Sonic's heart still pounded in his chest. His legs still thudded against the ground. He heaved up another breath.

It was too dark for shadows. The clouds had cloaked the moonlight. Sonic nearly tripped again on a root. He caught himself as he pitched forward, hissed to himself, and scrambled over it.

Tails still lay on his back, hot with fever. The fox didn't make a sound except for soft moans every now and then. He'd done well for about an hour, but one ring hadn't been enough. Sonic knew that Tails was very sick.

Sonic's eyes flashed in the dark as he stumbled forward. His legs felt like putty beneath him. His stomach and lungs and heart felt as if a horde of bees were perpetually stinging them, trapped inside.

Sonic prepared to lunge forward and try another painful burst of Speed—

-he fell onto his face, a vine tangled around his ankle.

The movement jarred Tails. He opened his eyes, still feverish.

Sonic tried to push up, but he fell back. A grunt escaped him.

Tails hesitated. "Sonic, are you okay?" Tail's voice was a mumble. "Is—is it night already? It's really dark…"

Sonic coughed as he tried to speak. He began worming back onto his hands and knees. "Oh, you awake, Tails? You did not just see me trip." Sonic tried to laugh. "I don't trip on things—" he started coughing again.

Tails didn't reply. He dropped off of Sonic's back and rolled onto the dirt.

Sonic froze, looking down at the fox.

Tails eyes were closed. He tried to open them. "What did you say, Sonic?"

Sonic snatched onto Tails shoulders and hauled him up. The hedgehog's limbs trembled with effort and Sonic grit his teeth in frustration. He angled his shoulder, just managing to wedge Tails onto his back again.

Sonic began to try climbing back to his feet. He clenched his jaw. "Come on, Tails—we've still got a lot of ground to cover. Robotropolis isn't far—"

"Robotropolis…?" Tails chuckled a little to himself, his head lolling to the side with Sonic's movement. "We're…we're not going there…we're lost…"

"We're not lost," Sonic blurted, his eyes hardening. He shook as he straightened on his feet. "Just chill. Don't worry so much, okay? I know where we are."

Tails moaned. "No, we're lost…"

"So, sure, fine, I have no idea where we are." Sonic added, hoisting Tails farther up on his back. "It's okay though, it's dark. You can fly up and look at where we are from above in the morning."

"Okay…" Tails head's rocked back against Sonic's shoulder.

Sonic tried to walk forward, but his legs gave way beneath him. He stumbled back to his knees with a shout.

"Urhn, stupid Speed—" the hedgehog panted.

"Sonic…" Tails' voice sounded the clearest it had been yet. "…If we're lost, we should stay here for the night. You can't run like this…you can never run when you've gone without sleep and food this long…"

With that, Tails pushed up and rolled off of Sonic, back to the ground. He tried to pull the backpack off of Sonic.

"Quiet, Tails," Sonic snapped, gasping for breath, and closing his eyes hard. He shoved away Tails' hand.

"You need to rest," Tails murmured again.

"Rest schmest!" Sonic shot back, but his voice cracked. "We've gotta move it, Tails, if we want to see any of them again, if we want to keep our skins, if there's anything left we can do—time is ticking, they could be dying any moment, every second is a waste—" Sonic stopped again, coughing hard. He slapped a hand across his middle. "Neither of us can afford it anymore-We've got to keep moving—we've got to keep moving—"

Tails' eyes had closed again. He lay on the ground, next to Sonic. Just breathing. Sonic began trying to pull him back up.

"Robotropolis…I remember Robotropolis," Tails whispered.

Sonic froze.

Tails began to curl his tails around himself. He grimaced. "The cages—we were always in cages—they hurt us—not fast enough—I—I would have died if—" He paused, catching his breath. "Sonic…Sonic didn't let them."
Sonic stared, his eyes wide.

Tails almost chuckled. A sick, feverish chuckle. "They—they turn people into robots there—" Tails stopped. He was covered in sweat. "Mom—Dad—"

The hedgehog caught his breath, looking away quickly. "Shh, shh…okay…I need water." He snatched off the backpack.

"What water?" Tails murmured. "I'm so thirsty…."

Sonic hissed, dropping the pack and the empty water canteen. He wiped at his nose and began to half stumble, half crawl away. "I'll go find some. You stay here."

"I can find it, Sonic." Tails murmured, his voice small.

"No, Tails, you can't find it, you're sick—" Sonic blurted. He pitched back up to his feet and caught a sapling for support. He pushed off of it, stumbling into the woods. "It's just me and you now—I've gotta take care of you—you aren't going to die on me—"

Sonic made it three yards before he fell back to his knees. He crouched on the ground, bent over the earth, holding his middle. His shoulders began to shake.

Tails did not move. Neither of them moved.

Sonic knelt with his face bowed to the ground, his fists clenched. He quivered, a choked sound escaping him. An awful heaving sob wrenched up from his gut.

"Sonic?" Tails whispered, still lying in the dirt.

Sonic shook his head. The sobs cracked free. The hedgehog bent his forehead to the earth, curling up.

"It's okay, Sonic," Tails said.

"I—I wish they hadn't died." Sonic hissed out.

"I know," Tails said.

"All of them," Sonic heaved out. "The people in that cart—Aero—Grampa Chuck—everyone—I wish they hadn't died—I wish—" Sonic curled up tighter. He could not continue.

The two Mobians both lay there on the ground, exhausted and sick, Sonic trembling with sobs.

The night pressed in and finally the hedgehog fell silent.

Neither Sonic nor Tails were conscious when a figure approached through the dark and stood over their still bodies.