Notes: I hear you about the pacing. I'm working on a fix. (Anon, in return, I ask that you work on a bit more nuanced phrasing. Your review made me feel like I was two-years-old, telling me to learn to pace myself. I know how—I just flubbed a bit.)

Happy 25th to our favorite hedgehog! (And his egg-shaped villain!) I hope to have a oneshot done later today, but this update will do for now.

Thank you so much for all your kind reviews! This story has blown me away with how many smart reviews it's gotten. Happy I could encourage such discussion!

Onward!

Survivors

Chapter 2: Wanted: Dead

Sonic had no time to get his plan in order, so this was definitely going be a flying by the seat of his pants operation—and he didn't wear pants.

Really, the stuff he had to grab were their socks and gloves, still drying in the bathroom and easily replaced, but Sonic didn't have the cash to buy both himself and Tails a new set of sturdy gloves. They couldn't afford to go without them either, especially Tails with his thick fur and sensitive finger pads, so here went Sonic—risking life and limb for a bunch of fabric.

Okay, he thought to himself as he opened the door to the hallway and poked his head out. It was quiet, which was definitely suspicious, considering the loud, concussive noises that had just deafened him seconds before. I'm actually curious about our bounty hunter. The gloves and socks are an excuse.

You're risking your life for a glance at someone who wants to kill you?

Um, yeah.

"And now I'm talking to myself," he muttered under his breath, deciding to just cut his losses and creep out into the hallway. The boards creak, his inner voice reminded him, piping up probably just to annoy him. He scowled and sped up a bit, being careful not to go too fast, and arrived at the bathroom in no time. The white fabric sat merrily on the sink, completely oblivious to the danger that was right around the corner, and Sonic snatched all four sets up before wheeling around to return back to the bedroom where his shoes were waiting—should'a brought those! the voice wheezed. (Annoyingly.) Then, he would be out the window and gone into the sunset.

Sunrise.

Shut up.

He peeked out again, just to be safe, and was immediately thankful that he did, because two pin prinks of light blinked at him from the stairs, far too luminescent to be mobian eyes. He nearly cursed under his breath and pulled back in, stomach plummeting to reside somewhere in the vicinity of his feet.

Well, this complicated things.

Sonic could handle SWATbots. They were a cakewalk compared to some of Robotnik's other creations, but that was clearly not a SWATbot. For one thing, Sonic would have heard it coming up the stairs, and for another, it wouldn't have eyes that small or low to the ground. No, this was a new robot, one that Sonic had no prior experience with, and he was going to have to take it on in the limited space of the hall. With no shoes.

He was screwed.

He had to move though, and Sonic the Hedgehog was no coward, so he took one deep breath for posterity (because it just might be his last), and kicked the door open.

The hallway was still silent; hell, the diner was silent, almost like they had pulled all the big bots back. The stretch between the bathroom and bedroom was completely exposed, so Sonic had to move quick. He ducked out of the room, head down, and moved as fast as he dared without his shoes, nearly sliding past the room. He hooked a hand on the frame and towed himself in, breathing hard, before checking himself for laser or bullet holes.

Nothing.

He hadn't even been attacked.

"What on mobius..." This came out as a mutter as his curiosity got the best of him and he looked back out into the hall, hugging the door for support and protection. The eyes still peered at him, half concealed in the dark.

"Scanning," a robotic voice intoned, and a red spread laser shot out of one of the eyes, pinning Sonic's head. He yelped and jerked back, falling onto his backside in his haste. One strong kick shut the door with a snap.

"Priority: Hedgehog sighted. Location determined. Requesting aerial assault."

The curse that came out of Sonic's mouth was something that would have sent his mother chasing him with a wooden spoon. He scrambled to his feet, hooked his fingers into his shoes on the way, and practically threw himself out the window.

The building exploded.

Sonic was knocked head over heels by the blast and he landed at least twenty feet later, cursing the whole way. The world was spinning and his ears were ringing and he could feel blood dripping from his knees and elbow and possibly his hands, but he knew that he had to move. It took all of his strength to convince his jelly bones to cooperate, but he managed to climb to his feet. Then, he tumbled to the ground when he tried to take a step.

"Damn it," he hissed, except it was both too loud in his head and too muffled in his ringing ears. The sky was alive with orange and he could feel the thwump, thwump of helicopter blades, so whichever robot had shot the missile was close. He had to take cover—!

A strong hand clapped on his shoulder and he whipped around, ready to kick someone's head right off their shoulders, but then he caught sight of Sal, silhouetted by the flames of her former diner and practically fell forward out of relief. She was yelling at him, he could just hear the timbre of her voice, but the words were lost to the piercing ringing. He shook his head at her, hoping she would get the message. She towed him up and half-dragged him off, right into the nearest alley to the diner. Just in time too—a troop of robots rolled past half a minute later.

"Sonic!" That was definitely Tails, even though everything was still muted as all hell. A pair of fuzzy arms lassoed his middle and a heavy body crashed into his, knocking all the air out of his lungs. "You're okay!"

"Yeah," Sonic breathed, still not believing it himself. "And you are too. Good." He couldn't help the grateful feeling that bloomed in his chest. As long as Tails was safe, nothing else mattered.

"We need to move," Sal ordered from where she was pressed against the corner, peering back the way they had come. "They're sweeping the area. Damn, I've never seen them attack with that much force. They really want you dead."

Sonic felt his face go white. "I thought Robotnik robotisized everyone he sent bounty hunters after!"

Her face and voice were grim. "I did too. Guess you're too much trouble."

Tails made a very distressed, wordless sound, and Sonic placed a gentle hand on his head, hoping that it wasn't shaking. "We'll be okay," he whispered, though he wasn't sure if he was trying to convince Tails or himself. "Here," he commanded, shoving the troublesome gloves and socks into his friend's hands, "put these on."

"You went back for this?" the fox demanded, accepting the bundle when Sonic pushed it roughly.

"Yeah, don't question me right now. Just do it. Yell at me later."

Tails gave him a look that said that he would most definitely be yelling at him later, but Sonic was okay with that. Later meant they would be alive.

A good minute passed and then they were moving again, darting down the street and shadow dodging when they heard robots approach. "We have to get away from the diner," Sal panted as she struggled to keep up with the children. "I know a place, but it's ten minutes away by foot."

Sonic nodded and glanced at Tails. The fox was absolutely terrified, but he was doing a good job of hiding it. "Don't fly," Sonic reminded him when he saw the fox glancing around, trying to gauge the space in the alley. "Too noticeable."

"Right... Sorry." Properly abashed, Tails pressed closer to Sonic, riding his six.

They spent the next indeterminate amount of time ducking and dodging again. Sonic and Tails, perfectly and grimly used to this kind of treatment after three months on the run, easily followed Sal as she led them through Robotropolis's maze of streets. Eyes peered at them from the darkness when they stopped for breath sometime around minute four, more for Sal's sake than the children's, and she sent some kind of hand signal that was all wave and finger flourish toward the illuminated gaze. A few beats of silence followed before the eyes disappeared.

"The thieves are clearing a path," Sal muttered, leaning forward to rest her hands on her knees so she could catch her breath. "They'll set up road blocks if they can, but those won't stop some of the bigger bots. Depends on what your hunters have at their disposal."

Overhead, something thundered by, just barely skirting the buildings, and Tails made a small noise of fear, pressing himself close to Sonic's side again. "I'm going to assume infinite," Sonic muttered in response.

Sal cast a look up, following the cruiser's trail with her eyes. "You're probably right." She looked grim as she straightened. "We better get moving. Hopefully we can slide into the sewers for some of the trek, or else we're going to be in the open."

She was right about the thieves. As they moved, Sonic noticed a distinct lack of small obstacles like trash cans in their path, most pushed hurriedly off to the side. Their path was pretty unhindered until they came upon a hooded figure crouching in the middle of one street, holding up a manhole cover with both hands. Sonic's nerves, being so high strung, nearly sent him crashing into the guy to keep Tails safe, but Sal grabbed his elbow before he could lunge, as if she could read his mind.

"Don't," she hissed before letting him go and sliding into the hole. Just barely, they heard her land in the sewer below them.

"Hurry," the hooded figure urged, "there's a squad coming."

Sonic couldn't hear them, but Tails's ears were twitching in the direction they had just come, and he kept glancing back, so his superior canine hearing must have picked them up. That was proof enough and Sonic pushed the fox into the hole before following him. Above them, the thief let the cover fall with a crash and they were plunged into darkness.

Sal clicked on her flashlight, providing a single beam of light, and sloshed into the water. Sonic couldn't see much, but he could feel the feral rats swarming away from them, brushing against his legs, and he very nearly gagged. Tails, who had become a permanent extension of Sonic's body, grabbed his hand.

"I'm scared," he muttered with the simple terror of children. Just barely, Sonic could feel him trembling.

"I'm taking you to a local resistance leader," Sal called from where she had stopped to wait for them. "She should be able to get you out of here. C'mon, we have to keep going."

"You know a resistance leader?" Sonic demanded, pulling Tails behind him as he plunged into the water. It came up almost to his hips and he shivered. Tails, submerged up to his stomach, followed silently.

"We're old friends. Now be quiet. Robotnik might have sensors down here."

Sonic wanted to argue, but he knew good advice when he heard it so he clamped his mouth shut. The following minutes were unspeakable, both in terror gripped moments where they heard people scream above them, guns firing, and even a SWATbot reporting its status, as if it were right on top of them, and in the sheer nastiness of the smell. It clogged Sonic's throat, made it hard for him to breathe, and he was in a constant stage of almost throwing up the whole time. He was actually thankful when they left the relative safety of the sewer and emerged back into the immediate danger of the street.

"Go straight across the street," Sal ordered as she pushed the manhole cover up on her own. Sonic, in all his fear, actually found it in himself to be impressed by her strength. "Knock on the door five times, short, long, long, short, long. A tiger should let you in. Her name is Jillian."

Sonic didn't need to be told twice. He clambered out of the hole and dragged Tails up after him before darting across the street and banging out the knock. Sonic heard something move on the other side of the door and then the lock clicked. A striped hand reached out and grabbed them, towing them through the doorway, before it slammed shut.

"Chaos," the tiger declared, "you reek. Did Sal take you through the sewer?"

"Yes," Sonic and Tails answered together, flat, no nonsense. Jillian shook her head and paused, leaning her head toward the door.

"Stand back. Sal's coming in."

Sonic and Tails skittered backwards, nearly tripping over a child's toy as they went, and barely managed to catch themselves before they crashed into the couch. Sal barreled through the door and Jillian slammed it shut behind her.

Now that they were relatively safe, Sonic took the chance to knee down in front of Tails to check him over for injuries. Behind them, the two women started hissing at each other and gesturing at the children. Sonic felt his ear twitch.

"You okay?" he asked Tails as he placed his hands on the kit's shoulders. Tails was shivering from their impromptu dip, but otherwise looked okay. His pupils were blown wide with fear and his hands were grasping at his sides, a clear signal that he wanted something to hold onto, and Sonic very gently offered his friend his hand. Tails latched onto it like an infant.

"Yeah," the fox answered eventually, staring down at the floor. "Not hurt."

"Good." Sonic sent a glance over his shoulder at the zebra and tiger, who were now looking at them, as if waiting for them to finish.

"Sonic, we need to talk to you in the kitchen."

Sonic's eyes narrowed and he very nearly refused, but Sal's strained and worried expression made him hold his tongue. Instead, he guided Tails to the window and pressed him down with a hand to his shoulder. "Listen buddy, I'll be right in there. You sit here and peek outside every now and then to keep watch okay? Don't move."

Tails nodded and it was a battle for Sonic to get his hand back from him, but he managed it. With a sigh, he followed the women into the kitchen, where they were standing around the corner looking grim-faced. Toward the back of the room, hunkered down between the cabinets, were a male tiger and a small cub, probably Jillian's family. The man was rocking the child back and forth, looking up at them with an expression that was so openly terrified that Sonic had to look away.

"I'll be straight with you, kid," Jillian began without preamble, pulling a chair out and sitting down. "I can only take one of you."

"Take Tails," Sonic shot back immediately.

Jillian sighed and tapped the table with her claw, an agitated move that sent a sharp snap of sound into the air. "The resistance doesn't want him."

"What?"

"They want you, kid. You're valuable. Your friend is..."

Sonic could feel his stomach slowly turning itself inside out. He knew what was coming, could sense it even before it came out of her mouth, and he needed to stop it. He couldn't stand the idea that Tails would always be... That Tails...

He shook his head and tried to make his voice as hard as possible. "He needs to get to Sanctuary."

"Look—" Jillian tried to say, Sal grimacing behind her. Sonic wouldn't have any of it.

"He gets into Sanctuary, and the resistance can do whatever they want with me." He was trying to be reasonable, even if everything about this situation was anything but.

The room was quiet for a few long seconds. Outside, they could hear robots trashing the street, turning over everything and ripping away doors in their search. They don't have much time and Sonic could feel the sweat dripping down his face and back, could taste the smoke in the air, and he knew that the next few seconds were critical.

"Kid," Jillian ate up a few of those seconds to sigh, "Sanctuary is full. No one's getting in."

Sonic felt his already upside down and inside out stomach drop open. "What?"

"Think about it, if there was room do you think my kid would still be in the city?" She jerked her arm toward her husband and child, still cowering in the corner.

"But..." Sonic is reeling, hands grasping for purchase on the table, brain whirling around the words, unable to ground himself around them. "There's always room for—"

"Not when we don't got safe places for the kids to go. Sanctuary is only a pass-through, a purgatory almost. Kids come in, stay a while for the heat to wear off, and then we ship 'em somewhere safe. Well, there's ain't nowhere safe anymore. Safest place is Sanctuary and it's not meant to be a long-term thing."

"But, I—" Maybe it was the explosion still ringing in his head or the imminent danger in the form of Tails's whimpering from where he was sitting at the window, but Sonic still couldn't quite understand her logic under all his desperation. "No, that's not..."

"Sonic!" Tails's voice finally found substance. That, or his voice finally made it through Sonic's brain clog. "They're right there! We need to go!"

"I need an answer, kid!" Jillian hissed, glancing back at her family.

Something in that gesture kicked Sonic in the chest and he pushed away from the table. "No," he pronounced, already thinking about where they would need to go next. They couldn't be found here. He wouldn't be the reason for the senseless deaths of Jillian's family. "Take Sal if you have the room. She's got connections with the thieves and she's valuable."

"Sonic," Sal shot back, and it reminded the hedgehog a lot of his mother when she was particularly upset with him. "I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, well, take it as a thanks for helping us then." Sonic was itching to go. Tails had scrambled back from the window and was half falling over himself to get to the kitchen. "You got a back door?" he demanded of Jillian as Tails latched himself back against Sonic's side.

"Jill..." Sal's voice was harder than before, and she sent her friend a critical glance. "At least do something. We can't just send these kids out to their deaths."

Jillian sighed and reached under the table. Sonic heard something click behind her. "Listen, I'm going to talk fast and I can only say this once."

Sonic felt his head go crystal clear, as if all the confusion and white noise of before had never existed. He nodded when he realized she was waiting for his answer.

"Behind me is the back door. You go out it, hook a left, a right, another left, and then stick near the perimeter of the city until you reach the border, hear me? You're way too hot to stay in town, so you need to get out for a few weeks."

"But the border is fenced!" Tails cried, fisting a hand into the fur on Sonic's leg and tugging so hard it brought tears to Sonic's eyes. "If we try to leave, we'll be vaporized!"

That was true enough. There was an invisible, web-like barrier surrounding the city that destroyed any unauthorized organic matter that passed through it, both to control the flow of people into and out of the city and to create a dependency on expensive, imported goods. Fear and poverty worked well to keep people in line. Sonic didn't think this situation could get much worse, but the universe had ways of surprising them.

Jillian nodded once at Tails, a move that made it seem almost like she respected him. She deftly pulled what looked like a watch out of her pocket and slid it across the table towards the fox. "We have a passage through the caves that goes under the fence. Follow that navigator and it'll take you right to it. Once you get into the cave, it's a straight shot to the coast. Head to Green Hill Zone. It's a low security Zone with a strong local resistance branch. You should be safe."

Outside, something crashed near the door and Sonic grabbed Tails's hand. "Okay, time's up. Thanks for the advice. We gotta vamoose."

He started for the door, but Sal grabbed his bicep as he passed, jerking him to a stop. "Sonic, I had no idea that things were so screwed up with Sanctuary. I—"

"It's okay," he shot back, bouncing on his feet. "Thanks for your help. I don't think we would've gotten this far without you."

She nodded and glanced toward Jillian before leaning toward him to whisper. "When you get back into the city, I know you'll be looking to get back into the resistance again. I'll probably be relocated by then, but if you need help, find a guy named Vector. He'll get you where you need to be." She let go of his arm and shoved him toward the door. "Get going. Stay safe."

Sonic's mind was back to whirling, and he felt Tails start forward, dragging him toward the door. It slid open as they approached and slammed shut once they were outside. Sonic took a few seconds to get their bearings, peering up at the stars peeking at them from between the buildings. They could hear the robots on the adjacent street, but other than that, it was quiet.

There was a soft beep near his knees and Sonic glanced down to see Tails holding up his wrist, navigator strapped so it would sit just under the fold of his glove. "That way," the fox muttered, pointing a shaking finger down the street.

"Well," Sonic let out a sigh, "let's blow this town then."

I'm not very happy with this chapter and I'm sick of looking at it. There's probably typos, but I'll get them later. Take it easy on me, yeah?

Reviews are cherished.