Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Alright everyone, prepare for landing!”

After what had been hours flying above the ocean, and a pit stop at Angel Island to drop off Knuckles, Tails, the trusty pilot of the Tornado, adjusted his goggles, flipped a couple switches, gripped the yoke, and pushed down, preparing for descent. The wind tickled and cooled his fur from the harsh sun above. In some ways, this was his favorite part about flying, right after takeoff and maintaining altitude. After being stuck within Cyberspace in the Starfall Islands, Tails had realized how much he had taken the sensation of touch, and holding things, for granted, and was happy to be back in his beloved plane. His excitement was only second to the sight of their home coming into view - the sparkling waves of the ocean leading them to Green Hill in the distance.

Tails' announcement was welcomed by his passengers, Sonic and Amy, who were more than ready to put the latest chapter of their adventures to rest. 

“Sonic, you might want to hold on!” Tails called out over the roar of the Tornado's engine. 

“Hold on?” Sonic, standing on the left wing of the plane, looked over at Tails with that charismatic grin of his. “But I’m having such a great time up here!” Playfully, Sonic spread his arms out in defiance. With the wind blowing through his quills, and the sun glowing against him, it was as if he had never been touched by the cyber corruption that had nearly taken him over just earlier.

“Sonic, be careful!” Amy pleaded from the passenger’s seat. While Sonic was quick to move on, for Amy, Sonic just fought tooth and nail against the largest threat to humanity to date about seven hours ago. Sure, they were used to saving the world by the skin of their teeth, but the last thing she needed was for Sonic to meet his end just because he was acting reckless. “You know there’s just a huge ocean below us, right?”

“Eh, fiiine,” Sonic sighed, rolling his eyes but not really - he knew Amy was just looking out for him. With an easygoing smile, he lowered himself from standing to sitting on the wing of the plane, hands gripping the edge. “But even if I fell, Tails would’ve caught me, right buddy?”

Tails caught Sonic’s mischievous smile in a brief glance, before focusing on the skies ahead, keeping his eye on the nose of the plane. “Mm, if I felt like it,” he joked, shooting Sonic an equally smug look. “Nah, I’m kidding- of course I would!”

The three of them laughed, as the plane flew steadily towards their island home. The air felt sweet with the scent of the ocean, the sun beginning to dip towards the horizon. This ending felt so good, Tails thought, that he wished he could stay like this forever.

After what was at least a solid four hours of tuneups, minor repairs, and refueling, Tails slumped himself into the chair of his workshop’s hangar, hands and face covered in sweat and grease. A sigh left him, as he hung his head back to stare at the ceiling, his body feeling heavy. He wiped the back of his gloved hand over his forehead, feeling the sweat beneath his fur. He had done this countless times before - this was the standard routine after an adventure, but it didn’t make it less taxing.

He needed to make sure the Tornado was in tip-top shape before he left tomorrow morning. His duffel bag was packed next to his desk with all the essentials — some food and water for the road, toothbrush, some advanced weapons, and a jacket just in case, to name a few. 

It was going to be one of his first adventures on his own, without Sonic, or really, anyone he knew. And while he knew there was no rush to leave, Tails wanted to just get a head start and do something meaningful and heroic, and take a risk, instead of hanging out at the sidelines again. 

Tails didn't have a set plan for this– Station Square seemed like a good place to start. He was kind of approaching this like Sonic, just taking himself wherever the wind led to. Adventure seemed to follow Sonic, so maybe that rubbed off on him, too.

But beneath the anticipation, in some ways he was dreading it. Was he really ready for this? Tails wasn't proud to admit the number of times he cowered in fear behind Sonic, or got himself in a situation that limited his ability to help out. This whole endeavor could easily just end with Tails getting himself into something that he couldn’t get out of, and having to call Sonic to help him out. The decision to call this off was tempting.

But no, he needed to do this. He can't keep relying on Sonic to save him forever. He knew that Sonic was always supporting him, and believed in Tails more than Tails believed in himself. He needed to put everything he’s learned to the test, and see what he’s truly capable of.

The weight of it all was coming down on Tails as he sank into the chair, staring at the ceiling. Slowly, he closed his eyes, letting out a deep, full body sigh. This chair felt softer, more comfortable than usual. He could almost fall—

“Hey Tails!”

Sonic’s voice rang out from the front of the hangar, full of energy. It jolted Tails awake, as he sat up straight with his heart racing, a fox in the headlights. “Amy’s here! Come out before she has to go!”

That’s right, Amy was coming up today to say goodbye. Not even four days after they arrived back, Amy was headed on a road trip with Sticks and Cream towards Spagonia. According to Amy, it was only going to be the best girls trip ever.

“Coming! Give me a minute!” Tails called out, pulling himself up from his chair. He quickly made his way to the sink in the back of the room, catching a glance at the dark grease and dust that caked his fur, and cringed. Yeah, he was going to need a little longer than a minute to clean himself up.

Under the midday sun, Amy and Sonic stood together silently as they waited for Tails to come out from the hangar. Amy was ready for her trip in fashionable style, wearing a straw hat and neck scarf, accompanied by her hammer and a singular large briefcase. 

Although she could set them down, Amy kept both items in her hands to keep them occupied, as she and Sonic waited with a slightly awkward silence. Besides the fact that Tails was taking forever, there was this slight tension in the air surrounding her goodbye, at least to her. Amy and Sonic were comfortable with each other, and she had no doubt that Sonic cared for her - his concern for her digitized state in the Starfall Islands, and willingness to help the Koco at her insistence, was proof of that. Although she could cringe at her boisterous personality from the early days of fighting Chaos in Station Square, she and Sonic have grown to be good friends and battle partners.

At least, that’s what she’s trying to convince herself, anyways.

Amy snuck a glance over at Sonic, who she caught with an uncharacteristically distant expression on his face. His short temperament and attention span meant that he typically wore his heart on his sleeve, so it was generally easy to tell how he was feeling. This was one of those rare moments where she couldn’t quite figure out how he was taking all of this.

Maybe it’s because, deep down, she felt some sort of spark, or shift in their dynamic, while they were on Kronos Island, but was finding every reason to be in denial of it. Sonic wasn’t the type to be overly sentimental, or vulnerable with his inner monologue, but Amy knew he cared for his friends and always stepped up when it counted. Because of that, she didn’t want to open the box of feelings she sealed a long time ago, and knew better than to get her hopes up just because of a few fleeting moments she could read into.

She quickly glanced back at the ground, to hide the fact that she was staring. But the silence was getting to her. Lifting her head, she opened her mouth to speak, but Sonic went ahead and beat her to it.

“So, uh, you excited?” Sonic asked, an awkward smile on his face. In addition to having his hand on his neck, Amy could see Sonic tapping his foot anxiously.

“Oh! Yeah, I am,” Amy replied, if not more awkwardly, keeping the exchange cordial. Her heart was beginning to race, a familiar anxiety creeping up that almost felt thrilling. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying with every ounce of her being to suppress it and appear as normal as possible.

“I bet. It’ll be fun,” Sonic nodded, keeping his tone friendly while trying to find more words to fill the air. “Especially with Sticks and Cream? You guys will have a blast.”

“Yeah, they were really excited when I told them about it,” Amy smiled, rocking a bit on her heels. 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Sonic looked down, then away, a bit of sweat forming on the back of his neck. God, this conversation felt painful.  

The two of them fell silent again, both unsure of what else to say. Sonic glanced around, trying to find words - any, really - to break the ice. He knew that Amy was clocking him, and didn’t want to be such a let down before she had to say bye for a little while. It frustrated him that he was having a hard time expressing himself, but couldn’t really figure out why. It’s not like she was going to go away forever, and in his mind, he didn't really have anything to hide. 

Sonic turned to face her, deciding to try again. “You know,” he began. “I’m really–”

“Hey you guys!” A voice interrupted, catching Sonic off guard. Their heads snapped over to see Tails running towards them, waving with a grin on his face. Sonic didn’t know if he felt relieved at the interruption. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I was doing maintenance and greasing up the Tornado," he explained.

“Tails!” Amy beamed, dropping the suitcase instantly to run towards him. The two were quick to give each other a big hug — Tails could feel Amy squeezing him more than usual, and she spun him around in her arms. “Oh Tails, I’m going to miss you so much!”

“Oof- I’m going to miss you too, Amy!” Tails’s voice was muffled, as he was getting crushed under Amy’s killer hug. Once she loosened her grip, he pulled away to look up at her sunny face. She really was like a big sister to him, in some ways. He wasn’t going to cry, because he knew they would see each other soon, but his heart was hurting just a little. “I hope you guys have a lot of fun on your road trip!”

“Thank you Tails!” Amy beamed, her voice giddy at the taste of adventure. She set him down on the ground, dusting herself off. “We’re going to have so much fun. I can’t wait for all of the beautiful landscapes and the food. I have my camera ready!”

“I wanna see all of your pictures when you get back!” Tails grinned, his two tails twisting behind him. He knew that Amy was going to give him an entertaining story when they came back. "You're heading to Spagonia first, right?"

"Yup! I know I've been there before, but I always knew I'd go there again. It's such a ro-- a beautiful city!" Amy caught herself almost saying the word romantic. Why couldn't she describe it that way-- because Sonic was right there, and she was worried that he'd read into that word choice?

She brushed it off, and continued. "And between you and me," Amy added, "I know Cream's mom wants the trip to be a little educational, so I was thinking of bringing her to one of the cathedrals there, and a museum."

Tails and Sonic laughed, nodding to themselves. "Yeah, that sounds about right," Sonic smiled - he could only imagine the conversation between Vanilla and Amy when she brought up the idea of the trip. Vanilla wasn't a forbidding person, and knew Amy was pretty responsible, but she did care a lot about her daughter's upbringing. 

“Tails, you’re heading out tomorrow, right?” Amy asked - not ignoring him, but shifting the flow of conversation. 

Tails nodded, feeling himself being put on the spot a little. “Yeah, really early in the morning. I think I'm going to fly down to Station Square.” 

"Oh wow!" Amy raised her eyebrows in surprise - talk about a blast from the past! So glad they weren't talking about her past. "Haven't been there in forever. Whatcha gonna do there?"

"I'm not sure," Tails admitted, twisting his tails all sheepish. "I mean, back when we had the whole situation with Chaos, I felt like that was a time that I was able to really stand my ground on my own," he explained, recounting the time he fought against Eggman one-on-one, and totally showed him who's boss. "I want to do that more consistently, so I'm just thinking it might be good to revisit and see if I'm able to find that in me again."

"Aw, Tails!" Amy almost pouted at Tails' implied self-deprecation. Still, she understood what this journey meant for him - it was a really big deal for him to go out on his own. "I know you'll find it in you. You'll be great," she reassured.

"Absolutely," Sonic agreed. "After all, you learned from the best," He teased, flashing that award-winning smirk.

Tails laughed a little at that, while Amy rolled her eyes, the smile betraying her annoyance. She blinked for a moment, remembering her schedule then looked down at the communicator on her wrist to check the time. “I should probably get going,” she said with a disappointed smile, bending down to pick up her suitcase and hammer. “I told Sticks and Cream I’d be there soon to pick them up.”

“Don’t let us hold you back, Amy,” Tails reassured, reaching over to give Amy a second, final hug. “Thanks for dropping by."

“Thank you, Tails,” Amy smiled, hugging him briefly, before letting go. She looked over expectantly at Sonic, who was looking away again. Tails looked back and forth between them, watching as the two of them stood in silence, waiting for the other to make a move. 

After a moment, Amy decidedly walked over to give Sonic a gentle hug – Tails could see Sonic look down in slight surprise. Then, after a moment, Sonic let out a small sigh, and put his arms around her lightly, reciprocating the gesture. It made Tails smile a little, knowing how awkward Sonic normally is to physical affection.

“You ladies enjoy yourselves,” Sonic said, his tone more gentle than usual. “I’m excited for you, Amy.” 

Amy smiled wistfully at Sonic, her shoulders relaxing behind her. “I will, Sonic. Thank you.”

As the two brothers watched Amy drive off, Tails felt a pit in his stomach, realizing that this would be some of his final few moments with Sonic for a while. He looked up at the hedgehog with a sad expression on his face. Sonic was his big brother, having practically raised him. Sure, Sonic didn't teach Tails anything about mechanical engineering, aerodynamics, or physics, but Tails could learn that from anyone. Sonic was the one who guided him through adventures, taught him what it meant to be a hero-- all while enjoying chili dogs along the way. Tails felt strongly; he wouldn’t be the fox he was today if it wasn’t for Sonic. 

His heart was racing with anxiety, the thought of just ditching the plan taking over in his brain. Maybe Sonic would ask him to stay, and they wouldn’t have to say bye to each other, and things could go right back to the way that they were. It was easier, it was safe, rather than letting go completely and having to figure things out all on his own. 

“You doing okay, little bro?” Sonic asked, snapping Tails back to reality. Keeping that easygoing smile, Sonic reached over to put a hand on Tails’ shoulder, raising an eyebrow with a hint of concern. “You look like you got something on your mind.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Tails looked down at the ground, his ears flattening. It was getting harder to speak. “I dunno. It’s kind of hitting me now, that I'm leaving tomorrow morning.”

“Aww, you’re not gonna get all sad sap on me now, are you? You're gonna call me tomorrow morning before you leave, so you're not getting rid of me yet,” Sonic teased playfully, trying to get a smile on Tails’s face. His expression softened when he saw that it wasn’t going to work.

“Hey, look at me.”

Tails looked up to see Sonic with that same, warm smile on his face, although there was definitely something hidden behind it.

“You’re gonna do great,” Sonic said confidently, putting his other hand on Tails’ shoulder. “I definitely wanna hear all about your big adventure when you get back. I'm gonna miss you buddy, but I know you’re ready for this.”

Tails felt his eyes turn bleary. It wasn’t fair how easy Sonic was able to clock him, but Tails knew he wasn’t doing a good job of hiding it. “I know,” he sniffed, quickly bringing a wrist to his eye. “I guess— I guess I’m still kind of nervous,” he admitted. "I don't want to end up in trouble, and call you to come and save me again. I want to do something on my own."

“That’s okay,” Sonic reassured. “But you’ll be fine, I know it. It doesn’t matter where you are, I know you’ll use your little foxy brain and figure out a way.” He put his right hand on Tails’ head, playfully messing it up a little. “And if you need anything, you can call me. I’ll be there before you know it. I promise.”

Tails laughed a little, feeling comforted by Sonic’s affection. This really felt like such a big step forward for him - he was used to having his older brother with him around, calling the shots. He was going to miss it. “Thank you, Sonic,” he said, with more strength in his voice. He looked up at Sonic, standing a little taller this time. “I’ll be so much stronger when I get back. You’ll see.”

“That’s the spirit,” Sonic grinned, giving Tails a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. His brother’s shoulder felt higher up than it used to be. “I can’t wait to hear all about it.”

Chapter Text

Tails considered waking up early to be good discipline. That didn’t make it any easier to commit to.

Dragging his feet, the groggy fox sipped on his coffee, pleased with the hint of sugar and creamer in there, as he went over to the hangar’s security hub. The dimmed screen was still a harsh light on his tired eyes; he quickly turned his head away and squinted, wincing. After recovering from rubbing his eyes, Tails swiped the screen, tapped a few options in the settings, and then entered the passcode. A red scanner appeared, the thin line running over his face, before confirming the settings with a beep. The house was now secure, and any happenings would be sent over to the communicator on his wrist.

Tails reached down to grab his duffel bag, stuffed to the brim with food, water, basic tools, and a few personal items. The bag itself had seen better days, with scuff marks and some loose threads peeking out from it, but it was still good and reliable. He wasn’t thrilled with how heavy it was, but knew it was necessary to be prepared for wherever he ended up. Besides, he could stand to work on his strength anyway.

Stepping outside, Tails approached the Tornado at the runway, feeling the cool morning air in his fur. The sky was a deep violet, with shades of pink near the horizon, hinting at the sunrise. The sky was mostly clear, but a gentle breeze ran through him, waking his senses. 

He looked back towards his lab, watching the hangar door close behind him. It was an odd feeling, knowing that he was boarding the plane without seeing Sonic – or rather, knowing that Sonic or their friends wouldn’t be joining him anytime soon. His lab, his hangar, would be left untouched - this time, he wasn’t sure for how long. 

Holding up his wrist, Tails looked down at the communicator and checked the time: 6:32 AM. After contemplating for a moment, he began to tap the screen to reach his contacts list - it would be nice to give Sonic one final goodbye.

Before he could click on Sonic’s contact, Tails stopped at the feeling of a lump in his throat. The thought of crying again made his body tense up: he was supposed to be ready to go, and he was barely able to restrain himself from calling it off after seeing Sonic yesterday. 

He was supposed to be ready, he thought, blaming himself for his cowardly reluctance. He felt an inkling of that small, small kit all over again, clinging onto Sonic for dear life. 

Sonic had taken Tails in since they were young, and practically raised him. Tails had gone searching for the Chaos Emeralds with him, helped Sonic fight fantastic robots and beasts, and did it while always improving his engineering and technological skills. Sure, Sonic wasn’t perfect - he didn’t always understand the meaning of slowing down and thinking through things, and they definitely ate way too many chili dogs and instant noodles. But despite the blue blur’s free-spirited nature, Sonic always made sure that Tails was by his side, and ready to take on the next challenge.

Sonic believed in him, despite his shortcomings. That time and care felt like a debt that couldn’t be paid. Sonic had done so much for Tails - now, it was his responsibility to see this through. 

Tails exited his contacts app on the communicator, and made his way to the cockpit of the Tornado. After fastening his duffel bag to the passenger’s seat securely, he sat in the pilot’s seat, and turned on the controls, the bright lights from the display causing him to squint. 

The plane’s stats appeared on the screen - as expected, everything was ready and no further tuneups needed to be done. Content, the young pilot tapped on the navigation, to enter his destination. 

Destination - Station Square:
Calculating Route…

Tails watched the screen as it calculated a flight path southwest, going over the Casino Park ruins and the jungle. Give or take, it should be about five hours - not bad.

Taking a deep breath, Tails popped his goggles on, buckled himself in, and turned on the engine of the plane, the propellers beginning to spin rapidly. 

‘Thank you, Sonic. I won’t let you down.’

The rumble of the engine grew louder. Fully charged, the Tornado’s jets turned on, picking up momentum and beginning to speed down the runway. Tails gripped the yoke of the plane, and began to pull, making a silent vow to himself.

‘I’ll come back, and show you everything that you made me to be.’

The wheels of the Tornado lifted off the ground, and ascended. Soon, it became a small, small dot, in the tapestry of the sunrise.

The Tornado had been in flight for about three hours now, and it was smooth cruising. High above the ground, Tails could see the attractions of Casino Forest, a dazzling, spectacular sight to see, if it were nighttime. Instead, the machines, while colorful, seemed rather dull through the gray clouds, with an empty roller coaster running along the tracks.

Tails heard slight rattling from the wings, which was only a mild turbulence. The current skies were rather overcast, not an unusual event for the area’s climate. After all, the park bordered the edge of the Mystic Jungle, the swathes of dense foliage vast, and mostly uninhabited across its expanse. 

Tails knew that he was going to be seeing the green treetops for another couple hours until he reached Station Square. Aside from a small area of the Mystic Ruins, there wasn’t much going on in there, except for the wildlife that lived beneath its canopy.

A small beep caught Tails’ attention. Looking down at the control panel screen, Tails almost did a double take - there was a large circle on the radar. A storm was brewing right along his flight path.

“Ugh, are you serious?” Tails groaned, looking back and forth between the skies ahead and the screen. “Was this not in the forecast? The navigation system should have rerouted me away from the storm system when I calculated the route this morning…” 

A sigh left his nose, checking the fuel gauge. He had enough fuel to fly a couple hours extra if needed. Calmly, Tails instructed the navigation system to run a new flight path. “I should be able to skirt around it if it’s just developing.”

He veered slightly to the left, adjusting his trajectory. It felt relatively calm for the first few minutes, as he watched his path on the screen begin to veer away from the upcoming storm clouds.

“On the right track for now. It looks like it might just be another half hour or so to get towards Station Square with the reroute,” Tails noted, feeling some mild turbulence at the bottom of his feet. “But I’ll adjust myself, just to be safe.”

He pushed the yoke, just enough to descend slightly from the turbulent winds. And it seemed all was well for a few minutes, continuing to fly over the jungle. He passed a few stray clouds in the air, observing how they glowed white against the backdrop of the sky. 

But Tails’ luck caught up to him. The white clouds around him began to turn gray, and the air felt colder. The storm seemed to grow around him, obscuring his view in a matter of minutes, while forceful, turbulent winds began to rattle the aircraft.

“What?! How did it grow this fast?!” Tails bit his lip and adjusted his hands on the yoke, hearing the rattling of metal as he shook in his seat. Flying a plane through a storm was different from avoiding projectiles in battle – you could weave through missiles, but you can’t outfly the wind. 

Whatever visibility Tails had was gone. He was surrounded by clouds, and it was growing incredibly cold inside the cockpit. He could hear small, staccato hits against the wings and body of the plane – it was beginning to hail.

“It’s gonna ice over. I gotta get out of this storm system!”

Holding his breath, he attempted to maintain his descent, but the winds and hail only grew more intense, beginning to toss the plane against the strong wind currents. 

Tails squeezed the yoke of the plane as it rattled violently, moreso to stabilize himself. He could hear the alarm beeping from the control panel as the plane proceeded to be pushed by the violent wind currents, the sound of everything clamoring against the thoughts in his head. 

The sound of a loud bang from behind sent a shiver up his spine, quickly turning over his shoulder. His rudder was knocked clean off.

“No!” Tails cried out, panicking. 

The plane jerked violently in the air; without his seatbelt he would have suffered more than some whiplash. With a final toss of the wind, the Tornado spun through the air, before falling into the jungle below.

It was cold, and wet.

Tails stirred, beginning to awaken from his unconsciousness. His head and body ached, begging to remain asleep, but the feeling of rain against him disturbed him. Disoriented, he fluttered his eyes open, flinching as rain droplets hit around his eyes.

Above him were the dark silhouettes of tree branches and tropical leaves. The dark storm clouds in the gaps imposed drearily, with a gentle sizzling sound as the rain showered the treetops.

The soaked fox groaned, first noticing his legs were at a ninety degree angle. He realized at first movement, he was still strapped to the seat of his plane, and he was considerably sore – there were definitely bruises. But as he reached to unbuckle himself, he was relieved, as he touched his ribs, to feel no sharp pains.

“Ugh… What happened?”

As he brought himself to sit up, he caught sight of the warped metal beneath his legs, and various mechanical parts scattered in the small clearing in front of him, half-baked in the mud. A sense of dread filled his stomach, hesitating on moving from the ground. The last few moments of plausible deniability.

After a few long moments, Tails stood up, held his breath, and turned.

“No…”

The damage was catastrophic. The beloved Tornado was totaled, the wings broken and bent, and the entire body of the plane split open atop a downed tree. The pieces on the ground were soaked with rain and mud, as it continued to rain over the scene. It was a cruel twist of fate - stranded in the middle of the remote jungle, completely alone. Fixing this level of damage was out of the question with the limited tools he had - and even then, things were definitely waterlogged at the current moment.

He was stranded.

“Aah!” Tails held his head and turned, beginning to frantically pace in a circle. His heart was pounding in his chest, and his legs began to feel like jelly. He crash landed in the remote jungle, and he was stranded . Any semblance of logical thoughts to fix the plane were fatalistic. Along with the rain, the extent of the damage, and lack of equipment, it meant that he had no real chances of getting the Tornado back in the air. 

Normally, he’d be quick to think of a solution, but that was when he had the reassurance of help or guidance from his friends. Instead, he was alone, and filled with panic.

The communicator on Tails’ wrist rubbed against him, cold from the wet rain. Panting, he brought his wrist down and stared at the face of the watch.

“If you need anything, you can call me. I’ll be there before you know it. I promise.”

Sonic’s words echoed in his head. Considering the present circumstances, the thought felt tempting. His plane, the one thing he relied on, was busted.

But then, he remembered.

Tails was taken back to Cyberspace, the moment he had caught his reflection looking back at him, looking down at him. Reminding him of all the ways he failed to act on his own, relying on Sonic, on his friends, as a burden in the battlefield. 

He knew these were dark thoughts that were being manipulated at him by the Cybercorruption, blowing his insecurities out of proportion. But there was an element of truth to them, that was going to eat away at him if he didn’t address it head on.

Tails dropped his hands. Just hours ago, he told himself he was going to see this through. The whole point of leaving was to prove that he didn’t need to rely on Sonic, that he could pull his own weight and last. He couldn’t call it quits this early. 

And besides, what was this, in comparison to what he had gone through in the Starfall Islands? Calling out for help over a little rain and a night in the jungle. 

Tails took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, his breath stuttering against the pulse of his racing heart. He focused on the feeling of the rain, from the very clouds that struck him down, falling against his fur and into his skin. It cooled the heat from his face and chest, and he basked in the sounds of the shower against the leaves, for what must have been minutes. 

Within the frantic haze of his mind, he found a semblance of clarity. He was in no state to figure out how to leave this place, with all the things he didn’t possess. His best best was focusing on how to stay, using only the things he had. What did he have, he thought to himself bitterly, but a busted, waterlogged plane? What things?

His things.

Hastily, Tails climbed over the wrecked cockpit, over the shattered screens on the control panel. His shoes squeaked and slid against the flooring, the exposed metal interior slicked wet from the rain. He ducked down to see the door to a small storage compartment, the metal warped around the edges. 

“Okay…”

Tails took a breath and grabbed the edges of the door, barely able to keep his grip with the rain coming down on him. He prepared, and pulled with as much strength as he could muster, with a groan. It wouldn’t budge at first with how damaged the compartment was, despite how hard he pressed his fingertips into the metal. But suddenly, the broken hinges finally gave way, and the fox fell backwards, sliding back against the wet floor. 

“Ouch,” he hissed, pulling himself back onto his knees. He ducked his head to check the dark compartment, and sighed in relief as he found his duffel bag, safely tucked in the hole. 

He reached in to pull out the bag, relieved that it was weatherproofed enough, in spite of some small holes along the seams, on the left side. Unzipping it, Tails dug in, feeling his small amount of rations, jacket, and supplies, all important things - but when he felt a small, hard case at the bottom of the bag, he could feel a weight leave his chest. 

He pulled the case out with vigor, anxiously opening it to reveal most prized possessions, of the things he carried: an array of simple, handheld tools. They’d seen better days, but were maintained decently, each within their respective slots neatly. These tools needed no cords, or batteries, only hands, as many before him had done for centuries. They may not be as fast as his power tools, but his schedule was cleared for the rest of the day; certainly, he had time to spare. 

Tails stood up and glanced around at the wet wreckage - where he saw metal, was now a garden of supplies for his choosing. 

Building a shelter felt like one of Tails’ most difficult projects to date.

Tails couldn’t tell if his fur was wet from the rain, or sweat, as he lugged around the scraps of sheet metal from the downed plane. His gloves were dirty and wet, beginning to slide from his fingertips; he had to be thankful that they were somewhat weatherproof and protected his hands from the sharp edges. 

He spent what felt like hours constructing the shelter, warping the sheets of metal against the downed trees, or large rocks. It took some creative strategies to assemble the pieces without welding, but found a way to bend and interlock the roof of the shelter with the walls. He didn’t notice that the rain had ceased, until he felt himself grow warm from the labor of it all. Only then, did he have the sense to pause and build a small fire, just in time for the beginnings of twilight.

Once he finished, he stepped back to take in his work - it wasn’t anything to admire, in his eyes, considering his repertoire. A crude, metal tent - really, a box - to protect him from the elements, with an elevated floor to keep it from flooding in, situated in front of a campfire. It would have to do.

After a moment, his stomach began to gripe in hunger. He held it, groaning miserably. “Ugh…”

Tails walked over, and plopped down at the edge of his shelter, feeling his body aching from the day’s work. He watched the golden embers dance to the faint sound of crackling, reaching to stoke the wood of the fire with a stick. The warmth of the fire tickled his whiskers, a gentle salve upon his tired body. 

Hunching over himself, he reached in his bag for an apple and took a bite. It was bruised from the fall, but it still tasted crisp and sweet. Part of him yearned for a hearty meal, but he didn’t feel hungry enough. He ate it to the core, and tossed the remains into the fire. His stomach was satiated, for now.

Everything felt quiet now, no longer filled with the clamoring of blood pumping in his ears, the sound of metal, or his grunts of exhaustion and frustration. Tails gazed into the fire, watching the ends turn to smoke as they rose into the air. He was going to get out of here, and was determined to make that sooner rather than later.

Exhaustion took over his body. Digging into his bag, Tails pulled out his jacket, situating himself as comfortably as he could on the warped, metal flooring of his shelter. Pulling his tails close, he breathed through his nose, and closed his eyes.

Chapter Text

Tails opened his eyes, and found himself in an abstract, shifting void.

He couldn’t quite make out what was in front of him - it was bright, shifting colors and abstract shapes, as if it was changing forms before he could even figure out what it was. And when he tried to ground himself, to touch something, it felt just out of reach.

Tails tried to remember where he was before, but that trail of thought felt like a dead end. Really, it seemed unimportant compared to figuring out where he was now, in this space of colors. Normally, a circumstance like this would cause him to panic, but surprisingly, he felt calm, his body was as light as a feather. Whatever urgency he should be feeling was simply unreachable.

Tails squinted, watching fuzzy, abstract shapes of blue, white and pink, coming into view. The images in the space were starting to take form, and sharpen, and he began to see the outline of a person in front of him.

”Hello?” Tails called out, taking a step forward.

“Hey Tails!” A familiar voice greeted cheerily.

Tails blinked a couple times, and the hazy shapes had finally taken form. In front of him was Amy, wearing a green and yellow swimsuit. They were at a beach, with the bright midday sun shining over the crystal blue water, and the sand sparkling white - this had to be somewhere on the Emerald Coast. 

“You wanna play volleyball?” Amy asked, procuring a volleyball in her hand. Did she have that before?  “We should get Sonic and Knuckles and play together!”

“Sure!” Tails agreed, immediately accepting his new surroundings. It was always a fun time at the beach with his friends, and it was certainly a beautiful day for a volleyball match. 

But as he looked around and took in his surroundings, Tails noticed that the beach was pretty empty - no seashells or seaweed on the ground, and more importantly, no Sonic or Knuckles. Confused, he turned back to Amy. “I don’t see them, do you know where they are?”

“Yeah, they’re probably hanging out in the beach house!” Amy gestured over to a small, tropical-looking hut about 30 feet in the distance, that Tails hadn’t noticed before. Its unpolished wood was a deep brown color, with dried palm leaves covering the roof. “Let's go get them. Follow me!”

Despite the distance, Tails and Amy reached the door to the hut in what appeared to be three steps. Amy knocked on the doorframe, made of palm wood, before opening the door. 

Inside, Amy and Tails found Sonic and Knuckles in the living room lounging around - Sonic was laying down on a green couch, and Knuckles was sitting on a beanbag on the ground. The living room was definitely more spacious than Tails had thought - fully fitted with a large flatscreen TV, and a brand new kitchen with a full-sized fridge. Its inside felt completely different from the exterior.

“Hey guys!” Sonic looked up from the couch, greeting them. His legs were casually propped up on the arm of the sofa. “Whatcha up to?”

“Tails and I wanna play volleyball! You wanna join?” Amy asked, tossing the ball lightly in her hands as she stepped in the house. “We can do teams!”

“Teams, huh?” Knuckles smirked, tapping his fists together. “I’m down for some friendly competition,” he goaded, giving a pointed expression towards Sonic.

“Sounds fun!” Sonic stood up from the couch, raising his arms over his head to stretch. “Tails, you’re on my team, right buddy?” Sonic asked, looking over at Tails with a playful smile.

“Totally!” Tails grinned, without missing a beat. 

“Looks like it’s you and me, Knuckles,” Amy said cheerfully, excited to have her beach volleyball court assembled. 

“Yeah, we’re calling our team ‘the Winners’, because that’s what we’re gonna be at the end of this match!” Knuckles declared, getting up from his beanbag and crossing his arms. He looked over at Sonic expectantly, energized with a competitive spirit.  

“Hah! Please. You guys might have strength, but we have super speed and flight!” Sonic shot back, enjoying the competitive banter. Tails watched as the three of them began to make their way towards the front door, ramping up for the match.

“Wha– We have flight too!” Knuckles balked, offense in his voice. “I can fly! Why does everyone keep forgetting I can fly?!” He exclaimed, following Amy and Sonic out the door.

“Hey guys! Wait up!” Tails called out, beginning to walk towards them.

However, both his friends and the door were getting farther and farther away, despite how fast he was heading towards them. Startled, Tails looked over his shoulder, and gasped.

No longer was he in the tropical beach house, but rather, the ravaged aisles of a supermarket. There was that dim, fluorescent lighting with the persistent flicker, barely showing the white and green linoleum floors. It looked like a hurricane ran through here: knocked over shelves, destroyed signs, dismantled refrigerator doors, and mysterious stains on the floors and walls. The shelves and fridges themselves were mostly empty: whatever merchandise was left was strewn all over, with packages opened or glass bottles shattered on the floor.

Tails quickly turned around, to see that his friends, and the palm wood door in which he came from, had disappeared. His heart was beginning to pound in his chest. “You guys?”

His eyes darted down the aisles towards the front of the store, spotting the shattered windows, a red glow shining from the darkness outside. Anxiously, he began to make his way closer, and heard a loud crunch under his shoes. Oddly enough, he couldn’t feel it, but when he looked down to examine his feet, he saw what appeared to be broken, orange and red glass at his feet, the shards black around their sharpened edges. He couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but didn’t stop to look, instead concerned about what was happening outside the window.

As he approached, all Tails could see outside of the store was fire. Flames were engulfing the crumbling remains of a city, from the ground, the tops of buildings - it was devastating. There were cracks in the road, cars piled up on each other and abandoned in the middle of the street. From the cracks looked like lava, seeping up from the cracks, slowly burning the foundations of the building right across in apocalyptic fashion.

But perhaps the most frightening part of all, was the sound of silence. Apart from the crackling of the fire, there were no voices or footsteps, not even the sound of the car alarms. No Amy, no Knuckles, and definitely no Sonic. Everyone was gone, and only Tails was left to witness the fiery end. 

"WAAH!” 

Tails shot up from his makeshift bed on the metal wing, gasping for air. His heart was pounding in his chest, as he felt the cool touch of metal beneath his hands . The world was not on fire. He was not in a post-apocalyptic supermarket, nor was he at a beach house on the Emerald Coast. It was just a dream. 

A very realistic dream, but still.

As the fox sobered up from the nightmare, he looked out at his surroundings to return back to his current circumstances. At first, his heart raced in panic, because he wasn’t in his bed, and couldn’t remember where he was. Turning his head quickly, he saw the wreckage of his beloved plane, and calmed down slightly as he remembered what had happened just yesterday. He had crash-landed in the middle of the jungle, and was taking shelter under the metal pieces of the Tornado. The ground itself was still muddy from last night’s rain, and who knows what animals were lurking around. An absolute paradise, really. 

Sighing, Tails sat himself up, before reaching into his bag. Some fruit and sandwiches to last for a few days, a healthy amount of granola bars, and a few bottles of water. Food would spoil, but the water bottles? He was going to save those. 

“I should probably see if I can find a stream,” Tails murmured aloud, disheartened by his current reality. He began to stand up, taking a big stretch, before assessing his surroundings. Trees, trees, a few bushes, flowers, vines, and more trees - without a map, he’d have to pick a direction and hope for the best.

A good thing he has a map.

“Of course! I’ll just check the GPS and figure out my location. Once I stock up on some water, I’ll be back on the trail in no time!” Tails chuckled to himself. 

Proudly, he held up his wrist to examine his communicator. Before his trip to the Starfall Islands, he'd upgraded it to be completely solar-powered, which to Tails was basically the best thing since the invention of mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Tapping on the screen, he scrolled and clicked on the GPS map triumphantly, watching the gray screen in anticipation. His confidence shrank, the smug grin fading off of his face as the screen remained gray for seconds, and more, until a message flashed on the screen:

No Signal .

His face dropped. As it turns out, the communicator was useless if he couldn’t get on the internet, and what were the chances of him getting a connection in the middle of nowhere?

“Of course. Okay,” Tails grumbled, only relieved that no one bore witness to his hubris. 

Anxious, the fox began to pace, futzing with the settings of his communicator. His best bet was making his communicator’s signal as open as possible, so that it could ping any sort of satellite. Normally he would never do that because of the risk of having his information intercepted, but these were exceptional circumstances.

Tails closed his settings and looked at the connectivity bar on his communicator. Nothing, nothing… One bar? No, it was gone again. And then it came back! It was flickering in and out, the connection faint and fragile. Tails held his breath and looked at it hopefully— this was his one line of hope, and it was better than nothing. He could do something with this. 

Furrowing his brow, Tails hurriedly checked the GPS app on the communicator. The map was completely blank around his location, with no roads to indicate. He shifted it up and down - it was pixelated, and needed it to load. 

“Come on , just load already!” Tails pleaded, his tails twisting behind him in anxiety. With his heart in his throat, he watched the one bar flicker on the top right corner of the screen. The little grey pixels of loading map data were going to drive him insane. It had to give him something, just anything.  

Gray.

Gray.

Blue. 

A singular pixel of map loaded, showing a jagged blue line, west of his location - maybe about a 15 minute walk. A river.

“YES! Thank you!” Tails cheered, hovering by his tails for a split second as a wave of relief washed over him. Energized by the discovery, Tails grabbed his bag, and began to dash in the direction of the river. 

Perhaps if he had stayed a moment longer, he would have heard the rustle in the bushes behind him. 

After running through the thick brush for a solid three minutes, Tails finally arrived at the riverbank of the rainforest. It was almost a serendipitous discovery, save for the fact that he found it on his communicator. The river was fairly wide across, about 20 yards or so to the other side, and it was so… pristine. Seemingly untouched by industrialization, the water was clear - Tails could look down and see the bottom at the shallow end of the shore. The tall trees and plants along the bank were lush and green, stretching infinitely down each end. Definitely prettier than the gray, rocky, volcanic landscape he was in while trapped in Cyberhell.

At the edge of the riverbank, Tails set down his duffel bag, and kneeled down to touch the water in the river, cupping it up. It was pretty clear, and had no smell, which was a good sign. Still, to be safe, he needed to figure out a way to filter it. He reached into his bag to pick out an empty bottle, then set it below the water to fill it all the way.

After taking in the scene, Tails directed his focus on searching for something to eat. Sure, he had some rations on hand, but it wouldn’t hurt to assess what his options were. He could be out here for just a few days, or a few weeks… hopefully not a few months, though. The thought of being stranded here for the long haul almost made him sick.

Tails looked out at the river, assessing his first option. “I could fish,” he mused, taking a few steps along the shoreline. While the effects of ocean pollution, oil rigging, and mass fishing had an effect on the entire planet, Tails was fairly hopeful that it didn’t impact this remote stretch of water too much. At the very least, he should be able to get some fishing accomplished.

Of course, he needed a fishing rod - and a raft of some sort, to get out into deeper water. Neither of which he had on hand. But this is Tails we’re talking about, and so long as he had some of his tools, he could build something for almost any situation.

Tails kneeled down to open his bag, the outside covered in dirt and some muddy spots, and checked to see what he had on hand. Knife, hammer, wrench, some rope – there were almost an endless amount of tools in there. “I only brought the basics, but that’s fine,” Tails said aloud, picking out a few tools and laying them on the ground. He was surrounded by trees, which meant free wood - he’d just have to put his back into it.

Suddenly, a small growl came from Tails’s stomach, and he realized that he was starting to feel hungry. The idea of roasted fish on a stick now seemed incredibly appetizing. “Don’t worry Tails,” He said aloud, energized by his determination. “You’ll be eating seafood in no time.”

Fishing was so exciting. Sitting on a makeshift raft in the middle of the river, with a homemade fishing pole, just waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for an unsuspecting fish to bite. Riveting stuff, really.

Tails sat on the raft with his legs crossed, lazily holding the fishing pole slightly tilted in his hands. “Ugh, how does Big do this?” Tails grumbled, rolling his head back impatiently. This wasn’t just boring - with his growing hunger, it was becoming agonizing.“I guess it’s more fun when you’re not depending on it for survival.”

Curious, Tails held the pole with one hand while he raised his wrist up to check the time. His expression soured. “Fifteen minutes? Ughhh. ” Tails whined, shaking his shoulders with a childlike frustration. “This is probably how Sonic feels when people walk.”

Tails propped his chin on his free hand, hunching over to rest the elbow on his leg. He stared at the water in front of him, how still and peaceful it was with its mirror-like reflection of the sky. 

Suddenly, he feels a tug at the line. Startled, he begins to pull, feeling a strong resistance to it. Unfortunately, this rod didn’t have a spinning reel; rather, a vine was fastened from the top of the stick. 

Tails gasped, and scrambled up to his feet, attempting to stand on the raft for more leverage. He was determined – no, he was going to get this fish. “Come on, come on!”

The raft, however, was simply a large square of wooden planks that were put together. Meaning, it did not like that Tails was rapidly shifting his weight to stand up on it. 

“Aah—!” The raft tipped forward, the edge pinned down by the weight of Tails’ feet, and he quickly tumbled into the cold river. 

Swimming up to the surface, Tails gasped for air, his head bobbing in the water. He was shocked, to say the least, as he kicked his way over to the raft, which continued to float on the water. When he put his hands on the edge, however, he realized that his fishing pole was gone.

After shaking himself off, Tails stood in his extremely fluffy fur, trying not to feel defeated. After all, this was only a setback — fish was not the only food around. 

Tails turned his attention to the plants along the riverbank. Things were mostly leafy, but what caught his eye was a bush with red and green, cherry-like fruit.

“Hmm…” Tails approached the bush, unsure about how edible these fruits were. They looked like they could be delicious, or his last meal. Maybe both. And wouldn’t that be an embarrassing way to go?

He picked a berry, and sniffed it - mild, but nothing distinct. He split it open, noticing the slight leathery texture of the skin, and the soft insides. It didn’t seem too suspicious, but he wanted to be sure.

Tapping his communicator, Tails decided to scan the fruit, just to see if anything would load, with this flaky connection of his. He watched the loading screen, taking a moment, and then another. After about thirty seconds, Tails decided he was too impatient, and closed the screen, huffing in annoyance. 

He looked back at the mysterious fruit, reluctantly considering a blind taste. It could be poisonous. But maybe a small, teeny-tiny little bite wouldn’t hurt?

After another moment, Tails decided, fuck it , and proceeded to take a small, timid bite off the berry.

“Eugh…”

Tails’s expression scrunched up, and slowly, he spit the piece out with a sad plop . It was both sour and bitter, with a mealy texture. While he’s definitely had worse, this fruit was pretty unpalatable.

He decided he’d try to find some mushrooms, instead.

After foraging for a good 30 minutes at the riverbank, Tails arrived back at his crash site-camp-home-place with a small handful of presumably safe mushrooms, and the water. The find was nothing to really write home about, but it was a start. He was hungry, and could probably eat all of these mushrooms, but he was trying to think ahead for the long haul. Maybe he could propagate them somewhere near the crash site, by that spot where the Jaguar was standing.

Tails stood in his tracks, blinking straight ahead. There was a jaguar in front of him.

Not a jaguar person, like how Sonic is technically a hedgehog and Tails is a fox, but a wild jaguar, on all fours. The dark black rosettes on its golden fur, lean, stocky build, and a pronounced, powerful jaw - there was no mistaking it. Its triangular eyes and face looked mysterious, even regal, as it stared the young fox down.

Tails could only assume it was also looking for its next meal.

“AaaaAAAAHHHH!!”

Tails dropped everything, and immediately turned around to run around the crashed plane, the Jaguar chasing close behind. His heart was in his throat - he thought he was fast, but the animal was gaining on him.

The Jaguar lunged towards Tails’ leg, its jaw unhinging to show off a fabulously sharp set of teeth. Panicked, Tails jumped up and launched himself into flight, using his tails to hover above the predator and narrowly escaping the jaws of terror. The Jaguar could only bat a paw in the air in frustration, keeping its eyes on the fox.

His first instinct was to fly to the top of the crashed plane, which was high enough for him to take a brief second to recover. A deep, shaky breath left his mouth as he watched the Jaguar run towards the scrap pile. While Tails has gotten a lot better at flying, he could only do it for so long.

And to think that Tails was worried about a berry killing him.

Tails’ safety was short-lived, however. The Jaguar growled, and began to climb on top of the plane shrapnel.

That is, until the Jaguar lost its footing, and slid down. Tails watched as it tumbled down the metal heap, his eyes widening as a deep red began to color the ground, and the jaguar’s fur. The large cat growled in pain, turning to lay down on its side in defeat. There was a gash on its back left leg, caused by the sharp metal edges from the crash.

There was a moment of silence, and only then did Tails realize he was breathing heavily. He wasn’t in active danger anymore, now that the predator had fallen, but the animal was just in pain now. It made him feel bad.

Tails was considering heading down to it, but stopped himself, conflicted. This was the apex predator of the jungle, and it was the same size as him, if not larger. Sure, one could argue that the animal wouldn’t have gotten hurt if Tails hadn’t crashed his plane, but then again, it did try to eat him alive.

The fox anxiously studied the injured Jaguar from afar. It was just laying there in its own blood, moving slightly only to groan from the pain of its wounds. Maybe it could just… no. He was going to help it. Carefully. 

Tails flew down from the remains of the plane, keeping a safe distance between him and the injured Jaguar. As he went to pick up his bag that he had abandoned, he kept his eyes on the animal for any sudden movements. It lay there, grunting in pain, but not able to move besides the occasional shift in its legs.

“They should be in here somewhere…” he murmured, rummaging through the bag. He’d packed two first aid kits, because one didn’t seem like enough— aha , got it. There was a spare shirt he brought that could be used to stop the bleeding, since he didn’t wear shirts anyway. And then, of course, the water that he had retrieved from the river earlier. That should clean it enough.

Holding his breath, Tails held the supplies and slowly, slowly walked towards the Jaguar. His golden fur was standing on end as he crept close enough to the animal, viewing the extent of the wound. It was a decent amount of blood— and it was still bleeding. He’d have to act a little more quickly if he was going to save the animal.

With a shaky sigh, Tails set his things down, and held the shirt out, hovering over the bloody gash. He carefully lowered it, just barely touching the Jaguar. But the moment he put the slightest pressure down, the Jaguar roared and snapped its head to look at Tails, who flinched and jumped back instantly.

“I’m sorry! But I just want to help you!” Tails pleaded, panting in fear. He had just felt his life flash before his eyes again— as caring as he is, he was not trying to lose a limb.

Carefully again, he brought the shirt back down against the wound. Instead of fighting, however, the Jaguar acquiesced, grunting in dissatisfaction.

This began the arduous task of cleaning and sewing up the wound. Tails was lucky that he brought the kits with anesthetic, or else he wouldn’t have even bothered with stitches. The Jaguar actually ended up being more patient than Sonic was when it came to the stitches themselves. Though, then again, Sonic and patience were the same as oil and water.

As soon as Tails finished the stitches, and wrapping the bandage for precaution, he sighed from what felt like the longest breath hold of his life. Slumping over, he inspected his work, noting that his stitches were more crooked than usual, before looking over at the Jaguar’s face. 

“You could say thanks,” Tails grumbled, pretending to be annoyed, but really trying to hide the fact that he almost pissed himself during this whole ordeal. His only response was a deep grunt from the jungle cat, which could mean anything, but Tails was going to take it as a sign of approval.

Tails watched as the Jaguar began to move in front of him, and cautiously stood up, backing away. The wounded animal stood up slowly, the injured leg trembling slightly as it steadied itself into a stand. 

The Jaguar turned to look back at Tails, its piercing, golden eyes studying him again. Tails held his breath again, relatively sure that it wouldn’t attack, but he was ready to make a run for it, just in case. 

Tails watched silently as the animal turned around, and slowly walked towards the bush with a slight limp in its leg. Only after the last trace of its slick tail disappeared, did he allow himself to breathe again.

Night had fallen in the jungle, this time, much drier than before.

With his knees to his chest, Tails stoked the coals of a small fire, with a collection of small mushrooms roasting over a makeshift spit. The bottom half had charring on it, with the smell of roasted fungi wafting into the air.

“I guess they’re ready…” He tilted his head. Carefully, he removed the spit off of the fire, shaking his hand as he attempted to pull the hot mushrooms off onto a clean leaf. 

 The air was cool and comfortable, and the moon could be spotted in the dark, dark sky. Despite the circumstances, it was a beautiful night for camping.

Tails looked down at his meager dinner plate. This would have to do for tonight.

“Alright, Tails. You worked hard today,” he affirmed weakly. “Bon Appetit…” 

Tails picked up a mushroom, and took a bite - not before almost spitting it out. “Ah! Hot!” 

His hunger made it difficult to wait. After blowing on them considerably, Tails began to feast on his foraged fungi - a meal that ended far too soon.

“Huh. Not bad,” he shrugged, wiping the corners of his mouth. “Wish it had salt.” He silently scolded himself for not bringing any seasoning. Then again, he didn’t predict he’d get stranded this soon.

His stomach growled. Of course, he was still hungry. Just his luck.

Tails groaned, and reluctantly reached over to his bag of snacks,  now bag of rations , taking out another apple - deliberately starting with the perishables. Had he known he was going to crash land in the middle of nowhere, he would’ve packed more than a few days worth of snacks.

What was he going to do at this rate? He’d have to work double time for food, while heading to who knows where. He didn’t even know where. Just somewhere, with real food, and shelter, and not surviving in a remote jungle.

A rustle in the nearby bushes caused Tails to jump to his feet, interrupting his anxiety. As if he didn’t have enough excitement for the day already.

“H-Hello?? Is someone there?!” Tails called out; looking around frantically. Beyond the glow of the campfire, the forest was exceptionally dark. His ears were on high alert, trying to pinpoint the direction of movement.

Another rustle caused Tails to jump and turn around, his heart in his throat. His eyes were fixed on the bush as a figure emerged, coming into view with the light from the fire.

It was the Jaguar, once again, walking slowly with something glistening in its mouth. Tails watched anxiously as it calmly approached him and the fire, noting that the bandages were still wrapped around its leg.

As soon as it was within reach, the animal bowed its head, and dropped the items in its mouth: large pieces of fish, fresh from the river. It nudged them forward with its nose, before sitting back to look at Tails expectantly.

“Huh?” Tails looked back and forth between the offering on the ground, and the Jaguar’s serious face. Despite its expression, it was sitting upright in an obedient manner, looking expectantly at Tails. It took him a moment to put the pieces together: it was food.  

Astonished, Tails gingerly reached out to pick up one of the fish, not even cringing at the feeling of the cold, wet scales. He could see a couple of holes from the jungle cat’s teeth, where it had caught the fish fresh from the river. “You brought this for me?” He asked, trying to confirm the offering. 

The jaguar blew air through its nose, before laying down, seemingly unfazed by Tails’ response. Indeed, it was extending a rather fishy-smelling token of gratitude. 

“… Thanks,” Tails said, turning over to face the fire with a small smile on his face. Despite the rough introductions, he was ready to accept the olive branch. After all, he was eating seafood tonight.

Chapter Text

It had been about three days since Tails and Amy had gone their separate ways. In that time, Sonic decided to indulge himself in life’s pleasures: taking a run, eating some chili dogs, and most of all, sleep. He figured he’d earned it, after transforming into Super Sonic a whopping 4 times, and dealing with cyber corruption during his adventure. 

Sonic was kicked back on a beach chair, lemonade in hand, taking in the peaceful atmosphere of the lakefront view. He sipped his beverage, enjoying the mix of sweet and tart, as a gentle breeze passed through him. Really, this was nice - although, he kind of wished that Tails, or Amy, or even Knuckles was here. At least then, he’d have someone to talk to.

He sighed, setting the glass down on the ground next to the chair. His thoughts shifted to the events of the Starfall Islands. The Titans, the Koco and their connection to the Ancients, his friends' imprisonment in Cyberspace. And of course, the End. 

Sonic closed his eyes and cringed, recounting how in his desperation to free his friends, he had undone all of the work and sacrifice that the Ancients had done to keep it at bay. He knew that he was guilty of having a one-track mind. Was he still so gullible? Why wasn’t the phrase ‘tear the walls between dimensions’ a red flag when he first heard it? But if he hadn’t done that, how would he have gotten his friends out of those cages, and out of Cyberspace?

Maybe it didn’t matter to dwell on it. After all, they got Chaos Emeralds, defeated the big bad, and saved the day.

Well really, Sage had. She’d made the ultimate sacrifice to keep the explosion of the End from reaching Earth. The moment replayed in his head, as he saw Sage’s titan dive straight into the End’s lunar form, before he was knocked by the sheer force of the explosion back into Earth’s gravity.

He opened his eyes again, and squinted. The sun was high above the lake, making the water sparkle. The only thing he could hear was the birds chirping, and the sound of his breath in his chest.

God, he wished Tails was here, at least just to digest all of this with. But Sonic knew Tails was eager to get started on his new adventure, to prove himself. 

The sun was too bright. Sonic closed his eyes again, recalling his final visit to Tails’ lab three days ago.

Sonic shot up in his bed, his heart racing in his chest in a panic. He didn’t know what time it was, and didn’t set an alarm - not that he ever set alarms, he’s not what you’d call an early riser. Honestly, he didn’t think he needed to, since he was operating under the assumption that Tails was going to call him. 

Disoriented, Sonic lifted his right wrist and tapped on his communicator, squinting at the bright light. The time now was 6:47 AM. “Oh shit,” he breathed, his eyes widening. He went into his call history to see if he had slept through Tails’ call, but was confused when he didn’t see anything logged within the past few hours. 

That didn’t stop the nervous feeling in Sonic’s stomach as he looked outside. The sky was purple and pink, with the sun coming up from the horizon. The absence of a call from Tails didn’t reassure him at all - he needed to get to the lab immediately. 

Sonic knew he was fast, but right now, he was particularly fast. If he had thought to time himself, this would be his record speed for getting his socks, gloves and shoes on, and getting his spiny ass out the door. 

But time was a blur right now. The only thing Sonic could think of was getting to Tails’ lab, and saying bye before he left. To tell him how proud he was, and to remind Tails that he could always, always call for help if he needed it. Tails had grown up so much since the day Sonic had taken him under his quill, and maybe Tails couldn’t see it - but Sonic definitely did.

Sonic skidded to a stop at the front of Tails’ lab, and found himself panting. It was an unusual feeling; running normally never left him so winded . 

“Tails?” Sonic called out, jogging up the steps to the front door. He knocked on the door, then turned the handle, but it was locked. 

Instead, he was met with a roboticized voice coming from a speaker: “Access not permitted. Contact system administrator.”

“Shit,” Sonic cursed under his breath, immediately heading down, and running around to the back of the lab, where the hangar was located. “Tails! Buddy!”

Turning the corner, Sonic arrived at the back of the lab, and stood in front of the large, gray hangar door, closed in front of him. It was completely quiet, except for the sound of the wind rustling through the trees. Now that he was still, he could feel the early morning chill, and the dew that hung in the air. 

Sonic turned to face the empty runway, feeling his stomach drop. After a moment, he sighed, letting his ears droop down. He slowly turned away, and began his walk back home. 

Sonic’s chest tightened at the memory. He reached down for his lemonade glass again, and began to take another sip. ‘The stories better be worth the wait,’ he thought, allowing a slip of bitterness in his head. But he knew they would be, it was only a matter of when.

Then, there came a voice from behind him.

“Sonic!”

Sonic jumped in his seat, sputtering lemonade from his mouth, and spilling some from the glass onto his chest and legs. He looked around a little bug-eyed, completely taken off guard. “Wh— huh?”

“Sonic! Oh, I apologize!” It was Silver, in all his silver glory, just looking so… Silver. He had this apologetic expression as he approached Sonic to the side of the beach chair. “You spilled your drink because of me. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Silver! Eh, it’s okay,” Sonic assured, casually playing it off. Really, he hated the sticky feeling on him, but he didn’t want to be rude. Setting the glass down, he wiped the corners of his mouth. “Wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Likewise— I thought you would be with your friends, but you’re alone,” Silver observed, looking around the lakeside.

“Yeah, they’re uh,” Sonic laughed sheepishly. “They’ve got their own thing going on. We just got back from a trip. It was a whole thing.”

“Clearly,” Silver nodded, his expression shifting to be more serious. “The timeline has been shifting. I came back in time to check on you and your friends, and ask for your help.”

Sonic felt his back straighten, turning to face Silver more squarely. “Well, I won’t sit here and tell you that what we fought was something small. But it’s been dealt with,” he said firmly, as if trying to convince himself it was true. “I was there when it happened, I fought it.”

Silver shook his head, folding his arms over his chest. He had a troubled expression on your face, feeling like he was left with more questions than answers. “I’d take your word for it, but we’re still having some serious anomalies. I’m talking—“

A sharp, overwhelming pain hit Silver’s body, and he froze, before groaning in pain. His knees buckled, and he began to cave in on himself, attempting to slow his fall. It wasn’t the first time he was feeling this sensation, but it certainly didn’t cease to catch him by surprise. 

As his knees fell to the floor, Sonic inhaled sharply, and immediately leaped from his chair to catch Silver from falling over.

“Silver! Buddy, stay with me!” Sonic panicked, ignoring the sticky residue of the lemonade in his hands. He didn’t know what was going on - Silver seemed alright just a minute ago. As he searched Silver’s strained expression, he felt a deeply anxious feeling form in his gut. “What happened?”

Silver took a deep breath, the pain leaving him as soon as it came. Even so, it felt like something just came in and zapped the energy from his body, leaving him light headed. It felt disorienting, which only frustrated him as he tried to pull himself together. The last thing he wanted to do was to worry Sonic, or seem like he couldn’t handle himself, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as his vision became spotty.

“The future… at this rate, the future won’t exist,” Silver breathed shakily. “And neither will I.”

In the rainforest, Tails was going through the remains of his crashed airplane, while determining the tools he had available. He brought some screwdrivers & wrenches to make any last minute repairs, but not anything that would fix the scope of this damage. While the fox was fairly resourceful, he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to find much in the jungle that could render the broken Tornado airborne.

Tails groaned, plopping down to sit on a downed tree log, while looking over at the remains helplessly. That plane was his baby. At some point, he was gonna find a way to fix it. He was just trying to come to terms with the fact that it wouldn’t be anytime soon. 

“I'm so sorry, Tornado. I should've been more careful,” he said to the metal remains apologetically. “I don’t even have a power source or enough tools to put you together again. Now I’m just stranded in the middle of nowhere all by myself,” Tails muttered, his expression souring as he spoke..

The Jaguar, laying on its side just a couple yards away, looked over at Tails, and grunted in an offended manner. 

“Ah-” Tails froze, realizing how that came across. “Sorry, I just, I need someone who can actually get me out of this place,” he explained, acknowledging the Jaguar. “I mean, you’re a carnivore that doesn’t talk.”

The Jaguar huffed, turning its head to the other direction. It then proceeded to stand up and stretch, before shaking itself briefly. Tails watched as the Jaguar turned, and began to walk into the rainforest. 

“Hey- I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you!” Tails called out, feeling a pang of guilt. 

A pause. At this point, the Jaguar had been coming back to Tails after the initial attack. He didn’t realize that the large jungle cat could actually understand what he was saying, but now that he knew, he wasn’t going to question it. And after the initial attack, it had been hanging around Tails nonstop, even going so far as to bring him food when he was hungry. 

Tails bit his lip, glancing back and forth between the Jaguar and his downed plane, seeing the jaguar walk into the bush. He didn’t really have anything to go off of in order to get out of this place. He needed to cut his losses. 

Determined, Tails turned after the Jaguar, and began to head after it, heading deeper and deeper into the bush. 

Meanwhile, Amy Rose was busy falling in love with Spagonia. 

It wasn’t her first time here, but she couldn’t help but be in awe of the city. Rooftops with the terra-cotta Spanish tile, the ionic stone columns of the buildings, and the tall aqueducts that ran around the city. Every part of it was picturesque, with the sheer amount of balconies decorated with flowers, cobble-stone roads, and crystal clear sky. She admired the outdoor cafes, with people sitting under an umbrella and table seemingly without a care in the world. It was so beautiful and romantic, such a well-deserved vacation after everything that happened in the Starfall Islands. At least she could enjoy these sights in good company. 

“Cream! Look at that beautiful temple!” Amy pointed out excitedly, lifting her sunglasses to the top of head. The temple sat atop a long fight of steps, and the large pediment of the building was so detailed it was almost overwhelming. “I read about this - it’s a temple for Saint Pepper. Can you believe people made that? And such a long time ago!”

“Wow, Ms. Amy!” Cream marveled, catching Amy’s contagious enthusiasm. The young rabbit was just excited to be on an adventure, taking in all the new sights. “People really built something so big and beautiful!”

A cheerful chirp echoed from Cheese, Cream’s blue chao, in agreement, as it floated around her in excitement. It was hard to tell which of the two were cuter. 

“Too beautiful if you ask me.” Sticks’ eyes narrowed, as she leaned over towards Cream. “You see all those carvings? They make ‘em all fancy so that you stop and stare at them, and then they scan you and put your information in a database through the cameras in their eyes!” She accused, eyeing Saint Pepper’s figure on the facade with a defensive glare. 

“Sticks, no! People go to pray in there!” Amy sighed in exasperation, putting a hand on Cream’s shoulder instinctively. “Don’t listen to her, Cream. It’s just art.”

“They want you to pray to the capitalist overlords who will drive our society into the ground!” Sticks shot back, the concern in her eyes genuine. “Don’t worry innocent civilians! I’ll save you from the capitalist brainwashing machine!” She declared, running up the steps towards the grand temple with determination.

“Sticks!” Amy called out, before shaking her head. She enjoyed the badger’s company— Sticks was really nice once you got to know her, and incredibly loyal— but she could be really paranoid sometimes. She wondered if security would be able to stop Sticks from causing any real damage or disruption, and thought about running after her. 

However, Amy looked down and remembered that she had Cream with her. She at least owed the rabbit a good time, even if it meant that Sticks was on her own as a liability. 

“Sorry about that Cream, it’s her first time here too,” Amy laughed apologetically. 

“That’s okay Ms. Amy! I’m having a lot of fun!” Cream had that sweet, upbeat expression on her face, as she took Amy’s hand. “We can go get gelato, and Ms. Sticks can protect us from the capitalist statues!”

Amy opened her mouth, trying to figure out how to correct that, but felt a buzz on her left wrist. She looked down to see her communicator flashing with an incoming call from Sonic. 

“Sorry Cream, let me take this— Hello, Sonic?” Amy looked as the holographic screen came up, with Sonic’s face in front of her. She wasn’t expecting Sonic to call so soon on the trip, but then again, Tails had left home as well. 

“Amy! Hey!” Sonic said, nervousness leaking out of his smile. He could see the beautiful scenery of Spagonia behind her, and instantly, he felt bad about bothering her on her vacation. “Uh, how’s it going?”

“It’s going great! Spagonia is so beautiful!” Amy smiled dreamily, putting a hand on her cheek. It didn’t really cross her mind at how random the phone call seemed - it seemed so soon for him to just call and check up on her, but she was on cloud nine on her vacation. “We’re having such a good time- oh, say hi to Cream!”

“Hello Mr. Sonic!” Cream peeked her head over Amy’s arm, to look at him through the hologram. Cheese echoed Cream’s greeting, peeking over her head to look at Sonic through the screen. “How are you doing?”

“Aww, hey kiddo!” Sonic could feel his heart melt a little. Cream was a weakness of his, in some ways. This also meant it was going to make this call a lot harder. “I’m doing a-ok! I’m actually going to visit your mom right now,” he shared. 

“Oh! Mother? How is she doing? What are you both going to do?” Cream asked.

“Uh, she’s good! She’s good. She misses you,” Sonic said, feeling himself grow a little nervous. “I figured since she’s at home on her own, I’d just keep her company, you know?” This wasn’t a complete lie - Sonic had been visiting Vanilla more frequently since Amy and Tails had left, but this time around was different. After Silver collapsed, Sonic brought him over to Vanilla’s house so he could rest. 

Sonic cleared his throat, trying to keep the conversation light. “Are you having fun with Amy?”

“Yes!” Cream grinned, rocking on her feet. “We’re enjoying the beautiful architecture here!” 

Amy giggled, looking at Cream dotingly. She was so cute. “Yes! At least most of us are,” she joked, hinting at Sticks’ hostility towards anything man-made. “It’s so nice and peaceful out here, I’m glad I came to visit Spagonia again!”

“Oh, that’s- that’s great!” Sonic said, feeling himself grow a little confused, and somehow more concerned. If things were fine with Amy where she was, then what was causing the future to disappear? Clearly it was a big issue, but the last thing he wanted to do was to have her worry about something that he didn’t know the cause of yet. Especially since this was supposed to be her time: Amy, Tails and Knuckles all wanted to have their own adventures. If he told Amy about Silver’s visit, she would drop everything to come home out of concern.  

Whatever this was, Sonic could handle this on his own, unless anything came up. He proceeded to try and play it cool. “You uh, you let me know if anything comes up, yeah?”

“If anything comes up? Sonic, come on, you think I can’t handle it by myself?” Amy teased, pretending to sound offended. Really, his concern seemed a little bit odd, but maybe it was after everything that happened in the Starfall Islands. But that chapter was over now, and she was more than capable of taking care of herself. 

Or maybe, there was something else that Sonic wasn’t saying. With a playful huff, Amy smirked at Sonic’s image in the hologram. “I mean, you can just say you miss me, you know.” 

Sonic felt a small jolt go through him, getting caught off guard by that statement. He felt himself begin to panic a little, trying to hide the impending doom of the world with an increasingly less straight face. Now he was worried that she’d try to find out the real reason he’d called. “No, that’s not what I meant—“ 

  Sonic, you idiot. He began to flounder, his eyes going wide as he tried to find a way to end the call. “I mean, I do miss- I mean— Be well!” 

Amy blinked, watching with Cream as the hologram disappeared, and the call ended abruptly. There was a moment of silence between them, before Amy turned to look at Cream, and spoke. “He totally misses me. Now how about some gelato?”

It was amazing, and almost terrifying, how dense the jungle foliage could be. 

If it wasn’t for the small spots of light shining through, Tails would have sworn it was the evening, disoriented by the sheer amount of trees, vines, bushes, plants, and whatnot around him. His ears perked up at the unique chirps and trills of the animals that called these trees home, reverberating through the trees.

Among those sounds, Tails’ ears perked up to the sound of a croak— it reminded him of Big’s amphibian companion, Froggy. It almost made Tails excited: Froggy had a tendency to get lost very far from home. But, Tails remembered that this was a rainforest, and there were maybe hundreds of thousands of frogs in these parts. The odds that it was actually Big’s companion was close to zero.

But that racing feeling in his chest had him curious about that minuscule possibility, even though he knew it was most likely wrong. Slowing his pace, his eyes affixed to the ground, trying to search among the fallen leaves, grass and rocks, for anything resembling a slimy amphibian. 

Instead, a very loud rustle and snap came from above, followed by the sound of a monkey’s loud clatter to its troop in the nearby treetops. Tails jumped and almost yelped, startled by the sudden noise. His heart began to race - he remembered that he was supposed to be following the Jaguar, but with a frantic scan, he couldn't find it in his line of view— did it leave without him?

In his three-second panic, Tails caught the familiar flick of a long, slender tail entering into the bushes, and felt a wash of relief hit his chest. “Wait up!” He called out, running ahead to keep up. 

With a renewed focus, Tails kept his eye on the Jaguar in front of him, catching its spotted fur as it slithered between the trees. He was going to pay more attention from here on out, still spooked by the distraction. The rainforest was certainly the natural environment for a seemingly countless number of animals; two-tailed foxes were not one of them. 

“Do you know where we’re going?” Tails asked earnestly, with a pit forming in his stomach. He knew better than to expect an answer, but the silence was getting to him. 

The Jaguar gave no acknowledgment, and instead, continued to press ahead through the foliage. The attitude in its strut made it clear that it couldn’t care less if Tails was following or not.

Nevertheless, Tails continued to follow, resigned to the absurdity of his situation. “You better not be leading me into some sort of trap,” he warned under his breath, feeling once again, annoyed by his entire predicament. They had been walking for close to thirty minutes in this jungle, and he was starting to regret abandoning the crash site. The seemingly aimless walk wasn’t helping his anxiety at all, and frankly, it just felt stupid. “I am so not going to miss this pla— Oof!”

Tails stumbled back, having bumped into the now-still Jaguar. The animal was looking straight ahead, unfazed by Tails’ clumsiness.

 “Sorry about tha…”

Tails’ voice trailed off as his eyes settled on the small cleaning in front of him. While their path had been dim, the clearing was bright, with the sun’s rays almost sparkling through the leaves. It looked like a small garden filled with tropical flowers and bushes, filled with more color than he’d seen in the rainforest. 

And in the center of it was a large tree, hanging over like a titan; its wide trunk consisting of several smaller trunks that wound together like a thick rope. Tails followed the trunk upwards— he couldn’t even see to the top. The colorful flowers around its base were shriveled and wilting, but perhaps because they were so close to something that definitely required a lot of nutrients to grow. 

The young fox closed his mouth, once he had remembered he had one, before speaking. “Is this what you wanted to show me?” He asked, carefully approaching the small Eden. It felt like he had to keep his voice quiet, as if the magic would fade if he spoke too loud. 

The Jaguar, either unimpressed or well-adjusted, simply let out a soft snort through its nose, and slinked its way to the grand tree. It turned its head back, finally, as if to beckon Tails to come closer. 

Tails blinked at the sudden acknowledgement, before heading forward, making sure to tiptoe around the plants. Once he was close enough to the tree, he put his hand on a trunk, taking in its size. Trees got larger the older they got— who knew how old this tree was, it had to be hundreds, if not a thousand years old. This spot really wasn’t that far from Tails’s crash site in the grand scheme of things. He didn’t even want to think about the horror of crash landing into it. 

Tails was about to ask another question, but then something glitter between the winding trunks caught his eye. He blinked, then squinted, unsure if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Closing an eye, the fox brought his face close to the gap, checking closely.

It turns out that within the winding trunks, this part of the tree was hollow. Within the pocket was something, giving off an orange glow. It pulsed ever so slightly, with a gentle warmth that ticked the fox’s fur. 

“Is that… What’s that in there?” It couldn’t be a Chaos Emerald, how would it end up inside a tree? But there weren’t many other mystical glowing gems in the world that he knew about. Whatever it was, Tails was now invested. Clearly he was brought here to investigate this, or something. 

“Can I even get in there?” Tails pulled back and looked up at the tree in concern. He really didn’t want to damage the tree. The thought of cutting into it felt like he’d be destroying some sort of history, and that seemed like something Eggman would do.

He caught the sound of scratching, and saw the Jaguar pawing at the tree anxiously,  its curved, sharp nails scraping against the bark. With a few grunts, it seemed to be answering Tails’ unspoken question, as if reassuring him about damaging the mysterious tree. 

Tails bit his lip, a pit forming in his stomach. He really, really didn’t want to tear into this tree, especially with a limited means of analyzing its structural integrity and the power that slept within. There were too many variables at stake that could make this a very bad decision. The tree could shrivel up and die, Eggman could find it, or possibly the world could end. And Tails’ watch was barely going to give him answers about any of these things. He wished Sonic was here to help, to give any sort of direction.

But the Jaguar seemed to have brought him here for a reason, and whatever it couldn’t tell him with words, it was trying to show him. 

Closing his eyes, Tails took a deep breath in, then out, before looking at the tree again. He was going to need an ax.

Chapter Text

Silver woke up slowly to see an unfamiliar wooden ceiling above him, the details of the beams slowly coming into view. His body felt heavy, and he was trying to recall in his mind what had happened before he passed out. He had traveled back in time to find Sonic and his friends, to warn them about the future - it wasn’t just changing, but ceasing to exist altogether, and he only had so much time before he would disappear. The time paradox was already eating at his strength by the time he reached Sonic, which is what caused him to pass out in the first place…

And end up here. 

Silver shot up, finding himself in a bed covered with a hand-quilted blanket, made from various patterned fabric scraps. He was in a bedroom of sorts, but probably not Sonic’s; the walls were apricot pink with white stripes and detailing. On the nightstand beside him, he could see a lamp shade with frilly trim, along with a cup of water, and a plate of plain crackers. While he couldn’t sense an immediate threat, Silver cautiously decided against taking the food, and got up slowly from the bed, taking in the unfamiliar bedroom.

Walking to the door, Silver caught the clutter on a rather short desk, with crayons and paper strewn on top of it, along with a pile of books. He could see some pieces of paper taped on the bedroom wall - they were drawings, but it was hard to tell what. Curiously, he approached the desk, but stopped when his foot stepped on a very soft lump.

Pulling his foot back, Silver saw a small plush in the shape of a Chao on the ground. Silver frowned, feeling guilty for stepping on it, before realizing that this must’ve been some sort of child’s room. He bent down and picked it up, dusting it off, before setting it on top of the desk.

Making his way out of the room, Silver walked down the hallway to the sound of boiling water on a stove, and the faint smell of food. He reached the end of the hallway to find a kitchen, small but tidy, with a large window in front of the sink. A tall woman, with long rabbit ears and a dress, was focused on chopping vegetables next to the stove.

Silver cleared his throat, taking a step forward to approach her. “Excuse me.”

“Oh!” The woman gasped and turned around quickly, a couple pieces of celery falling onto the tile floor. It took her a moment to register his presence, but she quickly calmed down, letting out a gentle laugh. “Oh dear – I didn’t hear you come in. I did not realize you would be awake so soon, Silver.” 

“No, I’m so sorry,” Silver assured earnestly, though he was unsure of how this woman knew his name. “I’m sorry if I scared you, Ma’am. I wasn’t sure where I was," he explained.

“My name is Vanilla. You’re a very polite young man, Silver,” She smiled, turning her attention back to the stove. She lifted the cutting board over the stove, and used her knife to carefully scrape the chopped celery and carrots into the pot. “Sonic brought you over here after you fainted, so I had him put you in my daughter’s room.”

Vanilla set the cutting board down, and picked up a ladle, using it to stir the pot. “I’m making some soup for you, but it isn’t done yet. Sonic might be outside, so you can let him know that you’re awake in the meantime.”

Silver felt guilty for even questioning this woman’s act of kindness. To think that he thought it was a trap! He may have been taking her words at face value, but she was going out of her way to cook for him. “I didn’t mean to put you through so much trouble!” He insisted, lifting his hands a little. “Thank you for taking care of me. I hope I can make it up to you in some way.” 

“There’s no need,” she reassured, an amused chuckle leaving her. “You are one of Sonic’s friends, after all. Sonic has always looked out for my daughter and I. It’s the least I could do.”

“Thank you, Ms. Vanilla,” Silver smiled, comforted by her words. “I’m looking forward to trying the soup. It smells delicious.”

The sound of the front door opened, and Silver looked over from the kitchen through the living room to see Sonic entering. “Hey Vanilla, I just gave Amy a ring and talked to Cream. They’re having a good time so far,” he said casually, shutting the door behind him. As he looked up, Sonic spotted Silver in the kitchen, and a smile came across his face. “Oh hey, you’re awake!”

“I’m so sorry about fainting like that,” Silver frowned apologetically, approaching the blue hedgehog. “I came back to the past to ask for your help, but I’ve been losing my strength. I’m very thankful for your and Ms. Vanilla’s help.”

“It’s okay, Silver. Of course we want to help,” Sonic reassured, guiding Silver over to the couch in the living room. 

“You’ve thanked us a lot already Silver, and I haven’t even given you your soup yet,” Vanilla added, turning the knob to turn off the stove burner. “It’s no trouble at all.”

“Thank you,” Silver said sheepishly, sitting down on the couch. “I just hate asking for help and being so helpless. But I don’t know what else to do.”

“Well, based on your entrance, it seems like there’s a lot happening.” Sonic rubbed the bottom of his nose with a finger, before sitting down beside him. “Mind filling us in? You mentioned that the timeline’s shifting?”

Silver let out a defeated chuckle, feeling the weight of the situation grow heavy on him again. “There’s so much that I don’t know. All I know is that the future— my time— is beginning to change drastically, and for the worse. Plants, animals, and people are dying and disappearing. There’s something that’s happened in the timeline between now and then, something catastrophic, but I can’t figure out exactly what it is. And now I’m beginning to lose my strength, too.” Silver looked down at his palm, and closed it into a fist. “If I don’t figure out what it is, the future will be gone. And after all that work to make it a better place.”

Sonic frowned, feeling himself grow uneasy. He had just taken out probably one of the most formidable enemies he’s ever dealt with to date, almost by the skin of his teeth. He couldn’t imagine what could possibly be up next, especially something that could actually make the future disappear. But he knew that Silver was relying on him, especially now that his strength is limited. “Hey, we’re gonna figure this out,” he reassured, putting a hand on Silver’s shoulder. “Don’t worry.”

“I have full faith in you, Sonic,” Vanilla said, carrying a tray with two bowls into the living room. She set them on the coffee table in front of them, before making her way back into the kitchen.  “From the way you described that last enemy, you should be able to tackle anything.”

“Oh- Thank you!” Silver looked at the bowl, as Vanilla set it on the table in front of them. Chicken noodle soup was good for anyone’s soul. “You mentioned you had just gotten back from taking down an enemy. Can you tell me more about it?”

“Thank you— Yeah, um, in short, it was basically like… a cosmic entity that was sealed within ancient technology for thousands of years that manipulated me to release it,” Sonic admitted, distracting himself by stirring his soup. “I ended up taking it down with the help of Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Eggman, his AI, and ancient robots in outer space. That’s the quick version of it,” he clarified, realizing just how sketchy the whole story sounded. Attempting to change the conversation, he took a spoonful of soup in his mouth, and was genuinely pleased with how delicious it was. “Wow, this soup tastes amazing.”

Silver wasn’t exactly settled with that explanation. “What do you mean a cosmic entity? Like— a god? And you’re sure that you defeated it?”

“I— yeah, of course! I saw it turn into the moon and explode into a million pieces with my own eyes! It’s gone.” Sonic leaned back against the chair and looked up, searching for answers. “It has to be gone. I don’t know what exactly would cause the future to start getting messed up like that.” 

Silver sighed heavily, stirring the hot soup with a spoon. “I’m sorry, I just— It bothers me that we don’t even know what’s causing all of this.”

Sonic’s eyes narrowed, as he prepared another spoonful of soup. “Usually when there’s trouble, it leads back to one Egghead…” Sonic’s alliances with Eggman were always temporary, and it wasn’t uncommon for Eggman to either double cross Sonic and his friends, or go right back to plotting his next evil scheme. But they literally just got back from the Starfall Islands— did the scientist really have something up his sleeves this fast?

“Then we’ll go right now and see what he’s plotting!” Silver announced, standing up suddenly. His sudden burst of strength was short-lived, when he felt all the blood rush up to his head. 

“Hey— take it easy, you need to rest,” Sonic said, putting a hand on Silver’s arm to guide him back down. “At least eat some soup. It’s really good.”

Silver relented and nodded, looking down at his bowl. Chicken noodle soup, with generous amounts of carrots, celery and chicken inside. It was fragrant with onion and some light seasoning, which made Silver realize just how hungry he was. He took a spoonful and blew it carefully, before putting it in his mouth. 

“This is delicious.” Silver was hooked, and eagerly took a second, prepping himself for a third. “Ms. Vanilla, you’re an amazing cook.”

Vanilla laughed, making her way back into the living room, having finished the cleaning in the kitchen. She sat herself down on a recliner next to the couch, letting her body sink a little after the labor. “I’m glad you like it. I always make it for my daughter Cream when she’s not feeling well.”

Sonic smiled to himself, about halfway through his bowl. He’d normally eat quicker, but he wanted to pace himself with Silver, at least to keep him company. “I wish I could’ve made something like this for Tails when we were younger. Cream’s a lucky kid.”

“I meant to ask, Sonic, where are your friends right now?” Silver asked, glancing over at him. 

“Mm, let’s see. Knux wanted to get back to the Master Emerald. Probably wanted to make sure Rouge didn’t get her hands on it,” Sonic quipped. “Now Amy is on a trip in Spagonia right now, with Sticks and Cream. I just talked to them— they’re having a good time. And Tails…” 

Sonic paused for a moment, taking another spoonful of soup, while he thought of the best way to describe Tails’ departure. “Tails wants to find himself,” he explained. “Spread his wings— well, tails— and do something on his own so he can grow.” It made Sonic’s heart feel a little heavy to think about. “He and I had a talk back at the Starfall Islands— I dunno, he seems to think he’s not able to help enough, or relies too much on me, or something. I don’t see it like that, but when you think about it, we’ve been joined at the hip since way back when. I guess he’s starting to grow up and wants to be on his own a little,” he shrugged and laughed a little, though it felt empty. “So I haven’t called him yet— just wanna give him a little space, and not get in the way.”

Silver listened quietly, continuing to eat his soup as Sonic talked. Sonic was a good friend, almost as good as he was a hero, and it showed in the relationships he had with others. “Wow, everyone’s off on their own then. I guess you’re feeling a little lonely then?”

Sonic almost flinched at that, though he knew that Silver didn’t mean any harm. It was true, but Sonic wasn’t ready to admit that— thinking about it made him antsy. “Lonely? Pshh, Nah, I’m alright. I needed to rest up, y’know?” Sonic had that smug expression on his face, as he batted a hand. 

“Sonic has been spending time with me and Gemerl since we both became empty nesters,” Vanilla teased lightly, watching Sonic’s face crumple slightly from embarrassment. “He’s been very helpful these past few days.”

“Hey, I can’t be lonely if I have you guys, right?” Sonic smiled, taking the teasing in jest, before looking back at Silver. “And you came back in time for a visit, so I can help you out, no problem.” Seeking an opportunity to shift the conversation, he added, “Maybe I can go pay Egghead a visit and see what he’s been doing, and we can get some answers.”

“I’m going with you,” Silver said, straightening his back. “I’ll be okay— I just can’t sit here and let you do this on your own.” He looked over at Vanilla, to acknowledge her. “But again, I’m grateful for the hospitality.” 

Sonic looked at Silver, trying to hide the worry in his face. On one hand, he didn’t want Silver to become a liability in case things went south. On the other hand, he didn’t want to treat Silver like a liability immediately out the jump, and make him feel bad. “If you feel like you’re up for it,” Sonic deferred. They’ll just have to be careful. 

Silver nodded. “I still have my telekinetic abilities, so that’s a good sign.”

“Great,” Sonic said, feeling the energy of a new adventure creep into him. “Then we’re going to Eggman.”

Tails had spent the past fifteen minutes on his hands and knees looking for a rock around the large tree. And boy were there many! Big rocks, small rocks, gray, tan, rough, smooth— but none of them were what he was looking for. He needed something sizable and flat, that could be used as an axehead of some sort. And he found rocks that only fit one part of the bill, but not the other.

The closest thing he had found was a large, flat rock, probably about twenty inches across - definitely heavier than he needed. Testing his luck, Tails had tried to pick it up, but after struggling and almost throwing his back out, he deemed it too heavy to maneuver, and continued his search. 

“There’s gotta be something I could use,” Tails muttered, standing up to dust the dirt off of his knees and gloves. He looked back to see the Jaguar laying on the jungle floor, licking its paw without a care in the world. Seemed like Tails was on his own for this search.

Tails sighed, circling around to the back of the tree, observing the thin trunks that wound together, like the threads of a large rope. While the base of the tree was covered in flowers and bush, he didn’t see anything that was suitable enough to be used as an axehead. 

Tails caught the faint orange glow again, from between the cracks of the tree’s many trunks. Chaos Emerald or not, he needed to know what was in there. He couldn’t give up, after being led to this point. This could be a big discovery that could answer more questions about this forest, or the world, or maybe some other ancient civilization. 

He studied the tree again with a focused eye. Of the thin, winding trunks, one of them seemed to be darker in color than the rest, though he couldn’t figure out why. 

“Hmm…” Tails reached out to touch the darker trunk, running his fingers along the rough bark. A few small pieces of wood flaked off of it like it was nothing, catching him by surprise. 

“Is this trunk dead?” He asked, concerned. Carefully, he applied a little more pressure against the trunk, and gasped when he saw a huge chunk of it break right under his touch, the brittle pieces crumbling to flakes at his feet. 

This was concerning. If there was some sort of infection here, it was only a matter of time until it spread to the other tree trunks in this system. The majestic tree could rot and crumble.

But this was also his way in.

“Mm, I’m sorry tree,” Tails frowned, beginning to rip through the rotting trunk, the wood flaking and powdering with ease onto the ground. He was thankful for his gloves, which were preventing him from the threat of splinters. 

As he saw the orange glow shine brighter from within, he began to dig more furiously, clawing through until he had reached the inside of the tree, where its many thin trunks had formed a pocket. It was enough to finally catch the Jaguar’s interest, looking up from its grooming session and beginning to make its way over to Tails.

Tails squinted, the glow inside the tree much brighter than anticipated, as he cleared away enough of the rotting trunk to finally uncover the secret within.

Nestled in the tree was a round, shiny piece of amber, slightly oblong, but just larger than a softball. Its surface was virtually flawless, its glow casting a warmth against his face that seemed to beckon him. Inside the gem was a small, glistening pearl, sparkling like a diamond through the golden amber resin.

Definitely not a Chaos Emerald.

Tails’ eyes widened, stunned by the discovery. He had no idea what this was, or what it was doing in a remote part of the jungle. Based on the preservation in the tree, it seemed to be virtually untouched by anyone for a very, very long time. For all he knew, this could be the single most important discovery of his life. 

“What is that?” Tails asked, breathless, looking down at the Jaguar. He almost felt giddy— oh, how he wished he could bring this right to his lab for analysis. “Can I touch it?”

The Jaguar let a small grunt out of its nose, flicking its slick tail. As if to answer, it reached a paw up to the tree, as if to say yes.

Tails nodded, before reaching inside to pull out the amber gem. It took a little bit of elbow grease, definitely secure in there from the different tree trunks growing around it. But after a few, firm wiggles, Tails grunted and finally gathered all his strength to pull it out, taking a couple steps back from the recoil. 

“Whoa…” Tails looked down at the gem in his hand, feeling its weight, its shiny surface, and its warmth. A power was radiating from it, but unlike a Chaos Emerald, this felt different. Whereas Chaos Emeralds felt like a pressurized reservoir of power just waiting to be unleashed, the power in this stone felt like a heartbeat, the warmth pulsing in his hand. Its surface was almost a polish-smooth finish, with not a single scratch to be found.

Except for a small crack on the bottom. It would have been unnoticeable, really, but with how pristine the rest of the gem was, the inch-long crack was a glaring blemish. Tails looked closer at the fracture and studied it with concern, the cracked colored black with a red tinge around it. He didn’t hear or feel a crack when he removed it from the tree, but he wanted to keep an eye on it. 

“I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this. It’s definitely powerful,” he commented, looking over at the Jaguar, who was standing beside him. “But something tells me that crack shouldn’t be there.”

The Jaguar said nothing, hiding whatever secrets it knew behind its knowing eyes. 

Tails wasn’t exactly superstitious, but he felt like he was led here for a reason. A discovery like this, which would normally make him geek out and bounce off the walls, felt more like weight in his hand - a responsibility. He’d have to work hard to get the answers he needed about this mysterious gem, and why he was led here. 

“We should head back,” he decided, firmly grasping the gem in his hand. “We’re gonna get to the bottom of this.”

Meanwhile, in Spagonia, Amy, Cream, and even Cheese were proudly walking down the street with their newly acquired cones of gelato. It was a welcome treat considering the warm weather, and they didn’t need any reminders about attending to the treat before it melted.

Cream, a proud connoisseur of ice cream, was happy with her cone of stracciatella, taking great lengths to keep her cone from melting on her hand. Since she was on vacation, Amy had very generously offered to get Cream two scoops instead of her usual one, and a chocolate dipped cone to sweeten the deal, so long as she didn’t tell her mother. “Thank you so much Ms. Amy!” She grinned, looking over at Amy’s cone. “It really is like ice cream - maybe even better!” 

Amy’s response was caught in between a lick of her raspberry and cherry gelato. “Right?! I mean, we can’t go to Spagonia and not have the gelato here,” she smiled. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I think Cheese likes it too!”

Sure enough, Cheese was happily snacking on a pistachio cone— it was the smallest cone available, but compared to the Chao, it was still comically large. Cheese chirped and fluttered around Cream’s head in delight. 

“I think you’re right Ms. Amy!” Cream giggled, delighting in Cheese’s playfulness. “I wish Ms. Sticks got to have some gelato with us. Do you think she’d like it?”

Amy blinked, taken aback by Cream’s question, before chuckling at the thought. “I think so,” she began slowly, trying to hide the smile on her face. “I mean, maybe in her own way, after some convincing…” Amy trailed off, imagining Sticks eyeing a cone of gelato with unironic suspicion. 

“Ms. Sticks wouldn’t want any?” Cream asked with a confused expression. She couldn’t possibly fathom how someone could not want ice cream, or any forms of it. 

“I think she would!” Amy backpedaled, licking her cone again to catch some melted gelato. “She just… has an unhealthy suspicion of new things. And old things. And authority figures.”

Sticks had run off towards Saint Pepper’s Temple earlier, and admittedly, Amy was a little worried about Sticks causing some disturbance. However, her priority was showing Cream a good time, and for the most part, knew that Sticks could handle herself. They could go and find her in a bit.

Amy sighed, looking around and taking in the small boutiques and restaurants. She caught a glimpse of a florist across the street, the flowers arranged into beautiful bouquets on a rack outside the store. A romanticized image appeared in her head, of her buying a bouquet on a weekday afternoon and bringing it up to her little Spagonia apartment, complete with a balcony and a view of the terra-cotta rooftops and aqueducts. A girl could only dream.

“Ms. Amy! Look!” Cream called out, snapping Amy out of her daydream. The young rabbit and her chao were looking through the storefront window next to them, eyes big with awe.

It was the display window for A Little Trinket, a gift shop, filled with an eclectic array of Spagonia related items. Unlike the other gift shops around that had the same variations of five-dollar mugs and ‘SPAGONIA’ screen printed T-shirts, the items in the shop window appeared to be artist made. Chic shirts, dresses, pastel dishware sets, home decor - for a girl like Amy Rose, it was hard not to look.

“Can we please go inside, Ms. Amy? Maybe I can find something for Mother!” Cream asked, looking at Amy with excitement. 

“Sure! That sounds like a great idea,” Amy nodded, before remembering the cone of gelato in her hand, only halfway finished. “But we should definitely finish eating before going in.”

Amy knew that Cream loved ice cream, but had never seen her eat so voraciously. Amy was almost struggling to keep up, but barely finished hers after Cream had eaten the last of her chocolate cone. Meanwhile, Cheese had just opened their mouth, and seemingly inhaled their mini ice cream in one bite. 

“That was delicious, Ms. Amy! Thank you so much for the ice cream!” Cream smiled, using a napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth.

“No problem! Let's check out the gift shop!” Amy  said, following Cream’s lead to the shop door. 

The silver ringing of a small hanging bell sounded at the tourists’ entrance, as the door opened. 

“Welcome!” The warm, sugary voice of an older woman called out as the two girls stepped inside the shop. An incense stick was lit on one of the shelves where the incense holders were displayed, perfuming the entrance with the scent of sandalwood.

Amy looked around the store quickly, trying to find the voice that greeted them. The shop wasn’t cluttered, but it was quite full of things . She finally made contact with the shop owner at the cash register on the other side— a short, older woman, donning red-framed glasses with a beaded chain attached. Judging from her eclectic style, Amy presumed her to be the shop owner.

“Hi!” Amy and Cream greeted, the two of them looking back and forth between the eclectic shop and the woman.

“My name is Sofia,” the woman said, her voice filled with jolly. “Let me know if you girls need help with anything!”

“It's nice to meet you, Ms. Sofia!" Cream greeted, the etiquette taught by her mother quickly coming into practice. "My name is Cream, and this is Amy!” 

“We’ll let you know if we see something!” Amy called out, her attention caught in a small wall of Christmas ornaments. 

Approaching the wall, Amy studied the ornaments carefully, intrigued by the artistry and craftsmanship. While it certainly wasn’t Christmas yet, building an ornament collection wasn’t a bad idea, especially with ones from your travels. There were some modeled after landmarks in Spagonia, like the clock tower, the main plaza, the temple, and the university, as well as others modeled after the local flowers and statues. 

Next to the ornaments were some magnets, as well as some mugs, globes, and other desk decor. It occurred to her to think about buying some gifts, at least for Sonic and Tails. Tails was pretty easy to get gifts for, or rather, Amy felt like he’d be able to appreciate a nice mug. Sonic on the other hand— physical presents definitely needed to be practical for him. 

“Are you interested in one of the ornaments, dear?” Sofia said, approaching Amy next to the ornaments. “They’re handmade by artists at the local pottery. If you’re worried about traveling with them, we make sure to wrap them up nice and tight for you.” 

Amy looked up, almost startled by Sofia’s sudden appearance next to her. “Oh, thank you! I’m still deciding though,” she explained. “I’m trying to figure out what I should get for a couple of friends back home.” 

“Oh of course, that takes a lot of thought, doesn’t it?” Sofia nodded understandingly. “Well take your time then. If you want anything gift wrapped, let me know.”

“Thank you so much!” Amy smiled, watching as Sofia returned back to her post at the cash register. Amy turned around to look at the rest of the store, and its eclectic array of souvenirs. The presents were going to take some thought, but there had to be something.

“Ms. Amy! Look!” Cream called out, holding a Spagonia-themed apron. Cheese was helpfully holding the neck strap of the apron up, for Amy to see the yellow and pink designs on the fabric. “I could get this for Mother! Do you think she’d like it?”

“That’s perfect, Cream!” Amy smiled, admiring the ruffles around the border of the apron. “I think she’d love it.”

Amy looked back at the ornaments again, genuinely considering choosing one of them to buy. Only this time, she noticed that some of them were swaying from the pegs, despite the fact that she hadn’t touched a single one.

The sound of rattling came from behind her, and she snapped back to see a stack of ceramic plates rattling against each other. 

Then immediately, she felt it, the ground shaking beneath her, and Amy knew exactly what was happening.

Chapter Text

“It’s an earthquake! Cover your head and stay down!” Amy called out, crouching low as the ground shook beneath her. As her eyes darted around to find Cream and Cheese, she saw Sofia duck down beneath the cash wrap, the register shaking heavily on the counter. A pit was forming in her stomach— this was not the vacation that she wanted to take Cream on.

The shelves and tables in the shop were now rattling violently, with a couple of glasses and ceramics falling to the ground and shattering. The sounds of frightened people outside running for cover made Amy’s chest tighten, but she tried to keep her focus on finding the young rabbit and the Chao. 

“Cream? Cheese? Are you okay?!” Amy called out, trying to keep her voice level.

“Ms. Amy!” Cream called for Amy’s attention in the air, using her long ears to fly in the air alongside Cheese. She nimbly weaved through the store’s shelves to reach her, taking care to avoid running into any falling objects. Her mother told her it’s impolite to fly within buildings, but she had the feeling this was an exception. 

“Ms. Amy, we need to find Ms. Sticks!” Cream exclaimed, worry laced in her expression. “What if she’s in trouble?”

“Sticks–” Amy caught herself, and bit her lip. Truthfully, she had almost forgotten about Sticks at this moment – she was just worried about Cream getting hurt or frightened.

Amy shook her head. “No, Cream, it’s too dangerous! I don’t want to leave Sofia here,” she pleaded, grabbing the edge of a shelf to steady herself against the deep tremors. “We’ll find Sticks when the earthquake stops!”

Cream hesitated for a second, feeling torn between Amy’s direction, and her worry for Sticks. Her mom told her that she should be on her best behavior and listen to Amy. After all, they only wanted to make sure that she was safe. 

But Cream had a bad feeling in her stomach, and it was hard to tell if it was a hunch or just anxiety. This was a very strong earthquake, and Sticks was in a building that Amy told her was really, really old.

Cream looked over at Cheese, and saw them look to her expectantly for a decision. She felt better looking at her Chao, knowing they would always stick with her, through thick and thin. 

The rabbit took a deep breath, before making up her mind. “I’ll be okay, Ms. Amy, I promise! Cheese and I will find her!” She reassured, trying to fill herself with every ounce of determination and bravery she could muster. Still, she felt guilty as she and Cheese flew their way towards the door, effectively turning their backs against Amy. “Please take care of Mis. Sofia!” 

“Wait! Cream!” Amy called out helplessly, attempting to stand up and chase after them. The deep rumble made it hard to walk, however – she fell over onto a table with an oof , scratching her arms on some broken ceramic as she pulled herself back upright. 

“Ahh shit,” Amy winced, peeling herself off the table. She inspected her arms, and saw a couple scratches along her forearm with pinpricks of blood forming along them. It burned a little, but she’d be fine.

Amy then looked over to the shop door, seeing it close behind Cream. She didn’t know what emotion to feel right now, worry, or anger, but she didn’t have time to feel anything at all. “Sofia! Are you okay?” 

“Yes!” Sofia called out, her horns visible from behind her counter. “You go!”

“What?” Amy called out, hearing the sound of a vase crashing onto the ground. She was more than ready to go after Cream, but she didn’t want to leave Sofia behind all by herself. “Are you sure?”

“She’s just a little girl, you need to go after her! I’ll be okay here!”  Sofia called out from the cash wrap counter, holding onto the edge of the counter firmly to steady herself. “Just go!”

“Okay,” Amy breathed, nodding to herself. Holding her arms out for balance, Amy carefully made her way to the door, determined to avoid stumbling into any more furniture or broken souvenirs. 

Once she reached the rattling door, Amy leaned against the doorframe for balance, before looking back at Sofia with an anxious expression. “I’ll come back to check on you!” 

The pink hedgehog broke into a run as she bolted out the door and down the street. The beautiful street that she had just walked on not ten minutes ago was filled with debris from downed telephone wires, poles, broken glass, and fragments from buildings. She had to swallow the urge to gasp in despair. 

Her head snapped back as she heard a chorus of terrified screams from behind her: a taller building just a couple blocks away was crashing down, a plume of gray dust emerging in its place. 

Amy’s blood ran cold behind her neck, and she noticed that she was breathing harder than normal. Still, she forced herself to press forward, trying to keep her focus on maintaining her balance, and finding Cream.

This was bad. It’s been well over a minute or two at this point, but the ground was still shaking. Earthquakes don’t normally last this long. At this rate, the whole city was going to be leveled. Cream and Cheese were flying around all by themselves trying to find Sticks, who may or may not be crushed under temple ruins.

Chaos.

Amy lifted her wrist up to look at her communicator, having to slow down so she could balance herself. “I need to call Sonic—“

Amy’s eyes widened. Sonic had told Cream he was on his way to visit her mom. If she called him to say that she’d effectively lost Cream in the middle of an earthquake, and if Vanilla was right there next to him—

She shuddered at the thought. Okay. New plan.

Amy instead went to click on Tails’ contact, and picked up her speed again, hearing the sound of the dial tone from her wrist. Ringing… more ringing…

A different tone beeped from Amy’s communicator, and she looked down closely at her wrist. She almost stopped in place again, doing a double take at the message on her screen. 

“Error: Could not be reached?”

In typical, record breaking speed, Sonic and Silver had already run across Green Hill to storm Eggman’s base. The two of them were running through the maze of steel-gray halls, avoiding spikes and lasers, and taking down badniks as they went. While they tripped off the general alarm system, Sonic noticed that there were fewer badniks and obstacles than expected. 

“I didn’t realize how easy it was to reach Eggman,” Silver commented, levitating three badniks and slamming them against the wall with ease.

“Almost too easy,” Sonic muttered in suspicion. Spotting a couple of Buzz Bombers in the air, he swiftly curled into a ball and spin-dashed them, the broken pieces clattering on the floor. 

Once their combat came to a halt, Sonic and Silver stopped in front of a large, imposing metal door, with no handle to open it except for the control panel on the side. 

Silver approached the control panel, studying the buttons and scanners with curiosity. “Do you know what the passcode is?” He asked, looking over at Sonic dubiously. 

“The password? Yeah, it’s uh–”

Using a swift spin-dash, Sonic threw himself against the thick metal door, the sheer force to tear a large hole through the middle. Silver ducked for cover as the metal crashed down, before looking over to see Sonic standing at the makeshift entrance into a control room. 

“Heh, it worked. Lucky guess,” Sonic quipped, as he and Silver stepped inside the large control room.

Most of the lights inside were off, except for the white and red screensaver on the large multi-monitor display on the far right side of the room above a desk. The residual light from the other room illuminated the faint outlines of other objects: tables, machines, an expanse of tools, and most notably, an empty desk chair in front of the monitor.

“He’s not here?” Silver asked, staying on guard as he cautiously stepped into the room. 

“Guess not,” Sonic said, making his way over to the desk, which was really more of a control panel. The built-in keyboard was curved like an arch, with an array of buttons and toggles surrounding it.  

The monitors above the desk flickered away from the screensaver, and revealed live footage of Eggman’s disgruntled face, earning a flinch from Silver. While the doctor’s eyes were hidden behind the polarized spectacles, Sonic noticed that his gaze was lower than the camera, and more notably, his mouth was hanging open. Calling in, but focusing on whatever coding he was working on. 

“What do you want?” Eggman asked, his voice dull and unanimated.

Sonic’s brow furrowed, taking pause at the lackluster greeting. He knew Eggman too well at this point. There was no reason why they should’ve broken in the base this easily, except for the possibility of some elaborate trap for the doctor’s next scheme.

“I didn’t think you’d be this quick to already launch your next plan, Egghead,” Sonic began casually, staying on guard behind his cool, easygoing disposition. “We just got back from stopping the end of the world, what are you up to now?”

“Picking a fight already? Are you that bored?” Eggman shot back absently, his focus glued to his screen. A scowl came across his face as he spotted a typo in his code, and quickly traced back on the keyboard to correct it. “If you really must know, I’m still at the Starfall Islands. I wasn’t expecting visitors so soon.”

Sonic inhaled sharply, and bit the inside of his lip. He didn’t understand what kind of mind games Eggman was playing with him, but he was trying to exercise some restraint in this conversation. Eggman wasn’t exactly the type to keep his plans secret for very long - Sonic knew he enjoyed the pomp and circumstance of announcing a new scheme.

Silver approached the screen, making his way next to Sonic at the monitor. “The future is disappearing altogether,” he explained, noticing the odd tension in the air. “And Sonic said the great evil you all defeated in the Starfall Islands is gone.”

“Is it gone? I don’t know,” Eggman said bitterly, feigning ignorance.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Sonic balked, feeling something grow in his chest. He was trying not to lose his cool, but he felt like he had missed something, or that whatever he did up in space didn’t actually do anything except delay the inevitable. 

“It’s gone– Sage landed the final blow, and it exploded in space. I saw it,” Sonic rationalized, although he wasn’t sure if he was trying to persuade Eggman or himself. “If there’s anyone else we’d know who’d cause enough damage to the timeline, it would be you, Eggman.”

Eggman inhaled sharply and adjusted his jaw at the sound of Sage’s name, her sacrifice, coming from Sonic of all people. “Well, I would have known if you saved some of your heroic decorum to tell me what happened up there, but I didn’t receive so much as a word, let alone any of Sage’s code as a condolence,” Eggman spat, not even realizing that he had stopped working altogether, or that his voice had gotten louder. He grit his teeth with a deep, bitter anger, already set off like a lit fuse. “So no, I don’t know for sure if The End is gone, and frankly, I do not care what happens to the timeline right now. I am trying to salvage my daughter’s code and bring her back! ”

The silence that followed was deafening. Sonic and Silver were glued to the floor, staring at the monitor in shock, unable to say anything.

“If you wanted to be sure it was gone,” Eggman muttered, his voice now quiet, “Then maybe you should have sacrificed yourself for it.” 

Just like that, Eggman ended the call in silent rage, the screen blanking back into the default red and white screensaver.

Silver looked over at Sonic, who looked like he’d just taken a hammer to the chest. Sonic rarely showed fear, if not for himself, then for others, but he was just mortified right now, unable to say a word.

After a moment, the sirens inside the lab blared loudly, dispelling one emotional tension for another. The two of them jumped, straightening themselves for their exit as they heard the sounds of badniks rushing through the walls around them.

“Let’s get out of here,” Sonic said flatly.

Their battle out of Eggman’s base kept them busy. Silver noticed that Sonic was more aloof, readily taking on multiple badniks at a time to blow off some steam, and he had his fair share to handle as well. Whatever exchanges they had amounted to covering each other’s backs, but absent this time was Sonic’s ease and playfulness. 

Once they escaped the slew of robots, the two of them wordlessly began their trek back to Green Hill. Silver looked around uncomfortably, trying to figure out how to break the silence. He licked his lips and took a deep breath, before looking over at Sonic with a worried expression.

“Sonic?” Silver asked gingerly. “Are you okay?”

Sonic pursed his lips, avoiding Silver’s gaze for a moment to collect himself, before sighing. “Yeah,” he said loosely, the tiredness audible in his voice. “Yeah, just – Eggman really knows how to get under my skin. That’s all.”

Silver wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but he could tell that was Sonic’s way of shelving the conversation. Understanding, he nodded. “Okay.”

The two hedgehogs walked in a more comfortable silence for a few minutes. before the sound of small beeps caught their attention. Sonic looked down at the communicator on his wrist, buzzing against him. For a moment, he was reminded of Tails.

“Is someone calling?” Silver asked, looking at the communicator curiously.

“No, it’s not a call…” Sonic stopped in place and held the communicator up more closely, furrowing his brow to read the text on the screen. He should really ask Tails to make the screen bigger, or something.“It’s a… news alert?”

Silver walked over to Sonic, watching him read the alert on the screen. “What’s going on?”

“An earthquake… In Spagonia?” Sonic said the words out loud, registering them in real time. His stomach sank, as he looked over at Silver with worry. “Amy’s on vacation there with Cream and Sticks.”

Silver’s jaw went slack – Cream is Vanilla’s daughter. He didn’t want to imagine the look on Vanilla’s face when she found out about this. “Are they okay?” he asked, trying to keep his voice level.

“I didn’t hear from them yet,” Sonic shook his head, tapping his foot anxiously. Amy’s got a level head, he trusted that she’d keep Cream and Sticks safe. He had just called them, like, a few hours ago. They were okay! They had to be okay.

Still, though, it seemed like one dire situation after another now. Sonic wouldn’t know for sure unless he heard their voices.

“I gotta call Amy.”

High above the streets of Spagonia, Cream and Cheese were making their way in the direction of the city’s large clock tower. All things considered, the clock tower was withstanding the tremors of the earthquake fairly well. But as Cream scanned the streets below, she wished that she could say the same for some of the other buildings. Some buildings had partially collapsed, with plumes of dust rising into the air above. 

A chirp caught Cream’s attention again, and she turned to look over at Cheese, who was pointing towards a long, white building not too far ahead of them – St. Pepper’s Temple. 

“Good job, Cheese,” Cream praised, looking down at the temple. She could see a tightly formed crowd, many yards away from the base of the steps, along with a fire truck pulling into the plaza. “Let’s go.”

Cream and Cheese descended among the anxious crowd, at least twenty yards away from the temple. As her feet hit the ground, she felt a small wave of relief knowing that the shaking had stopped. A couple columns had already fallen in front, the large chunks of white marble crushing parts of the staircase inside. Three disheveled people, covered in white dust, emerged from the entranceway. The sound of relieved family members could be heard at the very front of the crowd.

The two of them began to walk slowly, scanning the crowd for any sign of Sticks. There was a thickness in the air, voices abuzz with anxiety and shock. Families that were together held each other close, others were anxiously waiting for their loved ones to show up. Cream caught the moment of a young boy running up to his mother, and being scooped up immediately, their tearful reunion making her heart feel heavy.

“We need everyone to stand back,” a loud voice said upfront. Cream looked over to see a Dalmatian in a fireman’s jacket addressing the crowd, blocking the way as another person worked on installing a barricade. “We are working to get everyone out as fast as we can, but nobody is allowed to enter the site.”

The sound of protests and questions erupted from the crowd, turning into a cacophony of questions. Cream was just trying to look for Sticks, to see if she had made it out among the group of people. But deep down, Cream knew this was just wishful thinking— she hadn’t known Sticks for very long, but she knew that Sticks wasn’t one to get lost in the crowd. 

“I don’t see her,” Cream said finally, looking over at Cheese with worry. She didn’t realize how long she’d been holding her breath for. 

The Chao let out a small chirp, fluttering around Cream’s head before pointing at the temple with determination. 

“I don’t think we can go in, Cheese, they said nobody is allowed in or out,” Cream explained, defeat in her voice. “They said they’d go in there and find everyone…”

But how long would that take? Her eyes settled on the temple again, beginning to grow antsy. She knew that heading inside the temple was a big risk. At a moment's notice, it could collapse on itself, and anyone inside would have little chance of getting out. 

Cheese studied Cream’s expression carefully. They knew Cream all too well — all this second guessing was from her self-doubt. 

The Chao flew in front of Cream with a determined expression on their face, giving her a few chirps of encouragement. They could only hope that Cream could understand, beyond words, how much they believed in her. 

Cream blinked, started by Cheese’s encouragement. Even if she couldn’t understand word for word what Cheese said, she felt the sentiment. It was reassuring. 

“Ms. Amy did say that Ms. Sticks has an unhealthy suspicion of authority figures…” Cream said slowly, considering. 

The little girl took a deep breath in, grounding herself against the pounding of her heart. She needed to be brave— after all, Sticks was probably in there. She just needed to take a page out of Sonic’s book, and work fast.

“Let’s go in, Cheese. Ms. Sticks might still be inside!” Cream said, jumping up and beginning to flap her ears into a hover. 

The Chao nodded and eagerly followed beside her, as the two of them made a beeline towards the steps of the temple.

Gasps emerged as they flew through the crowd. Cream let the sound of the wind drown out the comments, as they realized what they were doing. The two wove between the crowd straight in the direction of the temple, past the firefighter controlling the crowd. 

“Hey kid! You can’t go in there!” The firefighter called out, watching in shock as the two began to barrel ahead at full speed. “Stop! Hey!”

Cream flapped her ears harder, the two soaring over the marble steps, and into the entrance of the temple. 

She wanted to take everything in- the large statue in the middle, the remains of the marble columns, the intricate pattern on the floor. Instead, her heart raced at the sounds of footsteps approaching behind her. Her head snapped quickly to see the same Dalmatian, and another fireman, a human, chasing after her. “Oh no!”

Cream zoomed past the statue, down the hall before turning the corner, leaving a gust of wind in her wake. Cheese was keeping up with her steadily, as she kept her eye out for a room, somewhere to hide in. 

“Over here!” Cream signaled, catching the entrance to a small room - a smaller chapel of some sort. The ornate room, colored white and gold, was filled with multiple statues and antiquities. It would have been a sight to behold, if not for the various rates of damage caused by the earthquake.

The young rabbit saw a statue with a rather large pedestal, ideal for hiding, and gestured to Cheese to follow her. The two swiftly hid behind the pedestal, Cream holding Cheese close to her and curling up on the floor. 

Running footsteps grew louder and louder, until they slowed down as they entered the room. Cream could see the light of a flashlight bounce on the wall in front of her, highlighting the statue’s silhouette - a person holding a sphere in their hands. 

“She ran in here, right?” One of the firefighters asked.

“Pretty sure,” the other said, taking a few steps forward.

Cream held her breath, freezing every muscle in her body to stillness. 

She watched as the light moved around the walls, the two firefighters pacing around the room. Cheese was squirming ever so slightly against her, so she held them closer, putting a finger over their mouth. 

After what felt like an eternity, the lights flickered off. “Kid probably ran off. Let’s keep looking.”

Their booted footsteps grew farther and farther away. Cream didn’t dare move until she couldn’t hear them any longer.

Finally, after a few moments, Cream shifted her legs and arms, relaxing her body and taking a deep breath. She didn’t even realize how tightly she’d clenched herself; it left her a little sore. Cheese was more than ready to leave her grasp and fly into the air, taking a nice, big stretch. 

“That was close, Cheese,” Cream breathed quietly, dusting herself off to stand up. 

As she looked around the room, Cream ran her hand along the wall absently. The artifacts really were something to behold— the remains of the statues were so lifelike. Her and Cheese frowned at the sight of an empty pedestal, with the shattered marble remains of a statue sprawled at its base. 

“Ah—“ The wall moved beneath Cream’s hand, causing her to stumble slightly. She looked back at the wall, seeing a portion of it look slightly different than the rest. The glimmer of a silver door handle caught her eye. 

“Cheese, look!” Cream whispered, reaching for the handle. She winced as the hinges squeaked, hoping it wouldn’t attract any attention to her. “It’s a door.”

The room behind the door was dim, with a narrow, winding staircase that went who knows how far. It seemed a little claustrophobic, with its steep stairs and lack of handrails. 

She exchanged a glance with Cheese for reassurance. Cheese nodded. 

Cream looked over her shoulder one last time, before joining Cheese as they descended down the staircase.

At the bottom of the staircase, the two friends reached a long, dark hallway, the floor covered in dirt, and the stone walls dirtied and worn down. The only light was a set of string lights on the ceiling, the ones used by excavation teams within dark caves. The hallway seemed to be endless, with the occasional door lining both sides of the hallway.

Cream opened her mouth to speak, but stopped at the distant sound of… something, distorted by the echo of the long hallway.

Cheese squeaked, and flew behind Cream for safety. 

“It’s okay, Cheese!” Cream reassured timorously, reaching back to comfort the Chao. 

She glanced back down the hallway and took a deep breath. She needed to be brave, even if her legs felt like jelly, and she wanted to run all the way back upstairs and find Amy. 

With a deep breath, Cream straightened her back, and forced herself to walk forward.

Cheese covered their eyes, staying in place for a moment until they saw Cream was already a few yards ahead. The Chao panicked, and flew ahead, not noticing an old flier that had fallen on the floor. 

CONDEMNED - This structure has been deemed unsafe for occupancy or use by the City Inspector of Spagonia. DO NOT ENTER.

Every step forward seemed to grow smaller, as the two of them ventured down the eerie hallway. It smelled of dirt, and something else foul beneath that, and the hanging lights flickered. The three rooms they passed were empty, but the whispery sound that lured them in was growing into the faint rumblings of a person’s voice. 

Cream swallowed a hard lump down her throat, pressing forward in silence. Even as Cheese latched on to her, she wanted to stay ready for anything that could happen. 

As they walked past another doorway, Cream caught something in the corner of her eye. Stopping immediately, she turned to look in the pitch black room, with only the light from the hallway creeping through the doorway. 

There was something in the corner. 

The young girl took one, two, tiny steps closer, not daring to breathe. While she looked into the dark, Cheese covered their eyes, hiding behind her. They could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing on its ends.

It wasn’t something – it was someone.  

Cream squinted, trying to study the figure from a distance. The person was hunched over, muttering to themselves. She could make out their ears, and two large spines coming from the back of their head.

Only, they weren’t spines. It was… hair?

“Ms. Sticks!” Cream gasped, covering her mouth over her face. 

“Aah!” Sticks jumped into the air, quickly turning around to find herself face to face with Cream and Cheese. She blinked, her voice caught in her throat as she lowered herself from her defensive stance. Then, a suspicious expression appeared over the badger’s face.” Heeey, you’re not supposed’ta be here! It’s employees only!”

Cream’s back straightened, caught off-guard by Sticks’ reaction. “We found a hidden door when we were running away… from the firemen…” Cream explained, realizing as she spoke how dangerous her story sounded. Then she paused, registering Sticks’ sentence in her head. “ Hey , you’re not an employee!” 

“Neither are you!” Sticks retorted back, before sighing. “Okay, but where’s Amy?” Sticks asked, looking behind her for any indication of Amy. 

Cream felt a pang of guilt, recalling the fact that she’d disobeyed Amy’s orders. There wasn’t much she could do about it now- they were already here. The rabbit shook her head. “Ms. Amy is looking after a shopkeeper. I told her I’d come and find you!”

Sticks’ jaw dropped, an incredulous expression forming over her face. This child was something else. “You came here alone?! You’re crazy!”

“Amy told me the temple is really old, and it’s already starting to fall apart! Cheese and I came to get you out!” Cream explained, trying to shift the conversation away from Amy’s absence.

A deep rumble from below pulled the two of them out of their conversation, and into the present circumstance. Cream felt herself freeze in place, as the shaking grew stronger beneath them, and the sound of stone cracked around them. Admittedly, she didn’t know much about earthquakes— was this some sort of aftershock? 

“Hey kid!” Sticks yelled, over the sounds of the shaking foundation. “Watch out!”

Cream and Cheese looked up to see cracks in the ceiling above them. Flecks of dust and pebbles fell beside them, which turned to small, tennis-sized rocks. 

The ceiling was caving in. 

Sticks instinctively ran over and grabbed them, the force of her dive sending all three of them onto the floor. And yet, it wouldn’t be enough to clear them from the falling rocks. 

Cream didn’t have time to think about her life flashing over her eyes. Instead she shut her eyes tightly, anticipating the world crashing over them in a mere moment. 

There was a loud bang. Instead of the hard crash of a boulder, a wave of dust and small rocks rained over them. 

The three of them opened their eyes slowly, and loosened their grip after a few moments, realizing their survival. 

Cream coughed, feeling the shadow of a figure standing over them. As she looked over her shoulders, registering their presence, her eyes widened.

“Ms. Amy!” 

Amy was panting, as she lowered her hammer from her stance. The buzz of adrenaline ran through her from the quick save— it felt too close for comfort. Still, she was relieved that she caught up with Cream.“We need to go. Now.” Amy said with haste, keeping her focus on the situation at hand. 

In the distance, there was the loud crash of rocks as they tumbled over the staircase. They all looked back, before noticing that more and more of the ceiling was cracking. 

“Was that the exit?” Cream asked, now genuinely afraid. She instinctively held Cheese close to her, who sought refuge in the crook of her neck. 

“Don’t worry. I know another exit!” Sticks said, as if it should’ve been obvious enough. 

“What?” Cream knit her brow, confused, but more than willing to trust it. Any direction was better than none.

“Whenever I enter a building I always make sure to learn where all the exits, fire extinguishers, and hidden staircases are,” Sticks said, shaking some dust off her body.  You can never be too careful.” 

“Lead the way, Sticks. Let’s hurry!” Amy said, putting her hand behind Cream’s back to guide her. 

Without another word, the three began to run full speed down the corridor, as the basement of the temple began to cave in on itself. 

Chapter Text

Cream took a deep breath at the feeling of fresh air as they stumbled out through a back door. Her lungs burned from the sprint, but she pushed herself to stay behind Sticks and Amy as they continued running. 

As they made themselves a  short distance away from the temple, Amy, Sticks, and Cream slowed into a jog before stopping themselves. Cream bent over herself, holding her knees as she panted. 

The silence between them was loud, after the near death experience. Cream’s adrenaline was wearing off, and now she was left with a pit of anxiety in her stomach. 

She cautiously looked over at Amy, who was dusting herself off after putting her hammer away. Instead of her usual smile, Amy had a neutral, removed expression.

“Ms. Amy..?” Cream said after a moment, her voice barely a peep.

Amy took a deep breath through her nose, then exhaled slowly through her mouth, before looking at Cream’s big puppy eyes. Seeing the young rabbit’s face alone made Amy feel guilty about being upset with Cream in the first place – how Vanilla didn’t bend to Cream’s every whim was beyond her.

But Amy also just ran across the city, into a condemned basement, and barely saved the young girl from being crushed under the rubble. 

“I– Cream, you can’t just do that,” Amy began, her face turning into a frown. “You have no idea how scared I was. That was dangerous!” 

Amy held herself back from getting too worked up; the word ‘sorry’ was written all over Cream’s face. She didn’t want to scold Cream more than necessary. “I know how much you care about helping others– Actually, I am so glad that the first thing you thought of when the earthquake hit was Sticks’ safety. Making sure that everyone in your group is accounted for is important, whether they’re in the room or not. But .”

The hedgehog took another breath through her nose, trying to think about how not to sound preachy. “You can’t just run off like that on your own, even if you have Cheese with you,” She pointed out, as if to catch Cream’s rebuttal before she could even say it, “ Especially when I say no. I’m responsible for you, Cream. Your mom would be devastated if anything happened to you.” 

Cream hung her head low, her gaze on the floor as her eyes began to sting. She knew the scolding was warranted, especially because, after taking all of these big risks and trusting her gut, she failed. If Amy hadn’t followed her, who knows what would’ve happened when the ceiling caved. 

Amy approached the young girl carefully, kneeling down to put a hand on her shoulder. “Cream,” she said, her voice much softer this time. “Look at me.” 

“I know that you are more brave and capable than any of us know,” Amy said softly, working a warm smile on her face. “But in these situations, everyone needs to be on the same page, okay?”

Cream nodded silently, trying to push down the lump in her throat.

“It’s okay, Cream. You’re okay. I just… I don’t want you to worry about taking this kind of responsibility right now, okay?” Amy said, putting a hand on Cream’s head. 

Cream sniffed and nodded, wiping her face with the inside of her wrist. 

“Ah—“ A buzz on Amy’s wrist caught her attention, causing her to rise up from her position on the team. Lifting her arm up, Amy looked at the face of her communicator to see an incoming call… from Sonic.

Her expression dropped into one of panic, as she looked at the disheveled state Cream was in. If Sonic saw Cream covered head to toe in layers of dust, or even worse, if Vanilla saw her—

“Cream! Dust yourself off!” Amy whisper-shouted quickly, trying to help the young rabbit get the coat of dust out of her fur. Sticks ran in to help— not understanding the urgency, but figuring that it needed to be done. “We cannot let your mom find out about this.” 

Knowing she couldn’t delay the call any longer, she finally took a few steps back, collecting her composure before answering. “Hello?”

“Hey, Ames?” A small hologram of Sonic popped up from her wrist, the connection more fuzzy than usual. They could still tell that Sonic’s expression was more serious than usual. “I just saw the news. Is everything okay over there? Are you guys okay?”

“We’re great!” Amy laughed nervously, trying to brush off the near-death experience they had just now. It only occurred to her after a moment that absolutely nobody would buy that, considering there was just an earthquake. “I mean, uh— we’re fine. We’re safe! But the earthquake was terrible,” Amy breathed. 

“I bet. How bad is it over there?” Sonic asked, not paying attention to Amy’s suspicious behavior. 

“It’s… It’s sad, Sonic.” Amy looked up from the communicator, to take in the sights again. “A number of buildings came down— part of the clock tower got damaged and St. Pepper’s Temple is on the brink of collapse. They’re gonna need a lot of help over here.”

“Oh man,” Sonic sighed, shaking his head. “Okay. I’ll see if I can get over there soon to help out with rescue efforts.” A pause. “How are Cream and Sticks doing?”

Amy looked over at Cream and Sticks through the corner of her eyes, a silent signal to them to get ready to talk. “Sticks is alright— it’s Sticks. Cream’s okay too. We’re all safe.”

“That’s good to hear— is Cream there?” Sonic asked. 

Amy bristled at the quest, and looked back at the two of them, sending a silent hurry up signal their way. “Yeah, she’s coming.” 

Cream ran over to Amy, hoping that she didn’t look too disheveled as she looked over at Sonic’s hologram. “Hi Mr. Sonic!” Cream greeted, trying to sound as unsuspicious as possible.

“Hey! Are you okay?” Sonic asked, keeping his tone gentle. “Heard there was an earthquake. I wanna let your mom know how you’re doing."

“The earthquake was scary, but we’re okay!” Cream insisted. “Please tell Mother that I’m perfectly safe, and that Ms. Amy and Ms. Sticks are taking good care of me. But a lot of people here are going to need our help.”

A faint smile appeared on Sonic’s face. Cream really was kind, inside and out. “Will do, kiddo. You ladies stick together.”

“Sonic!” Sticks called out, making her way behind cream to get his attention. “You should’ve seen it! It’s the Earth gettin’ it’s revenge for the systemic pollution of our planet’s ecosystems!”

“Yeeeahh,” Sonic nodded slowly, not buying it at all. “In any case, just hold on tight for now. I’ll find you there soon.”

“Thanks, Sonic. We’ll be here.” 

Amy ended the call with the push of a button, and then felt all the wind leave her chest. She didn’t realize how long she’d been holding her breath.

“You tell no one this happened,” Amy breathed, a wash of relief over her. “And I won't tell your mom. But please don’t do it again.”

Back at the crash site, Tails was studying his new discovery. He was invested in learning about the amber's properties, resorting to creating a makeshift lab from the handful of tools and monitors that he packed. It wasn’t enough to get a full read on the stone’s capabilities - the readings for the gem were actually going off the charts on some of the instruments. It made him yearn for the comfort of his lab back home. 

In any case, he was determined to figure out what it is, or at the very least, see if he could use it to help him with his predicament.

Having exhausted the tests, the young scientist held the amber in his hand. There was a warm, pulsing sensation radiating from it as he eyed the white pearl encased within. 

“This gem is definitely powerful. If I wanted to use it to power something, harnessing it shouldn’t be too different from using a Chaos Emerald,” Tails mused aloud. 

His eyes drifted over to the crumpled remains of the Tornado, scattered on the jungle floor. If only.

He’d have to think of building something else to power to get him out of this jungle. He liked

If only there were something that could point him in the right direction.

“Man, I got really lucky with the GPS on here,” Tails said to himself, checking the network connection within the communicator - ‘no signal’, the screen read. “But there’s barely any connection out here, I’d be waiting forever and just wasting battery.” 

“Mm… I can’t exactly use this to make my GPS more sensitive, that’s not how they work,” Tails said aloud. Typically, whenever he’d run into a real rut, he’d talk the problem out loud with Sonic, who’d try to follow along– or really just let Tails talk at him. It was nice that Tails could do the same with the Jaguar here.

Tails reached over and took a small stick off the ground, using it as a stylus to draw a diagram in the dirt. “This GPS system in the communicator works by receiving signals sent from multiple satellites, and calculating its position using trilateration algorithms. If not enough satellites are sending signals our way, it won’t work. But…”

Furrowing his brows, Tails begins to draw faster in the dirt, visualizing his idea.

“If I made my own version of a satellite, something to send a signal to, maybe I can ping something nearby, like a cellphone tower!” Tails breathed, a wave of adrenaline washing over him. 

He looked over at the amber again, putting the pieces together in real time. “I can use this gem to power the radio signal. Then, once I actually pinged something, I can estimate how far it is based on how long it took for the ping.”

Tails tapped the stick against the ground, clicking his tongue. “The only caveat is, I wouldn’t be able to tell which direction it’s coming from, since the signal is sent out in a radius. So we’d have to travel to different places and send out the signal. If it pings faster, then I know we’re headed in the right direction!”

This was the first time he’d felt hopeful in a while. While he was glad he’d made a very unexpected alliance, being stuck in the forest has been rough otherwise. 

Energized by his revelation, Tails looked over at the Jaguar expectantly, beaming with excitement. 

The Jaguar, seated comfortably on the ground, simply stared back at Tails and blinked.

Tails’ expression dropped, before folding his arms over his chest. “You didn’t understand a word I said, did you?” 

The Jaguar let out a soft snort from its nose as it stretched its back out, before standing up to walk elsewhere.

Tails chuckled to himself, unfazed by the nonchalant response. He felt motivated and energized- for the first time, he felt like he knew what he was doing, since landing out here. 

“Okay, Tails,” he said to himself, standing up. “Let’s get to work.”

Tails spent the entire afternoon working on the radio-signaling device. Limited by his supply restraints, he actually enjoyed the challenge - repurposing hardware from the tornado, even taking apart one of his instruments for the motherboard. He was in his element again, save for the occasional hiccup along the way, but determined to tinker his way out of this jungle.

Sitting on the log of a downed tree, Tails was finishing up some fine-tuning on his device. He was oblivious to the antics of the Jaguar, who was laying down behind him. Tails’ two, fluffy tails brushed over the large cat: The Jaguar pawed at one of them, raising their head to sniff it carefully, before watching them swish again. This was the most entertaining thing they’d seen all day. 

“And… Done!” 

Tails held up the device, a box with a decently-large radio dish attached. It was a bit cruder than he’d liked, but he was limited to the scrap material from the Tornado’s remains. As long as it could do the job, he’d be more than happy. 

The Jaguar stood up from its resting spot, and circled around to stand beside Tails. The animal looked expectantly at the young fox, awaiting demonstration.

“Now to just put this in here…” Tails flipped the machine over and opened the back, revealing a large, empty battery chamber. His hand fished for the amber next to him, taking the gem and stuffing it within the chamber carefully. The oblong shape made it a little tricky to fit inside, but once it was secured, Tails closed the chamber and flipped it over, eager to turn on his device.

Tails looked at the Jaguar with a smile. “Fingers crossed,” he said, holding his breath as he switched the power button on.

A small, blue light blinked on the box as it powered on. The two watched with bated breath as the screen flickered on.

Preparing signal…

…

Sending signal. Please do not turn off device. 

His eyes widened at the message on the screen. Now was the moment of truth. 

“Come on, come on…” Tails was at the edge of his seat, holding the screen closer as he knit his brow. His hands felt sweaty beneath his gloves. This needed to work.

Even the Jaguar was invested, studying Tails’ reaction to the device carefully, as they waited. 

Three seconds.

Five seconds. 

Eight seconds.

Finally, the screen flashed.

Tower EG-5013: 13.2 miles away.

“YES!” Tails jumped out of his seat, his tails spinning into a hover in excitement. The Jaguar jumped and skittered back, startled at the reaction.

Adrenaline was coursing through Tails’ body - he was almost shaking in excitement as he turned to look at the Jaguar. “It worked! It actually worked!” He laughed, feeling a physical weight lift from his chest. It almost made him want to cry. 

Tails rolled his head back, letting his shoulders drop behind him as he faced the azure sky. He felt renewed.

“Great. We’ll leave first thing tomorrow!”

Tails finished off the last of his breakfast – a mealy apple, but was in too good of a mood to be phased by its texture. It was, decidedly, his last morning at this crash site. He had slept with his new device cradled next to him, anxiously awaiting his opportunity to get back to civilization, fantasizing about the luxuries of life: a hot meal, a hot shower, and a warm, cozy bed.

Tails set the apple core neatly on the ground, trying to shake off the guilt with the fact that it wasn’t quite littering – it was composting . He stood up and stretched his arms high, feeling the sun warming his face. He was filled with a vigor he hadn’t had in a while, decidedly optimistic about his expedition. 

He glanced over at the Jaguar, who had already devoured its morning meal - the catch of the day from the river. It laid on the ground unbothered, while attentively licking its paw, reaching every crevice.

“I’m going to pack my bag, and then we’ll head out!” Tails called out, before walking to his duffel bag and bending down in front of it.

The bag was lighter than before, the fresh fruits and some other food having been devoured these past few days. Rummaging through, he took note of everything inside: notebook, toolkit, remaining rations, sweater, homemade radio device with a magic gem inside, and of course, his blaster gun.

Carefully, Tails picked up the blaster and held it, the sleek white metal cool in his hand. He definitely had more powerful weapons back at the lab, but this one was light and compact, ideal for traveling. He opened the panel at the side to check the battery - only 10 percent charged, to his dismay. Maybe there was a way to charge it, if he had enough parts to sort through. It would be good to have.

“Ah!”

A nudge against his back interrupted his thoughts. Jumping slightly, he turned to see the Jaguar beside him, rubbing its head against Tails’ shoulder. 

Tails laughed a little, surprised at the sudden affection, but decidedly welcoming it. He lived with Sonic long enough to know the many, many ways to say ‘hurry up’. 

“ Okay, okay,” he chuckled lightly, closing the blaster panel and stuffing it back in the duffel bag. “I’m ready.” 

Tails zipped the bag and stood, before looking at the Jaguar’s hind leg, noticing the absence of the gauze around it. He wasn’t sure if it came off naturally, or was removed in a fit of annoyance. A scar had formed, and the large jungle cat was walking well, with only a slight limp. 

Tails stopped, and looked over his shoulder one last time. The remains of the Tornado laid there in a heap, with the red paint worn from the metal plates. Days ago, the fateful crash during the storm felt like the end of his journey. He’d spent countless hours in the hangar building and modifying it, making sure the yoke and its controls fit like a glove on his hand.

Now, he had accepted its fate. It served its purpose, and gave him the tools to finally begin his adventure. 

With a wistful sigh, Tails turned around, and continued to follow the Jaguar into the forest.

Tower EG-5013: 12.3 miles away.

Satisfied, Tails breathed in relief. He flipped the switch off on his device, and nodded, looking over at his companion. “Okay, pretty sure we’re on the right track now.”

It had taken over an hour to really find the right direction, using the handheld satellite as a ‘hot and cold’ box. The two had traveled through the dense forest in almost a large circle, something that initially made Tails more anxious as he became more disoriented from the crash site. But now, he was finally getting consistently closer readings to a cell tower, or tv station, or something that could at least lead to a road, and eventually, a city.

Tails observed the Jaguar looking around rather focused, its ears perked up. He never expected a response, but he’d been around his companion long enough to tell whether they were relaxed or not. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Tails asked. 

His question went unacknowledged. The Jaguar was now crouching perfectly still, its ears flattening back in alert. 

Uneasy, Tails’ eyes darted across the thick jungle foliage, listening carefully for any rustling or sudden movement. After a moment, their suspicions were confirmed - a faint rustling of leaves to the left. 

The yellow fur on his neck was standing on end. His legs were glued to the ground, trying to catch even the tiniest sound of whatever was nearby while ignoring the sound of his shaky breath. Every second that passed felt longer than the last, with the air growing thicker in suspense. The longer they waited, the more unsure he was about whether to reach for his duffel bag, and find his weapon.

And yet, there was no time to react. 

Before he could even gasp, something shot out of the bush behind him, the weight slamming Tails at full force in the chest. The homemade satellite fell out of his hands as he slammed against the dirt. Large, spotted paws pinned his chest to the ground. 

Tails couldn’t hear the growls and commotion around him. Instead, he was wide eyed, mouth hanging open as he stared down his attacker in the face: another jaguar. He wanted to scream as the predator snarled, baring its sharp, menacing teeth at him, but he realized he couldn’t breathe. Only a whimper escaped his lips, and the predator roared, teeth unhinged straight for his face. 

It dawned on the young fox that this was probably the last thing he’d see: the jaws of an animal, before it ate his face off. Tails clenched his eyes shut and braced himself, his only prayer being for his end to be a fast one.

Tails heard another roar, and quickly, felt the weight of the predator’s paws off of his chest. He breathed in sharply as if it was the first time he’d felt air, and rolled over to his side. 

He looked over to see the Jaguar, with its scar on its rear, fighting off the predator. The large cats swatted and growled at each other with clawed paws, their large bodies rolling against the jungle floor. 

The sound of metal clattering took Tails’ attention, and he quickly looked back over his shoulder. Of course, the predator had brought a friend, another jaguar who had found its way into Tails’ duffel bag. It was preoccupied with destroying the bag, making sure all of his tools, items, and food were sprawled on the ground. Before he could lament about his belongings, his eyes settled on the blaster gun on the ground, just within his reach. 

Quickly, Tails clawed the dirt beside him to reach for the blaster, turning it on swiftly with muscle memory. He closed an eye and aimed at the two brawling jungle cats. His hand was sweating, trying to identify friend from foe as they wrestled each other. 

He saw the familiar scar of his companion on the back of its leg, and saw the predator bite down into the Jaguar’s neck. The Jaguar yowled in pain, as their coat began to stain red.

Tails pulled the trigger. 

A blast of energy knocked the predator down, off of the Jaguar. The predator growled in pain, laying on its side, as the Jaguar turned to look back at Tails.  

Tails almost sighed in relief, until the Jaguar began to run towards him. Startled, Tails stepped to the side and turned around to see what had his friend on edge. Of course, the other predator that had destroyed his bag was making a beeline for him while he had been distracted. 

Tails raised his blaster again, quickly aiming at the other predator barreling towards him, and pulled the trigger. 

Only this time, nothing came out.

“What?”

Tails clicked the trigger again, then again, before realizing that he had used his remaining shot.

“No, no no no no no… ”

Tails could only plead in vain, his heart pounding in his chest. He watched in horror as the Jaguar came to his defense yet again, blocking the remaining predator from even reaching him. Another brawl emerged, the two jungle cats growling and clawing at each other viciously.

Before Tails could even think of what to do, however, he heard a low, gravelly snarl from behind. 

Of course, his one shot from earlier, that had taken down the first predator, wasn’t debilitating enough. The wounded predator had gotten up, and was eyeing Tails with hungry eyes. It was prepared to use whatever remaining strength it had to exercise its revenge on the young fox.

At this moment, he realized he was out of options.

His one weapon was out, and he wasn’t exactly equipped with quills to take out his foes with a spin dash. 

As a last resort, Tails looked back at his valiant companion for help. His stomach dropped, eyes widening in shock. “No!”

He saw the Jaguar laying on the ground, at the mercy of the other predator. His new friend was alive, but barely. Now it was just him, and two large cats, who were hungrily waiting to pounce at his throat.

In the next moment, the young fox acted with instinct, and regretted every second of it. 

Tails spotted his handheld satellite on the ground, and made a mad dash towards it. He grabbed it and held it tight to his chest, before jumping into a hover. 

And then, he flew as fast as he could, deeper and deeper into the thick of the jungle.

Peace and quiet. Just how he liked it.

Laying down, Knuckles rested his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, atop the stone of the Master Emerald’s pedestal. He had memorized the feeling of the floor against his back, with the gentle glow of the Master Emerald against him. Of all the places on Angel Island, his serene home nestled among the clouds, there was no other place like it.

Being the guardian of this relic was a job at the end of the day, a preservation of his people’s history. He took it seriously, and any time spent away from Angel Island left him with a lingering anxiety. So to say he was glad to be back in the humdrum of his life’s purpose, unbothered by the goings on of the world below, was an understatement. At least, until it became his problem. 

A cool breeze washed over him, and he sighed, shifting his arms beside him. He was enjoying his nap. He’d been taking a lot of those since he got back. 

Another breeze came, feeling cooler than the last. Knuckles shifted his body, feeling the cool air on his legs and chest. He wasn’t sure if he’d felt that correctly, or maybe it was a one-off thing. Unbothered, he adjusted himself, resuming his siesta.

Then came the next breeze. 

Rather, a gust of cold wind; it made all the hair on his body stand on end, whistling against his ears. Knuckles’ whole body stiffened, almost moving to hug himself as his eyes snapped open in surprise.

Quickly, the Echidna moved to stand up, completely alert, as he frantically looked at his surroundings. For a moment, he thought he was rudely transported to another location, so he almost sighed in relief when he saw the Master Emerald next to him. 

Another frigid gust of wind blew through him, and he hugged himself tightly. As he tucked his chin down, bracing from the cold, he noticed a few tiny, white specks fall in front of him. It occurred to him that the Island looked darker than usual, the golden rays of sun absent from its lush green terrain.

He looked up. It was just a dark, cloudy sky, with the beginnings of snow traveling down to the ground. 

A confused expression formed on Knuckles’ face, completely taken aback by the weather. Eggman, he would expect. Or aliens, really. But…

“Snow?” Knuckles asked, growing increasingly suspicious, as he braced himself for another gust of wind.

His red brows knit together in deep concern. The power of the Master Emerald regulated the island, keeping its green base locked in an eternal springtime. 

It never snowed on Angel Island.

The only exception to this was the summits of the island’s mountains, their tall peaks capped with a layer of ice. But suffice it to say, this was a puzzling weather anomaly. 

Knuckles breathed out, and saw a puff of white air leave in front of him. The temperature was dropping, and fast. With this, a new problem dawned upon him. His eyes widened.

“The Chao.”

The Chao were the other residents of Angel Island, playful and sweet in nature. While he mainly kept to himself, he had an amicable relationship with them, sometimes helping them when they had trouble reaching whatever object caught their attention. While he didn’t always understand their childlike wonder, he felt some form of responsibility to them, mainly by keeping the island and the Master Emerald safe. 

Knuckles was quick to jump into action, immediately jumping into flight and soaring through the frigid island. He scanned the area as he flew, taking note of any trees or plants they usually stayed around. 

Angel Island was an appropriate habitat for the Chao, not only because of the lack of predators, but also because of the controlled climate. That is, until now.

As he soared through the air, his eyes caught sight of a trio of Chao, colorful bodies huddled together for warmth. The Echidna landed quickly in front of them, kneeling down to look at their round, miserable faces. Their eyes were large and helpless, as they looked up at the guardian. 

“You guys okay?” He asked with concern, extending a hand out.

A strong, frigid gust of wind blew through them, and the Chao decided it was too unbearable for them alone. Without warning, they squeaked and flew towards the Echidna, pressing their faces against his chest for warmth.

“Ah– Hey!” Knuckles stumbled back at the surprise attack, until realizing it wasn’t an attack at all: they were just cold and shivering. 

With a sigh, Knuckles pet their heads awkwardly, resigned to the situation. He wasn’t really a touchy-feely kind of guy, but they were cold. He could feel himself getting colder too, now that he wasn’t flying. 

“We gotta look for the others,” Knuckles said, stepping back to meet the three Chao in the eye. “Will you help me get everyone together?” 

The three Chao exchanged looks between each other, before facing Knuckles again. They smiled and cheered, determination in their faces as they fluttered about. 

Knuckles smiled a bit, and nodded in confirmation. “Great. Let’s do this.”

Knuckles’ feet hit the floor of the Master Emerald’s stone pedestal, with the sound of a soft crunch. There was a thin layer of snow, no more than an inch thick, covering the pedestal. Oddly enough, there was an empty ring in the immediate area around the Master Emerald; with no snow around or on top of its large facets.

He was followed by a band of around thirty Chao, who had all flown as a unit together, relying on each other for warmth. They weren’t as chatty as usual, their squeaks and hums hushed with worry. It didn’t take long to find them, as many of them were already seeking out the Echidna’s protection in the first place. 

Knuckles sighed heavily, and sat down on the ground, cringing slightly at the feeling of cold snow on his bottom. He was feeling drowsy, but whatever chill he felt was now replaced with an inner warmth. He had the Chao together, but he needed a moment before he could continue figuring out what to do next. 

The Chao hovered expectantly around him, looking at their guardian with worry. They whispered to each other, before making their way closer and closer to the Echidna.

“What— hmph.” Knuckles grunted in disapproval, but again, resigned to their affection. He was, effectively, covered in a blanket of Chao, as they all huddled around his body for warmth. He almost couldn’t complain about it, considering the cold, except for the fact that they were touching him. 

The Echidna closed his eyes, drawing a long breath. He’d just take a minute to collect himself. 

“Long time no see,” said a familiar voice.

Knuckles opened his eyes and looked up to see Rouge the Bat, floating down to the ground gracefully, with that typical cheeky, knowing expression on her face.

“Rouge.” Knuckles wasn’t upset at her presence, but not exactly enthralled, either. The bat visited every so often, with an agenda to fawn over the Master Emerald, and bug Knuckles while she was at it. Admittedly, he didn’t mind her company, and actually grew used to it – or rather, just accepted that she was going to show up whether he liked it or not. 

“I dropped by a few days ago, but nobody was home,” Rouge shrugged. “Didn’t realize you were babysitting.”

“ Tch, ” Knuckles scowled, feeling rather undignified beneath the pile of cold Chao. He quickly stood up, gently brushing the Chao off of him, so he could speak to Rouge properly. “What are you doing here?” 

Rouge wasn’t planning on answering that question. As the wind blew, the bat cloaked herself in her wings, and shivered. “ Brr, didn’t know I’d need a jacket,” she commented, inconvenienced.

The pod of Chao squeaked, their tiny, trembling bodies burrowing into each other for warmth. Knuckles bit through the cold as the wind hit him again, but this time, not feeling so bothered by it. “Something’s wrong with my island. It’s not supposed to snow up here.” He paused and looked over at the large, green gem, situated within the stone pedestal. “But I didn’t sense anything wrong with the Master Emerald. How did this happen?” 

Rouge caught the worried expression on Knuckles’ face. She was well aware of how seriously he took his duty, simultaneously annoyed and intrigued at his insistence on keeping the gem on its weathered stone pedestal. He didn’t talk much about himself if it wasn’t related to his tribe’s history, or its relic. 

But another, strong gust of wind sent the snow against her, feeling like small knives cutting into her skin. She wasn’t interested in sticking around any longer, at least not without a coat. Knuckles had been toughing it out for a while in this weather– at this point, he was going to get sick, whether he wanted to believe it or not.

“We gotta go, Knuckles,” She said urgently, a serious expression on her face. “At this rate, it’s gonna be a blizzard.”

Knuckles folded his arms over his chest, looking at Rouge with a displeased expression. “If you can’t handle a little wind, you can go. But I’m not leaving my island until I get to the bottom of this.”

“The Chao are freezing, Knuckles,” She rebutted firmly, gesturing to the shivering, helpless pod of Chao. “They can’t stay here. You’re about to get hypothermia,” she said pointedly, noting how he seemed unaffected by the cold. “If something happens to you, then who’s gonna protect the Master Emerald?” 

Knuckles scowled at the blow to his ego, knowing she was right. His mind was racing through all the possibilities that his people’s prized possession, his purpose , could be stolen right from beneath him. He wanted to argue that he’d be strong enough to fight through the cold, to devote every ounce of himself to protecting the emerald. It was his duty, after all. 

But when he turned to look at the Chao, freezing and helpless amongst themselves, the guilt hit him in a final, decisive blow. He had a duty to protect this island, and those that lived on it. 

Scowling, Knuckles hung his head in defeat, before turning to face the shivering bat in front of him. “Fine,” he said quietly, his voice deep. 

He’d leave, if only to help evacuate the Chao, and grab a winter coat while he’s at it. But he wouldn’t rest until he got to the bottom of this.

Chapter Text

Sonic and Silver were wiped.

Since infiltrating Eggman’s base yesterday afternoon, the two of them had spent the entire night through the morning, searching for something that could explain the time paradox threatening the future. Aside from Eggman’s wrath, and the phone call with Amy, they hadn’t made it any farther than where they’d started. 

Exhausted and fruitless, the two hedgehogs trudged to the wooden picket fence of Vanilla’s cottage, and opened the gate to the yard

“Ugh…” Sonic yawned, covering his mouth lazily, before turning to look at Silver with bags under his eyes. “Sorry we didn’t find anything. We’ll start back after…” Another yawn. “After we get some sleep.” 

Silver’s usual gentle smile was replaced with a worn, grumpy expression. He took a deep breath, trying to fight the tiredness. “Okay,” he mumbled, reaching up to rub his eyes. “Remind me why we didn’t go to Spagonia again?”

Sonic rubbed his face, groaning. “Because Amy is there,” he explained. “And she’s helping out the citizens of Spagonia recover from the earthquake. Plus, I want to let Vanilla know that I talked to Cream, and that she’s safe.” 

It wasn’t a full answer, but Sonic was too tired to really explain it to Silver again. He’d explained this to Silver in the middle of the night, while they were walking. Amy wanted to go off on her own, as she put it, to ‘share her love with the world’ . If Amy learned about Silver’s situation, she would drop everything to help them – or at the very least stretch herself out thin between them and the Spagonians. Sonic was lucky, really, to have such good friends that he could call upon and rely on in a pinch.

But this was Amy’s time to be independent. It was all she’d asked of him - the least he could do was honor her request… by making sure he handled it himself.

Sonic dropped his hands from his face. Despite what felt like a solid and straightforward explanation, he still felt like there was a feeling… unaccounted for. It felt unnatural for these things to weigh so heavily on him. Like there was some subconscious feeling he couldn’t quite name .

He shook his head, deciding to chalk up the spiraling to sleep deprivation, and shoved the feeling down in his chest. Sonic didn’t want to think about it any further - he wasn’t used to having such deep thoughts for so long. He just wanted to lay down. 

Silver let out a heavy sigh through his nose, reaching a hand to rub the corner of his eye. “Okay,” he said quietly, faintly remembering the conversation. The situation in the future had Silver on edge; it was difficult to focus on anything else. He was more upset that they ended this search with no leads, and for once as a time traveler, that was something he was now running out of. If it wasn’t for his weakening body, he would have kept searching on his own. 

But the sight of Vanilla’s quaint cottage, the worn surface of her wooden door, felt comforting, with the smell of home-cooked food wafting through the windows.

“We’ll get back to it after our power nap,” Sonic reassured, his little quips still coming easily to him. He grabbed the handle to the front door, and turned it, looking over at Silver. “Let’s just get some…”

The door opened. Neither hedgehog was prepared for what they had walked into.

A flock of Chao were flying about in a game of tag, chattering playfully with each other as they zoomed across the living room. Some more were on the floor, playing with a loose ball of yarn, tangled in the threads. A few of them were even curled up under the blanket of a recliner. 

Sonic and Silver blinked, slowly walking into the room as the sound of Chao chatter filled their ears.

“... Rest,” Sonic finished, his jaw going slack from the shock.

“Hey! You two!” A deep, nasally voice called out. 

Sonic and Silver jumped, before turning right to look over at the couch. They found Knuckles laying down, under a thick blanket, looking like he’d been hit by a truck. A box of tissues sat on the ground in front of the couch, surrounded by wads of used ones. A couple of Chao were situated on top of Knuckles’ blanket, resting peacefully.

“Knuckles? ” Sonic balked, taken aback by the scene in front of him. This whole thing was a shock to his system, sending another round of adrenaline through him. “What are you doing here? What– What happened to you?”

“Hmph,” Knuckles grunted, bringing the blanket closer to his shoulders. “Should be askin’ you th’ same thing. Especially you , Silver,” he deflected, trying to draw away from his rather undignified state. He hated how stuffy and nasal his voice sounded.   

“I–” Silver shook his head. “I came from the future to get help,” he explained quickly, feeling very overwhelmed by the energy in the room. He felt a brush on his shoulder and flinched, turning back to see a Chao playfully hiding behind him. Relieved at its playfulness, he smiled wryly. 

“Yeah, we just got back from some investigating. Seems there’s a lot happening,” Sonic commented, looking around at the room.

Knuckles furrowed his brows, concerned. “What do you mean–” 

“There you are,” said another voice, interrupting the conversation. 

Sonic and Silver turned around to find Rouge with a tray, filled with tiny bowls of soup, and adorably sized spoons to match. The bat set the tray down on the coffee table, and watched as some of the Chao flew over to grab their bowls. “We were wondering if you’d show up,” said Rouge. “Vanilla mentioned you two went out yesterday and didn’t return.”  

“Oh, hey Rouge,” Sonic blinked, dimly surprised at her presence. He still didn’t know what was happening, but was just rolling with it. “Yeah, we um– What’s all this?” 

“My island is what,” Knuckles grumbled from the couch, sighing as the two Chao on top of him babbled to each other. “Somethin’s wrong with it, and I’m gonna get to the bottom of this.” 

“I went to visit Angel Island earlier, and it was a blizzard up there,” Rouge explained. “I found him and the Chao shivering and huddled up together.”

“Aw man, you let a little snow get to you, Knux?” Sonic teased, trying to cut the tense air. 

Knuckles huffed, sniffing deeply to clear his nose. “I was fine , but I needed to find all the Chao and make sure they’re safe. I would’ve stayed up there to figure out what’s wrong, but Rouge dragged me down here,” he explained rather pointedly, sending Rouge an annoyed glare.

“You had signs of stage two hypothermia,” Rouge pointed out, keeping her demeanor relaxed. “Besides, I couldn’t have gotten all the Chao down here by myself even if I wanted to.”

“What made you come here, then?” Silver asked, concerned about their situation, but unsure of what role Vanilla could possibly play in this. She seemed to be a simple woman who lived a quiet life with her daughter.

Rouge put a hand on her hip, looking over at the now quiet Chao, who were eating their bowls of soup with content. “Well, we know one little girl who has a Chao. Figured Cream and Vanilla would know what to do if any of these guys were sick.”

Sonic nodded. “Good call. Sorry you missed Cream though,” he said with a wry smile. “She’s on vacation with Amy.”

“But we’re really glad we ran into you, though,” Silver said quickly, nervously cutting through the smalltalk. “Maybe you two can help us.” 

Before they could say anything, Vanilla walked out from the kitchen, carrying another tray of food: many more, small bowls of soup, with a large bowl in the center almost filled to the brim. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Knuckles— Oh!” 

Vanilla looked at Sonic and Silver, pleasantly surprised to see them again. She set the tray down on the coffee table, in front of Knuckles, and the rest of the Chao immediately flew over for their fill. “You two came back. I was worried something happened.”

“Sorry about that, Vanilla,” Sonic apologized, guiltily rubbing the back of his neck. He couldn’t tell if there was sweat forming on his hands, neck, or both “We got pretty sidetracked trying to find clues about the time paradox,” he explained.

Vanilla hummed, disappointed, but also watched the two of them carefully. She was picking up Sonic’s nervousness, but decided not to say anything. “Did you find anything?” Vanilla asked.

Silver shook his head, disappointed. “Unfortunately, no.” 

A beat passed, as the two hedgehogs exchanged looks. Sonic swallowed, realizing he had to share the news about Cream. “Actually, uh, we just learned that there was an earthquake in Spagonia,” he began carefully, bracing himself for her reaction.

Vanilla’s stomach dropped to the floor. Gasping, she covered her mouth with her hands 

Sonic quickly held his hands out, watching as Vanilla began to assume the worst. “I called Amy and spoke to her and Cream. They’re fine, not a scratch.”

Vanilla closed her eyes and wiped her face, before bringing herself to look at Sonic. Her honey-brown eyes studied the blue hedgehog carefully, trying to pick apart his demeanor to see if there were any… omitted details. The idea of her daughter getting injured by falling debris terrified her. Cream was so small in her eyes, she wanted so badly just to hold her and keep her safe from the world’s dangers, even just to hear her voice and know she was okay. 

But the only thing she saw was Sonic’s earnestness. Vanilla reminded herself that Cream had reliable and trustworthy friends who looked out for her. Amy was responsible and protective, and would help keep Cream safe. As difficult as it was to be so far from her daughter, she decided to remind herself to trust in her friends. 

After a tense moment of silence, feeling everyone’s eyes upon her, Vanilla exhaled slowly, her shoulders slumping as she realized they were up to her ears. “Thank you for checking on her, Sonic,” Vanilla began steadily. “Was the earthquake strong?” She asked, after a moment.

“Yeah, it was,” Sonic nodded, feeling Vanilla’s anxiety as she watched him for answers. “The three of them are going to help the citizens there, and make sure they’re okay.”

Vanilla nodded in understanding, slightly touched by how quick they were to jump on their feet and help those in need. “Thank you, Sonic. I think I will reach out to Amy and see how they’re doing. I just want to hear my daughter’s voice and see that she’s okay.” she explained, apology in her voice. “But please, let me know if you all need anything out here.” And with that, Vanilla excused herself from the room to make her call.

A heavy moment of silence hung in the air for a moment, save for the sounds of the Chao finishing up their meals, and chattering quietly amongst each other. Rouge busied herself with the Chao, stacking the empty bowls on one side of the tray, while Silver folded his arms over his chest, keeping his head down.

A pang of guilt hit Sonic, as he registered Vanilla’s measured, restrained response, the way her eyes studied him for hidden answers. He wanted to kick himself for not running to her house straight away, to tell her what had happened. That was her daughter, of course she wanted to talk to Cream for herself. He should know as much with Tails, after all.

His heart sank, blue ears flattening deep in thought. Not only did Tails leave without calling, he hadn’t heard from him this entire time, either. He hoped his little bud was okay. 

The sound of nose-blowing cut through the silence, pulling Sonic out of his thoughts. Everyone turned to look at Knuckles, as he wiped his nose and sighed, feeling mild relief. 

“Sorry,” the sick Echidna muttered with a nasal voice, dropping the tissue to the floor. “But uh– Silver, you said you needed help?” He asked, catching his unanswered question from before

Silver sighed heavily, shaking his head. “Yes. There’s something wrong with the timeline. The future’s disappearing,” he explained. “And from what I can gather, it’s something around this time period that triggers it. I need to figure out what.”

“We visited Eggman, but for once, I’m pretty sure it’s not him this time,” Sonic said groggily, his stomach twisting at the memory of Eggman’s interrogation. The tiredness was starting to hit him heavily, so he made his way to the recliner, resting his elbow on the arm of the chair and propping his chin into his hand. “And I don’t think it’s related to the Starfall Islands either, ‘cuz I fought it, and I’m sure it would’ve obliterated the Earth right now if it could… But I guess we can’t rule out anything,” he admitted, a yawn tailing the end of his speculation. Sonic blinked a few times, his eyes growing heavy.

“Oh my,” Rouge said in surprise. She didn’t like the implications, but was careful to keep herself collected. “And now there’s been an earthquake in Spagonia, and Angel Island freezing over around the same time.” 

Knuckles furrowed his brow and closed his eyes, visibly feeling the urgency of the situation. “Maybe what’s happening in the future is related to the random natural disasters?” He asked. 

In a split second, Knuckles processed the implication of his own thought, and opened his eyes, quickly sitting up on the couch. The Chao on his chest, startled, flew away before they could tumble off of him. “Which would mean the Master Emerald is in danger. We have to go back right now!”

“Oh no you don’t,” Rouge warned, flying over to gently push Knuckles back onto the couch. “You’re too sick to go back in that cold right now. At least rest up and let me find us some coats in the meantime.”

“Leave me alone! I’m fi– ACHOO!” Knuckles covered his mouth as a barrage of sneezes consumed him. As they died down, the echidna sniffed, feeling the sickness in his head clog his airways. “Ugh…”

Silver surprises himself with a yawn. “Actually, we’ve been out all night,” he admitted wearily. “I think we were going to–”

A deep, obnoxious snore interrupted him. The three look over to see Sonic on the recliner, knocked out with his mouth open. 

Silver huffed, and shook his head. “Yeah. Let’s sleep.”

“Thank you so much, Miss. Bless you. Thank you.” An elderly man, an otter, picked his head up from the stretcher, as a team of paramedics loaded him into the ambulance.

“Please take care sir!” Amy called out, waving as the last paramedic closed the rear doors of the ambulance. Her dress was covered in dust, and her in sweat, having spent most of the morning and midday digging through rubble in some of the most affected areas of the city. 

Sighing, Amy wiped her brow with her forearm, before looking over at Cream and Sticks. “I’m so glad we were able to help him. Good ear, Sticks.”

“You know what they say. Ya always gotta think about what’s under the surface. We can’t just rely on what we can see,” Sticks replied, shrugging. 

“Is that man going to be okay, Ms. Amy?” Cream asked, looking over at Amy. Cheese was perched on Cream’s shoulder, with a frown mirroring their friend’s. 

“I think so, Cream. We got him out from under there, and now the doctors will take good care of him,” Amy reassured.“And I’m sure that there are more medics and response teams flying to the city right now. They’re gonna need it,” she said quietly, looking at the remains of the building next to them. 

The four walked quietly, turning the corner to reach the street that Amy, Cream, and Cheese had walked down yesterday. What was a beautiful promenade lined with dainty shops and boutiques, was now a barren street covered in dust and debris. Fallen plants from Spagonian balconies littered the sidewalk with dirt, and tables and chairs were toppled over near the cafe. This street was eerily empty, except for a few responders that were passing through the area. 

Amy straightened herself, and continued walking ahead, maintaining her composure. “I hope Sofia is okay,” Amy said under her breath, worried. She felt guilty about leaving Sofia alone in the store, despite her insistence, but there wasn’t much that could be done about that now. The least they could do was check and see if she was okay. 

“Oh!” Amy gasped, as a buzz sounded from her wrist. “Must be Sonic,” she assumed calmly, until she lifted her wrist up to check the caller ID: 

Vanilla.

Amy felt the back of her neck run hot as she braced herself to answer the call. Surely, Vanilla must have found out about the earthquake. But somehow, there was this fear that Vanilla found out about Cream’s act of rebellion, and the near-death experience it caused. “Cream, it’s your mom,” she said nervously, bringing herself to a stop as she answered the call. “Hello?” 

“Amy, how are you?” Vanilla asked through the speaker, her voice filled with worry. Since she was calling from her landline, Amy had no way of seeing Vanilla’s face, or vice versa. “Sonic just told me that there was an earthquake. Are you three okay?” 

“Vanilla! Yes, we’re all okay,” Amy reassured, feeling her heart race. “Y-Yeah, there was an earthquake, it wasn’t great. But we’re safe, none of us are hurt.”

“Can I talk to Cream?” Vanilla asked.

Amy looked over at Cream, a silent signal to get her attention. “Of course! Here she is,” she said, lowering her wrist down for Cream to talk into the communicator.

“Hi Mama!” Cream greeted, feeling warm from the sound of her mother’s voice. An echoed greeting came from Cheese, who listened as Cream continued to speak. “How are you?”

“Cream, dear, are you and Cheese okay? Sonic just told me there was a big earthquake. You’re not hurt, are you? Or scared?” Vanilla asked, speaking a lot faster than before. 

“I’m okay, Mama!” Cream began. “Amy and I were in a gift shop when it happened. It was a little scary, especially because Ms. Sticks wasn’t with us, and we were worried. But I —“

Amy’s eyes widened, and she waved her free hand back and forth underneath her chin - a clear, silent ‘don’t say anything’ message. She hated herself for encouraging Cream of all people to lie, but her penchant for always being honest without discernment had Amy nervous. 

Cream caught Amy’s panicked signal, and remembered Amy’s request about not telling her mother what had happened at the temple. The young rabbit watched Amy nervously as she continued to speak, her voice slightly stilted as she concentrated on hiding the whole truth without lying. “We found her, and we’re all safe.”

“I’m so glad you all are safe, my dear,” Vanilla sighed. “You let me know if you need anything, okay? If you and Cheese want to come home, you can tell Amy or Sticks, and they’ll bring you back.”

Cream felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. She loved her mother so much, and didn’t like omitting the truth to her - it felt like lying. But more than anything, she wanted to stay, and knew her mother would be anxiously demanding her return if she learned the truth. “Thank you, Mama. But I want to stay,” the young girl insisted. “The people of Spagonia have been so nice to us, and now they need our help. I won’t feel better until I know I helped out Amy and Sticks as much as I can.”

“My little girl with her big heart. I’m so proud that you care so much about helping people,” Vanilla praised. “I’m glad you’re okay. I’ll talk to Amy now, okay?”

“Okay Mama. I love you!” 

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

Amy let out a silent sigh of relief through her nose, before lifting her wrist back up to her face. “Hi Vanilla.”

“Hi Amy. Thank you for letting me speak with her,” Vanilla said, sounding more reassured. “I’m sorry to sound so panicked. I had just learned about this from Sonic— I only wished that you had given me a call.”

“Yes, of course— I am so sorry, Vanilla,” Amy frowned. “When I spoke with Sonic yesterday, he mentioned he was visiting you, so I thought that he had told you at that time. I should have called you.”

“No, it’s okay Amy. Sonic was here yesterday with Silver, but they went out in the afternoon and just came back today,” Vanilla explained. 

Amy’s eyes widened, her shoulders shifting in surprise. “Silver? He’s here?”

“Yes, Sonic didn’t tell you? Silver came to Sonic yesterday with a crisis from the future. They’ve been trying to figure out what’s been going on.” Vanilla was beginning to sound worn. “Then, Rouge and Knuckles came this morning with the Chao population of Angel Island. Supposedly the island is freezing over, and Knuckles and some of the Chao are sick with colds. Sonic and Silver just came back here around three, and they fell asleep.”

Amy’s jaw dropped, stunned by the whirlwind of information. “Wow, I, I’m sorry Vanilla, that sounds like a lot. Thanks for telling me, but please take care of yourself. We’re so grateful to have you.”

Vanilla took a cleansing breath, audible to Amy. “Thank you. I want to play my part, is all.”

“Of course,” Amy nodded. “And I’ll call you if anything happens, but please call anytime if you want to talk.”

“Thank you, Amy. Please give Sticks my regards, and I hope you all take care of yourselves. ”

“I will, thanks Vanilla! Take care.”

An audible click ended the call, and Amy lowered her arm. Her mind was still reeling from that information. Silver was here, and Sonic didn’t say anything? The Chao population of Angel Island? What was even happening? Why didn’t Sonic say anything?

“What happened, Miss Amy?” Cream asked.

“Ah… A lot, apparently,” Amy breathed.

“Sounds like the world’s falling apart, or somethin’,” Sticks commented. “I blame the government.”

“Apparently Silver’s here from the future because something’s wrong, and Sonic didn’t even tell me… ” Amy felt herself growing flustered, and stopped to take a deep breath in, and a slow exhale. She is okay. She is calm. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay— we should focus on seeing if Sofia is okay, right? I’m pretty sure we’re almost at the gift shop.”

Cream frowned, feeling the stress radiate from Amy’s body. She was confused about how Amy asked her to withhold the truth from her mother, but in the same breath, seemed to be upset when Sonic did the same. But she decided that Amy might not want to hear that right now. 

The three girls, and Cheese, walked down the tattered street in silence, until they approached the front of the gift shop. Very few people were around, making the sidewalk feel rather desolate. The sign, damaged, now read ‘A L TTL   R NK T, with shattered lettering scattered on the ground below. The once charming display, filled with artisan goods, was toppled over, the remaining goods either on the floor, or cracked on the display table. 

Amy reached for the door handle, and pressed her shoulder against the door to open it, the bottom of the door dragging on the ground from misalignment. Amy waved a hand over her face, shielding herself from the unsettled dust, as the three of them stepped inside. 

The light from outside poured into the devastated remains of the gift shop. Several fixtures and displays were toppled over, with much of the ceramics broken over the floor and tables. Many of the ornaments which hung on the wall had fallen to the ground, shattering on impact. The light fixture in the back had fallen, and left fine pieces of glass all over the register countertop. 

Cream covered her mouth in horror, taking in the remains of the gift shop. “Ms. Sofia’s shop! Everything’s broken!” 

Sticks leaned down to put an arm on Cream’s shoulder, attempting to comfort her. “Hey kid, it’s okay. At least this one is still standing, right?”

“Barely,” Amy frowned, walking towards the register, where Sofia’s hiding place was. From what she saw, nothing devastating fell in this area that could have injured her badly. “But I guess she isn’t here. She must’ve gone to look for her family. I don’t think she got hurt badly.” 

The four of them began to look around the gift shop, examining the damage. While Sticks and Cream looked at the damaged merchandise on tables, Cheese flew off over to the shelves on the other side of the room, their curiosity getting the best of them. A familiar garment on the floor caught their eye, and in their excitement, flew down to pick it up.

“Hey, this is perfect for my fine china!” Sticks called out in delight, holding up a gorgeous green and white ceramic plate. The top edge had a sizable chunk broken off of it, the highlight detail for the badger. “You think I can take it?”

“Uh… Sure?” Amy tilted her head, then snorted quietly to herself. She’d stopped trying to understand Sticks’ logic a long time ago. “I guess if you pay Sofia when we find her, it’s okay.”

“Ooh! And this mug is perfect!” Sticks squealed, admiring a Spagonia themed mug, with a chip on the rim, and more notably, a hole in the bottom. “Wow, I really get why you like these stores, Amy. This is the best!”

“I’m sure Sofia will be happy to have another customer,” Amy said, shaking her head with a smile. She couldn’t help but appreciate how Sticks was able to make lemonade from some very sour lemons, in her own special way. 

Cream looked over at a broken display of ceramic figures sadly, mourning the broken parts scattered on the table. While Sticks was able to enjoy the store so easily, she wished that Sticks knew how beautiful it looked before the earthquake damaged everything. “It’s going to take a lot of time gluing these back together…”

An excited chirp across the room caught her attention. Cream looked up to see Cheese flying over, holding their new find in their arms. “What’s this, Cheese?”

As the young rabbit reached out to hold the garment, she realized it was the apron she had looked at before the earthquake began. The pink and yellow fabric was undamaged, apart from a little bit of dust. It could easily be washed, and good as new. 

Cream’s face brightened in delight. “Can I buy this, Ms. Amy?” she asked, holding the apron up for Amy to see. “I want to buy this for Mama!” 

“Oh!” Amy walked over to look at the apron, reaching out to feel it in her hands. “It’s still in good condition, Cream. I think you can take it, and we can give the money to Sofia when we find her.”

“You hear that, Cheese? We have something for Mama now!” Cream cheered, looking at her companion with excitement. “Thank you for finding it!” 

Cheese chirped, reassured that they were able to put a smile on Cream’s face. They did a spin in satisfaction, before hopping on Cream’s shoulder. 

“Alright, I think we should get out of here. We’ll have to keep an eye out for Sofia,” said Amy. The hedgehog turned over her shoulder. “Sticks, you ready?”

“Yup!” Sticks said cheerfully, holding a small stack of broken ceramics in her arms. “Let’s go, before I spend any more money.”

Amy, Cream, and Cheese exchanged amused looks, before giggling. 

Tails had lost track of how long he’d been flying.

His tails propelled him through the trees, zooming through a never ending tunnel of green and brown. The weight of his device, and blaster, made it increasingly difficult to stay afloat as they weighed him down. It felt like his lungs were on fire, as the trees seemed to move past him slower, and slower, until finally, he could fly no longer.

The young fox plopped to the ground, panting as he held his items close to him. His mind felt numb, like static had mixed into his brain, as the burst of adrenaline began to fade away. He could no longer hear the sounds of growling, or heavy paws chasing after him. Instead, there was the sound of his heavy breathing, blood pumping through his ears, and the occasional flutter and calls of the birds in the treetops. 

Without warning, his stomach growled, and he was immediately hit with the full force of his hunger. He wanted to reach for his duffel bag for something to eat, but remembered that he had abandoned it in the fight, along with his friend. 

His face puckered, body trembling beneath the weight of everything he carried. Exhausted, he sank down to his knees, and felt himself snivel pathetically. The image of the Jaguar’s body on the ground, at the mercy of the two animals that attacked them, was burned into his mind.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” 

Large, warm tears fell onto the ground in front of him, as he gripped the dirt. He had set out on this journey to be his own hero, to prove to Sonic, and everyone, to prove to himself that he could do things on his own. Instead, the only thing he had proved so far was that he was a coward who ran away at the first pinch of danger, because he didn’t charge his weapon. He felt horrible and useless, and a pathetic excuse of a friend, and now he was out of food, and water. The only solace he had was knowing he was completely alone, for no one to see his tears. 

After a few moments, Tails sniffed, and looked down at the communicator on his wrist. It was wishful thinking, of course - even if he wanted to call Sonic, or Amy, he still had no connection to call them. 

He then looked down at his final ray of hope, the makeshift satellite device. With trembling hands, he fumbled around with the device, searching for the power switch. He silently prayed that it would turn on, as he flipped the switch.  

Preparing signal…

…

Sending signal. Please do not turn off device. 

…

Tower EG-5013: 11.4 miles away.

Tails swallowed, taking what felt like his first breath of air, and let his shoulders slump back. He had, at least, run almost a mile in the right direction.

After sitting there for a good few minutes, he flipped the switch off. Tails picked himself up, dusted himself off, and stared ahead into the never ending trees, with his lifeline in hand. The only way, right now, was forward.

But as he walked, he wanted to remember the exact feeling of the ground beneath his shoes, the unique twist of the tree trunks around him, the bushes and small flowers that lined his path. So that when he was able to, he could find his path back into the jungle again. 

Chapter Text

Tails’ feet dragged through the dirt, the soles of his red shoes worn at the heel. His legs felt heavy, having walked for hours through the dense jungle, and his fur was dirty, the beginning of matting forming on his tails. 

Tails swallowed. He was ignoring his hunger, but the back of his throat was beginning to feel dry. He only had about four miles left on his quest, so he hesitated to go off track and risk losing his path. All he could do was hope that when he got there, that there was some water in store. 

A wet drop hit his arm. Tails thought nothing of it, instead continuing to trudge along, persisting beyond his body’s tiredness. But then there was a second, and a third droplet, and a fourth. Finally, the sound of thunder in the distance caught Tails’ attention, and he looked up beyond the treetops to the sky above.

There were dark rain clouds.

The young fox twisted his tails behind him anxiously, feeling his stomach turn up in knots. He had mostly outgrown his fear of thunder, but it still left him anxious. It felt just like the day that his plane had crashed down into this place, and how at first, he thought he was left with nothing. If only he could have a fraction of what he had then, right now.

The rain began to fall hard, feeling cool against his fur. The few drops of water near his lips and nose reminded him just how parched he was. Normally, he would think about creating an elaborate system to catch and filter the water. Now was not one of those times.  

Tails set his invention and blaster down, unsure if they would be waterlogged, but realizing there wasn’t much he could do to stop it. He decided that he just needed to be more attentive about walking steadily in the same direction, and he would get to his destination. 

Hastily, Tails spotted a bush, and walked over to grab a large, waxy leaf, almost the length of his arm. He began to twist it into a cone, taking care to seal the very bottom with his hand. Then, he held up his leafy cup, and began to catch the rainwater inside, hearing the small splashes of water begin to fill the inside. 

After what felt like the longest minute of his life, Tails brought the cup to his lips, and drank, not caring about how wet he had become. The leaf-flavored water was a balm to the sandpaper in his throat. And when his cup had emptied, he held it up to the sky again, threw his head back, and drank, and drank, and repeated. Only this water could quench his impossible thirst. 

The sun had finally set over the city of Spagonia, the purple hues of twilight coloring the sky above. Sticks, Amy, Cream and Cheese finally arrived at the plaza of St. Pepper’s Cathedral, tired and hungry. The cathedral itself was completely blocked off with a tall, wooden fence, with workers actively working on securing the historic monument. But the large plaza was fully cleaned off, its space filled with pitched tents, lines of hungry people, and the smell of delicious food. Yellow string lights and temporary lampposts lined the stalls, glowing gently against the backdrop of a lavender twilight.

“Phew. I dunno ‘bout you guys, but I’m beat,” Sticks yawned, stretching her arms up in the air. “I could use some grub.”

A hungry chirp came from Cheese, who held their stomach. Cream giggled, and looked over at Amy. “Cheese says they’re hungry too. Can we look around for food, Ms. Amy?”

Amy blinked, pulled out of her daze, before giving the two a warm smile. “Yeah, sure! Go ahead,” she encouraged. 

Amy and Sticks watched as the young rabbit and Chao ran towards a stall selling pasta, with a large wheel of Parmesan on display. 

Sticks snuck a glance over at Amy, noticing the distant expression on her face. “You okay?”

“It’s been a long day,” Amy explained, sighing. The four of them had spent much of the day helping out the citizens of Spagonia from the fallout of the earthquake, something both labor intensive, and also emotionally charged. While it felt good to be able to help the Spagonians, whether it was finding someone’s belongings under the rubble, or getting someone delivered to medical attention, it felt difficult to think about how much they were still saddled with. 

She thought about a woman that they’d helped earlier, who was frantically searching for her wedding ring in the rubble. After what had been a solid 20 minutes of searching, they finally found the ring, with all stones intact. Amy could never forget the feeling of the wind leaving her chest, when the woman took the ring and clasped it to her chest, devastated, because she needed to sell it to start her life over again. 

Many people were out of a home, had lost possessions, lost friends and family, limited money— Amy had to remind herself that their small acts of kindness still meant something, even if it didn’t solve all of their problems. Still, it was deeply testing her optimism.

That, and she had other things on her mind. When she tried to shift her focus away, she was reminded about Sonic, and all the things that Vanilla shared with her, and it made her spiral down into a tunnel of frustration.

Sticks folded her arms over her chest. “Ehh, come on. What’s up?” She asked, eyeing the pink hedgehog with suspicion. “You’re acting funny.”

“I don’t know, I just– I still don’t understand why Sonic wouldn’t tell me something so important,” Amy caved, unable to hold her pent-up frustration any longer. “I mean, I could understand not wanting to interrupt my trip, but if something is wrong with the future, and Angel Island, that means it’s really serious! Of course I’d want to know!”

“I dunno, Amy,” Sticks shrugged, putting her hands behind her neck. “If you really want an answer, you’re gonna have to talk to him about it.” 

Amy huffed, looking at the ground sourly. “How am I going to talk to him if he can’t even tell me about it? Grr, I can’t stand this.”

Sticks opened her mouth to speak. Before she could do so, Cream and Cheese ran back to them, with excited expressions on her face. “Ms. Amy! Ms. Sticks! Look who I found!” 

Cream gestured over her shoulder to a woman at the back of one of the stalls. The woman waved at them, earning a relieved smile from Amy as they quickly walked over to meet her.

“Ms. Sofia!” Cream exclaimed in delight, running up to the woman. 

“I’m so glad to see you’re safe, dear,” Sofia said, a light chuckle leaving her voice as the young rabbit hugged her. 

“I’m sorry for making you worry, Ms. Sofia,” Cream frowned. “But we found Sticks!” 

Cream gestured over to Sticks, whose face instantly lit up like a lightbulb. 

“Wow, you’re the lady who sells the beautiful pottery? I actually brought some stuff from your store that I want to buy!” Sticks exclaimed, rummaging through her bag. She revealed the broken pottery she’d found at Sofia’s store, displaying it proudly.

Sofia raised a brow, puzzled. “Sweetheart, those are–”

“Beautiful! They’re perfect! How much do you want?” Sticks asked giddily. 

“I uh– no, I couldn’t possibly ask–”

“Here. I insist!” Sticks pulled out a wad of crumpled cash, and placed it firmly in the woman’s hands. 

Sofia caught Amy’s eyes behind Sticks, watching as Amy waved her hand and mouthed ‘Just take it’ . “A-Ah, thank you, so much. You’re too kind.” 

“Of course!” Sticks beamed. “I’m happy to support a local artist!”

Meanwhile, Cream reached into her bag, and pulled out the apron she had taken from the store. The young rabbit approached the woman timidly. “Ms. Sofia? I’m sorry I took this from your store,” she began apologetically, handing the apron to the woman. “But I wanted to ask if I could buy this for my mama? She loves to cook. But if not, you can have it back!”

Sofia opened the apron in her hands and studied it, recalling the item from her inventory. “Oh yes, this apron. Of course you can, my dear. I’m sure your mama would love it.”

Cream’s eyes brightened, and she eagerly rummaged her bag for her coin purse. “Thank you so much, Ms. Sofia!” She grinned, holding out a few neat bills for Sofia. 

“Thank you , my dear. Here, why don’t I get something for you all,” Sofia ushered, bringing the three of them over to the back of the stall. There, she reached under the table into one of the empty boxes. As she stood up, she held out three slips of paper. 

Amy looked down at the slips, reading them carefully, before looking up at Sofia, astonished. “Sofia, these are–” 

“Food vouchers,” Sofia explained, taking Amy’s hand and placing the slips inside them firmly. “They’re really reserved for Spagonian residents within the affected areas, to get a free meal from the market tonight. But we have plenty to go around.”

Amy shook her head. “No, Sofia, we can’t–” 

Sofia shook her head sternly. “I insist. Consider it a token of my gratitude.”

Amy opened her mouth in protest, but was quickly cut off by Sticks, who put an arm on Amy’s shoulder. “Thank you so much, Sofia!” Sticks grinned, grabbing Amy’s arm and pulling her away. “We really appreciate it. Let us know if you or anyone you know needs help!” 

“My pleasure! Enjoy!” Sofia called out, as Sticks dragged Amy towards the crowded food stalls, with Cream and Cheese in tow.

Once they were a distance away from Sofia, Amy pulled herself away, stopping to glare at Sticks disapprovingly.  

“What? The kid’s hungry anyway!”

“These vouchers are not for us! They’re for people who lost their homes!” Amy scolded in a hushed voice, as people walked past them towards the stalls.

Cream and Cheese looked back and forth between the two, nervously. “Uh…”

“They have boxes of ‘em, and she gave them to us! It’s not like we took it!” Sticks huffed. 

“It’s not right!” Amy protested, shaking her head. “We should really give them away to someone who needs it.”

“And how are you going to tell if this is going to someone in need?” Sticks shot back, genuinely annoyed at Amy’s attitude. “You gonna go ‘Hey! You! Did’ja lose your house in that earthquake today? Just wanna make sure you deserve this free meal ticket!’ No!” 

The badger threw her hands up. “If you wanna spend time giving your ticket away, go ahead. But I’m keeping my ticket, and I’m using it.”  

Steam blowing out of her ears, Sticks stomped off with a huff without waiting for a response. Amy stood in a silent shock, her face heating up as she felt a couple stares from the people around her. 

“... Ms. Amy? Are you okay?” A timid voice asked.

Amy looked down to see Cream and Cheese, with saddened expressions on their faces. If she didn’t feel embarrassed before, she definitely did now. It felt like all Amy’s efforts of hiding her anxiety from the young rabbit just went down the drain. 

“I’m okay– I uh– You keep your ticket, Cream. Don’t worry, okay?” Amy reassured, still a bit flustered from the scolding. 

“Are you sure?” Cream pressed, unconvinced. 

Amy had to look away for a moment, feeling guilty from seeing the rabbit’s earnest expression. “Just– You get your food, and I’ll catch up with you two in a minute, okay?” Her hand gently nudged Cream’s back, encouraging her.

“Okay, Ms. Amy…” Cream frowned. She looked at Cheese, exchanging a nod, before deciding to follow Sticks into the crowded market. 

Amy rolled her head back to the sky, took a deep breath through her nose, before dropping her chin with an exhale through her lips. “Ugh, Amy… ” she groaned, scolding herself. 

Her stomach was beginning to feel empty. It didn’t help that she could smell the delicious food around her. “I should get some food,” she sighed, trying to shift her focus to the vendors around her.

Walking through the crowds, Amy attempted to take inventory of the different foods in the market. Sandwiches, pasta, barbecue, stew – a couple stands even had burritos and shawarma. The lines were decently long, with a number of families waiting anxiously for their meals.

Her mind wandered back to Vanilla’s conversation, yet again. What could possibly have brought Silver from the future? The fact that Sonic wouldn’t tell her – does Tails know anything about this? 

Amy stopped in her tracks, and gasped. “Tails.”  

The last time she tried calling Tails, she was running after Cream during the earthquake. That odd message appeared on her communicator - maybe the earthquake impacted the cell towers? But she was able to receive Vanilla’s phone call earlier today, so if there was any damage, it was fixed by now.

Anxiously, Amy raised her wrist and hastily began to tap on the screen of her communicator. Tapping on Tails’ contact, she held her breath as she prepared to call him. 

There was the ring of the dial tone, playing once, then again, then again, until it stopped midway. The screen flashed on her wrist, showing her a familiar message. 

Error: Could not be reached

Amy had a sinking feeling in her gut. Something felt wrong. Tails was a clever fox. He wouldn’t make faulty gear, or leave something broken for long. 

“Tails…” Amy frowned, lowering her wrist. “Are you okay?”

The sound of gasps caught Amy’s attention. Amy looked over to see a man, with grays in his hair, staring at the ground. A container of food laid splattered all over the ground at his feet, the crowd around him circling around to avoid the spill. She saw the man sigh, and turn away, wiping his face with his hand.

Amy gathered herself for a moment. Tails might be in trouble, but she had no way of knowing for sure, or what to do about it. But right now, she needed to be present for those who she could help.

The pink hedgehog began to weave through the crowd, making her way to the distressed man. 

“Excuse me, Sir?” Amy began gently, approaching him from behind. 

The man sniffed, wiping his tears before turning to look at the pink hedgehog. While he tried to steady his breathing, his eyes were bloodshot from crying. “Yes?”

Amy held out the voucher, offering the woman a small, sympathetic smile. “Here. You can have this.” 

The man’s eyes widened, and he shook his head profusely, pushing Amy’s hand away gently. “No. No. I can’t do that.” 

“No, here. I promise I don’t need this,” Amy insisted, holding the voucher out again. “Please take it.” 

The man eyed the voucher, considering. “... Are you sure?” 

She nodded. “Yes. Please.”

Reluctantly, the man accepted the ticket, clasping it firmly within his calloused hand. His tired eyes glittered with appreciation. “Thank you, miss. You’re too kind, I– I don’t have anything to give you.”

“It’s okay,” Amy reassured, offering him a more confident smile. “I’m just glad I could help.”

Tails’ mind felt like static running through his brain. The only thing keeping him present was the rain, soaked into his fur, gloves, and socks. Even his shoes were soaked, caked in mud - a hole at the toe of his left shoe had formed, causing water to seep inside. His radio device was waterlogged, effectively just a fancy metal box for the piece of amber inside, and probably the same for his blaster. His arms ached from holding them, but he refused to stop, until he found something. 

With weary eyes, Tails looked up through the trees, feeling the raindrops soak his face. He squinted as he saw something different through the foliage - something gray, and angular. Something man-made. 

His blue eyes widened. Heart racing, his feet began to move without thinking, following the direction of the structure. 

Pushing past the thick bushes, Tails finally made his way to a large clearing. In front of him stood a large building, akin to a cell tower, with a base for entry and maintenance right at the bottom. His eyes turned huge, a gasp escaping him.

“It worked!” Tails beamed, running towards the base. He stumbled over the slick mud, but caught himself, unable to care about slowing down. “I made it!”

Past the silver and red striping, Tails made his way to the front door. It was two large, metal panels, with no knob. Instead, a small, black box was mounted next to the door - most likely, a control panel. 

Which meant the door was locked.

“Hello?” Tails called out, reaching up to knock on the solid metal door. His call was met only with the sound of heavy rain against the metal hull of the base. 

Tails sniffed, and opened the cover of the panel to reveal a numerical keypad and a small screen. He groaned, feeling his face heat up - of course, the one thing standing in his way from getting some proper shelter from the rain. He had no tools at his disposal, and instead realized that he’d have to manually guess the passcode. 

With a sigh, he began to test out random passcodes. Four digit, five digit, six, seven, eight– it couldn’t possibly be nine, right? Each combination gave him a red light, declining his entry. It was increasingly clear that he had no real method of actually cracking the code, or figuring out a place to start. 

The sound of his stomach interrupted his routine, and Tails felt his hunger take over his body. His body was shivering, cold from the rain soaked into his fur. He was so desperate for anything, anything this Eggman base had inside, and it had to be password protected in the middle of a jungle. It was driving him mad. 

“UGH! You stupid door!” Tails yelled, utterly defeated. He raised a fist and angrily pounded against the panel, keys pressing beneath his hand. 

The light turned green.

Slowly, but surely, the metal door began to slide open, revealing the inside of the base to the soaked, tired fox. 

Tails’ mouth hung open, his eyes wide at what felt like a miracle. He wasn’t even sure he believed in divine intervention, but truly, there was no way that was supposed to work at all. 

He wasted no time, quickly entering the base. It was decently sized for something so remote, with a large control panel and monitors in the back of the room. The space was large, and relatively organized, albeit dusty - it was clear that it hadn’t been visited in a long time. 

His stomach rumbled. He needed food. He needed food.

Tails began to scavenge the base, rummaging haphazardly through the different containers and shelves. Each one turned up empty, or filled with tools - something that would normally make his eyes glitter, but not now. There had to be something he could eat in here. Anything.

“Voltage meters, wrenches, motherboards, wires… Damnit.” The hungry fox was growing more desperate by the second. 

Beside him, Tails spotted the silver handle of a door and promptly reached to open it. It was a closet, dark and dusty, with several storage containers stacked on the back wall. Tails sneezed as the unsettled dust reached his nose, before spotting a large chest at his feet, akin to a cooler. His stomach tightened.

Determined, Tails grabbed the lip of the lid and pulled, mustering all of his strength, until the airtight seal finally released, the lid lifting with a soft pop. Panting, he tossed the lid aside, and looked within the chest with baited breath. 

Canned food. Water bottles. 

Tails grabbed the cans and bottles with wild eyes, reading the labels. Canned beans, canned soup, canned ravioli, filtered water. He couldn’t even stop to think about the expiration dates. It was food . And water.

But he didn’t have a can opener on hand. There had to be more.

As he continued to search the chest, his hands ran over some plastic packaging, feeling it crinkle beneath his touch. He pulled, and revealed a bag of–

“Beef jerky.” 

He quickly ripped open the seal at the top, and opened the bag, looking at the strips of jerky inside. His mouth watered at the smell of chipotle lime. It was food - real, salted food. And he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Tails began to demolish that bag. He felt like an animal, close to eating fistfuls of the tough, leathery meat, and fighting the urge to swallow faster than he could chew. It occurred to him that he didn’t even like jerky. And yet, this tasted like the best meal he’s ever had.

He ate until he couldn’t. Tails laid down on the cold floor, his stomach feeling stuffed to the brim. He might have eaten himself sick. He didn’t care.

He felt tired. His eyelids grew heavy, closing as the feeling of relief washed over his body, turning him into lead. He was so close to getting out, so close, he could almost taste it. 

Amy listlessly stared at the ceiling above her. It was past midnight, and Cream, Cheese and Sticks were sleeping soundly in their beds. Normally, Amy would be sleeping too, and while Sticks’ snores might be to blame, Amy was too busy thinking about the different threads of the current situation.

The three of them had met up once they’d gotten her food, but her and Sticks avoided conversation about the argument. It felt a little awkward, and any conversation ended up catering more towards Cream. Amy knew she’d be remiss to think that Cream didn’t notice. 

She hadn’t told Sticks or Cream about her attempted phone call with Tails. She didn’t want to assume the worst, but with all the times she’d used the communicators, she hadn’t run into an error message like that before. It’s possible that he could’ve disabled his communicator deliberately, but that possibility still made Amy worry - what could have happened to make him do that? 

He did seem a little out of it when she said goodbye to him, but Amy figured he was just anxious about his trip. Did she miss something? Did something happen between him and Sonic?

Sonic. 

Amy tossed over to the side, pulling the blanket tighter over her shoulders. The thought of him left a burn in her chest. She recalled that moment when he had first called her, checking in on their vacation. Amy had felt her heart flutter by that gesture, him reaching out just to say hi, and hear her voice, him missing her. That maybe, whatever that feeling was that she felt on Kronos Island, he had felt it too, even if he couldn’t articulate it. 

But now, Amy was putting together the pieces of Vanilla’s story, and that thrill in her heart had fallen, and hard. Sonic had called because Silver had shown up with another earth-shattering crisis, and decided to covertly gather information from her without giving her so much as a clue about the situation. 

He had asked her to let him know ‘if anything comes up’. Perhaps, she thought bitterly, she should have asked him to do the same.

Her mind drifted to Tails’ absence. Feeling that pit in her stomach again, Amy tossed, rolling onto her back again. There was no way she could let Tails’ whereabouts go unanswered to her. Vanilla didn’t mention anything about Tails in her update, so she assumed Sonic didn’t know either. She almost wanted to ask him about it. At the same time, the thought of speaking to him made her stomach turn sour.

And the people of Spagonia needed help now. There were still more people who needed access to shelter, food, money - so many lives uprooted. Especially with Sticks and Cream involved, it felt hard to justify leaving on a whim, over what could just seem like a missed call. 

She was anxious. There had to be something she could do. 

Amy thought for a few minutes, running through the list of options in her mind. The sound of Sticks’ loud snores almost didn’t reach her.

Finally, a thought came to her. Amy’s brows furrowed, conflicted. But she didn’t have any better ideas, and her anxiety was only going to eat away at her if she continued to sit on her hands. 

Amy peeled the blanket away from her, and carefully got out of bed, taking extra care to have her feet land delicately on the floor. As the floor creaked, she looked over at Sticks and Cream carefully, watching as they tossed slightly in their sleep, but nothing more. 

With featherlike feet, Amy walked carefully towards where the room door would be, holding a hand out to find it in the darkness. As she touched the wooden frame, her hand slid down towards the handle; then, carefully gripping it, turned it slowly to avoid any semblance of a metal jangle. 

Once she stepped out into the hallway, Amy slinked down the corridor until she was a safe distance from the room, and then felt herself breathing again. She held her wrist up to look at her communicator, the light from the display making her eyes squint for a moment, before tapping a few times on the screen. 

The sound of a dial tone rang out a couple times, before a click. Amy leaned her shoulder against the wall, her free hand hugging herself, and spoke.  

“Hey, Vector? It’s Amy.”

Chapter Text

All was quiet at the Chaotix Detective Agency.

It was past midnight, and the makeshift office-living-room was dark and still. Vector was fast asleep on the couch, his right arm hanging loosely off the side as his snores blended into the silence. 

Just then, there was the piercing sound of a telephone ring.

Vector bolted up from his deep slumber, scrambling on the couch to find the source of the ringing. “Wh– HUH?”

Another ring came from the telephone up on the desk, and Vector’s eyes lit up in realization. Without a second thought, he scrambled off the couch and ran to the desk, picking up the phone. “Hello? I mean, uh– This is the Chaotix Detective Agency, uh, Vector speaking.” he said quickly, blinking his eyes to wake himself up. 

“Hey, Vector? It’s Amy.” Amy’s voice was hushed as she spoke. “Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“Oh,” Vector breathed, realizing he was panting. “Uh, Hi Amy. Um.” 

The crocodile put a hand on the desk, and looked over at the old electric clock situated among the various loose papers: it was 12:37 AM. “Yeah, kinda,” he admitted loosely. “But uh, you called the company line.”

“So sorry, Vector,” Amy apologized again. “But uh– Yeah, I did. I have a job for you guys, actually. But if it’s too late to talk–”

“No, no! It’s okay. Let me just get my notepad and we’ll get started,” Vector assured. Carefully, he made his way to sit in the torn-up desk chair, getting himself comfortable. Searching for his pen and notepad, he sifted through the messy desk, pushing past several envelopes marked ‘PAST DUE’ to find his supplies. “Thanks for thinkin’ of me and the boys.”

“Of course. If you guys have the time to take it on, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Vector?” A voice interrupted. 

Vector looked over to see Espio peering over his shoulder, and jumped, startled by the chameleon’s sudden appearance. “Wh– Stop doing that!” He scolded, embarrassed, before returning his attention to his client. “Sorry, that was Espio. Do ya mind if he listens in?”

“Sure,” Amy agreed slowly. “But I just want to keep a low profile on this.”

Vector nodded easily. “Of course! We at the Chaotix Detective Agency take client confidentiality very seriously,” he touted, brushing off the pointed nature of Amy’s request. 

“Thank you. I just… Ah, I don’t know where to start.” Amy let out a hollow laugh. “So much has happened. I’m in Spagonia right now, with Sticks and Cream, and there was an earthquake over here.” 

“Oh yeah, the earthquake, huh?” Vector silently passed the notepad and pen to Espio, whose penmanship he could count on to get all the details clearly. “Oh, yeah– Vanilla mentioned you ladies were on a trip, but I forgot you were in Spagonia.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad out here, and the people over here really need help. We’ve been doing a lot of recovery efforts here. But uh…” There was a pause on the phone. Vector was almost about to speak, but Amy finally continued. “Long story short, I tried calling Tails a couple times on his communicator, but every time I called, I kept getting a message on my end saying he can’t be reached. I thought maybe it was damage to the cell towers around here because of the earthquake, but I was able to receive a call from Vanilla earlier today.”

“I see. So you’re sure that it’s not on your end, then?” Vector asked.

“I’m calling you on the same line!” Amy insisted, agitated by the questioning. “I know Tails. He’d never let one of his devices stay broken for this long, and he’d also never ignore a call from one of us. I just– I have a bad feeling.”

“Yeesh, okay, okay. I’m a detective, I have to ask.” closed his eyes in thought. A missing person’s case was nothing out of the ordinary. They just needed to ask the basic questions before digging any deeper. “When’s the last time you saw him?” 

“Uh… has to be a little over a week ago,” She recounted. “Sonic, Tails and I had gotten back from the Starfall Islands, and I met up with them to say goodbye before my trip. Tails said he was going to be flying out early the next day to go to… Station Square, I think?”

Vector looked over at Espio, silently confirming that he was getting all of this down. “Did he say why? Or did he do anything out of the ordinary?” 

“Mmm, he said – Tails wanted to go on this journey to find himself, and grow. You know, he’s always been with Sonic, and… I think he really wants to figure out what he’s capable of on his own, without our help,” Amy explained. “Station Square is a place where he fought Eggman on his own, and he said he wanted to– to remember what that felt like.”

Vector’s ears perked up as he caught Amy’s words. A small giveaway that made this call a lot more interesting. “I see. But I mean, like you said, he’s always been with Sonic, right? Did you ask him about Tails?”

“I… No, I didn’t. I don’t think he knows,” she admitted, sounding nervous on the other line. “That’s why I asked earlier, if we could keep this… Discreet.”

Espio and Vector looked up, and exchanged confused looks. That had to have been the biggest red flag if they’ve heard one. They were talking to Amy Rose, correct? They’ve been fooled by mysterious callers before, and had reasons to be suspicious. 

“... Amy, are you asking us to find Tails without telling Sonic the Hedgehog ?” Vector asked, bewildered.

“I know, I know it sounds bad. But I just– I’m just asking you guys to find out where Tails is, and if he’s okay. I don’t even know if he’s in danger or not, so I don’t want to worry Sonic if it turns out Tails is just fine.”

The crocodile opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Espio, who remained calm and collected. “We can do that, but what for, Amy? Wouldn’t Sonic of all people want to know? I’m sure it would probably save you time and money that way.” Espio looked up to catch a dirty look from Vector, but remained unfazed. 

“I– He’s busy, okay?” Amy stammered, growing defensive. “I’d go looking for Tails on my own, but I can’t leave Spagonia. Sonic is just–” Amy groaned on the other line in frustration. “He’s just busy.” 

“Is it okay if we ask what he’s busy with? Sonic is closest to Tails, after all,” Espio asked. When he was met with silence, he continued. “We’re not looking to pass judgment or spread rumors, Amy. But if we’re going to look for Tails as covertly as possible, we’d like to have as much information up front as we can.”

After a few moments of silence, Amy sighed, and finally spoke in a low, tired voice. “Something happened in the future, and now Silver’s here. And apparently something happened on Angel Island too, with Knuckles and Rouge, because they’re all at Vanilla’s house. At least, that’s what Vanilla told me when she called me today. Sorry I’m so upset, I just… Sonic didn’t even tell me anything about this.” She sighed bitterly. “There. Does that work?”

Vector raised an eyebrow, looking back at Espio. Espio’s face remained unchanged, nonchalantly writing down the notes on his pad. “Noted.” 

Amy began to beg. “Listen – Sonic– not just Sonic, no one can find out you guys are doing this. I already feel bad about going behind Sonic’s back, but there’s just so much going on. Please.” 

Espio silently handed Vector the notepad, whose eyes widened at the sheer amount of notes filling the entire page. They were really going to be earning their check this time. “Well, I can see why ya called, Amy. It’s clear that you need some professional help.” 

Satisfied at the attention to detail, Vector nodded at Espio, offering a satisfied smile, before jumping back into his customer service bravado. “A good thing you called us, the professionals. Glad to know you could trust the Chaotix Detective Agency with your case.”

They could hear a quiet sigh of relief on the other line. “Thanks. Before you ask, yes, I will pay you guys. I wasn’t expecting a freebie.”

“Of course,” Vector chuckled nervously. “But since we’re talkin’ business, I gotta let you know about our new policy changes. We’re uh - we’re askin’ for a small deposit now. ” He rubbed the back of his thick neck uncomfortably, bracing for a negative reaction. “Unfortunately we’ve had some clients who haven’t held up their end of the contract. We gotta keep the lights on, ya know? But it’s not an extra charge, it goes towards your final balance,” he assured.

Amy sighed audibly. “Fine. I’ll send the money over.”

“Thanks, Amy. Appreciate you reaching out to us. Anything else we should know?”

“Not that I can think of.” There is a yawn on the other end of the line. “I’ll let you know if I hear from him. But I’m gonna go to bed.”

“Gotcha. You have a good night.”

“Thanks, Vector.”

The call ended with a click. After a moment of silence, Vector looked at the pad full of notes, then back up at the chameleon.

“Jeez Louise, are ya kidding me? What the heck was that, Espio?” 

“Amy was being suspicious about Sonic, for some reason. I thought it would be good to get more information out of her,” Espio explained, his voice calm, yet uneasy. “While I’m grateful for the work, this whole request seems odd.”

“You’re telling me. You want us to conduct a missing persons investigation about Miles ‘Tails’ Prower, right-hand-fox to Sonic the Hedgehog, without telling Sonic the Hedgehog? ” Vector held up the notepad again, skimming through the notes, before dropping it back on the desk again. “I dunno what’s going on between her and Sonic, but it seems personal.” 

Espio took a breath, a look of discomfort on his face. “Are you sure we’ll be able to keep it a secret from Sonic? I have to admit, I’m a little worried about Charmy…”

Vector’s expression dropped, putting two and two together. Charmy, the youngest member of their team, was a sweet kid with a good eye- but his impulsiveness meant that he struggled to stop and listen, or think. The crocodile could just picture Charmy casually asking Sonic about Tails ‘since he’s missing’, and blowing their cover completely without realizing. And then, the nightmare scenario of feeling Amy’s rage, and missing out on this month’s rent because of it.

A hand reached up to rub the crocodile’s temple.“Ah jeez. I mean… Maybe we’ll start with a talk on client confidentiality and see if he gets it, before letting him in on the job? He’s a good kid, but I’m with ya there. Maybe we just, I dunno, have you sneak around Sonic and report back to us, and then he can join us when we scout Station Square for Tails or something.”

“That might be best,” Espio agreed, placing his hands on the dest to over the notes. “After all, this is our first case in a while, and we need the rent. But there seems to be a lot going on with Sonic and his friends outside of the Tails situation,” he commented.

“Forget it. Alla that’s makin’ my head spin.” Vector grumbled, shaking his head. “I dunno – It’s too late to think about this,” he yawned, stretching his arms. Lazily, he made his way back to the couch and plopped down, resting his head on the pillow.. “I’ll figure it out tomorrow.” 

“Agreed,” Espio nodded. “We’ll convene in the morning. I’ll head back to bed now.”

The chameleon walked down the hallway to his room, passing a worn, wooden door decorated with daisies and bees, just slightly ajar. Behind the door stood an uncharacteristically quiet, dejected Charmy, who held his breath as his face began to pucker. 

The young bee flew over to his bed and sat down, bowing his head. “I can keep a secret,” he mumbled to himself, folding his arms over his chest. 

The glow of the street lights illuminating the small, messy bedroom. Clothes were hastily stuffed into drawers, and a few pencils and crayons had rolled off the desk onto the floor. His bedroom wasn’t the nicest, but it was his, at least for right now. It was the first big job they’d had for a while, and Vector and Espio wouldn’t even let him help to save their home. “It’s not fair,” he whined quietly. “I’m part of the team too, why can’t I help find Tails?” 

Charmy looked out at the window, seeing the cool light of the lampposts on the sidewalk. “I can find Tails. I can find Tails all by myself!” 

He hopped down from the bed, and made his way to his tiny, child-size desk, hastily grabbing a crayon and some paper. “I’ll go to Station Square, find Tails, and come right back, no problem!” He declared, scribbling words on a piece of construction paper with a blue, glitter crayon. “Vector and Espio will have to take me seriously then, as a real detective!” 

The young detective dropped the crayon and held up his work, marveling at it with a smug expression. “There. I’ll just leave this here…” 

Charmy set the note down on top of his bed, before flying up to the window. He grunted as he began to open the window, feeling the resistance until it finally opened as wide as it could go. 

And then, the young bee took a breath, and flew out into the night, with nothing but his goggles, some change, and determination to his name. 

Tails was dreaming again.

He was running through the jungle as fast as he could, the trees and bushes blurring together as he panted. And yet, it felt like he was not fast enough.

Something knocked him down to the ground. As he fell, he saw the body of his jaguar companion, lying limp on the forest floor. Tails tried to reach his arm out, but couldn’t move.

The sound of a growl pulled his attention. He looked back up in horror, to see the large jaw unhinging above, sharp fangs ready to tear into him. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out.

Tails’ eyes flew open, a light gasp escaping him. Disoriented by the darkness, he sat up quickly, feeling the crumbs of beef jerky scattered beside him. His back was aching, from sleeping on the cold, concrete floor. He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept for, but it didn’t feel very long. 

It was a dream – and yet, it wasn’t. He’d seen his companion collapse, at the mercy of two animals who wanted his hide. And he had chosen to run away. His chest felt heavy.

With a groan, Tails picked himself up from the floor, adjusting his shoulders as he felt how sore he was. The air felt chilly, the cold air seeping into his bones. There had to be a couch, or a chair - even just a blanket or pillow. Groggily, he picked up his two items - his invention, and handheld blaster, and decided to head towards the hallway. 

The hallway was quite small, and pitch black. Cautiously, Tails pressed his shoulder against the wall, his hands full, as he guided himself down the corridor. He stopped at the feeling of a doorframe, and turned to face it.

“Hmm…” Grunting, he moved his items to one hand, before reaching blindly for the door handle. Feeling a hinge, he twisted and pulled, noticing how the door unlocked with ease.

The door opened to a dark room. Motion activated lights turned on, and Tails squinted, looking away from the harsh LED’s above.

“Ah, that’s bright,” he hissed. 

As his eyes adjusted, he took in the small room, with its dingy, eggshell walls. The room was fitted with a dresser, mirror, and two small tables in either corner. Another door was situated near the far corner.

“Huh.” Tails set his things down on one of the tables, his attention captured by a large, rectangular outline on the wall - a groove of some sort. Next to it, a small control panel, with no indication of what it could be, except the words ‘STAND CLEAR’ printed clearly on some tape above it.

The sleepy fox paused. He wasn’t equipped to deal with… whatever monstrosity Eggman had on the other side of this thing. 

But he also had nothing to lose, either.

Hesitating, Tails reached up, and pressed the large button on the control panel.

A whirring sound appeared, and the top of the groove began to open slowly. Tails watched in awe as a mattress lowered to the ground, fully fitted with sheets, two fluffy pillows, and a cozy, red quilt.

He was at a loss for words. Gingerly, he placed a hand on the mattress, and pressed into it, afraid it would dissolve into thin air. Instead, his hand sunk comfortably into the memory foam.

He quickly made his way atop the bed. His body sunk in, and for the first time, he felt the muscles in his back and legs, his arms, his neck, all relax into this cozy, heavenly mattress. 

Tails took the blanket, and wrapped himself in it into a small cocoon. He made himself comfortable, and laid still, his eyes falling shut as his head sinked into the pillow.

And the lights went out. 

Tails opened his eyes after what had to have been over eight hours of sleep. Maybe it was the mattress– Eggman surely valued bringing the luxuries of life to everything – but considering what he’d been through these past few days, it felt like he’d gotten the best sleep of his life. He was never going to take his bed for granted again. 

He walked over to the main control room, taking it in with more clarity. Light filtered into the room through a small, porthole-type window. Aside from the mess that he made searching for food yesterday, the base was relatively tidy, save for the dust that had formed over what had to have been years. 

“Of course, this really had to be Eggman’s, huh.” Tails rolled his eyes, spotting Eggman’s logo plastered on a wall. He shook his head, disappointed at how fate always seemed to bring him in proximity to this tyrant. 

Tails approached the main control panel, taking in the series of knobs, buttons and switches around the keyboard, as well as the multi-monitor setup. He ran his hand over the monitors, feeling a full layer of dust and dirt pull off beneath it. He cringed, and rubbed his hand against his fur. 

“Seems like a while since someone’s been here,” he commented. It occurred to him that there should have been badniks, or some sort of lethal security system in place. If they were, he figured calmly, it would’ve attacked him by now. 

Tails looked down at the control panel, and scanned before finding the power button. He pressed and held the button down, looking at the monitors hopefully. “I gotta see if I can find out where I am,” he muttered.

After another few moments, there was still nothing. “Something’s wrong with the power.”

Kneeling down, Tails examined the thin, metal panels beneath the control panel. There wasn’t a lock to access it, but he caught the round heads of screws holding the edges of the cover shut. 

Nodding with certainty, Tails got up from beneath the panel and went over to a storage box on the side of the room. He had rummaged through it yesterday while looking for food, and he swore that he’d seen a ratcheting screwdriver somewhere—

Found it. Tails inspected the head to find a flat tip, then made his way back under the control panel. The young fox began the task of manually unscrewing the panel, screws falling to the ground with a small clatter as he loosened them. 

Once the last of the screws were off, he pried the cover off carefully, turning his face away as a cloud of dust emerged. As the dust settled, Tails looked in to see the various wires and paneling of the computer, all surrounding a large, metal block.

“So it’s a battery…” He reached over to run his fingers on the surface of the metal, noting the various dark spots on the sheet. The areas where wires connected from were all covered with a dry, blue and white substance. This computer wasn’t turning on any time soon – the battery was completely corroded.

Unless he could replace it. 

Tails ran back to the bedroom, over to his invention on the nightstand. Holding it securely, he popped the back panel of the device open, revealing the glowing, amber stone, with the pearl embedded within. His fingers ran over the crack on the bottom as he took it out, and carried it back to the control room.

“You went cheap with the battery, Eggman,” Tails snickered, settling down on the floor. “But I’ll get in your computer. Just you wait.” 

The crafty fox went to work. With a little elbow grease, Tails spent the next hour and a half removing the corroded battery from the port, and installing the mysterious stone in its place, generously borrowing from the array of parts around the base. 

After a few failed attempts, Tails stood up once again, and pressed the power button on the control panel. The screens lit up in cobalt blue and red, as the fans of the computer whirred for its bootup. 

“Yes!” Tails beamed, watching the screens in delight. “Now, all I have to do is get into the system. There should be a GPS application I can use to figure out where I am.”

Hacking the system turned out to be easier than Tails anticipated - the operating system was much older than what Eggman was currently working with. He felt so proud when he saw the desktop screen in front of him, fully accessible. He missed computers so much.

“Huh, this isn’t actually hooked up to the current Eggnet. I guess it’s too old, compatibility wise,” Tails mused.

With the computer out of the Eggnet, this meant that its security system was significantly weaker than those in-network. This also meant that Eggman wasn’t privy to any activity on the computer, either.  

This had implications. 

“Since I’m here…” A cheeky smirk appeared on his face as he shrugged. “Might as well help myself, right?”

He clicked into the file explorer, sifting through the handful of folders.

“Code… Photos…” Tails hummed, scrolling down. He wanted the juicy stuff.

“Logs.”

He clicked on the folder, seeing a variety of memos inside. Each one was named ‘Amber Heart’, followed by a string of numbers, most likely the date. 

“Amber Heart?” He stopped in his tracks. The stone he had was amber - ninety nine percent sure about that. Eggman was privy to this before they were?

Tails clicked on the first log. 

I’ve decrypted an old text from almost a thousand years ago, mentioning something about the Earth’s ‘Amber Heart’ located in this very jungle. It’s mentioned briefly, and isn’t in any of the other texts I’ve read surrounding Dark Gaia, so there isn’t much to go off of. But if true, it could hold the key to unleashing Dark Gaia’s power and taking it as mine!

“Dark Gaia?” Tails almost stopped in his tracks. This was earth-shattering information, literally . How was it related? What did the stone do?  

This revelation only opened up more questions. Curious, Tails clicked on another log, and continued reading.

I am still continuing my search for this ‘heart’. My ventures into the jungle have been confusing - either my navigation systems are faulty, or the same exact tree keeps appearing as I walk forwards. It feels like I am walking in circles.

“Hah!” Tails laughed. He was going to ignore that Eggman also got lost in the jungle, but to be fair, Eggman was definitely more equipped than Tails was.

He clicked to the next one.

Today, I almost got attacked by a large jaguar! The wretched beast just sprung up on me. Thank goodness I had my weapon on me. I survived by the skin of my teeth, but I can’t say I’m not rattled. 

The smile faded from Tails’ face, his mind drifting off to the events of yesterday. Reading this set a fire in his stomach, his hand subconsciously squeezing the mouse. He clicked on another log.

An important discovery - based on the readings of some additional sensors, there seems to be a “cloaking” of the jungle, as if it’s trying to hide something. I’m certain it’s the heart. Once I figure out how to disable it, it’s mine. 

“Cloaking…?” Puzzled, Tails reached up to scratch the back of his neck. He remembered the idyllic patch of forest the Jaguar had led him to, the majestic tree that encased the Amber within its trunks. Surely, a place like that was hard to miss, unless it was deliberately cloaked from others. 

Still, it begged the question – why did it allow Tails of all people to pass through?

Tails clicked to the final log.

I have spent four months at this very base, spending resources to find this, to find… nothing. Admittedly, I have no clue what I should be searching for to bypass the cloaking. I have tried searching near various trees, rocks, and any sort of landmarks. But this is not a failure - I’ve simply figured out another way to unleash Dark Gaia - and who better to help me but that pesky blue rat!

Tails sighed, and closed out the logs and folder. This stone that he had was still a mystery to him, but it dawned on him that it might be a big one. He needed to be more careful about keeping it safe.

Tails shook his head. "I can't worry about this now. Right now, I just need to find a way to get out of here."

Tails went and clicked on the GPS application, feeling annoyed as it took a few seconds to load sections at a time, but only a sea of green - the jungle. He felt relieved as some other landmarks came into view - a river to the far east. He assumed that was the river he attempted fishing at when he first crash landed. 

But then, something curious appeared, about eleven miles away from his current location. Tails furrowed his brow, and zoomed in closer. 

A road. 

Tails’ heart began to race. A road meant cars, which meant people, which meant a town, and a bed , and food . 

This map couldn’t load any slower.

“Come on– come on!” Tails pleaded, watching the screen as more pixels populated around the road, both above and below.

And there it was. 

Down south, at least twenty-seven miles, there it was.

“Station Square,” he breathed, feeling his heart flutter. 

He almost couldn’t believe it. It didn’t matter if it would take him days. Now, he had a direction.

He was so, so close.

Chapter Text

Espio woke up a little later than normal, having to fight himself to get out of bed. He typically strived to wake up at sunrise, an attempt to maintain some discipline in his routine, but the events of last night put a dent in his sleep cycle. 

Still, he freshened up in the bathroom, relieved to be awake before Charmy, avoiding the kid’s nasty habit of leaving toothpaste residue in the sink. After washing the grogginess from his face, the chameleon walked down the hallway towards the living room and kitchen, waking up to the smell of freshly cooked breakfast.

“Good morning, Vector,” Espio greeted, making his way to the table. Breakfast was laid out neatly, with two sets of scrambled eggs and toast fresh and ready, and a third plate decorated only with crumbs. “You woke up and made breakfast?”

“Eh, couldn’t sleep that well,” Vector shrugged, pouring coffee into a mug that read ‘I went to the Emerald Coast and all I got was this stupid mug’. “Figured I might as well. Feel free to dig in.” 

“I see. Thank you, it looks great,” Espio nodded appreciatively, reaching for the toast. 

“You got it.” Vector made his way to the table, placing the full coffee mug next to Espio’s plate. He sat down in front of the empty plate, reaching for his almost empty mug of tepid coffee. 

“Did you stay up last night?” The chameleon asked, studying Vector’s behavior carefully. 

“Eh… Kinda, yeah,” Vector admitted. “I mean, I’m still tryna wrap my brain around alla that stuff Amy talked about,” he shrugged. “But more about how we’re gonna approach this. I looked back at your notes– Honestly, I think we’re gonna need all hands on deck.”

Espio raised a brow, swallowing a bite of his eggs. “So you decided on telling Charmy?”

“Yeah, I think we should,” Vector shrugged. “I mean, I know what you’re thinking, but it’ll be uh - a good teaching moment,” he explained, the words coming to him as he gestured with his coffee mug. “Show him the ropes of the biz. He won’t learn if we don’t teach him, right?”

Espio was picking up what he was putting down, washing down his bite with some coffee. Still, he looked at Vector skeptically. “Are you sure?”

Vector set the mug down, reaching for his empty plate. “Listen, we might not be able to completely guarantee client confidentiality, but she called the Team Chaotix company line. We’re not Team Chaotix if it’s not all three of us,” he said, standing up to bring his plate to the sink.

“I guess,” Espio nodded, unconvinced, but seeing the reasoning. He knit his brow as he ate another bite of his eggs.

“Oh come on, Espio! It’ll be fine,” Vector reassured, offering an easygoing smile. “I’ll keep an eye on him. You trust me, right?”

Espio couldn’t help but let a weak smile show. “Sure,” he shrugged.

“I knew you’d come around.” Vector looked up from the sink, over at the entrance to the hallway across the room. “Speaking of Charmy, is that kid still sleeping or what?”

“He ate the last pack of Emerald Bites last night when no one was looking,” Espio said absently, taking a sip of his coffee. “He probably stayed up late.”

“Sheesh, I didn’t even have any,” Vector huffed, annoyed at what was expected behavior. He looked back towards the hallway. “Charmy! Breakfast is ready!”

He waited for a response, but heard nothing. Grumbling, he shook his head and made his way towards the hallway. “I’m gonna go wake him up.” 

“Have fun,” Espio said nonchalantly, cheersing the air with his coffee mug before returning to his breakfast.

The crocodile made his way to Charmy’s room door, looking at it in annoyance. 

“Hey kid! Rise and shine!” Vector said loudly, rapping his knuckles against the door. He waited a moment, but heard nothing but silence.

“He must’ve went to bed late. Seriously kid, ya gotta stop eating all that sugar before bed,” the crocodile grumbled, beginning to turn the door handle. “Hey, your breakfast is getting–” 

Espio, who was relaxing with his morning cup of coffee, jumped from his chair at the sound of a shrill scream, his coffee spilling onto the table and floor. Immediately, he began to run towards the room. “Vector?”

“He’s GONE!” Vector exclaimed from within the room. “Charmy’s gone!”

“What?!” 

He stepped into the room to see Vector standing bewildered in front of a wide open window. A cool breeze blew the curtains, the sound of a crayon rolling across the old wooden floor. No Charmy Bee in sight. 

Vector walked towards the window, wishfully hoping to see any clue of Charmy outside. “He just– He ran away?! Why?”

Espio, meanwhile, began scanning the room for clues. He looked over at the empty, unmade bed, with the blanket half-dragging against the floor, spotting a piece of folded paper tucked between the pillow. 

He took the paper and opened it, sighing deeply as he began to read the note. “Vector, look,” he called, extending the paper over to the crocodile.  

“Lemme see this,” Vector huffed, snatching the note from Espio’s hand. He held the paper back, squinting at the page. Once he could read it, he cringed as he looked at the poorly scrawled note, written in glitter crayon: 

DeeR Veckir  SPO

If U R Reebng dis, I M gong 2 fin Tallz all bye my self! I will bee good D tektiv. 

TEEN K OT TIX 

Charmy

Vector pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, before turning to face the chameleon. 

“We gotta put this kid in school.”

“Home sweet home, huh Knux?”

“Shut up.”

Sonic, Silver, Knuckles and Rouge stood atop the snow covered, frozen wasteland of Angel Island, equipped to various degrees with winter gear. The sky was gray and gloomy, with a gentle snow falling atop the adventurer’s heads. Knuckles, donning a comically large coat and hat, had a stony expression on his face as he took in the state of his island. He opted for silence as the others spoke.  

“How’re ya holdin’ up, Silver?” Sonic asked, looking at the other hedgehog. 

Silver was panting a bit, offering a weak thumbs up in assurance. “It feels harder than it should have to use my powers, but I’ll be okay.”

“Let’s just walk and take it slow,” Rouge suggested. “Don’t need you passing out on us.”

“Yeah, agreed,” Sonic nodded, before letting out a light chuckle. “It’s kinda hard to run in snow this deep, anyway.” 

And so, the four began to walk, bracing themselves against the intermittent, frigid gusts of wind. The snowfall, at least a foot deep, was still fresh, delivering a satisfying crunch beneath them as they trudged ahead. 

Sonic looked around at the snowy landscape, realizing just how different the island looked. “I guess it doesn’t snow here often, does it?” He observed

“No, never.” Knuckles shook his head, morose. The Echidna, stalwart in his mission, continued to march forward. “The Master Emerald is responsible for keeping the island afloat. It’s always been warm and sunny here, in most areas anyway – I don’t know how this happened.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it, Knucklehead,” Sonic reassured, his tone easygoing as usual. “I mean, if anything, the storm probably made it hard for anyone to steal the emerald. Call it a home security system!”

Rouge swatted Sonic on the arm, and shot him a look. 

“Ouch!” Sonic looked over at Rouge, confused, as he rubbed his arm. “What? I’m just saying.”

A scowl came across Knuckles’ face, as he shot daggers with his eyes at the blue hedgehog. “On top of that,” he continued, restraining himself to maintain composure, “The island is not as high up as it should be. It’s already starting to fall, but slowly.” 

“We will figure it out,” Rouge restated, nodding her head at Knuckles. “And we’re here if you need us to do anything.”

Knuckles let out a silent huff of acknowledgement, before stopping in his tracks. “... I can sense the Master Emerald now. Something’s wrong with it.” He grit his teeth, balling his mitts into fists, pressing forward again at a faster pace. “We need to keep moving.”

Knuckles huffed silently, walking ahead of the three as they trekked towards the altar of the Master Emerald. 

Sonic looked around quietly, pulling his scarf tighter over himself to cover his otherwise bare body. Rouge, donned in a puffer jacket, took notice. 

“What’s wrong, Blue? Feelin’ chilly?” She teased, stuffing her hands into her pockets. 

“Me? Chilly? Never,” he brushed off, a humorous smile across his face. 

Silver, meanwhile, cheerfully examined his new, blue coat. “Wow, I know these coats are for the cold, but they look really nice,” he smiled, looking up at Rouge and Sonic. “Why don’t you all wear jackets like these more often?”

Sonic shrugged smugly, throwing his hands up. “Eh, I can put up with the cold. Plus I can’t run wearing all that stuff.” 

Rouge, meanwhile, felt her handheld communicator buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out, and raised an eyebrow upon seeing the number messaging her. Pulling out her other hand from her pocket, she began composing her reply on the communicator. Her deep focus on the screen caught Sonic’s attention. 

“Hey, who are’ya texting?” Sonic asked curiously, attempting to peek over at Rouge’s communicator.

Rouge gave him a cheeky, knowing smirk, pulling the device away from his view. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” She teased.

“Hm. Not suspicious at all,” he teased back, glancing at her from the side as they continued walking. 

After climbing up the stone staircase, the four made it towards the altar of the Master Emerald, covered in snow. A large spire of ice stood tall, its surface frosted and uneven, encasing the Master Emerald within it. The Emerald’s glow, once a bright evergreen, was now dull within the icy case, the light pulsing slowly, but steadily around the gem.

“It’s… Frozen?” Rouge looked at the emerald in a morbid awe.   

Knuckles shook his head, his stomach tightening as he gazed upon the altar. “The Master Emerald, it’s– I can’t believe I let this happen.” He grit his teeth. “How could this happen?!”

“Knuckles, it’s not your fault,” Rouge insisted, feeling her heart twist inside. “You couldn’t have known!”

But her reassurance passed through him, as the echidna’s anger bubbled inside him. “Whoever did this,” Knuckles hissed, balling his hands into fists. “They’re going to pay.” 

“Sonic, this has to be related to what’s happening in the future,” Silver said urgently. “We looked everywhere, and we don’t have any other leads. I don’t think we have much time.”

Knuckles’ ears perked up, and he turned to Sonic and Silver. “What? What are you talking about?” He asked, glowering with suspicion. 

Sonic felt Knuckles’ stare burn holes into him. “We, uhh–” 

His stomach was knotting within itself. Entertaining this possibility in his head was one thing, but saying it out loud? 

The blue hero took a moment to swallow and collect himself, before speaking in a measured, even tone. “I … At this point, Silver and I think all of this is connected to the Starfall Islands.” 

Knuckles’ eyes widened. “What?” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I thought you said–” 

“When Silver and I confronted Eggman,” Sonic began, his feet fidgeting as he spoke, “He was being just– really cryptic, and weird. We accused him of being responsible for what happened to the future, because, y’know, it couldn’t possibly be because of what happened back at the Starfall Islands, right? But he wouldn’t… confirm it?”

A beat. Knuckles and Rouge looked at Sonic with confused expressions. 

“Eggman said that he didn’t know if that thing you all fought was truly gone or not,” Silver clarified, a serious expression on his face. 

“What?!”

Knuckles, fuming, stormed towards Sonic, stopping face to face with his fists readied. His restraint was being held by a thread, as he looked at the uncharacteristically nervous hedgehog. Silver, surprised at his outburst, began to run towards Sonic’s side, but stopped when he saw Sonic hold a hand up. 

“You said you took care of it, you went into space– That’s why you had the Chaos Emeralds!” Knuckled bellowed, staring him down as if he were a cape in front of a bull. 

“Knuckles, stop!” Rouge yelled, readying herself into a hover as Knuckles continued his diatribe.

“I know! I saw it happen, Knux! With my own eyes!” Sonic insisted. “But now– I–”

“But what, Sonic?! This is my Island, my home , the Master Emerald– ” Knuckles gestured towards the icy spire, almost pleading with him. “If the Master Emerald is in trouble, who knows what could happen to the Chaos Emeralds! If they’re damaged, how are we going to fight that thing a second time without them?!” 

“I don’t know , Knuckles!” Sonic snapped, throwing his hands up in exasperation. It felt like a balloon had popped, a bubble of tension having burst in the air. Knuckles stood down, his face cross, but felt the impulse to fight evaporate as Rouge fluttered to the ground beside him. Everyone fell quiet.

A sigh left Sonic’s chest as he turned around, shaking his head to himself. His voice was small as he spoke, defeated. “I’m telling you, I really believed that it was gone. But when I visited Eggman, he just…” 

Silver’s eyes grew softer, and took a step towards Sonic. 

Sonic’s shoulders rolled back, picking his head up to look at the gray sky, the dark snow clouds surrounding them in the high atmosphere. “Eggman’s pissed off at me, about Sage,” he explained loosely, his face somber. “So when he said all of that, I’d figured he was just being bitter.” 

He turned to face his friends, feeling a small inkling of something painful within him. At first, he couldn’t recognize it, until he continued to speak. 

“But I think I just– I didn’t want to believe it,” Sonic admitted, turning his head away. He knew what he felt now: it was shame. “That after all of that, after fighting the Titans and going into space, and finally saving you guys, this still isn’t over.”

The thick silence hung over them for a moment. Silver and Rouge looked between Knuckles and Sonic with worried expressions, as Knuckles turned his head away, brooding silently with crossed arms.

After a long moment, the echidna spoke. 

“You’re sure it’s not Eggman?” he asked gruffly. 

“Pretty sure. The guy’s not even home– he’s still at the Starfall Islands trying to bring her back.” Sonic laughed humorlessly. “Wouldn’t even look at me.” 

Knuckles sighed, before turning to look at Sonic again. There wasn’t so much a reconciliatory smile, as there was a face of resignation. “Then I guess we’re going in for round two.”

The tense air faded back to the cold winds of the frozen island. The four faced the icy spire once again, with Knuckles’ scowl faded into dissatisfaction, begrudgingly accepting the reality of their circumstances. 

“How did this even happen?” Silver asked, hovering near the icy spire. “It’s just… stuck in there?”

“I was sitting near the Master Emerald when it started getting colder and colder. Then, it started snowing, and turned into a blizzard,” Knuckles recounted. “I didn’t sense anything wrong with the Master Emerald at the time, though.” 

“Maybe it got too cold for you to sense it properly,” Silver pondered. “I know when I don’t feel my best, my powers and senses don’t work as well. You were probably cold.” 

“I wasn’t cold,” Knuckles huffed defensively. The coat on his body seemed to swallow him in its warmth.

“Dude. You were dripping snot at Vanilla’s house,” Sonic teased, laughing lightly at the image. His warmer expression was an olive branch to the aggrieved echidna. 

Knuckles grunted, shifting the conversation to save face. “We need to figure out how to free the Master Emerald. The island may be falling slowly for now, but I don’t want it to end up in freefall.”

Rouge approached the structure, placing her gloved hand against the ice. “This stuff is thick. It’s basically an ice block.” She folded her arms over her chest, studying the structure as she shifted her weight to one chest. “I have a lighter, but I don’t think it’s gonna do any damage to this.”

“Okay, so we crack it open,” Sonic shrugged, taking a few, quick stretches before readying himself for a charge. “Nothing a little spin dash can’t fix.” 

“No!” Knuckles stepped in front of Sonic, blocking his path. “You might break the Master Emerald, and it’s already not doing well. We can’t count on piecing it back together. We need to think of another way.”

“Oh!” Silver raised his hand, an idea popping into his head. “Maybe I can use my telekinesis to carry it off the island, and it can melt?”

“I dunno, Silver” Sonic tilted his head, looking over at Silver with a wry expression. “You’re not feeling your sharpest right now. Besides that, it feels logistically… clunky. But thanks,” he assured gently, catching the frown on Silver’s face.  

Knuckles closed his eyes, folding his arms over his chest in deep thought, his form turning into eighty percent jacket. “At this point, we’re gonna have to find the Chaos Emeralds…” 

“... Again. Yeah, ” Sonic sighed, growing tired at the thought. Quickly, he shoved the feeling down, and straightened himself, collecting his confidence despite the odds. “Well, unless there happens to be an emerald here, I don’t think we need to stick around.”

In mutual agreement, the four began to head back the way they came, traversing through the previously disturbed snow in silence. 

Silver found himself taking in the details of the icy landscape. The trees were capped with snow, with small icicles hanging from the bottom of their branches. Bushes were half-buried in the snow, the white blanket pristine white, smooth, and undisturbed. His pace slowed as he continued to stare over his shoulder, until an odd, white mound in the snow caught his eye.

Curiously, Silver walked towards it, hiking his legs up as the snow grew deeper. He hesitantly reached to touch the mound, feeling the cold snow fall beneath his fingertips. When he saw no movement, the hedgehog used his hands to dig away at the mound, revealing an odd-looking pole - short and black, with a triangular, turquoise head at the top. 

Silver looked over his shoulder and held up a hand, getting the others’ attention. “Hey you guys, what’s this?” 

“That?” Knuckles stopped, and looked over at the pole. “I’m not sure. It’s just been there,” he shrugged, before deciding to press on. 

Sonic paused and walked over to it, his eyes narrowing in deep concentration. “Huh… I swear, I’ve…” 

“What’s up, Blue?” Rouge asked, putting her hand on her hips.

“Oh, duh!” Sonic exclaimed, the answer appearing before his eyes. “These were back on the Starfall Islands,” Sonic explained, looking over at the others. “I just couldn’t recognize it, for a moment.”

Knuckles hummed and nodded. “That actually makes sense, since the ancients were here. I know there’s a portal to Cyberspace on the island, too. I don’t know what this does, though.” 

“What’s this pole do, Sonic?” Silver asked. 

“Back on the islands, I would interact with these things, and sometimes they’d– I dunno, make stuff appear, or upload the map of the island in my brain.”

“Huh?” Rouge looked up, baffled.

“Don’t worry about it.” Sonic waved her off with a hand, too focused on keeping up with his own train of thought. “ But , in order to activate them, I had to use the Cyloop ability that I gained when I first took on the Cybercorruption.” 

“Do you know what he’s talking about?” Silver whispered. 

“No idea,” Rouge whispered back, shaking her head. 

“Yeah, but you’re not corrupted anymore, Sonic,” Knuckles pointed out. “We don’t even know if you can do it.” 

“Aw come on, Knux. Have a little faith!” A blithe smile spread on Sonic’s face as he shrugged. “We don’t know until we try.”

The four of them looked at the pole, surrounded in the deep snow. Sonic wiped his nose with his finger. “Only thing is, I can’t really gain good traction on deep snow like that.”

“Hm… Rouge, do you have that lighter?” Silver asked.

Rouge dug into her coat pocket, and pulled out her pocket lighter - a metallic purple rectangle, with a decent weight to it. She flipped it open and out appeared a small, but healthy flame. “Here. I don’t know what you’re gonna do with it, though.”

“It’s something I tried with Blaze a while back,” Silver explained vaguely, taking the lighter from her in one hand. “I'm not operating at full power here, but you guys might wanna stand back. ”

Silver closed his eyes and held his free hand over the flame. The others watched as the flame began to grow and grow, tightening into a ball under his telekinetic power. Then, with the sudden flick of his hand, they jumped as the small ball of fire hit the ground at the black pole, melting a small circle of snow on the ground.

“Whoa!” Sonic grinned.

He opened his mouth, preparing to suggest using that to melt the icy spire around the Master Emerald. However, his smile faded as Silver held his head in his hands, feeling dizzy. 

“Nice one,” Rouge smiled, taking Silver easily by the arm. “Here, let’s rest for a moment.”

“Thanks, Silver,” Sonic nodded thankfully. 

Walking to the dry patch of ground, Sonic readied himself into a crouch, and took a deep breath in, then out. Then, at the sound of an imaginary gunshot, he took off, focusing on picking up speed. He felt himself straining -  it was difficult to keep his path in such a tight circle while going fast. 

Suddenly he felt a familiar sensation, the trail behind him growing a vivid cyan. Seeing the end of the ribbon of light, Sonic rushed to close the loop. With the sharp woosh of an updraft, the pole in the center began to glow.

The blue blur came to a stop, panting uncharacteristically. “Phew. Doing that felt like a workout,” Sonic breathed, wiping his brow as he looked at the glowing post. “It’s not nearly as easy as before, but good to know I still got it in me.”

As he spoke, a large wall materialized in front of them. Rouge and Silver jumped back in surprise, while Sonic and Knuckles watched expectantly.

It was a mural. Two figures faced each other - one resembling the Ancients, but with larger arms and hands. The other figure was depicted with a set of six arms, and wings on its back. Hovering between them was a large, diamond-cut gem, and another, smaller item with a rounded, oblong shape.

“That’s… that’s Chaos, and the Master Emerald,” Knuckles breathed in awe, stepping closer to the mural. He had seen so much of this island, and yet, there was so much more to learn.

“But who’s that next to him?” Silver asked curiously. “Do you know?” 

“No idea. Maybe some other god?” Knuckles tilted his head, examining the mysterious figure on the mural. “And there’s something next to the Master Emerald, too.”

“Yeah, I wonder what that is. Have either of you seen that before?” Sonic asked, glancing at Rouge and Silver.

“Mm-mm,” Silver hummed.

“Couldn’t tell you” Rouge shook her head. “I know of pretty much every major gem you can think of, and I’ve never heard of anything that looks like that.”

“Weird…” Sonic put a hand on his hips, turning back to stare at the mural. “I mean, it looks important, but I don’t really know what to do with this information right now. They couldn’t leave a few notes?”

Rouge whipped out her handheld communicator, holding it up to take a picture of the mural. “I’ll keep a picture with me so we can look back at it later. If I find out anything about it, I’ll let you boys know.”

“All things considered, I’m surprised you’re still able to do that, Sonic,” Knuckles pointed out, referring to the spontaneous Cyloop.

“Eh, it’s definitely not as easy as before.” Sonic admitted. “I’m pretty sure I’m not corrupted anymore— Maybe it’s just residual or something?”

“Sure. But I’m not going back to Cyberspace again if you are,” Knuckles warned him, softening it with a small smirk.

“Sheesh. In any case, we’ve gotta focus on finding the Chaos Emeralds.” Sonic looks back up at the mural, studying the oblong object wearily. “And I guess, whatever that is.” 

“And stay out!” 

Charmy flinched as the restaurant doors slammed in his face, locking him outside. He stared at them for a moment, then dropped his head, turning around to fly miserably to his next destination… whatever it was.

“They didn’t have to be so mean,” Charmy huffed, his antennae drooping over his face. 

Admittedly, he felt a little hopeless. The young detective had spent the whole morning flying around Station Square, searching every street, alley, bookstore, school, restaurant, doctor’s office, and tax agency he could find. He’d been loudly calling out Tails’ name through the city streets, like a person searching for their lost cat. At one point, he even thought he saw Tails, and promptly flew over to them - that is, until he saw that it was just another fox kid, most notably with one tail.

Charmy looked around at the large, city buildings, watching as cars passed through the intersection. He wished Vector and Espio were there. After all, they’d know what to do. 

“You gotta do this on your own, Charmy!” the bee chanted to himself, balling his fists in determination. “You can find Tails. Think, Charmy, think! Where in Station Square could he be?”

The young detective looked around, desperately searching for answers. He caught sight of a human man coming down the block in his direction, wearing a fitted, grey suit, his hair neatly slicked back. The man walked briskly, checking the time on his watch as he gripped his suitcase.

“Excuse me, Sir!” Charmy called out, flying over to the businessman.

The man looked up, frazzled at the sudden interaction. “Sorry kiddo,” he said quickly, not stopping to talk. “My train was late, and I’m late for work!”

The man hurried off before the bee could speak. Charmy paused.

“Maybe… Maybe Tails isn’t here,” he said aloud.

That possibility almost knocked the wind out of him. Instead, he put the wind in his sails. 

With renewed determination, the rookie detective began to zoom through the streets, scanning the sidewalks past the many humans. He knew exactly where to look next.

The Central District.

Charmy brought himself to an abrupt stop, watching as commuters pooled in and out of the steps of Central Station. Tails might not be there anymore, but he remembered one of the core tenets of detective work that Vector taught him - gathering intel. Tails had to have bought a ticket at the station, and someone would have noticed. It’s hard to forget a fox that has two tails.

“Hang on, Tails! I’ll find you!” Charmy said to himself, as he began to fly up the steps of the station. 

It had to be at least a hundred people, mostly humans, filtering up and down the steps, preoccupied with the bustle of their own lives. The bee was trying to look for someone in a station uniform, with a badge.

Instead, what caught his eye was a large, purple figure exiting the station doors, making their way towards the concrete steps, and his face lit up.

“Big!” Charmy called out, rushing up the steps to the large, purple cat. Heedless in his excitement, he bumped against a biker on the way, causing them to drop their helmet. They cursed, watching it roll down the steps, before glaring at the young bee. 

“Big!” Charmy grinned. “Froggy! It’s you!” 

Big looked up in surprise, seeing the ecstatic bee flying towards him. “Hiya Charmy! Didn’t expect to see you over here,” he smiled. “How’re you doing?” 

“I’m so glad I found you!” Charmy’s eyes were huge, genuinely relieved to see a friendly, familiar face. “I’m uh, I’m–” 

The young detective stopped, remembering what Amy and Vector had talked about over the phone. This was supposed to be a secret from Sonic, and everyone else. “I… I can’t tell you, actually,” he admitted feebly. “It’s supposed to be, uh… client con– confidence-ality.”

“Confidentiality?” Big asked.

“I think so!” Charmy nodded. “I’m uh, I’m not supposed to talk about the case. But I’m working on it.”

“You can’t say? Aww,” Big frowned, but shrugged it off easily. “Well I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“Well…” Charmy stopped to think again. He needed to get information about Tails… But how could he do that without asking any questions? 

He was stumped. Vector or Espio could easily handle the situation – but this was Charmy’s chance to prove himself! And his main goal was to find Tails, even if it did mean he’d have to let someone in about the circumstances. 

“Well… If I tell you why I’m here, do you promise to keep it a secret?” The little bee asked cautiously.

The biker, caught up to their fallen helmet, took it and fastened it over their head. They looked back up to see Charmy and Big still talking, before continuing on their way.

“I can keep a secret, as long as I can tell Froggy. I never keep secrets from him,” Big explained earnestly. Froggy let out a croak of acknowledgement atop Big’s shoulder.

“Deal!” Charmy grinned. 

He looked to either side of them, eyeing some nearby patrons who were busy eating, before leaning closer to Big and Froggy. “Tails is missing,” he whispered. 

“Huh?” Big tilted his head, leaning in to hear. 

“Tails is missing,” Charmy tried again, bringing his voice up just a hair louder.

It was still useless against the loud hustle and bustle of the station. “I still can’t hear you, Charmy,” Big frowned. 

“I’m looking for Tails!” Charmy exclaimed in full voice, disregarding the secrecy of it all. “Amy called us on the company line and said he’s missing, but she doesn’t want Sonic to find out.”

The biker paused at the bottom of the steps. They turned quietly and looked up, much to the obliviousness of Charmy and Big. 

Big covered his mouth in surprise. “Oh no, that’s not good. Did you find anything?”

Charmy shook his head and let his shoulders slump, despondent. “I’ve been looking all morning in Station Square, but I can’t find him at all.” He looked up at Big with huge, wishful eyes. “Have you seen Tails recently?” 

Big frowned and shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve been looking for Froggy for the past few days.” 

Charmy’s mouth twisted in disappointment. He opened his mouth to speak, but saw the large cat ponder for a moment.

“But you know,” Big began slowly. “Yesterday, I was looking for Froggy in the jungle up north of here, and I found him on top of a big pile of red metal.” 

“Huh. I wonder what that’s all about,” Charmy tilted his head. That certainly was peculiar. 

“I dunno. Froggy was sitting on top of a propeller.” Big reached up to affectionately pet Froggy on the head. Froggy sat contently on Big’s shoulders, not a thought behind those large, black eyes. “But I couldn’t find out who it belonged to. There was nobody there.”

“A propeller… Like a plane?” Charmy asked, his mind suddenly abuzz with thought.

“Hm, I think so! It was pretty big,” the cat nodded, rolling along with Charmy’s thoughts. 

“Maybe– Maybe that’s Tails’ plane! Doesn’t he have a big red plane?” Charmy said loudly. A couple of curious heads turned to glance at them, as the pedestrians continued to move in and out of the bustling station.

“Hm… The Tornado? I think it’s Sonic’s plane. But Tails flies it a lot,” Big said slowly. “And it’s red.”

“So it’s basically Tails’ plane! It has to belong to him!” Charmy exclaimed loudly, jumping out of his seat and flying into the air. He was too excited to notice the sound of a motorcycle engine ripping through the street, lost in the euphoria of piecing together a mystery. “He must’ve crash landed in the jungle! That’s why he’s lost! Oh, Big!” 

Charmy flew to give Big a tight, tight squeeze, filled with gratitude. “Thank you so sososo so much! You and Froggy are the best!” 

Big gasped at the hug, startled. Before he could respond, the young, determined detective was already zooming up north, bee-lining to his new, hot lead. 

Bright light poured through the leaves, the jungle foliage growing thinner as Tails approached the edge of the jungle. Tails gripped the strap of his new, borrowed bag – Eggman merchandise with the logo half-peeled off of the front, as he heard the sound of a car zooming just beyond the trees. 

His heart raced as he walked towards the light, his walk growing faster as he reached the edge. Ducking beneath a low hanging branch, Tails poked his head out and found himself gasping in awe. 

The smell of gasoline was almost refreshing. Tails couldn’t believe he was happy to see an otherwise regular highway. There was relatively light traffic on the road, with cars zooming past him on both directions of the freeway. Across it, he could see a plain, grassy field, and more trees in the distance, under the blue sky painted with clouds. 

Tails reached down to check the communicator on his wrist, tapping into his GPS app. He was finally connected to the internet again, as the small dot on the map showed his location by the road, 26.4 miles north of Station Square.

“I made it out, but I’m still not there yet,” Tails said, reaching into his bag to take out a piece of his beef jerky ration. It didn’t quite hit the same as when he was starving, but it was keeping him full.

He looked at the road again, watching a few cars zoom past him on the edge closest to him. The cars on the other side of the divider were actually headed in the direction he needed to go - southbound.

“Hm. Maybe I can hitch a ride with someone on the other side, as I walk,” he mused, taking a couple steps closer to the road. 

Just then, Tails heard the sound of a vehicle with a distinctly larger muffler, distantly from the left. He turned to see a sleek, black motorcycle coming around the bend, the rider wearing a large, black helmet over their head. 

Tails paused in place as the motorcycle slowed down and pulled over on the side of the road, stopping just yards before him. The biker kicked the stand down, dismounting from the motorcycle, before walking towards the young fox. 

Tails swallowed a hard lump down his throat, suddenly feeling anxious at this stranger’s anonymity. All he could do was offer a weak wave, nervous laughter leaving him. “Uh– Hi there!” he greeted, his voice cracking as he watched the biker approach him.

Wordlessly, the biker stopped and seemingly stared at the fox, studying him up and down, before removing his helmet.

Tails’ eyes widened.

Chapter Text

“Shadow?”

Tails watched as the black hedgehog pulled off the helmet, gently shaking his black and crimson quills into place. Part of him felt relieved to see a familiar face, but another part, guiltily so, felt a sense of dread. Shadow usually kept to himself unless something came up, and frankly speaking, Tails was too tired and hungry to parse through whatever can of worms this guy was dealing with. 

“Tails,” he greeted, his expression stoic, as usual. “I see you look… traveled,” Shadow said carefully, raising an eyebrow as he took note of Tails' dirty, unkempt appearance.

Tails wanted to question how Shadow had figured that out, but was preoccupied by Shadow’s repulsed expression, and curled his tails behind him in embarrassment. Despite some attempts at wiping himself down, the young fox was sorely in need of a shower. Parts of his coat, and especially his tail, were at the beginning stages of matting, and his skin felt clogged with sweat from the day’s trek. He should have tried harder to get running water in the bathroom back at the base. “Ah– It’s a long story,” he laughed self-consciously. “But uh- what are you doing here?”

“You crash landed into the jungle,” Shadow summarized, brushing off Tails’ surprised expression. “I came to ask for your assistance.”

“Assistance?” Before he could question further, Tails felt another, loud growl from his stomach rip through the air. He felt his face turn hot with embarrassment, as he reluctantly reached to rummage through his bag. “Sorry, I uh - I’m pretty hungry right now,” he admitted sheepishly, digging through his bag to find his jerky stash. 

Shadow sighed to himself, attempting to politely avert his gaze as Tails searched his bag. But with the quickest glance, he caught the glimmer of something shining within the bag, its soft glow reflecting against Tails’ gloves. “You have a Chaos Emerald,” he observed. 

Tails looked up from his search and blinked, offering Shadow nothing but a genuine, blank stare of confusion. “Huh? No I don’t,” he said dumbly.

Shadow’s eyes narrowed, his nostrils flaring at the thought of being lied to in his face. He needed to find the rest of the Chaos Emeralds, considering what was happening to the first one he found. “You do,” he insisted firmly, gesturing to the bag. “I know you have it.” 

Tails felt a pit form in his stomach, putting two and two together as he felt Shadow’s gaze pierce through him. The weight of the Amber Heart felt heavier in his bag - of course, Shadow thought it was a Chaos Emerald. Was he seriously about to be mugged by Shadow in the middle of the highway? Nervously, he grabbed the strap and held it closer to him, taking a step back. “I don’t– What do you even need the Emeralds for, Shadow?” Tails deflected, feeling his mouth grow dry.

Shadow scoffed, glancing away from the fox as he spoke with an undercurrent of urgency. “Something is wrong with the Chaos Emerald I have. That could mean that the others are dangerous as well,” he explained. “We never want the Chaos Emeralds to fall into the wrong hands, but in their state, they could prove dangerous to anyone.”

“Wait, really?” That information caught Tails off guard. He couldn’t help but feel some gears turning in his head. “Huh… maybe it’s…”

“What are you going on about?” Shadow was growing impatient at the irrational secrecy. “Is the Chaos Emerald you have stable, or is it–” 

“I - No, but–” 

“So you do have it!” Shadow accused swiftly, making his way to tower over the young fox with intimidation.

“Shadow, I don’t have a Chaos Emerald!” Tails insisted, almost tripping over his feet as he tried to sidestep away from Shadow’s advances. “I swear!”

At this point, Shadow was very cross about Tails doubling down on this secret. He had genuinely wanted cooperation, but this charade was wasting precious time that he wasn’t sure he had. “Then what was that in your bag? What are you hiding?” 

Impatiently, Shadow reached over to grab the strap of Tails’ bag, yanking it sharply. Tails gasped and pulled back on the nylon, webbed strap, trying to keep it out of his grasp. 

“Shadow, cut it out!” Tails pleaded, feeling his hands grow sweaty under the tug of war. This bag of Eggman’s wasn’t exactly the most durable thing. “This isn’t–” 

“Get away from him, you big fat meanie!”

Tails and Shadow looked up from their wrestle to see Charmy Bee, hovering in the air with as much heroism and authority a little kid could muster.

"Charmy?!"

Before they could blink, Charmy beelined to Shadow’s head, boldly attacking the hedgehog with a flurry of juvenile kicks and punches. 

“Agh! Get off of me!” Shadow yelled, fighting every urge to swing at the kid, and, instead, ducked his head over in retreat, clawing above him blindly. 

“Don’t worry, Tails! I’ll hold him off!” Charmy called out, looking callow as he yanked on a set of Shadow’s quills. The young bee felt so heroic, sweeping into action to take on the Ultimate Lifeform head on. If only Vector could see him now!  

For a moment, Tails stood in shock. What was Charmy doing here. What’s wrong with the Chaos Emeralds? Why has his life been a series of ambushes as of late? What was even happening right now?

Tails had too many questions, but he knew better than to stick around and ponder them. If Shadow wasn’t upset before, he was definitely pissed now, and hell hath no fury like a hedgehog scorned. Hearing the sound of a car speeding past, Tails looked out to the road, and his eyes settled on the shiny, black motorcycle parked just yards away, sitting idly.

That works. 

“Sorry, Shadow!” Tails hastily reached down to grab the bike helmet on the ground, catching Shadow’s bewildered expression as he began to run to the motorcycle. Slipping the helmet on, he kicked the stand up and shifted the gear by his left foot into neutral - he’d been on a motorcycle, or something similar, at least once or twice, so he was basically a pro. 

“Fuel injected? Fancy.” Tails checked his mirrors and gripped the handles as the sound of the bike’s throttle cut through the air, beginning to accelerate. He didn’t even want to look over his shoulder to see what kind of fury Shadow was in. 

“And take THIS!” Charmy landed a square kick in the middle of Shadow’s head, sending him backwards to the grassy shoulder of the road. He caught a glance of Tails beginning to drive off, before looking back at a disoriented Shadow beginning to peel himself off the ground. 

The bee knew he didn’t stand a chance. He bolted towards the motorcycle, and quickly latched 

“Tails! I found you!” Charmy beamed, elated at his big triumph: he found Tails all by himself . Never mind that he jumped Shadow and was complicit in a carjacking - or motorcycle jacking, whatever you want to call it - he was riding the high of vindication. “I found you! Hooray!”

“Uh, Charmy?” Tails bristled, wincing at the yelling in his ears - the ear holes in this helmet were way too small. Thankfully, there weren’t many cars on the road at the moment, but he didn’t like the fact that he had Charmy riding on his back, shaking him and speaking loudly, while he needed to focus on the road. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, duh! I came all by myself to find you. I was looking for you all over Station Square!” Charmy said plainly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. After all, Tails had to have known he was a missing person. “But I guess Shadow found you first. How did he know you were here?”

“I don’t know, but he thinks I have a Chaos Emerald, and now he’s mad I won’t give it to him,” Tails explained tersely.

“Uhh, Tails?” Charmy warned anxiously, bracing himself as he looked over his shoulder. “He’s following us!”

Tails inhaled sharply, glancing at the motorcycle’s rear view mirrors to see the black hedgehog beelining towards them. That scowl on Shadow’s face made Tails’ throat run dry, but stopping now wasn’t an option. “Of course,” he muttered. 

Shadow was skating towards them with a horrifying expression on his face, beginning to gain on them slowly.

Slowly?

“I’m not even pushing 60 right now,” Tails said to himself, looking at the speedometer. Sonic for sure was the fastest thing alive, but Shadow was at least a close second. The black hedgehog could have caught them easily by now if he wanted to. 

He didn’t have time to mull over his questions - at this point, they had some sort of advantage. The fox furrowed his brows, feeling himself sweat beneath the helmet, “Guess we’re missing the exit,” he said to himself, beginning to squeeze the right clutch tighter. “Hold on, Charmy!”

“Aah!” Charmy gripped onto Tails tightly as they began to accelerate. 

Taking a deep breath in his nose, Tails leaned forward and began nimbly weaving through the cars, feeling the motorcycle gain speed with ease - Shadow definitely spent good money on his ride. He was thankful that the helmet muffled the clamoring honks of angry drivers. 

Tails made a quick glance at the speedometer again - 85 miles per hour. Still, Shadow remained hot on their trail, following each twist and turn with laser-focus precision.

“Tails? He’s getting closer!” Charmy said nervously, grabbing onto Tails tighter as he looked back. He shivered in fear as he saw the deep scowl on Shadow’s face, as he skated closer and closer to their vehicle. “And he looks really mad!” 

“Gee, I wonder why?!” 

“You stole his motorcycle!” 

“You ambu– ” The fox grit his teeth, shaking off the argument to focus ahead. “Grr– We’ll try to lose him at the next exit. Just hang on!” 

Charmy reached for his pockets, but felt nothing of use. As he looked up, a chill ran down his spine as he saw Shadow barreling towards them, the green Chaos energy appearing as oppressive lightning around his body. The young bee quickly looked back, and, spotting Tails’ bag, immediately went to dig inside of it.

Tails felt the tug of his bag, and snapped his head back, alarmed. “Charmy, what are you–” 

“I don’t have anything. Uhh—” Charmy pulled out a handful of beef jerky, and instinctively threw them over his shoulders. A few pieces flew and brushed against Shadow, who was unfazed in his rage, as Charmy continued to dig inside the bag. 

Charmy reached in again, this time pulling out Tails’ blaster. “Perfect!” He grinned. 

Tails looked back, and gasped, realizing that Charmy had pulled out the weapon. “Charmy, no!” 

Charmy turned over his shoulder and single handedly pointed the gun back. He was met with Shadow within three yards of the bike, the barrel pointed straight at his chest. Shadow, maintaining his pace, appeared startled at the sheer audacity; Charmy froze, hesitating at the ramifications of pulling the trigger. 

Shadow’s eyes narrowed, spotting his opening. He moved as fast as he could to lunge at the bee in front of him, another spark of green lightning flashing over his body. Charmy gasped, and instinctively slapped Shadow with the barrel of the blaster, pistol whipping the hedgehog into stumbling backwards and disappearing down the road behind him.

Charmy threw both of his arms up in victory, but quickly realized his mistake as he found himself slipping off the back end of the motorcycle. “Aah!” He yelped, quickly reaching and grabbing onto the nearest thing to stabilize himself– a fluffy, yellow tail.

“OW! Charmy!” Tails reflexively reached back to pull the kid’s hand off of his tail. Aside from the sheer surprise from it, it just hurt to have that kind of harsh tug.

“Look out in front!” Charmy yelled, terrified.

Tails whipped his head back to the front to see a gray SUV with its brake lights on, growing closer very quickly . With a panicked yell, he placed both hands back on the bike handles and swerved out of the way just in the nick of time, barely skirting around the edge of the vehicle. 

The traffic was getting very backed up, Tails trying to resist the urge to break entirely as he weaved through the cars. That comfortable high of the adrenaline was replaced with sheer anxiety now as he narrowly dodged side view mirrors, with drivers honking angrily at him.

“Don’t hit anyone!” Charmy held on to Tails tightly, unnerved by how easily he was able to glimpse inside of people’s cars.

Tails didn’t have the air inside of him to tell Charmy to stop talking. He was focused on reaching the clear spot in the road ahead of them - some sort of traffic accident that had cars slowing down, along with the flashing red and blue lights from police cars.

As they reached the clearing, he realized that the crash was blocking the middle of his path, right before a sharp turn in the highway, with a handful of officers clearing the scene. A large tow truck was parked on the road, its ramp lowered in preparation to tow one of the cars. 

Tails bit his lip and adjusted his grip on the handles, beginning to brace himself. “Charmy, hold on!”

“What are you– AAH!”

Charmy squeezed his eyes tight as the motorcycle veered towards the ramp, startling the officers on the scene. Tails clenched the gas as hard as he could, aware of the feeling of tires against the road as they made their bumpy ascent up the tow truck ramp.

And then, they felt nothing.

Tails didn’t realize just how high, and how far , they’d travel. For a moment, they felt weightless on the bike, soaring in the air above the highway, screaming. Their trajectory was sending them away from the highway, and instead to the grassy field on the other side of the road. 

But what goes up, must come down. 

They were beginning to fall. Their screams, while heard below, were inaudible to each other as their stomachs began to do somersaults in the air. Tails began using his tails reflexively in an attempt to slow their descent. But the motorcycle was too heavy, and they were just moments away from crashing into the ground. 

“Let go!” Tails yelled, feeling his stomach shrink as he let go of the handles.

Charmy released himself from Tails as the bike crashed into the ground, exploding into a cloud of smoke. The two, disoriented by the recoil, were unable to stay airborne, and instead tumbled to the field, the soft grass just barely breaking their fall.

There was stillness for a few moments, as the cloud of dust began to settle. 

“Ugh…” Tails got up to his hands and knees, slowly sitting himself upright. As he took his helmet off, he let out a few coughs. 

He looked over, disoriented, to see the remains of the motorcycle, and yards away, Charmy Bee, laying on the ground. 

“Charmy!” He gasped, pushing himself and stumbling into a wobbly jog. He felt a small wave of relief as he saw the young bee turn over to his stomach. “Are you okay?”

As Tails checked Charmy for injuries, Shadow approached the scene of their crash in the field, slowing into a walk. He scanned the scene in front of him, Tails and Charmy lying among the remains of his motorcycle. He clenched his hands momentarily, gritting his teeth, before sighing.

Shadow caught the faint, familiar orange glow within the grass. Approaching, he kneeled down and reached to pick up the Amber Heart, furrowing his brows in intrigue. His inspection was silent as he ran his thumb along the crack, holding it up to the light to see the shiny pearl encased within.

“Mm… I’m okay,” Charmy groaned, beginning to pull himself to sit up. “I’m just a little dizzy.”

As the young bee got his bearings together, he looked over Tails’ shoulder to see Shadow standing near, and gasped. Tails turned around, and felt the hairs on his neck stand up as he saw the black hedgehog holding the stone.

“Put that down, Shadow!” Tails yelled, feeling his stomach sinking. He really wanted to believe that Shadow wouldn’t steal it. 

“What is this?” Shadow’s voice was low, deliberately ignoring Tails’ demand as he glanced suspiciously between the stone and the fox. “It’s not a Chaos Emerald.”

Tails grit his teeth. Seeing Shadow act all puffed up was going to be the thing that set him over the edge. “I told you that, but you tried to mug me,” he scoffed snarkily. 

Shadow scowled, gesturing to the wreckage around them. “You stole my bike, destroyed it,” he hissed, before motioning at Charmy. “And had Charmy attack me.”

“I–” Tails grunted to himself, feeling like he was losing whatever ground he had to stand on. “Okay, for the record, I never told Charmy to attack you. I don’t even know why he’s here.”

“Amy Rose hired the Chaotix Detective Agency to look into your disappearance,” Shadow explained bluntly, as if that should be obvious.

Charmy gasped, the hair on his neck standing up on high alert. “How did you know that?! That was supposed to be a secret!”

Tails blinked, nonplussed. “Amy? What..?”

“Now tell me. What is this, and why do you have it?” Shadow demanded impatiently, gesturing with the cracked gem in hand. “We don’t have time to dawdle. The Chaos Emeralds are already–

“-Damaged, yeah. It’s the whole reason why you were having a hard time keeping up with us in the first place,” Tails began, dusting himself off as he began to stand up. “Listen Shadow, I get there’s an emergency, but I’ve been lost in the jungle for days surviving off the wilderness. I had just made it to the highway. I haven’t eaten a real meal in days, I’ve been sleeping on the ground, and I haven’t showered. And you just show up out of nowhere and demand that I answer your questions!”

“This is bigger than just you or me, fox. This is about the Chaos Emeralds and the danger that they pose,” Shadow snapped back, petulant. “If they fall into some civilian’s hands in this state, who knows what could happen?” 

“I get that, but have you thought about the fact that maybe I want to help, but I can’t? Or were you going to just ditch me in the middle of a highway, miles away from Station Square, if I couldn’t give you a quick answer?” Tails threw his arms up in exasperation.

The hedgehog huffed, folding his arms over his chest. “I’m sure Sonic would have been able to pick you up,” he commented quietly, contempt in his voice.

“I—“ 

Tails faltered, feeling himself loosing steam. He didn't understand why that stung as much as it did. Sonic was his best friend, practically his older brother, and in his eyes, the sheer embodiment of a hero. The young fox was adamant about doing this on his own, but of course, if push comes to shove, he would have no problem calling on Sonic for help... 

... Right?

“I’m not doing this with Sonic,” Tails said quietly, turning his head. “I’m not following Sonic’s lead, and I’m not going to follow yours. I’m supposed to do this on my own.” He took a deep breath, before looking at Shadow again, making every attempt to stand his ground. “This stone is my responsibility, and I need to figure out what’s wrong with it, and what it even does. So just - just give it back, and stop pushing me around!”

Shadow studied Tails for a long moment, nothing more than his casual, resting frown across his face, to mask the otherwise mild surprise he had. He had no reason to offer a chide remark, or sneer. 

After a moment, Shadow let out a quiet sigh, and tossed the stone at Tails. “You owe me a motorcycle.”

“Ah–” Tails caught it in his hands, albeit clumsily, taken off guard by the easy surrender. He looked at the stone, then back at Shadow. “Thanks, uh–”

The fox looked around again, taking in the smoky remains of the motorcycle around them. “Yeah, that’s fair,” he laughed nervously. “Sorry about that. But I’ve been meaning to get to my lab not too far from Station Square.”

Shadow nodded in acknowledgement. “Then you will be able to build the motorcycle for me when you get there.”

Tails blinked, mildly startled at the implied request. “I mean– Yeah– ”

“With this Chaos Emerald in my possession, I… Need to rely on other means of transport to reach places,” Shadow explained reluctantly, scowling in resentment of the circumstances. “I trust that you can deliver this to me as soon as you can.”

“Uhh– of course! I mean, I did break it after all.” 

After contemplating for a moment, Tails looked down at the stone, then back at Shadow, swallowing hard. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to ask this question, but he knew it was the right thing to do. “Actually… Would you like to come to the lab with me? Maybe we can run some tests on the Chaos Emerald and this stone I have, while the motorcycle’s being built.”

The hedgehog twisted his mouth for a moment in consideration. “... So long as you don’t tell that blue hedgehog.”

Tails couldn’t help but let out a small laugh through his nose, but paid enough attention to hide his smile. “Deal.”

“Can I come too?” Charmy asked from his spot on the ground, raising his hand. “I’m lost.”

Shadow coughed, and turned his head away.

“I mean, sure,” Tails shrugged in agreement, taking note of Shadow’s eye roll. “But don’t you have a phone? How’d you even find me in the first place?”

“Oh, I do, I used my GPS to get to Station Square! But we only have twenty gigabytes of data per month shared between us, and I just got the text saying that we’ve run out,” Charmy explained nonchalantly. 

Tails blinked, confused for a moment, before remembering that other people paid for their phone services. “Oh. Makes sense,” he nodded, before looking over his shoulder to see Shadow already yards away from their spot. “We better get going, then.”

“Yay!” Charmy cheered, fluttering into an aerial somersault. “We’re going to Tails’ house!”

Tails laughed, shaking his head. “It’s not– Eh… ” He contemplated the technicality for a moment, before feeling a sharp pang of hunger hit his system, reminding him of how long he hadn’t eaten. “Either way, we should definitely get some food, first thing,” Tails moaned. “I’m starving.”

Shadow snuck a glance back, catching their laughter. Unfazed, he continued forward, his resolve unwavering. 

Just outside the remains of St. Pepper’s Cathedral, Amy and Cream had spent the better part of their day working together to sweep the excess dust off the plaza and streets. The sun felt hot against their arms and backs, the two sweating under the masks over their faces as they swept the curb,

“Ugh…” Amy sighed, pausing briefly from her sweeping to stretch. “We’ve been going at this all day, but there’s just so much more left to clean,” she moaned. 

“Yeah…” Cream yawned, reaching a hand to comfort a sleepy Cheese perched on her shoulder. “It’s going to take a lot of work to get everything back to normal,” she said, looking out at the scene of the plaza.

While there were a handful of volunteers sweeping about, there were sizable sections of the plaza that were still littered with debris. An excavator worked near one of the buildings, scooping large chunks of fallen infrastructure into large metal bins. Cream silently wondered where Sticks was among them, having insisted on going off on her own to ‘cover more ground’.

“You know, Cream…” 

Cream jumped slightly, looking over at Amy as she continued to speak. “It’s okay if you want to go home. I know this wasn’t really the vacation you were anticipating,” Amy said quietly, wiping some sweat off her brow. “I feel like I’m making you guys just - stay here , and do community service.” 

Cream shook her head, trying to shake herself awake. “No, we- we want to stay, Miss Amy!” Cream insisted, with an affirming cheer from Cheese. “The people of Spagonia really need our help, and Mother always tells us how important it is to help people when things are tough. I’m just glad we can help make the streets even a little bit cleaner.”

Amy chuckled gently, endeared by the earnest rabbit. “As long as I’m not forcing you,” she acknowledged, her voice quiet as she continued her sweeping. 

Cream tilted her head, growing suspicious at the lackluster response. It seemed as if Amy had drifted into a world of her own. “Miss Amy? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just…” Amy sighed, pausing from her sweeping as she dropped her shoulders. “I dunno… I feel like I really set Sticks off last night, so I guess I’ve been a little worried.”

“She was a little upset in the moment,” Cream acknowledged gently, reaching her hand to place it on Amy's arm. “But it’s okay! I’m sure if you talk to her now, it’ll be okay. She’s still your friend after all!”

“You’re too sweet, Cream,” Amy cooed affectionately, offering the rabbit a small pat on the head. “But you’re right. When we meet up with her tonight, I’ll talk with her and apologize.”

Meanwhile, just outside the nearby cleanup area, Sticks had long abandoned her broom to scavenge through some of the larger piles of rubble, the remains of an apartment building. In her hands and bag, she carried various trinkets and items she’d found while sniffing around- utensils, a broken watch, and even a torn-up notepad.

“Telling me it’s illegal to dig. I can’t believe they’re just gonna throw all this stuff away. It’s all perfectly fine!” Sticks grumbled to herself, pulling out a half melted, broken candle stick from the rubble. She examined it closely, wiping the dust off of it. “Like look, I can easily put this in my spare wax collection,” she said, rolling her eyes as she pocketed it into her bag. “Tell that to the government.”

A soft glow caught Sticks’ attention, from a nearby pile of debris. She froze in place as she watched the purple light pulse through the cracks.

“Did someone leave their Christmas lights on?” she asked aloud, approaching the pile cautiously. It occurred to her that there would be no outlet for them to be plugged into.

She stopped again, genuinely nervous at the wonder hidden beneath the rubble. “This could be a Cyber Singer Mika lightstick, or a cursed ancient relic,” she speculated out loud, watching as the light reflected onto her legs.

Only one way to find out.

Sticks reached down, and with all her might, began to pry off a large piece of debris, presumably the remains of a wall, from the pile of rubble. It took every muscle, and strained groans, before flipping the chunk away, sending a cloud of smoke over her. 

She coughed, covering her eyes for a moment, before looking down at the purple light below. The badger jumped back in surprise.

“Holy smokes, a Chaos Emerald!”

Chapter Text

“Look, I’m sorry if he caused any trouble, okay? We’re just tryna find our kid and bring him home.”

Veins were popping out of the restaurant owner’s head, taking the crocodile’s earnest plea as a condescending lack of accountability. “I’m running a very fine establishment over here. We are a two-Tamago Star restaurant, and we were just about to receive our third one,” he hissed, “Until your little bee child showed up and interrogated the food critic while impersonating our wait staff!” 

The screaming was nothing short of discrete, as a few patrons looked over their shoulders towards the curtain to the staff section. 

“He’s– Aw jeez, Charmy, ” Vector sighed, wiping his face with mild embarrassment. “He’s one of our boys – I’m uh, I run a detective agency, and he was probably trying to help out on this case for a client–”

“You clearly don’t understand how much in damages your ‘employee’ has caused our establishment!” He taunted, gesturing out to the sparsely populated, but otherwise peaceful dining room, the guests talking freely amongst themselves. “We’ve lost hundreds of dollars in tips and unpaid checks this morning. Heck we’ll probably be losing our Tamago Stars, and our credibility! We’ll have to lay off staff to keep a profit!”

“No no, I, I get it,” Vector nodded, holding his hands up in an attempt to pacify the owner’s rage. “I run a business, I totally understand–”

“You run a business? Lemme give you some advice.” the owner began menacingly, lowering his voice. “Train your employees properly, put some clothes on, and stay outta my restaurant. You don’t know squat about running a business.” 

Vector bared his teeth, barely restraining himself. “I know enough about running a business to remember hospitality! ” Fuming, Vector pushed the curtain aside and began to exit the restaurant, yelling over his shoulder as he walked past the tables. “I can tell you right now that you’ve already lost a customer before you even got one!”

As he stormed out the door, the detective exchanged an annoyed glare with the meticulously groomed host. He muttered some swears beneath his breath as he made his way across the street, dimly surprised to see Espio waiting at the corner uncamouflaged.

“Vector,” Espio greeted anxiously. He was ready to report his findings, but hesitated as he saw the crocodile’s agitated expression. “Did you learn anything?”

Vector groaned. “Well, they definitely saw him,” he confirmed with a heaving sigh. “The kid went in and caused some trouble, so they kicked him out.”

“They didn’t see where he went?” Espio asked, concerned.

“Eh, I tried askin’, but uh…” Vector looked over his shoulder, back at the stuffy restaurant patio with its outdoor umbrellas and lampposts, and sleek modern tables. “Let's just say we won’t be eatin’ there anytime soon,” he summarized in a flat tone. 

“Oh.” The chameleon quickly put two and two together, and frowned. He had heard good things about their menu, and couldn’t help feeling mildly disappointed.

Vector clicked his tongue, barely suppressing an eyeroll as he grumbled. “They’re charging twenty five bucks for a salad, we’re not missing out on much.” He glanced back at Espio, catching the urgency in his expression. “What about it, did you find something?”

“I followed the leads of a couple people who saw him. The last person who saw Charmy was a janitor working at the train station.” Espio confirmed, averting his gaze. “He doesn’t know where he went, though.”

“The kid makes it a show when he’s around, that’s for sure,” Vector commented, sighing deeply as he leaned against the wall of the building.

“With how quiet it is now, I’m inclined to believe that Charmy’s left the city,” the chameleon deduced, putting a hand to his chin. “The question is whether he went by train, or flew off. I doubt he had any money to pay for a train ticket, but I wouldn’t put it past him to board as a stowaway…”

Vector was zoning out as Espio continued down his train of thought. They needed to find Charmy as fast as possible, and apologize – hey, with the deposit that Amy gave, the three of them could go out and do something nice. Of course, they could keep that money if they actually managed to find Tails , and keep it a secret , which they hadn’t even had time to touch on. 

The detective closed his eyes. Amy might call them at the end of the day and ask if they’d made any progress. He didn’t know if he was capable of weaving a progress report believable enough to placate her.

He opened his eyes again, and gazed across the street, at the decorated storefronts and pedestrians walking about. Young adults in trendy clothes, a family with a stroller, a large purple guy, businessmen, all going about their lives. 

“... I doubt he’d stay hidden in a train for too long. It might be worth it to check local news reports from other cities.” Espio finished, realizing that he’d been speaking without being interrupted once. He glanced over, to see Vector fixated at the street with intense interest. “Vector?”

The crocodile blindly reached over to tap Espio’s shoulder, then pointed. “Oy, I think that’s Big.” 

The large, purple figure turned the corner, and began to disappear down the street.

“Huh–” 

Before Espio could even respond, Vector was already running across the street, narrowly dodging a car, in an effort to catch up with the cat. “Ey! Big!”

He probably looked like he was about to jump this guy, Vector thought, so he tried his best to force a casual smile, between the running and the panting. “Big! Wait up!”

Big stopped in his tracks, and turned around calmly, unfazed at the frantic Vector and Espio running towards him. “Huh? Oh, heya Vector! Espio!”

“Big! Hey, buddy. ” The crocodile slowed down to a halt, panting. “It’s great to see ya. We have…” He put a hand on his knee and keeled over himself, holding a finger up. “Sorry… Just gotta… catch my breath.”

“Big, have you seen Charmy at all?” Espio asked, collected and focused.

“Charmy?” the large cat tilted his head to think for a moment, before smiling. “Oh! Yeah, I talked to him earlier!”

“YOU SAW HIM!” Vector exclaimed in relief, before coughing, making an attempt to collect himself. “I mean– You did! Oh, great. Do you know where he went?”

“Yup!” Big nodded confidently.

Vector and Espio looked expectantly, while Big simply smiled. The moment passed, and the three of them stood in awkward silence, each waiting for the other to speak.

Finally, Vector cleared his throat. “Could you, maybe, uh… tell us?”

“Nope.” 

Vector and Espio stared at the easygoing cat, momentarily exchanging bewildered glances with each other. They didn’t really expect that answer, especially from Big of all people.

“... No?” Espio asked finally, his voice nearly squeaking with flabbergast.

“Nope.” Big shook his head, then frowned slightly, realizing that this wasn’t the response that the two detectives were hoping for.

“WHAT?” Vector broke. “Come on, why not? We need to know!”

Big furrowed his brows, remembering the reason for secrecy in real time. “Well Charmy said it was confidential, and it seemed pretty important. I don’t want to mess with his important work.” 

Vector and Espio bristled slightly. They weren’t sure if they should be worried about Charmy getting out of hand, or tickled that he’d paid attention enough to remember the thing they were most worried about. At least they knew that Big was good at keeping secrets.

“If you’re talking about looking for Tails, that was our case,” Espio explained. “We were supposed to work on it together…”

Espio trailed off. His fists tightened, the seed of guilt blooming in his stomach. 

“Please, Big. You gotta help us,” Vector pleaded with earnestness. “He– the kid ran away from home, and he won’t answer our calls. We’re worried sick about him.”

“Mmm.” Big hummed, deeply torn by this dilemma. He glanced up to see two, pleading sets of eyes.

“If it’s to make sure Charmy is okay…” The cat contemplated for a moment, before relenting easily. “I told Charmy that I saw a bunch of red metal parts in the jungle a few miles north of here. He flew over there,” he gestured, pointing towards the north.

Vector and Espio sighed in relief. “You’re the best, Big! I gotta thank ya, really!” Vector exclaimed, overjoyed at this lead. “And ya know, that’s a really great lead for Tails, too. I betcha that must’ve been his plane!”

“Technically, that plane belongs to Sonic,” Espio pointed out.

“Espio, we don’t have time to be pedantic. Come on!” Vector declared, breaking into a head start down the street.

“Vector– Ah.” The chameleon faltered, before turning to face Big, the round cat standing there with a blithe smile. “We thank you, Big.” he bowed slightly. 

“Anything for our friends.” Big reached to pet Froggy, the amphibian’s eyes staring through Espio. “I hope you find him!”

“Thank you. We will.” Espio nodded, his determination firm. He turned, and broke into a sprint down the street, to join Vector on the next leg of their chase. 

There, nestled among the broken chunks of fallen debris, was the purple Chaos Emerald, its color stark against the gray and white dust covering its surface. The gem had a peculiar glow to it, its shine more intense than usual, flickering against the surfaces around it.

“Who woulda thought…” Sticks mused with intrigue. She’d heard plenty about the marvels of the Chaos Emeralds, but had never seen one up close. Reluctantly, she reached down to dust the Emerald, checking to see if it was real. 

As her fingertips touched the facets, a strange sensation ran through her body, a rush of energy that felt overwhelming and addicting. Startled, she yanked her hand away, holding it close to her body.

“Okay, that’s a Chaos Emerald,” the badger winced disapprovingly, her heart racing. “That’s definitely a Chaos Emerald.”

“Nobody’s gonna find this thing if I leave it, right?” She asked aloud, standing awkwardly over the mysterious artifact. Sticks knew better than to mess with mysterious ancient powers, preferring to leave them to the chaotic cycle of the universe. 

Sticks looked over both shoulders suspiciously, searching for anyone who would have been watching her. The other volunteers on the street were yards away, preoccupied with sweeping up the streets, and tying garbage bags. She gasped when she saw a distant person look up from their cleaning directly at her, and quickly turned away.

“No! They saw me!” Sticks cursed, feeling herself grow more paranoid. A haunting thought crossed her mind, and she held her face in horror. 

“What if they’re not a volunteer, but an evil mastermind searching for mysterious superpowered artifacts?!” She shuddered. “They could use it to revive inactive volcanoes under the earth’s surface and plunge the world into a fiery hell, followed by a thousand-year ice age!”

Sticks looked over her shoulder again, the person in the distance already resuming their cleanup duties. She squinted with high suspicion.

“I gotta get this somewhere safe,” the badger resolved, staring at the emerald as she rolled her shoulders back. With the biggest breath, she reached down and promptly picked up the glowing emerald, feeling its power pulse against the palm of her hand.  

“Okay… Oh, I feel…”

The sensation was overwhelming, feeling the energy ripple through her body, to the ends of her fingers and toes. Her vision began to warp, the sights around her becoming smaller and smaller, as if she was ascending into the air, without her feet ever leaving the ground. A fleeting vision flashed in her mind, and within her, an unfamiliar, unyielding need to search for it. 

“Ugh…”

A large shadow began to creep over the surrounding area, the sudden darkness causing the nearby volunteers to look up in the sky. Amy, Cream, and Cheese, who were working not far from the area, looked up from their sweeping to see what loomed above. 

Cream gasped in realization. “Miss Amy, look!” she exclaimed. “It’s Miss Sticks!”

“Whaaaat?!” Amy’s jaw dropped.

Sticks grabbed her head and groaned, staggering back as she tried to reorient herself. The force of her giant foot hitting the ground sent painfully familiar shocks through the ground, earning terrified screams from the people around her. Amy and Cream attempted to maintain their balance, holding their arms out as the ground shook.

Amy took a sharp breath through her nose, attempting to maintain composure. “Of course Sticks decides to become a giant,” she muttered under her breath.

“Oh, my head…” the giantess moaned, her voice booming over the streets. “What’s happening to me? Why’s everything so tiny?”

 Cheese chirped frantically over Cream’s shoulder, and she nodded. “She doesn’t look too good, Ms. Amy. We have to help her!” Cream pleaded. 

“We gotta get her attention,” Amy decided, beginning to run towards her giant friend. Cream and Cheese followed closely behind. 

“STICKS!” Amy called, waving to get her attention. “Over here!”

“Amy?” Sticks kneels down slightly, and looked around, before seeing a pink dot on the ground waving at her. She blinked a few times, the figures on the ground blurry, and out of focus, as she spoke slowly. “Amy, is that you? Ya look like a… pink sprinkle.”

“Sticks, you gotta tell us what happened!” Her chest tensed at the sight of Stick’s very, very large eyes peering down at her, feeling like an ant.

“Lemme see, uh… I found a Chaos Emerald–” The giant badger began, before gasping.

Frantically, she opened her palms to what felt like a single piece of gravel in her palm. She brought her palm closer to her face, and sighed in relief, catching the familiar, glittering purple color. 

“At least, I thought it was. I think it might be contraband smuggled from the Mushroom Kingdom,” she explained, still feeling nauseous and uneasy. “What the hell do they put in this stuff, I feel sick…”

The overwhelming sensation rushed through to her head again, the vision flashing brighter behind her eyes. The giantess staggered back, her heavy foot knocking over the remains of a destroyed building as if it were a piddly pile of rocks. Amy, Cream and Cheese struggled for balance, hearing the distant screams of terrified Spagonians echo through the streets.

Cream opted to hover to avoid the tremor, noticing the sky becoming darker than it was before. As she looked up, the young girl covered her mouth in shock, with Cheese closely beside her. “Oh no!”

Amy glanced upwards, barely regaining her balance. The hairs behind her neck stood pin straight.

“Ugh…” Sticks groaned again, her head rolling back as she bared her teeth. Her body was going through another growth spurt, more agonizing than the last. 

“We have to help her!” Cream pleaded. “I think Miss Sticks is hurt!”

Before Amy could say anything, Sticks’ large, shadowy head rolled back forward. A pair of glowing, purple eyes stared down at the two girls, looming over them with unfamiliarity. “Where…”

“She can’t hear us.” Amy sucked some air through her teeth, shifting herself to a battle-ready focus. “We have to run!”

Cream opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself. She was going to follow Amy’s lead, work with her, and trust that they’d come up with a game plan.

Still, the purple glowing eyes, against the darkness above, seemed to pull the rabbit into stillness as she stared up.

The giant Sticks began to reach down, and that was enough to kickstart the rest of Amy’s adrenaline. “Come on!”

Amy snatched Cream’s wrist, and the three made a mad dash down the street. The impact of the giant steps made Amy stumble, while Cream and Cheese hovered alongside. Sticks wasn’t moving very fast, but a badger her size covered a lot of ground with those strides.

The three of them took refuge among the remains of a building, crouching down behind a large pile of the rubble.

“Okay,” Amy breathed, her body feeling ready to move like a finger on a hairpin trigger. “We need to get that Chaos Emerald away from Sticks, and fast.”

“She’s holding it in her hand. Maybe Cheese and I could try to fly up to her and grab it?” Cream suggested anxiously, exchanging glances with a worried Cheese.

“No, I don’t want her to grab you two,” Amy winced. “We have to do this without you– without anyone getting hurt.”

The sound of a bell echoed from the distance.

“I have an idea. But we’ll have to be fast.” 

Heavy tremors shook the ground, growing stronger as Amy debriefed the plan.

“Got it?”

“Yes!”

“Great, now let’s go!” 

The girls booked it down the street, resisting the urge to turn around as they gunned towards the center of the city. Sticks’ booming, haphazard steps loomed behind them as they approached the entrance of the city’s most famous landmark - the Clock Tower. The handful of remaining citizens made a frantic dash out the vicinity, as the girls ran through the doors and up the narrow, spiraling staircase of the tower.

“Miss Amy!” Cream and Cheese looked over their shoulders as they flew up the stairs, hearing the echo of boots against the old, iron staircase. 

“I’m here! Just keep going up!” Amy urged, her legs on fire as she pushed upwards. 

The spiral stairs shook beneath her feet, each tremor more intense than the last. The cogs and machinery of the clocktower rang with a metallic sound, as they grew closer to the face of the clock. 

Cream opened the door at the top of the staircase, the outside air whooshing inside. She gasped at the sight of the giant, hypnotized Sticks marching dangerously close to the tower. 

“Alright!” Amy reached the top of the stairs, inching towards the outside. The ledge outside was nearly nonexistent; one wrong step could send her a long way down. She fought against the feeling of her stomach twisting to raise her hands up in the air. “Please don’t drop me!” 

“I won’t!” 

Cream hovered above Amy, the two grabbing each other tightly as Amy’s feet lifted off the ledge. The two girls flew straight towards the giant, picking up speed as they drew closer. 

The piercing, glowing eyes caught sight of them. With a roar, the giant began to reach for the flying nuisance. 

“Now!” Amy commanded.

With a loud grunt, Cream swung her arms, and flung Amy towards the giant. The hedgehog soared in the air, summoning her hammer from behind as she flew towards Sticks. Amy prepped a swing loudly, and slammed her hammer against Sticks’ hands. The sheer force of it was explosive, and sent both of them falling back. 

And for a brief moment, the purple Chaos Emerald flew into the air, its facets glittering in the sun.

Cream swooped down to catch Amy, breaking her fall to land gracefully on the ground. Sticks’ giant body was sprawled on the road, beginning to shrink back to normal. 

“Sticks!” The two girls ran to their friend, who stirred against the pavement. 

“Huh..?” Sticks opened her eyes, seeing her friends’ worried faces. Startled, she yelped, and tried to sit herself up as fast as she could, but the blood rushing to her head felt oppressive, almost pushing her down. 

“Hey, take it easy. I gotcha,” Amy soothed, helping Sticks to sit up.

With a grunt, Sticks sat upright, her body feeling familiar to her again. “Ugh, what happened? ”

“Uh…” Amy glanced past Sticks’ shoulder, the gravity of the collateral damage forming a pit in her stomach. “You grew a little.”

“You don’t need to sugarcoat it,” the badger grumbled. “Ow, my hand really hurts for some reason,” she winced, shaking her hand loosely, then massaging it with the other.

“Oh, Miss Sticks!” Cream kneeled down in front of Sticks, her eyes shining with worry. “Please tell me you’re okay.”

“Ah– Uh, thank you, thank you.” Sticks pet Cream awkwardly, bristling under the rabbit’s hug. “I feel kinda tired still… and hungry.” 

Sticks looked over Amy’s shoulder to see Cheese flying towards them, carrying the purple Chaos Emerald in their small hands. Her eyes widened, and she screamed, scooting away. 

“What?!” Amy and Cream jumped, startled. They looked back and forth 

“It’s– They’re gonna– ” Sticks stammered, pointing at Cheese as if they were a ghost. The blue chao blinked innocently, tilting their head with a curious hum. 

Amy and Cream furrowed their brows with confusion, before it finally clicked for them. Panicked, the two girls turned back to look at Cheese, who simply smiled.

“Well… I mean, I think it would’ve happened by now, right?” Amy asked wearily, as if the very question could jinx it.

“Cheese is still normal sized,” Cream observed, slowly feeling relieved. 

 “... For now.” Sticks’ eyes narrowed, lowering her arm distrustingly as she brought herself up to stand. “I’m keeping my eye on you, Gorgonzola.”

Her stern look was met with a chipper hum from the chao, blissfully ignorant to her hostility. Sticks grunted, not entirely ceding.

“Her! That’s her!”

The girls snapped their heads to look at a man, yelling and pointing at them from a distance. That’s when they noticed that other Spagonians had emerged from the streets, studying them with weary expressions. 

“She’s the giant!” The man exclaimed,  “She’s the one who stomped all over the place and tried to attack us!”

“Attack?!” Sticks jumped back, appalled at the accusation. “Listen buster, if you want an attack–”

“Now hold on!” Amy interjected, running between the aggrieved man and her friends to diffuse the situation. “She was turned into a giant, but Sticks would never attack innocent people intentionally ,” she stated, pointing her words while glancing back at the angry badger. 

“She almost stepped on me and my son!” A woman shouted frantically, holding her young son closely to her hip.

“She destroyed my building! I just bought it, and I haven’t even finished renovating those apartments!” Yelled a man, his slacks and collared shirts dirtied and frayed.

“Practically caused a second earthquake!” Called a voice from the crowd. An uproar emerged from the crowd, as everyone hurled their accusations and grievances at the girls.

“She didn’t mean to!” Cream spoke up, standing nervously as she took in the crowd of angry civilians. She held Cheese, with the Chaos Emerald, to her chest. “It was only because of the Ch–”

“The point is,” Amy interrupted, reaching to hold Cream’s hand. “We are so, so sorry for all the damage we’ve caused, and how it put you all in danger. Right? ”

Amy sent a darting glare back at Sticks, who gulped, and stood up straight. After all, she was used to noticing subliminal messaging.

“I’m very sorry,” Sticks said earnestly, her voice a decibel lower from her normal speaking tone. “I’m sorry for almost stepping on your kid, and I’m sorry for my big feet shaking up your city.”

“And..?” The building landlord looked at Sticks expectantly.

“Sticks.” Amy nudged under her breath.

“What? You want me to feel bad for the Eggbnb guy?” Sticks looked at Amy and Cream, baffled. “Short-term housing is one of the biggest contributors of gentrification!”

“Well now we have no housing. Between the earthquake and you three, the city is half-leveled and packed into shelters!” An older man heckled from the crowd.

“Hey!” Sticks protested. “Amy, Cream and Cheese have been helpin’ out since the earthquake. They didn’t do anything wrong!” 

“Well,” The landlord approached Sticks. “Why don’t you help us out, and leave? ”

“Leave!”

“Get out of here!” 

The crowd erupted into a sea of heckles once again, the cacophony enclosing on the girls and their chao. Amy attempted to appease the crowd, but her voice was drowned out quickly. Cream let go of Amy’s hand to cling to her dress, hiding her face against the red fabric.

“FINE!” 

Sticks’ voice ripped through the crowd, moving to stand her ground on her own. “Fine! I get it, I’m leaving.”

The badger began to exit the crowd, refusing to cave to the piercing glares and jeers from the citizens. But not without getting a final word in.

“... But remember!” Sticks stopped, turning around to face them once more. “When big corporations come in promising to help you with the aftermath, they’re just lookin’ to create an economic stronghold that your economy and social services will eventually be dependent on, not because they care.”

The crowd broke into confused murmurs and snickers, while Amy, Cream and Cheese watched Sticks exit the circle with a steady walk.

“Miss Amy, what do we do?” Cream looked up at Amy, her eyes glassy with heartbreak and anxiety. “They’re kicking Miss Sticks out.”

Amy glanced between Cream and the crowd, taking a deep breath. “It’s okay,” She reassured, her voice soft. “Come on.”

She reached down to gently pry the young girl off, and reached to pick up her hand. They made their way through the crowd without a word, to follow their friend.

“How close are you, Espio? Over.”

Espio winced from the feedback of the cheap earpiece, Vector’s microphone picking up the loud hum of a car passing by. It was the late afternoon, and he was hungry enough to feel irritable. Still, he stayed low to the ground, using the full extent of his camouflage to blend into the field of grass around him.

“Around 40 yards, and getting closer,” the chameleon breathed, keeping his voice low as he eyed the two police officers standing near the wreckage.

“Do you see anything in the grass? Anything that could be from Charmy? Over.” Vector asked.

“No, nothing.” Espio continued to crawl forward, keeping his eyes peeled as Vector continued to talk.

“They gotta give us something. First Big tells us Charmy was headin’ down these parts, then on the way we hear about a motorcycle crash? What if the kid’s in a hospital? Or picked up by a gang? Over.”

“I’m sure the hospital would call one of us,” Espio reassured, conveniently ignoring the second part of that comment. He was trying to distract himself from how empty his stomach felt, and he couldn’t tell if it was from hunger or worry. “I’ll need to be covert from here on out, over.”

“But what if he didn’t put us down as his emergency contacts? Aghh…” Vector sighed, wiping his face with his free hand. He was self aware enough to know that he was getting a bit catastrophic, and it was probably distracting Espio from the task at hand. He took a deep breath and swallowed, collecting himself.

“Alright.” Vector’s voice buzzed through the earpiece, more chipper than before. “Remember to stay cool, and lay loooooow,” the crocodile chimed, the ‘o’ of low drawn out so deep, that Espio wished to crawl into it and bury himself alive. “Over.”

The chameleon inched his way closer to the scene remaining low among the larger chunks of motorcycle strewn beside him. While Espio considered himself well-trained in the art of camouflage, he was leery of getting too close. Full camouflage felt akin to holding his breath, or a plank - a delicate balance that could be tipped by the drop of a hat. 

He settled a couple yards away from the two police officers who were surveying the scene, and brought himself to stillness. 

One of the officers whistled. “That’s some damage. How the hell did this thing land all the way out here?” She asked, folding her arms over her chest.

“Is that the cops? I wanna hear . Over. ”

“Shh.” Espio hushed sharply, barely a noise through the grit of his teeth. 

“The bike was lane splitting and weaving through traffic for at least a mile and a half on some sort of chase,” the other officer explained, tall and gangly in stature, scanning the notes on his tablet. “One eyewitness said the bike just zoomed up the ramp of a pick up truck and went airborne.”

“Seriously? Wasn’t there a kid riding on the back too?”

“I thought the kid was the driver. ”

Espio gasped quietly enough to remain undetected, but loud enough to be picked up by the mic. 

Vector leaned forward and pressed the earpiece against his ear, on edge. “What? What’s goin’ on? Turn the mic up.”

Espio flinched, but silently complied, reaching discretely to his pack to press a button a few times as he continued listening in.

“Running the license plate,” the taller cop said, watching as the database loaded the results. “…Huh.”

“What’s up?”

“This is G.U.N. Property.”

“What? What’s happenin’?” Vector’s voice pierced through loudly through the speaker, blasting against Espio’s eardrum. “ I can barely hear anything, I’m missin’ out on all the action here! Uh, Over!”

Espio winced with a yelp, realizing he didn’t actually change the mic sensitivity, but in fact, the volume. For a moment, he was purple again, startled out of his translucent facade. Holding his breath, he froze in place, seeing the officers jump in front of him. 

“Who’s there?”

The officers turned behind them to see nothing. They took a couple steps each, looking around in disbelief. 

“You heard that, right?”

“Yup.”

As the officers looked around, Espio made it a note to mute the earpiece and remove it entirely, concealing it in a closed fist. He could feel the muffled vibrations of Vector’s protests within his hand, buzzing the rhythm of his name. “Espio!”

“Come on, Espio! Hey!” Vector whined, before throwing his head back into a groan. He couldn’t stand the suspense of waiting the fifteen minutes for Espio to get back. There was always a thrill to fieldwork, but this was precipitated with a sense of dread. It was going to be the evening soon, and he had no clue if Charmy was lost in the jungle, or involved in some motorcycle accident.

“Ah, whatever,” he grumbled, stuffing the communicator away. He began to walk slowly within the border of the jungle trees, hearing cars speed down the highway on the other side of the tree trunks.  

A glint of light shone within the ground, shining against the dark soil. Vector noticed it and squinted, noticing it become even more distinct in the ground. 

He reached down to pick up what looked like a pistol of sorts, but with some sort of transformer at the end. It felt heavy in his hands as he inspected it, noticing a small, yellow logo on the side of the grip. His eyes widened, bringing it closer to his face - a set of two, yellow tails.

“Tails?” Vector sputtered in dim surprise. He didn’t actually expect to find any solid evidence for Tails’ case here, mainly because he’d been so focused on finding Charmy. At least his hunch brought him a step closer to one of the kids they were looking for.

“Huh. Gotta hand it to the kid, this is pretty nice. Hmm…” Vector held up the blaster and turned it in his hand, adjusting his grip to take in the feel of it. He wasn’t really a weapons guy, but he could appreciate good craftsmanship.

Even if it left him oblivious to the low, guttural snarls behind him.