Chapter 2

Tails and his two new friends walked down the sidewalk and towards a destination that Tails was unclear about. They walked for about a minute before Tails decided to ask, "So… Where are we going? It looks like we're still going to the shopping district, but you guys know this place better than me." Tails offered a nervous laugh, hoping he wasn't being too forward.

Surge turned her head to the side and talked as she walked. "Well first we gotta see how cool you are. Can't have you whinin' if we take you to do the real stuff."

"Real stuff?" Tails would mutter under his breath as he walked along. He couldn't help but watch his feet as they guided him to an uncertain destination. Was he making a good decision? It was hard to tell since he had only just met these two, but something already felt off. Would Sonic have liked these people? What would he have said? Tails shook his head away from those thoughts. Who cared what Sonic thought? Sonic ditched him. He was the jerk in this. These guys were cool.

They closer to the sound of busy streets and sidewalks now. Surge and Kit turned a corner and moved behind a series of interlocked buildings. The backsides of the businesses were littered with litter, trash, and dumpsters. The pair stopped here, next to the garbage. Kit piped up, "Those cans look good, Surge. We should do it here."

Tails froze up at what Kit said. He looked over to Surge and tried to keep his eyes on her face, refusing to let them drift. "D-Do what?"

Surge scowled down at Kit before knocking him off balance with a light punch to the shoulder. Surge looked to Tails. "He says it like a perv but what he means is that we're gonna be smashing trash cans." Surge turned away from tails and looked over aluminum bins. "These'll do nice. Good eye, Kit."

Tails darted his eyes back up before looking past Surge and at the garbage bins. "Oh! Those cans. Why are we smashing them? Is there something inside?"

Surged laughed and picked up a garbage can. Keeping the lid squeezed down, she throws the can down on her knee, caving it in halfway and blowing garbage out the cracked top. Tails winced as she did so, almost missing what she said next. "The only thing in these is rotten crap. And it's a riot to spread it around with violence!"

Tails winced at the sudden crashing and smashing while Kit picked up a nearby pipe and slammed it into a different can, making a dent half the size of Surge's. Kit laughs and looks to Surge, smiling at her approving grin.

Tails looks apprehensively at one of the many undamaged trash bins. "Are you guys sure about this? It doesn't seem right…"

Surge walked up to Tails and took him into her arm, guiding him towards a tin bin. "Nah, it's all good. It's not like we're breakin' anything worth keepin'. It's all trash. Who cares if some trash gets beat up?" Surge leveled the bottom of her sneaker against a dented lid and pressed down, crushing it further with a satisfying metal crunch. "Come on, try it. It feels good."

Tails gave in and smiled. "Alright… Okay. I'll try it." He walked over to the up-right trash can and delivered a petite kick to it, knocking it over and dumping some of the contents out into the alley. Tails covered his mouth as he snickered. "Ha… Haha. That's kinda fun. You're right."

Surge rolled her eyes and walked up behind Tails. "Nah, nah. You gotta SMASH it! Go ahead, let loose and really lay into it!"

Tails nodded and leaned into a firm stomp, denting the trash can in and splashing more waste out of it. "Yeah! Take it! Haha!" Tails stomped down on the can a few more times before kicking it off and against the brick wall.

Surge clapped and laughed as she saw the twin-tailed fox let off a fiery steam. "That's it! You got it now. Feels good to fuck shit up, don't it?"

Tails took a breath after his exciting moment and looked over to his green guide. "Hah… Y-Yeah. Exactly that. I've broken up badniks before, but this is different. It… It was just sitting there. Waiting to be smashed up!"

Kit walked up and nudged Tails on the arm. "That's right. Surge always knows what's fun. Even smart guys need some physical expression."

That sounded right to Tails. He hadn't been on many missions or adventures with Sonic lately, so getting to rough something up was extra relieving. Tails took initiative, swinging himself around and batting away another can with his twin tails. The can flew off towards a door at the back of one of the buildings. The can spiraled through the air, spewing old food and paper garbage around before slamming into the stomach of a large man who had just stepped out of that very door.

The man, a blubbery walrus wearing an apron, grumbled deep and walked towards tail, knocking around the filth at his feet. "What in the hell are you doin'?!" The man was furious. He grabbed Tails by the arm once he reached him and yanked him towards his gut. "You the one makin' all the dang noise?! Makin' a mess out here! What for?"

Tails was terrified. His arm was getting crushed under this man's grasp. Maybe it'd be more painful if he wasn't worried about what the stranger was going to do to him. He didn't know what to do or say to disengage the situation. He could only try to push his arm out of the man's hand but found his grip too strong.

"H-Hey!" Tails' voice and body were trembling. "Let go of me! I-I wasn't hurting anybody!"

Tails' plea only seemed to have made the man angrier. "What- Who do you think is gonna have to clean this all up?! You're wastin' my time and-" The man was cut off when Surge laid her hand on the back of his head and unleashed a flash of lightning from her palm, knocking the guy over and out.

"Tch..." Surge walked past the man on the ground and picked up Tails' hand carefully. "That guy's a bastard. Don't worry about him." She lifted Tails' hand and inspected around his arm. Tails' heart skipped a beat as the woman who had only been aggressively forward this entire time suddenly showed some form patience in examining his sore arm.

"I-I'm okay. It only hurt a little bit." Tails fibbed as he could feel it was going to bruise.

"That doesn't give him the right to touch you. Kit, take Tails outta here. We're gonna go shopping but first I've gotta deal with this guy." Surge reached down and grabbed the knocked-out man by the back of his shirt and dragged him over to the door he came from. Kit complied by walking over to tails and swiftly guiding him out of the alley and around the corner. Tails looked back at the man as he got propped up against the wall. He lost sight as he rounded the corner, leaving him only to hear a sickening series of cracks fade behind him.

Tails' heart sank in his chest as he walked away, feeling like he had done something horribly wrong. He clasped his hand around his bruising arm and silently followed Kit down the street. Kit turned to Tails and gave him a light nudge on the shoulder. "Hey," started Kit. "It's alright. That bozo shouldn't have hurt you. You didn't do anything wrong."

Tails winced at the touch and looked down to the shorter fox. "Is he going to be okay?"

Kit was taken aback. "Wh- huh? Why do you care? He hurt you."

Tails didn't like the sound of that. He only started smashing those trash cans because it wasn't hurting anybody. But look at what happened. Somebody got hurt, more than hurt, even. Tails couldn't keep standing. That pit in his chest had sunk into his stomach, leaving him feeling empty and cramping. Tails fell against the side of a building and sat there while gripping his arm. Kit looked to the side. He had been made freshly uncomfortable with the situation now, but he figured there must have been something he could say.

"I mean…" Kit moved to sit next to Tails. "Listen. You sound really sweet. I know Surge can be rough, but I'm not exactly a tough cookie either." Tails looked up, his soul struggling to stay in his eyes. Kit placed his hand no Tails' shoulder and squeezed gently. "You don't have to be a sidekick. You can make your own decisions. That dude back there? He chose to touch you and he got what was coming to him for it. Surge chose to give it to him. Now you?" Kit thumped a finger against Tails' chest. "You get to choose what you do about that. You can leave or stick it out. We're not going to force you."

Tails turned his head down to his chest where he had been touched. He never had that feeling before. He had also believed his default was as a follower. But now he was being offered an out… A choice. A choice was something he rarely thought he was even worthy of. Tails turned his head back up to Kit before pushing up against the wall and standing back up. The light was back in his eyes. "You're right. I'm my own person. So was that guy. Grr…" Tails shook his head and clawed just above the bruise on his arm. "And fuck that guy! He made his choice. Now I'm making mine. I'm sticking with you guys."

Surge came up behind Tails, wiping her knuckles off on her shirt. "Cool. Then we're still going shopping?"

Tails squealed in surprise before turning back to see a dark streak left on Surge's shirt where she had just been wiping. It was too hard to tell what it was on the black material. "O-Oh yeah! Which store are we going to?"

Surge smirked and pulled at her shirt. "Well, this thing is dirty now, so I guess we're gonna go get some clothes. You down?"

That's a good question… One he was allowed to answer however he wanted! "Heck- er… Hell yeah! Let's go. I've only ever worn these same shoes. It'll be a good change to wear more than that."

Surge narrowed her eyes a bit. "You… Want to wear more clothes?"

Tails blinked a bit. Had he said something wrong? "I mean…. Is that bad?"

"Nah, nah. Just… Usually dudes don't sport more than their shoes. Top wear is more of a chick thing, ya know?"

Tails hadn't really noticed that before but when he thought about it, Surge was right. The only person who wore more than shoes around him were women. But… He still wanted to try other clothes at least. It's not like boys wearing clothes was unheard of. "That's… Okay. Right? That's probably fine."

Surge smirked, another plot forming in her mind. "Heh… Sure, alright. Yeah, let's get going. Let's pick you up some new threads."

The new trio walked down the street. They didn't get much foot traffic on the way as people clearly avoided their path once they saw them. Tails didn't really notice as he made idle chit-chat with Kit about electronics and their kit bashed creations they had individually made. They arrived in front of a department store and made their way in without hesitation.

Surge casually walked through the store, making her way through mostly women's clothes with sparse men's' wear. Surge would gently pat Tails on the back, urging him further into the feminine apparel. Tails looked behind himself and then up at Surge before asking, "Are we going to shop for you first?"

Surge guided Tails to a secluded corner surrounded by skirts and sundresses that were on discount racks. "Nah. Not my style. I'll find my stuff, but as somebody who doesn't wear clothes that often, I figure you could use some guidance."

Tails' brows raised at that comment. "Wh- I mean, maybe? I guess I didn't think about it, but I don't really know the first thing about dressing up…" Tails drifted on that thought.

Surge didn't let him drift along before coming up behind Tails and pulling a red sundress over his head. He jerked and squirmed a bit, panicked surprise taking over his movement until his head popped out the other end of his binding. Surge didn't let Tails rest just yet. Her hands moved around him to adjust the dress on his body as well as pulling his tails through a slit in the back and fluffing his chest fur around the neck of the dress.

It all happened so fast for Tails that he didn't even have a moment to protest before he was thrust in front of a mirror. "Check yourself out!" Surge snickered as she stepped aside to let Tails have a full view of himself. "Don't it just scream you?"

Tails finally caught his breath after the hassle and looked himself in the eyes through the mirror. His eyes drifted down from the first point of contact and drank in the sight he beheld. He didn't know what to think. On one hand, he felt a little offended and embarrassed that Surge tossed him into a dress, but other hand… He didn't feel bad in it. He felt stiff but something in his mind nagged him to turn and see how the dress fit around him. It didn't feel wrong. He slowly turned his hip, seeing how the dress flowed over his waist to the twin tails behind him. It didn't look wrong. The world had become silent as he inspected himself. He had slowly sunk into a world between his mind and reality where his wordless thoughts became loud, but the mirror and his reflection were still there. What did all of that mean?

Surge came back into view of the mirror and gave Tails a firm pat on the back. "Ha, okay. Just a little joke. Now let's find something you'd like."

Tails snapped back to reality and turned to Surge. "What? Oh but… I think I like this, actually. Was there a joke?"

Surge stared blankly for a moment. "Oh uh… Nah, nah. If you like it we can get out of here with it. Sure." She shrugged internally and turned to Kit. "Yo, Kit, ya done?"

Kit finished stuffing a package of socks into a backpack before hoisting it back on his shoulders. "Yeah. I'm ready."

"Great," started Surge. "Then let's get gettin'." She and Kit made their way around the side of the store and towards an exit that they hadn't entered through prior. Tails looked himself over one last time before doing a short jog to catch up.

"Hey, wait," Tails said as he came up behind the two. "I think the register is over on the other side."

Surge rolled her eyes before leaning forwards. "Nah, nah. We're not participating in any of that bureaucratic stuff. We're streamlinin' the process. We grab the stuff, leave the place. None of that payin' shit."

Tails looked a bit shocked at that. "But… We're stealing?"

"Takin' from the rich, little guy," Surge insisted on him. "They ain't gonna miss this stuff. It was gonna be thrown in the garbage soon anyway. We're being eco friendly by not letting it go to waste, don'tcha think? Besides, this ain't skin off anybody's back. Victimless crime."

The last time she said something like that, somebody did end up getting hurt… Tails didn't know if that was something he wanted to risk again. "You're… Sure? Nobody gets hurt by this?"

"Positive. Nobody's gonna lay their hands on us over this. If somebody tries to stop us, we bolt. No problems." Surge placed her hand on Tails' shoulder. "Promise."

Tails relaxed a little bit. It wasn't like running was out of his league. He nodded. "Alright. Sure. It's better than wasting this stuff after all."

Surge squeezed Tails' shoulder before turning back around and proceeding towards the exit. Tails and Kit followed, acting like they were leaving only with things they had come in with. Nobody seemed to notice or really care to try noticing as they exited the building and made it to the outside freedom. Tails felt a shiver run through his spine as they passed through the doors, ensuring they had made it out without alerting anybody.

"That was pretty exciting," admitted Tails. "And I guess you were right. Nobody got hurt that time."

Kit nodded and gave his taller compatriot a pat on the thigh. "That's right. Surge knows what it's all about."

Surge snickered. "That's right. You wanna come get some eats next?"

Tails nodded without hesitation. "Absolutely! Let's get going!"

And so, all three walked off to their next series of antics. Tails will get a gun soon, I swear.