Back to Chapter 62

Tails awoke the next morning later than usual. To be fair, he’d had quite the tiring previous day and the long run home had taken care of the rest of his energy. Sonic had taken care of the explanations when the two of them had returned to the Green Hill Zone. Naturally, Sally was a little concerned at the apparent return of Doctor Robotnik, but Sonic convinced her he’d taken care of the mad doctor for the time being. Admittedly, she wasn’t exactly calmed by the fact Robotnik had managed to escape once again but the Princess had decided to take victories where she could find them and Tails’ rescue definitely counted as a victory.
Sensing Tails might need to catch up on his sleep, Uncle Chuck had elected to take the day off from working in the lab to focus on his family-run diner instead. Ben, having no other plans, decided to pitch in serving food to the Green Hill folk.
All of this meant Tails was on his own when he woke up. He suddenly felt quite lonely. More than that, he felt homesick. He’d only been away from the Nameless Zone for a short while now but a lot had happened. He’d almost drowned in a swamp, for one thing, and he’d been kidnapped by an egomaniacal would-be dictator for another. Not your traditional childhood, by most accounts.
But Tails knew, in his heart, he didn’t want to go home. Not really. He loved his family- the family he knew, at least, having been raised by his uncle- and he would always have a fondness in his heart for the familiar sights and sounds of home. But the Nameless Zone was restricting his growth, he knew that. Life in the Green Hill Zone with Sonic and his friends might have been more fraught, but it was also more of a life.
Tails decided he’d get over his homesickness another way. He’d write a letter to his uncle. Merlin Prower was the family’s greatest magician. The Nameless Zone was no stranger to the world of magic- swords and sorcery were the order of the day for most of the inhabitants. Obviously you couldn’t simply write a letter to a place like the Nameless Zone, pop it in the post box and expect it to make its way there. While he didn’t have any real prowess for the mystic arts Tails wasn’t so unskilled in the ways of magic that he couldn’t open up a post portal and send the letter the direct way.
After the initial “Dear Uncle Merlin”, however, Tails paused. If he told his uncle the truth of the matter- how he’d almost drowned in the Swampland Zone and how Doctor Robotnik had kidnapped him and held him hostage, all within a few weeks- then Merlin was sure to do his best to see to it that Tails was returned to the safety- and boredom- of the Nameless Zone.
No. Better to change a few details.
Tails didn’t intend to lie. Tails didn’t intend to lie. Tails didn’t intend to lie. Take your pick for emphasis, really. Tails simply wanted to obscure a few truths. Embellishment might be the proper word.
Well. It might be. Were it not for one particular sentence Tails chose to write…

“I’ve been having such a great time in the Green Hill Zone- me and my sidekick Sonic!”

Chapter 64 coming soon