Sonic hurried across the forest floor, the ninth Mobian on his back. He stopped underneath a large root outcropping and slid the body off next to the others. There were six unconscious, three conscious, and back at the clearing, there were fifteen dead. The little cat and two other Mobian children had been hiding beneath one of the carts and now they sat together a couple yards away, watching with bright eyes.
"This is the last one, Ames," Sonic said. He knelt over the ninth body, a Mobian otter, and gave him his last healing ring. "You watch them. I'm gonna take care of the rest back there."
Amy Rose hurried into the clearing after him, remnants of some of the wagon rubble and her hammer in both arms. "O—okay, Sonic!" She dropped her pile, braced her hammer, and began marching around the living Mobians.
Sonic darted out of the root formation and back to the clearing.
Tails sat cross-legged among the ruins, a healing ring in his mouth. His eyes were already bright and he'd taken off the moss-bandage Sonic had made for him the day before. His wound had turned from an inflamed scab to clean skin, and a fine layer of fur was beginning to grow back.
He looked up as Sonic approached, then glanced down again.
The fox nudged a burnt piece of furniture with his foot. "I can't see why they shot them."
Sonic crouched down next to him for a moment. He glanced at the bodies of the dead Mobians.
"Because Robotnik is cleansing the planet, that's why," Sonic said. "And that means killing us."
"Yes, but…" Tails picked up an old-style radio that was bashed in at the speaker. "He programmed the combots to sort us first. And the extent of the damage and burns—it's too powerful for combot blasts. The—people over there—" Tails motioned to the bodies Sonic had set aside. "Their wounds are random—as if something just hit them all at once…they weren't targeted one by one."
"One of the guys said something about a ship like a bird in the sky. They were shot at from above." Sonic stood up. He walked over to the bodies. "Glad Ames left when she did…even she can't smash a bomb away."
"But it still doesn't make sense for Robotnik though," Tails murmured. "He wants to use us before he kills us."
Sonic scuffed the edge of his sneaker into the dirt, making a sharp divot. He looked up at the sky. "There's only one cruiser that was out here yesterday that I know of." He spat.
Tail's ears pricked forward.
Sonic dropped down on his hands and knees and burst into Speed. His limbs whirred in a frenzy through the dirt, snapping through roots and flinging rocks and clods.
Tails watched the dirt cloud rising from Sonic's work. He looked back down at the radio, turned one of the nobs and popped open the back.
Five minutes later, Sonic's movements slowed. He pulled himself up from the bowl-shaped pit he had created, and rolled out onto the even ground. He lay on his back, coated in dirt, blowing out hard.
"Which cruiser?" Tails asked. He had pulled several more old pieces of machinery around him, mostly handmade devices made from robot parts, and had begun dismantling them.
"I just saw it pass overhead yesterday," Sonic said, still gathering his breath. He sat up. "It was kinda weird. Not a fighting air cruiser, ya know..." He stood up and carefully picked up the first body. "It probably had a canon though."
Tails bit his lip, concentrating on the radio before him.
The two worked in silence until Sonic had placed the last Mobian into the pit. He climbed back up to the top, fisting his hands on his waist, and took a deep breath. "Guess it doesn't really matter in the end how they were killed, huh?"
Tails looked over at Sonic, his eyes dim.
For a minute, neither one spoke.
"I…I don't know if it's going to be any good, Sonic…" Tails finally said.
Sonic's hands fisted and his shoulders stiffened.
"I mean," Tails continued. "People had always been dying and we've always tried to do something, and we have done things. We have made a difference, but we still had the planet then. Now—I don't even know what we can do with the people who might make it, let alone all the millions of people Robotnik has captured—"
"Whatcha saying, we just surrender and give ourselves up, admit we can't do anything, that we're through, that Robotnik can get away with all this-?" Sonic spat out, turning to Tails.
"No," Tails said. He met Sonic's gaze. "I don't know what to do."
Sonic blinked.
"I do. I'm gonna take on Robotnik," Sonic said. "I have Speed and rings, all I need is to get close to him and have it out."
Tails bit his lip. He hesitated.
"You don't think I can win, huh?" Sonic narrowed his gaze.
"I think…not winning is a way out…" Tails said, his voice low.
Sonic's eyes flashed.
It was a good thing he and Tails had known each other for so long. Or else Sonic would have just laughed.
"You think so?" Sonic snapped.
Tails didn't waver. "Sometimes I think it's scarier to keep living than to die." He turned back to the radio.
Sonic did not move. He stared at Tails, his gaze as sharp as bullets.
There were a million things they said in that moment without even looking at each other.
Sonic turned back to the bodies. He began to kick some of the dirt back into the pit, his eyes narrowed.
Sure. They had plenty to die for, but not much to live for.
Life would never be okay again.
Sonic stopped. "I'm gonna check on Ames."
Tails nodded. He continued to work on the radio.
