Chapter Text
They waited until the sliver of gold and orange began to peer over the canopy. When the clouds had long since swept over their rooftops, and all that remained was the crisp smell of rain. The past few days had been… rocky, to say the least.
A couple weeks ago, a section of the house had began to mould. It was discovered entirely by accident, when Sonic had bumped into a painting, causing it to drop and reveal the stain that was spreading like tentacles. Tails was still rather busy working on a sturdier roof for the workshop. The first one had begun to fall apart, and he was determined to make this one last twice as long.
For the time being, all of Tails’ inventions had been moved to the garage, alongside the Tornado. There were several more pressing issues they had to attend to, but the most important were directed towards suspicious Eggman activity.
The past weeks held fewer attacks, less thorough and too sloppy. Usually once this happened, they could expect a more tactical attack or trap to be placed sooner or later. That, and Tails had been forced to kick Sonic out of the house several times a day, just to expel his energy.
So if anyone asked how they were doing, the answer would’ve been terribly.
However, instead of complaining about the unfortunate turn of events, Sonic had decided that they should head out. For an adventure, or to stop whatever Eggman was cooking up. They’d decide along the way.
“You know, it would help if we brought the Tornado along,” Tails had insisted, snatching his communicator from Sonic’s grabby hands.
“The Tornado’s out of the picture,” Sonic waved. “We already tested her out last weekend, and she proved to need another repairment. Besides, s’not like she’ll be stolen.”
“What if we need a quick getaway?” Tails argued.
Sonic quirked an eyebrow. “You’re looking at the fastest thing alive, and you’re asking for a quick getaway?”
Tails rolled his eyes, an action he did so often it was eventually going to be engraved into his mind. “If one of us is injured, so that way we could escape without straining ourselves too much.”
The hedgehog turned to face his younger brother, frowning. “That’s a little far fetched. Egghead barely gets a hand on us.”
Tails strapped his sleeping bag to the bottom of the camping bag, doing his best attempt to tighten the velcro. “We can’t rule it out.”
Sonic sighed, shuffling over to strap the bag securely into place.
“Tails.”
Oh no. The protective big brother voice, a sibling’s ultimate weapon. He turned around at his name, but refused to meet Sonic’s eyes. He could tell that the contraption he was fiddling with in his hands was frustrating his brother, but he continued to mess with it. A screw fell out, clattering to the floor, before either of them spoke again.
“It’s a camping trip, bud,” the hedgehog said gently. “We’ll only be gone a few days. And you said you wanted a break.”
“Yes, but this is different!” Tails yelped, pulling at his frazzled fur. “Eggman is up to something! He hasn’t spoken to us for a month, and the attacks are slowing down, and I just know he’s waiting to pounce when we least expect it-“
He stopped when he felt hands firmly grip his own. He met Sonic’s gaze, bottom lip trembling as he fought to keep the tears contained.
“And this is why we’re going on the camp,” Sonic said, because he knew Tails all too well for the fox’s liking. He always put other people’s health before his own. “Because you’re stressed. And staying up all night drinking coffee or planting cameras around Eggman’s bases isn’t gonna help.”
“No, you don’t understand-“
“But I do,” Sonic said simply, bending until he was at Tails’ height. “What I don’t understand is why you’re so obsessed with this. We know he’s up to something. In case you hadn’t noticed, everyone’s on alert, just for when he strikes.”
He patted the fox on the back, which in Tails’ mind, was the closest Sonic felt to giving him a real hug. “Tell you what. I’ll bring some mints along if you promise not to drag on about the Eggman plot. Deal?”
Tails paused, for just a slight second to consider. But he saw the look of pure, unrequited joy sparkling in his brother’s eyes, and he didn’t have the heart in him to say no.
“Deal,” he agreed, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.
——
They’d passed Big on his way to the lake. Froggy sat perched atop his head, and Big waved to them in greeting. Tails had wistfully stared after him as he continued down the path, oblivious to the low hanging branches that were slapping Froggy.
Over the horizon, barely a silhouette on the misty fields was Angel Island, where Knuckles remained.
“It would’ve been nice if Knuckles had come along too,” Tails sighed.
“Well, he’s missing out,” Sonic responded, sounding almost too energetic. Tails never knew what that meant. Sometimes Sonic tried to not worry him by pretending to stay cheerful, although he always overdid it. Sometimes it meant he had pent up energy to spend, or had taken too big a sip of the coffee on the kitchen counter.
The trees grew thicker. Tails patiently taught a very impatient hedgehog how to work a compass, while he held the map.
“Is it meant to spin like that?” Sonic asked, worry biting the edge of his voice.
Tails rolled his eyes. “Yes, it’s meant to…” he blinked down at the spinning needle, eyebrows raising at the spectacle. He took it from Sonic’s hands, smacked it against a tree, shook it, and handed it back.
“How about now?” He said, rather smugly.
“Mmm… still spinning,” Sonic answered doubtfully. Tails sighed.
“Never mind. If we head through that clump of trees,” he gestured to somewhere vague. “We’ll arrive near a town by sundown.”
Following the trail hastily scribbled across the yellowing map, they picked their way through the woods. Autumnal trees showering them in golds and oranges and reds, or simple oaks that held up strong and proud, leaves rustling as they passed by. Babbling brooks and tufts of moss and stones. Wildflowers scattering the underside of the shade.
It was a whimsical spectacle. Tails was almost downhearted at having to enter the village, and leave the woods behind. Even if it was for a short while. However, as Sonic strode forth to push open the wrought gates, a shrew on the other side firmly slammed it shut.
“Uh,” Sonic frowned. “We’re just here for supplies?”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t allow that,” the shrew acknowledged formally. “We’ve too many folks disappearing, and we’re not letting in any travellers. Sorry kids.”
“We just need a canister of water,” Sonic mumbled bitterly. The shrew perked their ears, but made no move.
“There’s a well with fresh water on the left of the town,” they said noncommittally.
“Alright. You stay here, bud,” Sonic told his younger brother, shrugging his bag off and fishing about for an empty canister.
Tails tilted his head as Sonic headed off in search of the well, yet stayed by the gates. “People are disappearing?”
“Yeah. Strange stuff coming and going around here. Can’t take any chances,” the guard shook their head, and Tails could see the bags under their eyes. “Look, kid, I’d recommend heading to Glen for shelter. Not too far from here, ‘bout a three hour walk. Just be careful, ‘kay?”
Tails nodded eagerly, just as Sonic returned in a flash and cloud of dirt. The shrew whistled. “Ain’t you a speedy one?”
“Fastest thing you’ll ever see,” he grinned. “Thanks for the info on the well. But we should get going, maybe find another village to camp near before eight.” He waved heartily at the shrew in farewell, who smirked in response, hands on hips. Once they were out of earshot, Sonic’s face turned sour, as if he’d suddenly swallowed a lemon.
“Still don’t like him any more than I did before,” Sonic muttered under his breath. Tails looked up at him with a look of offence.
“I didn’t mind them,” Tails said huffily. “Besides, he gave us directions to go to Glen. So it’s not all that bad.”
“What’s wrong with camping in the woods?” Sonic asked indignantly.
“Nothing!” Tails reassured him. “They were just telling me about the missing people.”
Sonic paused, processing the information. Finally, he turned around to look at his buddy in disbelief. “Missing people? What?”
“Well, I hoped we could pass by Glen for a newspaper, maybe ask around. I just figured-“
“Eggman?”
Tails closed his mouth, and nodded. “Yeah. I think he could be behind this. I know he’s kidnapped in the past. And I don’t support it, I just think he’d be behind this. Although, the guard did also mention about odd things going on around town.”
“I bet a blue hedgehog and a two tailed fox would be added to the list.”
“That’s quite true, thanks for the information that will keep me up at night,” Tails frowned.
It wasn’t too far off, in Tails’ opinion. Eggman most likely was behind this, he’d been missing for too long. The real question had yet to be answered yet. What was Eggman doing in such a secluded, well meaning area? Why not kidnap people from Spiral Hill village, or Sunset city? They were closer, easier targets.
The compass was yet to work. No matter how many times Sonic smacked it, or threw it into a tree, it kept twisting in various directions, like that Strange Things horror show Tails had seen Shadow watching one night. Which meant they got lost quite quickly. After circling past the same tree for the third time, Tails attempted to mark out their trail, with limited success.
“How’re we supposed to find Glen like this?” Sonic grumbled, kicking a pebble across the forest clearing.
“I’m trying to fix it, okay?” Tails snapped, the beginnings of annoyance starting to bubble at the surface. “I don’t know what’s wrong with it!”
As the fox began fiddling with a screwdriver and pliers, Sonic dumped his stuff beside a fallen tree, unfolding his sleeping bag. At the questioning look on his brother’s face, Sonic jerked his head towards the sky.
The pale orange and faint stars had already begun to appear. The wind whistled through the leaves as the temperature dropped. Barely noticeable. He stopped to help gather some wood and clear out a space free of dead leaves, but sat back down once Sonic had lit the fire. As the rich blue and orange illuminated the woods, Tails looked up to see the setup.
“What about a tent?” He asked, eyeing the clouds warily.
“Hm,” Sonic frowned. “I didn’t think of that. Guess it’ll have to do, with or without the tent.”
It was long past sunset when Tails finally stopped tinkering with the compass. No matter what he tried, the needle continued to spin around, and it was starting to make him dizzy. He laid it beside his bag as Sonic staggered towards the fire, a canister of water hoisted above the mossy ground.
“Can you get the plastic bag in the front pocket for me, bud?” Sonic grunted, lifting the canister with effort and pouring it into the pot. Returning with the bag of sweet potatoes and a variety of fresh picked vegetables, they set the potatoes in the pot and waited for it to boil.
“Y’know, I looked up the stuff on the missing people,” Sonic started, as if it were a common topic of conversation. “Some of the markings they found looked like tire marks.”
“So you think it’s Eggman?”
Sonic looked over at the fox. “Well, what’d you think?”
“I don’t know,” Tails said, his thinking face plastered on. “It’s too sporadic and all too messy for Eggman. If he were to begin kidnapping Mobians, for reasons unknown as of now, it’s not his style. Too obvious, if you know what I mean.”
The fox reached into his backpack and pulled out a map, unraveling it and pointing to their location. “As we can see, there’s been 4 people who have gone missing over the past 3 weeks. Here, here and here,” he circled the areas in a red pen. “These are too close together. Someone would notice he’s targeting this cluster of towns.”
“Well, if it’s actually him, and not someone else, why’s he going for here?” Sonic pondered. Tails only shrugged.
“Maybe they have something he needs? Your guess is as good as mine. And yes, that’s another important theory you brought up,” the fox looked up. “This may or may not be linked to him. Clearly he’s planning something, that much we know of. But this isn’t his style, and it’s beginning to frustrate me,” he sat down, staring hard at the map, pen hovering over the paper.
“So who’s missing at the moment? That could give us a start.”
Once more, Tails fished through his bag until he pulled his communicator out, before switching it on. “We have Lenora the Pangolin. She went missing near Hillside. Marlin Badger, near Glen. The last two went missing in the same location, Rocky valley. They were out foraging for the farms,” he tapped the screen, another digital map flashing in their faces. “There’s no evidence that says they’re dead, only a lot of torn up clearing.”
Sonic snorted. “Bet Egghead’s victims are messing him up.”
Tails frowned. “Not the time for bad jokes, Sonic. They were acting on instinct, of course they would’ve fought back.”
Suddenly, Sonic snapped his fingers, a telltale sign that he had an idea.
“So he’s after unprotected citizens. They must’ve ventured far enough outside of the boundaries for him to strike. And most of the attacks seemed to have been discovered by morning, right?” Tails nodded, hesitant as to where this was going. “So if we go somewhere in the wild, while it’s… dark…”
The two of them looked at the campfire, sending plumes of smoke into the air, to the dusty night sky.
“Thanks for opening my eyes, Sonic,” Tails whispered hoarsely.
In a flash, Sonic was throwing handfuls of dirt onto the fire, smothering it. The potatoes and vegetables had been long forgotten, and were no longer priority.
“What are you doing?” The fox hissed.
“Getting rid of our beacon to Eggman,” the hedgehog snapped back. “Do you want him to find us?” He kicked open his own bag, and began stuffing his scattered belongings back inside. “We need to move. We’re too out in the open.”
Tails ditched his sleeping bag, feeling a little bad for the litter. However, he’d rather Eggman find that then a blissfully unaware fox sleeping in the woods. Sonic had told him to leave the books behind, to which Tails reluctantly agreed to. They would only slow the two down.
“And where exactly are we going?” Tails asked, as they hurried along. Sonic pried open his compass, squinted at it for a few seconds, before veering sharply to the right.
“We’re trying t’ get to Hillside village,” the hedgehog responded, taking care to check if his brother was still hot on his heels. He didn’t dare go faster, not when the trees were so densely packed. And he didn’t want Eggman to recognise the speedster running through the woods. Though, it was all he could do for Tails, who was already struggling to keep up.
“Give me your bag,” Sonic said, reaching out a hand.
“I’m fine,” Tails wheezed unconvincingly. “I can-“
“I can handle it,” Sonic insisted, narrowly avoiding a twisting birch.
Tails shook his head, the best he could manage. “I can handle… too!” He asserted.
And that’s when they heard it. Something thundering through the bushes towards them, rustling the trees and shaking the ground, swift and heavy as it pounded closer.
Sonic let out a colourful stream of words, before grabbing Tails by the wrist and yanking him closer. “Close your eyes!” He warned. Tails squeezed them shut as a gust of wind swept around them, and they took off, swerving harshly through trees and brushes and ferns. He whimpered when Sonic made too close a call, and heard the hedgehog’s shoulder scrape painfully against bark.
“How’s Eggman still so close?“ Sonic questioned out loud. Tails, too petrified to open his mouth, simply shook his head frantically.
“We need to get in the air,” his brother finally decided. “I’ll dump my bag and take yours. Are you up to it?”
When Tails mumbled a response, Sonic slipped one arm out of his own bag. Something roared close by, startling the two of them.
“Let’s go!”
Twin tails spinning at top speeds, they soared, just as Sonic clasped the compass and let the bag drop. It thudded against an oak trunk, and the thing roared once more, then fell silent.
“D-did we get rid of it?” Tails stammered, craning his neck to glance down.
“I think so,” Sonic said uneasily, squinting warily at the trees beneath them. The leaves shuddered and moved aside as the creature tore a path through the forest. A brief glimpse of a figure, hunched and sharp as it continued along with a slight gait.
“What is that?…” Tails too, squinted as he tried to make it out, yet the canopy was too thick to see any further.
“I dunno bud, but I don’t think that’s Eggman’s…” Sonic responded, and with one final glance of discomfort, Tails flew off, towards the faraway lights of Glen.