"Spagonia?" Mephiles lifted his ears. "I've never heard of that..."
"It's a country north of Mazuri..." Tails explained. Mephiles still looked confused. "Northeast of Apotos?"
"Where?"
"Just west of Westopolis..." Tails tried again, digging in the satchel. "Here, let me show you on the map..."
He pointed out the different countries mentioned, Mephiles in awe that there was so much world he had yet to hear of.
"Where's Westopolis?" He asked, leaning over the back of the seat. Tails pointed out a tiny spot in comparison to the other, much larger ones.
"Westopolis is a city, so it'll be smaller..."
"How about Soleanna? It's a kingdom, so is it any bigger?"
Tails traced a larger chunk with his finger, a standalone land mass that was east of all this.
"Wow... And I thought it was big..." Mephiles mused. "I've been to a lot of places already, but this map makes it all look like peanuts..."
Tails looked at him weirdly.
"You don't get out much, do you?"
"Not often... It seems like every time I do..." Mephiles smiled nervously. "I almost get killed. And I'm not exaggerating... I've got stories..."
"You sound unlucky..."
"If I was, I'd really be dead..." Mephiles sunk a bit. "I've died twice already, by the way..."
"Huh..." Tails glanced over to the side, wondering if it had been a good idea to bring him along, instead of dropping him off at a hospital for the head wound. But Sonic, speedster he was, was in such a hurry to find the next Temple that he opted to simply bring the kid along and take care of him on the trip, given that Tails was just as smart as any doctor. But if he was as unlucky as he seemed, having him along could be a problem. And if he was being taken care of by Shadow and Rouge, then no doubt they would be looking for him. In fact, Tails and Sonic might even be mislabeled as "Kidnappers" if this was looked at wrong...
Tails looked back at him.
"Could you step out of the Tornado for a moment or two?" He asked. "I still have to get the inside cleaned before it sets..."
"Oh! Right! I'm so sorry about that!" Mephiles' face darkened a shade of red as he scrambled over the side and onto the grass. "I'm very sensitive to motion, so I get carsick, airsick, trainsick, motion sick, and even though we haven't confirmed it... I probably get seasick." He explained awkwardly. "It's not so bad if I fall asleep... Or melt."
"What..?" Tails wasn't sure he heard that last part right. "You do what..?"
"Melt. Actually... It's more like turning into a shadow..." Mephiles didn't seem to realize how weird that was. "I don't feel anything when I'm like that, and I can get in reeeeeaaaallly small places. I just don't do it a lot because it feels weird when it starts, I can't talk during it, and I have to do my whole body every time..." Mephiles continued explaining to the confused fox. "Dark's a lot better at it. You can hear him talk, and he doesn't always need to melt all of himself."
Tails looked down at him.
"You are a hedgehog... Right..?"
"Yeah, more or less. It's a real long story..." Mephiles blushed again. "But I guess Chaos energy is part of the reason why... I was born a hedgehog, so I am at least a hedgehog..." Mephiles didn't want to explain too much.
Tails looked at his own twin furry appendages, and decided that he had no place in judging this strange hedgehog for what might be simply a mutation.
"Well, I'm a fox, and I have more tails than I should." He offered, trying to get Mephiles to not be so nervous. "If that isn't all, I can fly with them too. And really, nearly everyone I know has something different and odd about them."
"So... It's normal to be different..?"
"Or different to be normal... I guess. I dunno..." Tails shrugged at Mephiles' bewilderment. "I mean, I'm an orphaned, flying two tailed fox with an IQ of three hundred who was raised by a hedgehog who breaks the sound barrier for kicks. That's my normal."
Shadow and Rouge made quick work of reporting the disappearance of the two boys. Yes, even Dark, for all you surprised with Shadow's behavior.
"-He's almost eleven, and he's... Well, you'd know him if you've seen him..." Shadow tried describing Mephiles. "The most notable thing about him people point out is that he's got crystal coated quills, hands and feet, his eyes have no pupils and the part of the eyes that are normally white are pale red for him... Uh... Hold on..." Shadow got up and pulled open a drawer and rummaged through it. "Rouge? Do you know where that picture from Twinkle Park is?"
"I think it's in the other drawer..."
"Never mind, found it..." Shadow pulled out a strip of small photos from a picture booth, most of which had Mephiles being very nervous about the camera, and handed it over. "See? He's not your average Mobian. He's also got an anxiety disorder, and a lot of phobias. And he's susceptible to severe panic attacks under stress..."
"I see... And the other one?"
"Dark? He looks more or less the same..." Shadow was very brief in stating that.
Rouge picked up, seeing that Shadow didn't seem interested in elaborating why.
"His eyes are similar colors but brighter, and he's got cat eye pupils." She explained. "But his quills grow in the same directions as Shadow's. He doesn't trust anyone new, so he might attack you, so watch out. His fur is usually unkempt and he looks underweight, his right ear has a bite taken out of it and..." She paused. "Well, he's prone to psychotic breakdowns when stressed... He's also dangerously protective of Mephiles when he's not angry. And I think Mephiles has mentioned to us that Dark suffers from migraines, has sensitivity to light, and mood swings. He also thinks you guys are out to get him..."
"Why would he think that?" The GUN personnel scratched his head.
"Long story, not enough time..." Rouge shrugged, holding out the plastic bags with the bloodstained hat and scarf in them. "Now, these were theirs. Mephiles had the hat, Dark had the scarf. Can you do some sort of DNA tracking with them? Or a trail?"
"Usually, that sort of method is used for confirmation in a homicide..." The GUN personnel took the bags. "And we could only track them if they were in the area still. But I'm sure we could make use of it... There's no guarantee that the results will be quick, but we'll get started as soon as we can..."
"We don't care, just find out what happened to them and where they are now..."
"... What happened..?"
Dark was still trying to piece together what had just gone on. He could recall trying to escape the cell, but his recollection faded to a complete blank.
He quickly realized what the void around him meant, however.
"Oh, goody! I didn't think I'd see you for a while!" A squeal of sick amusement sounded off behind him, and he jumped away from the source, spinning around to face it and hold his hands in the air in a ready to attack pose in one swift movement.
"Stay away from me or I'll-!"
"Dark, Dark, Dark..." Dire cooed almost playfully, but none of the innocence, wagging his whole arm as he held his hand in a simple pointing position upward. "Didn't we already cover this? You can't do anything to me. I'm invincible as long as Dark Gaia is awakened."
As Dire took a step forward with his hands behind his back, Dark kept the same distance by reversing his steps.
"Don't mess with me! You don't know what I can do!" Dark growled, folding his ears back and baring his teeth viciously.
"Like what? Send me to another time like you did with Shadow after breaking free from the Scepter?" Dire's calm smile was very unnerving. "Oh, wait... You did that as 'Mephiles the Dark'... You can't do that by yourself. So let me ask you this: What do you think you can do that's going to help you?"
Dark's grimace subsided only for a moment before coming back full force. He was familiar with these kinds of "games".
He didn't answer, knowing his words were going to be twisted against him.
Dire smile broadened only slightly, his half closed eyes glinting.
"Ah, I see... You already recognize how this game works. Is that because you've played it before?" He questioned. "Were you the player or the rule maker? Both at one point? Never was as good at it as Iblis, were you?"
At the name, Dark's eyes flashed dangerously.
"Wasn't that always the case? Never as good as him?" Dire was now smirking, reveling in Dark's fury. "Second rate? Second made? Second in power? You didn't even defeat him... You couldn't. And how did he get you to come out of hiding to face him? By taking your cat. By nearly choking your friend in front of you. Did you do anything to stop him then?" Dark was shaking in rage now. "No. You just sat there, in silent fear, not bothering to so much as push him away. Mephiles, the one who you used to torment, stood up for you, and did a much better effort than you in trying to stop him."
Dark couldn't take any more of it, and charged at him, only to get caught by the quills and forced into an awkward kneeling position as he reached his hands up to try and pry himself free. He shouted in pain, as this was the same as getting your hair pulled.
"Also, he told you not to go in that alley. He begged you, pleaded and cried. And you still pulled him in. He knew something was going to happen, and you ignored that. It's your fault he got hurt. Sensing a pattern? He gets hurt around you a lot. You're a danger to him..."
He let go of the quills, and Dark dropped to the ground on his side. Looking up as he pushed himself off the ground, he had an expression of hurt shock on his face.
"... I-It... It was... I... It was that robot's fault!" He stammered, shaking his head. "... I told him to hide!"
"He got in between you and it so he could stop it. Besides..." Dire shook his head boredly. "You told him that he could hardly do much to protect anything... Probably made him determined to prove you wrong. The fact is... If he's dying right now... It's all your fault."
Dire held his cold smile as Dark stared blankly, shocked speechless. He looked as if he had shut down completely, but beneath that he felt as if the physical representation of his heart (let's just say it was a delicate glass ornament, so thin and clear like a bubble.) had been carelessly dropped to the ground and stepped on, crushing the fragile shards into fine dust.
In other words... He was crushed by sick despair at that realization. He could have listened to the hedgehog, and continued on with trying to outsmart the robot, instead of hiding behind some rotting crates. He should have known by now that Mephiles' instincts and sixth sense were much more highly tuned than his own. Mephiles was, to an extent, psychic even. He even said there was a similar situation before, so he knew how it could have ended...
And like always, Dark insisted that his own way was right, and... Well, look where he was now.
His eyes stung a bit, and he blinked, bringing his head down to hide his face.
"Hey, don't be so bummed out!" Dire said in mock comfort as Dark grew tense. "You were only doing what you do best, after all. Hide, and self preserve. It's what shadows are good at. Hedgehogs are another matter completely..."
"... Why are you doing this..?" Dark didn't look up and spoke in a surprisingly even voice. "... Surely you can't find any enjoyment out of breaking something that's already been broken..?"
"Path of least resistance, I suppose." Dire was quick to reply, hardly pausing to think. He lowered himself to be level with Dark, still smirking. "You're like a Rubix Cube, really. A good challenging puzzle to work with, but much simpler to pick apart..."
"That's cheating..."
"Don't care." Dire tossed back. "My job is to harvest darkness and pain for Dark Gaia. Can you really blame me for doing it if that's why I exist? What about you? What's your purpose? Why are you here?"
Dark had no direct answer for that. He couldn't think of a good enough answer that would shut Dire up for a while. He was now wondering why he couldn't wake up to reality.
Almost as if he could read his thoughts, Dire added: "Oh, and because of your foolishness, you're suffering from heat stroke right now. You won't wake up for a while."
"… H-heat stroke? H-how-!l" Dark stammered before he was cut off.
"The combination of the heated area, the excessive exertion of energy and possibly your refusal to accept the provided sports drinks that would have countered all that very well. Not a smart move." Dire shrugged lightly. "The fact is, you almost killed yourself. You, not me..."