behold...
the worst game of where's waldo ever
"Not it."
That was all Knuckles had to say. What else could he say?
When the tracking icon stopped moving all together on Tails' receiver, all of the children suspected the worst. They picked up their pace and soon caught up to the place the tracking icon had rested. Upon arrival, it was all too clear what had actually happened to the tracker.
"Not it." Amy blurted out, almost immediately after the echidna. Tails heaved a heavy sigh.
"I'm not gunna make anyone go get it." Mumbled the fox. He shut the door to the portable restroom.
The kids just stared at the box for a good long while. What would they do now? They had lost their only lead to their missing friend. Hunting wasn't going to be so easy now. They had no actual way of knowing where their blue buddy was.
Knuckles was the first to break the silence.
"What do we do now?"
"You made me bring Amy, so let's use her." Tails shrugged.
"I'm right here, you know." The hedgehog huffed. The boys turned to look at her. She started pacing back and forth along the brick path. Three steps one way, four steps another. Three steps one way four steps another. Blue and purple eyes trailed back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…
"Wait." Tails piped up. Everyone froze.
"Sonic ate the tracker on purpose, he probably knows that it's gone."
"Which means…" Urged Knuckles.
"He most likely never left the vicinity. He might still be close by..." Tails explained.
"Well what are we waiting for!" Amy shouted. She rushed forwards and grabbed her two friends by a wrist. Before either of them could properly react, they found themselves being pulled into the crowd of pedestrians.
"Amy I-" Knuckles found himself cut off by a coat that flapped into his face. Tails bounced off of several people as their pink friend pulled them by. Amy continued on, pushing past people and ducking inbetween legs. The boys had the worst of it. After running face first into several shirts and an entire newspaper, Knuckles decided he had enough. He planted his shoes firmly against the pavement and resisted the dragging force that towed him. It didn't take much of his power for Amy to stop dead in her tracks. It never did. Knuckles could punt her over the horizon without breaking a sweat if he wanted to. The echidna had devoted much of his time to the art of gentile movements.
"Knuckles stop!" Amy squeaked, pulling harder on his arm. He merely let her. They would not be moving anytime soon. Tails took this time to breathe. He had had it worse than Knuckles. The poor fox had been dragged into five purses and clotheslined by an arm. Amy pulled and pulled and pulled.
"Amy take it easy!" Knuckles defended. The girl, to put it simply, did not. She pulled harder, trying different methods and stances against the immovable object. It was only after she resorted to pushing the echidna that Tails decided to step in.
"Amy we won't ever find him in this crowd." He reasoned, taking her hands. "We gotta find another way."
"Like asking around, or looking from another perspective." Knuckles added.
"Another perspective?" Tails asked, turning to look at his red friend.
"Yeah, like climbing on top of a building or something." The echidna clarified. A light bulb dinged over the young inventor's head.
"I've got it!" He nearly shouted. "Amy, let's get out of this mess, i'll look at it from another perspective."
Getting out was harder than getting in. for the small trio, it was an ever moving labyrinth of legs and feet. Tails had his foot stepped on more than once, and Knuckles was smacked in the face by a passing arm. Amy somehow didn't get touched by anyone. When they made it to a bench under a lovely tree, the boys were shocked and jealous that the pink quilled girl had come out completely unscathed.
"Wha-how?" Began Knuckles.
"What was your idea, Tails?" Interrupted Amy. She jumped up onto the bench to better see her environment.
"I can fly, remember? So I can just fly to a height and see if I spot any blue." Tails explained. He twirled his fluffy tails and began to lift into the air. Knuckles climbed onto the bench next to Amy for a similar view. Tails rose above the two with ease.
"Do you see anything?" Knuckles shouted after him. Tails began to look around.
Hedgehogs, hedgehogs, hedgehogs. There weren't many mobians in the square at all. Most of the city's residents were human, and the places were built accordingly. Not many mobian ventured their way to Central City.
Tails strained his eyes to see over the tall group of humans. A flash of yellow turned out to see a purse, a splash of green was someone's lunchbox, and a spot of red was someone's coat. Blue eyes stared harder. A few mobians began to stand out against the crowd. A lovely dalmatian lady with a cute dress. Nope. A tall crocodile toting around some mobian bee larvae. No. An old otter with thick glasses. Nada. A cute cat with lovely pink fur. Also no. There had to be some hedgehogs in the crowd.
"Not yet!" He hollered down to his friends on the bench. He had to look a little longer.
The yellow fox turned back to his search. Were there any hedgehogs in the group? He moved a little higher, revealing more mobians in the crowd, including a few hedgehogs. Yes! Now he could narrow it down. A green lady with an orange dress. No. A young brown hedgehog with blue shoes. Nope. A couple carrying a baby in their arms. Cute, but not the objective. A red hedgehog with a lovely white scarf. No. A black hedgehog with an impressive dye job. No. A white lady with a black and gold dress. Nope. Some lady carr-
"Tails! How about now?"
"Nope…" The fox sighed dejectedly. He allowed himself to float down next to his travel group.
"Sorry guys, doesn't look like he's around here." Miles sighed. He slumped down against the back of the bench. Amy sat next to him.
"That's okay. He might still be here though… I can kinda feel him around." She comforted. Knuckles slouched down too.
"I trust Amy's gut, if she thinks he's still here, then it's gotta be true." He encouraged.
"After all, he might not be in the square."