Important author's note: Some of you might have noticed that the website was weird last week with uploads that contained gibberish and uploads that didn't even get uploaded and updated. Therefore some of you might be surprised to see this being chapter 11 than 10 and that's because I uploaded one last week which only got released super late. Therefore, if you haven't read chapter 10 yet, then I highly encourage you to, otherwise this chapter will be really confusing.

But other than that, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter :3

Sometimes you don't know your reward until after the job is done

He could easily see the sun starting to set in the horizon. Without the city walls that he was used to, he saw the almost hypnotizing colors of the sky, orange, and red hues, creating circles of warmth and decorated the sky into another painting entirely. He had seen the sun set many times before, he just always associated the sun setting with both relief and anxiety. Relief that he could be hiding in the ally, stay in the shadows and be unseen, and anxious because that was the exact same thing every other criminal thought and did. He had agreed with himself to never stop and look at it, since getting caught in a daze like that was dangerous.

But now – where he had no eyes on him as far as he knew – he could have stayed and looked at it for hours, until the vast arrays of warm colors slowly faded away into evening, and then into night, the sky replaced with speckles of stars randomly illuminating the dark night. But there was a couple of hours until that happened, as it was around six or seven in the evening, the meeting criteria almost fulfilled.

As time had flown by, Mighty and Ray had wished them good luck and rented a room at a tavern for the night, the armadillo telling them to be careful, and reminding them that it could be some sort of trap. Though Tails knew it wasn't since he knew he could have read it off Amy in case she wasn't telling them something

Earlier they had found the street mentioned, and then walked around the other streets and alleys around, taking note of the names and the buildings that was around, if he wanted to get something out of the kidnapper. He couldn't appropriately ask them about anything if he didn't have an idea of what he was looking for himself. He had noted a couple of manhole covers as well, noted the houses with families inside and the abandoned places.

As expected, the houses in the back of the city was dilapidated, a common theme between big cities he thought. Still broken down and some of them left behind by either poverty or moving out. He hadn't had any acquaintance with any kidnappers before, other than he knew that they existed. Though he was aware that thieves could use broken and abandoned houses for their meetings and hiding their loot. Burglars was almost always on the move while pick pocketers like himself was a mix. Either they travelled from broken building to broken building or they made their own place like he had chosen to. In the past he had learned the hard way what it meant to be sleeping in a broken house and then to be woken up by an angry bird.

He frowned at the memory, instead turned his head around the corner to check if they had arrived yet. The street remained silent; Heather Alley wasn't that long which meant they could easily see if anyone would be standing around. He understood why the kidnappers had chosen this place, since most of the houses here were left abandoned, the ones occupied by the end of the alley were either single people or couples lived together, not big families with curious and protective fathers and mothers that would go outside in case things got out of hand. Not that he expected it to since he was pretty sure that they would only meet one guy. He trusted Espio.

He shook his head when he recalled why he was here in the first place, why he had chosen to go along with all of this. He could have easily asked Mighty if he could owe them the money and be in a bed tinkering with his device than sneaking around and waiting around to knock someone into the ground. Why was he a part of this? Why was he even here? He could have said 'no', he could have stayed out of it and left everything to Sonic.

But there was a part of him which didn't want to. He could feel it in his fingertips, the small vibrations of excitement. It wasn't that he enjoyed punching people, far from, he wanted to stay out of trouble, but at the same time he remembered that rush, that adrenaline that had seemed to be almost a drug to him at this point. He hadn't felt like that back in the city. Not until he met the hedgehog.

He sighed when said hedgehog started tapping his foot into the ground again, looking back at him to see him still having his arms crossed, leaned against the wall. His facial expression practically screamed impatience, his entire body language being a testament to it more than anything, he noted, as he looked back at the alley.

"Tapping that foot won't make him come quicker," Tails said obviously annoyed, his left ear twitching when the tapping abruptly stopped, replaced with a sigh of irritation instead.

"Sorry that our kidnapper is late. Are criminals always late?" The fox looked back at him with the same frown, the annoyance still clear in his features.

"That depends if they ran into trouble or not. Though, if guys like them kidnap someone who has relations to someone with a high position then they should be professional enough," He explained, more in an attempt to hopefully keep Sonic's foot tapping at bay rather than wanting to explain.

"Professional or not, they're late," Tails sighed again, though he shook his head and decided to ignore him, leaned away from the corner, and frowned when his tail was cramping again.

Despite being used to hiding his other appendage, he never got used to keeping it hidden underneath his cloak, almost curling unnaturally into itself, the muscles luckily flexible enough to not permanently stay that way. It was uncomfortable, and despite him and Sonic being the only ones around for now, he could hear conversations close to them than comforting. He knew they were just civilians but – they were still mobians.

Both of his ears turned forward when he heard steps, coming from the alley, carefully tilted his head around the corner to take a look. A mobian with a tail, what kind he couldn't see, was walking in the middle of the road, taller than him and Sonic, thin but muscular around the shoulders. The rest of their body he couldn't read since they wore a dark blue cloak that was over their face as well.

The mobian walked a couple of steps before they stopped, looked around where they were, lifted their head to look at the horizon and then leaned themselves up against a wall. Planting one foot on it, while they crossed their arms, head bowed like they were in deep thought. They were it. Every single movement with their body told the trained pick pocketer that they were confident and knew that they were safe.

He had seen walks like that before, confident strides and heads lowered to not get noticed, mobians who were in bigger groups. Criminals who were alone tended to bow their head more, walking in quicker strides like they were always hurrying, frantically looking from side to side, depending on how long they had lived on the street. This mobian however was the former explanation, every single movement about them was enough of evidence to the fox.

"There they are," Tails said in a low volume, leaning away from the corner for Sonic to see, rolled his eyes into the sky when the hedgehog shoved his entire head around, not being cautious of not being seen.

"If you say so. They look suspicious enough," He concluded, rubbing his chin before he looked back at the fox, his impatience completely gone, an amused grin appearing on his muzzle instead. "Let's go interrogating."

Tails' eyes darted around the emerald green, wondering how he though any of this was amusing, how he could find any kind of entertainment in this. A part of him was pretty sure that he was psychotic. Why was he still around him?

He threw the thought away temporarily, promised himself to wonder later about the hedgehog's mental state, as he looked around the corner, nodding to himself.

"Yes. Let's go," He looked back at Sonic who nodded and walked out of the corner, walking into the alley.

Tails kept his head low, hood over ears and face, the only indication of his species being his tail out. He looked ahead and saw the mobian lift their head slightly at them when the duos steps echoed in the alley, though they were quick to bend it again. He could feel his heart starting to beat faster with his feet, every step being aligned with his heartbeat, had never in his life actively searched out another criminal to beat up. He was the one getting beaten if anything.

"Hey you? We were looking for ya," As agreed, Sonic asked and even waved obnoxiously at the mobian, revealing to be a wolf, now that Tails could see his tail, lifting their head to look at the hedgehog. They stopped in front of them, the pick pocketer's tail whipping in agitation, eyes narrowed.

Their face was still obscured underneath the hood, though up close he could see that they were male, no curvatures around their hip and a slim body.

"You got the wrong guy," He mumbled, voice low with age and confidence, ducking his head a little more. "Get out before you get into trouble," –

"Sounds like our guy alright," Sonic mocked, grinning, and winking at the fox, Tails not being able to hold back a sigh.

"We were talking to a female hedgehog earlier who said that her little sister was kidnapped by some thugs. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that do you?" Attention gained, the wolf lifted his head completely at them, the fox being able to see some of his face.

A pair of red eyes were looking back at them, fur dark gray and wrinkles around their features. An older criminal, though that only made him more experienced. His broad shoulders showed muscle, though his legs were thinner, meaning he could be a good mix between swift and strong, a powerful combo when executed correctly in a fight. Though a part of him knew that he had most likely had his share full of bouts already.

"Did she send you?" Catching on that they knew about their 'agreement', the wolf leaned away from the wall and looked around once, making sure that the alley was safe.

"Yeah, but we're not here to give you the contract. We think some negotiation and persuasion is much cooler than kidnapping," Sonic corrected, placing his hands on his hips. The wolf didn't notice, Tails saw it, the hedgehog shifting his stance a little bit, his quills rising in the back of his head, despite his face still having that amused gleam, like it was a game to him. But he was getting ready to fight.

"Hmpf. Then you're gonna have to reconsider your options, because we won't change our minds," He said, pushing his cloak away with one hand to reveal a belt, where a knife was secured on his left hip. Tails narrowed his eyes, not surprised by the weapon.

It was an unspoken rule among the criminals that you fought with fists and no weapons, though higher ranks and people who chose the criminal life didn't think those rules matters. Bringing a gun to a knife fight was usual among hitmen, higher ranked burglars and now kidnappers, he experienced.

Sonic smirked, his elbow lightly hitting Tails in the ribs, making the fox's muscle tense up in preparation.

"Ya know, there aren't really a lot of options among guys like us. We're more the-" He cut himself off there, as the fox instantly swiped his single tail at the wolf's face, making him stagger to the side, with a startled yelp.

Sonic swung one leg underneath the mobian, making him fall face flat onto his stomach as his legs was swiped away from him. The hedgehog was quick to pin his knees into his back, one hand keeping his arms on his back while the other was on the wolf's head forcing him into the ground. He grunted and grumbled irritated, at the same time that Tails smirked to himself, pulling the hood back and crouched by the wolf's face.

"Guys like you tend to be caught up in intense moments like that, making you vulnerable to surprises," He simply explained, as if he was lecturing about how clouds formed in the sky. He pulled down the hood on the wolf, red eyes completely filled with utterly surprise, as well as an anger behind his irises, still trying to struggle out of Sonic's grip, though the hedgehog kept him in place.

"You will get nothing out of me!" He grumbled, the surprise washing away, replaced with irritation of being pinned and unable to escape and anger for letting his guard down like he had. Tails smirk widened.

"We'll see about that," He thought, shifting a bit to get a better look at his eyes, Sonic not forcing his entire face into the pavement since he needed to see his cheeks and lips as well.

"Kidnapping is tricky business; I haven't encountered a lot of guys like you. Your strategy must be different to every other criminal in this city. You hide in the corners, hide in the old buildings, going into the sewers and in the bigger warehouses."

Tails' ears twitched from seeing the reaction, a very slight twitch of the wolf's right eye, lips faintly scrunching together in a thin line. The fox narrowed his eyes.

"A warehouse huh?"

Irises slightly getting bigger, a grunt too loud for the struggling he was still trying to do, intensity increased from the accurate read, while a bit of surprise hung around his eyes, the fox being able to tell. His facial features were frozen for moments, stunned by the blue eyes which could read every thought that passed his mind, or rather his face. "If you're here almost being late to the meeting, then I assume that it isn't that far away," His arm was almost freed, though Sonic put more pressure on his hold, the eyes keeping their slight dilation.

They were near.

"The warehouses are closer to the perimeter of the city and the central market. I bet you're around Johnson Street or Bleaker's road," The irises got smaller, and his face relaxed a little, continuing his struggle.

Tails' eyes were almost shining bright blue, darting around the wolf's face, checking every single pull, every crevice, the pull of the lip, the twitch of the eye, the cheek that puffed. The wolf was relaxing, getting further away from the goal.

"Alright, fine then the abandoned warehouses around Boulder road, or Kelver's alley," Eyes dilated again, his foot trying to kick Sonic, and his lip twitched. "Kelver's alley? The abandoned warehouse by Ursula's inn?" He grunted louder, shaking his head and closed his eyes in an obvious attempt to not make the pick pocketer able to read him further.

Though his action merely reinforced that information, making the fox nod and looked at Sonic.

"We got the place," The hedgehog had been concentration on keeping him still and therefore only looked up when Tails looked at him, his own eyes and pupils filled with adrenaline, before amazement settled in.

"Dude you need to teach me how to do that," The fox shrugged nonchalantly, looking at the kidnapper again who was now trying to thrash his way out of the grip, his arm thrusting towards his knife which he couldn't reach.

Sonic looked back at the fox, his eyes waiting for the moment where Tails nodded. The hedgehog bit his lip, before he suddenly let go, getting up to his feet, engulfing the wolf into another wave of surprise. Though he didn't get up in time before the pick pocketer thrusted the side of his hand into the back of the kidnapper's neck, making a grunt escape out of his lips. That was the last thing he said, as his head fell and landed on the ground, unconscious from the nerves that got stunned by the hit.

"And you need to teach me that as well," Tails looked back at Sonic, heart beating and fingers twitching from adrenaline, though he found himself grinning.

"Takes time and experience," He explained, looking back at where they came from as he pulled his hood back over his head. "C'mon, I think I remember where that warehouse was," Tails said, gently pushing the unconscious wolf closer to the side of the road to not gain attention from the few people that lived here.

He retraced their steps back to where they had been hiding, Sonic following in his quick strides, steps hurrying from adrenaline alone.

"We're actually doing this," Tails thought to himself, drawing an intense breath as they rounded the corner, walking along the other streets, the other signs.

He hadn't thought about what to do from here, mostly because a part of him either hadn't believed that they would make it to here or that something would had screwed up like Mighty had said. But things were working smoothly. He gained a nagging feeling in the back of his head from the thought, thinking that things didn't happen lightly in Croford.

Until he realized that this wasn't Croford. This was Kroxburg.

People didn't know them; they weren't known in this spiderweb and therefore was the most anonymous they were going to get. All that the kidnapper saw was a dark blue hedgehog and a yellow fox, a normal yellow fox. Granted, he hadn't seen either of their species when walking around today, but the same species and color of them should exist, right? He shook his head, thinking that it didn't matter anymore since they now had willingly attacked another criminal in order to make things right. And that was one of the most dangerous actions you could take – bothering others with their criminal activity and not keeping to yourself, could be a death sentence.

He could feel his heart beating against his ribs, the adrenaline keeping his body fidgeting as he looked back at Sonic. The hedgehog was frowning in concentration, emerald green eyes darting around the signs, but was following Tails in his steps. He didn't seem rattled, like the hedgehog knew that they were in control, that everything was going to be alright no matter what. Like the fight they had in the alley back at Croford, his entire body language screaming victory before they even had begun the fight.

Tails bit his lip, and looked away again, thinking that now they were working together again, but with his consent this time. He could have chosen to stay away, but he didn't.

Blue eyes fixated on a row of words that matched the description: Kelver's Alley, and immediately turned to the alley, Sonic's quick and not quiet feet following. They were along the perimeter of town, a row of warehouses that could store different materials that he didn't care for, made out of metal along the perimeter. He frowned at the thought, thinking that every house was build out of stone and wood as usual, but apparently the goods that got traded around was needed to be kept safe. Even though, these were abandoned, five of them, the roof on one warehouse gone, fallen while rust was making its way around. The others looked just as dilapidated, though the second to last one had light inside

The sun was still setting, meaning that the metal was bathed in an orange hue, making the kidnappers presence somewhat disguised until night would fall. There was no doubt, this was it, as he turned his head to the right of the warehouse, a couple of dilapidated houses in the way, but around a corner he could see a house that was lighting up, faint laughter coming from the place. The inn – which meant this was it.

He drew a somewhat shaky breath, as him and Sonic made it to the warehouse with the light, going up against the wall.

"So, what now?" Tails looked back at Sonic, frowning in confusion.

"Why are you asking me? You're the one who wants to free her."

The hedgehog was quick to throw his hands into the air, eyes looking almost ludicrously back at him.

"Because you're the ex-criminal in this. But if you want to ask me, I say that we just go in and kick butt," The fox's eyes ran over the emerald green, disbelief briefly in his blue irises from the 'ex-criminal' statement, like Sonic had just accepted that, that part of him was over.

Though he threw the thought aside, looking away from him and down the side of the warehouse, a window in sight.

"We can't just do that. They might have weapons for anyone trying to get in. If we just burst in and startle them, they could do something foolish," He simply explained, jogging up to the window he saw. His ears were twitching, the thin glass pane making sound appear from the other side. There was brief talking, in a low volume but no whispering. They didn't know they were here yet.

He gulped a ball of saliva down his throat as he dared a look inside, craning his neck back.

The first thing he saw was boxes, old storage crates and barrels that would have held produce inside if it were used. Then he saw the wolves, about ten of them, standing around randomly, arms crossed, or talking subdued to the others. For now, they seemed relaxed, some of them wearing a beanie while others had their cloaks on. They were waiting for the messenger to get back.

Then he saw the kid, in the back of the warehouse, trapped in a metal cage that you used to catch feral animals with. Two wolves stood on either said, one of them seemingly scrutinizing the rabbit who was trapped inside.

Rabbit?

He frowned confused, blinked, and looked back at Sonic.

"There is someone trapped in there, but it's not a hedgehog."

The blue hedgehog looked back at him almost just as confused, before he ducked under the window, stood up again the wall on the other side and took his own peak inside, this time around having the courtesy of not showcasing all of his spines in the back of his head.

"Does that matter? It's still a child isn't it?" He asked, looking back at Tails. The fox supposed that he was right, a rational part of him thinking that there might be another cage with a little hedgehog trapped inside which he couldn't see. Kidnappers didn't only kidnap once a year he thought.

"We need to get inside," He said unnecessarily afterwards, looking around for something the fox couldn't guess.

He took his own peak inside again, looking at the two wolves that stood guard by the cage was now taking note of the kid. The young face and lash around their eyes told him that it was a girl, no curves around her waist yet due to age, probably around the age of six. She was sitting against the back of the metal bars, her entire face screaming that she was scared, her eyes shaking and nervous wrinkles around her eyes. They were a light brown color, a ring of orange fur around her eyes while the rest of her head was beige in color, long ears both with orange and tan fur going past her shoulders. She wore a turquoise dress underneath an orange dress reaching the length of her ankles while her sleeves stopped around her elbows, a yellow belt around her waist. She wore a pair of yellow and orange shoes, high in quality and no rips in her clothing.

She looked unhurt from his position, though he couldn't see every part of her. All he knew was that he had never seen anyone being more scared in their life, could feel his heart plump down into his stomach with empathy, a sudden wave of determination surfacing into his abdomen. He noticed a broken window behind one of wolves.

He frowned a bit, thinking if he really wanted to do that, then thought that they didn't have a choice since they wanted to bring the victim out of harm's way, sighed and looked back at Sonic.

"There's a broken window behind one of the wolves by the cage. We could go in there, take them down while they're off their guard and make sure that the kid stays safe," He said, then bit his lip. "From there, I guess we need to take them all down," He said, looking at the number of guys yet again.

Even if they split them up into halves, that was still five mobians he needed to concentrate on at once. He looked up, seeing that the warehouse was high into the ceiling, sending a thought to his twin tails though he quickly shook it off. He wouldn't do that here.

"Sounds like a plan," Sonic agreed with a nod, looking back at Tails, the concentrated frown disappearing briefly to be replaced with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about getting overrun. I'm with you."

Tails' eyes darted around the hedgehog's for a brief number of seconds, before he nodded slowly, looking into the warehouse again.

"I know," He thought nervously, figuring that Sonic could see his anxiousness from either his face or stance, taking one more glance into the warehouse to get an idea of the wolves' positions and silhouettes.

A lot of them were slim, a couple of them having muscles adoring their arms but most of them looked like they were quick on their feet, which worked out perfectly in their line of work. Needing to sneak around and being quiet, meant that they needed to be lightweight, making them swift on their feet and harder to fall.

He turned his head when Sonic started walking, making Tails duck under the window, and followed in his steps over to the mentioned window.

He bit his lip, thinking that he didn't want to retort using both of his tails, but a part of him thought that it was necessary. There was a lot of mobians in there, criminals he needed to take down quickly otherwise they would get the upper hand. He couldn't swipe someone off their feet with a single tail, he didn't have enough force or muscle for that, he needed both. Plus, he knew he couldn't concentrate on both fighting, reading, and keeping his tail hidden, well aware that he was going to forget about it mid-fight, meaning he might as well use it now. With that irritated thought in mind he pulled down his hood and let his other tail slither out, secretly glad, since the cramping sized as the appendage whipped once from the muscles that wasn't tense anymore.

Sonic stopped by the mentioned window, risking a peek inside before he ducked his head, nodding towards Tails since the wolves would have heard him if he talked. The fox nodded, as the hedgehog pointed at himself, then at him and lifted three fingers. Tails understood, at the same time that he read his face, a concentrated frown on his forehead though his eyes were shining. He still thought that they were going to win this, the victory was in their hands.

Tails didn't have the time to think otherwise as Sonic let one finger fall, the fox instantly feeling his muscles tense up.

His heartbeat was almost in his ears, every beat making more and more nervous, the adrenaline picking up again. Another finger went down, making him move his feet to move quickly.

He breathed out.

Then Sonic leaped inside with a battle cry, being able to hear him kick at something, surprised sounds and shouts emitting at the same time that Tails jumped.

His eyes were temporarily stunned by the amount of them inside, before he fixated on the one beside the cage, the wolf having turned around. He was quick to sprint towards them, swinging both of his tails around. The wolf landed on their stomach, surprised by the force of the hit, didn't have the time to do anything else as a hand was thrusted into his neck.

Tails breathed out again, standing beside the cage, seeing Sonic on the other side as he looked into the building. Wolves were standing around, casualness gone and instead gripped a weapon or stood in a fighting stance, waiting for them to make their move. Tails dared a glance at the rabbit inside the cage, saw her eyes frantically look between the two of them, water conjugating around brown irises.

"This can go two ways," Sonic said, apparently making demands that Tails didn't know about. "Either you chose to let the kid go with us and we forget about this, or we kick your sorry butts to the other end of town and then we take the kid with us. Your choice," He didn't look at him, but he could hear the smirk.

Meanwhile, the pick pocketer's eyes were darting around the wolves, looking at the ones nearest to him, categorizing their bodies and their stances, reading their faces. They were surprised, but that quickly got washed away into smirks, confident and amused gleams, especially at the ones who were looking at him.

He narrowed his eyes, thankful that his greatest weapon was back at his disposal: Being underestimated.

"How about you guys just back off and go back to where the hell you came from," A wolf said, having picked up a metal pipe and was threateningly banging one end of it into his other palm repeatedly, taking his steps towards the duo. The others followed suit.

He saw Sonic shrug his shoulders in his peripheral vision.

"Alright, bring it on!" He practically cried again, was suddenly nothing but a blur as he kicked one of the wolves into oblivion, sending them into a couple of crates, splinters and pieces of wood flying everywhere. Tails was temporarily stunned by the speed Sonic had taken off at, thinking how he hadn't noticed that before, before he turned back to the wolves closest to him.

Three of them were heading towards him, the closest having a knife in their hand. They were running with precision, steps somewhat clumsy but it was obvious that they had fought someone before. Their eyes were gleaming with victory, underestimating him despite the display beforehand.

Tails narrowed his eyes, sprinted towards them to avoid hitting the cage, ducked as the knife was headed towards his chest, sending his tails into the wolf's ribs. Yet again, surprise overruled them, sending them into a barrel that got knocked over, temporarily stunned. Tails turned back to the other two, one of them sending a punch his way which he dodged, sending his own punch towards the wolf's snout which got flattened in the same manner. A pained cry escaped them, letting their guard down and gave the pick pocketer the opportunity to kick him into the last wolf.

hey frantically caught their comrade, as Tails spun around towards the wolf that had gotten knocked into the barrel, having recovered. He dodged a kick, received a punch to his shoulder, danced around the wolf's legs and spun his tails around, sending them into the ground. As the side of Tails' hand made it to the wolf's neck, he tuned back to the other two. They were on their feet, both of them charging at him at the same time. Tails was quick to sprint over to a box, kicking it towards the first wolf, who tried to catch it, the pick pocketer dodging a kick to the face from the other.

He ducked when the box was sent back towards him, wood flying everywhere and hitting his back, swinging his body around to make his tails swipe, sending the first wolf into the floor on his back. He didn't have the time to do anything else, as the other wolf send a punch his way, hitting his nose as well. Tails staggered backwards before catching himself, dodging another punch and kicked the wolf's stomach. They fell over another barrel, said barrel hitting them as they fell onto the floor. With the two kidnappers stunned he turned around towards Sonic, seeing the hedgehog throw a punch into a wolf, knocking them out on the floor.

Six of them were left, two of them making their way over to Tails. They were confident, run professional, while one of them had a piece of wood in their hand, all underestimation about the fox's ability to fight completely gone. He narrowed his eyes in preparation, tails whipping agitated behind him, as he kicked the first wolf that came to him without a weapon. They staggered, Tails letting down his guard as the other wolf smacked the wood into the side of his head.

He was flung into the wall, sitting on his bottom, as his vision got stars in them, shaking his head to make them disappear.

"Watch out!" A light voice suddenly screamed, making Tails' eyes focus, saw the same wolf from before lifting the wood to knock him out.

He thrusted both legs towards him, kicking them backwards into the other wolf that had been staggering. Adrenaline making the blur disappear, he got to his feet, swinging his tails around and send the wolf with the wood into the floor on his stomach. One move later and he was unconscious, Tails turning around towards the other wolf. They were charging a punch at him which he dodged, kicking them in the ribs, making them stumble over a crate.

"Tails!" The fox spun around towards the hedgehog, seeing him kick another wolf, as green eyes filled with adrenaline met blue. "Get her out of here, I'll hold them off!"

Tails' eyes darted back to the wolf who had recovered, dodging a kick and swung his tails around. They hit the back of their head onto the concrete floor, making them yell out in pain and roll over to the side, immobilized for now.

The fox looked at the four wolves that was surrounding Sonic, bit his lip, but did as told, sprinting back to the cage, and looked at the lock. It was a simple lock which he merely opened by lifting it up and slid it to the side, opening the metal.

"C'mon," He said, adrenalin taking over his actions as he took the rabbit's hand, said girl gasping in surprise as she was hurled out of the cage. Tails went back to the window, letting go of her, jumped out, before picking her up. He was panting, adrenaline coursing through his veins, hands shaking as he put her down and took her hand again, sprinting around the warehouse as he could hear the fight continue inside.

She was stumbling in place, as he ran away from the warehouse, adrenaline eyes zipping around the alley. He chose a random one, rounded a corner, and sat down, heaving the rabbit with him. She sat down beside him, the fox panting, letting go off her hand as he looked back at the warehouse. No one had followed them. He swallowed spit before looking back at the rabbit, the girl having huge eyes brimming with tears, a confused frown on her forehead.

"What's your sister's name?" He asked, still panting for air. For a moment she looked scared, like he was another kidnapper, and therefore answered him with a slightly shaking voice.

"A-Amy," She answered, her high tone confirming her age. Tails' eyes were still at work, looked back at the warehouse and then back at her.

"We're here to get you back to her," He explained, which was evidence enough, her eyes getting bigger in relief, the water evaporating with the news. Though, he didn't take note of it, instead looked back, felt his heart race with anxiety, the hedgehog not making it out just yet.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" He thought between pants, his legs shaking as the adrenaline was still shaking his body, fingers twitching. He couldn't hear the fight, couldn't see anyone exit the building or get in for that matter.

He bit his lip, thought that too much time had passed and looked back at the rabbit.

"Stay here, and don't go anywhere," He commanded, not waiting for an answer or took his time to read her as he sprinted back to the warehouse. The beating of his heart was almost uncontrollable at this point, the muscle pushing against his ribcage, as he made it back to the wall.

Shouting was happening inside, though the kerfuffle of fighting and pained yelps had seized. He made it over to the first window, skipped on the cautiousness and looked inside.

"-the most important deal! What are you doing interfering with our plans!"

Sonic grunted as the hand thrusted his face further into the floor, two wolves on top of him, keeping him down, while one was shouting into his face, the last standing with arms crossed.

"Dude chill out haven't you heard that kidnapping little kids is illegal? You should try out a different hobby, like fishing. I heard that it takes a lot of patience but if you're-" –

"Shut up!" The wolf that had shouted beforehand spat into his face, making Sonic's eyes scrunch up.

"Say it don't spray it," He complained, though the hand on his head lifted him up in his spines and thrusted his face into the cement, making a pained sound escape him.

Tails gasped to himself, looked around for anything that he could use.

"Enough! You've interfered with something you shouldn't have hedgehog, now you'll pay the price!"

The pick pocketer knew a final threat when he heard it, skipped on the weapon, and instead picked up a stone behind him, and threw it at the window. He covered his head as the glass broke, dangerous pieces of see-through glass flying everywhere around him. He knew the wolves were stunned for the moment, as Tails put one hand on the frame, winched at the pain that shot through his hand as he leaped over and sprinted towards them.

Kicking at one of the wolves that was holding Sonic down, the other tried to punch him, when the hedgehog's elbow was thrusted into their face instead, making them stagger backwards. He spun his tails around, making one wolf fall flat onto the cement, as Sonic quickly leapt to his feet, kicking at the one who had been staggering, Tails turning towards the one who had spoken. He dodged a punch, kicked the wolf in the stomach, sending them into a box, wood splintering under their weight. The wolf wiped something off his face, the fox panting and looked at him, fingers twitching with adrenaline.

"You're making a mistake interfering with us," The wolf warned, getting to his feet, as he picked up a piece of wood. The fox didn't answer, instead clenched a fist with the hand that wasn't hurting and hurled a punch his way. They dodged it, as an elbow was thrusted into the pick pocketer's back, sending him into the ground. The air was pushed out of his lungs, making him gasp and roll to the side, as the wood had been hurled towards his neck. He didn't have the time to get to his feet, as the wolf landed on top of him, knees in his stomach, and one hand on his shoulder, the other still holding the wood.

A pair of grey eyes were burning into his cerulean irises, anger, and irritation clear in his feature, though they were smirking now, pre-victory gleam shining through. They were laughing now, the wood slamming down on one of his tails, making him bite his lip to avoid yelping in pain.

"You know, I've never seen a mutation like yours before. A freak like you could make good money on the black market."

Tails' felt his heart stop.

His hands shaking.

His soul burning.

Burning with fire, burning with a hot searing anger, a volcano of hatred, as his head whipped to stare at the wolf.

Two tails were thrusted into the wolf's side, making them fall to the floor. They didn't get up, was instead pinned to the floor by hands on their shoulders, knees in their stomach. They let go of the wood as they received punches to the face, a fisted hand going over their cheeks repeatedly.

"Don't you ever call me that! You hear me?! Don't you ever – say – that!"

Three punches accompanied his words, with his sentence, the anger taking over his actions.

The hatred, the adrenaline and the memories and anecdotes that lit the fire, the burning volcano erupting, as his controls were taking over by an anger covered by a deep, deep sorrow.

"Tails, stop! He's done!"

He almost gasped, having lifted one more fist to punch them again, though Sonic's words pierced through his mind. He blinked out of it, looking down at the wolf who was still pinned underneath him. Their eyes were halfway closed, one cheek turning blue and the other puffing up as if a tooth had come lose. Grey irises were wavering, unfocused and glossy, half-way unconscious.

Tails was quick to let go and got to his feet turning around to look at Sonic, the hedgehog having taken the other three down to the ground. One of them were clutching at their face while the other was moaning into the ground from pain.

The fox's eyes were plastered onto the hedgehog, as quietness surrounded them, a stillness filled with adrenaline, the pick pocketer not knowing if he wanted to stay angry or wanted to cry, since both emotions were flush against his chest.

Sonic got back to reality quicker than he did, looking around at the wolves before he looked back at the slightly shaking fox.

"Let's get out of here," Tails exhaled and inhaled a couple of times before he swallowed something, blood or saliva who knew, as he nodded. The hedgehog looked around himself, headed towards another broken window he hadn't seen before and leaped out.

The fox looked around the wolves on the ground, some of them staggering to their feet but was done fighting, as he followed, going out of the window panting to get air into his lungs. His hands were shaking, the adrenaline still coursing through his body as he led Sonic towards where he had left the rabbit.

Jogging across and away from the warehouse, he clearly saw the girl looking around the corner, eyes getting larger when they came into view.

"You alright?" Sonic was the first to ask, as they made their way over to the rabbit, crouching down to her height. Tails' eyes were still shaking with adrenaline, looking back over his shoulders just in case, ears twitching and turning.

"I – I'm okay," She answered, the fox looking back to see her hazel eyes look around her two saviors. "Are you okay?" The girl asked afterwards, eyes still confused and wary in case this was a trap, but her face was relaxed.

"I think so," Sonic answered, turning his head towards Tails.

The pick pocketer saw his eyes checking his body, emerald green working quickly around his face and chest before they stopped, at his left hand, eyes slightly widening.

"Chaos is your hand alright?!" Tails ignored the concerned voice, instead looked at the mentioned hand.

His beforehand white glove was red, and as he pulled it off, he saw the wide cut that he had in his palm from the glass, still bleeding over his fur. With the adrenaline seeping out and him seeing the wound, the pain increased, though he didn't say anything despite frowning, getting his breathing under control. The rabbit gasped, making him turn his head to see her mouth covered with one hand, eyes widening in shock at the sight.

"We need to get back home! Amy needs to help you!" She exclaimed eagerly, eyes darting over the both of them, as Tails tied his red glove around the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Sonic's eyes were briefly confused, though it disappeared with the revelation that the rabbit knew who Amy was.

"But – I don't know the way from here," The fox looked back at her, saw in his peripheral vision the hedgehog checking out his makeshift bandage with his eyes before he looked back at the rabbit.

"Don't worry we know the way," He said, a brief smile going over his face, in an attempt to overshadow the concerned frown on his forehead.

"I'm Sonic, and this is Tails. I'm glad that you're okay," He briefly introduced. The girls' eyes seemed to relax, exhaling deeply before she flashed a fake smile of her own.

"I'm Cream. Thanks for saving me," She said, her eyes scanning over Tails' still bleeding hand before she looked back at Sonic. "Let's hurry back."

The hedgehog nodded and got to his feet, sighed out something before he took Cream's hand, leading the way. The fox had been watching the exchange, taking a couple of deep breaths before he followed, his heart starting to quiet down again, following in Sonic's steps.

They rounded a corner before the hedgehog looked back at him, the concerned frown still there, though he was smirking.

"Thanks for saving my blue butt in there," He winked.

Tails read the sincerity in them, the thankful expression of someone who thought that they were going to be left behind. The pick pocketer's eyes darted over Sonic's, noting the purple splotch on the right side of his face with a concerned frown, before he nodded slowly.

"Of course," He said, shrugging slightly before he found a faint smile. "If you got my back then why shouldn't I have yours?"

The hedgehog's smile faltered a bit with confusion, before he smirked instead, a victorious gleam in his eyes and a thankful shine in his expression. He faced forward again, leading the way back to Amy's house, as Tails looked at Sonic's back in thought.

The adrenaline was slowly making its way out of his system again, the pain in his hand seeming to increase as he had caught his breath. That was – intense.

Something that he didn't necessarily wish for again. This wasn't the something else that he had wished for.

Although - he couldn't help but feel the warmth increase in his heart as he looked at the back of, the newly introduced Cream's, head, the kid's fingers clutching around Sonic's hand. They had saved someone. Then screw the pain and the blue and purple spots tomorrow.

They had saved a child from mobian trafficking…

Despite the fight and his hand burning, he couldn't help but find a smile to plaster onto his lips from the thought alone.