The Dead Spy
By Witchwood
Chapter Three
It was deathly quiet as Tails began to wake up again. He remained still as he tried to see where he was, but the room he was in was still unfamiliar to him. They were made of clay or mud, and the ceiling was no different. It wasn't very well lit, and with no windows, it was hard to know where he really was. There was enough light for him to see that he was in yet another hospital room, but not enough light to make up for his blurred vision.
Before trying to get up, he assessed his injuries and found a new bandage on the side of his face from when he fell from the second level of the catwalk to the hard cement floor. But it wasn't enough to stop him from trying to escape.
Tails tried to sit up, but was weak from the medication that was given to him earlier that day. But he knew he had to get out. Although he knew Sonic might still be around, he knew that wherever he was, he wasn't safe, and this place was no different. He was able to sit up without too much pain, but will probably regret it later when the painkillers wear off.
He was on a cot, so getting on his feet wasn't too much of a problem. But walking across the room was. Luckily, his new cast was well made and gave him a bit more mobility than his last one. As he finally made it to the door, he poked his head out and saw that the curved hallway was not level, but went uphill at a slight angle. The floor and walls were the same color as everything else and realized that he might not be above ground.
So instinctually, he began to go uphill. He was relieved to find nobody nearby. His hearing made up for his poor vision, but with the curving hallways, he wouldn't havr been able to see that far anyway. Tails began to approach another door. He heard someone talking inside, but didn't recognize the voice. But after a couple of seconds, he heard a familiar voice.
He quietly approached the door as he continued to listen to what was being said, but he still couldn't hear much. His vision improved a little within the last few minutes and could see inside the room. He saw someone standing and facing away from him, so he was in no immediate danger of being seen. The other person in the room was sitting down and having her arm treated. It was Princess Sally.
The doctor was blocking her line of sight, so he could pass without them noticing. Tails quickly limped to the other side of the doorway and stopped to catch his breath.
He was lucky this time. They didn't notice. But this place was so unfamiliar to him, how long would his luck last? He was becoming more aware of his senses and surroundings as his blood pressure elevated from the adrenaline beginning to rush through his body.
Tails continued uphill at a slow pace. He kept his balance by holding on to the wall, which also was useful to lean against when he ran short of breath. His body began to feel stiff as he continued to move around. He knew that he is probably just injuring himself further, but anything was better than staying here.
He heard footsteps in the distance. The only thing he could think of was to hide in the room behind the door he was standing next to. The door wasn't locked, and it wasn't lit, so he was able to hide without anyone seeing him. Tails watched through the narrow opening as the figure passed by.
It was Sonic! He looked so worried by the quick glimpse Tails was able to get through the small opening. But as quickly as he arrived, he was gone. He knew that Sonic was going to notice that he was gone. So he needed to get out as quickly as he could.
"You're probably already aware of this, Princess, but with the injuries he sustained during the explosion, and his fall this morning, there may be a slight possibility of brain damage." Sally's doctor said.
"Please don't say that."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of any potential problems."
"I'm fully aware of his injuries. I just don't want to discuss it."
"Hey, Sal. You okay?" Sonic asked as he entered the room.
"No. You?"
"No. Is Tails okay?"
"I'm sure he is. But he still needs another operation to remove two more of the tracking devices."
"Why couldn't they be removed when they got the others out?"
"They were too close to vital organs." The doctor began. "We're waiting on some more surgical instruments better suited for delicate conditions. They should be here by tonight."
Sonic sat down next to Sally.
"Why was he so afraid of me?" Sonic asked.
"I don't know." Sally held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.
"It could be amnesia." The doctor said.
"Could we please be alone?" Sally asked, beginning to get angry. The doctor walked out of the room and closed the door.
Sally broke down in tears in Sonic's arms.
"He's going to be alright." Sonic whispered as he caressed the side of her face.
"Why him!" Sally cried.
"It doesn't matter now, he's going to be okay."
"He should have been in bed. I was going to tuck him in that night."
"It wasn't your fault, it wasn't anybody's fault. If you blame yourself, it'll just hurt more than it already does."
"I know, but there are so many things we could have done to prevent it."
"I've thought about that, too. But we can't change the past."
There was a knock at the door as the doctor leaned inside.
"Did any of you move Tails?" He asked.
"No. Why, where is he?" Sally asked.
"He's not in his room anymore." Sonic and Sally ran out to where Tails was resting only to find nothing.
"Did he wake up?" Sally asked.
"If he did, he couldn't be far." Sonic said as he ran out to look for Tails. Sally and the doctor followed.
Sonic ran throughout the hallways as Sally and the doctor began looking through all of the rooms. When Sonic came across an open door where a family was residing, he asked if they had seen anyone pass by. They told him that nobody came by except for him just a few minutes ago.
He began to run the other way to see if Tails went down the lower portion of the hallways, but at about a hundred feet away, a dead end forced him to go back and check with Sally.
Every room that she came across was unoccupied. The same went with the doctor. When Sonic arrived to help them look, she had already reached the area where the family was that Sonic talked to earlier.
Tails was relieved that Sally didn't see him hiding behind the cabinet when she hastily poked her head in. He knew that everybody was looking for him now. There was no way out of the room he was in. He began to look around for a hiding place or another way out, but after looking through a cabinet, he realized that he was in a weapons room.
Tails stood and looked at the racks of laser riffles charging in the racks before him. To his left was a collection of handguns with lights indicating that they're fully charged. He slowly picked one up as the warmth of the battery gave him an uneasy feeling.
"Why does it have to come to this?" Tails asked himself. He inspected the gun, turned the safety off and walked back to the door. When he heard that nobody was around, he slowly left the room and continued to make his way up the hallway.
It only took a minute for someone to find him, and it turned out to be Sonic. They both stood silent when they finally met. Neither of them knew what to say or do. Tails wasn't holding the gun to him, so Sonic wasn't as worried as he could have been. But he was still powerless in this situation.
"If it means anything to you," Sonic started to say. "It's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you, too, Sonic." Tails replied.
"You remember me?" Tails only nodded his head, but didn't move or say anything else. "Then why are you afraid of me?"
"It's not you who I'm afraid of." Sonic then began to approach Tails, but stopped when Tails pointed the gun at him.
"Then why do I get the feeling you're not in the mood to talk?"
"I can't stay here." Tails said as he began to back away.
"Why not? Do you know where you are?"
"I can't explain. I just need to go."
"I don't understand."
"Can you trust me then?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
"Is it the tracking devices?" Tails stopped. "We found the one in your cast. Then we found more inside of you."
"Were you able to take them out?"
"Not yet…"
"Then I can't stay. You're in danger if you're with me. So is Aunt Sally."
"Nobody's going to find you. We're in the Wolf Clan's caves, over a quarter of a mile underground. The tracking devices can't transmit through all of this rock. You're safe if you're down here. If you go up to the surface, then you'll be found."
"So… he's not coming?"
"No." Tails dropped the gun and Sonic ran to him. He held him tight as they began to cry.
"I'm sorry I followed you that night." Tails said as he hugged Sonic.
"Don't worry, you're back with us now."
"They tried to cut one of my tails off, and they tried to roboticize me!"
"You don't have to talk about that now. Let's get you back in bed." Sonic picked Tails up and began walking back to his hospital room. Sally finally met up with them and took Tails into her arms.
"I'm so glad you're back. I was so worried about you!"
"I missed you, Aunt Sally." Tails cried.
"Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" Tails nodded his head. "You're going to be fine, we'll make it all better." Sonic and Sally continued back to the hospital room where they met back up with the doctor.
"Princess, I just got a message from Lupe that she's just returned with the equipment we needed to remove the other two devices."
"Thank you." Sally laid Tails back on his cot and kneeled next to him. "Does it hurt a lot?" Sally asked.
"Uh huh."
"Do you want something for it?"
"Yeah."
"Doctor? Can you bring him something for his pain?"
"Sure, I'll be right back."
"I can't believe you're still with us. We thought you were gone."
"Do you remember how many seconds were left on the timer before you ran?"
"About seven. I got out of there as quick as I could. The next thing I remember after that was waking up in a bed with tubes and needles going inside of me."
"Do you remember everything?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah. I just pretended I didn't so they wouldn't try to make me tell him where Knothole was."
"How did you know about the tracking devices?"
"They were warm, and they hurt a lot. I only guessed that they were tracking devices, since I knew you were going to try to rescue me."
"That's why you hid behind Robotnick when you saw me."
"You pretended to have amnesia the entire time?" Sally asked in surprise.
"At first, I couldn't remember much, but when I did, I realized that I would probably have been safer if they didn't know."
"Hey, I saw that game you were playing over there. Did they just let you do anything you wanted?"
"Kinda. I almost got caught. I opened a remote administration port on a static IP address on their network so we can have full access from Knothole."
"Are you serious? That's wonderful!" Sally yelled.
"What happened to your arm?" Sally smiled and grabbed her cast.
"It was a little accident."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
Lupe finally arrived just when they expected her to. She entered the room with a small leather bag and a dark gray cloak. Apparently it was raining at the surface because she was completely wet.
"It looks like you're doing better than we expected, young man." Lupe happily commented as she hung up her cloak.
"I feel a lot better."
"Good. After tonight, you'll finally be able to go home."
"Cool. I'm beginning to feel homesick."
"That's too bad. Does that mean you want your operation now, or do you want to wait until later?"
"No. I want to do it now."
"Okay. Sonic, can you please pick him up and follow me?"
Sonic carefully picked Tails up in his arms and left the room with Sally following behind.
A minute later, the doctor returned with a needle and small bottle, wondering where everyone went.
Twenty-four hours later, everyone was back in Knothole. Sonic was sitting under an oak tree just along the outside of the village. Sally came over and sat next to him to enjoy the sunset together.
"How are you doing, Sonic?" Sally asked.
"Good. You?"
"Good. I just got done talking with Lupe. She said that they found something pretty interesting in Tails' blood."
"Really?"
"It appears to be almost completely synthetic."
"What? Where did it come from?"
"I asked Tails, he said that Robotnick gave him a blood substitute called oxygloben. She and a few others are analyzing it and might be able to reproduce it within the next month."
"That means we won't ever have a blood shortage if anyone gets hurt."
"Right. It looks like Tails was able to make the most use of being in the wrong place at the right time. Especially with their network."
"Speaking of being in the wrong place at the right time, I thought I told you to stay here when I went to find him."
"Sorry. I just had to come."
"Do you know how you can make it up to me?"
"How?"
"You can show me that new lingerie you got the other day?"
"Well… I suppose."
"Where's Tails?"
"He's with Bunnie, starting some physical therapy."
"Physical therapy?" Sonic picked Sally up in his arms. "I'll show you physical therapy!" Sonic ran off with Sally to pick up where they left off just a few nights ago.
By Witchwood
Chapter Three
It was deathly quiet as Tails began to wake up again. He remained still as he tried to see where he was, but the room he was in was still unfamiliar to him. They were made of clay or mud, and the ceiling was no different. It wasn't very well lit, and with no windows, it was hard to know where he really was. There was enough light for him to see that he was in yet another hospital room, but not enough light to make up for his blurred vision.
Before trying to get up, he assessed his injuries and found a new bandage on the side of his face from when he fell from the second level of the catwalk to the hard cement floor. But it wasn't enough to stop him from trying to escape.
Tails tried to sit up, but was weak from the medication that was given to him earlier that day. But he knew he had to get out. Although he knew Sonic might still be around, he knew that wherever he was, he wasn't safe, and this place was no different. He was able to sit up without too much pain, but will probably regret it later when the painkillers wear off.
He was on a cot, so getting on his feet wasn't too much of a problem. But walking across the room was. Luckily, his new cast was well made and gave him a bit more mobility than his last one. As he finally made it to the door, he poked his head out and saw that the curved hallway was not level, but went uphill at a slight angle. The floor and walls were the same color as everything else and realized that he might not be above ground.
So instinctually, he began to go uphill. He was relieved to find nobody nearby. His hearing made up for his poor vision, but with the curving hallways, he wouldn't havr been able to see that far anyway. Tails began to approach another door. He heard someone talking inside, but didn't recognize the voice. But after a couple of seconds, he heard a familiar voice.
He quietly approached the door as he continued to listen to what was being said, but he still couldn't hear much. His vision improved a little within the last few minutes and could see inside the room. He saw someone standing and facing away from him, so he was in no immediate danger of being seen. The other person in the room was sitting down and having her arm treated. It was Princess Sally.
The doctor was blocking her line of sight, so he could pass without them noticing. Tails quickly limped to the other side of the doorway and stopped to catch his breath.
He was lucky this time. They didn't notice. But this place was so unfamiliar to him, how long would his luck last? He was becoming more aware of his senses and surroundings as his blood pressure elevated from the adrenaline beginning to rush through his body.
Tails continued uphill at a slow pace. He kept his balance by holding on to the wall, which also was useful to lean against when he ran short of breath. His body began to feel stiff as he continued to move around. He knew that he is probably just injuring himself further, but anything was better than staying here.
He heard footsteps in the distance. The only thing he could think of was to hide in the room behind the door he was standing next to. The door wasn't locked, and it wasn't lit, so he was able to hide without anyone seeing him. Tails watched through the narrow opening as the figure passed by.
It was Sonic! He looked so worried by the quick glimpse Tails was able to get through the small opening. But as quickly as he arrived, he was gone. He knew that Sonic was going to notice that he was gone. So he needed to get out as quickly as he could.
"You're probably already aware of this, Princess, but with the injuries he sustained during the explosion, and his fall this morning, there may be a slight possibility of brain damage." Sally's doctor said.
"Please don't say that."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of any potential problems."
"I'm fully aware of his injuries. I just don't want to discuss it."
"Hey, Sal. You okay?" Sonic asked as he entered the room.
"No. You?"
"No. Is Tails okay?"
"I'm sure he is. But he still needs another operation to remove two more of the tracking devices."
"Why couldn't they be removed when they got the others out?"
"They were too close to vital organs." The doctor began. "We're waiting on some more surgical instruments better suited for delicate conditions. They should be here by tonight."
Sonic sat down next to Sally.
"Why was he so afraid of me?" Sonic asked.
"I don't know." Sally held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.
"It could be amnesia." The doctor said.
"Could we please be alone?" Sally asked, beginning to get angry. The doctor walked out of the room and closed the door.
Sally broke down in tears in Sonic's arms.
"He's going to be alright." Sonic whispered as he caressed the side of her face.
"Why him!" Sally cried.
"It doesn't matter now, he's going to be okay."
"He should have been in bed. I was going to tuck him in that night."
"It wasn't your fault, it wasn't anybody's fault. If you blame yourself, it'll just hurt more than it already does."
"I know, but there are so many things we could have done to prevent it."
"I've thought about that, too. But we can't change the past."
There was a knock at the door as the doctor leaned inside.
"Did any of you move Tails?" He asked.
"No. Why, where is he?" Sally asked.
"He's not in his room anymore." Sonic and Sally ran out to where Tails was resting only to find nothing.
"Did he wake up?" Sally asked.
"If he did, he couldn't be far." Sonic said as he ran out to look for Tails. Sally and the doctor followed.
Sonic ran throughout the hallways as Sally and the doctor began looking through all of the rooms. When Sonic came across an open door where a family was residing, he asked if they had seen anyone pass by. They told him that nobody came by except for him just a few minutes ago.
He began to run the other way to see if Tails went down the lower portion of the hallways, but at about a hundred feet away, a dead end forced him to go back and check with Sally.
Every room that she came across was unoccupied. The same went with the doctor. When Sonic arrived to help them look, she had already reached the area where the family was that Sonic talked to earlier.
Tails was relieved that Sally didn't see him hiding behind the cabinet when she hastily poked her head in. He knew that everybody was looking for him now. There was no way out of the room he was in. He began to look around for a hiding place or another way out, but after looking through a cabinet, he realized that he was in a weapons room.
Tails stood and looked at the racks of laser riffles charging in the racks before him. To his left was a collection of handguns with lights indicating that they're fully charged. He slowly picked one up as the warmth of the battery gave him an uneasy feeling.
"Why does it have to come to this?" Tails asked himself. He inspected the gun, turned the safety off and walked back to the door. When he heard that nobody was around, he slowly left the room and continued to make his way up the hallway.
It only took a minute for someone to find him, and it turned out to be Sonic. They both stood silent when they finally met. Neither of them knew what to say or do. Tails wasn't holding the gun to him, so Sonic wasn't as worried as he could have been. But he was still powerless in this situation.
"If it means anything to you," Sonic started to say. "It's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you, too, Sonic." Tails replied.
"You remember me?" Tails only nodded his head, but didn't move or say anything else. "Then why are you afraid of me?"
"It's not you who I'm afraid of." Sonic then began to approach Tails, but stopped when Tails pointed the gun at him.
"Then why do I get the feeling you're not in the mood to talk?"
"I can't stay here." Tails said as he began to back away.
"Why not? Do you know where you are?"
"I can't explain. I just need to go."
"I don't understand."
"Can you trust me then?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
"Is it the tracking devices?" Tails stopped. "We found the one in your cast. Then we found more inside of you."
"Were you able to take them out?"
"Not yet…"
"Then I can't stay. You're in danger if you're with me. So is Aunt Sally."
"Nobody's going to find you. We're in the Wolf Clan's caves, over a quarter of a mile underground. The tracking devices can't transmit through all of this rock. You're safe if you're down here. If you go up to the surface, then you'll be found."
"So… he's not coming?"
"No." Tails dropped the gun and Sonic ran to him. He held him tight as they began to cry.
"I'm sorry I followed you that night." Tails said as he hugged Sonic.
"Don't worry, you're back with us now."
"They tried to cut one of my tails off, and they tried to roboticize me!"
"You don't have to talk about that now. Let's get you back in bed." Sonic picked Tails up and began walking back to his hospital room. Sally finally met up with them and took Tails into her arms.
"I'm so glad you're back. I was so worried about you!"
"I missed you, Aunt Sally." Tails cried.
"Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" Tails nodded his head. "You're going to be fine, we'll make it all better." Sonic and Sally continued back to the hospital room where they met back up with the doctor.
"Princess, I just got a message from Lupe that she's just returned with the equipment we needed to remove the other two devices."
"Thank you." Sally laid Tails back on his cot and kneeled next to him. "Does it hurt a lot?" Sally asked.
"Uh huh."
"Do you want something for it?"
"Yeah."
"Doctor? Can you bring him something for his pain?"
"Sure, I'll be right back."
"I can't believe you're still with us. We thought you were gone."
"Do you remember how many seconds were left on the timer before you ran?"
"About seven. I got out of there as quick as I could. The next thing I remember after that was waking up in a bed with tubes and needles going inside of me."
"Do you remember everything?" Sonic asked.
"Yeah. I just pretended I didn't so they wouldn't try to make me tell him where Knothole was."
"How did you know about the tracking devices?"
"They were warm, and they hurt a lot. I only guessed that they were tracking devices, since I knew you were going to try to rescue me."
"That's why you hid behind Robotnick when you saw me."
"You pretended to have amnesia the entire time?" Sally asked in surprise.
"At first, I couldn't remember much, but when I did, I realized that I would probably have been safer if they didn't know."
"Hey, I saw that game you were playing over there. Did they just let you do anything you wanted?"
"Kinda. I almost got caught. I opened a remote administration port on a static IP address on their network so we can have full access from Knothole."
"Are you serious? That's wonderful!" Sally yelled.
"What happened to your arm?" Sally smiled and grabbed her cast.
"It was a little accident."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm fine."
Lupe finally arrived just when they expected her to. She entered the room with a small leather bag and a dark gray cloak. Apparently it was raining at the surface because she was completely wet.
"It looks like you're doing better than we expected, young man." Lupe happily commented as she hung up her cloak.
"I feel a lot better."
"Good. After tonight, you'll finally be able to go home."
"Cool. I'm beginning to feel homesick."
"That's too bad. Does that mean you want your operation now, or do you want to wait until later?"
"No. I want to do it now."
"Okay. Sonic, can you please pick him up and follow me?"
Sonic carefully picked Tails up in his arms and left the room with Sally following behind.
A minute later, the doctor returned with a needle and small bottle, wondering where everyone went.
Twenty-four hours later, everyone was back in Knothole. Sonic was sitting under an oak tree just along the outside of the village. Sally came over and sat next to him to enjoy the sunset together.
"How are you doing, Sonic?" Sally asked.
"Good. You?"
"Good. I just got done talking with Lupe. She said that they found something pretty interesting in Tails' blood."
"Really?"
"It appears to be almost completely synthetic."
"What? Where did it come from?"
"I asked Tails, he said that Robotnick gave him a blood substitute called oxygloben. She and a few others are analyzing it and might be able to reproduce it within the next month."
"That means we won't ever have a blood shortage if anyone gets hurt."
"Right. It looks like Tails was able to make the most use of being in the wrong place at the right time. Especially with their network."
"Speaking of being in the wrong place at the right time, I thought I told you to stay here when I went to find him."
"Sorry. I just had to come."
"Do you know how you can make it up to me?"
"How?"
"You can show me that new lingerie you got the other day?"
"Well… I suppose."
"Where's Tails?"
"He's with Bunnie, starting some physical therapy."
"Physical therapy?" Sonic picked Sally up in his arms. "I'll show you physical therapy!" Sonic ran off with Sally to pick up where they left off just a few nights ago.
