Author's note: Alright - this is the moment were some of you might leave while others might get more intrigued ;)

But despite this: Thank you so much for the faves, the followers, the reviews and the general views! Thanks for supporting this story and giving it a chance :)

Reality twists around the moment death grips your hand

Sleep was something he enjoyed very much. It was a break, it was a place he couldn't reach other than just slip into the endless limbo of darkness, well-knowing that nothing could hurt him there. Granted, he loved being there, he wasn't there quiet often, his senses trained into not falling into a deeper sleep than he could wake up from.

He had woken up several times at night, the shuffling around the hedgehog had done, the occasional creaking of the wood, the old building giving in to wind and age, as well as the sounds of dreams the others had done in their sleep. He had woken up when one of the thimble riggers had woken up and left, then the other had woken up no longer after that and half an hour later or something Sonic had woken up and left.

He had considered whether to wake up at that point, but his eyes had demanded more sleep and had therefore succumbed to the need, thinking that Espio would wake him whenever they were ready. If the chameleon had forgotten or simply let him sleep, he wouldn't know, as he woke up one last time, blinking into the still dark room, the other beds empty.

He sighed, could feel his right eye being swollen and hot, but the thumping had stopped, and his headache had disappeared at some point, his head feeling somewhat alright. He ran a hand through his face, could still feel his body ask for a couple of hours more, something he felt every morning, the one thing he hadn't accepted doing.

He couldn't waist time sleeping in the middle of the day, was always out checking the alleys for any midnight guests, swiping items either for his meals or the items requested for a deal he had made with someone. Deals he made either by eavesdropping, either by people asking or him requesting his assistance. He didn't have a lot of demands, partly the reason why the mobians sought him out, since the only requirements was him not crossing the bridge to the rich part and not actively fighting someone. Swiping he did flawlessly and could be done within half an hour if the item requested was near him. Luckily, the deal he had made with the female wolf two days prior were the last deal he had gotten, leaving no unfinished business behind. Whenever he made a deal with someone he always kept to his promise.

He threw the blanket off to his own dismay, rubbing his eyes with his hands while realizing he had kicked off his shoes at some point, the warmth of the room getting to him. It was rare that he was warm during the night, was colder than anything duo to sleeping outside, no matter the weather or season, practically his entire life. Sleeping in a bed than his pallet had been heavenly and wished that he could stay for a couple of more hours but resisted the urge to do so

Putting on his sneakers and frowned at the mud that was still covering his soles, he slit out of comfortable cloud and took a second to scan the room. The others had done exactly the same as he was doing now: Had woken up and left, not leaving anything in the room behind them. Contrary to the beliefs among the civilians, not all pick pocketers stole personal items, and Tails was one of those. The cloak and his old gloves he had found on the street and repaired to the best of his ability while the sneakers he had bought from the occasional currency he acquired. It was rare that anyone gave money to the deal they made with the criminals, also because items and food were more valuable to either the individual or the black market.

The fox had never had his experiences with the black market, had no idea where it was or who owned it, since he knew it would be dangerous to try and attend. He knew that a lot of criminals went there to trade and get good deals, but he didn't feel comfortable searching it out and the thought of being among a lot of people that could potentially hurt him weren't favorable. He had promised himself to not swipe anything but food – for his own dignity and because he might be categorized as a thief instead, something he would like to get away from.

Taking his steps towards the door, he noticed that the blue sneakers from the night before were gone, the beds unmade, and blankets tangled. He had no idea what to except as he turned the knob on the door and slowly opened it into the room he had climbed down yesterday.

The basement wasn't that large and dug out by hand to the best of the Chaotix's abilities many years ago, but despite being handmade it was pretty comfortable. The floor was made up of stone, the walls hold together by wooden panels and nailed in place. Two worn armchairs were in the corner of one room, surrounded by four ordinary wooden chairs, circled like there had been a meeting there recently. Along one wall, boxes were stacked neatly against the wall, lapeled differently but most of them were most likely empty. A board of some kind stood in another corner while the middle of the room stood a table, a few random items that he didn't bother recognized being there uselessly.

When he was younger and he had stayed the night, he remembered sleeping in one of the armchairs, specifically the one a mobian he didn't recognize sitting in. They were small, a squirrel of some kind the more he saw, completely yellow with a tan stomach, terrible color in the dark, gloves on their hands and blue sneakers on their feet. From his weight, lack of height and young face he guessed that he was some kid. Also, because he held a grin on his face, smiling as if nothing was wrong around him, a round tail resting against the back of the chair.

To their right in the other armchair sat either a pangolin or an armadillo, the former his better guess since he remembered his back from the night before being sleeker than having scales. Two small tan ears were erect into the ceiling, a white muzzle over his black face, his entire body black now that he saw him. His shell started from his forehead and down his back, completely red and not good camouflage. A pair of gloves and red sneakers adored his hands and feet, while he had a belt on his waist, some pouches sitting in them. He held a somewhat serious façade, but when he caught the squirrels face, he smiled softly.

He could tell from how comfortable they were and how close they sat that they knew each other, most likely the thimble riggers that there supposed to follow them. Across from them sat the culprit of him sitting in this situation in the first place – Sonic the hedgehog – comfortably slouched across two chairs, hands laced behind his head and legs crossed. He was saying something Tails didn't quiet catch, instead sighed to himself and shook his head. This wasn't going to be easy.

As the door clicked back into place the armadillo's head turned towards him, a pair of black eyes meeting blue. Instantly his mind and eyes were at work, the process automatically at this point rather than something he had to actively think about doing. His eyes were bright, telling of relaxation, but they narrowed instantly, his face scrunching up just a bit. He was wary, a bit surprised and at the same time he was checking him out like Tails had done beforehand. He let him since he couldn't do anything to stop at this point, Sonic's head suddenly turning around to look at him, had most likely heard the door going back into place.

"Hey, morning Tails!" He instantly greeted, waving a hand towards him.

The fox was so bewildered he did nothing but look at him, the green eyes of the hedgehog completely relaxed and content, not at all seemingly worried about what they were going to do today. He wasn't used to be greeted 'good morning' let alone being greeted at all and stood almost dumbfounded in place like Sonic had spoken to him in another language. He didn't get to ask about Tails' confusion as the squirrel suddenly leaped up to stand on the armchair, practically staring at the fox.

"Whoa! Mighty look! That guy's got two tails!" Said pick pocketer stiffened before he had a chance to stop himself said appendages behind him almost slamming into the floor on instinct. His reaction made the armadillo's head turn to the squirrel instead, reached out a hand and cuffed him on the side of his head.

"Ray behave! Don't say something like that," He said, ignoring the protests he got from the squirrel as his head turned back to the fox. "Sorry. He gets easily excited."

The apology was genuine, his eyes telling him the truth. He stood again just blinked at the armadillo, not quiet getting first of all why he was getting an apology and second of all what he had done to deserve it. He realized that he was staring and slightly shook his head, swallowing something.

"It's – it's okay," He almost sputtered, being slightly bewildered.

Thimble riggers were known for being annoying and troublesome, from the simple fact that they were doing their best to get people to play their games. Either hooking them up with their charismatic abilities or seemingly very good deals, where the customer could never lose. Either rigged cart wheels that had a stone taped to the back of it, card games that only had three pairs instead of four or guessing games were they plainly changed either the answer or the items that was proposed. Getting an apology from someone as a thimble rigger he hadn't expected.

He looked back at the squirrel in question, was rubbing the side of his head where the armadillo had cuffed him. His underarms had more fur, attached from his side to his elbow, realizing that it was a flying squirrel instead. He was a bit confused to say the least, since both armadillos and flying squirrels were very rare in Croford. He could guess why they needed to leave the city as well.

"Come sit! Espno said he would come down with some food in a bit," Sonic interrupted his thinking, Tails looking at him to watch him point to a chair somewhat beside him, in front of the armadillo. He furrowed his brow as he made his way over to said furniture, still looking at the hedgehog.

"Do you mean Espio?" –

"Ah! Yeah, sorry. The guy's tricky," Sonic grinned, while Tails sat down slowly, still looking at the hedgehog.

He was grinning, his eyes shining, and his face seemed relaxed. It was like he was getting ready to watch the carnival, what was this guy's deal?! He was about to ask, when the armadillo across interrupted him by clearing his throat and sat more upright in the chair.

"Again, sorry for the rude remark. If you didn't catch it I'm Mighty and this is Ray," The mobian introduced, pointing to himself and then at the squirrel, who had dropped his protested stare at the armadillo and instead smiled brightly at the fox. The child innocence was very clear in his black eyes. "And I think I caught your name. Tails was it?"

The fox found him nodding without knowing automatically, was concentrating on reading the squirrel's face. Those black eyes were brighter than the hedgehog's, face relaxed and he seemed utterly happy. About what?

"May I ask?" Mighty interrupted his thoughts, turning back to the armadillo. "Out of curiosity: Is Tails the name you were given or the name you were born with?"

He quickly scoffed at the question, his tails whipping once in agitation.

"None of your business," He muttered a bit, bowing his head just a bit. The armadillo blinked at him mildly confused before he held both hands up in mild defense.

"I suppose not," He reasoned, smiling at him again like he was giving him another damn apology. Why they were all so relaxed he couldn't fathom. Had someone given them alcohol while he was sleeping?

"Wait hold on – there's a difference from a given name and the name you were born with?" Tails turned his head towards the hedgehog, looking between the fox and the armadillo, for the answer. He didn't feel like explanation something as trivial at that, had already been annoyed that he had to tell Sonic about the system, something that he still didn't get.

"There is," The hedgehog's attention turned to Mighty. "The given name is something you get once your known around the street. We're not exactly thimble riggers like Vector told you, we're performers. My street name is Power, and Ray's is Swifty," –

"Power and Swifty huh?" Sonic quirked an amused eyebrow at them, despite the fox not finding the names that comical. He had never heard of their names, let alone had any thimble riggers being around his area since they tended to be in the richer parts of town, avoiding soldiers and luring the mobians with the most money.

Ray nodded enthusiastically, still standing on the armchair.

"Yup! Mighty is strong! Like, really strong! And I can swing around and do cool tricks, look!" He said, suddenly jumped up into the air and spun into a ball. He squashed down on the armchair cushion, bouncing into the air and uncurled, his arms flaring out. The momentum was caught underneath his arms, the gush of wind carrying forward before he landed on the floor, curled together before he landed there. He rolled around in a circle, and then rolled back to the armchair. He uncurled and backflipped onto it, stood with his arms and legs stretched, an amused face that screamed 'ta-da'!

Sonic whistled impressed and applauded, while Tails merely looked at bit confused at him. Performers. That's why they had to leave the city – there weren't a lot of mobians that searched for entertainment, let alone the rich part of town since they were glued to TV's instead, and the poor parts didn't see the point of it. He quickly guessed that they hadn't been here a while, either came with the immigrants or snuck their way in with them. Early criminals had a tough time learning and being a part of the spiderweb – it's thanks to Espio that he was sitting here today after all, not having the best start into his line of living.

Sonic turned his head to Tails, gaining his attention, his grin not being contagious just yet.

"I was telling them how we came here, and our run in with those thugs," He explained casually, as if he was talking about the weather. The mentioned fight made his thoughts swirl back to his eye, would like to get a better look at it though there were no mirrors around for him to check it and it hadn't rained in a while so finding a puddle of clear liquid like water was even more difficult.

"Yeah, it didn't sound too good – your eye alright?" –

"I'm fine," Tails spat before he realized he had, didn't like getting the attention and least of all from a fight he should have been able to get out of wound free. Mighty didn't react outwardly at it, instead looked at Ray, when he was about to say something, with a stern expression, making the squirrel shut his mouth again.

"And then I was about to ask how you came here," Sonic interrupted, looking back at the two thimble riggers, the fox calming his tails, since the agitated whip was annoying to him at this point. Mighty nodded, and then shrugged his shoulders, his eyes relaxing. Casualty, and at the same time his face stiffened.

"Not much exciting to tell. We got the clue from someone about this place, went around the alley and avoided everyone and ended up here," He said, sitting a bit more upright in his chair, legs crossed. His eye twitched as well as his lips, pupils dilating.

He was lying.

Tails wasn't interested in actually knowing how they came here, let alone the truth behind it, and at the same time there was a childish side of him that was reckless. Asking for a bit of entertainment.

"Pretty funny that you say the way was harmless and yet you lie about it," The immediate surprise in the armadillo's face told him that he had been right, couldn't stop the smirk appearing on his own lips.

"Getting into fights is normal, unless it isn't a criminal." Eyes widening, hands clenching into his knees.

His eyes hadn't moved to anybody else, but Tails could see it. Could see the pupil becoming slightly bigger, ever so slightly, and the corner of his right lip twitched slowly. He was getting closer. The flying squirrel looked at the armadillo, obviously nervous if the swallowing of a ball of saliva was anything to go by.

"Meddling around with soldiers is quite dangerous," The fox quirked a brow when no reaction came. "Civilians could have gotten in your way."

Mighty narrowed his eyes.

"They could surely tell on the soldiers, especially if they saw-" –

"Fine, fine! You wanna know the truth?!" He was yelling, his eyes burning with fierce anger, though the pick pocketer knew that it covered something else.

"We ran into a lady, around thirty or something, and she saw us! We couldn't hide in time, and she was about to scream I had to-" He paused. "I had to punch her."

His hands had been shaking slightly, but with the last sentenced his body stiffened, the burning anger before dimming out. "She – she was unconscious, I'm sure. I didn't kill her," His head moved to look down at the floor instead of staring at the fox, closing his eyes and let out a deep sigh.

Tails could clearly see the regret, the deep sorrow of what he had done. It wasn't even that problematic, hitting a soldier or something would have been worse. And yet, he knew why he was regretting it. The pick pocketer had always sympathized with the poor, the mobians not getting a chance in this world to live the life they wanted to live. The rich people were either born to be it or had the skills and persuasion to be able to get into it. You couldn't just gain it, getting a job when you came from the poor area wasn't easy, and even more difficult to avoid getting mucked at night. Seeing someone in the middle of an alleyway had most likely frightened the lady and would have screamed out of fear for her life. And today she would most likely suffer a headache. Something that she didn't deserve in her poor life.

He felt a ball of guilt settle into his heart from the conclusion, seeing the amount of regret that was plastered all over the armadillo.

"I'm sorry," Tails found himself saying, biting his lip in his own regret and turned his head away. That wasn't fun.

He didn't see Mighty's reaction nor the squirrel's, but turned his ears when Sonic cleared his throat.

"He can uhm. He can read faces and such," At any other time he would have snapped at the hedgehog, but he had dug his own grave at this point, blue eyes analyzing the floor.

"That's – that's awesome," Ray chimed in from the armchair, with a lot less enthusiasm than what he probably thought. Tails felt his namesakes whip against his back, as he sighed out his guilt.

Something opening in the corner made his head turn to it, previous mood completely evaporated from the action alone, as the trapdoor opened. Soon a shoe was placed on the ladder, and a purple chameleon climbed down, with one hand, the other holding a sack containing something. He closed the hatch before he jumped down from the ladder, dusted his cloak off something before he looked into the room. His amber eyes found Tails' blue rather quickly, nodding towards him in a mild greeting before he walked into the room, standing in front of the table in the middle.

"Good to see you're all up," Espio's previous gaze at the fox told him that they had waited for him to wake up. "I got some food and supplies and then we need to discuss the plan," He stated, getting right to the point as he dumped the contents of the sack onto the table.

A fabric of some sort flowed out, a box of matches and a pair of small gloves. Sonic, Tails and Mighty got up from their seat relatively calmly as Ray teleported over to the table, immediately jumping up and sat down, looking at the items that had been dumped there. Espio took the gloves in hand and reached them over to the squirrel as the three others gathered around.

"These should be better than the torn pair," –

"Wow, thanks!" The squirrel exclaimed, pulling off his own gloves, the fox seeing a torn part of his right glove from his thump to his wrist, either scuffing his hand on a nail or a sharp edge of a box. He took the gloves from the chameleon and put them over his hands, flexing his fingers and found them fitting smoothly. Espio was quick to pick up the fabric as well, turning out to be a black cloak, with a hood, which he reached out to the hedgehog.

"The sewers are lighted up by torches in some parts of it. This should hide your fur color better," He said, shrugging slightly. "You can't use the hood but that shouldn't be necessary," –

"Cool. Thanks man," Sonic was quick to say, snatching the cloak from the chameleon and put it around his shoulders. It almost touched the floor and pulling it around himself hid the entirety of his body, his face, head, and quills being the only blue part of him. Espio nodded, picking up the matches and gave them to Mighty, taking a moment to look at them individually.

"The plan is simple," He started, looking at Ray to make sure that he was listening, since he had been observing his newly decorated hands. "The sewers are heavily used by any criminal, meaning that we don't know who to expect down there or how many. We do not want to instigate fights since it could gain the soldiers' attention and we have nowhere to scatter down there. Tails and I will lead. We've been here the longest and know what to listen for and what to expect. None of you will speak and we will be very quiet. Once we reach the end we will depart and then you figure out what you do from there," He explained, fishing out something from behind himself.

"We don't have enough food to give anything with you, but you can eat now," He explained, found some bread and half-melted butter and put them down on the table, as well as two apples. Tails looked at the assortment of food, felt his stomach grumble unwillingly but looked back at the chameleon.

"Espio, if you don't have enough food to Vector and Charmy then we can-" –

"No, it's alright. We're good," He assured, shaking his head at the same time. Tails looked at his eyes, the chameleon well aware that he was checking. He was telling the truth.

It hadn't mattered much since Ray was quick to snatch an apple, and with the juicy fruit in his mouth quick to say a 'thank you' as well. Sonic took the other apple in hand, throwing it into the air and caught it again before he took a generous bite. Mighty split the bread apart evenly, putting Tails' on the table before picking up the butter.

"It will not be easy," Ray's black eyes caught Espio's mid bite, attention gathered from the others as well. "We need to be quick and we need to be quiet. One wrong step and it could all go to hell in seconds," He warned, placing both hands on the table, his yellow eyes travelling over all of them with a serious expression.

You didn't have to be a trained pick pocketer to see it, they all knew he meant it.

Tails nodded to himself, shook his head from the thought of leaving Croford for good. He couldn't make any plans now, he had to wait. He needed to get out by the sewers first.

If they made it.

By now he had scrunched his nose up so much that he was pretty sure it was gonna stay scrunched up. He was used to this kind of smell briefly pass his nostrils when dashing around corners and pillars but having it constantly in his mind was much worse than passing by it. He hadn't complained, merely pinched his nose with his hand for the first couple of minutes until he had given up, since it did nothing to cover up the smell.

The others had quit some time ago after the last hiss from the chameleon, mostly Ray and Sonic. The latter the fox didn't blame since he was a kid, and most likely hadn't been down here before, and since neither him or the armadillo had been in Croford a lot then they weren't used to this kind of thing. The former on the other hand, should have no reason to complain and should know that this wasn't the time to express how disgusting this was. They remained quiet for now luckily, as he filtered out the steps right behind him and concentrated on facing his ears ahead of them.

The good thing about this was the fact that they were a big group, meaning that any criminals that either walked alone or had a buddy would most likely avoid them at all costs. Though, others weren't deterred by the five mobians, he knew from experience. The bad thing about this was the fact they were loud and would remain loud beyond their control.

A lot of criminals used the sewers as their main pathway since the soldiers didn't patrol down here, let alone followed burglars or thieves down here whenever they were caught stealing something. The sewers remained the unknown and unmentioned area, a blind spot where the criminals could walk freely, if they wanted to smell like the insides of a mobian then let them. What made it the most dangerous was the fact that the wide tunnel was a way of transportation for bigger hauls and somewhere it was a direct passageway to the inner black market. They had chosen the right time, since it was around noon on a Sunday, meaning that most mobians were out in the inns or at home relaxing until work started again. Criminals were plotting, planning, and hustled together above ground to talk about their next move and who to target. The sewers were mostly used at night or in the afternoon, meaning that they didn't have a lot of time down here. The less time they spend down here the better.

And yet, as he was walking behind the chameleon, ears erect, and concentration fastened onto their way ahead he couldn't stop to think about what was going to happen once they got out. Espio had told him to get to Kroxburg, the market centrum of the country, and from there he had told him to find a job or something. But how could he? First of all, he had no experience in that branch and second of all, he knew that nobody would want to hire him. There was no doubt about it, he had to return to being who he was, because he knew there was no chance that he would be accepted into society – there was a reason for him to become who he was.

This meant that he had to learn a new system, learn the new barriers and the new rules, something that he in the past had paid a lot to learn. And now he didn't have the Chaotix to help him out if something happened, he was truly on his own this time. Something he had been all his life, and a part of him really didn't want to let it stay that way.

Maybe he should do something else? Maybe camp out in a forest or something? And then what – get the bread from a 'breadbush', pluck cheese out of the 'fromagetree'? He didn't know what to do, and therefore he shook the thought off of him, for now remained in the present and stopped at another corner when Espio did.

The chameleon held a hand up in the air, stopping the caravan immediately. They had agreed to walk in a chain of mobians, with Espio in front, Tails behind to be their eyes and ears, the hedgehog walking behind him and then Ray and so Mighty. For the flying squirrel being in the middle was of the sole reason that if they got ambushed, he wouldn't be taken from behind and seized beyond their control. The fox had noticed the armadillo hovering over him from the hidden house to the manhole cover they had climbed down an hour ago or so. It was small notions that gave it away, a hand that was reached towards him without touching him, walking in his steps, and made sure to be in front of him.

He hadn't seen that a lot, mostly because the criminals were alone and not a lot of kids were on the street. He had seen it around parents, whenever he had walked by and a wary mom or dad had looked at him, pushing their kid behind them or putting a hand on their shoulder. It was out of protectiveness. An instinct they had developed through parenthood, and yet he knew that Mighty wasn't a parent due to the age difference. So why did he hover over Ray? He wasn't interested in knowing and had refrained from asking any more questions from the simple fact that he had already made him talk too much.

Sonic was as loud as ever, despite his claims that he was being quiet, his feet almost slamming into the bricks in every step, the sound only stopping whenever they stopped. It had been distracting, but he hadn't seized his wrist due to the fact that he was getting used to it. And even if he did, the others around him was making noise and messed up his senses as well, so it wouldn't make any differences.

The chameleon looked at Tails for confirmation, the fox swirling his ears around. No steps, no breaths or anything shuffling around them. It was quiet.

He nodded, making Espio continue along the tunnel, a small river of brown and murky liquid filling the middle of the tunnel, the sides of it having exposed brick – luckily. They stayed around the shadows, the dim light that wasn't completely illuminated by the torches that were down here, lit by some overpaid citizen whenever the tunnels were investigated by a team of mobians, hired to make sure that the walls were holding together and nothing was clogging up the stream. A job Tails would personally have reconsidered.

Their trek was slow but careful, every sound and every movement taken in account by the pick pocketer, trained ears being their guide.

"Mighty, when-" –

"Hush! Later," The armadillo quickly quieted the flying squirrel, the small question almost making the fox jump.

He heard Sonic sigh audibly behind him, whipping his tails in agitation as if he wanted to respond to him, stopped when the chameleon stopped again. He listened – no sounds, no movement, no. Nothing. Like the tunnels had been abandoned a long time ago. The only thing he could hear was their breathing and the small shuffling of impatient feet.

Tails looked back at Sonic to catch his expression, the hedgehog looking back. His face was screwed into the most impatient expression he had ever since, the concentration not at all hiding that notion. His lips were a thin line, the corners of his eyes slightly stiff, and the shine in his eyes had dimmed. The fox did nothing but tried to get a look at the squirrel behind him, the hedgehog being taller than him. Ray looked more wary, not scared but nervous, eyes fastened onto Espio and yet he was curious. The fox wasn't impressed, maybe slightly surprised that he wasn't trembling in fear. Something that he wanted to do himself. Mighty looked more concentrated and any other person would have called him angry, eyes narrowed, brow furrowed. But he was merely listening as well, being his own guide, trying to catch something that Tails couldn't. And yet, the pick pocketer knew that the things that Mighty could hear, he could hear much better.

He turned his head back to the chameleon, who was already looking at him, eyes rock hard and face completely stiff. Concentration, and so thick that he wondered if he could actually see him. The fox nodded yet again, and they continued walking, getting to the end of the tunnel only to turn right. They were getting closer, and the closer they got the more Tails could feel his heart beating in his chest. Croford wasn't home.

He had never considered this city to be a home, let alone somewhere he wanted to stay permanently. In all honesty, he had no idea what definition a home had – if it was a shelter, if it needed to consists of someone that wanted him around or if it was somewhere he didn't feel scared. And yet, it was the place where he had grown up, knew some poor people from their clothing and body alone, though he didn't know their names. He knew the streets, knew the alley and knew the bridge – and now he had been at the castle as well, seeing a building taller than ever before, as well as seeing electricity up close.

A part of him didn't want to leave because this was the place where he came from, besides the point that he didn't feel like he belonged here. But where else could you belong? If not here, where you grew up, then where? He could feel the sorrow that he was hiding deep within himself to resurface from the thoughts alone, letting out a small sigh.

Espio glanced at him, though he shook his head. No time to think about that. He needed to concentrate.

But there was nothing to concentrate on, everything was quiet around them, everything was still. The small movement of the water and their feet shifting through the tunnel. There was nobody here.

And yet, the more he was here, the closer they got to their goal, he could feel his fur prickling. A feeling in his abdomen that he had ignored as anxiety, coming more and more to life the longer the silence remained. He narrowed his eyes, giving his senses and his abdomen some thought. Everything was quiet.

A still atmosphere where the wind didn't even move, a lacking presence of criminals despite the very known knowledge that they walked around here every single day. It was like no presence had been here at all, like nothing had ever been here. But that didn't make any logical sense, he knew that mobians walked to and from in these tunnels. He could feel it in his fur, could feel it in his skin that something was wrong

Something wasn't what it was supposed to be, and something was going to happened. He could feel the anticipation, the anxiety in his stomach growing into a worry.

"Wait," He let out without knowing, stopping dead in his track, felt Sonic walk into his tails. Espio complied immediately, looking back at the fox while the squirrel looked past the hedgehog to look at him, the armadillo following suit. He swirled his ears around, confirming what he had suspected.

It was quiet. There was no sound, no mice or rats running around, no water getting splashed from criminals wanting to get out of their way, even no wind around them. It was too quiet.

"What is it?" The chameleon whispered, looking at the pick pocketer. Tails didn't answer, instead let his head look around, looking at the walls, the water, and their path ahead of them. He knew there was a couple of more turns before they would be out, their destination just ahead of them and yet he didn't want to continue. Instinct or something made him stay in place, his senses on high alert and he could feel it. His pelt was prickling, stabbing at him like small needles, the anticipation thick in the air. He trusted his gut, and everything in his body told him to get the hell out of there. But for a reason he couldn't determine.

He was still looking around, had been standing still for more than twenty seconds now, the others getting impatient and confused, and the chameleon merely waiting. His eyes caught the walls, his night vision giving him full visibility as he looked up into the ceiling.

His heart seized, the entirety of his body jolting with his gasp, when he saw a mobian hanging in the ceiling like a spider glued to their web.

"Run!" The word was all that managed to get out of him, before everything happened quicker than a blur.

The mobian dropped, suddenly steps sounded from everywhere, exclaims of surprise and fright appearing around him when he was tackled to the ground. Someone landed on his back, pinning his face into the brick, too close to the water in front of him. Grunts of either pain or discomfort sounded from both his right and left, both Espio and Sonic getting tackled in the same manner, some incoherent noises happening behind him.

He forced himself to calm down, counted to three in his head, before he thrusted his elbow backwards, making the mobian slack his grip on him. Darting to his feet, he only managed to see the hedgehog thrusted into the ground by two mobians, and Ray and Mighty getting the same treatment, pinned to the floor of the sewer. Something smacked him in the back again, sending him headfirst into the brick with his forehead, stunning him. Three mobians toppled on top of him, one holding his arms on his back, another forcing his face into the ground while the last one kept his lower body and tails on the ground. Sounds of struggling appeared around him, Espio trying to get out of there grip, as well as the hedgehog.

"Mighty!" Ray suddenly yelled, more out of fright than asking for help, since Tails was pretty sure that he was aware that he was pinned as well.

"It's okay Ray! We'll be fine!" The armadillo yelled, despite the grunt afterwards, most likely getting forced further into the ground.

"I wouldn't count on it."

Tails gasped from the voice alone, the mobians on top of him forcing him further into the brick when he stopped struggling.

There was no doubt in his mind. These mobians were sleek, small, and slender, completely dressed in a black suit of some sort. These were assassins.

Someone landed from somewhere, and then he heard heels click into the floor, walking in slow strides, like they had all the time in the world, admiring the prizes they had gotten.

"I was only ordered to get rid of the hedgehog, but it looks like there's a lot more fun to be had," The voice was female, a pretty low one indeed, telling him that she was older than anyone of them. The noise of the heels clicking walked past him, and he knew where she was when the walking stopped.

"A member of the Chaotix? My, my. We've been looking for someone like you for a while," –

"Leave him alone!" Tails didn't know why he yelled it, if it was because he felt guilty of not being a good enough listener or because Espio didn't deserve it, he didn't know. Most likely a mix of the two.

Silence fell over the tunnel around them, the only sounds remaining were the deep breaths from struggling, and Mighty who was still trying to get out of their grip. The sounds of the heels continued, and suddenly stopped right beside his face. He couldn't look at her from the pure fact that his eyes were pinned into the brick, the corners of it seeing the water inches from his head.

"And the fox who brought the hedgehog here in the first place. Going somewhere are we?" She sounded casual, a winner, someone who wasn't expecting them to be able to get the situation under control. And in all honesty, neither did the fox.

"Such a shame that your travel ends here. It would have been interesting to see what kind of trouble you could have made," –

"Just. Leave them alone okay? You can take me – I took So-The hedgehog with me. He's going to leave Croford today - if you have to punish someone then don't let it be them," He was scared. He could feel it in his hands, the shaking and his heart beating out of his chest. The adrenaline did nothing to help him in this situation, couldn't properly roll around or swing his tails around from the way he was pinned.

But he was using facts, using that head Vector had called intelligent. He had nothing to lose – Sonic had a mission to complete from his village, Espio still had the Chaotix and Mighty and Ray had each other. He had nothing. And would most likely get nothing anyway.

A shiver went down his spine when the female chuckled lightly, a gush of wind telling him that she was crouching, her lips close to one of his large ears.

"Oh honey. This is so much bigger than some pick pocketer."

He was breathing heavily now, scared, afraid and thoughts swirling around what was going to happen next. What happened afterwards, where he would end up.

He didn't get to muse about it for long, when a white light suddenly appeared to his left. It was so bright he had to clench his eyes shut, wondered if this were how dying was like, and yet he could feel and hear everything. The grunts of pain from the light, the released pressure when he suddenly was flung into the wall on the opposite side of him. He glided down the wall but had to keep his eyes closed due to the wind.

A blow, a gush, or a tornado he had no idea, suddenly there was wind everywhere, whirling the water around, splashing on him and the sounds of everyone panicking.

Then it stopped.

He opened his eyes, his vision slightly blurry from the hit but he could see very clearly the blue figure standing on his feet. Espio, Mighty and Ray he couldn't see but he saw Sonic, standing on the bricks, various black assassins laying randomly in the water, against walls or on the ground. He couldn't see his face, but he could see his body. His quills were erect, his entire body straight, the cloak fluttering in invisible wind around him.

And in his right hand he held the white Chaos Emerald, the one he had stolen from the castle.

He looked at it for a second, suddenly whipped his head up when four assassins got up from the ground and charged at the hedgehog. Tails could practically imagine the smirk when Sonic just looked at them, then he put a leg in front of him and his other hand that didn't have the jewel thrusted in front of him. Another blow of wind suddenly emitted from his hand, headed straight for the assassins, making them fly through the tunnel and hit the other wall, water splattering every which way and the bricks giving in to the force. The wind was so powerful, Tails' bangs were caught in his eyes, as he shielded his face with his arm, realization washing over him.

Chaos wielders. Mobians who can control nature itself with the power of the Chaos Emerald. It was true.

He quickly drew his arm back, when Sonic retracted his hand, spinning around on his heel. His face was concentrated, every pull and twitch stopped as his eyes scanned around.

"No!" A voice suddenly sounded from nowhere, Tails looking frantically around for the female who had said it. "It – can't be true," Since he couldn't see the female, he merely looked at the hedgehog.

He smirked, standing a bit more confidently than concentrated, looking at something Tails couldn't see.

"Fall back! Everyone, follow me!" Everything happened in an instant, the sounds of feet suddenly getting more and more faint, water splashing from somewhere, grunts and exclamations disappearing with the mobians. Then, everything was silent again. Not the same silence from before, no, far from.

He didn't realize that he was hyperventilating before his lungs screamed for air, putting a hand on his heart. It was beating. He was alive. He was still alive.

He gasped when Sonic suddenly appeared and crouched in front of him, one hand on his shoulder, green eyes scanning over blue orbs.

"Are you alright?" The concentration and smugness from beforehand were completely gone, only worry remained in his eyes. The weight on his shoulder had an effect on him – he could feel it. The weight alone making him calm down, and yet he had no idea why. Nothing made sense!

He had a hard time trying to read anything else on Sonic, was getting his breathing under control while he merely looked bewildered at the hedgehog.

"How'd you-" He swallowed some saliva. "How'd you do that?" Tails asked in between breaths, looking at the white Chaos Emerald still in his hand.

Sonic blinked at him before he looked at the jewel as well, shining with that same energy, almost pulsating in his hand. The fox could feel the energy better now, after getting unleashed into something he had never thought imaginable.

"I don't know," Sonic whispered. "But that was cool," He merely answered, still staring at the emerald like he was expecting it to burn in his glove. It didn't, instead it remained like it belonged there – like it was meant to be there, and nowhere else.

"So, it's true," Tails turned his head to the gruff voice, saw Espio emerge from somewhere, holding a hand to his head. He was staring at blue hedgehog, eyes filled with disbelief as well as surprise, nothing more than that. "Chaos wielders does exist," There was so much confusion in that sentence alone, the fox was pretty sure that the chameleon didn't believe it himself.

"Dude, that was awesome!" A voice suddenly exclaimed from the other end of the tunnel, Tails flinging his head around towards it, saw Ray practically jump towards them, with Mighty close in his heels. "I don't know what happened, but it was so cool!" He stopped beside the hedgehog, still jumping in place, giving no thought to the possibility of the assassins returning.

"I don't know what happened either," The hedgehog admitted, looking back at the fox.

Their eyes met for a second, while Tails still couldn't believe the concern in his eyes. The worry that quietly simmered down with the fox's improved breathing, the hedgehog suddenly standing up and reached a hand down to him. The pick pocketer looked at it for a moment before he swallowed something and took it. He was helped to his feet with more force than expected, standing even though his knees felt like they would crumble under him.

"We need to – we need to continue," Espio repeated, completely disbelief still in his voice. Tails looked at him, his mind still filled with both questions and ramblings of fear and the thought of him still being alive. "We're close," He breathed out, looked at Tails and the others.

The fox couldn't nod or do anything, his mind completely filled up with the experience. And yet, there was no time to think as the chameleon turned around and began walking, quicker than before.

He followed in instinct alone, glancing back at the hedgehog. He was staring at the Chaos Emerald in his hand, scratching his head with the other hand.

He was a Chaos Wielder. And a powerful one. He was right – it was true.

They existed.

They - existed.

Auhtor's note: I've never written Mighty and Ray before and therefore don't have a lot of experience with their characterization. But because this is AU and that means that I can do whatever I want I'm gonna keep the brief characterization you've read here. Take it or leave it :D