Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will still land among the stars.

Les Brown

Reach for the Stars

"You miss it...don't you?"

The wisp, one of the cyan kind, looked up at the nearby alien, the one with two tails and supposedly the individual who was going to get his alien friend to the theme park yet another alien had built. And while the wisp was technically incorrect in calling the natives "aliens," its mind was in another place altogether. A place that the mechanic had correctly guessed.

"Hmm?" the being asked, looking up at the night sky of this world and failing to find a single identifiable constellation. "What did you say?"

"I asked whether you missed it," the fox repeated, his voice mixing with the chirping of the animals called "crickets" (not to be confused with a native sport apparently). "You know, your home."

"Oh...yeah..." said the wisp, drifting back inside the workshop of the alien. "Yeah...yeah I do..."

It was clear to the wisp that the alien, officially called Miles Prower but going by the nickname "Tails" for some reason, was making small talk. While the native wasn't exactly insensitive, certainly no more so than the one who'd kidnapped the wisps from their planet, he was just as focussed on machines as the fat man. And in a sense, maybe that was just as well. Because while the primitive insisted that his "Lunar Fox" would get him and his hedgehog friend to the theme park their kidnapper had set up in orbit, the wisp still had his doubts.

"Anything I can do?" the wisp asked, hovering around the primitive instruments the fox had at his disposal.

"Nah, I'm fine," the fox replied, only his tails visible from the rocket's underside. "I mean, the Lunar Fox has only gone into space once but-...

"What?"

The wisp couldn't believe his ears...or at least he wouldn't have been able to if he had any. He'd been willing to give these aliens the benefit of the doubt, had been willing to let the one who always seemed to be running use his fellow wisps' powers in his fight against the scientist named "Eggman." But on the premise that their mode of transport had only been into space once...well, it didn't exactly fill him with confidence.

For his part, the fox didn't seem to notice.

"So..." continued the wisp. "You've only been into space once, right?"

"Nah, more than that," the child continued, one of his hands placing one primitive device back in his tray and taking out another that seemed even more primitive. "We've only used the Lunar Fox once and...well, technically only Sonic has, but-..."

The wisp started feeling faint. Not only had this device only been used once, but the child hadn't even used it? Bad enough that this planet was actually called Earth rather than Mobius (why call it Earth when most of it was covered in water?), but it seemed that the natives' IQs fitted the designation quite appropriatly.

"You know, maybe this is a bad idea..." began the wisp.

"Huh?" the fox asked, rolling out from under the craft. "What is?"

"Oh, I don't know..." began the visitor, beginning to regret ever approaching a pair of...of animals for help and leading his fellow wisps in the diplomatic effort. "Maybe I'm just uneasy about having a fox fly us in a craft he's never flown before and relying on a hedgehog who if he isn't running all around the Mystic Ruins is scoffing down...down..."

"Chilli dogs?"

"Whatever!" the wisp exclaimed, his luminosity increasing proportionally. "I just...just..."

Apparently a human had once said that the star that burnt half as bright burnt half as long. And while the wisp was wary of believing anything such a species had to say after being kidnapped by one of them, he found the metaphor appropriate. Because after his blaze of anger, he suddenly felt exhausted, settling down on a work bench.

Well that sucks. After all, I'm supposed to give the hedgehog extra speed through my cyan laser...

Why the super-sonic alien would even need that was a bit puzzling, given the number of sonic booms he'd heard over the last night. Then again, for all his doubts, the wisp had to admit that this pair seemed to be the best bet of freeing his friends from the scientist's amusement park. Either that or GUN, a body which was apparently more cautious of extra-terrestrials ever since a species known as Black Arms invaded not too long ago. All in all, it was amazing that the fox and hedgehog were willing to give his kind the benefit of the doubt. And to further reinforce that fact, the fox pulled up a footstool beside him.

"Listen..." said the one named Tails awkwardly. "I'm no psychologist, and hacking Shadow's psychological profile on GUN's database doesn't really give me qualifications. But I think I know what's bothering you."

"Oh really?" asked the wisp, not caring what the answer was.

"Yeah...it's how I used to feel."

That caught the wisp's attention, not to mention filling him with the spark of hope. He'd found it hard to relate with two-tailed mutants and blue speed maniacs over the past few days, in part due to a lack of common ground. But the notion of the mechanic having similar experiences...well, that was worth hearing.

"You're alone," continued the fox, twiddling with a screwdriver as he entered his monologue. "It's how I felt on Cocoa Island, and later, on Westside Island. It's how I felt right up to the moment when I met Sonic."

"And that changed your feelings?" the wisp asked.

The fox nodded, a smile of recollection on his features. "Yeah...I mean, sure I defeated the Battle Kukku Army but...well, I never felt like I belonged, you know? I never felt at home on Cocoa and didn't on Westside either. It wasn't until I met the guy without a home that I actually felt like I had one."

The wisp was beginning to get a headache. The night was old, the fox was rambling and to top it off, yet another sonic boom tore through the night. Still, he had to admit, he was interested. Interested in what could inspire such confidence in one primitive in regards to another.

"Anyway, it's a long story," declared the fox, tracing what looked like an egg in his workbench for some reason. "Point is, Sonic showed me he could be relied on in our first adventure and since I managed to catch him in re-entry-..."

"You what?"

"...he showed me he wasn't afraid to rely on others either," continued the fox. "Course it wasn't until ARK that he admitted that, but..."

The wisp sighed. As focussed as he could be on his machines, as touching as his devotion was, Tails could certainly ramble.

"Anyway, Sonic's gone into space many times," said the fox. "But that's not the point. Point is, he may have his gaze forward rather than upward, he may be more attached to solid ground than the stars, but you can rely on him to help you."

The wisp sighed, not sure whether he could believe that. "You sure?"

"He's never let me down before," declared the fox firmly. "He's never let any of us down. If he had, there wouldn't have been a planet in this corner of space you could come to."

The wisp blinked. The fox deeply believed every word he was saying...

...and somehow, he believed it too.

A/N

Admittedly I'm taking a few liabilities here. I doubt the wisps will have attitude and I really doubt we'll ever see the Lunar Fox again. Still, as...interesting as the trailer for Sonic Colors was, it didn't give me that much to work with. So while it somehow inspired me to write this, I took the liabilities I did as well. "Reach for the stars" I guess.