A/N: Having a miniature existential crisis right now due to being completely sure that I posted this chapter nearly a year ago, and only just discovered tonight while editing/writing the next two chapters that apparently I was mistaken.


Sparks occasionally danced across Esplouge's vision, temporarily drowning out the world behind a wall of fuzzy static for a few brief moments at a time. Flashes of images that he knew weren't really there, as though something

the Chaos Emerald

was trying to communicate with him in some sort of abstract fashion that only they and he could truly understand. It was their own personal, private language. A language of abstract images, amalgams of shapes lost in a sea of static, and irresistible urges. Words were a mere translation. Words could never come close to properly conveying the meaning. It was something to simply be understood, by him and him alone.

For a period of time that seemed to stretch on for hours, Esplouge stared blankly down at his captive, barely even focused on the smaller fox. Other than some stray tears, Tails wasn't really doing anything. Just laying there, staring back up at him. Doing nothing to keep Esplouge's attention on the world outside his head, and so within his focus remained.

He needed all of them.

Six.

Never mind, he needed six of them. His full power, whatever it may be, would be revealed to him as well as the rest of the world if he could only get his hands on the four remaining Chaos Emeralds. They wanted him. He knew they wanted him to find them, but they were having fun with their game of hide-and-seek. A playful little game for them before they revealed themselves to him, gave him the unimaginable power he utterly craved, allowed him to reshape the entire world into something a little more close to perfect.

I will make everything perfect...

"I am going to give you the charred remains of the world," Esplouge muttered, only partially aware of having spoken out loud at all. Wasn't sure if his words were aimed at Tails or at whatever it was that was trying to communicate

the Chaos Emerald

with him. Regardless of which it was, Esplouge ran a gentle finger across Tails' cheek, just underneath his eye, to wipe some of the tears away. He wasn't sure why his hand had done such a thing. It wasn't something he had consciously thought about doing.

"When everything else is razed and gone, you and me will have each other," Esplouge continued, unaware that he was even speaking. Tails wasn't showing any signs of response, so the words couldn't have been said out loud. He was just thinking. "Just the two of us. Until the end of time. And it will be beautiful."

He relished the thought of sitting with Tails in a castle of bones, constructed from the otherwise useless skeletons of the fallen. The two of them would gaze occasionally out of one of the windows and take in the complete ruin the world was left in. And they would both be happy.

Until Tails had to die.

Some small part in the back of Esplouge's mind wondered why he couldn't just make himself kill Tails right now. It would be so easy. To slice his throat open with glass, listen to those slow, dying gurgles. To bash his fragile skull in with a Chaos Emerald, relishing the sound and feeling of the bone crunching. To strangle the smaller fox with his bare hands, getting to watch the life drain from Tails' eyes as he struggled in vain to breathe. There were so many, endless possibilities...

No.

There was still so much to do with him. So many people that Tails cared about who were still running around, perfectly alive. He couldn't bear to kill Tails before showing him the bloodied pieces of what remained of each and every one of his little friends. And for that to happen, he needed the Chaos Emeralds. Their power that would allow him to wipe out everything effortlessly. Easily. Efficiently.

Just one big explosion of chaos energy to wipe out everything.

He thought back to the pressure panels that were installed in the walls in this facility. When had those been installed? He could only vaguely remember having done it, sometime before he had gone out to find a captive. It seemed like so long ago now. He hadn't really known what he was doing at the time. Something had told him what to do, how to do it. And he had followed its instructions, mindlessly obeying like the slave that he was.

In a short-lived moment of lucidity, Esplouge realized that he truly had no control. Over anything. The things he heard and saw that the Chaos Emerald planted in his head, the uncontrollable thoughts and urges it...

As quickly as it had come, the moment of lucidity was gone.

The only thing he truly had control over was underneath him, staring up at him with eyes full of fear. Those eyes hadn't blinked in a few minutes, although they were still watery, so it probably balanced out. Esplouge stared back at Tails blankly for several long moments before finally speaking up.

"... I'm going to go out to find our other friends," Esplouge said, his voice a touch lighter than usual. He smiled at Tails, fully convinced that the expression was genuinely friendly and not unnerving in the slightest. "I can feel them when they're close, so it shouldn't take long. You just... Stay here where they can't hurt you, okay? You're safe here..."

Esplouge hopped to his feet before giving Tails a chance to process or respond to any part of what he had said, had locked the door to Tails' cell and started walking away before Tails had found the will to so much as move. It would take some time, but he knew that Tails would eventually understand. Tails was smart.

As he walked, Esplouge clutched his two Chaos Emeralds tightly in his hands as if attempting to physically squeeze the power out of them. It felt so amazing, the energy pulsing through every inch of his veins. Intense and powerful. And this was only a small taste of what he would be capable of once he managed to get the other four.

He could feel the sparks that had danced across his vision bend to his will, snaking around his arms and legs, fizzling out at the ends once they reached the tips of his fingers and toes. Spiraling endlessly in anticipation of being thrown at any poor soul unfortunate enough to cross his path. That thought alone was enough to make him laugh.


Everything's breaking

Slowly falling apart at my feet

I feel so alone

Yet I can hear them calling to me

From somewhere very far away

"Together..." they whisper

"We'll shatter this world"

A million little pieces of broken glass

Littering every inch of the ground that covers the earth

Reflecting back the destruction and carnage

To the heavens up above

And at the end of it all

Only two of us will remain...


It was incredibly difficult to focus on anything that was happening around him, no matter how much Amy tried to keep him engaged. There was just too much going on inside. As if everything in Sonic's mind was somehow racing so fast, everything just... skidded to a halt. Couldn't be processed. On top of that, he felt a little dizzy. Although that may have been from the blood loss.

Either way, it was still hard to focus on whatever it was Amy had been saying at him. It had been over an hour. How was she still finding things to talk about? How was she even capable of finding casual, inane things to talk about while Tails was...

It's like she doesn't even care. My best friend could be dead and all she's doing right now...

Sonic felt a pang of guilt. Why had he been thinking this? Of course Amy cared, Amy was the only person he was absolutely sure he could trust to care at this point. The one person he knew there was no reason to ever doubt.

Although...

Now that Sonic thought about it, this entire situation, being here alone with Amy, felt a little... convenient. Of course she didn't mind just 'happening' to wind up here alone with him for what would likely be a few hours. Of course she was perfectly content to just chat and chat away about inane subjects, seeming to completely ignore the awful situation Esplouge had put them all in.

Did she... did she plan this?

Had she been waiting for Rouge's impatience to get the better of her when it was just the three of them left in the house? Had she really been planning this 'unexpected' alone time?

No, she... Amy wouldn't do something like that. She cares just as much about Tails' safety as I do. She's not selfish...

Sonic's attention was torn from his thoughts by a hand waving in front of his face. He stared at the hand for a moment before making confused eye contact with Amy.

"Are you okay, Sonic?" Amy asked. "You were kind of spacing out there for a minute."

Of freaking course I'm not okay, my best friend might be...!

"... I'm just... I'm just really tired right now," Sonic mumbled. Rested his forehead in his palm, closed his eyes. Was only just now becoming consciously aware of a headache that had probably been present for hours. Every little noise felt explosively loud.

Amy was silent for a few blissful moments, thankfully speaking a little quieter than she had been when she finally spoke up again.

"... You should go sleep on one of the beds. I'll try to stay quiet out here until Knuckles, Shadow, and Rouge get back, okay?"

Sonic mumbled something resembling an agreement and made himself get up, shuffled over to the room he usually occupied whenever he stayed with Tails. Some quiet time by himself would probably be good for him. Some time to rest and heal up so he could get back out to looking for Tails that much sooner.

He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. The worry, the stress, the helplessness. He wanted more than anything to wake up from his little nap to discover that this whole thing had just been a nightmare. Their lives could go on, and he could put this whole thing behind him.

I just want Tails to be safe...


Rouge flew along in blissful silence, beyond thankful that she hadn't gotten stuck searching around the city with some obnoxious lovesick kid. The last thing she needed right now was to be held back. Just wanted to find where Tails was, whether he was alive or not, so she could get back to her own life. It would probably come off as a bit callous if she stated those thoughts out loud, but she wasn't particularly attached to the kid. Had no reason to be. It would certainly suck if he was dead, but either way, she was just looking forward to being able to get back to treasure hunting as soon as possible. Which meant that, dead or alive, Tails needed to be found.

Couldn't help but calculate just how much she had lost out on while being wrapped up in this nonsense. It was honestly tempting to take a little 'detour' just to get her stealing fix, but a mission was a mission. One she wasn't being paid for, but it was still something she had agreed to do. She still had a reputation to uphold, after all.

Rouge eventually found herself far beyond the outskirts of the city, having decided to begin her search as far away as it would be for today, and slowly head back in to their little home base. And for the first several minutes, Rouge had been regretting that decision. She was out in the middle of nowhere. There was almost nothing to see, aside from one of Eggman's now-abandoned bases, which had been her destination.

Once it was within sight however, Rouge's regret suddenly changed its tune.

Esplouge was leaving the building. He glanced around as if to make sure no one saw him, although Rouge was well-hidden among the trees in the distance. And for the moment, she remained completely still. Just watched the insane fox walk away, curious about the sparks of energy that seemed to be encircling his limbs. Just what on earth was this kid capable of?

Rouge waited for several long minutes after Esplouge had completely left her sight to break out the communication device.

"Shadow, you're never going to believe what I just found..."


Tails remained where he was laying on the floor long after Esplouge had left. The tears had finally stopped after a while, had faded from complete devastation into some kind of... numb. Time felt as though it had completely stopped. With Esplouge gone again, it may as well have. Nothing at all was happening around him to keep his mind up to date on the amount of time that had passed since he had been dragged into this hell.

For all he knew, he could have been here his entire life. Everything he thought he could remember from before it had just been imagined, something his mind had created to give himself hope that there was something better out there. Hope was all he had left now.

Sonic...

Had Sonic... ever been real? Or had the blue hero been something his mind had created to keep itself somewhat together during his nightmare of a life?

I wish I was with you...

Regardless of what that meant. He wanted it. More than anything. Whatever would get him out of this place, and far away from Esplouge. He wanted to disappear completely. He just wanted to... stop.

Tails eventually made himself sit up, huddled against one of the corners of his little cell. Just needed some sort of movement. Something to let him know that time was still passing.

Time was still passing. Seconds were ticking by and turning into minutes. Hours. Days.

And eventually, at some later point in time, Esplouge would come back. Esplouge would come back and hurt him. And all Tails could do was wait for that inevitable moment.

Despite the remnants of some sort of better judgement telling him otherwise, he honestly hoped that Esplouge would just end him this time. He just wanted all of this to end...