skip back toward the exact same door they came through in the first place, the black hedgehog quickly dashed over to him and grabbed his wrist to prevent him from leaving. The force of Sonic's starting acceleration almost dragged Shadow along with him much to his surprise. He did manage to hold him for long enough for the other to finally realize that he wasn't moving anywhere due to his rival's meddling.

''You're not going anywhere,'' he stated firmly and tightened his hold on him. To get to the bottom of this mess, the older hedgehog wasn't about to allow him to leave this building without any form of reasonable explanation, ''It's because of you we're here in the first place. You better start acting serious about this and do something useful for once.''

''Who're you to decide that for me?'' as he quickly decided, Sonic wasn't going to put up with any of that from the Ultimate Lifeform.

He swiftly twirled around with a displeasured look on his face and tried to pull his hand away from Shadow's grasp, although he already knew he wasn't going to let him go. When any of them decided to do something, they were pretty much set to finish the job, even if that meant treating your current ally as a child. Even when he put his entire body into work, he only managed to move the black hedgehog for a slight inch, pretty much showing that his darker counterpart wasn't fooling around with him anymore. The younger one was thinking about spin dashing to get out of this particular situation, but taking his power into consideration and the way he'd have to do it in the first place, it was more likely the Blue Blur would end up with a broken arm which wouldn't do him any good at this point.

''Would it kill you if you cooperated at least once in your life?'' the older one was slowly losing his patience, ''Don't make me drag you around instead.''

''I'd like to see you try,'' the grinning hero already indicated that he wasn't going to lose this argument over anything.

Tired of seeing Sonic taking the lead to this point, Shadow decided to go to extreme measures and fulfill his dare anyway. It surprised the blue hedgehog who still refused to budge away from his place and hoped the floor's friction against his shoes would manage to stop him, although little to no avail as it turned out in the end. Like he predicted, the black mammal was pretty good at keeping his balance, even when the annoyance at his back somehow tried to twist out of the situation by any means possible, ''Wait, wait, wait! Shadow, stop!''

As the blue one held backwards to try to counter the black hedgehog's attempts to pull him forward, his rival exhaled heavily once he turned around toward him again. He most absolutely didn't let go of his wrist when he replied with a pretty obvious question, ''You're a stubborn brat, you know that?''

''Comes with the package deal, what do you want from me?'' he replied sarcastically with a pouted appearance, still locking his face with the immensely pissed off red oval eyes. Sonic didn't notice it until now, but his wrist was beginning to ache from the grip that seemed to tighten sometime during the eventual dragging. He had a feeling everything will become much worse in just a few seconds of this heated conversation.

''Responsibility, something you probably never heard in your life,'' the Ultimate Lifeform had enough of his childish antics and rebel attitude the blue hedgehog displayed on a daily basis. This would've been okay, if it weren't for the fact that they were stranded in the middle of a uncharted island and now they were inside an unknown building with no way to figure out any of the stuff that boggled both of them.

It seemed like the Blue Blur was ready to bargain for his hand and freedom back as he formed a smirk on his face, ''Let me go and I'll reconsider it.''

''So you can run off and make a fool out of me?'' he was expecting to hear something similar from his blue counterpart, but he wasn't going to listen in on his demands. That atrociously stupid pet name was one thing, but this was a different event altogether. Although the black mammal knew that the emerald eyed hero rarely ran away from a fight, he could never be too sure of it, especially in this situation. Until now, he still hasn't loosened his grip, ''Not a chance.''

Regardless of all that was happening at the moment, the younger of the two didn't lose his condescending grin at all, ''And you say I'm the stubborn one? I'm not the one trying to dislocate somebody's shoulder!''

As much the Blue Blur hated to admit it, the other hedgehog was beginning to get very brutal at his wrist without even noticing. At least his obvious plea seemed to work for the time being, as the older one finally loosened his grip over his wrist, but kept him trapped just in case. Sonic was actually surprised at first, although he still appeared displeasured over it. The blue hedgehog replied with a cheerfully sardonic disposition, ''Gee, thanks. How about giving me back my entire hand?''

Shadow's answer was quick, ''No.''

''Gah, you!'' the older one had a bit of an annoying smirk on him when the blue hedgehog started struggling for his freedom again, even putting his foot against the Ultimate Lifeform's chest as if to push off him somehow. That was actually a minor irritation to Shadow as Sonic started grunting again, ''What are you, a lead wall?''

''Huh?'' the black one managed to hear a different sound effect regardless of the whole commotion with the Blue Blur, tilting his head to the side. Eventually even the blue hedgehog realized there was something else in the air that was now completely foreign to both of them.

And out of nowhere, the cascade effect was in motion.

''What is that!?''

XXX

''I hope they're alright…'' the yellow furred pilot wondered with doubtfulness. It's been a while since he landed on the nearest civilized land, although he spent most of the time checking out the Tornado for any abnormalities, waiting for the fuel to fill up or take a short nap. However, Tails was too concerned for the two hedgehogs' safety back at the incognito island to sleep with no qualms. One thing he was more than glad about was the remarkably short distance between the landmasses. It wasn't going to take nearly as much time than it would've had if he flied back to Mystic Ruins. The plane was fully examined and refilled in only a couple of hours, something that managed to be mildly encouraging. Climbing into his biplane and finally taking off, he was feeling bad for leaving them all alone. Sonic obviously didn't mind it, although admittedly he did expect more backlash from Shadow than he received at first.

''Folks, seems like this is your lucky day! Another sunny day all over the country and not a cloud in sight! The waves are high, the beaches are bursting with life and the hotels are running out of rooms! Some of you might want to hurry up if you want to spend an exciting summer down by the Emerald Coast! Now excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I'll be hitting the waves as well! This has been SSRC with your-

Tails turned off the radio when it started crackling, indicating he was going out of range. If he calculated correctly, the yellow fox was going to arrive back sometime during the sunrise, take it or leave an hour or two. In the meantime, he was wondering about the recent events that took place since he had the time to think this stuff through. His first thought was Sonic of all things possible. He just couldn't get the idea out of his head there was something wrong with him. Then again, Shadow could've been also correct in saying that the blue one was there for the kicks, yet their last conversation still echoed through his mind.

The black hedgehog was probably up to something… or at least had an idea what was going on, something even he couldn't figure out. The two tailed pilot could only hope it wasn't going to end with the two fighting it out again, since while Shadow seemed perfectly in control of his behavior, sometimes his blue friend was the only thing that managed to turn him aggressive instantly. It wouldn't be a big deal, but Sonic did actually enjoy teasing his rivals and others alike right in front of them with no thinking at all. That's how much pride the Blue Blur had as he wasn't afraid of consequences his attitude would bring him.

His second thoughts were about the mission itself. Sure, it sounded like a G.U.N. mission to him and possibly to Shadow as well, while for Sonic it was an attempt to recover the adventures he'd been missing out for a while now. It was obvious it could've gone to just about anyone, but the President seemed to call for the emerald eyed hero this time around. Or did his friend go there on his own decision? Or was it coincidence altogether? Trying to figure that out only gave him more reasons to worry about it. Tails tried not to think too much as he fixed the altitude and hoped everything would reveal itself before anything serious happened. That is, if there was anything in the background at all. Maybe they were being suspicious with no reason. Who knew? All of the options were still open at this point.

Grunting lightly, the pilot turned toward the location he was searching for. And… that was weird. The more he approached his destination, the more clouds obstructed his sight. While the radio report said nothing about the weather in the middle of the ocean, it was safe to assume the sky back home was still fine and dandy. As he flied through the white blanket, the blue sky and the immaculate clouds began darkening. Tails was getting confused and it wasn't until a strong flash across the sky finally broke the silence around him, ''What!?''

Scaring the fox entirely, he almost lost control as he was flung to the side. When he managed to turn the Tornado back on track, he finally realized he was in the middle of a very bad weather mood swing.

''Where did it come from this quickly? The weather forecast said nothing about storms,'' the oceans were by far the most unpredictable place in the world. For a moment, he must've believed he was dreaming, but the clouds were actually rotating around the location where the island was supposed to be. That didn't even start to make any logical sense. Another lightning flash brightened the night, with Tails wincing and almost hiding his head between his legs. After yet another strike the rain started pouring immensely, as if grumbles and flashes themselves weren't bad enough already. The visibility dropped significantly, crippling him in the most sensitive of areas he used during flying.

Constantly distracted by lightning, the pilot quickly reached for his headphones when he still could, ''What should I do? The line is dead and I can't contact them…''

He was getting distressed at the situation that would most likely end badly for him. Not only was he deathly scared of lightning, Tails was now left completely on the mercy of the storm. That was his death sentence if he was going to stick around this place any longer. The pilot's mind was scrambled up with various ideas on how to handle it, but he couldn't even decide anymore what to do, say or think for that matter.

However, he did manage to reply to the empty air as if they could hear him, ''Please, forgive me… I don't know what to do.''

Tails could only hope that the two hedgehogs were safe. There was no way he could approach the land without crashing into the ocean on his way down and end his life prematurely. The storm was getting worse by a minute. The two tailed fix had to make a decision quickly.

''Sonic, Shadow! I'll come back for you, I promise!''

That is, if the island will still be here upon his arrival.