Chapter 3
Tails stared out at the vast city before them in awe. The three white planes flew by overhead as the others got off the Typhoon. "Wow! This place is amazing!" Amy said coming up behind Tails.
Tails looked out from the entrance of the air hangar at the futuristic city laid out before him. Amy was right. Almost all the buildings were a pure white, rivaling the polish and refinement of the three squirrels' planes. Amazing was just the right word for it.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Tails turned around and saw Amy had gone off to be with Sonic and in her place stood Levee smiling down at him kindly. Tails just stared up at her unsure of what to say.
She glanced back at Sonic and the others to make sure they weren't nearby then looked back down at Tails but her pleasant expression was gone, "Listen up fox," she said harshly, as though 'fox' was a sort of insult, "I know you haven't the slightest clue what's been going on here on my planet but we've been at war with your… 'type' for a long time now. You won't be welcome by most citizens so I suggest you stay away from the city; for all of our sakes." With that she turned and headed off to address the others.
Tails stood there staring after her in disbelief. After she spoke to them for a moment Levee started to leave and the others were following her. "Come on Tails!" Sonic called.
Tails folded his arms across his chest in a huff and reluctantly followed along as they left the hangar.
Levee led them down a small flight of stairs and into a wide white hallway with thin gold outlines on the walls. Tails stared up at them for a moment before looking back at the marble floor and continuing after the others.
Then they went through an open doorway out into a large grassy courtyard. Along the edges were marble pillars that could rival Greek architecture and a brick patch was laid out down through the center of the grass breaking off towards the glass doors lining the walls to the left and right. Farther forward a large stairway led down into another similarly built courtyard.
Levee paused and looked back at them, "A tram into the city is just through those glass doors." She said pointing to the right, "However, if some of you would prefer to stay around the palace for awhile I'd be happy to take you myself." She added shooting a glance at Tails.
Shadow seemed to notice and immediately spoke up, "Going to the palace sounds fine. The last thing I need is to be in a city with a huge crowd." He said.
Sonic put his arm around Shadow's shoulder, "Aww, c'mon buddy! We can spend some time catching up!" he said with a sly smile.
Shadow pushed him away, "Back off. I barely know your name." Shadow mumbled angrily.
"I'll go with him." Tails said casting a fearful glance at Levee, "I'm uh… not feeling too well."
Sonic shrugged, "Alright suit yourselves." He said.
Amy immediately grabbed Sonic's arm, "Come on Sonikku! You can take me shopping!" she squealed as she hauled him off towards the doors.
"Catch you guys later." Chris called as they all ran after them.
Cosmo paused, "Are you sure you don't want to come, Tails. I'm sure it will be fun." She said.
Tails smiled weakly, "Yeah, don't worry about me. I'll see you when you come back." He said.
Cosmo smiled and ran after the others.
As soon as they were out of sight Levee's friendly smile faded. She groaned impatiently and turned away, "Follow me." She called back. Tails and Shadow followed after her making sure to keep their distance.
Levee headed to the other side of the courtyard and gracefully strode down a marble stairway. When they reached the bottom she looked back, "The palace is just ahead through those metal gates. I've already forwarded a warning to the palace personnel so you can go wherever you like… with the exception of the basement of course." She said glancing down at Tails, "I have business to attend to. Try not to get lost."
With that she turned and strode off to the right through another set of glass doors. "Presumptuous, isn't she?" Shadow mumbled.
Tails just stood there for a moment then headed towards the silver gates towards the end of the courtyard. Shadow followed behind him, "There's something really weird about this place." Tails said, "And Levee is just as strange. You should have heard her talking to me before about some sort of war and a rebel fox army…"
Shadow glanced ahead at the gates where two squirrels were standing guard, "Don't they have anything besides squirrels on this planet?" he wondered.
Tails glared up at Shadow, who obviously wasn't listening to him, "I'm pretty sure they do." He said as they reached the gate. The two squirrels pushed open the large gates for them and allowed them to enter.
"What are we supposed to do for the whole day in this dumb palace?" Tails asked to nobody in particular.
"I say we go check out what's in that basement she mentioned." Shadow said with a sly smile.
Tails stopped and glared back at the hedgehog, "I don't want to go against what Levee said. She already doesn't like me!" he said.
"Who said she has to find out?" Shadow asked walking past him, "Besides, don't you want to know what's going on around this place? You mentioned some sort of war, right? Well, maybe you can find out about it down there."
"Or maybe that's where Levee went and if we go down there we'll be caught right away!" Tails argued.
Shadow rolled his eyes, "Whatever. I'll let you know what I find. Have fun waiting for Sonic and the others to get back." With that Shadow headed off down the long white hall to find the basement.
Tails thought for a moment and then ran after Shadow, "Wait! I'm coming!" he called.
Shadow continued to walk down the hall looking for some clue as to where a staircase might be. However he didn't have to wait long because a minute later they arrived in a sort of grand entrance room.
A large marble stairway with a red carpet rolled down it made up the center of the room. It led up to another level and then split into two separate stairways heading in opposite directions and out of sight on an unseen third level. The room itself was quite magnificent to behold; a golden chandelier hung from the ceiling giving the whole room a faint glow, the same pillars from the courtyard lined the walls stretching up to the ceiling and the railing of the stairway was pure gold and lined with all sorts of precious gems.
"Spared no expense I see." Shadow mumbled.
"Over there!" Tails said pointing. A small passage leading downwards disappeared into the left side of the stairs.
The two approached the small flight of stairs and looked down. A thick iron door stood just a few steps down. It took quite a bit away from the white shine of the walls around it.
Shadow approached the door and tried twisting the knob. The door swung open to reveal a grey stone stairway leading down into the darkness.
Tails and Shadow just stared for a moment, "How inviting." Tails said with a weak smile.
"Come on." Shadow said continuing down the stairs. Tails cautiously followed him. The steps were uneven and clearly the effort put into the room above had not been bothered with down here.
Finally the floor leveled out and the dark was dissolved by single light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. Tails just stared down the hall before them; it was a dungeon. A dozen cells with thick metal bars were built into the walls. Across was another stairway, presumably, leading to the other side of the marble stairs above.
Tails went forward past Shadow and looked into them. Much to his surprise, they were empty.
As he reached the last cell he stopped and stared. A red fox sat in the corner with his face in his hands. Around his wrists were heavy chains tying him off to the wall behind him so he couldn't approach the bars.
After a moment he seemed to notice Tails' presence and looked up. Tails immediately noticed his eyes; they were a vibrant turquoise color that contrasted his fur so distinctly that it was almost humorous. However, their color seemed to be almost dull and seemed to reflect a feeling of hopelessness.
This look only remained for a moment though because a second after he spotted Tails his eyes lit up in excitement. Tails took a step back, "Who are you?" he demanded.
The fox's excitement seemed to fade. Tails noticed he was giving him the same look Levee had given him when he'd asked her the same question.
"Who are you talking to?" Shadow asked coming up behind Tails.
"I'm Cree." The fox said placing a hand on his chest, as if Tails and Shadow should know exactly who he was. As Tails looked closer at his hand he realized it was grey. He wondered why for a moment but then realized it was mechanical.
"Why have you been locked up?" Shadow asked.
Cree raised an eyebrow, "Have you been living in a cave?" he demanded.
"We're not from this planet." Tails replied, "We're here because Levee attacked our ship by accident and offered to repair it."
At the mention of Levee's name Cree's expression became hard, "Don't believe anything that demon tells you!" he said standing up, "She has never done anything for anybody unless she could benefit from it."
"I don't see what she'd want with us." Tails replied, "In fact she treats me like dirt."
"I thought so. Tell me," Cree said leaning up against the wall, "Have you seen any other foxes around Dey Ruien besides me?"
"No-"
"Exactly!"
"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.
"The reason you haven't seen them is because Levee has them walled up in a little corner of the city." Cree explained, "The only way in is if you're one of her royal guards… and the only way out is if you're dead."
Tails flinched slightly at Cree's spiteful tone. Clearly he didn't care much for Levee or her hierarchy. "Why does she keep them there?" Tails asked.
"They're prisoners." Cree said calmly, "So long as they're still alive she can threaten to kill them off if we decide to attack."
"We?"
"The rebel army." Cree said.
"Are you involved with them?" Shadow asked.
"Involved? I'm their leader!" Cree retorted, "I came here to steal back an ancient weapon Levee stole from us but… as you can see that didn't work out like I'd hoped."
Then a loud clanging was heard from up the stairs. "Someone's coming!" Shadow called, "Come on!" He ran towards the stairway. Tails made to follow, "Kid! Wait!"
Tails paused and looked back at Cree, "In the northwest corner of Dey Ruien- that's where the fox ghetto is. On the east wall there's a small hole in the bottom, the foxes in there will be able to explain things better than I can."
Tails nodded and ran after Shadow.
Shadow reached the top of the stairs and Tails soon came up and slammed the door shut. "Shadow, we have to go to that ghetto and find out more about this war." Tails said forcefully.
Shadow nodded, "Alright. Let's go!" The two ran off down the hall they'd come and didn't even notice Levee watching them from the stairs above them. While she should have been angry that Tails and Shadow had disobeyed her orders, instead along her muzzle she wore a sinister smile, as if things couldn't have gone better for her.
