Virandi: (blushes) Thanks :D I'm really glad you're enjoying them...and yeah, I do have a lot of fun cross-referencing my stories ;)

Kj: Thanks :) No, Beak isn't an official Sonic character as far as I know; he's just an NPC I created and brought in :P

Professor Vengeance: Me too ;) At least, I love the music; the block puzzle and Robotnik used to frustrate me completely...at least until I figured that if you attack at just the right angle, Tails gets stuck in Robotnik's machine and wipes him out for you :P And thanks...I'm still a big fan of the Sonic/Tails sibling relationship (events in Secrets and Caves notwithstanding ;)) I always had a soft spot for Tails...dunno why but he's just so cute :P And glad you like the battle banter; I'm never quite sure how that goes down ;) Now I just gotta work out eggy names for the rest of Robotnik's machines...

Az The Dragon: Thanks :D I felt kinda sorry for Sonic in the last chapter though...fear of drowning and 'getting squished', as Tails put it, are at least two things he and I have in common ;)

Coopland: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it :)

Poridet: How indeed? ;) And I had to keep the rising-water-and-block thing; that was just too good to leave out :P (Though I still think in terms of difficulty Chemical Plant should have at least come after Aquatic Ruin...)

Sonic-Addict: Thanks :D I'll try

Toboe16: Heh, I know what you mean...still, Chemical Plant was in the game so it's in the story ;) (Besides, I LOVE the theme music :P)

Ninjitsu15: Thanks :D Tails doesn't really have an accent, but like most four year olds, his pronunciation isn't exactly up to adult standard yet :P

Gameorama91: (blushes) Wow, thanks :) Hope you enjoy the rest of it as well ;)

Asher Tye: (grins) No, the whole world isn't against Tails...just that bit of it in Emerald Hill Zone and lately, Dr Robotnik ;) Actually, I can't wait until I get to Sky Chase either...and Casino Night Zone, although that's for a whole different reason :P

Hawk's Soul: (blushes again) Thanks :D As for Tails finding out about Sonic's fear of water...well, very possibly, considering they're about to head into a near-underwater Zone ;)

Shadow-spawn180: Thanks, I try :) And Aquatic Ruin Zone...(happy sigh) I love it, especially the boss fight at the end. Sometimes I even kill Sonic off just to draw it out ;)

D.C.111: Thanks :) As for updating soon...well, as soon as I can :P

Gameorama91: Thanks :D As for the Sonic 1 and Sonic 3 stories...Sonic 1 will be released once I get around to finishing the Prologue :P Since Sonic 3 continues on from Sonic 2 (at least, it does in these adaptations ;)) it won't be released until Rising Star is completed. And until I can think of a fitting name for it ;) On the Sonic 3/Sonic and Knuckles front, I'll basically start with Sonic 3 and go straight onto Sonic and Knuckles...it'll be longer but it means I won't have to break what most people see as one story into two ones :P Erm...does that answer your question?

SonicRules12: Heh...I think everyone hated that part in Chemical Plant Zone ;) To tell the truth I very rarely bother with that Zone now; I cheat and skip straight to Aquatic Ruin...although I did play it recently to try and get the chapter right ;) As to the rest of it...(goes red and has goofy grin on face) Wow...thanks. I don't think I've ever got a review like that before :D

FriedBrickWall: Guess it's each to their own, huh:P Sonic going super...actually, I think Tails might very well see him ;) He always has with me (I think the latest Zone I went super was Mystic Cave...I usually try to get all the Emeralds by the time I fight Robotnik in Chemical Plant ;) Supposedly it's possible to go super in Emerald Hill, but I've never found enough Star Posts to manage it :P

Lewisty: Thanks :D

By the time Sonic had signed autographs, waited for Tails to finish his game with Beak, gone on to the edge of the Zone, warped through a Star Post and collected the fourth Chaos Emerald, gone back three times for Tails and Beak to have a 'final' tearful goodbye, finally given in and bought Tails three double layered triple frosted chocolate fudge cakes in an attempt to ease the parting, stopped for Tails to eat them, gone on, stopped again for Tails to be sick and signed seventeen more autographs while he was waiting, it was so late that the hedgehog decided to crash in a bed and breakfast before going on to Aquatic Ruin.

"I miss Beak, Sonic," Tails said despondently. He was sitting in the bedroom he and Sonic were sharing, picking at his fingers. "Why couldn't we've taken him with us?"

Unseen by the little fox, Sonic clenched one hand into a fist, then unclenched it again. Tails had been saying this over and over again almost every minute of the two-hour walk, and the hedgehog's temper, which had already been frayed to shreds by his narrow escapes in Chemical Plant Zone, finally snapped.

"We couldn't take Beak firstly because his parents would never allow it, secondly because I doubt he'd want to leave them even if they did and thirdly because one sidekick and/or tagalong is about all that I can handle, and one more than I ever wanted in the first place!" Abruptly Sonic realised what he'd said and spun. "Tails…I didn't mean that. I'm sorry."

Tails, who was looking as though Sonic had slapped him, stared wordlessly at the hedgehog with huge, brimming eyes.

"You mean…you don't wanna be friends anymore?"

Sonic knelt down to Tails' eye level and took hold of the fox's hands in both his. "Of course I still want to be friends, squirt. It's just…" he hesitated, not sure how to proceed.

Tails sniffed loudly. "Is this 'cause I said I wanted to be in a comic an' video game with you? I didn't mean it, Sonic, you c'n be in them by yourself if you want."

"Oh kiddo." Sonic shook his head slowly. "You really think that's what this is all about? Some damn royalties?"

Another sniff. Tails wasn't crying, but it was obvious it was taking a huge effort on his part. "But you're not royal, Sonic, an' neither am I. An' if you didn't want me to come along, why didn't you jus' say that back in Em'rald Hill Zone?" He sniffed a third time, looked around for something to blot unshed tears on and settled for the back of his arm. "I gave up my cave an' my secret place an' my toy an' everything to go with you, Sonic, an' now you're saying you never wanted me."

"Tails..." Sonic began, then his voice tailed off helplessly, the fox's words sparking an ugly chain of thoughts inside him.

Yeah, Sonic. You might not want your fame and notoriety, but it still went to your head, didn't it? You thought that Tails would leave behind everything that means anything to him and forget about it, just because he happened to be with the great Sonic the Hedgehog and that was better than anything he had. Even if you never put it in so many words to yourself, that's what you thought and you know it.

"Tails," Sonic said very quietly. "Tails, I want you to stay right here, okay? Don't leave this room until I get back."

Tails stared. "You're leaving me?"

"I'll come back, lil buddy. I promise."

"Oh sure, after you've whumped ol' Robotnik," Tails muttered into his fur.

An idea struck Sonic and he pulled out three of the four Chaos Emeralds and handed them to Tails.

"I'm not going to whump ol' Robotnik without these, Tails. You look after them for me, okay?"

Tails looked at the gems, then up at Sonic again and held out the red Chaos Emerald. "Can I have the blue one instead?"

Sonic laughed and ruffled the little fox's fur. "Sure." He swapped Emeralds. "But stay here, alright squirt? I'll be back very soon."

"Where're you going? I wanna come!"

"No, you stay here. I won't be long."

"But where—"

"You'll find out soon enough, Tails, now…now, watch TV or something, okay? I'll see you later."

In fact, it was late the following morning when Sonic finally returned; he'd been severely delayed by various residents until he'd been sorely tempted to just blaze on past. As soon as he opened the bedroom door, there was the sound of rapid running footsteps and the next thing he knew, he was flat on his back with Tails on top of him, clinging tightly.

"SONIC! You're back! You're back you're back you're back you're back you're back!"

"Uff. Ow." Sonic managed to prop himself up on one elbow and grin at the little fox, who was beaming from one ear to the other, both tails twining around each other in an ecstasy of delight. "Yeah, squirt, I'm back. You didn't doubt me, did you?"

Tails shook his head vigorously. "Nuh uh! I knew you'd be back 'cause I got the Chaos Emeralds!"

"Keep quiet about that, kiddo. And I didn't come back for the Emeralds; I came back for you."

"You did?"

"Sure I did."

Tails' ears drooped a little. "But how come you didn't take me with you, Sonic?"

Sonic winked at him. "Well…that would have spoiled the surprise, wouldn't it?"

"Surprise?" Tails' ears perked again, quivering slightly. "What surprise? Where is it? Where'd you get it from?" Grabbing the smirking hedgehog's arm, he tugged on it, trying to pull it out from behind Sonic's back. "C'mon Sonic, I wanna see!"

"It wouldn't be a surprise then, would it?" Sonic said lightly, shifting the object behind – or rather, underneath – his back.

Tails tried to peer underneath Sonic, but no matter how fast he moved or how innocently he sauntered around before turning and pouncing, the hedgehog was always there, blocking him. Eventually Tails gave up and slumped on top of Sonic, scowling at him.

"Sonic, if you don't show me that surprise right now, I'm never gonna play the Pounce Attack Game with you again! Not ever!"

Sonic quirked an eye ridge at him. "Oh really? That a promise, squirt?"

"Son–ic!"

The hedgehog grinned broadly. "What makes you think this surprise is for you, anyway?"

"'Cause you wouldn't lemme go with you to get it an' you can't surprise yourself, Sonic, 'cause that's jus' silly." Tails gave up attempting to peer over Sonic's shoulder. "You gotta show me. I showed you my cave. An' my secret place."

"True, I guess. Okay." Sonic sat up, still twisting to block Tails' determined attempts to see round him. "I'll show you, but only if you stop racing around like that; you're making me nauseous."

Tails obeyed, freezing in the middle of a step. "Okay, but you gotta hurry 'cause I can't stand on one leg very long an' I don't wanna bang my knees again."

Sonic laughed. "Fair enough. Here." He pulled out Tails' toy and held it out to him.

Tails' face lit up, then abruptly dropped again. "I can't, Sonic. I've outgrew toys, 'member?"

Sonic shook his head. "Tails, you outgrow something when you no longer have fun with it, not when someone tells you to. Go ahead, squirt. Take it. I can't bring your cave and your secret place with me, but I can bring your super cool Sonic fighter ship." He winked.

Tails considered the toy, small face scrunched up in a thoughtful frown. "Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you like playing with my super cool Sonic fighter ship?"

The question caught Sonic off guard. "I...hadn't really thought about it."

"'Cause if you do, you gotta whump ol' Robotnik an'...well, mebbe I could look after it for you."

Sonic grinned broadly. "Sounds like a plan to me, kiddo. Here." He handed the toy to Tails, who grabbed it eagerly and started running around, zooming it through the air (with appropriate noises).

"Tails—" Sonic reached out and caught the little fox on his fourth circuit of the room— "Tails, we have to go."

They went, Sonic leaving some money on the table for the bed (after seeing the state of the kitchen and decided to skip the breakfast part) and headed for Aquatic Ruin Zone, Tails racing around Sonic and playing with his toy the whole way before finally coming to a stop and grabbing the hedgehog's hand.

"Sonic, you're the coolest! Firs' you whump ol' Robotnik six times, then you marry a Mobian princess, then you feed me an' lemme come with you to whump ol' Robotnik some more!"

Sonic shook his head, grinning. "Tails, I…what did you just say?"

"You feed me an' lemme come with you to whump ol' Robotnik some more?"

"Before that."

Tails frowned. "You whump ol' Robotnik six times?"

Sonic folded his arms. "Nice try, Tails. Somewhere between my whumping ol' Robotnik six times and my shovelling endless amounts of food into that fluffy bottomless pit you call a tummy—" he reached down to rub the fluffy bottomless pit in question, eliciting a giggle from the little fox— "in between those things you said something about me and a Mobian princess!"

Tails nodded. "Uh huh! 'Cause you were the prince of Green Hill Zone, an' you rescued the princess of Scrap Brain Zone an' now you're happily married! How come she didn't come with you, Sonic?"

"There is no princess, Tails! There never was!" Sonic shook his head. "I'm not married, I never was married and I don't intend to be either!"

Tails snorted. "Uh huh. Yeah, right, Sonic. I s'pose you're gonna be telling me now you're not the prince of Green Hill Zone."

"Tails, sure I grew up in Green Hill Zone—"

"Aha!"

"—but I am not a prince! There are no princes and princesses in Mobius anymore, not unless you count the royals in the bee colonies and frankly, I think they only exist as a way of telling one bee apart from the next!"

Tails frowned, trying to understand this, then said, "You mean you're not a prince?"

"I'm an orphan with no family who was raised by the parents of whichever friend I was squatting with at the time," Sonic said bluntly. "Usually Mighty, but I did spend some time with others as well. I never rescued anybody from Scrap Brain Zone because Robotnik – for some reason best known to himself – never fought me there. He ran away onto a platform which took both him and me up to Sky Base Zone. There was no battle in Scrap Brain, no prison egg and anyone who says otherwise is wrong!"

Tails' eyes grew huge. He'd picked out only two parts of this conversation and brought one of those up now.

"You're an orphan? Like me?"

"Yeah, like you," Sonic said shortly, "except I don't remember anything about my family. I don't even know how they died; it happened when I was about six months old." He looked away, then back at the fox as something occurred to him for the first time. "Tails, Metropolis Zone is on Westside Island, isn't it?"

Tails nodded. "Uh huh!"

"Oookay." Sonic frowned, deep in thought. "I think I might pay it a little visit at some point."

"How come?"

"I want to talk to the people who have been selling all this Sonic merchandise," Sonic said, an ominous note in his voice that Tails didn't pick up on, firstly because he was too young and secondly because they'd arrived on the outskirts of Aquatic Ruin and the fox's attention was distracted by a huge lake, one which surrounded pillars of some long-forgotten civilisation.

Tails' face split into a watermelon grin and he raced for the lake, leaping in and soaking Sonic from head to foot, then surfacing, doggypaddling determinedly.

"C'mon in, Sonic, the water's great!" He hesitated. "Sonic?"

The hedgehog was standing as far away from the lake as he could, arms folded and a strange look on his face.

"Sonic, c'mon!" Tails scrambled out of the water, seized Sonic by the hand and attempted to pull him towards it. "C'mon, let's go for a swim!"

"No!" Sonic jerked back so hard he almost yanked Tails off his feet. "No, I..." He hesitated. "I can't swim," he said eventually.

"Huh? You can't?" Tails looked completely and utterly thunderstruck. He'd never known there were people who couldn't swim. "I c'n teach you then," he bragged. "C'mon, it's easy." He grabbed both of Sonic's hands this time and tried to pull him along again.

"Tails, no!" Fear, real fear, made the hedgehog's voice sharper than he'd intended and he twisted out of the fox's hold, crouching down to seize him hard by the arms. "No, no, no!" he repeated, punctuating each word with a shake for good measure. "I am not gonna get in that water, not that water or any other water if it comes to it, and nothing you do or say will make me!" He shook his head. "So don't ever, ever pull such a crazy stunt again, you got that straight? Because if you do, you're on your own, for good. I don't like water except as something to drink or shower in, I don't swim and if you ever try to get me in it again..." He let the sentence trail off threateningly.

Tails whimpered. "You're hurting me."

Sonic blinked and noticed he was gripping the fox so tightly his fingers had all but disappeared into Tails' arms. Releasing him with a muttered, "Sorry," he turned and strode away, not looking around to see if the fox was following.

Tails sat down abruptly at the base of a pillar, rubbing his bruised arms tenderly. He'd never known Sonic could be like that, so rough, just like the mean kids who liked to pick on him.

Maybe they're right, he thought miserably. Maybe Sonic just doesn't want to swim with a freak.

He shook his head. No, Sonic wouldn't think that, not ever! Besides, he'd had plenty of chances to leave Tails behind and the fox was still with him so it must have been something Tails himself had done.

With a long, loud sigh – having a best friend was more complicated than Tails had initially thought – the fox got to his feet and padded after Sonic.

He found him sitting on top of a huge, hollow tree trunk, one which was big enough to walk through (and big enough to hide a bot, as Tails found out to his cost; he was almost impaled on its nose before he saw it and leapt out the way with a startled Yip!

Sonic glanced around, saw Tails and looked away again. The little fox padded up, sat down next to him and leaned against him. Sonic didn't push Tails away, but he didn't return the hug either.

"I like you, Sonic," Tails said after a few minutes; he had no idea how else to start the conversation. "You're cool. An' it's okay if you don't wanna swim; you don't gotta. But…it could be kinda useful," he ventured. Sonic shot him a cold look.

"I don't doubt that, Tails, but the answer's still no."

"You..." Tails began, then stopped. If Sonic was talking to him again, he didn't want to mess it up.

"Go on," Sonic said coolly.

Tails looked into those jade eyes, then looked away and shook his head vigorously, pressing his lips together tightly. "Mm-mm."

"No, go on. I what?"

Tails opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again and finally blurted out, "You didn't have to hurt me!" The tears of hurt betrayal that he'd managed to hold in until that moment finally spilled down his cheeks.

The hedgehog looked away, although whether that was because of contempt, shame or consideration Tails didn't know.

"No, I know," Sonic said very quietly. He looked back, looked Tails squarely in the eyes. "I'm sorry, kiddo, I really am. It's just..." He looked away again and sighed. "Just...don't try it again, okay? Like I said, I don't like the water."

Tails sniffed loudly, looked around for something to wipe his eyes and nose on and settled for the back of his arm.

"You didn't have to shake me neither," he mumbled. "You could've jus' said no."

"I did just say no, Tails, and if you'd accepted that I wouldn't have lost it with you."

"So...you're never gonna swim? Never never?"

"Never, never, never," Sonic said emphatically, then softened. "But I'll tell you what. If I ever change my mind and want a swimming lesson after all, you'll be the first one I ask, okay?"

"Okay!" Gloom forgotten, Tails bounced up onto his feet. "C'mon Sonic! Let's go track down ol' Robotnik!"

"Sure," Sonic said with sub-zero enthusiasm. "Let's go and find out how he's planning to kill me this time."

"Great!" Impervious to Sonic's tone, Tails grabbed his hand and tugged him along the log. "C'mon!"

They'd been going about ten minutes when there was a sudden zwip, and Sonic grabbed Tails and leapt into the air as an arrow shot underneath them.

"Where the hell did that come from?" he demanded, still holding Tails.

"From the pillar," Tails said, pointing helpfully to the pillar in question and regretting it instantly as Sonic stared down at him.

"You knew about this?"

"Oh sure. I thought everybody knew 'bout the arrow shooting pillars in Aquatic Ruin! They on'y shoot one way, though. Beak told me 'bout 'em; his family comes on holiday here loads. I miss him, Sonic."

"I know you do," Sonic said in tones of iron control. He told himself that no matter what happened, he would not lose it with Tails again, would not. His temper was already on a hair trigger, mostly due to the uncomfortable thought of all that water directly underneath him. If he fell…a chill ran down his back.

"Hey Sonic, there's a Star Post!" Tails said excitedly.

It says something for Sonic's current frame of mind that the journey into the Special Zone, a prospect which normally filled him with dread, came as a veritable relief. With the amount of rings he collected (and was it him or was that amount increasing every time they went in?) Sonic was also feeling in a good enough mood when he and Tails came out with the Chaos Emerald to actually enjoy the scenery…and taking the high route through the trees, he could see plenty of it. Vast lakes surrounded pillars, and Sonic could make out marble buildings under the water.

This must have been a hell of a city.

The path sloped steeply downwards and Tails raced on past. He'd discovered that if he angled his namesakes just right, he could fly forward instead of up, and was always looking for good places to do this.

Shaking his head, Sonic followed him down and past a building that was – amazingly – still standing, at least on the bottom half.

Part of that wall crumbled suddenly as they went past it and a bot emerged, the same kind that had almost impaled Tails. Sonic leapt, more out of surprised reflexes than anything, landing squarely on the bot and putting it out of commission.

"Sonic!" Tails protested. "I wanted to whump it!"

"You can whump the next one," Sonic said automatically. "C'mon."

Grumbling, Tails followed him, picking up the pace as they rounded the final lake and found themselves in grassy plains.

"Cool! C'mon Sonic, I'll race you!" Tails sped away and Sonic shook his head, grinning. He had to admit, Tails' speed was impressive. Nowhere near Sonic's – and frankly, the hedgehog was glad; he didn't know if he could handle competition – but fast enough.

Breaking into a run, he drew level with Tails in a few seconds and slowed to match the fox's speed. "That all you got, squirt?"

"I got loads more!" Tails attempted to increase his velocity, and grinned. "Ha! See! I'm beating you, Sonic! I'm faster'n you!"

In fact, Sonic was slowly and deliberately dropping back in an effort to let the little fox win, and it might have worked if the ground hadn't suddenly started to buck and tremble underneath them, knocking them both off their feet.

"What's happening?" Tails yelped above the increasing rumble.

"I don't know." Sonic forced his own voice to remain calm. "I don't know." He did know one thing, however; he didn't like it.

The earth split in front and behind them, and two identical totem poles, both facing each other, both carved out of solid gray stone to represent four birds on top of each other.

"I see you've made it this far."

Sonic and Tails both looked up at Robotnik's hovering vehicle.

"Wow," Sonic said with heavy sarcasm. "Fancy seeing you here, doc. I'm guessing this is your handiwork?" indicating the totem poles with a hand.

Robotnik grinned evilly. "You flatter me, Sonic, but I'm afraid I can't take all the credit. These have been here since before you or I were born."

Sonic folded his arms. "Doc, they were still sacrificing virgins to bring back the sun when you were born, so that doesn't exactly narrow it down."

"Enough!" Robotnik spun his vehicle around. "So far you have survived, Sonic, but we'll just see how you fare against my Eggscoriator!"

"Your what?" Sonic and Tails said in unison.

In the cockpit, Robotnik grimaced. He really ought to have drawn the line at that name, but it had taken him a good while with a thesaurus to come up with it and he didn't want to waste it. Next time he was going to think of the name first and customise his Egg-O-Matic to fit!

Sonic folded his arms, staring coldly at Robotnik. "Look, I have been almost drowned and flattened twice, thought I'd escaped water Zones only to find this one's wetter than any of them—"

"You mean you didn't get a clue from the name?" Robotnik sneered.

"—so can we cut the preliminary chat?"

"What's pullinnominny?"

Robotnik smiled, ignoring Tails. "But of course. No doubt you have noticed the totem poles."

Since they were twelve feet tall, dark grey with what looked to Sonic like ducks carved into the sides, the hedgehog didn't see how he could have missed them, and so he also didn't see why he should dignify such an obvious statement with an answer.

"Part of the Zone's defence systems. Whoever lived here before really had some impressive security measures. These totems fire arrows from all four levels simultaneously. Of course, being as old as they are, they may require a little tap."

Sonic folded his arms. "And how are you going to give them that little tap, doc? Lean over and punch them?"

"I actually had a slightly more scientific method in mind, Sonic. Allow me to demonstrate." Robotnik pushed a button and there was a whining sound as a panel slid aside and a huge object emerged on a mechanical arm. Clicking and whirring, it slotted neatly into place, taking on the form of an enormous red and yellow mallet. Sonic stared at it.

"Jeez doc, subtlety really isn't your thing, is it?"

"Nobody ever took over the world by being subtle, Sonic," Robotnik informed him pleasantly. "Now, enough talking." Pushing the throttle forward, he glided over to one totem pole and flicked a button to bring the mallet crashing down onto the top. The pole juddered and fired a single arrow out of the uppermost totem. It was too high to hit Sonic or Tails, but it did give the Egg-O-Matic a nasty scrape on the underneath.

Sonic hesitated. He wasn't sure how to deal with this, and not least because he now had to worry about Tails, who was shrieking with laughter at Robotnik's expression.

The fox's mirth lasted as long as it took for Robotnik to decide to try his luck on the other totem. This one also only fired a single arrow, but it fired it out of the bottom one. Sonic jumped over it automatically, then heard a shrill yelp of pain from below and spun around in midair to see Tails curled up, clutching his shoulder tightly.

"Tails!" Sonic stared at the little fox cub, then fixed Robotnik with a diamond stare. "You're dead, you hear me? Dead!"

Truth to tell, Robotnik was slightly unnerved by Sonic's behaviour in this fight. Not because of any feelings of vulnerability on his part, but because he was used to Sonic as a reluctant combatant, one who only ever fought in self defence and who was pathetic enough never to actually kill Robotnik, since he was hanging onto a dream of the past and an equally pathetic hope that things could go back to how they were. A Sonic who made smart remarks, who actually made death threats against him wasn't a Sonic he was used to facing, and therefore not a Sonic he had a foolproof method of dealing with either.

Well, his plan didn't seem to be going too badly – despite the fact that the totems were damaged enough to only fire one arrow instead of the original four! – and even if it didn't kill Sonic, pounding hell out of stone pillars with a great big mallet was doing wonders for his stress level.

Sonic leapt, but Robotnik had judged the distance just right this time; he was a little out of range. No matter how Sonic raced and jumped, he never quite managed to reach him, and several close escapes with ballistic arrows didn't make him eager to continue the experiment.

Another arrow, this one emerging from the bottom totem, jerked Sonic's attention back to the little fox on the ground. "Tails, look out!"

Tails leapt instinctively, landing on the arrow above him which was springy enough to catapult him further into the air. Curling automatically, he winced as he crashed into Robotnik's machine, bounced off and landed heavily on the ground.

Sonic stared at him. "That's it!" He broke into a run, leapt onto another arrow, sprang off and slammed into Robotnik as hard as he could, bouncing off him twice and landing gracefully, a motion that was only slightly spoiled by the fact that he had to hit the dirt a lot less gracefully in an effort to avoid the arrow shooting over his head.

If Robotnik had stopped and thought things through logically, the chances are he'd have been able to take care of at least Tails. He hadn't thought of Tails as a serious threat (despite losing two machines to him) hadn't viewed him as anything more than a nuisance and had never experienced such a coordinated attack either. Just when he was aiming to attack Sonic, Tails rammed him from the opposite side, jerking the targeting system off and by the time he'd recalibrated, Sonic was on him again, distracting his attention.

Another blow, this one knocking out the circuits on the entire left side. Robotnik had had enough. Time to rethink.

Pulling back, he started to speed away, but Sonic landed squarely on top of him and knocked out the few remaining circuits. With no power, Robotnik's vehicle started to fall and Sonic readied himself for a final blow, all the while hoping like hell he could bring himself to deliver it.

Thinking fast, Robotnik pushed a button and the mallet receded rapidly, evening out the weight distribution. That was better. Now for phase two.

Flicking switches, desperate to get away before Sonic hit him again, Robotnik switched to auxiliary power, hoping the stores hadn't been damaged.

No, they worked fine; he could feel his vehicle lifting into the air, out of Sonic's reach. Robotnik would have dearly loved to gloat over this fact, taunt his enemy a little, but didn't dare; the power would only last so long. He'd have to recharge and repair.

Accelerating as much and as quickly as he dared, Robotnik pulled away.

"No!" Watching the figure escape for the third time since he'd crashed on Westside Island, Sonic raced after him, only stopping when Robotnik went through a waterfall. Even the prospect of destroying the doctor wasn't enough to overcome Sonic's hydrophobia, and he trudged back to Tails, glancing over his shoulder every few steps just in case Robotnik was planning an ambush.

Tails was sitting on the ground again, examining the wound on his shoulder. It wasn't as bad as Sonic had feared; the arrowhead had sliced the little fox as it shot past, but the cut itself was only about half an inch deep.

Tails beamed up at Sonic, unaccountably pleased.

"I gotta war wound now, Sonic, look! I'm gonna get a scar an' drive all the girls crazy 'cause then they'll get locked up in a loonybin an' won't be able to take over the beach!"

"Here, let me see." Sonic bent over the wound in the fox's shoulder and grimaced. It was shallow, but still..."Rusty arrows...who knows what they put in here? We better get you a shot just to be on the safe side."

Tails yelped again and jerked away. "I don't wanna shot, Sonic! That's where you go to the doc an' he sticks loadsa needles in you! I been to the doc before, when my mum an' dad were still alive an' I'm not going back! He thinks I'm jus' a little fox-shaped pincushion!"

Sonic took a long, deep breath. "Tails, if you don't get a shot, you could get tetanus."

"I'd rather have tent puss than a shot! The doc said it wouldn't hurt but it did an' I'm not gonna let him spike me again even if I do get tent puss! What's tent puss, Sonic?"

"Tetanus. It's nasty, kiddo; it attacks the central nervous system and makes your body jerk so badly you rip muscles and fracture bones. Then again, that's after your mouth stops working." Which, Sonic thought wryly, might not be such a bad thing.

"You c'n mend broken bones an' if we stick a tube in my mouth it'll freeze round that an' I can still breathe an' suck food up!"

"Tails..." Sonic held out a hand. "C'mon."

Tails took Sonic's hand readily enough, but then wrapped the other hand and both his legs around a tree and scowled determinedly at the hedgehog.

"I'm not gonna get a shot an' you can't make me!"

"Watch me, kiddo."

It wasn't an easy journey or even a particularly dignified one – Tails insisted on howling and yelping for most of it, and grabbing everything within reach when this failed to have any effect – but it was fairly unobserved, at least until they reached the prison egg.

Still holding Tails, Sonic jumped up and hit the plunger, feeling the now familiar sensation as the metal warped, buckled and finally split under him. Leaping down, he nodded to the people who came out in a friendly fashion; Tails had stopped yelping half a mile back and was currently sitting on the floor, a scowling furry mass of dead weight.

"We're looking for a doctor," Sonic said.

"No we're not, Sonic," Tails spoke up somewhat hoarsely, "'cause I'm not gonna get a shot an' we can't waste the doctor's time, so we better jus' keep moving."

Ignoring him, Sonic looked at the crowd and raised his eye ridges. "Is there a doctor anywhere near here?"

"There's old Dr Bones," a heron said doubtfully. "I'm not sure he has the equipment for a shot—"

"Not gonna get a shot!"

"—but he's the best in the Zone. Down there and on the right. Robotnik never got him; I think he thought he was too old to be of much use and too old to escape either."

"Thanks." Sonic glanced back down at Tails. "C'mon squirt."

"Not gonna get a shot!"

"Yes you are. C'mon, or do you want me to keep dragging you?"

Tails' face lit up. "Boy! I jus' thoughta something, Sonic!"

"Well, tell me about it on the way to the doctor's surgery."

The little fox shook his head. "That's what I wanna talk to you about, Sonic! I jus' 'membered I got a tent puss shot this morning! Yeah! So I don't gotta have another one, right? Right?"

"Nice try, kiddo. C'mon." Sonic hauled Tails along the dirt track, ignoring the little fox's loud yelps, and into the doctor's surgery.

The doctor, an elderly bear who had moved to Aquatic Ruin Zone for the swimming it offered, emerged at the sound of Tails' loud and extremely vocal protests, most of which ran along the lines of "Help, I'm being kidnapped!"

"Can we get a tetanus shot please?" Sonic asked, as politely as his fraying patience would allow.

"NOT gonna get a shot!"

"Tails, if you say that one more time…" Sonic let the sentence trail off threateningly.

Tails opened his mouth, shut it, thought for a few minutes and eventually came up with, "Won't have a shot!"

Still holding onto him, Sonic murmured something softly to the doctor, who nodded. Satisfied, the hedgehog looked back at the stubborn fox.

"Tails, I'm getting one too."

Tails broke off mid yelp and sniffled suspiciously. "You are?"

"Yeah, I am. Now stop howling and let the nice doctor get on with it!"

Tails scowled at the nice doctor in question. "Doctors aren't nice, Sonic. They stick needles in you an' make you drink medicine an' that's not nice 'cause medicine tastes bad and needles hurt!"

"That's not answering my question," Sonic said calmly, with an apologetic look to the doctor. "If I get a shot too, will you let the doctor give you one?"

Tails hesitated, then turned the scowl on Sonic. "On'y if you go first! 'Cause I been caught like that before an' I'm not gonna have a shot an' then you turn round and say you've changed your mind, an' I wanna see it too!"

Sonic nodded once. He wasn't one to welsh on a deal, but Tails didn't know that. "Okay. It's a deal." He offered his arm to the doctor, who slid a needle in, depressed the plunger and withdrew it, tossing it into the trash.

It had been nothing more than ordinary water in that syringe – Sonic had had his own tetanus shot some time before – but it did the trick. Tails held out his arm, then snatched it back and looked at Sonic.

"Will you buy me something chocolate if I do this?"

"If you don't do it I'll never buy you anything chocolate again," Sonic retorted.

Tails yipped in alarm, then glared at the hedgehog. "You wouldn't!"

Sonic caught hold of Tails' arm and looked at the doctor. "Just do it, will you? We have to get to the next Zone as quickly as possible."

"No! Nonononononononono—"

"Tails!" Sonic said sharply. The little fox broke off mid no and scowled at him.

"What?"

"It's done."

Tails blinked. "It is?"

"Yes. It is."

"Oh. Okay." Tails pushed himself off the chair and bounded over to the door. "C'mon Sonic, let's go!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. He still wasn't entirely sure how he'd wound up with Tails, and also wasn't entirely sure whether it was worth it.

"Alright." He nodded goodbye to the doctor, who looked thoroughly relieved that they were leaving, and followed Tails out. "C'mon kiddo; I'll buy you a treat."

"Don't wanna treat," Tails muttered, scowling.

"You don't, huh?" Sonic pulled out the iced pella tart he'd bought when he'd been coming back from Emerald Hill Zone with Tails' toy. "So I guess I can eat this myself, huh?"

Tails' eyes lit up and he leapt for it, but Sonic held it out of reach.

"How about a please, Tails?"

"Please!"

"Please what?"

"Please gimme it!"

Sonic laughed. "Close enough. Okay squirt. Here." He handed the tart to Tails, who snapped it up in three bites, licking his lips to get the last of the icing.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I gonna have to get a tent puss shot every time I get whumped with something metal?"

"No, kiddo, you're not. You won't need another tetanus shot for about ten years."

"Ten years!" Tails' eyes grew big; he wasn't used to considering such vast lengths of time. "How old will I be then, Sonic? How old will you be? Will you be more'n a hundred?"

"Fourteen, twenty one and no, I won't, thankyou very much!"

"Where we heading now, Sonic?"

Sonic put a mock indignant look on his face and stared at the little fox. "You mean you don't know? You're supposed to be my guide! Which Zone are we going to next?"

"Erm…" Tails considered. "Oil Ocean?"

Sonic shook his head wryly. "Why doesn't that surprise me? Maybe I should get a map."

"Nuh uh!" Tails shook his head. "If you get a map you won't need me 'cause people with maps don't have guides an' I'll have to find somewhere else to live!"

Sonic took a long, deep breath. "Tails…are you planning on living with me for the rest of your life?"

Tails giggled. "Course not!" he said, and this might have reassured Sonic somewhat had he not then added, "On'y 'til I'm all growed up!"

"How long's that gonna be?"

"Oh don't worry; we got years an' years an' years before that happens! Jus' 'magine, Sonic; you an' me, a team forever an' ever!"

Yeah, Sonic thought numbly. Just imagine.

It wasn't that he disliked Tails; quite the reverse. After all, he'd have died in Chemical Plant Zone if it hadn't been for the little fox.

Sonic slowed down, staring at nothing as this hit him for the first time.

He would have died. If he hadn't had Tails, if he hadn't taken him with him…like it or not, Sonic now owed this stubborn little fox with two tails his life.

Sonic shivered. That was a sobering thought. He remembered lying crouched in a thicket in Jungle Zone, hiding from a bot and terrified that it was going to find him, trembling so much he'd almost made the leaves rustle. He'd made a wish then, wished like hell just to have someone else to help him out. Actually, he'd wished for Mighty, but the armadillo hadn't been around then. An orphaned two-tailed fox cub who had latched onto him like a limpet hadn't been exactly the kind of help Sonic had had in mind, but it had paid off.

"Sonic?"

Sonic blinked back to the present and glanced down at an anxious Tails, forced a smile.

"I'm okay, kid. I'm okay. Just…thinking about something, that's all."

"Something bad?"

Sonic closed his eyes and pushed his memories of events in the Jungle Zone back into darkness, where they belonged before saying, "Yeah. Something very bad."

"What?"

The hedgehog opened his eyes, forced another smile. "Nothing important, kiddo. I'll tell you when you're older."

The little fox sighed gustily. "That's what ev'ryone says but I wanna know now, Sonic!"

"No, Tails."

Tails shut up. There was no anger in Sonic's voice, it wasn't even cold, but something in it and the hedgehog's expression…Tails didn't know the word haggard, else he might have felt it the only description which really fitted Sonic's demeanour.

"I think I see the edge of the Zone," he said, after half an hour had gone past in silence.

Sonic jumped – the memory of Jungle Zone hadn't wanted to stay down, and it had brought some other memories from Green Hill and Bridge Zone to keep it company – then glanced down at Tails, thankful for the distraction. "Yeah? Where?"

Tails pointed. "Jus' up there!"

Sonic followed the little fox's finger and felt a grin spread over his face. "A Casino Zone, huh?" Looking back down at Tails, his grin widened. "You feeling lucky, squirt?"

"Yup!"

"Great! Let's go!" Who knew, perhaps Robotnik hadn't taken the Casino Zone. Perhaps they could have a little fun.

Sonic picked up the pace. After Chemical Plant and Aquatic Ruin, he was looking forward to this Casino Zone.

Okay, 'nother one done! (NB: Forestalling potential squawks, I will add that I know it's Casino Night Zone; this was a deliberate mistake on my part. You'll see why next episode ;)) Hope you enjoyed it and if you read, please review!