Tails stumbled through the portal, nearly tripping as the ground beneath his feet abruptly went from steel to pavement. He caught himself and quickly spun around, looking for a robot ambush, but there were no enemies in sight. Instead, his eyes widened as he took in Eggman's new resort.
Ahead of him, a zigzagging yellow and white paved path with a glass mosaic down the middle stretched towards the distant sight of a vast, icy blue planet. The path was lined with green foliage, some of it—such as the palm trees—clearly imported from Earth, while others were not nearly so familiar. A neon banner arched above him, flashing the word "WELCOME" in eye-searing orange. Other neon signs, intermixed with torches and strange statues, were scattered along the vaious walkways, inviting visitors to enjoy themselves. In the distance a giant, glowing ferris wheel turned slowly, the cheery music playing from its speakers only faintly audible from this distance. Above him the sky was the blackness of space, speckled with brilliant stars. Hovercars darted to and fro over his head, carrying construction supplies to the buildings still being erected by industrious Egg Pawns.
"Yo, Tails!"
Tails jumped as Sonic's voice broke him from his reverie. He hurried to the edge of his walkway and peered down to see Sonic standing on a different path below, foot tapping impatiently on the pavement. Tails rolled his eyes. He'd only hesitated a few moments before going through the portal; Sonic couldn't be that bored already. Tails hoved down to join him, peering at the nearby statues curiously as he did so. He was disappointed by how un-alien they were. Had Eggman just imported these from a Hawaiian tourist trap?
"Pretty cool, huh?" Sonic said. "Shame we're gonna have to trash the place."
"What do you think's going on here?" Tails asked, already pulling out his Miles Electric to record what data on this new world he could. And maybe a take a few souvenir photos. It wasn't everyday you got to visit an alien moon, after all.
"Dunno," Sonic said, shrugging. "All I've seen are Egg Pawns building amusement park rides."
"Huh." Tails frowned, looking up from the screen—all readings the same as they'd been on the console in the portal room—to look around. Sonic was already wandering off, so Tails quickly started walking after him as he thought out loud. "I know he's always wanted to build Eggmanland, but you'd think he'd try and get rid of us first. And what was he doing with those—"
Tails most definitely did not screech and jump a foot in the air at the sudden burst of alien chirping in his ear. He whirled around, then relaxed slightly as he saw it was just another alien like the one on the space station. So they had them here, too? He dutifully help up the Miles Electric and scanned the new creature. The Wisps seemed to have an important part to play here, and besides, he was curious. He compared the new Wisp—which was peering over his shoulder at the screen with evident curiosity—to the image of the Wisp they'd seen on the space station. Unlike that one, this Wisp was vivid cyan, not a pale bluish-white, and had two orange eyes rather than one dark pink eye. It also lacked the two antennae; instead its head had a sharp, almost horn-like point. Its tentacles were different as well, more angular than the softer, smoother shapes of the white Wisp's tentacles, and their tips and the tip of the horn were the same orange as its eyes. Even the energy it was giving off was slightly different than that of the white Wisp.
"That's weird," Tails said, studying the Wisp thoughtfully. "Are you a different breed? Or an entirely different species?" He wished he had some sort of baseline to compare both Wisps to.
The cyan Wisp seemed to grow bored of the examination and started darting around him, chirping all the while. Its voice sounded different from the white Wisp, sharper and more energetic with a strange echoing quality. It brushed against Tails's fur, and he jumped as something like an electric surge raced down his spine. The cyan Wisp pulled away, still chirping impatiently.
"Hey, what's the hold up?" Tails and the Wisp both turned to see Sonic skidding to a stop beside them, tapping his foot impatiently before he noticed the Wisp. "Another one of these little guys?"
He reached out as if to touch it, only for the Wisp to jerk back. Its chirping changed tone, becoming discordant and clearly hostile as it narrowed its eyes at Sonic. For a moment Tails worried they were going to have to fight the strange alien, but to his relief it only made one last harsh, angry note before shooting away.
Sonic whistled. "It's almost faster than me. Wonder what it was so mad about?"
"Maybe this species isn't as friendly?" Tails suggested, tucking the Miles Electric away in his subspace. He could ponder the mysteries of the Wisps later. "Did you find anything up ahead?"
"Just more robots. There's a ton of badniks ahead, it looked like they were guarding the Egg Pawns."
"Eggman must know we're here. Does he think we're going to interrupt the construction?"
"Who knows what that guy thinks?" Sonic bounced on his heels. "I'm just looking forward to smashing his toys!"
"Shouldn't we be trying to find answers?" Tails asked. "Figuring out what he's doing here?"
Sonic wrinkled his nose. "I guess." He perked up. "Hey, I know! Why don't we split up? I'll go ahead and smash the robots, and you can explore and find out what's really going on."
Now he's the one suggesting we split up? What happened to earlier? Tails shook his head. "I… guess we could do that."
Sonic was already taking off down the path. "Great! Meet you back at the portal!" He shouted over his shoulder. Then he was gone.
"Alright then," Tails muttered, taking out the Miles Electric again and setting it to map making mode. He looked around, then started spinning his tails, flying in the opposite direction from Sonic.
The further he went, the more unfinished his surroundings looked. He passed signs telling him the area ahead was "under construction", then signs warning he was going outside park limits. Good. Maybe once he got out of the area Eggman had converted for his purposes he'd find some real answers on what he was planning.
Soon Tails reached the end of the paved road. He came to a stop, looking up at the jungle that loomed ahead of him. Here all the foliage was alien. Though they were still recognizable as trees, the leaves and the trunks were thin and jagged, much like the tentacles of the cyan Wisp. Other strange plants covered the ground and wound around the trees: zig-zagging vines, strangely shaped flowers, sharp-edged ferns. Similar to Earth plants, but different, too. The colors were strange as well; though some of the plants were green, others were pink and yellow, and many were cyan, even those that weren't flowers. All of the colors were slightly faded, and Tails noted with interest that none of the plants seemed to have fruit or seed pods, just washed out flowers. He took a closer look at one plant, careful to only handle it with his gloves, and confirmed it didn't have any seeds. Strange.
A burst of energetic chattering broke him from his thoughts, and Tails jumped and whipped around. A cyan Wisp was hovering beside him, looking at him inquisitively. It didn't act hostile, and slowly his fur flattened, though he continued to eye it warily. It's mood had certainly changed quickly last time… assuming this was the same one. It had the same orange markings, anyway.
"Don't attack me, please," he told the Wisp. It just blinked at him, warbling questioningly.
Shaking his head, Tails took out the Miles Electric and scanned the Wisp, just in case. It looked like the same one, but it wasn't like he had any frame of reference for Wisp individuality. Tucking the device away, Tails started walking into the jungle. The Wisp darted after him, still chittering passionately.
"Why are you acting so friendly?" Tails asked, glancing at it out of the corner of his eye as he pushed through the plants. "You weren't so talkative when Sonic was around."
The Wisp made a harsh note at the mention of Sonic, then resumed its energetic chatter.
"So you don't like Sonic?" Tails guessed.
He briefly wondered why he was talking to the creature before deciding it wasn't all that different from talking to his plane or his other machines, which he did often. At least the Wisp occasionally responded. It had even seemed to recognize the mention of Sonic, assuming the hiss wasn't just a coincidence.
"That's kinda weird, you know. He's a really nice guy, and he's trying to save your species. Assuming your species needs saving," Tails added as an afterthought. "I don't suppose you have any idea what Eggman's up to?" He wasn't really expecting a response, but he couldn't help feeling hopeful when the Wisp seemed to perk up, trilling even louder. Then it zipped off, leaving Tails alone in the jungle. He deflated with a sigh. "Guess not, then."
With the Wisp gone, Tails was suddenly aware of how quiet the jungle was. He stood still for a little while, ears perked, but it remained eerily silent. No chittering insects or scurrying creatures, no singing birds or even a wind to rustle the treetops. The more he stood, craning his senses, the more something felt creepily… off about the jungle. It was like the absence of a sound he'd never been aware of but that the world was horribly lifeless without. Even the plants seemed strangely still, which didn't make sense. It wasn't like plants normally moved—or at least, not fast enough to be perceptible to him.
On a hunch, Tails took out the Miles Electric, put in the desired parameters, and scanned the nearby plant life. Then he sat down to wait for the readings to be completed. While he waited he looked at the area around him, searching for any sign of a bug, a bird, anything to suggest life other than the eerily still plants. Nothing. The Miles Electric chimed, startling him. The scan was complete. He looked at the results, then looked at them again. They confirmed what he'd suspected deep down, but… that couldn't be right. He checked a third time, but the results were the same.
The plants weren't growing.
Standing on shaky legs, Tails walked over to the nearest tree, tapping it. It didn't sound metal or plastic. The scan had confirmed the trees were made of the same basic stuff as plant life back on Earth… except it wasn't growing. It wasn't dead, but it wasn't alive either. Like it was frozen in stasis.
It had to be a fluke.
Filled with a sudden urgency, Tails took off running through the undergrowth, ducking under branches and hopping over bushes, desperately scanning the jungle for any sign of new growth, any change in the readings he was picking up. But it was all the same. He saw a break in the jungle up ahead and sprinted forward— only to be brought to an abrupt halt by something grabbing his arm.
The cyan Wisp chirped urgently. Tails pulled his arm free but didn't charge forward again. He looked ahead, searching for what the Wisp had been trying to warn him about—and felt his heart drop.
The jungle ended abruptly, like it had run up against an invisible wall. And beyond that point… beyond that point lay a wasteland. No plants. No life. Just barren rock and the fossilized remains of things long dead. An ancient graveyard, stretching farther than he could see.
Tails ran a shaky hand through his bangs, trying to come up with a logical explanation, but he kept coming back to the same conclusion. The planet was dead. Sonic and Tails were too late.