Chapter 15: Aquatic Ruins Segue
Sonic slowly opened his eyes, the brightness of the moon, the twinkling of the stars, and the artificial lights beaming from the casinos allowing him to make out the dark figure of his younger brother cradling him from above. Tails' eyes were aimed ahead as he spun his rotary namesakes toward the airstrip.
Sighing to himself, the blue hedgehog rested his weary face against Tails' chest as he allowed himself to relax. Indeed, it was as if the pain from his right arm and the small flesh wounds scattered around his body melted away as he floated high above the heavens.
As he was about to reenter dreamland, however, a sound from above woke him.
"…Hic."
"…Huh?" Sonic opened his eyes once more to find the young kitsune hiccupping from above. "You…okay, bro?" Sonic was still half-asleep as he rubbed his eyes with his left hand.
"…Hic…yeah, S...Sonic, jus' a…lil'…dizzy is all…hic!" Tails shook his head as his flight pattern began to zig zag. " "T…there is…hic!...it is." The blue hedgehog turned his head to see the airport where they had stored the Tornado. As the orange fox began making his descent, however, his grip on his older brother began to give way.
"Tails?" Sonic looked back up at his younger brother. "I feel like I'm gonna fall here!"
"Huehue, you…fall?" The orange kitsune chuckled under his breath between a few additional hiccups. "Me…make you fall? I'd neve' do 'dat!" As he said this, though, his arms gave way, the blue hedgehog falling to the city below.
"Sonic!" As if cured of his ailment, the orange kitsune dove down, grabbing Sonic by the ankle as he made a masterful swoop, returning to the sky above and clearing the tall gates around the airstrip.
Hanging upside down, Sonic looked up at his younger brother, whose arm was shaking as he swayed him left and right.
Okay, I'm not likin' this at all.
Gliding down to the cement below, Tails dragged Sonic's head against the cement as the young fox landed on the surface. Groaning as he pushed himself up, the blue hedgehog shook himself off before approaching his younger brother, who could hardly keep himself standing upright.
"You don't look too good, Tails." Sonic gave him a look of concern as the orange kitsune chuckled in response, followed by a few additional hiccups.
"I'm fiiiine, Sonic." Tails waved his arms forward as if to dismiss his concerns but falling forward in the process.
"I gotcha!" Sonic caught the young kitsune against his right arm, causing the injured hedgehog to yelp in pain.
"Oh, your arm?" Tails struggled to keep himself upright as he used Sonic's other shoulder for balance. "Let's get a looksee."
"Not now, Tails," Sonic replied, pushing the fox away with his good arm as he struggled to hold in the pain. "Let's just get outta here before…" The blue hedgehog was interrupted by a circling swarm of Egg Pawns descending upon their location. "…more bad guys show up."
"C'mon, Sonic!" Tails itched the base of his nose as his legs wobbled below him. "We can take 'em! Hiccup!"
"As much as I'd love to," Sonic placed his left hand on Tails' shoulder, "we're in no condition to fight. Let's mosey on out of here, huh?"
"If you say so…Sonic…hic!" The blue hedgehog hauled him over his left shoulder and sped toward the hangar, dodging the Egg Pawns that stood between them. Making it inside, Sonic set the young fox down and reached into his utility belt, pulling out his key fob.
"Yes!" Sonic pressed a button on the remote device which unlocked the Tornado and retracted the glass casing over the cockpit.
"I get to drive!" Tails shouted, waving his arm up as Sonic picked him up once more.
"Oh no you don't!" Sonic pulled him across his shoulders once more before jumping up toward the wing and hopping into the pilot's seat.
"But I'm yo…your pilot, Sonic!" Tails' eyes began to water. "You…need me…ri…hic!..right?" The blue hedgehog was about to strap Tails into the backseat when a lightbulb went off in his head, cracking a smile as he plopped him in his lap instead
"Sure thing, pal! Pilot's orders."
"…Pilot's…hors d'oeuvres.? H-hiccup…"
"Yeah…just place your hands on the wheel, and I'll start the engine."
"O…okay." The fox dried his tears before gluing his gloved hands on the yoke as Sonic twisted some knobs and pulled some levers, starting the Tornado's ignition sequence. Sonic placed his palms over Tails' own as the propellers began spinning, prompting his younger brother to look back at him in confusion.
"Do you trust me, pal?" Sonic asked, a smile on his face.
"…Hic…always." Tails gave a delayed nod as he loosened his grip on the yoke, allowing Sonic's hands to slip between as the blue hedgehog drove the plane out of the hangar and took off into the dark sky, leaving behind a horde of Egg Pawns.
"Yay! I'm…hic…flyin', Sonic! See, I'm flyin'!" Tails had a smile on his face as he loosely gripped Sonic's hands.
"Yeah, buddy," Sonic nodded his head, "yes you are."
Reaching a steady altitude, it didn't take long for the blue hedgehog to figure out what was wrong with his younger brother. All it took was a few sniffs.
"Is that," Sonic sniffed again, the orange kitsune directly below him in his lap, "the apple cider?"
"Oh yeah, that apple juice was…hic!...nasty." Tails made a dry spitting noise.
"Once you're better, we're gonna have a long talk about alcohol, okay?" Sonic peered down at his little brother once more, who seemingly didn't hear him, instead humming softly as he bopped his head left and right to the tune of a song in his head. The blue hedgehog couldn't help but grin, chuckling under his breath as he rustled the orange kitsune's hair with his left hand, the fox's ear involuntarily twitching at the touch. As he repositioned his right hand over Tails' own, however, he was reminded of the pain in his arm from the helicopter crash. He ignored it, though, clenching his teeth as he looked for a good place to land.
"And here we are." Sonic landed safely in an open clearing across from a forest separated by a long, winding river.
"Tails?" The blue hedgehog peered down to find his sidekick sleeping peacefully in his lap, his hands still connected to the yoke, a snot bubble growing and shrinking with each snore.
Retracting the glass casing surrounding the cockpit, Sonic carefully cradled Tails in his arms, putting more of his weight on his left than his right, as he dropped down to the grass below, bending his knees to absorb the fall. He slowly made his way to the river, gently setting his younger brother down before kneeling over the dark blue water running downstream. Lowering his head closer to the cool water, the blue hedgehog cupped his hands together and filled the makeshift bowl. He took a few sips before splashing the rest against his face.
"Ohh, I needed that." Sighing to himself, he looked back at his younger brother lying in the grass, sleeping with arms and legs spread out as his chest rose and fell. Turning his attention back to the river, he cupped his hands once more, filled them with water, and carefully crawled over to the sleeping kitsune.
"Here, Tails," Sonic slowly tipped his hand bowl, a small stream of water running into Tails' open mouth. Scrunching his face, the young kitsune was now just awake enough to curl himself into a fluffy ball, wrapping his entire body with his warm tails as he fell back asleep.
Smiling to himself, Sonic approached the rear of the Tornado and opened the back hatch, revealing various supplies the young kitsune kept for emergencies such as these. Reaching in, Sonic pushed away various rations, flashlights, portable heaters, articles of winter attire, radios, and batteries to find a single large sleeping bag. Pulling it out, Sonic walked back to his snoozing sidekick and laid it down next to him. He unzipped the flap, removed Tails' shoes, followed by his own, and gently slid him into the warm blanket. Slipping himself in as well, Sonic zipped the bag up from the inside and snuggled in close to his little brother, providing extra warmth for the both of them against the evening chill.
The orange kitsune woke to a light breeze against his muzzle, a fire warming him from a few meters away, and the smell of something delicious.
The latter made his stomach gurgle.
Opening his eyes, he found himself in a sleeping bag in a forest, an empty spot to his left that still felt warm. Raising his gloved hands to his eyes, the feeling of hunger was overtaken by the sharp pain he felt in his head. Raising a single palm up to his forehead, he groaned as he pulled himself up.
"Mornin', sleepyhead." Tails turned toward Sonic, who was sitting on a log, holding a frying pan in one hand and a wooden spatula in the other, meticulously preparing the food within.
"My head's killing me," the young fox struggled to say. "What happened last night?" He took a whiff of the air. "And…eggs? Smells delicious! Where'd you get them?"
"Well," Sonic replied, chuckling under his breath, "there was a flicky nest right up there in the trees, so I figured I'd help myself." Tails' jaw dropped as he watched the blue hedgehog laugh out loud. "Relax, Tails, I was jus' jokin'!" The orange kitsune sighed in relief. "I ran into town and bought some with your credit card." Sonic smiled as he watched Tails pull himself out of the sleeping bag. "I also gotchu a little present."
"Huh?" The young kitsune watched as his older brother handed him a warm, disposable, cardboard-enclosed cup. "Is this…coffee?" He grabbed hold of the cup, steam billowing out of the small hole on top of the safety lid.
"Give it a good whiff." Sonic grinned as Tails lowered his head until his black nose was directly above the steam. Taking a sniff, the fox's ears perked up as a new sense of life filled his tired eyes.
"Is this…mint?" Tails looked up at his older brother, the cup resting between his gloved fingers.
"Sure is buddy!" Sonic gave him a thumbs up. "Hot chocolate with Mobian Scout™ mint chocolate chip cookies to be exact."
"Woahhh." Tails looked down at the cup below as he licked his lips. "I gotta try some!"
"Wait, Tails!" Sonic put his hand forward. "You'll burn yourself if you chug it down now!"
But it was too late.
"Ahhhh!" The fox dropped the hot cup as he huffed warm air out of his mouth, rubbing his tongue against the palm of his gloved hand. Diving forward, Sonic caught the cup before it had a chance to spill.
"Whew." Sonic crawled over to his younger brother and sat next to him, the hot beverage in hand. "Crisis averted."
"Yehth, I'th thay ,Snc," Tails struggled the say, his burnt tongue still sticking out of his mouth.
"Here," Sonic gave the drink back to his younger brother. "Try blowing into it next time."
"Thanks, mother." Tails sarcastically scoffed as he grabbed the beverage back, blowing into the small spout before taking a careful sip. "Wow, beyond the burnt flesh, this is really good!"
"See! I told ya you'd like it." The blue hedgehog smiled as he watched Tails take another sip of the delectable drink. His smile went away, however, when the orange fox set the drink down to rub his forehead with a single hand, groaning to himself.
"What happened last night?" Tails looked over at his older brother as he repeated this question once more.
"Well," Sonic rubbed the base of his nose, "what do you remember?"
"Hmmm…" Tails itched his furry chin with a gloved finger. "I remember falling…and you taking heavy dam—" He stopped as he remembered a crucial memory.
"Sonic, your arm!" Tails turned to Sonic's side and inspected his right arm carefully. "Is it okay? I didn't get a chance to look at it yet."
"Relax, kiddo," Sonic pulled his right arm up with his left, "it's a bit sore, but it'll be all right."
"And you're all full of cuts and bruises." Tails crawled around the blue hedgehog.
"Nothing serious at all. I've had worse." Sonic shrugged his shoulders before turning his gaze back to his younger brother, only to find him gone. "Where did he run off to?" Turning around, he saw the orange kitsune fishing in the back of the Tornado and grabbing a medical kit from within.
"We can't be too careful, Sonic." Tails got down on his knees behind Sonic's back before opening the white and red box. He pulled out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and poured a small amount over a cotton swab. "Now hold still…"
"Ahhh!" Sonic yelped, placing a gloved hand over his mouth as the orange kitsune cleaned the mostly dry cuts of excess dirt and debris.
"What happened after we left?" Tails asked, tossing a used swab to the side before applying a fresh coat of rubbing alcohol to a new one.
"Well…" The blue hedgehog ran a hand through his quills. "I suppose you don't remember at all, huh?"
"Mmmhmm." Tails nodded from behind as he cleaned away bits of gravel stuck in the hedgehog's fur, causing Sonic to wince.
"You were sorta…drunk."
"Excuse me?" Tails looked over Sonic's shoulder, inadvertently pressing a cotton swab against one of his wounds.
"Ahhhh, watch it, Tails!" The blue hedgehog pulled himself away.
"Oh, sorry." The young kitsune pulled his hand back as well. "But did you say I was drunk?"
"Correct-a-mundo." Sonic nodded as Tails looked over at him in shock.
"But I don't drink! How did I—" The orange kitsune froze, remembering another key event from the prior night. "Ohh…I remember now."
"What were you thinking, bro?" Sonic looked at his younger sibling with a concerned look on his face.
"I dunno…" Tails stared at his sneakers with a downcast face. "I guess…I just got caught up in the moment, ya know?" Sonic pulled him in toward his side with his right arm.
"Just don't let it hap…owwww!" The blue hedgehog pulled his arm away from the orange fox.
"Sonic?" Tails gave him a concerned look as he watched Sonic rest his arm against his knee.
"I'm…okay…" The blue hedgehog sighed to himself. "Just gotta take it easy for a bit." He cracked a small smile at the irony, which put the young kitsune at ease. "Oh, and one more thing." Sonic turned to his younger brother once more, massaging his sprained arm with his opposite hand. "You were kinda sounding a bit…not like yourself during that dice game."
"You mean like a cocky, overconfident wise guy I know?" Tails cracked his own smile and placed his hands against his hips.
"Okay, maybe a little bit." Sonic raised his thumb and forefinger, pinched near one another, emphasizing the small gap between them. "I'm just…concerned is all. I'm glad you have your self-confidence back, but…" Sonic turned his face away, staring down at his worn sneakers making an imprint in the grass below. "…we don't need to act like that to prove our heroness." He sighed once more. "It must sound rich comin' from a hedgehog like me, but it's still true."
"Sonic…" Tails looked over at him with glistening eyes before furrowing his brow. "I promise that'll never happen again. I'll keep my ego in check."
"Good." Sonic pulled himself closer to the orange fox, patting his right hand against his left leg. "You don't have to resort to witty remarks when your brain and brawn can easily defeat the bad guys." Getting up from the log, he pulled the frying pan out of the fire, poured the lightly burnt scrambled eggs and bacon onto a plate, and handed it to the young fox.
"Now eat up, little bro...we have a big day ahead of us."
"You sure about this, Tails?" Sonic was steering the Tornado 2 over the abandoned, stone structures deep within the mountains, which had long ago been flooded with water from destroyed dams.
"Absolutely," Tails replied from the back seat, unbuckling his safety harness as the blue hedgehog retracted the glass casing protecting the cockpit from the whooshing wind.
"It's not too late to take me with you." Sonic eyed the orange kitsune through the rearview mirror.
"I'd rather you rest your arm a bit before we visit Eggman's base, and besides," Tails looked back at the small, orange, foxlike contraption on his shoulder, "I've got my old pal here watching my back, right T-Fox?" The machine blinked its large black eyes as it nodded its head, all but raring to accompany his creator on the adventure ahead.
"I'm just a hop, skip, n' a jump away. Don't hesitate to call!" Sonic looked over at the orange kitsune who was preparing to jump out of the cockpit. "And please…be careful." Tails placed his hand against the plane as he met Sonic's gaze.
"I will be okay, promise!" Tails gave his older brother a thumbs up, which the blue hedgehog returned in-kind, before jumping out of the biplane.
The young fox spread his arms and legs out as he fell. To anyone without rotary tails to aid them, this would've been a dangerous feat without a parachute, but to him, it was an exhilarating thrill. Indeed, he wore a smile as the air ran through his muzzle.
"It's time." Tails flipped himself over and began to rotate his namesakes until he hovered in the air, his back facing the ground below. Diving downward, the young kitsune landed on an ancient, stone walkway with a layer of grass growing over it. Looking around, he saw that most of the ancient ruins were full of water, but unlike last time the dynamic duo visited the zone, the only signs of Dr. Eggman were the long-abandoned scraps of metal from the Badniks they had long-since destroyed.
"Let's get a move on, T-Fox." The autonomous robot jumped off of its master's shoulder as it deployed helicopter wings, which spun fast enough to keep it afloat as it followed the orange kitsune onward.
"If I recall correctly," Tails said to himself, "this is about the place where the arrow comes out of nowhere and—" The fox froze as his eared pricked up. Diving forward, he covered his head as a silver arrow whizzed passed his head.
"You okay, T-Fox?" Tails peered up at the helicopter robot above, whose evasive maneuver was to fly up to dodge the projectile. T-Fox made some beep boop sounds in response, all but signaling that it was unharmed. "All right," Tails pulled himself up and dusted his chest and legs off, "let's get a move on!" The robot replied with additional boops as the two flew over a dilapidated bridge using their helicopter appendages.
Landing on the other side, the orange kitsune projected his Chaos Emerald tracking software over his watch.
"Let's see…if the reading is correct, the gem should be deep below our current position." Taking a few additional steps, the fox peered down at a pool of water. "It's too deep to trust air bubbles for oxygen." Tails looked up at his mechanical companion. "Ready to do your thing?"
With a few final boops, the robot landed in the water as it underwent a transformation, folding itself outward and autonomously reconfiguring its components until T-Fox became a small, one-seated submarine.
"Woah, this brings back memories." As Tails took his seat in the submarine, he shook his head to clear his mind of the events surrounding the last time he used T-Fox's subterranean capabilities. "No…now is not the time," he said to himself solemnly. Pressing a few buttons, pulling some levers, and twisting some knobs, Tails closed the hatch so he was fully protected by the submarine's outer shell.
"Ready to go, Sea Fox?" Tails asked. The submarine beeped and booped some more, giving its master the green light.
"Time to dive!" Pressing one final red button, Tails descended into the waters below, turning on the headlights as the sunlight slowly began to disappear. Looking down at his watch, he pressed a few buttons to transmit the Chaos Emerald coordinates to the on-board sonar screen. "Gotta go deeper now…" The young fox continued his descent until the natural light was hardly visible. Small bits of stone clouded the way, but the sonar was able to detect when large objects were ahead, making the journey relatively safe.
Taking a steady course, Tails allowed his mind to wonder as he slowly grew closer to his destination.
"Last night was almost perfect. I took charge and outwitted the mayor…why did I have to make such a dumb mistake?" The fox grimaced as he remembered the tingle of the hard apple cider in his throat. "If it weren't for Sonic, we'd have been toast. I'm such an idiot." The fox banged his fist against the steering wheel as a single teardrop ran down his muzzle.
"zzzz…no you're not…zzzz."
Tails gasped as he looked down at the wristwatch communicator below.
"…Sonic?"
"zzz…'e one 'n on…zzz." Tails slapped his palm against his face as he realized what happened.
"I must've left the communicator on."
"zzz…or butt dialed!" Tails chuckled under his breath.
"It's okay, Tailzzzz…" Sonic said on the other end of the line. "Nobody's zzzzzfect, we all zzzzistakezzzz…"
"Thanks, Sonic." Tails wore a smile as he allowed the comforting words of his older brother to help him feel better.
"That's….'mzzzzzfor."
"I'm breaking up, Sonic. I'll call you when I'm ready for pick-up."
"Rogzzzz…" Tails disconnected the call and set his attention back to the path ahead, glancing between the dusty water and the blinking sonar screen in the central console.
"What's this?" Tails discovered a small cave wide enough for the Sea Fox to fit through. Peering down at the sonar screen, he concluded that this was a direct path to the gem. Furrowing his brow, Tails proceeded through the underwater passage, steering carefully to prevent any collisions with the rocky sides.
"This is really cool." Tails looked ahead in wonder as fish of various shapes and sizes swam out of the way of the incoming submarine. "I wonder if anyone has ever been down here before?"
The orange kitsune didn't have much time to ponder, however, as he noticed a glimmer coming from above. Steering the Sea Fox upward, Tails concluded that he was directly below a pocket of air within the underwater tunnel. Floating up, the submarine rested along the surface of the water, its headlights giving the young fox a view of the spacious, dry cavern.
"You don't see this every day." Pushing a button on his dashboard, the hatch opened, allowing him to crawl out of the submarine. Paddling the Sea Fox with his gloved hands, he docked the submarine against a hard, relatively flat, dry surface and hopped off.
Looking around, he saw the source of the glimmering light: a pedestal sitting alone several yards away with the cyan Chaos Emerald resting on top.
"Odd…" Tails stepped forward, peering at the gem in front of him. He pulled out the green gem from his utility belt and watched as the two shone brighter, mystically interacting. "The emeralds scatter after their combined use, but how could it have ended up here?" Putting the green emerald back in his belt, Tails carefully studied the pedestal beneath the cyan gem.
"This one looks awfully familiar to the one Rockefeller had back in his office." Tails scratched his furry chin before raising his wrist. "Gotta perform a scan." Pressing a few buttons on his watch, he pulled up a schematic of the pedestal. "Just as I thought." The prodigious kitsune studied the diagram, which was nearly identical to the one in the Casino Night Zone, except there was a mechanism built into the ground that would push the pedestal downward instead of into a nearby wall. The only other major difference was that a glass case wasn't protecting the gem, but a scale was built in near the top which seemingly would trigger the pedestal's inner mechanisms if it detected a change in weight.
"I gotta act carefully here…" Tails looked around the cave until he found a rock roughly the same shape as a Chaos Emerald. Picking it up with one hand, and pulling out the green gem with the other, he compared the weight of the two closely. "Okay, I think this will do. Eggman's scale can't be that precise."
Approaching the pedestal once more, and placing the green gem back in his utility belt, the young kitsune carefully studied the cyan Chaos Emerald, which was nearly within his grasp. Sweat rolled down his forehead as his left hand edged closer to the prize, his right hand approaching closer as well. Stopping for a good 20 seconds, Tails took a deep breath and held it in as he rapidly swiped the Chaos Emerald and replaced it with the rock.
Tails stepped back a few paces and froze.
Nothing.
He waited several more seconds, perking his ears for the slightest disturbance.
Still nothing.
"Phew…" Depositing the cyan gem into his pocket, the orange fox wiped his brow once more before turning back to the Sea Fox.
"Hello there, you insolent worm!"
"Huh?" Tails looked around, but he was unable to pinpoint the source of the voice. "Eggman? Is that you?" Tails' eyes wandered around the spacious cave for evidence of the rotund mastermind.
"Who else do you think it is, you dolt!" Eggman yelled, his loud voice echoing throughout the cavern. "I see you were able to take down my mayoral henchman and thwart my security protocol. I'd expect nothing less, you miserable vermin!"
"You've lost, Eggman!" Tails replied. "We'll get Cream back home safe and sound." He furrowed his brow and clenched his fists, recalling the footage of Cream's capture Bokkun had shown the party back on Angel Island.
"And even if you managed to track down the remaining emeralds, is Cream's safety really worth your ultimate adversary's rule over Mobius? Wooahhooohoohooo!" Robotnik's laugh bellowed out of the hidden speaker.
"We'll find a way to stop you! We always do…" Tails stepped forward once more, heading back to his submarine.
"Leaving so soon?" Tails heard a click from afar before red blinking lights filled the cave. "In a few seconds, you'll be blown to bits!"
"But you still need the Chaos Emeralds!" Tails retorted, planting his feet against the ground as he eyes scanned the cavernous walls. He found the explosives planted against the rocky sides of the cave, dastardly disguised to appear nearly identical to the natural walls.
"It'll be child's play peeling them from your waterlogged corpse." Eggman laughed once more. "Good-bye, Tails! It was terrible knowing you! Wooahhooohoohooo!"
Eggman went silent.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit…" Tails dove into the submarine, not bothering to latch his safety harness. He turned it back on and rapidly spun himself around as he dove back into the water.
"Come on, come on…" Tails gritted his teeth as he maneuvered the Sea Fox as fast as he could. Hearing an explosion from behind, Tails could feel the tunnel rapidly caving in, rock pebbles falling over the Sea Fox as he sped toward the exit.
"Almost…there…" The fox screamed as the submarine barreled out of the cave mere seconds before its entrance was closed off by falling boulders.
"Whew…" Tails halted the Sea Fox and wiped his brow once more. Sighing heavily, he reached into his utility belt and grabbed the green and cyan gems with either hand. He watched as the mystical emeralds shone brightly in his palms, illuminating the small cockpit of the submarine. The energy radiating from the Chaos Emeralds filled Tails with a renewed sense of vigor and determination.
Putting the gems away once more, the young kitsune activated his wristwatch communicator.
"Sonic, come in. This is Tails."
"…zzzs' it goin', budzzz…"
"I have recovered the Chaos Emerald and am requesting evac."
"zzzzd' job, Taizzzzou soon!"
"Roger." Tails disconnected the call and placed his hands back on the steering apparatus.
We'll get you back, Cream.
Just hold on a little longer.
I hope you all enjoyed chapter 15! Expect chapter 16 no later than Wednesday, November 4, 2020.
Meanwhile, chapter 4 of Tails and the Abandoned Fox Cubs will be posted no later than Wednesday, October 28, 2020. Visit my profile to see my most up-to-date posting schedule.