Chapter 9-

"Why does she have to be so difficult?" The fox sighed. Did she not hear what I said? Confused, and perhaps a little hurt, Tails picked up the scrap of metal and went back inside. He figured that if he stayed up analyzing it his mind wouldn't focus on Amy.

It was noon when the exhausted fox woke up. Groggily, he took in his surroundings as he wondered why his left cheek ached so much. He had fallen asleep in his garage on top of his tools. At first he lectured himself for falling asleep, but then calmed down when he saw the results of his work. He carefully looked at the notes he jotted down last night and the chip he had uncovered. Eggman's logo was engraved on it, just like it had been so many times in the past. Some things never change… the robot did include a camera but it was meant to record the video onto a CD, it was not sending live feedback to a source. This meant the source couldn't be traced back, but it also meant that Eggman had no way of identifying the illusions, so they could be used again. No other recordings had been made. No other information was in the chip. No new information available…

He decided to send a quick message to the others with what he had discovered. He'd let them plan out their next move; he didn't have the energy to deal with that now. They'd probably consider the idea of infiltrating the government building, although he wasn't sure how they'd be able to pull that off.

Tails' rumbling stomach reminded him that he had not eaten in hours. Half-heartedly he walked into the kitchen where he guessed Amy would be. Bingo. There she was, preparing lunch. She ignored the fox when he walked in and continued ignoring him as he looked into the refrigerator for something to eat. He wondered if Amy was making lunch for all of them, or only for herself, and if he could ask her for something. Of course not. She's mad at you. The fox mentally sighed as he ignored his mind's comment. He kept his gaze on the refrigerator not knowing what to eat. All he craved for was milk, the one thing they didn't have.

"How long are you planning on being in my way?" Amy asked, exasperated. At first the fox thought she meant that he was in the way of her life, so he readily turned around and was about to snap at her when he realized he was standing between her and the refrigerator. Oh. He moved away, albeit offended at her tone.

"Where is Sophie? Shouldn't she be preparing lunch?" Tails asked hoping he could start a conversation.

"She went with the others to try to get more food," the hedgehog replied as she shut the refrigerator's door.

"I see. It isn't safe here for them."

"Nowhere is genius."

"Cut the crap Amy, stop giving me an attitude. I'm not here to annoy you and I'm not talking to you just to get in your face. I think they should leave. If anyone catches us and they are with us they will most probably be killed and I don't want innocent people that have been trying to help us dead."

The pink hedgehog, with a bowl in hand, looked at the fox with a scowl. She wanted to start a fight, she wanted to yell at the insensitive fox, make him understand how she felt. Instead she swallowed hard and asked, "where would they go?"

"I think they should find an apartment in Station Square and act like the others. It's the safest thing."

"You do realize that we'd have to make up a story for them. Where they were before, why they moved, why they want to stay in Station Square. Besides, someone might recognize them and-"

"And it's not like they can use the glasses because there's a time limit," Tails interrupted her. The hedgehog nodded, a little bit reluctantly.

"So what's your plan?"

"I was thinking—"

A shrieking sound outside interrupted Tails' train of thought. He mouthed 'duck' and the pink hedgehog complied. They waited in silence for a few minutes but whatever had made that sound failed to make it again. For a moment fear clutched the fox's throat, but he remained cold faced. He knew none of them were safe anymore. The recent events in the Mystic Ruins were suspicious and he knew it was only a matter of time until Eggman figured out exactly what was happening. Not only did the other have to move to a safer place, but they all had to start acting now. And I think I know what we should do.

"Amy, we have to assemble. The others have to come meet us, it's time for a comeback," he whispered.

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'll tell you when we're all here. Can you take the passage and get Sophie and the others? I'm going to contact Sonic."

"You expect me to go outside after we just heard that?" she asked skeptically.

"I think it's gone. You'll be fine, I know you will."

For a split second Amy thought she had heard affection in his voice. He wasn't worried for her safety because he thought she could take care of herself, but maybe he still cared. She knew that now wasn't the time to argue or bring up a long conversation about feelings, so she simply nodded. Tails watched her get up and leave. He admired her. Once she left he made his way to the laptop. He sent a quick assembly message and hoped the others would arrive soon. If his plan was going to work they had to act fast.

Amy ran towards the nearest clearing as she checked if her glasses were on. Knowing that this was the only place left to look for them, she looked anxiously around her. She couldn't hear anyone, nor did she see the silhouettes of anyone. Beads of cold sweat ran down her neck as panicky thoughts filled her head. She had thoroughly checked every farming area for her friends, and not even a hint was to be found in any of them. If they weren't here, the worst was to be expected.

She slowed to a steady walk, stepping on tall grass and searching. Scared on the possibilities, she gulped down her pride and attempted contact with Tails. The fox promptly answered, curious as to the reason for contact.

"I couldn't find them Tails. I'm still looking around the clearing, but what are we going to do if they're gone? Eggman will kill them."

"Stay calm and steady. Maybe they're crouching or took cover in a cave. Whatever made that screeching noise earlier might've scared them," Tails tried to comfort her as he loudly worked on some metal and banged on his keyboard.

The drying grass was everywhere, it seemed like nothing green and fresh could be planted on the clearing's soil. Everything would turn into a drying golden yellow, barren and lifeless. It was unnaturally quiet, as if every ant and cricket had fled in fear. Nothing but the wind, the clouds, the drying grass and sterile soil and the unexpected visitor. The further in she walked the more depressing the view seemed. It was as if miles below there wasn't a clear sea bursting with life, and miles above flickies flying freely. A sea breeze would be everything but fitting with the scene.

And that was when the stench of blood hit her.

On the floor, camouflaged by the tall grass, was the body of a beheaded female human. A few meters north was another beheaded body, this time of a middle aged man. To the east was another body, presumably of a teenager, and to the west another male. All with laser wounds, all reeking of brunt meat and blood. No signature was left behind, not even the Eggman label, so there was no way to know for sure who had created this gory painting with real life. But Amy knew it was him. It had to be him.

All Tails heard was the sudden sucking of air and then panicked panting. No movement, no words, just panting. Never had he heard this from Amy, and the only reason he could find for such abnormal behavior was shock. They're dead. Nothing would shock her, or hurt her more. She needs me there. Sonic and the others were expected to arrive any minute, finding Amy would mean lost time explaining and putting the plan into practice. Not finding Amy would mean an emotional unstable, and thus unusable, agent. It could even lead to her acting irrationally and compromising the entire mission. But it was more than that. Not finding her would mean abandoning a friend; it would lead to a broken Amy that would take years to fix, and something about that made him want to cry. She would need comfort and closure. And their friends needed rest, peace, and respect.

Warm hands touched her shoulders and wrapped themselves around her. Soothing whispers tried to calm her panting. They weren't safe. Someone could be watching them. Yet they could not leave. He ran his hands up and down her arms and turned her body around to face him. Green eyes wide open, dry, awake. She did not deserve this kind of suffering. A soft kiss on the forehead, and he then sat her down on the grass next to a shovel. She looked from the shovel to the fox multiple times before letting her eyes close and tears fall. A reassuring pat, before he picked the tool up and walked past her towards the reddened grass.

The graves weren't very deep, for lack of time, but each body was buried with its matching head, that were all found piled together not far from Jason's body. Tails looked around in the hopes of finding some kind of flower, but there was nothing but sickening death. He let his gratitude for Sophie's kindness show as he spoke of the deceased, but tried his best to contain his tears. They were good people who had survived in a harsh world…or tried to. And it was his fault they were killed. He was meant to protect them. If everyone had been dead or if everyone had stopped meddling with Eggman they could still be alive… but guilt can eat you up, so you have to control it. He had been slowly getting better at dealing with death and guilt; he could not lose it now. Revenge. It was time to stop these useless deaths.

Tails walked back next to Amy, where she was still sitting and pulling her legs towards her chest. "We'll come back with flowers next time, and we'll turn this clearing bright green and full of life. They deserve that."

Scooping the hedgehog up, he took off towards the workshop. The last few sunrays still shone on the clearing. It was sundown, and he'd have some explaining to do.