"I think the ferry's that way," Rouge shouted, pointing. Or he thought that was what she shouted; it was hard to hear, with the wind screaming in his too-big ears and sound barely keeping up with them.
Sonic smirked. "We're not gonna need the ferry."
Rouge stared at him. "I appreciate your determination, but I would really rather not drown."
He'd slowed to a pace a few mph below the speed of sound so they could actually speak to each other. The whipping wind was still a problem, until Pretzel unexpectedly swiped a clawed hand in the hair. Somehow, the air around them stilled and cooled, shadows pooling around Sonic's blurring feet.
Rouge glanced at the creature, but seemed more immediately concerned with not drowning. "You were unable to put your toe in the water back there. I'd rather you not put us at risk for the sake of your pride."
Sonic shook his head. With the rushing, burning wind gone, his head felt cooler and clearer. The rash determination that had fueled his decision was gone, replaced with calm certainty. He'd run on water before. He could do this. It was faster and more practical. It made sense.
"Pretzel, whatever you're doing, keep it up," He pinned his ears back and leaned forwards as far as he could, accelerating again. The light crackled, disgruntled, but he hardly needed it at this point. He was up to speed, and he'd never run out of energy mid-run before.
"You better be right," Rouge warned. "This uniform is worth a lot more than you."
Sonic's only response was flashing her a grin, and then they were surging off the dock and onto the water. For just a moment that fear lunged up again, biting, but he was already on the water, and sheer instinct pushed away the fear and kept him running. Salt blew in his face, hot and humid. His shoes were soaked, another thing for Tails to have a fit about. He didn't let the thought slow them.
Pretzel peered down at the ocean flying below them, the occasional silvery fish darting away from the rushing feet. Whatever shield-thing Pretzel had created, it muffled only the roaring of the wind, leaving them to the splash of Sonic's feet on the water. Rouge started humming quietly after about five minutes of the quiet.
Fourteen minutes after they left, Sonic touched down on land, and the fear threw him to the ground, his legs collapsing under the onslaught of terror. He stayed on his hands and knees, shuddering and heaving. The white fury and fear blanked out his senses, muting whatever Rouge was saying. He kept his eyes fixed on his hands. Counted his breaths. Focused on anything that didn't fill him with unnatural terror.
He sat up as abruptly as he'd fallen, shaking out his quills like a dog shedding water. Rouge handed him a water bottle without comment, and he gratefully drank it. By the time he'd finished she was handing him a pair of clean socks, politely turning her head away while he dried his feet and put his shoes back on.
Thankfully, neither Rouge nor Pretzel commented on what had happened. Maybe they didn't care. He explored the city—Tunis, it was called—while Rouge wheedled for supplies and Pretzel… well, he guessed she was sleeping somewhere cool and dark, but he wasn't sure.
The city wasn't unlike Apotos, all white buildings, green trees, and the constant lapping of the blue ocean. He could see the island they'd come from, Sicily, in the distance across the blue sea. Narrow grey streets broke up the dirty white buildings. Blue doors, windows, and railings accented the white, and people walked around in that same cheerful daze.
"We have what we need," Rouge called, walking up with a colorful bag full of water bottles and snacks. Pretzel slipped out of the shadows and joined them; she'd been closer than Sonic realized. He lifted the bat up again—she was light, like most fliers—and this time waited for Pretzel to settle before he burst off again.
Within five minutes they left the green of Tunis behind and were racing through dry brown towns, dust clouding around them. Rouge looked hopefully at Pretzel, but apparently she didn't think this warranted a shield.
Twenty minutes of stumbling over tiny green shrubs later, they arrived at another seaside town, where Sonic paused to drink some water and let Rouge and Pretzel cool off. Rouge grumbled to herself as she tried to wash the dust out of her white fur. She considered her uniform for a moment before ripping off the sleeves, handing one to Sonic and tying the other around her mouth. After a few more minutes of dusty running, he gave in and tied the sleeve around his own muzzle.
For the next three-or-so hours, everything blurred into a dusty yellow haze. Rouge made sure he stopped at least once an hour so they could drink water—she was not about to have them pass out in the middle of the Sahara. Then it was on again, blazing down the road as quickly as they could. The heat barely bothered Sonic, something he thanked his new form for. Pretzel, meanwhile, seemed half-dead. He was surprised Rouge hadn't ripped the legs off her oh-so-precious uniform yet.
They skidded to a stop in a large city, dust swirling around them like massive wings. "Kano," Rouge told him, too tired and grumpy to elaborate. "Not friendly to people like us. Keep your head down."
They rested for an hour in a cool restaurant. Rouge was the only one who ate; Pretzel nibbled half-heartedly at a snack, but seemed to exhausted to do anything.
Rouge raised an eyebrow at the limp creature. "At least we know she isn't from the desert."
Sonic laughed. "Yeah. With the short fur and the scales, I doubt she lived in the arctic, either."
"Before you ask," Pretzel interjected, opening one green, reptilian eye to glare at them. "I have no idea."
"You and Shadow would get along," Rouge chuckled, and then scowled at her drink. "I'm going to try and clean up." She said, abruptly standing and heading for the bathroom.
"Kinda pointless!" Sonic called after her, but the bat ignored him. He shook his head and chuckled.
"Why aren't you eating?" Pretzel asked abruptly, looking up at him. "You've eaten next to nothing since I… 'met' you."
Sonic raised his eyebrows at the implied apostrophes but didn't comment. "I just don't feel like it." Feeling her stare, he explained, "I think this form gives me the energy I need without having to eat."
"That's not how you usually are?" Pretzel grabbed Rouge's cup off the table and poured it on herself without a pause, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. For a moment Sonic was too distracted to answer.
"No, no, of course not!" Sonic's tail lashed, reminding him of just how different this form was.
"You seem comfortable," Pretzel flopped back down on the floor. She seemed almost asleep with her eyes half-closed, but her ears swiveled alertly and her voice remained sharp as always.
Sonic studied his dust-stained yellow paws. "It feels… familiar, I guess." He instinctively reached for the colored lights, but all he found was the bright, burning fire, and shuddered unconsciously. It was almost… lonely without them singing in the very back of his mind.
Pretzel nodded and let her eyes slide closed. Sonic could have let the conversation end there, but his eyes drifted to her ever alert ears and something made him continue.
"But it's not comfortable. If I was comfortable I wouldn't be worried or… afraid…" The last word wasn't even a whisper, and yet she sat up when she heard. Her eyes studied him, sharp, cutting him into bits for further study.
"Fire isn't comfortable," She agreed, and lay back down again.
Moments slid by. The restaurant was quiet. No brainwashed citizens, and barely any normal ones, either. One glared at them from a corner, while three others talked. Their voices were relaxed, but there was tension in the way they sat, ready to run at a moments notice. Was it because of the crisis, or because of Sonic's presence? Rouge had said this place wasn't friendly to people like them.
There were plenty of places like that, Sonic recalled as he sipped lukewarm water. Tails had told him it often had to do with religion. Most old beliefs didn't account for intelligent species other than mankind, and… well… change and unfamiliarity had a tendency to bring out the worst in the average human.
"We have to go, right now, immediately," Rouge burst out of the bathroom, keeping her voice low as her eyes darted around the room. She grabbed the bag and shoved the water bottles into it. She grabbed her cup, tilted it, and frowned when nothing came out before tossing it aside.
"What's the rush?" Sonic asked, stretching out his arms.
Rouge's eyes flitted towards the bathroom door as if expecting Perfect Chaos to burst out of the toilet at any minute. "I mentioned this place isn't friendly to us? I may have made things worse. Now let's get going before I change your nickname to Black-and-Blue." Her wings flared proudly at the pun.
Sonic shook his head with a grin and picked her up again, letting her and Pretzel get comfortable before he blasted out of the restaurant, nearly ran into a wall, and then continued down the street.
"I should bring you along more often, Blue," Rouge chuckled, pulling out a watermelon-colored jewel.
The stone winked in the sunlight, and midnights spent with Tails, pouring over books of gems, resurfaced in Sonic's mind. Tourmaline. Not necessarily valuable, but this one was cut like a Chaos Emerald and was perhaps even bigger. And with those glittering green and red hues…
Rouge noticed his expression and rolled her eyes. "Running a club isn't cheap, you know."
"Does GUN not pay you?"
"Of course they do!" She protested. "I wouldn't work for them if they didn't!"
Sonic shook his head and accelerated, bursting through the sound barrier like a fish into water. Dust puffed behind him, clouding the city from view as they traveled on to Mazuri.