Chapter 6-

Espio looked at Knuckles. The gawking illusion was still getting accustomed to his surroundings. He had never been a fan of the city, but this new kind of city was definitely a place he'd want to avoid. You still heard the cars and the occasional chatter, but nothing seemed natural. People seemed to be programmed to walk a certain way, at a certain speed and towards a certain area without side tracks. Smiles were rare, laughter was inexistent. The city looked dead.

Someone bumped into Knuckles by accident. Without even a glance the person kept walking. Predicting Knuckles's next move Espio patted his shoulder and shook his head as if to say 'no use in getting into an argument'.

"But that guy just bumped into me and didn't even apologize," he complained. Espio simply shook his head once more. The two kept walking down the street. Despite Espio's exquisite hair color, a light shade of purple, they didn't draw much attention.

"Where are we going first?" Knuckles asked.

"We're going to locate the government's headquarters. It's too early to infiltrate, so after that we're going to the police."

"Don't tell me you're planning on siding with them to get on the inside…" Knuckles mumbled.

"That would be too risky. You're going in to report a robbery which is going to happen in ten minutes while I go to the backroom and check their files," Espio explained.

"Oh, 'cause that's not risky at all…"

Another shop. Great. Somehow our surveillance tour around the city turned into a tour of the local mall. Correction, it wasn't a tour of the entire mall, only a tour of the female boutiques present at the mall. I couldn't stand seeing all these women trying on clothes, perfumes, make-up…

Rouge showed up with a new handbag. Well, at least she can't change outfits because of her illusion. I looked around for Sonic. Great, he's in the opposite store, a shoe shop, looking at tennis shoes. They clearly don't understand the urgency of the situation.

"That's it. I'm leaving you two here and going off alone," I stated with finality.

"Oh Raven, relax! Azure and I will leave in a second."

"Raven? Azure?"

Rouge nodded. Well of course she can't call me Shadow and can't call him Sonic, but Raven and Azure? Does she want me to call her Red or Scarlet? Using my glasses I connected with Sonic and hissed,

"We're leaving. We don't have time for games."

That stupid hedgehog calmly replied,

"Chill. We're learning by simply being in contact with the other humans. I mean, they do act differently. They're all so stiff!"

I would have been better off if I had been paired up with Amy.

So the government building is packed with security guards. That was expected, right? How the hell we're ever going to infiltrate it is beyond me. I mean, it's not like we're going to enter it through the sewers or ventilation like in the movies. I really hope Espio comes up with a good plan which doesn't only consist of him getting invisible and me covering his back. I'll be a dead echidna if that happens.

We turned back after receiving a glance from one of the guards outside the door. Man, he looked intimidating with that muscular build. I'd still be able to knock him down though. If only he hadn't two hundred other guys like him guarding this place…

Espio and I began making our way towards the police headquarters. True enough a robbery did occur; I guess Espio had predicted it by observing the assailant. We didn't walk for more than five minutes until the headquarters were in sight. Great, so they're close to the government building. So not only do we have to infiltrate a building with two hundred gorillas guarding it, we also have to deal with the annoying cops who'll get there in three minutes if we're caught. How merry.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied.

"You don't look confident."

"Well no kidding. We'll talk about this later."

"Fine. I'm going to walk into that restaurant and use the bathroom. That way the cameras won't capture my image…" Espio said while walking away. I waved, pretending we were two friends each going his own way. Alright, let's do this. I slowly made my way towards the entrance of the building. It was a red-brick building with three floors and what appeared to be training grounds behind it. Soon enough Espio contacted me using his sunglasses.

"I turned invisible in the bathroom. Once someone opens the door to the restaurant I'm leaving. Only open the door when I contact you so we can go in at the same time."

"Got it."

A few seconds went by. I took a deep breath and approached the blue door to the building.

"Alright, open it."

As ordered…Ordered?! Fine. Slowly I opened the door. A security guard was standing inside. He stepped aside and let me pass into the reception area. Here goes…

"Hello, I would like to report a robbery."

His troubled visage only deepened my pain. It hurt to see him this miserable. As he approached the base with his eyes downcast I felt anxiety rise. What to do? What to say? I don't know… but I can't let things stay as they are. Can I? Would it be better if I did?

"Amy…" he mumbled. I hadn't noticed how close he was to me until he spoke.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just… getting some fresh air," I lied. It hurt to lie to Tails, but I didn't want him to know that I was following him. He could start thinking I was suspicious of him or something.

"You don't have to lie," he mumbled.

"What?"

"I said that you don't have to lie," he raised his voice. I watched his hand turn into a trembling fist.

"T-Tails…" I whispered. He was now looking at the floor; I was unable to see his eyes… Do I want to see his eyes? The pain that's probably there?

When he did look up his eyes showed no pain. A pair of stolid eyes, an image which I won't forget too soon, looked back at me. I would have preferred his face to express pain, insecurity or fear instead of a wall of indifference. Please don't do this to yourself, Tails… you're so kind natured…

"It's getting cold. I'm going inside. You can freeze out here if you want."

I didn't reply. Couldn't reply. Why this cold demeanor? We care for him; we want to help him, what happened… it wasn't his fault.

"Or, Amy, you can come in too. I don't bite."

It's all archived electronically… I should've guessed. Invisibly I walked around the back room. It contained two locked computers and only one file cabinet. That's where the few written files were probably kept before they were digitalized. I swiftly opened the cabinet. Report on a burglary, report on vandalism of John Doe's house, this month's parking ticket's log… these are all minor reports! They must have all the major reports on the computer…

Although it's not my specialty, I do have some computer skills. I could try to hack into the computer, but I don't know much about modern technology…except for what Dr. Luke taught me a few days ago…

There he is, scowling again. Gee, Shadow should really try to have a bit more fun. Well, it's not like this atmosphere helps any. Everyone is just so stiff! They were exactly the same way back at the mall. The kids are walking quietly next to their parents, both men and women barely talk, and laughter is simply nonexistent. And where are all the teenagers? School?

We've been walking down the streets for awhile now and nothing seems to change. Sure, the scenery changes, but not the people…

"Hey Azure, you're the one who lived here the longest… is any of this familiar?" Rouge asked. True, I'm the most familiar with Station Square out of the three of us, even though both Rouge and Shadow have lived in the city as well.

"It's a little more… grey and I'm pretty sure the park's gone. The train station used to be near a hotel, the Casino and Twinkle Park, but now it's right by the mall… I wonder if that area still exists," he answered.

"I was wondering about that too. Only one way to find out."

We kept walking, half guessing where we were going. Asking for directions was out of the question. First of all, people didn't look friendly. Second, if those places no longer existed it would look suspicious having someone ask about them. We kept going until… until we reached a very sad part of town.

Even if this has spyware they can't track me down… but they'll get suspicious. Well, it's too late to think about that now. Let's see… government orders? Sounds interesting. I wonder what the government has ordered the police to do this past month. I quickly read the log, but one specific date stood out. 11/1/xxxx.

9/1/xxxx : Kidnap Jack Hughes

10/1/xxxx: Monthly check-up at SSC's prison

11/1/xxxx : Search the Mystic Ruins for anomalies

I stared at the computer for a few seconds. There were two logical thoughts going through my mind. One, this could be a routine check-up at the Mystic Ruins, or two, someone high up was getting suspicious. Probably Dr. Robotnik. But apart from the incident at Tails's workshop there hadn't been any reason to be suspicious…

Crap. The guy died and won't come back with a report. Now they'll be suspicious.

Before I logged off and left the room exactly as it was before, a new entry caught my eye. It had today's date.

12/1/xxxx: Search failed. Locate agent, determine cause of death

I have to warn the others.

What had once been Station Square's train station looked like a refugee camp. In fact, the entire area looked like a refugee camp. Twinkle Park was closed down; the hotel seemed to be falling apart. The casino area was dirty, filled with trash and improvised tents. All the shops, diners, and the casino itself were closed and barred.

Despite all the improvised tents, no one seemed to be living in them. The area was deserted, apart from two passed out men lying on the floor in front of what used to be the train station, and a couple of shadows hiding in the corners. What used to be one of the best parts of town was now a slum. Looking at it was simply depressing. Sonic seemed to agree with me. His eyes betrayed his serious face; I could tell that he was upset.

Shadow kicked an empty bottle of vodka. It rolled down the street until it hit an upturned trash can. If things are this bad here I can't imagine how they'll be at the beach. That's when the three of us got contacted by Knuckles.

"Espio found something. We need to go back to the lab. We're taking the train now. Take the next one, it leaves in forty minutes."

I had to ask him why he was acting this way. I know it will sound like a stupid question, his strange behavior is due to what happened yesterday, but I want Tails to open up. He's been lying down on his mattress for the past hour, just staring at the ceiling. I wonder what he's thinking, what he's feeling…

We were alone in the lab; it would be the perfect opportunity for us to speak without anyone else present. I observed him. It didn't look like he was going to speak any time soon, and I wondered if he'd even answer my questions. Slowly his head turned to my direction; he must've sensed my stare. Dead-blue eyes stared into mine as I suppressed a shiver.

"Just ask. I know you want to."

He was right. I did want to ask. The only difference was that now I wasn't sure why I wanted to ask. Was it for a selfish reason? Did I just want to reassure myself that Tails was alright and wouldn't…hurt me? Or did I genuinely want him to open up because I believe it will make him feel better?

Chuckling, he stood up. Silently his eyes scanned the room until they stopped on me once again. Unable to decipher his behavior, I stood up as well and began walking towards him. He didn't flinch, nor did he avoid my eyes. We stood centimeters away from one another for a few seconds, staring at each other. The reason as for why I had to ask him the question did not matter any longer. Both of us needed to hear it, both the question and the answer. So, without glancing away, I asked,

"Why?"

His impassive stare no longer disturbed me. I waited patiently for an answer, but sensing none would come I reinforced my question.

"Why are you acting this way?"

For one single second he looked away. For one single second I saw Tails, our Tails.

"Because there is no other way for me to act," he replied, almost angrily.

"That's not true," I murmured. Soon I'd regret having voiced my opinion.

"How would you know? You weren't the one who attack an innocent and brought death upon him. You aren't the one who'll have to live with this, who will never be forgiven!" His voice steadily increased until he was yelling.

"Tails don't you see? There is nothing to forgive! You've done nothing wrong. What happened was horrible, but it was an accident. If you'd have left the man alone we could've all died! And without us all of the people around us would live in constant agony under Eggman's rule! Can't you see that?" I yelled back.

"Being dead or alive isn't going to change a thing! Do you really think we're going to be able to defeat Eggman? He's practically omnipotent Amy!" he retorted.

For a couple of seconds we stayed silent and looked at one another. Tails didn't react to my lack of response; he didn't even smile in triumph. He's practically omnipotent. Tails was right; I could never deny the fact that Eggman currently had the upper hand… but that didn't mean we couldn't- wouldn't- fight back! Even if the probability of us defeating him is low, even if we must go through hell to defeat him, we have to try. Everyone saw this, including Tails in the beginning… so why, why, why?

"What happened to your optimism?" I finally responded in a whisper.

"It died yesterday, along with a few other things."

"That's not true. Nothing died yesterday, Tails. You don't have to hide your feelings, be indifferent, pessimistic… no one's judging you, so you can be who you are and no one else. Tails, we both know that this isn't who you are. You're an optimistic, kind, happy and intelligent fox. So please…"

"Amy, stop it. Stop trying to read me. If I want to keep my emotions at bay, let me keep them there. If I want to be indifferent, I'll be indifferent."

There was nothing I could say. I couldn't force him to revert back to his old self… no, Tails was hurt, and he needed time to sooth his pain. So, instead of pressing on as I wanted to, for I couldn't handle having Tails act this way, I decided to give him time and space. I went back to the computer and began absent-mindedly looking at some files while the fox behind me stood staring at my back.

A very short chapter, but I think it's better to break here and leave the rest for another chapter.

In this chapter I tried to divide in to various points of view. It's just something I was trying out, but usually I will stick to third person.

Thanks for reading, and please review!