The journey continues in the dark
His eyes scanned the paper on the table, irises quickly going over the words, being of significance to him. A smirk crossed his lips once he read the number at the bottom of the page, putting the paper back on the table as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head.
He was getting more profit. With the amount of metal, the thieves had collected, and he thereby had sent to him, meant that they were gaining more in return. It was an odd agreement, he had to admit, though he was gaining gold and silver, valuable items in the inner circles, giving him the ability to make thieves and robbers join the market, join it only to become a part of the system he was ruling. There was a mutual agreement, one he intended on keeping until the time would come. He wasn't quite ready yet, the report told him that as well, but he was patient. He could endure a couple of days more in silence if it meant their gains would be doubled. Or even tripled.
The smirk widened on his lips from the thought, thinking that he definitely had everything under control. The inner market was expanding, they were working quickly and quietly, stealing furniture, appliances, and metal almost every night. If it weren't for those damn soldiers, they would have taken over the city by now. Anyone who dared to stay in their way would face the consequences – join them or get out of the way. There wasn't anything that could stop them, and he intended it to stay that way.
The black hedgehog placed his feet down on the ground again, letting his hand brush over the emerald in his spikes. A part of him wanted to use it already, as he could feel the power, he could feel the energy that it held inside, and all he wanted to do was utilize it. He had already done it once more, an attack that meant he gained the upper hand of collecting the emeralds for himself.
That was the only discrepancy in his plan as of right now, a furrow appearing on his brow from the thought. He only had this one. He knew what the others could do, he knew what they could do once they were all together, and he knew how much power he would have. He could rule the entire city with that kind of power, could practically imagine the energy throbbing in his veins, being invincible and unbeatable. That was his goal.
The thieves had no idea what the emeralds could do. They were told to collect them for currency, but they had been explicitly told that if someone tried to hide one from him, they would pay the price. A price that was too expensive.
He turned his head once a knock sounded on his door, the hedgehog raising a brow, thinking who wanted to talk to him right now.
"Yes?" He asked hoarsely, hiding the confusion in his voice that he otherwise felt in his abdomen.
The door slowly opened, before a normal messenger showed himself in the doorway, a scrawny looking Mobian bird, wearing a blue vest who tried to look intimidating, though it came out looking uncomfortable.
"Someone wants to speak to you," he informed, shifting a bit on his feet. "He's from Kroxburg," the bird elaborated, looking rather nervous.
Shadow furrowed his brow, wondering why someone from the market city had come all the way to Croford only to speak to him. He had contacts in that city, since he wanted to know if a Chaos Emerald would show up, and he did a bit of business there too. But since their communication was minimal and he only got word if something important showed up he wasn't too sure what happened there. The visit was intriguing.
"Sent him in," he gruffly demanded, making the bird whip around and close the door, presumably to go get the mentioned Mobian.
Shadow stood up from his chair, putting his hands on his hips and looked at the paper one more time. He hid it underneath another stack of reports, unimportant for the moment. A new knock came to the door, slower and more calculated.
"Yes," he demanded this time around, piercing red eyes already targeting the door, as if he wanted to burn a hole through the wood.
The door opened once more, as a Mobian wolf stepped inside. He looked like he had been in a recent fight, both eyes blue though the right one looked more damaged, one cheek a bit puffy. Grey eyes were staring back at the piercing red, his gaze not wavering or looking away like people usually did.
"Greetings Shadow," he introduced, as he closed the door behind him, taking a step into the room.
The hedgehog was well aware who he was, being one of the leading groups of the thieves in Kroxburg. He didn't have much communication with him, from the simple fact that they did business in Mobian trafficking, a business which was more dangerous than simple stealing. Soldiers were more focused when a child or an adult went missing, it messed up the web among the criminals, nobody wanting to have anything to do with anyone and prevented from doing any criminal activity whenever it happened. It was a risky business that otherwise gave the ones involved a lot of mobiums from their jobs. Though, it wasn't something Shadow was interested in being a part of, was already getting ready to decline any form of deal that the wolf wanted to make with him.
"I have some useful information for you," he declared as he walked forward, leaving his palms on the table, looking at the hedgehog in front of him.
The leader of the inner market raised a brow in curiosity, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew exactly where this was going, had done these conversations more times than he could remember.
"How useful?" He asked before he wanted to ask how much he wanted for it.
It was a bloody circle, thieves knowing a thing or two about something that would mean a lot to the correct people. They could demand a dizzying amount of money for simple words. The wolf had a smirk on his lips, seemingly already knowing that his information was more than important to Shadow.
"How about if I told you that my men have seen a blue hedgehog wandering around in Kroxburg?" He asked with a sly grin, expecting a surprised expression to appear on the black hedgehog's face.
Instead, disappointment appeared there, the leader sitting back down in his chair, resting his head in the palm of his hand.
"I know already," he deadpanned. "And I know where he went. You're wasting my time," he concluded without mercy, gesturing his hand towards the door, clearly stating that the meeting was over.
It didn't deter the wolf however, as the grin widened, standing up and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Did you also know that he got a Chaos Emerald from someone there?" Shadow's eyes widened without his consent in surprise, his interest once more gained.
The wolf nodded, if only to emphasize, one foot slowly tapping into the ground. "It'll cost you to know more," he added, an ordinary deal that thieves made among them.
The hedgehog furrowed his brow, wondering if the wolf was bluffing or not. It wasn't unusual that they tended to know information as well, getting the mobiums they wanted and then get the hell out of dodge. But the Chaos Emeralds were too important to miss any opportunity.
"How much?"
"200 mobiums," it was ridiculous, that kind of sum was only fair to people who knew the location of an emerald. Though, money was the one thing he wasn't lacking.
"You'll get a 100 now and the rest when you've told everything you know," he demanded, pulling something out from one of the drawers in the table, pulling out a stack of bills, plucked out five and laid them on the wooden furniture.
The wolf stared at the money, his eyes widening from seeing that amount of currency just laying in front of him. He let out a 'hmpf' obviously not happy with that agreement but had no other choice.
"Fine," he agreed, swiping the money from the table, checked the corners to make sure that they were real. Shadow crossed his arms over his chest, waiting until the wolf decided that he hadn't been tricked. The Mobian squinted his eyes at the money once more, before he looked back at Shadow, packing it away in a pouch fastened on his hip in a belt.
"A couple of days ago I organized a kidnapping of a girl rabbit, nothing too serious, a small Mobian that could easily be sold for a housemaid and blackmailed the sister for a gold mine in Omok. But somehow, she got that blue hedgehog and a two tailed fox to help her get her back. They took out my men! If I ever get my hands on-"
"Your failed business attempts is none of my concern. Get to the point," Shadow hurried, having no interest in what that blue hedgehog did in his free time.
The wolf didn't look happy that he was interrupted, though continued, nevertheless.
"Some of the thieves saw the older sister of the rabbit pick up an emerald on the ground days ago. They didn't know if it was of importance to you, but she's been interacting with the blue hedgehog, helped him get out of the city too," he explained, his fingers fidgeting, itching to get the rest of the money he was promised.
Shadow considered the information, had already figured that it wasn't worth the extra 100, since he knew over half of it. His assassin had found them at the base of the mountain region, he knew they had been led out of the city. Though, now there was a very high probability that the hedgehog had two emeralds – one more than he had. And he had a feeling that he was on his way to collect the rest of them. He narrowed his eyes at the wolf, tapping his finger on his arm as another thought occurred to him.
"And you're sure that this sister picked up the emerald?" He asked for confirmation.
The wolf wasn't hesitant to nod, shifting his weight.
"And another thing," he continued. "There's been two thimble riggers joining them as well. They're not well known among the criminals, but from what I could gather they're known as Power and Swifty, a red armadillo and a flying squirrel," the wolf continued, shrugging his shoulders. "They don't have any rank or are of any threat, but I believe they were led out of Croford," Shadow nodded without thinking, being aware that the assassins had told him that they had been in the sewers as well, a couple of days back.
He had paid them no regard since he figured they were merely let out of the city as well – though he hadn't thought that they would follow the hedgehog.
"They split with the hedgehog. They headed east, most likely towards Shita," the Mobian wolf informed, before taking a step back. "And that's all I know," he ended, narrowing his eyes.
Shadow didn't see it, instead pondered about the information he had just received, looking at the table thoughtfully. Drumming his hands on his arm, he furrowed his brow.
It was useful. He didn't know if the hedgehog was doing this alone or had taken in a group. It didn't seem like he was trying to gather people for him or try and find someone that could find the emeralds for him. He had no idea what intentions he had with the emeralds, if he secretly wished to take over Croford or any other city, use the power for himself and pull everyone under the rug with him. But gaining companions meant that he was stupid, since that fox that had been following in Croford was still with him, for reasons unknown to the hedgehog. The assassin had stated he was dead but considering the fact that she couldn't even kill the hedgehog he doubted that fact. Though, that he had made friends on his travel was very useful to him.
He nodded to himself as a plan formed in his mind, looking at the wolf while finding the rest of the bills and threw them on the table. The Mobian scrambled to pick them up, counted them and checked if they were real before he nodded at Shadow.
"Pleasant doing business with you," he said, before the wolf turned around and walked out the door, closing it behind him, no longer interested.
Shadow didn't mind that he left, merely pulled a hand into his quills once more, letting his hand run over the emerald. Now, something was going to happen. He had a plan.
He needed Rouge, needed her to go back to Kroxburg, gather her lackeys and get those two girls and take them to Croford. He had a feeling they could be useful. Shadow took back his hand before he walked towards his door, his footsteps heavy, a confidence radiating off him, his demeanor concentrated.
While she did that, he would head to Shita. He had questions he wanted answered, and therefore closed the door behind him, as he made to get ready.
Tails looked down, one of his feet moving slightly backwards, causing some of the dirt to fall. He observed as the small pebbles fell through the air until he couldn't see them anymore, making him realize how high they really were in the air.
He bit his lip as he looked at the waterfall to his left, the water cascading down the side of the island, being almost silent. He wondered if that was his ticket down, if riding it and landing at whatever was underneath was the way to go. He wasn't sure, but he knew he needed to make up his mind quickly, as the pick pocketer turned around and looked at Sonic who came towards him, a grin wide on his lips.
Behind him walked the island dweller, holding a serious and determined expression, as he probably came to make sure that they got off his island. He hadn't told them to hurry up or get out of here at the crack of dawn, but the impatience plastered all over his face pretty much covered that. The fox for the most part didn't know if he wanted to leave or not, since he hadn't had the time to explore the island, check out the forest, go to the mountain, and see what else was here. A tranquility rested here, a kind of silence that stated that nothing had been disturbed for centuries – no houses, no broken buildings, no Mobians walking wherever they wanted to. 'See but not touch' seemed to be plastered all over the place, as he had felt intimidated just walking here.
Though, the red echidna had made sure that none of his wishes were granted, had already chewed Sonic out for taking a run here and had gone as far as to punch him. The hedgehog hadn't seemed bothered the least, had merely shrugged his shoulders and said something along the lines of 'alright, whatever man, chill'. The most the fox had been allowed to do was to sleep, which he had done for the most part, and wash up properly, get as much dirt and dried blood out of his fur as possible.
His side was slightly discolored in the right light, but he knew it would disappear eventually, his gloves being washed off dirt and blood as well, thanks to Sonic, and the wound cleaned, and bandages changed. He felt much better already, the fever gone and the pain in his side having steadily subsided. He blamed the paste that Knuckles had given him, being soothing, and made it feel numb. He had received something that seemed to be wax paper, folded over with paste plastered on the inside, since it would take a good while before the stab wound would properly heal. He had been given some more bandages as well while Sonic had the privilege of carrying the extra fruit that was left behind as well as the last pieces of food Amy had gifted them. None of it was meat, but Tails knew it would be a while before he would be nauseous again – though he hoped they would run into a village eventually.
His behind appendages were fluttering freely being him, no fabric being in the way of their movement. It felt relieving, but it was an odd sensation to not have his cloak around his shoulders, since he had carried it practically all his life. It had been torn and filled with dried blood and dirt and whatnot and was beyond savable. He didn't need it right now either way.
The thought made him sigh, didn't have the patience of thinking that far ahead just yet and instead turned his head when Sonic stood beside him, his hands planted on his hips, looking down as well. His blue eyes easily read the cocky and confident stance, the grin wide on his lips and was not afraid one bit.
It was strange to think that mere days ago this hedgehog was his travelling partner, someone who lead the way and he followed merely for convenience's sake. It would be a lie if he had meant nothing to him, but this time it was different. This time he had embraced the thoughts that had lingered in his mind, the considerations, and the secret wish of a friend that he didn't dare admit to anyone, not even himself. But this hedgehog was his friend now, someone who he could trust and someone who had his back, would not ridicule him, and will protect him. He had promised that. And he trusted that he was going to keep it.
"Well, looks like it'll be quite a way down," the hedgehog commented, before turning around and faced the echidna.
He stood with his arms crossed, a few feet between him and Sonic, making the fox believe that they were that far apart otherwise the former had pushed them off already.
"You don't got any stairs or something?" Sonic asked, a lopsided smirk appearing on his lips.
Knuckles narrowed his eyes at him, obviously not finding the joke amusing. Tails didn't have to tell the hedgehog that was the case, since he lifted his palms in a placating gesture.
"Alright I catch ya drift," he concluded, before turning back around, humming thoughtfully before tapping his foot at the ground.
Tails read the thoughtful expression on the hedgehog's face, as he tried to consider the best way to get down from here. The fox had an answer for the hedgehog, though wasn't too sure what he wanted to do himself.
"I think I know how I can get down," Sonic suddenly explained, before he faced the fox, a smile of encouragement appearing on his lips. "Though I don't how you want to do it," the pick pocketer blinked from the explanation, as he looked down again.
He had quickly concluded that taking the waterfall down was not the answer, since he either would fly right off or being squashed to nothing the moment, he hit the bottom. And he preferred to stay dry. He bit his lip as he found an answer to his predicament, a part of him feeling embarrassed from the thought of trying it in front of Sonic and the echidna, though he didn't have much of a choice.
"I can fly," he stated and avoided looking at Knuckles, since he didn't want to explain himself.
The hedgehog blinked confused, as if he were questioning how the Chaos, he was going to do that, until his memory seemed to catch up, a wide grin appearing on his lips.
"Oh right!" He exclaimed, before quirking a brow and looked down. "Are you sure you can make it, though?" the ex-prisoner questioned afterwards, a frown appearing on his brow as if he could for some reason calculate the distance from where he stood.
Tails wasn't too sure about the answer, as he hadn't had the ability to test out how long he could actually stay in the air, had only allowed himself to levitate before running off into the next alley, being too afraid that he would have been caught. It was something he had discovered and taught himself when he was younger, growing older he had never given it a thought since it had been too dangerous for him to even try. But he had proved to himself earlier that he still remembered how to do it. He shrugged to give Sonic an answer to his question, giving him a light grin.
"I won't know until I try, right?" He asked, making the hedgehog copy the grin before looking back down at the big pocket of nothing underneath them, the ground seemingly being further and further away the longer they looked.
"Well, we got no use standing around here," the hedgehog concluded with an exhale, before he turned around and saluted the echidna. "Thanks for everything man! Maybe we'll see ya again someday."
"Wait," The hedgehog had been in the movement to pull something out of his quills, but abruptly stopped at Knuckles' command, blinking confused.
The echidna momentarily looked at the fox, before he stepped forward towards the hedgehog. His stride was calm and collected, no anger visible that suggested he wanted to push him off, as Tails had suspected. The island dweller stopped in front of the Chaos wielder, before he drew his hand behind his back, taking something out of his quills.
The moment the item was shown to the hedgehog, the pick pocketer felt a familiar surge of energy pulse through him, his fingertips tingling as he glared at the emerald that the guardian had in his hand. It was blood red, emitting a slight glow in his large hand, pulsating with power, the energy within held together by the jewel barricades. His fur puffed up slightly, observing as Sonic looked at the emerald in Knuckles' hand, before he picked it up himself, looking at its outer shell. It fitted perfectly there, as if the emerald belonged there, sitting neatly in the refugee's hand as if it had been missing for centuries.
"You can control fire with this," both hedgehog and fox looked perplexed at the echidna, before the latter nodded at the gem now in Sonic's hand. "It is a very powerful ability, so be careful when wielding it," he warned more than anything, as he stepped back, looking at the gem in the hedgehog's hand, as if he had regretted giving it to him.
Sonic looked at it for a couple of seconds, his quills bristling slightly before he hid it away in said quills, licking his lips.
"Thanks," he stated with a nod, giving him an appreciate smile that didn't seem to touch the echidna.
Tails felt the power of the emerald disappear, his fur relaxing as he looked towards the guardian. He had another topic in mind.
"Thanks for helping me," Knuckles turned his head towards the fox, as the latter smiled. "Thanks for letting me borrow your bed, the food, the bandages and such," he elaborated, his eyes analyzing and looking at Knuckles' gaze.
The latter's expression didn't change, having the same neutral stern gaze and determination edged onto his face, as if that was the only emotion he felt. Though he gave him a nod.
"It's nothing," he explained, before he nodded towards the edge of the island "Now go, before I push you off. And don't come back," he stated, narrowed his eyes at the both of them, a silent threat that told them that there would be hell to pay if they even considered it, before he turned around on his heal, and walked away.
Tails followed the island dweller with his eyes, observed as he steered directly towards the alter where the Master Emerald was, apparently trusting that they would be on their way. The fox didn't know if he wanted to ask more questions, still having a lot of unanswered ones in his mind, but a part of him had realized that Knuckles didn't know the answers he was seeking. What he had in the books and what data he had collected thus far would have to do.
"Welcoming type huh?" The fox turned his head towards the hedgehog who had followed the echidna with his eyes as well, having his arms crossed and shrugged his shoulders once emerald, green met sapphire blue. Tails frowned.
"He did help us," he reminded, as the hedgehog's expression told him that he wasn't offended but merely confused. It disappeared with the comment, making Sonic look down once more.
"Touché," he agreed, ending the discussion. "Well, let's see about going down, shall we?" Sonic commented, as if he reminded himself that they needed to continue their journey, once more reaching his hand behind his quills.
Tails at first didn't see what he had intended to pull out of his quills, as he glanced down at the hedgehog's left shin. Bandages were still around his leg, wooden supports on either side of him, the fox wondering how he was going to run the moment they came down. His wondering came to a halt as he saw Sonic holding the white Chaos Emerald in his hand, the energy within pulsating as his fingers clutched around it, looking at it for a second. Apparently, he planned to manipulate the wind to get down, rather than the water.
Tails didn't know his reasoning, merely let out a sigh while being aware that his behind appendages began spinning around. As he increased in acceleration, his feet began to lift from the ground, and he was hovering in the air. He felt light, his fur getting ruffled from the wind he created himself as he looked down and hovered over the air.
A gasp escaped his lips without his consent, once he realized that he was not on safe ground anymore. He was hovering, flying in the air with no support underneath him, the ground far from him, as he remained. And he loved it.
His heart was beating, his fingers shaking with adrenaline as he felt free, another kind of emotion that bubbled away in his stomach, making a huge smile appear on his lips. It was amazing, the pure thrill of just being here, being able to actually remain in the air was exciting, thrilling and completely ecstatic!
He was yanked out of his stupor once he felt the energy, turning his head around towards Sonic who was looking at the emerald in his hand, his eyes staring at the jewel, glowing brightly around his fingers, as he concentrated. Tails' heart was still beating as he observed the hedgehog looking at nothing in front of him, before he took a step forward.
The fox had half a mind to fly over and catch him, fully expecting that he was going to fall, until he realized that he stood on the air.
Tails' mouth was agape, merely staring at the hedgehog as he had a surprised expression fastened onto his face as well, before he laughed. A laughter that was filled with adrenaline and thrill, happiness, and pure amusement as he suddenly darted away. The pick pocketer had no idea what happened as he observed the hedgehog gliding through the air, wind appearing around him, his feet being held in place by wind.
He flew after him, as his mind started to catch up to what Sonic was manipulating. His feet were held in place by air that went upwards, like a miniature geyser, a platform of wind keeping him afloat which he used to glide through the air. Amazed, the fox's mouth slowly closed, as Sonic seemed to understand that he had everything under control, suddenly exclaiming an adrenaline filled sound, pumping his arms into the air, as he glided downwards, following the path of the waterfall. Tails followed with ease, feeling the wind against his face, his heart beating and his spirit free, feeling happy.
The hedgehog steered upwards once he made it to the bottom of the waterfall, before he glided to his left, going down a path of mountains and valleys that sought deeper into the area. The fox had no idea where he was going, though he highly suspected that Sonic didn't know either, as the hedgehog travelled down the mountains on his wind disc, travelling in high speed.
"Dude this is awesome!" He suddenly yelled, turning around to look at the fox, his eyes glimmering with amusement, his entire face lighting up.
Tails was pretty sure he had the same expression, accelerating faster as he made it beside the hedgehog, having a hard time containing his own laughter.
"I know!" He agreed, as he continued the path down, his eyes briefly scanning the area curiously.
It seemed like smaller mountains or plateaus they were travelling down, the grass having a lighter green color, almost looking otherworldly and wasn't that tall. The mountains were made of dirt, some of them going high into the air right past him, others being low to the ground underneath him. It was almost magical, almost fiction, as he travelled down the path, following the hedgehog in his windy transportation.
"Do you know where we're going?" Tails turned his head towards Sonic who had asked him, blinking confused for a moment.
He flew up towards him, flying just a little bit faster and were therefore able to see the hedgehog's face, though he was serious, looking curiously at the pick pocketer.
"Sonic, I grew up in Croford – do you think I have any idea?" He asked rhetorically, throwing out his arms for emphasis.
The hedgehog looked dumbfounded at him, as if he at first didn't understand why the kid wouldn't know, until he got past the adrenaline rush that had asked the question.
"Ah, you're right, my bad," he admitted, before placing a hand on his chin, humming thoughtfully.
Tails looked at the emerald in his hand, wondering how much he actually had to concentrate in order to manipulate it. He could feel it, his heart beating and his fingers shaking, as if it was electrical surges that went through his body. The power was on the exterior of the hedgehog, and he was pretty sure that if he touched him, he could feel it.
"Well, then I guess we'll see what's out here," the fox was pulled out of his stupor from the hedgehog's inquiry, looking back up. Though he was frowning in curiosity, wrinkles appearing around his eyes and forehead, wondering, and thinking about something.
"Either that or we turn around and head back to Kroxburg, see what's in the east," he suggested, as they glided down and past another valley, travelling at high speed.
The two tailed could begin to feel the tiredness in his tails, though he bit his lip to hold it back, considering the hedgehog's suggestion. Though he quickly shook his head from his conclusion.
"I don't think that's a good idea. What if that assassin is waiting for us to return? Or what if she has followed you?" He quickly added, shrugging his shoulders. The thought for a moment lingered in his mind, a curious frown appearing on his brow.
"Oh shoot, I didn't even think of that!" Sonic meanwhile commented, the pick pocketer not reading his expression. "Yeah, you're right – better follow the path down then," Tails didn't hear his comment, as his thoughts had derailed, haven't had the energy or the capacity to even start thinking about the whole ordeal.
Why had that happened? It had started all the way back in the sewers, where the same assassin had said she was after Sonic for some reason. Apparently, there were money on his head, more than what the posters stated, which meant that someone was out to get him. But who? And why? If it had anything to do with the Chaos Emeralds, then nobody had mentioned that yet.
But either way, someone wanted Sonic dead for a reason he didn't understand, and to hire a high ranked criminal as an assassin to do the job, instead of a group of thieves, meant that they meant business. Either the ex-prisoner was an obstacle for someone, or they were seeking revenge for something he had done. The latter Tails was doubting since he didn't think that the royals would go out of their way to travel almost across the country to find him.
Which meant that Sonic was getting in the way of something or someone. Why was the question.
"Hey look!" He was pulled out of his thought process by the hedgehog's enthusiastic tone, Tails seeing the arm and the finger that pointed towards something, his gaze following the direction.
His eyes only met blue, the vast view of the mountains and valleys with green grass and dirt plateaus disappeared in an ultramarine blue color, decorating the entire horizon in front of them. The fox didn't hear the mumble that Sonic did, the arm hesitantly finding its place back by its owner as the two of them slowed down considerably. Tails looked down for a suitable place to land, observing as a valley slowly snaked out and became sand, sand that surrounded seemingly the entire zone if he looked from left to right.
He hadn't seen this before, had read it before in books, but had never visited it. And never thought he would. The pick pocketer slowly descended towards it, his ears picking up the sound of something odd into the vast blue area, as he stretched out his feet. He didn't realize that he was panting as his feet touched ground, his dirty sneakers slowly sinking into the ground.
He blinked at the substance, his tails stopping their spinning and slowly moved in up and down curious motions.
The eight-year-old looked at the sand, looked out at the vast blue with the sun shining on him, and back down. Without giving it a thought to his actions, he crouched down and carefully ran a hand through it. It slid through his fingers like water, his glove making it unable for him to feel the texture, though it moved in a maneuverable manner. He flicked his ears as he remembered the name for this biome.
"If this is beach," he spoke, more to himself, before he looked up. "Then that must be the ocean," the fox concluded as he stood once more, looking out at the gigantic puddle of water.
He had read in a book that the water consisted of salt water, and was much, much deeper than any well or lake, housing fish and coral reefs underneath. A part of him had wondered just how big it actually was. Now that he was standing here, he couldn't fathom how much water was actually in front of him. It just continued on and on, his eyes getting drunk in the color.
A smell of salt hit his nose, as wind was hitting him in the face, his eyes looking at the waves that rolled in. It brought with it a white foam at the tips, as it rolled into the beach, lost its speed, and slowly slid back into the water where it came from. It sounded like it was crashing against the sand, a low rumble in his ears, rhythmic and calming at the same time.
He slowly inhaled after he had caught his breath, smelling wet sand and salt before he let it out slowly through his mouth. He liked it here. It was a calm sound, slow and tranquil as it made him feel just as light as if he were in the air. A part of him considered running into it, taking a swim, and run around.
"Have you seen this Sonic?" He asked, waving a hand towards the vast blue ocean before he enthusiastically turned towards the hedgehog.
The sight that met him, made him blink perplexed. He was standing on the very edge of the beach, the emerald still in his hand though it was dull. His arms were raised, his quills bristled and looked like a cork ready to pop. His expression was in deep, deep terror, eyes wide open, pupils dilated, and he was pretty sure that he could see his hands shaking. Baffled, the fox blinked in confusion.
"Sonic?" His name being asked the second time seemed to pull him out of whatever headspace he had gotten himself into, blinking at nothing in front of him before looking at the fox.
He seemed to realize what he was doing, his arms once again by his sides, one hand eagerly hiding the emerald away again in his quills, before he shook his head.
"Yeah, uhm, yes, I see it. It's, uhm – beau-tiful. Don't you think?" You didn't have to be an expert face reader to see that he was lying, scratching his quills faster than he needed to, the other hand fisted to make it stop shaking.
Tails hadn't heard him, was instead trying to solve the puzzle of what had riled him up so suddenly, having never seen him that scared before. He looked towards the vast blue ocean, flicking his ears, before he looked back at Sonic. Then it clicked.
"It's water," he confirmed, making the hedgehog stiffen. "You're scared of water."
"I'm not scared!" It was too late to interject, the hedgehog's eyes once again dilated, looking at the waves coming in towards the beach.
Tails had a smirk come to his lips, placing his hands on his hips.
"Sure, and I'm a raccoon," he deadpanned, before gesturing a hand towards the ocean. "Have you even seen this before?"
"I have," the hedgehog quickly interrupted once more, looking at the waves crashing, something else changing in his expression.
"It's just, I, uhm, I can't, well, swim. And my uncle has tried in lakes, but I sink, and the ocean is big and I can't-" he cut off his own rambling, simply staring out at the ocean, his eyes widening slightly, hands shaking.
Tails observed his face, saw the terror deep in his emerald, green eyes, suddenly feeling sorry for him. He hadn't seen Sonic scared before, hadn't experienced him reacting this way. And he didn't like it.
He knew what it felt like to be scared, knew how frighted he got during a thunderstorm. He didn't want anybody else to feel like that.
"It's okay Sonic," he said, making the hedgehog turn his head towards him. Tails shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal out of it, before his eyes travelled down the beach.
The zone seemed to continue in either direction, the beach following from steep mountains to low valleys, continuing seemingly endlessly. He sighed up-giving, looking out at the ocean blue once more, before turning his head.
His ears perked once he saw something at the back of the beach, leaned against a mountainside. Curiously, he jogged over to it, realizing that it was difficult getting a grip with his feet, as he approached the item.
At first, he didn't know what to make of it, as it wasn't quite large, almost looking like a tree trunk that had been hollowed out. It was wide in width but narrow, one end rounded while the other was tipped. Two wooden rods, or that's what it looked like, was inside of it, laying dormant. Sand was going up the sides of the thing, rainwater remaining inside as if it had been abandoned long ago.
"A boat?" Tails turned his head towards the hedgehog who defined the object, having apparently pulled himself out of his stupor far enough to follow the fox, coming up to stand beside him. "Or rather a dinghy," he specified, scratching his quills with his hand.
The pick pocketer blinked perplexed, before he looked back at the boat, and then behind him.
"It's used for transportation?" He then asked, gaining the hedgehog's attention as he faced the fox.
"Yeah, people use it to cross-," Sonic began, then stopped his explanation, his mind apparently catching up to the fact. He bit his lip, putting his hands on his hips, looking at the giant puddle. "To cross water," he ended, rather low in volume, looking more hesitant than the fox had ever seen him.
Tails took a moment to look at him, seeing the terror in his eyes once more before he looked down the beach. He did a mental calculation, trying to think back from where they had travelled from.
"I think," he began. "I think that, if we continue down the beach, that we're going to end up where we came from," the fox explained, before looking at the boat. He bit his lip, though shared his conclusion to their situation.
"I think taking the boat is a good option here," Tails explained, taking a moment to let his words linger in the air, giving the hedgehog a chance to let his sentence sink in, before he allowed himself to face him.
The same terror was in his eyes, though his head whipped towards the ocean, his pupils somehow dilating further.
"You wanna cross that with this?!" He incredulously asked, practically throwing his hands at the boat, as if he wanted to emphasize his points.
Though Tails knew exactly what he meant and could understand his argument. That was a rather big ocean, and their boat was rather small.
The fox hummed thoughtfully, looking at the wooden dinghy, before he looked back at the scared hedgehog, opening his mouth to say something. Though he was interrupted as the hedgehog shook his head with a sigh, waving his hands in front of him.
"No, no, it's alright, we can do it," he encouraged, rather to himself than the pick pocketer, though he looked to be regretting his words the moment it had left his lips.
Tails raised a brow.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, totally!" That was a lie if he had ever heard one.
The fox sighed, rubbing his hand against his temple before looking at him once more.
"Sonic it's okay. We can try and figure out something else-,"
"No, no, you're right, squirt," the fox raised both brows in confusion, wondering where the sudden nickname came from.
"It's okay. I mean, if something happens, or something, I can just use the emeralds, we got four!" He reminded, showcasing the fox four fingers on his hands, as if he were teaching him how to count. "I just got one that apparently controls fire. Though, I don't think that would be useful. And we have another one for electricity, but I don't think that'll be good either," Two fingers disappeared from his hand, before the hedgehog looked at it, blinking, as if he wondered where they had gone.
"But hey, that still gives me two! One for wind and water. And, you know, I can just move the ocean out of the way if it comes to it," he shrugged nonchalantly, as if it were no problem. Tails looked at him with a deadpan, looked at the ocean, and back at him.
"That giant puddle?"
"Okay, maybe not," Sonic had to agree, crossing his arms over his chest, as he bit his inner check, as if he were wondering if he really could move the ocean out of the way.
Though he seemed to come to a conclusion rather quickly, sighing out his frustration before looking back at the face reader.
"Look, it's okay, alright? You're right, it's a good way to start if we want to look for the other emeralds. Backtracking won't get us anywhere – I'll just. Try and do the best I can," he admitted, exhaling deeply.
Tails was already reading him, still seeing the terror clear in his eyes, but the small smile said that he was genuine. He meant what he said. He took a couple of seconds to try and find something else in his expression, though when the thought disappeared from a person's mind, there weren't anything left to analyze anymore.
"Okay," he therefore agreed, before he looked back at the boat. He took his fingers around the rim, and started to heave, the wooden dinghy, with difficulty, gliding down the sand.
Sonic quickly started to pull with his own might, making it easier as the two of them dragged it down to where the waves met the sand. The hedgehog pulled away rather quickly, when they reached the water, the bottom of Tails' sneakers starting to get wet as he pushed the boat further out. He turned his head towards the hedgehog, who seemed to be regretting every promise he had ever made.
The fox didn't have time to ask him questions, as Sonic let out a determined and stubborn sigh, before he walked back out, and pushed the boat. Tails saw the shiver that went through his body, as their socks and shoes started to get wet, water crawling past their legs and soon up to their waist.
"Jump in," Sonic suddenly said, making the fox firstly look at confused, before he did as told, jumping into the boat.
It wobbled dangerously on the waves, before he sat down, the boat somehow finding its balance, as the hedgehog kept pushing it further out. Many seconds didn't pass before the hedgehog himself jumped into the boat, pinwheeling his arms to try and find his own balance before he plopped down in the other end. Tails figured he had been in a boat before, since the hedgehog took hold of the wooden rods and placed them on either side on the width of the boat and started to swing them in the water.
The fox quickly figured out what he was doing, as they started to push water away from them, getting them further away from the beach. He was looking at Sonic's hands intently, seeing as they were shaking, and his expression morphed into an uncomfortable one rather quickly, nervously looking at the water.
Tails felt a pang of guilt settle in his stomach, having not wanted to give the suggestion if he knew that Sonic felt this way. Though he trusted his words if he told him that he could do it. Otherwise, the hedgehog could quite as easily use the wind to glide out of the boat any time.
"So," Sonic suddenly said, swallowing something in his throat. "Now we're on our way huh?" He asked, trying to give the fox a smile, though it looked forced and slightly warped.
Tails didn't want to call him out on it, being well aware of the fact that Sonic was perfectly aware that he was scared and uncomfortable, as he continued to row.
"Looks like it," the fox merely commented, before he curiously turned his head around.
They were getting further and further away from the beach with each stroke, the mountains still high in the air, the biome stretching before his eyes.
A part of him missed it already, the tranquil forest on the floating island, the silent river and comfortable bed. But he knew that he and Sonic wanted to be on their way. Knuckles hadn't wanted them to stay and therefore they didn't want to intrude.
They were continuing their journey in a rather wobbly and uncertain manner, but they were going forward.
Mysteries was lagging after them, Tails realized that now, and he wondered if they were going to find answers.
Hopefully sooner rather than later.