Luff: Hello people!

S. Chensu: Nervous laughter

Luff: What's wrong?

S. Chensu: I think we told the lovely readers some wrong information last episode.

Luff: We did?

S. Chensu: Cough You know we told them it was Knuckles this episode...

Luff: Yeah...

S. Chensu: Well...it isn't. It's Tails.

Luff: What? You idiot!

S. Chensu: It's not my fault! I honestly thought it was and because we're a couple of episodes ahead, I must have forgotten what order they go in.

Luff: I won't trust you to write an author's note again! I think I'll deal with the reviewer replies this time:

Dragon Master Naya- It's nice to know you appreciate the feather. Just tell us when you wear it out and we'll give you another one. Aren't we nice?

RichaCo- To be honest, even we're not sure what's going on... But if you like short and sweet, then you'll like this episode too!

Mai...all alone...with no sign of Yugi- Mai, we can only say that Link is not real so you really shouldn't act like that. Anyway, we've already told you not to write anything like that in your review again so we won't bother saying it.

Yugi and Mai- Don't worry, just don't let it happen again. We can't tell you about what will happen as it'll spoil the plot but let's just say it'll get even more interesting than it is at the moment. And coughwaitforEggman'sepisodeforlotsofrevelationscough. If you can't guess who the person is on the tree then you'll just have to wait! And you might be onto something with what you said about Rouge and Knuckles. Yeah, sorry for misleading you about the whole Knuckles thing but he does come soon...we think. And of course you can have a feather Mai hands Mai a nice, shiny black feather.

S. Chensu: Phew, lots of stuff there Luff!

Luff: I know. We don't own the usual things but we do own the usual things too.

S. Chensu: Humph, that was just lazy.

Luff: And?

S. Chensu: Never mind, let's just get going.

Episode twenty: Sustenance fear

As Tails walked along the path, it got darker but soon he saw a light at the end of the tunnel. He emerged in a world with a red and pink sky dotted with stars. A blue moon shone above him, giving the area a spooky atmosphere. Sand dunes rose on either side of him, reeds popping up occasionally but apart from this, there was little vegetation. The first thing he noticed was that the Tornado stood just a few feet away from him. He jumped up into it and set off forwards. It took him a few moments to realise that he was surrounded by food floating in the air and this made him very hungry. He tried to reach for it but it kept disappearing and reappearing in other places.

"This place sure is weird..." He muttered as he continued to explore the world. "Something's not right, nothing's attacked me yet and usually when this sort of thing happens, I can't look for enemies." He suddenly felt a chill and looked up, seeing himself in shadow. A huge piece of apple floated above him and Tails only just managed to get out of the way before it crashed down to the ground. Sand rose up on either side and floated back down while Tails sat in the Tornado, his eyes wide open.

"I'd be more careful if I were you..." He heard and he looked round, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Who's there?" He shouted.

"No one is here, I'm speaking to your mind. You should get moving soon if you want to get to your goal." The voice faded and Tails shook his head.

"My goal... Oh my God, I've just suddenly remembered Sonic and Shadow! The last couple of hours have been quite hectic..." He frowned as he continued forward, too busy thinking about Knuckles and Rouge to worry about food. I hope this wouldn't happen but ever since that talk I had with Rouge right at the beginning of September, I've been wondering about them... Despite what Marie says, they weren't happy together; something always seemed to be missing on Rouge's part. Maybe Rouge can get over this whole upset but I don't think Knuckles will ever be able to. I suppose he must have considered himself lucky to have someone like Rouge...

Tails blinked as he suddenly realised something was blocking his way. A thick piece of toast ten foot tall was in front of him and there was no way around it. Backing up a bit, he started to shoot at it with his Volkan Cannon and eventually it broke apart, tumbling down towards him like an avalanche. He covered his eyes and prepared himself for death but nothing happened. He saw through his fingers that the pieces were bouncing of an invisible shield, occasionally making a crackling sound. Once the dust had settled, Tails looked around for whoever had created the barrier but the land remained bleak and cold to anything that dared to disturb the peace of the desert.

Now the toast had gone, Tails could see what was hidden behind it. He gasped when he saw the biggest fruit bowl ever, filled full with not just fruit but sweets and chocolate too. He set off as fast as he could towards it but he was blocked by a barrier.

"I didn't realise the goal was in that direction. Do not be tempted by anything in this place, it is treacherous to both you and your friends..." The voice returned, this time closer to him than before.

"But I'm hungry, I have to have something to eat! Remove the barrier at once!" He started to shoot it but the shots were just absorbed when they hit the shield.

"Then I will have to teach you discipline..." Tails felt a sharp pain in his head and it continued resonating throughout his skull, not letting up for a second. As he felt his mind go fuzzy, he slumped sideways, causing him to slide out of the Tornado.

When he woke up, he rubbed his head, trying to get rid of the throbbing pain which although wasn't enough to knock him out, was very irritating. Once his focus had come back to his eyes, he sat up and saw that the Tornado had now gone. Sighing at the thought of him having to fly the rest of the way, he looked around, trying to find out where to go. Seeing the path he was originally on, he set off towards it and once he was there, he started to fly down it.

Where was I? Oh yeah, I was thinking about how lucky Knuckles must have thought he was when he got together with Rouge. I hoped their relationship could have lasted longer but there's nothing anyone can do... What about Marie though? Was she speaking the truth when she thought it could happen to us? Are we actually in a big enough relationship to have that problem? So many questions, so little answers... He sighed as he landed on the ground, feeling his tails beginning to ache.

"I know, it's hard isn't it?" A person enveloped in darkness stood in a cave in a cliff.

"Are you the person who hurt me earlier?" He demanded as he stepped forward but was stopped by a barrier. "Not another one! I'm going to scream any minute!" He pounded his fists against the wall and the figure watched on in amusement.

"I didn't hurt you Tails, I merely wanted you to realise that your friends are more important than your stomach. And by the way, doing that won't help." Tails stopped when he realised the person had said his name.

"How do you know my name? I know you were only trying to help but it did hurt. Why are you trying to hide yourself from me?"

"Because you don't need to know who I am. I know a lot of things, your name being one of them..."

"Do you know where I have to go now?"

"Out of here of course. The path is laid out before your feet but only if you choose to see it." They pointed towards the ground and Tails saw a line of grass now separating the sand.

"So I just follow the path? Why are you helping me anyway?" He frowned as he stared at the figure, still hidden in shadow.

"Only do what you think is right. Do I need a reason to help someone who obviously needs it?"

"I suppose not... Will I ever see you properly?" The person had to think about this.

"Only if you succeed in finding your friends..." Suddenly the figure was gone and Tails looked down at the strip of grass leading away from him.

"It wouldn't hurt to go this way I suppose..." He shrugged his shoulders before walking along the grass.

As he trotted through the strange land he had ended up in, he tried to piece together the small amount of information he had from his meeting with the person.

It keeps on coming back to Sonic and Shadow... If I could find them then I'm sure I would know what's going on. Who is the person? It was hard to tell if they were a boy or a girl let alone give them a name. I wonder if the others are seeing people too? And most of all, I wonder if Knuckles and Rouge will be ok...

He frowned as a range of mountains came into his view. He ran towards them and stood at the bottom, not sure what to do. At the top was a black Ancient Greek temple and deciding it was as good as place as any to go to, he set off in between the coconut trees, which surrounded the snow topped mountains.

S. Chensu: Hmm...recognise the building?

Luff: You should do, it was in Rouge's episode.

S. Chensu: Anyway, we fully checked (opened the document and everything) and we can officially say that the next episode is Sonic and Shadow.

Luff: And a note to say we've finally seen the episode which introduces Rouge in Sonic X. And she's the only one who sounds anywhere near the teenager/adult stage. Which is a relief.

S. Chensu: One final thing. Episode 21 is out on Wednesday 7th April. But until then, review please!