About two hours passed and the Tornado was running low on fuel. I pulled my GPS out and looked for the nearest landing strip or field.

"Really? THAT far?" The nearest strip was about 30 miles away, and I only had enough fuel for ten miles. I looked down for any hope of landing this hunk of metal, and saw a cornfield below me.
"That'll do just fine." I smiled and turned the engine off to glide down quietly. I nose dived about 200 meters down, and pulled up to land softly.

"OH NO." I got ambushed and attacked by maize as I set the Tornado down. Once the plane stopped, I got out and examined the damage done.

"Well, looks like the aileron is cracked.."  The red paint was chipped and worn, and Sonic's name was gone. "Well, that's convenient..." I said in my head.

"WHO'S THERE?!" A random person yelled.

"Or so I thought," I said as I crouched down. It was a raccoon, with a white tank top and jeans, along with a shotgun. "It's just me!" I yelled so I didn't surprise him and risk getting shot.

"Show yer'self!" He said in a country accent. I walked out, slowly, with my hands up. He was in shock apparently.

"Well, well... If it ain't the famed Sonic..." He said, as he narrowed his eyes.

What? No! "I'm sorry, I'm not Sonic, I'm actually Tails. I used to be his sidekick?" I put my hands down, and that maniac shot a round right next to me.

"I knew that! What did'cha think? I was raised in a barn?!" He said as he put his gun down.

Geez, even more crazier.

A woman and two kids came out the screen door of a nearby old farmhouse. The woman looked pregnant.

"Papa, papa! What happened?" The little girl said to the racoon. She looked at me and held his hand. "Who's the fluffy fox?" She hid her face behind her teddy bear.

"No way!" The little boy said, running up to me.

That's a first. No one's ever greeted me like that. Not even a kid!

"That's Sonic!" He tugged on my fur.

I stand corrected... I looked at the father and motioned my head at the kid.

"Huh? Oh! Daryl, that's not Sonic buddy, that's his sidekick!" The father kneeled down next to him, putting his hand on the kid's left shoulder.

"AWW.." He looked down and walked away, kicking a few rocks.

"Let's get down to business. Why are you here?" The raccoon put his shotgun right in my face. I pointed towards my plane.

"Plane ran out of fuel, sir," I moved aside so he could see it. "I was on my way somewhere, but that's about thirty miles out."  He looked back at me, and then the kids.

"Where to..?" He looked at me in suspense.

"An old house of mine." I lied to him, I had NO clue where I needed to go now that I left Sonic. He lowered his gun and put his safety on.

"How much do you need?" He said with a sigh. Guess he wanted me out of here. I couldn't blame him to be honest.

"Aboooouut... 12 Gallons?" I guessed. I was too tired to do the math in my head.

"Done and done, you'll get yer' fuel tomorrow." He said as he walked toward the porch. "Oh," He stopped, "You, yer' sleepin' in the barn." He pointed towards a nice, freshly painted red barn.

Fine by me. I walked toward the red barn and opened the sliding doors.

"MOO." A cow looked up from her feed bucket at me.

"WOAH!" I jumped back. "Hey there, big fella." I walked up to pet it.

"Careful," The raccoon said behind me, "She's a kicker!"

I looked at the cow and stepped back. "Oh.." The cow looked at me... Menacingly it felt like.

The raccoon put his hand out. "My name's Carl." I grabbed and shook his hand.

"My name's Miles, but my friends.. Called me Tails.." I looked down and drooped my two tails. Carl bit his bottom lip.

"Breakup?" He looked at me and sat down on a haystack, and motioned me to sit.

I sat on a green tractor. "Yeah, I guess.." I really don't want to talk about this, but since I'm a trespasser, I better cooperate with the guy.

"What happened, if you don't mind me askin'?" Carl leaned back on the wall. The cow mooed and walked past us to eat some hay left on the ground. I twiddled my thumbs, taking a deep breath before looking at him.

"So every mission I go on with Sonic, he ALWAYS leaves me in the dust, especially his dust. And it's been like that for almost four years." I started tearing up again.

Carl nodded his head and looked down at his feet. "That sounds hard, I'll give ya' that, but have ye' asked him WHY he does that? Everything happens for a reason?" He looked back up at me and stood up to pet his cow as I wiped the tears off my cheek.

Huh. This guy's attitude changed a lot. I got down and leaned on the tractor, thinking whether or not Carl was right, even if there was a reason for Sonic being an ass.

"I tried once, but he ignored me." I kicked at the ground.

"Well, ask him aga-" He was cut off when his wife opened the doors. She looked at me and back at him.

"Dinner's ready hun!" She looked at me and gave a warm smile. I smiled back so I could take whatever worries she had about me off her mind.

"Thanks, sweetie," Carl gave her a kiss, "We'll be right there." The wife walked out and we waited to see if we were alone.

"Moo..." The cow scared us both, since it was so quiet.

"Jesus god almighty.." Carl said, shaking his head.

Guess he's easy to scare. We both walked out and went to the house.

It smelled rustic, like old wood. There was a table next to the door that had some keys, and pictures. One of the pictures was a little girl, unfamiliar to me. Carl led me to the kitchen and nudged his head, signaling me to sit. I sat down at a table with turkey, some veggies, and-

"Some taters', heck yeah!" Carl clapped his hands together and sat down, tying a napkin around his neck. The little boy sat next to him, immediately reaching for the turkey. "Daryl, manners!" Carl slapped Daryl's hand lightly.

I laughed quietly and waited for everyone to get a plate before getting myself one. The wife and the little girl sat down next to me, also getting a plate.

"So, where are you from, Miles?" The wife asked me.

Uh oh, time to be social. "Well, I was raised in Knothole by my father, after Robotnik took over Mobotropolis. Then my father passed and sometime after that, Sonic took me in." I put a spoonful of mashed potatoes in my mouth to shut me up.

The family remained quiet the rest of the time... Akwarrrrrrd.. I took another bite. After dinner, I helped put up leftovers.

"-Probably the most deadliest attack EVER in the city of New Vancouver." I raised my left ear up to the sound of the TV while doing the dishes. I stopped and walked over into the living room, and turned up the volume.

"Holy crap..." I said in absolute shock. The news was on, showing smoke and first responder vehicles everywhere.

"Eye witnesses report black creatures attacking people in swarms, leaving behind absolutely nothing left in their path." The screen switched to a survivor covered in blood.

"T-they came at night! I couldn't see them," The survivor began crying.. "I couldn't see them..." He sobbed before the screen switched back to the reporter. I looked around to make sure the kids weren't watching.

"This was a horrible disaster, and we were not prepared or warned whatsoever. Where was Sonic when this all happened?" The news reporter added. I paced back and forth.

If I wanted to prove myself, this could be just it. But there's no way I could stand a chance against those... Things. "It's whatever though, hopefully that's the last of it." I turned off the TV and wiped my eyes in exhaustion. Carl came in a short time after.

"You okay? You look like ye' just saw a ghost!" He chuckled a bit. "Well, the barns all set for you, you can go in there anytime ye' want." He patted me on the back and went to go tuck his kids in. I walked outside and stood there, enjoying the starry night sky. The plane looked worse than last time I saw it.

"Dang it." I sighed in frustration. "I'll fix it later."
I walked into the barn and looked back outside, making sure those monsters weren't nearby. "Eh."
I shut the doors and laid myself down, covering myself with my two tails. The cow was sound asleep, and soon, I was too.

...Or so I thought...

A massive wind blew against the barn doors, making them shake and bang, scaring me awake.
I looked around, and the cow was gone.

"Hell fire!" I stood up and stepped back, scared for my life. All of a sudden, everything went quiet.

The barn doors then tore open, and a bright flash appeared, blinding me. I looked harder and I immediately recognized it: The yellow orb.

Everything around me started floating, and little bolts of electricity flowed through the tractor.

"What are you?!" I yelled in fear. I stepped forward, trying to be the brave fox I wanted to be. As soon as I took another step, images flooded my head. A guy in armor, holding a sword, and then a young girl in the stars.

The orb raced towards me, and then...

...Nothing.

END OF CHAPTER TWO, THE GUARDIAN