Tails had only been there an hour and he was already sick of Sweet Mountain. The heat and humidity were miserable enough, but on top of that the food-themed "attractions" filled the air with a sickly sweet smell that just made Tails nauseous. Did Eggman seriously think this was going to attract guests? At least install some air conditioning.

Even with the sun falling lower in the sky, the heat and humidity made Tails's fur feel heavy and sticky. He alternated between hovering and climbing as he made his way down the mountain side, hoping he'd find the "robot generator" soon so he could go back to the nice, air-conditioned space station. Since Sonic had headed deeper into the "amusement park", Tails had taken the opposite tack, heading for the outer limits of the area Eggman had prepared for prospective visitors. After all, why would he want his guests knowing about the robot generator? And where did Sonic get "robot generator" from, anyway? It made sense, Tails supposed, he just didn't know where Sonic picked it up. Maybe he read it somewhere inside the Tropical Resort generator?

Regardless, Tails didn't see any sign of one. He also didn't see any of the strange spreading metal that had been present in Tropical Resort, but there weren't any organic plants, either. Did the metal affect non-organic things? Were there plants elsewhere on this planet, or was it as dead as the other one? If there had been plants on the mountain, would they, too, have been frozen in time, neither growing nor dying? Tails didn't know. He hated not knowing.

Loud chattering interrupted his thoughts. Tails gritted his teeth. He'd thought the Wisps would leave him alone after their attack on Sonic, but a few minutes after separating from his brother he'd found one of them following him. It didn't seem aggressive, but it didn't listen to his demands for it to leave, either. The further he went the more agitated it got, chirping loudly, flying around him, and once even trying to shove him back up the path. Tails pushed past its attempts at distraction. Even if it didn't seem to be trying to hurt him, he still didn't trust it after what they pulled on the mountaintop. He didn't understand what they were so worked up about, either. Didn't they want their planet saved?

The Wisp chattered again, louder this time, and grabbed at Tails's arm. He quickly shook it off, gripping the rock beneath him to keep himself from slipping on the path.

"Leave me alone," he huffed, glaring at the Wisp. It ignored him, as usual, and grabbed his glove, trying to tug him back up the path. "Quit it!" Tails snapped, jerking away, but the Wisp was insistent, refusing to let go.

The mini tug-of-war match ended with the glove slipping off Tails's hand (much to the Wisp's apparent surprise). Tails yelped as he nearly lost his balance. He reached to grab his glove back from the Wisp, but it darted with it up the path, chirping as if daring him to follow.

"Keep it then," Tails huffed. "I've got spares." Besides, his claws gave him extra grip on the rock.

Ignoring the Wisp, Tails turned his attention back to maneuvering down the steep trail, hurrying to beat the sunset. Behind him, the Wisp chattered with frustration before finally falling silent. Tails didn't look back; hopefully it had given up and left. He was almost tempted to do the same. He'd thought taking a less visitor-friendly path (complete with warning signs and barriers) would lead to something Eggman didn't want found, but so far all it had given him was dust-coated fur and sore legs. He'd figured walking would leave less chance of missing something important, but now he wished he'd just flown instead. At least he was almost halfway down now. He really hoped the robot generator was somewhere on the canyon floor rather than on top of the peak ahead of him. The tall, tall peak… Just the thought made him groan.

Tails paused to catch his breath, awkwardly holding his arms away from himself in a futile attempt to let the scant breeze cool him. What he wouldn't give for shorter fur. He glanced over his shoulder to see the Wisp hovering a ways above him. Not following anymore, but not leaving either. For the first time Tails noticed the heavy, ringing silence. The canyon lay still. The rocks were painted red by the dying sun, while the peaks around him stood solemn watch, backlit by the soft pinks and yellows of the evening sky. It reminded Tails of what he'd felt on Tropical Resort; the feeling of walking in a graveyard, of treading on ancient ground. He lingered, just for a moment, drinking it in. The scene was beautiful, yet an air of tragedy pervaded. It felt desolate, for reasons he couldn't explain.

He nearly missed the whine of the laser behind him.

The Wisp made a sound he hadn't heard before. A scream.

Tails whipped around, eyes widening, and stumbled on the rocks. It turned out to be in his favor; the laser shot over his head while he was busy pinwheeling for balance. He had a moment to be relieved at the miss before the laser struck the mountainside, sending a mini-avalanche of yellow stone tumbling down on his head.

Nothing for it. Tails jumped.

He threw himself off the mountain with a burst of adrenaline, the stones crashing against the rock he'd been standing on a moment before. He caught himself in the air, spinning his tails, and whirled to face his attacker. He barely had time to register the camouflaged badniks that seemed to have materialized on the rocks all around him before another laser nearly took off his ear.

Tails dropped. He broke into a sprint as soon as his feet hit the ground, ducking into an alcove in the canyon wall. He waited for another attack as he caught his breath. Nothing. Cautiously, Tails peered out… and gaped at the sight before him.

A giant airship, modeled after the stereotypical pirate ship, was illuminated by the setting sun. It was adorned with the same candy decor as the rest of the area, including completely unnecessary lollipop oars, equally unnecessary black licorice sails, and disappointingly real-looking metal cannons. Where had it come from? Was it patrolling the canyon? Had Tails triggered some sort of sensor that brought it here? He glanced back at the "DANGER: PARK LIMITS. DO NOT CROSS." signs he'd passed on his way into the canyon. Well. He couldn't imagine this going over well with OSHA.

Tails ducked down as the airship fired. The boom of the cannons was echoed a moment later by the crack of the cannonballs hitting the canyon wall, sending yellow dust and pieces of stone hurtling down all around Tails's hiding spot as he scurried out of the way. If he stayed near the wall, he'd be crushed. Time for a different tact. Tails took to the air, grateful the setting sun seemed to have also killed some of the oppressive heat and humidity. He squinted down at the ship as a swarm of Egg Pawns reloaded and reaimed the cannons. There was a switch at the back manned by a single Egg Pawn that seemed to control the rudder. If he could hit that…

Tails dodged upward as the cannons fired. Their range seemed limited, he noticed with interest. It was hard to tell from this distance, but the way the cannons were designed… Deciding to test his theory, Tails came to rest on a ledge high up in the canyon wall. True to his observation, the next volley fell short of his perch. The cannons were unable to point up that sharply from where they were fixed on the ship's sides. If the ship wanted to hit him here, it would have to fly higher. And when it did that…

A familiar chattering sound had Tails turning in surprise. The Wisp was hovering behind him.

"You're still here? I thought you would have run off after seeing… that." Tails grimaced up at the ship.

The Wisp rumbled a harsh note, almost like a growl, as it glared at the ship. That was right, these Wisps had been hostile to Eggman's robots, hadn't they? A new idea sprung into Tails's head, but he hesitated, chewing his lip. Should he trust an alien that had previously tried to kill Sonic? But as hostile to Sonic as they'd been, they'd been even more aggressive to the robots. At least they'd broken off the attack on Sonic when Tails intervened. And the enemy of his enemy was his friend, right?

The Wisp chirped, and something bumped against his hand. He looked down in surprise to see his lost glove.

"Thank you," he said sincerely, taking it carefully. He shook it free of dust, then opened the metal cuff to slip it more easily over his hand. Mind made up, he looked back at the Wisp as he snapped the metal tight again. "Could you help me with something?"

It cocked its head at him, chattering inquisitively. How to make it understand? Tails looked up at the ship. Several robots were on the deck, rushing to and fro as they tried to re-maneuver the ship so the cannons could hit Tails. One robot in particular, a yellow one adorned with a purple hat typical of the cliche pirate captain, was standing at the helm, seemingly directing the other robots.

"That robot, there," Tails said, pointing at it. "Can you hit that one?"

The Wisp chirped and sped off towards the ship. He hoped it had seen where he was pointing. Either way, it should be enough to distract the ship's crew while Tails got to that lever. Tails took off, dipping down beneath the ship to escape the sights of his attackers. He grabbed the side of the ship (away from the cannons) and waited, ears pricked. Soon he heard the sound of something slamming into metal, followed by an onslaught of drill-like chattering. Smiling, Tails took off again, flying for the back of the ship.

It was an easy matter to knock the unsuspecting Egg Pawn at the rudder over the side. Tails grabbed the now unmanned lever and pulled it hard. He jumped into the air as the ship veered heavily to the side. The Wisp pulled away from the robots it was menacing and waved a tentacle as if bidding farewell, while the badniks scrambled to right their course. They were too late. The ship slammed into the canyon wall, its sides splintering into pieces. Several robots jumped off the crashing vessel, only to be broken to pieces on the canyon floor anyway.

Grinning, Tails landed on a ledge. The Wisp came to join him, chattering enthusiastically as they watched ship and crew go up in flames. Tails hoped that had been expensive. Eggman was going to be ticked. Though… speaking o Eggman… Tails frowned. Why send the ship after him? Usually Sonic was the bigger threat. His frown deepened as he looked over the canyon. The ship wasn't fast; it had to have been waiting nearby to attack him. The canyon was the best place to corner an unsuspecting fox, and there had been badniks waiting on all sides to keep him from leaving before the ship got him. Even if Tails had tripped some sort of sensor, that level of set up… This had been an ambush. How had Eggman known Tails would come this way? Only Sonic had known which way Tails was going. Had he told… no, that was ridiculous. This was Eggman's amusement park; he probably had cameras everywhere. He'd probably seen Tails heading this way.

…still, maybe Tails should make sure Sonic hadn't been bugged when he was turned back to normal.

The Wisp chirped questioningly, pulling Tails from his thoughts. He smiled at it. "Thanks for the help. Sorry for ignoring you earlier. I guess you were trying to warn me, huh?"

The Wisp chirped, bobbing up and down in the air. Then something else attracted its attention and it looked away from him, its eye narrowing. It made the same growl-chatter as before, then sped off.

"What is it?" Tails asked the empty air, looking the direction the Wisp had been glaring. His ears pricked forward in surprise when he saw Sonic standing on the side of the canyon above him, looking down at the rubble of the ship. He couldn't make out his expression in the twilight.

"Sonic?" Tails called, flying up to join him. "What are you doing here?"

Sonic whirled around, a grin plastered on his face. "Looking for you! I took care of the robot generator, let's go!"

"Took care of— already?" Tails blinked, dumbfounded.

They'd only been apart what, an hour? He knew Sonic was fast, but he would have thought the robot generator would be more heavily guarded, especially after last time. And how had Sonic found him so quickly? Then again, he had been the one to point Tails in this direction, and he probably saw his footprints in the dust. Maybe he heard the ship crashing and rushed over. Yeah, that made sense. (How long had he been standing there, watching? This was the second time he'd conveniently shown up after the fight. Why hadn't he helped?) (No, don't think like that. This is Sonic. He just… knows you can handle yourself. That's all.)

Shaking away his confusion, Tails smiled at his brother, wishing it didn't feel so forced. "Never mind. Let's just get out of here. I'm sick of this heat."

"Then let's go!" Sonic took off, yellow dust puffing in his wake. Tails quickly flew after him.

They arrived back at the first mountain with little incident. Tails's fur bristled when he saw yellow Wisps darting towards them—even if one of them had helped defeat the ship, he still wasn't going to forgive them for attacking Sonic—but they thankfully seemed uninterested in the blue hedgehog. Instead they swarmed around Tails as he and Sonic made their way down the mountain, chirping loudly and tugging at his arm.

"Hey, quit it," Tails said, trying to shoo them away. He looked below, trying to figure out if there was a chance this was another ambush they were warning him about, but there was no sign of badniks, and besides, Sonic had already run ahead and back several times without incident. Tails scowled as another Wisp grabbed at him. "Stop that. I'm just going back to the space station. There are other planets that need to be saved, you know."

"They really like you, don't they?"

Tails's ear twitched and he looked at Sonic curiously. There had been something odd about they way he said it. He sounded strangely… cold. Flat.

"Must be because you're as yellow as everything else here," Sonic joked in his usual tone.

Tails dismissed the odd moment and snorted. "That's a really petty reason to like or dislike someone."

They finally reached the portal, the Wisps tugging at Tails the whole way, to the increasing irritation of both him and Sonic. They finally seemed to realize Tails wasn't listening to them and backed away, instead choosing to glare daggers at Sonic. Better than killing him, Tails supposed. Sonic jumped through the portal without hesitation, as usual, and Tails trailed after him. He hesitated briefly, glancing back at the lingering Wisps. The evening shadows were stretching long over the rocks as the Wisps looked at him, unusually quiet. They almost seemed… solemn. Sad.

Unease ran down Tails's spine. He felt he was missing something, something important, but… Nothing. It slipped from his mind's grasp like a greasy ball bearing. Offering the Wisps his best reassuring smile, Tails turned his back on them and followed Sonic through the portal.