"You are such an idiot, Blue." Lil jotted something on her notepad. "Coming here, once a week, to get your licence to run within city limits. You're reckless! It's insane to think that we're going to allow 你 to do that! You're a safety hazard to innocent bystanders! We do we even have this conversation, Blue!"

"My name is Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic gritted his teeth. "S-O-N-I-C!" He sat in the swirly chair with his feet on the desk.

"Whatever." Lil snapped.

"You just gotta let me run again!" Sonic pleaded. "I mean, it's been years since I've done anything heroic 或者 actually run at the speed of sound!"

Lil scribbled something with red ink in her notepad now. "I believe we've had a strong case of Deja Vu." She rolled her eyes. "Five years ago, when 你 were chasing Dr. Robotnik-"

"Dr. Eggman," Sonic corrected.

"Fine. Dr. Eggman. 你 chased him into one of our quarries. We found him. And, if 你 remember correctly, I was the one who arrested him. NOT YOU!"

"Hey!" Sonic's voice became obnoxious. "No one gave me a pair of handcuffs. I would've done it if-"

"If what?!" Lil's voice became cold. Her expression gained the DARK edge due to her curse. "Honestly! It was your fault in the first place that he escaped from our grasp when 你 just had to visit his jail cell!"

"Oh come on!" Sonic rolled his eyes. "How was I supposed to know that he built a bomb that was not only voice activated, but also was triggered 由 MY body heat!"

"That still means you're responsible. He vanished. He's been missing for 5 years. And now, 你 are useless."

Sonic banged his hands on the table. Anger was written all over his face. "Excuse me?" He glared.

"You're useless to us. 你 are too reckless, too cocky, and not the best team player anymore. Plus, 你 live in your mother's basement."

"Rent's high, 你 know that!"

"Whatever." Lil had no intention of continuing the same conversation that they always had. "You're dismissed. And if I was you," she leaned in so their noses touched, "I would never come back again. Good-day."

***

"HEY SONIC!" Tails ran up to the depressed hedgehog who was sitting on the side of the road. They were in Future City, Earth. A dark sky loomed above, threatening to rain. "Guess what?!" He adjusted his new pair of glasses. "I was nominated 'Inventor of the Year'! Isn't that just, like, awesome!" His 13-year-old quirkiness made his twin bushy tails 摇摆, 秋千 back and forth.

"Wow, Tails." Sonic's voice had an abnormal hint of mellow that was almost never there. "What's the magazine say? 'Miles Prower: 狐狸 Prodigy'?"

Tails sat down on the curb 下一个 to his best friend. "They turned 你 down again, huh?"

"What else!" Sonic snapped. He caught himself only a split-second afterward. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. It's just, well, Lil happens to be the rudest police captain in the world! Didn't even give me the chance!" He shuddered. "She even brought up my living in Mom's basement."

"She does that all the time." Tails wiped his glasses. "I mean, she maybe has a reason why she's refusing to allow 你 on the force. Maybe she's hurting."

"She does a good job of hiding it then, Tails."

"HEY GUYS!" Knuckles the Echidna, Treasure Hunter AND Successful Martial Arts Teacher, ran over to his formal teammates. "Guess what!" His face glowed a brighter red than normal. He looked cross.

"The Master 翠, 翡翠 broke again and 你 need to find all the pieces?" Sonic rolled his eyes.

"He's just having a bad day, Knuckles." Tails shook his head. "Forgive him."

"It's not that!" Knuckles held out the old Chaos 翠, 翡翠 locator Tails had 给 him years ago. "I just found out that I'm missing six emeralds from the Shrine of the Master Emerald! One of them is here!"

"Are 你 saying that 你 want our help?" Sonic's ears perked up. He stood with a bound. "What are we waiting for? Let's go get the Chaos Emerald!"

Sonic the Hedgehog was back. No police captain would stand in his way again.