The Secret of Chao
Sonic was still running as fast as he could hours after his meeting with Robotnik. Nothing was making any sense any more. His best friend, Tails, was dead. His long time rival and nemesis, Dr. Eggman was now helping him without any reward he could see and no matter where he turned, there was no clear reason as to what killed his friend. Could he believe that Tails killed himself in a lab accident? Of course not, he was too clever. Did Eggman sabotage any of Tails' machines? No, he would have gloated and used it in some sort of effort for world domination. With the obvious out of the way, there really wasn't any answer.
He had finally decided on a path to take however. If anyone could get the information he needed, it would be G.U.N, the Guardian Unit of Nations. To get to them, all he would need to do is contact Rouge, who would probably know where Shadow was too. It would be killing two birds with one stone... killing, the root of all the trouble.
Shaking his head to remove his mind from the topic, Sonic turned around, re-aiming himself back at Station Square, where he could begin to look for Rouge.
Tails was lying down, beginning to regain consciousness. However, the ground didn't feel like what it should. It was soft and would easily give way to pressure, not that he could apply any in his state as he felt as if someone had torn his body apart and poorly reattached everything. It was much darker than he expected it to be too, though he could only open his eyes partly. No, not dark, just dim, with a yellowish glow. The light wasn't soft either, it was sharp. Artificial. Tails tried to push himself up to a sitting position to survey where he was, but only managed to roll himself off of the place he was sitting onto the hard floor. Apparently he had been on a bed, as the following groan of springs returning to their former position indicated his removal. It wasn't long after the groan that a nearby door opened, followed by the light tap of slightly metallic shoes walking across the room to where Tails fell. With a short grunt, the person picked Tails back up from the ground and casually dumped him back on the bed, giving no consideration to his comfort. Tails returned a groan from the gesture before attempting to murmur some gesture of thanks sarcastically.
"Why do you keep insisting on rolling in your sleep?" The person said, grunting to himself. "Someone would think I'm holding you here hostage."
Tails attempted to reply, twitching his mouth and forcing movement between his lips, finding it hard to force the energy out, half due to his half-awake state, half due to the lack of energy he was finding. The person proceeded to head for the exit before Tails could even begin, but Tails was determined to catch him before he left. He tried again to push himself back up, only to hold an arm out, but only found his reward was another thump into the floor.
The person left off a tisk, turning back around and placing Tails once again on the bed.
"Alright, you've made your point. You're awake, arn't you?" The person asked, looking down at Tails. Tails already knew he couldn't talk, so he only struggled a short nod. "Good to hear, but I don't expect to hear it long."
The person paced the room, moving back to the door he entered through.
"You're poisoned. It's a fatal, exotic poison which was forced into your wrist. That Chao you were fighting must have some good backing, as it's not cheap to make, and worse to purchase." The person explained, looking over his shoulder. "It's so bad that I can't just use one emerald to heal you. I need two, and I don't know where another is." Tails struggled on the bed physically. It was stupid enough that his life was on the line, but worse that his current chance of survival lay in his Emerald Radar, just in his reach but outside his energy limit. Rather than struggle on, he attempted to beckon over his saviour to come and get the radar from below him. He had succeeded in getting the person's attention, though he gave an irritated grunt.
"What are you fussing over?" The person questioned, moving Tails' near limp body aside to pick up the radar. "Hmm... I saw this on the floor next to you when I found you. What is this anyway?"
Unable to answer once again, Tails tried to lead him to the back of the radar where the power source lay under a thin sheet of plastic. However, the person was exploring the device on his own accord, writing Tails' fidgets off as attempts to get comfortable. Noticing the indent at the back, the person quickly removed the plastic to find the power source of the radar.
"A Chaos Emerald?" The person shockingly announced before taking it out. "No, it's not... It's a fake. But, the faker managed to use Chaos Control with a fake before. What's stopping me healing this kid with one?" The person gave a quick grin before exiting the room to get his own emerald, returning shortly after. "What do you know, it's your lucky day fox. Stay still, this is going to sting."
The person allowed the emeralds to take orbit around him, slowly and calmly floating around him as he prepared to use the two on the fox. He'd never used Chaos energy directly on something else, but he was about to find out what he could do with it. "Chaos...!"
Sonic had stopped just outside of Rouge's Club, half questioning why he had decided to come in the first place. It was too early for it to be open, but that was hardly his concern. Even if he could strike a deal with Rouge, this was still Rouge, the master thief, and top G.U.N agent. And if he negotiated something that worked, Rouge would always get more out of it than he would expect. It was his last option other than negotiating with Eggman, so he gulped, swallowing his pride, and knocked on the door. Minutes passed, feeling like longer to our hyper hedgehog, as he impatiently knocked on the door again in an attempt to get attention to anyone inside.
Is anyone even here? Figures, that has been my luck as of late. Sonic thought to himself, preparing to jet off. His immediate sprint met a painful end however, as he collided straight into a large, red robot.
"Ouch, hey, what the heck?" Sonic called out, rubbing his nose and looking at what he collided with. "Oh, Omega. Have you seen Rouge?"
"AFFIRMATIVE! SHE IS WAITING FOR YOU INSIDE." Omega said with his blunt, robotic tone before passing Sonic and opening the door, letting himself in without damaging Rouges property. "INITIATING STANDBY PROTOCAL."
She could have greeted me herself, sheesh Sonic mentally scolded her before letting himself in.
"Well hey blue boy, long time no see." Rouge greeted Sonic from behind her bar, cleaning a glass to a thorough shine. "So what'll it be, honey?"
"Nothing, I'm here to talk, not drink." Sonic said, leading himself to the bar to sit down.
"From what I've heard, you definitely need one." Rouge said, putting down the glass she was cleaning. "And it's not like you to make a random house call."
"I'm looking for information, and I know you can get it." Sonic quickly said, looking towards Rouge to try and catch eye contact. "And I need to find Shadow."
"Hmm... that's quite the request, information, AND Shadow?" Rouge said, picking up her next glass. "Information has never came cheap, ya know."
"I know, and I know you. What is the cost going to be?" Sonic gritted, knowing that he wouldn't like what's coming next.
"Well, how about a trade? I'll give you something, you give me something back." Rouge said, looking through the glass at Sonic.
"Can we cut to the chase? I got enough on my plate." Sonic said. "And I bet the press won't be far behind me, if I stay still long enough."
"Ah yes, we've all heard the story. In fact, I have something related to that." Rouge mentioned, putting her cloth into the glass to clean, diverting her view from Sonic.
"Information, I hope." Sonic muttered.
"Unfortunately no, a favour actually." Rouge said bluntly, placing the half-clean glass down to make eye contact with Sonic. "But unless you do this, I won't help you."
"Fine, what is it?" Sonic replied, gritting his teeth again for anything she might throw at him.
"I want you to go to his lab and find his body." Rouge replied. Sonic stopped gritting his teeth, quickly changing expressions between shock and disbelief.
"You... want me to... what?" Sonic uttered, trying to collect his thoughts.
"Like it or not, that boy was a hero, and G.U.N plan to give him a hero's funeral." Rouge begin, not breaking contact with Sonic, although his eyes were unfocused and he was becoming pale "Now, who better to retrieve the corpse than, not only our greatest hero, but his brother in arms?"
"But..." Sonic stuttered, distress in his voice.
"You do that, and I'll tell you where Shadow is." Rogue finished her proposal, but continued all the same. "If you don't, I'll find someone else, but you won't get what you want."
"It's too sudden." Sonic replied, shifting away. However, the bar stool was screwed to the metallic floor, so he couldn't gain much distance.
"It needs to be done soon, otherwise the body won't be in any condition to bury properly." Rouge mentioned, keeping her stare on Sonic. "I'll not go into details, but you need to do it today. If you don't, no information."
"F... fine, I'll do it." Sonic mumbled, lifting from the chair to exit.
"Glad to hear it. There'll be something for you to put it in at the lab." Rouge mentioned.
"He's not an 'it', he's Tails!" Sonic snapped, getting agitated thinking about what he's about to do. "But I want my information, and Shadow's location for this."
"I'll see what I can do." Rouge teased, picking up her glass and cleaning it again.
Sonic grunted as he shut the door, sitting next to it to collect his thoughts. What kind of favour is that? Pick up my little buddy's... my little buddy from his lab. What the heck is wrong with her. Soon realising sitting wasn't helping his thoughts, he got up and did what he knew best to do. He ran.
Tails was stirring again from the bed he was resting atop of, slowly forcing his eyes open, but finding it was still a challenging job. He had more energy, but it didn't feel the same. It was like the light, it was artificial, but unlike the light, it felt uncontrollable. Chaotic. Unreliable. He pulled himself up to a sitting position in his bed, rubbing his eyes to wake himself more. Where am I... and who was that guy? He thought to himself, staring around the room. He quickly noticed he had a table on the bedside with a glass of water, and a yellow Chaos Emerald on the side. Is that... why is that lying around here? Tails went to pick it up, lifting it from its resting place and inspecting it. It had a strange feel to it, but he knew exactly what it was. It's the fake Chaos Emerald that I made during the ARK. But, why does it feel so different...
Tails clambered out of his bed, nearly collapsing when he hit the floor, his legs unready to support his body but his hand catching the table. Unfortunately, it knocked the water over and straight on top of the fox. Shrugging it off and standing back up, he gazed around the room again, then at himself, remembering his wounds from the past fights. Where the Chao had pierced and poisoned him lay a large scar, along with a missing tuft of fur. The rest of his body was also spotted with blood, glazing his white fur with a red pattern. He quickly looked for a mirror and noticed that his cheek was also scabbed, but fortunately not scarred from his first encounter.
Wow, I really look like a mess. No wonder Emerl was so worried. Tails thought to himself, holding the mirror in one hand whilst touching his wound with the other. His other senses were beginning to wake up, with his previous pains hitting him, and his stomach complaining about the meals he missed beforehand. Ignoring his bodys grunts and aches, he redirected the mirror to take a final look at his tails, which despite suffering from a bad case of Morning Hair syndrome, were quite fine. Tails let out a yawn, putting the mirror back down and retrieving the fake Chaos Emerald before heading into the next room, which seemed to be a dim lit living room. There were no television, however there was a sofa with a large table in front of it, holding up many newspapers. The table itself seemed dusty and unused, however the papers were clean and new, sporting the days headline, 'Hero Fox Hits Heaven, more on page 3'. Tails noted the headline, giving a quick glance to it before it hit home. Everyone truly thinks I'm dead then... it's what I needed, but... Sonic... Tails mentally cried to himself, shedding an actual tear as he realised what pain he was putting people through. He gave himself a quick shake and continued to explore the building. There was no television in the room, and there seemed to only have two more doors. One clearly an exit to the building, and the other a kitchen, hosting a microwave, fridge, freezer, sink and multitide of closets. A quick look into them, however, showed they were just a formality, as they were generally empty and unpowered. Whoever owns the place musn't live here.
As if on queue, the front door shut itself after silently opening, making Tails jump and look over his shoulder.
"Hmph, finally. Have enough rest sleeping beauty?" The person mocked, his signature frown on his face.
"Shadow, you saved me?" Tails said, turning around in partial shock. "That doesn't seem like you."
"Don't think it's because I like you. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it." Shadow replied, walking over. "If it means saving you, so you can help them. So be it."
"Thank you, Shadow." Tails still replied, a shy smirk crawling over his face. His thanks were met with another grunt from Shadow however, which lowered his smirk. "So, how did you find me?"
"I caught wind of an emerald in the area. You were there." Shadow said, expression unchanging. "You got lucky too, he nearly killed you."
"Did you find the emerald then?" Tails asked, raising his hopes.
"It was a trap, you moron." Shadow scolded. "You of all people should have figured that one out, instead of running in unprepared."
"Hey!" Tails moaned, but quickly dropped to logic. "Yeah, I guess your right. It's not like Chaos Emeralds just appear like that anyhow."
"If you thought of that sooner, you wouldn't be the mess you are." Shadow continued scolding. "Your alive though, and owe me a favour." Tails grunted, his ears lowering alongside his mood.
"What do you want?" Tails muttered, looking towards the floor.
"I'll hold you to that favour for when I need it." Shadow replied. "But for now, tell me how your involved with them."
"Them?" Tails questioned. "The Chao?"
"Of course the Chao! Unless you've something else to hide?" Shadow mocked, prying information from the fox.
"I... Uhh... I stood on Chocola, and Cheese tried to murder me for it." Tails replied, ears dropping again. "I think I killed Chocola, and that ticked off Cheese."
"You can't kill them, it's impossible!" Shadow exclaimed, quickly calming themselves. "Unless... they all arn't a part of that group."
"Care to explain?" The fox inquisitively asked.
"You've already met a few, Cheese and your assassin, for example." Shadow begun. "Only speculating, but we've had a lot of Chao in our adventures, who says all of them are with Cheese?"
"So... you're saying that Cheese and his group are imposters?" Tails asked.
"Only speculating, but I have an idea to get some proof." Shadow mentioned, turning around.
"I could run a DNA check!" Tails mentioned, getting slightly excited to be of use.
"You COULD if you had a lab." Shadow reminded. "But you killed yourself with it, remember?"
"Oh yeah, right." Tails said, lowering his ears again. "By the way... can you not mention I'm alive?"
"Why?" Shadow asked, turning around. "The Chao know your alive, what's there to gain?"
"If I can go into hiding and make something to fight the Chao..." Tails begun, wondering what he could do.
"Or you could get your friends together and do the usual." Shadow replied. "It worked every other time. Stop cowering, and get out there."
"But, everyone still thinks I'm crazy after the Chao thing..." Tails repeated, drooping his ears once more.
"What are you, a man or a mouse?" Shadow asked sternly, getting Tails attention. "Well? What are you?"
"I'm a fox...?" Tails said, wondering what Shadow was after.
"Are you a man, or are you a mouse?" Shadow repeated, staring Tails down.
"I'm a man...?"
"You don't believe that. No wonder your such a burden." Shadow mentioned, turning to leave.
"What? I can handle myself!" Tails protested.
"Then tell me. What are you?" Shadow repeated, looking over his shoulder for an answer.
"I'm a man." Tails repeated.
"What are you?" Shadow continued to repeat.
"I'm a man!" Tails repeated, raising his ears once more.
"What, are, you?!" Shadow repeated, turning to meet Tails.
"I'M A MAN!" Tails repeated, a spark of energy leaving his hand into the Chaos Emerald he was holding. Shadow raised an eyebrow, noticing it, then smirked.
"Right, then let's go." Shadow said, his rare smirk continuing.
"Where to?" Tails asked.
"We're going to get some information from our best source." Shadow continued, turning to leave. "From the good Doctor himself."
Tails looked at Shadow curiously, but was quick to follow. He didn't know why, but he was motivated to see things through, and any information he could learn would, and must be of some use. It was Shadow after all, he didn't do things that were pointless.
Sonic had made his way to the lab and was moving boulders, finding it difficult to shift anything, let alone search for anyone. The labour had put his mind off of thinking, but they were quickly creeping back up on him to haunt him. He was looking for his best friend, who he had knew for a long time. How could he have died so young?
Sonic shook his head again, ramming himself against a boulder with little progress. Seriously Rouge, what were you thinking? Ugh, this bites, I can't move something that large. I better see if Knuckles will help, else Rouge will think I just didn't do anything.
His destination set, he sped off, quickly arriving where he needed to be. There were perks to being the fastest thing alive, but you can never out run your troubles. Sonic quickly looked around the Mystic Ruins, speeding off over to Angel Island and to the Master Emerald Shrine, quickly met by it's red guardian, who sat atop of the emerald, looking down on him through closed eyelids.
"Hey Knuckles!" Sonic said, feigning his previous cheery nature. Knuckles replied with a short nod and a grunt, to acknowledge Sonic's presence. "Not even going to say hello back?"
"What do you want?" Knuckles replied, opening an eye to look down on Sonic.
"Cut to the chase, I can dig that." Sonic said, mocking Knuckles playfully. "I need some help moving some things."
"What do I look like, a labourer?!" Knuckles replied aggressively, clearly agitated by such a simple job. "Find someone else!"
"You're the strongest guy who'd do it." Sonic replied, trying to calm Knuckles down.
"Don't patronise me." Knuckles scolded, shutting his eye again.
"Look... I'm digging up Tails' body." Sonic said, his tone back down from his cheery self. "I can't move all the crap there, I need your help to break it or move it."
"What do you mean, your looking for Tails' body?" Knuckles asked, both of his eyes opening curiously.
"What, you don't know?" Sonic said, slightly shocked, but expecting it. "I suppose you wouldn't, spending your time here."
"What? Tell me!" Knuckles said, jumping down from the Master Emerald.
"Tails died last night." Sonic begun, his tone quiet and melancholy. "His lab exploded, and he didn't survive. I'm trying to find his body."
"What...? You're kidding?" Knuckles replied, obviously stunned. "Tell me you're joking!"
"It's... not a joke Knuckles." Sonic said slowly, his voice hurt. "He's dead."
Knuckles didn't take the news too well, turning and slamming his fist into the nearby Master Emerald, fracturing it and chipping pieces off which landed on the ground nearby.
"DAMN IT!" Knuckles shouted, punching the emerald again. "I could have saved him!"
"Huh?" Sonic said, looking at Knuckles curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Tails came here, raving like a lunatic yesterday." Knuckles begun, retrieving his hand from the dented emerald and moving to reclaim the shards. "He was screaming about Chao's being evil. Eggman must have done something!"
"I checked with him. I don't think this one was Eggman." Sonic said, trying to calm Knuckles down. "He didn't gloat or anything, it wouldn't be like him."
"It's Eggman, you idiot!" Knuckles shouted, starting to swing for Sonic, who nimbly ducked the blow. "He's always been a trickster and a liar! It's GOT to be him!"
"Knuckles, calm down..." Sonic tried again.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Knuckles angrily retorted, swinging wildly for Sonic who had to jump the blow. "I could have saved the kid! HE'S ONLY AT GREEN HILL ZONE!"
"It's too late. What's done is done." Sonic tried to comfort Knuckles, but only reopened his own wounds. "Tails... is gone. He deserves to be buried..."
I'll get you for this one, Eggman! Knuckles screamed in his mind, but calmed himself down. "Lets go. He deserves better than being left to rot."
"Y... yeah." Sonic replied, but ready to break down. "I'll... I'll meet you there... there's something... I gotta take care of..." And with that, Sonic sped away, leaving only a trail of dust and noise. Knuckles shook his head, trying to calm down, and begun to glide away towards Green Hill Zone. I'll get you for this Eggman, mark my words.
Shadow and Tails were outside Robotnik's latest fortress, but both were curious as to it's condition.
"It's a wreck." Tails mentioned, looking it up and down. "You don't think Eggman's in here, do you?"
"He's here, but I think the Chao got here first." Shadow mentioned, boosting inside, Tails quickly following after. The path were littered with blast marks, scrapped metal, and wasted explosives. The Chao did all this? What monsters are they, and what power do they have? Tails thought to himself as he flew along. There's no trace of them anywhere. No bodies, no weapons, no scratch marks. Nothing.
"Are you sure it was the Chao?" Tails asked curiously, looking around as they entered a large, dome room full of scrap metal. One of Robotnik's larger machines stood there, it's spiked fists thrown aside and a gaping, spherical hole down the centre of it. It looked to have had no time to react before it was effortlessly destroyed.
"We know little about them, but they know all about us. Who else would it be?" Shadow reminded, progressing quickly through the wreckage.
"That's the robot that Sonic destroyed when we first met..." Tails mentioned, looking back with a hint of nostalgia in his gaze. Shadow made no retort, just progressed onwards.
"Hey... that looks like..." Tails begun, staring at another pile of scrap.
"Me, I know." Shadow finished, jetting past it briskly. "It'll be one of the doctors androids. Looks like something cut it up."
"We must be close then." Tails mentioned, catching up to Shadow.
"Closer than you think." A voice replied, with one of the nearby computer monitors turning on to reveal the face of their balding rival.
"Ah, the doctor himself, always hiding behind his machines." Shadow casually mocked, walking up to the trashed computer.
"I'm not far, but I'm not taking any chances." Robotnik replied, shrugging off Shadow's taunt. "I'm sure you've seen the wreckage."
"Have the Chao come after you already?" Shadow asked, looking around for a camera.
"Oh no, I have Sonic to thank for this mess." Robotnik mentioned with a grunt. "Always trashing my machines, this time without reason."
"Sonic was here?" Tails asked, flying into the room.
"Ah, Tails! So glad to see you safe." Robotnik commented sarcastically, feigning a grin. "Though it was clear someone of our intellect wouldn't be so easily killed, hmm?"
"What happened here?" Tails asked.
"Sonic happened here, foxboy." Robotnik repeated, beginning a mocking, sad tone. "Sonic was so angsty and crying that he came here to commit suicide. Shame he didn't manage to do it, it would have removed a thorn in my side. OOOhohoho~!" Eggman's laugh pierced Tails like an arrow, but he knew better than to fall for the bait.
"Doctor, let's get to business." Shadow stated, stopping his search. "What are these Chao, and how many of them are there?"
"I could ask you the same thing Shadow, all I've heard are Tails' rants here, but his scratches are enough to justify their existence." Robotnik said, looking directly at Tails. "If anyone knows anything, it's our fellow fox here."
"Hmph, what a waste." Shadow said, turning to leave again.
"Off so soon? You didn't even begin." Robotnik mentioned, stopping Shadow. "Sure, we don't know what they are yet, but that doesn't mean they aren't here. And what's existent has some scientific basis."
"What are you implying, doctor?" Shadow asked, looking back over his shoulder.
"What do you always do when something bad happens?" Robotnik asked sarcastically. "You gather up seven Chaos Emeralds, and blow it up."
"Doctor, those things don't die." Shadow mentioned. "How can we kill what we can't?"
"Nothing is invincible. All I need is a sample of something of them, then a weakness would be clear." Robotnik boasted. "But heck, if you can't find a way to knock one out, you could always bring a limb."
"Gross." Tails commented.
"Suck it up." Shadow replied to Tails. "And what's in it for you, doctor?"
"You say it like I have nothing to gain so far!" Robotnik said. "After all, being bested by newcomer villains isn't on my priority list."
It's more than that, Doctor. Shadow thought to himself. "Fine, if we ever get a chance, we'll bring you something. Anything else for us?"
"Ah yes, there was one more thing." Robotnik said, turning from the camera. "This monitor is rigged to blow. You have a good day now! Ooohohohoho~!" With a stunningly high pitched squeal, the monitor exploded in a flare of glass shrapnel and force, knocking over the fox and smashing his head into the nearby wall, making him lose consciousness.
Sonic had returned to the Lab a long time after leaving Angel Island, finding Knuckles was already hard at work with removing the wreckage. He had seperated the rocks and rubble from the machinery and simply piled it up at the side.
"Hey Knux. How's it going?" Sonic started with the small talk, avoiding the current investigation at hand.
"Nothing, but it was Tails' Lab, it will have an underground area. Was just waiting for you about that, actually." Knuckles replied.
"Oh?" Sonic asked, looking around at the area.
"I'm sure you can sprint around and move the smaller pieces down there, so..." Knuckles begun, smashing a hole into the floor he was standing on, jumping down it afterwards.
"Ahh, I see." Sonic said, jumping down after. He proceeded to sprint around the ruined area, noticing that although there was a large explosion above, hardly anything below had truly erupted. There were scorch marks and small holes everywhere, but nothing serious.
"This... can't be right." Knuckles said, looking at the holes. Sonic sped back to Knuckles to check what he had found. "This is a bullet mark!"
"The heck? A gun shot?" Sonic exclaimed, quirking his eye and sprinting off to look around once more. Another scan of the area lead to a trail of bullet marks, and sooner or later, blood. "Yeah, I've found some blood Knuckles. Looks like you're right."
It was only a short moment before Knuckles had came to join him, glancing at the scene.
"Hmm, this blood isn't from a gun shot. Look, it's a splatter mark." Knuckles pointed out, looking at the trail of blood. "And it's constant down the hall, not spotty like a bullet."
"Sheesh, sue me for not using guns." Sonic retorted, staring at the blood. "If not guns, then what, Mr. Expert?" As if by nature, Knuckles looked up to see a large hole in the roof. A quick jump up and sniff showed him one of the larger problems at hand.
"There's slash marks all around here, in sets of three. And there's gas everywhere!" Knuckles explained, jumping back down. "Whoever attacked Tails was suicidal, but Tails must have fought back. Unless his attacker had sharp claws, anyhow."
"Hmm, it would explain the explosion." Sonic begun, pondering. "But why would gas still be there if it was that, and why didn't the roof cave in?"
"Hmm, good point. Follow that trail, it's got to lead somewhere." Knuckles mentioned, pointing to the blood. Sonic was quick to react, following the trail to a second hole in the roof at a concrete floor. There was a large pool of cold blood here too, next to a machine gun and a second pool of... something. The safe that was on the nearby table had also been thrown aside too, and a button behind it pressed.
Tails' self destruct button. That explains the explosion, but what about him? Sonic thought to himself. He sprinted back to Knuckles to inform him of what he found. "A gun, no body, and a black cesspool."
"Black cesspool?" Knuckles exclaimed, pushing past Sonic to look for himself. "What the heck IS that?"
"Beats me, but looks like he's not here." Sonic shrugged, standing next to Knuckles once again.
"You're right, looks like the trail backtracks here too. It must follow the trail we found." Knuckles explained, tracing the direction he supposedly found with his eyes. "Let's follow it until it ends." Sonic, eager to find out what had happened to his buddy, once again sprinted off, chasing the trail through the lab to many locations, all ending at a button which was pressed in, and finally leading up the stairs, back outside to the rubble. He quickly began to throw the nearby rocks aside, hearing tinks and clunks as they collided with metal and other rocks, soon to discover another path of blood. Thin and small, however, leading on towards the nearby beach. The end of the trail stopped at a smouldered campfire, the remains of burned fish on the ground and around the air. Knuckles, who had finally caught up to Sonic, was looking down at the pile.
"What does this mean?" Knuckles wondered aloud, staring at the mess.
"What do you think? It means my little buddy's alive!" Sonic said, glee and anticipation in his voice.
"And in danger, by whoever chased him." Knuckles reminded. "We better find him, fast."
"Yeah, but what can we do at this time?" Sonic said, looking up for the sun, only to find it had been replaced with a moon, half metallic, half rock which floated around the sky.
"I guess you're right. But we'll have to search for him tomorrow." Knuckles mentioned, turning to leave. "Get some rest, and get up early. That boy needs our help."
"You don't have to tell me twice. See you, knucklehead!" Sonic quipped, sprinting off into the moonlit horizon. Knuckles gave him a flat stare, but broke into a smile. Perhaps the boy wasn't dead, but he is still in trouble. Knuckles shook his head and jumped into the air, beginning his flight back to Angel Island.