You don't overcome your fears by facing them

The doors slammed open, her heels clicking on the floor as she stormed out of the room, anger radiating off her form, hands fisted at her sides.

"Princess Blaze! You can't walk away from this!"

"I'm the ruler, right? I can do whatever damn well pleases me!" Blaze seethed, as one of her royal advisors came up running beside her, a Mobian bird with expensive robes, more than worry plastered in his eyes.

"But this is important! The council needs an answer today."

"Then they'll receive it in a couple of hours," she decided, whipping her head towards her rather unhelpful advisor.

He opened his mouth to seemingly try and convince her otherwise, since it was his job to exactly make sure that she understood her situation. Though, something in her expression made him falter, as he instead stopped walking beside her, nodding his head.

"Yes princess," Blaze didn't look after him, instead was rather glad that he didn't try to make her change her decision, or he would be burning up in a fiery blaze.

She could feel her fingers shaking, everything in her mind trying to hold back what she wanted to unleash, wanting to set fire to every curtain she passed as she practically stomped her way through the palace. The expensive paintings, the lavish colors, and wealthy decorations. Her life, this wealth, everything here belonged to her, and in exchange for this life she needed to make important decisions which she had no idea if they were right or not.

She had faith in her advisors and her own common sense, a part of her thinking she had everything under control perfectly. Until a certain someone had decided to up and disappear from her without giving her a proper word! And now Croford was infested with thieves and burglary, more than it ever had been, and people were discussing whether or not it was worth it, sending more soldiers into the poor side of the bridge, whether they should pay for the damages that the criminals did or, for Chaos' sake, if they should just sacrifice what wasn't important!

Her anger was palpable, her heart beating from the pure rage she was feeling, her jaw clenched shut so hard it hurt. But it didn't matter to her. She was mad at the council, and she was mad at someone who she had considered her best friend, and yet, even he didn't have the heart to tell her how he had been feeling.

Her steps carried her towards the room she had visited almost every single day, opening the door and stepping inside. A part of her was expecting him, a part of her was hoping that he was sitting on the bed, blinking towards her and asking, 'why are you so angry'? But no one was here. She wasn't even sure how long he hadn't been here given that she had walked in here days ago and found nothing but a stupid piece of paper!

She merely stood where she was, staring at the bed, staring at the vase, staring towards the set of drawers where a mirror was casting back her own reflection. The wrinkles on her face and her dilated pupils were more than proof of her rage, her fingers shaking.

She looked at herself in the mirror, her yellow eyes darting around her own reflection before she forced herself to take a deep breath. She let the oxygen in through her nose, held her breath before it went through her mouth, letting the air take some of the anger with it. She unclenched her hands, untensing her shoulders as she took another deep breath, like she had told Silver to do whenever he was feeling anxious.

The mere memory of his name made her look towards the bed again, the guilt reappearing. The anger was trying to hide it, but she felt guilty.

She walked towards the bed, letting a hand run over the blanket before she sat down, looking at her hands in her lap. Usually, he would sit on her right side, looking at the silver-colored hedgehog, smile and share encouraging words. He would sit and listen, sit, and look as she was pacing back and forth in the room, venting, and ranting about her royal duties that she occasionally got tired of.

Blaze turned her head towards the window, wondering how many times she had seen Silver standing there, elbows on the windowsill and his head resting in the palm of his hands, looking out at the city. He had asked questions that were rather abnormal to the cat, questions that regarded what that piece of clothing was called, who the Mobian cat was wearing, what food was in the cart and what was the weapon called again that the guard was carrying?

They were trivial and quite peculiar, since it had been something even a four-year-old would know. But Silver knew nothing. And she knew that he was curious, she knew that he had been longing and wondering and thinking and reflecting. She had even been the one to tell him that he was someone special and that he was destined to be something big. And she still believed that, but now a part of her was wondering why Silver wouldn't run away when she had told him that. She had been keeping him inside this room, for... Chaos she didn't want to remember anymore, because she was afraid he would bring too much attention.

That, and if the guard and her royal advisors figured out she had been hiding a civilian in the castle then she would pay for the consequences. Consequences that could have thrown her off her throne.

She didn't care about her title, what feared her was the fact that there was nobody reasonable enough to take her place. She had no idea who or where the king even was. She was starting to think that he was a mere myth, something they had made up just for the sake of reputation.

But why her then? Picking up someone random, adopting them because they seemed to fit the title – it was as if her position didn't matter. As if her position of being a princess and the ruler of Croford, the quickly expanding city with immigrants coming in daily, thousands of lives that tried to do their best to create their own roots here, didn't seem to have mattered. She knew that something was going on under her nose which she couldn't pinpoint, something that she wasn't allowed to see or hear about. She doubted her advisors knew anything, but she knew something was up.

And she had felt that Silver had been a part of that equation, had mattered in that sense, and he was more important than he knew himself. But she had stuffed his head with tales about 'the real world' and now he was gone. Her support and best friend, family even, was gone. And she could only blame herself.

She sighed deeply, blinking down at her gloved hands, as she shook her head.

"I'm sorry Silver. If I knew how much you missed this, I would have tried to do something about it," she told herself, closing her eyes. "I knew you were curious, but I didn't even give your freedom a thought. You're so important I didn't even stop to think what you might wish. But I know you can save this city – because I can't," she admitted to herself, despite knowing that it was the truth.

She couldn't do this alone. Something was happening under her feet, but she had no way of knowing what.

The only thing she knew right now, was that Croford was starting to crumble, slowly but surely falling apart between her fingers and she had no idea what to do about it.

She just hoped that Silver was okay.

It was quiet out here. Much quieter than he had imagined, the waves being still, no wind coming and going, nothing that would disturb the silence.

It was something he hadn't experienced before, something new. In the streets there were always noises, something he had taught himself to always be aware of, ears being on high alert, perking and hearing and categorizing every noise he heard. Whispers in the corners, the wind playing with a can, a foot stepping in a puddle. Noise used to mean danger, adopting a wariness to his surroundings since it could mean the difference between life and death.

He had always been aware, but now he had also heard the sounds of a pine forest, a bustling market city and a steady river on a floating island; he couldn't fathom what it was like to experience such silence. He didn't know if he liked it, a part of him starting to believe he could hear his blood thrumming in his ears, but his mind was playing tricks on him.

He could do nothing about it anyway, as he heaved in the long rods, which he had learned were called oars, and pushed them forward. Or sideways, or backwards, he wasn't too sure which way he was going other than looking at the pattern the dinghy left behind. It was rather tough, swinging the oars with every stroke took on his energy every minute as he could start to feel his stomach rumbling once again.

Tails bit his lip, as he looked out at the ocean waves, taking his time with each stroke. There was no visible land, the mountains they had been able to see when they had left were gone, and all that was left was this blue infinity. He had to admit it was rather unsettling, and the idea of taking this little boat into this monstrosity of a puddle maybe hadn't been such a good idea. A part of him had believed it wasn't this big, and they would find land rather easily, though that theory had been thrown out the window long ago.

He had refrained from starting a discussion and talked about what they should do instead since Sonic looked uncomfortable enough as it was. The pick pocketer took another glance at him, the normally talkative and blabber-mouthing hedgehog being utterly quiet. He didn't like that either, it was rather unfamiliar of him or was rather unnerving.

The refugee was holding on to either side of the boat with a painful grip, his fingers digging into the wood while he was staring at the water on his right side. His lips were in a thin line, his pupils dilated, and his quills bristled, as if he was a cork ready to pop, wanting to attack the water. Although, the trained fox could see the terror in his eyes, could see the utter fright remaining in his body, being stiff and unmoving.

He hadn't moved since the two of them had switched places when Sonic had gotten tired of rowing. That action had been much to the hedgehog's dismay, clambering to the boat while shaking all over, asking Tails multiple times to be careful and don't fall in the water and sit down carefully and don't row too fast. Since then, Sonic had calmed down for the most part, though sitting in his own fearful headspace, looking like a victim sitting in constant trauma.

Tails didn't want to look at him for longer periods of times than he had to, feeling the guilt sitting flush against his chest, a part of him wanting to say he could just use the white emerald and remain in the air, but who's to say how long he could stay there? And then when he needed to sit back in the boat? He knew that the hedgehog most likely had thought of the same thing, and if he chose to sit in his bubble of terror rather than fly in the air, then it meant it would be more favorable for him to sit still.

Instead, the fox looked over his shoulder, letting a sigh go through his lips as he could still only see the azure ocean before him. He could feel his arms starting to get tired, but he didn't want to ask Sonic to switch places again, he didn't want to give him more trauma than he was already experiencing.

Tails instead kept rowing, a part of him thinking that maybe starting a conversation would make him feel better, somehow forget the nightmare fuel currently surrounding him.

"So," he began, bit his lip and looked at Sonic, but the hedgehog looked as if he hadn't heard him. "At least the assassin can't follow us out here, right?" The fox stated, shrugging his shoulders in a casual manner, having no idea if words would help the situation at all.

Though the ex-prisoner did turn his head towards him, giving him a small smile in what translated to a 'thanks for trying', before he looked back at the water.

"You're right about that," he agreed either way, biting his lip as his eyes frantically moved back and forth across the water surface, ending the conversation right then and there. Tails nodded in silent agreement, rowing once more, thoughts now frantically running back and forth in his mind, trying to find another conversation piece. He looked at the water, a constant smell of salt sitting in his nostrils, the same salt that was itching in his fur on his legs.

"You said you were afraid of it because you can't swim right?" That made the hedgehog's head turn towards him completely, blinking from the question.

The face reader could see he wasn't mad, he had merely hit the hammer on the nail, Sonic looking baffled from the accurate reasoning, despite the fact that he had already told him. Chewing his lip raw, the hedgehog looked at the water once more, some thought process beginning in his mind as his brows were furrowed looking uncharacteristically worried and scared, making the guilt even more evident in the pick pocketer.

"Well, my uncle did try to teach me – but I sink like a rock and can't keep myself afloat so-," the hedgehog trailed off, before shrugging his shoulders. "The old man had to give up when younger me kicked him enough times," he tried to joke, forcing a grin on his lips that didn't fool anyone. Tails had paid attention to his explanation, nodding once more, as he looked at the water himself.

"I've never learnt to swim either, so I don't know if I sink like you do. But I can fly so I guess that I'm not afraid because I know I can get away from it," he explained, then realized that it probably wasn't the best piece of advice he could give him, thinking about another topic.

He hummed thoughtfully, taking another tiring stroke as he looked at the sky briefly. "I'm afraid of thunderstorms," he began, not noticing if Sonic looked at him. "You kinda saw that yourself when you used the dark blue emerald. I don't know what it is – if it's because I don't know why it happens or because it's loud, I'm not sure. There's just something about it that I don't like. I remember when I was younger, before I figured out how to build hideouts, that I would hide inside an empty barrel or underneath a box, waiting for it to pass. When I was with Espio and the others I would hide under the blankets they gave me or under whatever furniture was near me. It was scary but I knew that it would eventually pass," he explained, without knowing why.

Sonic had been looking at him throughout his childhood tales, making a valiant effort to pay attention, though the fear was thick in his eyes. Tails felt it necessary to continue.

"I don't know how thunder comes. It seems to be here a lot in the summer at night when it gets colder. Maybe it has something to do with warm and cold temperatures? I'm not too sure. It's like figuring out how the emeralds work as well. The book I found, and the one Amy gave me, is very helpful, and the findings I have on my device should tell something about it as well. I haven't looked at it yet, I haven't had the time. But I know it had something to do with the atoms in the air, the energy getting manipulated in the magnetic field around us. Though, I do suspect that the emeralds don't have a direct magnetic field, but something else, since the energy it gives is much stronger than any ordinary magnet. They could be from somewhere else than this world, but I don't know where I would even start theorizing on that. I wish that Knuckles could tell me more about it, but he seemed just as clueless as me. They may just be what their names suggest: Chaos – an energy that's out of bounds with our reality and doesn't confine within our logic. How they're even here is a mystery, though it does have a connection to both me and you – you being a Chaos wielder and me being a Chaos keeper," he ended, talking without thinking.

He blinked from his own conclusion, biting back the urge to sigh. What he essentially had learned was that a Chaos keeper was a battery, someone who held Chaos that has potential to be manipulated but can't.

He hadn't understood what Knuckles had meant when he said that back in the day Chaos keepers were servers to Chaos wielders, and he remembered Sonic even asking about it. But he had been too frustrated at the time to give it any thought, and now a part of him wanted to go back and ask. Otherwise, he's just an ancient Chaos phenomenon with no powers. A childish part of him had wanted to be able to do what Sonic can, but he needed to accept the fact that he couldn't. And might never will.

"I'm sure you're right," the pick pocketer had almost forgotten that he had been talking to the hedgehog, blinking at his agreement, looking up at him.

He was smiling once again, looking forced and fake, though there was something else there. The fear was still more than evident, thick and overwhelming, though his eyes were shining a little. He was thankful.

Tails didn't know why, a part of him wanting to ask what he was thankful for, when the boat suddenly wobbled.

Something on the right side had collided with it, he felt it when it happened as the dinghy swung from side to side, Sonic in front of him squeaking in fright.

"Don't move!" He yelled, the pick pocketer looking at him.

His eyes had dilated further, hands shaking and body tensing up. He wasn't scared anymore, he was panicking.

"I didn't move!"

"Yes you did! Otherwise the boat wouldn't have-" he didn't get to yell out his next frantic sentence as it came again, this time from the left, the boat dangerously reaching the edge of the water.

Tails frantically tried to counterweight it, though he could feel Sonic scrambling, frantically trying to move as well which only made it worse.

"Sonic you need to calm down!"

"Then stop moving the boat!"

The fox was about to yell back at him that he wasn't moving the boat and he should quit yelling when the oar in his right hand got pulled at. He pulled back, hearing something crunch, something moving in the water where the oar was.

He looked at the water rings the boat had been making, suddenly seeing as something disturbed it, disrupting the water and went the other direction. He lifted the oar out from the water, ignoring Sonic's frantic demands of him sitting still as his blue eyes widened in disbelief.

The paddle on the oar had a huge chunk of wood seemingly bitten off.

He stared at it, blinked, turned his head towards Sonic. The hedgehog had quit saying anything, his emerald, green eyes staring at the broken oar, his entire body shaking, panicking.

Something pushed, the fox almost ramming his head into Sonic's when he was thrusted forward from something ramming into it behind him. It wobbled again unsteadily, the hedgehog holding on to the edges of the boat, asking what the Chaos was going on!

The fox turned his head around to look, eyes widening when he saw something jump out of the water. It had been quick, his eyes not being able to completely categorize what it was other than it was white and red but hadn't looked animal. Rather metallic.

It wobbled from the right again, this time with more force, some water making it into the boat as it wobbled from side to side, Sonic letting out an actual scream, scrambling in the boat, making more of it come inside.

"Tails, what's happening?!"

"I don't know but sit still!" He hissed as he looked out at the water again, trying to catch sight of what exactly he had seen.

It was difficult to determine when the large water rings the boat was making was obscuring his vision. But something was there. He squinted his eyes to concentrate, ears flicking as he tried to look past the water surface and underneath. Something was moving there. Moving fast and swimming. It was small. But there was more than one.

His eyes widened, seeing three shadows moving under the water on their right side, then the left oar got pulled at.

Twisting his head around and lifting the oar into the air, he let out a yip from observing what it was.

It was a fish – a robot fish. A white metallic underbelly was shining in the sun, a red body and fin, large robotic optics with a light turquoise iris was staring at him as it was chomping on the oar.

The fox didn't have time to react when Sonic kicked the oar out of his hand, the wooden rod landing in the water and dragged underneath with the fish.

"What are those?!" Sonic asked panicked, Tails currently rubbing his wrist from the hard kick.

The latter looked at the water, not having any answers as his heart was beating in his chest. They had lost both oars now. And they seemed to keep attacking. They were surrounded.

That reality was only confirmed when Sonic practically jumped at him, scrambling towards the fox's end of the boat when it got shoved again, hearing another wooden chomp, another crunch. The balance was off, the boat wobbling and more water coming in, Tails having a hard time figuring out what was happening as Sonic was trying to scramble closer to him and away from the fish.

"We're gonna sink! Tails, we're sinking!" Sonic twisted his head around, no logic and no rational thinking in his mind, his quills bristled.

The fox let out another yelp when said quills brushed his face, being sharper than he fought. Something was stinging on his face, something he couldn't pay attention to now when he indeed felt the boat sinking.

Water reached his shoes, ankles, legs, the hedgehog trying to climb on top of him, his quills once more moving to his face. Tails, feeling panic of his own and did the only thing that was left to do, pushed Sonic off him, took hold of one of his hands and sat up. Spinning his tails around faster than he ever had, he quickly made it into the air, the hedgehog holding on to his hand for dear life. Both hands clasped around his own as the fox rose into the air quickly, looking down at what had happened.

The same fish he had seen was jumping around, eating, and chomping on the dinghy that sunk into the ocean when he looked at it. All that was left of their transportation was a couple of floating planks and two oars floating in the water.

Tails didn't know he was panting as he was trying to pry one of Sonic's hands off, so he could hold him with both, the hedgehog having a death grip around his hands when they interlocked. He could feel the hedgehog shaking in his hold, kicking his legs as if he either wanted to make the fox fly higher up or kick the water away. Despite the action, either option wasn't working.

"Sonic! Calm down, we're away from the water!" He tried to get through his thick head, trying to get him out of the panicked state with a shake of his hands.

The action made him stop kicking, merely dangled in the air then, staring down at the water. Tails could feel the hedgehog's hands shaking in his own, the quills still bristled in the back of his head. He could hear the deep breaths, an effort to try and calm down as Sonic blinked before looking up at the pick pocketer.

The emerald, green eyes were still widened in fright, though both confusion and amazement sat in the corners of them, his upper lip twitching and one ear flicking.

"Dude, that-" he trailed off, looked at the water, back at the fox "that was crazy! I've never seen them before!" The refugee explained hastily, looking at the water.

It had begun to still, the kerfuffle beforehand having disappeared with only a few water rings and some upset waves being evidence of what had transpired, apart from the floating wood. Tails grunted, feeling his arms getting tired.

"Well, if you don't want to meet them again, we need to figure out what to do before I drop you," Sonic's head whipped up in alarm more than anything, disbelief plastered in his eyes.

"What?!"

"I can't keep holding you!" He explained, his own heart starting to beat in his chest.

His breath was quickening, he could feel the muscles in both arms and behind appendages starting to cramp. He had never lifted another person before, let alone Sonic, someone who was heavier than first imagined. A part of him had wanted to save his earlier statement for himself, since he saw the panic return to the hedgehog's expression, staring down at the water.

"I don't know! I don't see land anywhere!"

"Then think of something!" Tails demanded rather than asked, using all of his energy to keep them in the air.

He felt them lowering, spinning his behind appendages faster, biting his lip against the cramp. There was no land anywhere, the boat was done and as far as he was concerned none of the emeralds could conjure a boat out of thin air. They could use the spare planks and float with them, but they couldn't be in the water forever, could they?

He didn't know, he just felt his spine shiver with a cramp, panting heavily as he tightened his grip around the hedgehog's hands.

"Okay, I have an idea," Tails looked down, quick breaths going through his nostrils as Sonic looked up at him. "But I need your emerald."

The pick pocketer sighed, letting himself fall a little to ease his cramping tails.

"I can't pick it out now!"

"Just – try! Stop flying and give it to me I'll - I'll think of something."

"What?"

"Trust me!" The last sentence penetrated his frustrated and half-panicked mind, looking at Sonic's face.

The terror was still there, the fear and the fright of the entire situation, the trauma he was currently happening before him. Though they were sharp, determined, something that overshadowed that fear shortly, letting the pick pocketer know that he wasn't lying – he had somewhat of a plan.

The fox blinked, a part of him wanting to think about it for another second, then determined through the next cramp that it was out of the question and instead used all of his might and flew higher into the air.

"Okay," he agreed then, his arms starting to shake, feeling Sonic tighten the grip.

"I'll stop at 3," he announced, taking in a breath, and counted.

"1 – 2 – 3."

He stopped more or less on two instead, slowing down his spinning fast enough that they were falling.

He let go of one of Sonic's hands, frantically waved to catch his tail, dug into his fur, and grasped around the edges of the emerald. Even in the wind that passed his ears, he could feel the thrum and the warmth that went through his glove from the gem before he gave it to Sonic.

He wasn't sure what happened then, he could just feel the hedgehog's shaking hand in his own, feel his own heart beating, his thoughts screaming at him and wondering how he was going to swim when he couldn't as the water came closer.

Then a familiar feeling overcame him, his fur prickling and a warmth appearing in his stomach. A white light came from the hedgehog's hand where the emerald was, feeling the energy, feeling the thrum of Chaos itself surrounding them. The water came closer, though he had no idea how close they were to the water surface when arms suddenly grabbed him.

He was shoved towards a peach-colored chest, feeling two hands holding him separately on his back and under his knees, the energy being ever more close, ever warmer. He knew Sonic had touched the water; he knew that his sneaker had made contact with the surface since he saw it – but they didn't sink. The hedgehog ran.

Wind was the next thing he felt, pushing his head into Sonic's shoulder, as water appeared on either side of them, springing up like someone throwing in a huge rock, following them in their way. He was running, he was running on the water - he was running on the water.

He could hardly believe it, could hardly see anything, as fingers curled around him, feeling the energy in the air, his fur standing on edge with his heart beating in his chest. He felt breathless, felt utterly numb as his ears hurt from the tremendous speed they were going at, being able to see nothing but the water at either side, droplets hitting his face.

It was another hedgehog than the one he had been holding in the air seconds ago, this one was steady, not shaking or in a panic trying to escape his own fear but was in control. Tails peered up at Sonic, seeing the determination shining through, emerald, green eyes almost glowing, staring straight ahead.

The fox had no idea where they were going, couldn't turn his head around due to the force of the wind in his back and in the back of his neck. It didn't last longer than his mind could register, as he felt Sonic heave in a breath, something akin to panic returning to his face before he suddenly yelped.

Before the fox had time to react, he was thrown. Flying through the air without his consent, the pick pocketer hardly had time to exclaim a yip when he collided with something solid, before landing on hard ground.

It knocked the air out of his lungs, his back getting the brunt of the hit when everything suddenly stood still. He was dizzy, he realized that now when his eyes couldn't concentrate, could rather feel his heart beating and his hands shaking. Taking quick breaths, he closed his eyes for a second in an effort to calm down, being aware that he was back on solid ground.

He left a hand on the ground, clutching his fingers around grass, being very glad about the fact that Sonic somehow had found land when they seconds ago had been in the middle of nowhere. Thinking of the hedgehog, made the fox open his eyes again, the dizziness having subsided somewhat, sapphire orbs looking around for him.

Not too far away from him, the hedgehog was laying on his back with arms and legs spread out, breathing heavily, the light blue emerald dull in his hand. Tails blinked, understanding that he needed a minute to recover, moving a hand onto his wound, a part of him hoping that it hadn't reopened. Though, the bandages felt somewhat dry, the water not being merciful, but the bandage wasn't getting any wetter. It ached, and he knew that the paste that dulled the pain was about to run out. He would reapply when he changed the bandages.

He let his hand fall again, closing his eyes for another second as he caught his breath, breathing slowly. The logically thinking mind still didn't understand what had happened, though he was just glad to be back on solid ground.

"Tails?" He opened his eyes again, looking towards Sonic who hadn't turned his head towards him, merely breathing into the air.

"Yeah?" He asked, running the back of his hand over his muzzle when it itched.

"You okay?" Sonic asked as he took in another deep breath, gaining control over his lungs as well. The fox took a second to figure out if he was okay or not but concluded that despite his aching side and cramping tails, he was fine.

"I'm good," he concluded, letting his head fall and land on the ground, almost snorting grass. "You?" He saw the thumbs up the hedgehog showed him, being the only words, he was going to get out of him right now.

They spend the next minute breathing slowly and letting the events sink in, Tails letting the sun warm him comfortably. He swallowed something in his throat, before he moved and sat up, looking over his shoulder to realize that he had hit a tree in his involuntary flight.

He raised a brow in curiosity, when he saw more trees, though they were more spread out, being in different elevations. The ground under him was wetter, a thick humid air hanging around them, as if it had been raining for days not too long ago. His visual investigation of this new area paused when he heard the hedgehog grunting, turning his head to observe him getting to his feet with visible effort.

"Thanks for trusting me," Sonic suddenly said, brushing his legs off dirt and water before he turned around.

A wide smile was on his lips, one out of pure relief, his eyes shining with it as well. All the panic, all the frustration and uncomfortableness were gone, as if it had never been there. Tails couldn't hide a smile of his own. He would have told him 'no problem' when Sonic's smile disappeared, his eyes focusing on something.

"You sure you're alright? You're bleeding," the pick pocketer frowned confused, before running the back of his hand over his muzzle again, looking at his glove.

A small faint swipe of blood was on the fabric, the fox knowing that it came from his muzzle, but had no idea as to how it happened. Replaying the events in his mind, suddenly made it click however, as he looked back up at Sonic, the hedgehog looking at him with a confused frown.

"When you jumped away, you turned your head too fast," he explained, remembering the sharp and bristled quills, a part of him believing that they could have poked an eye out if he hadn't been careful.

Sonic firstly still looked confused, as if he didn't know what that meant, until he could see the realization wash over him, as if a bucket of ice had been thrown at him.

"I did that?" He asked slowly, seemingly more to himself than the fox, looking disbelieved.

Tails blinked at his utter reaction, opening his mouth to once again tell him that it was okay when he stepped closer. Getting to his knees, he wasn't prepared for the hand that was left on his cheek, the thumb swiping over the same spot, Sonic's eyes squinting slightly, to seemingly determine how deep it was. He sighed rather quickly.

"I'm sorry bud, I didn't mean to-" he trailed off, swiping his thumb over the small cuts again, before pulling back his hand looking at his glove.

Tails blinked from his action, still feeling Sonic's hand on his face, feeling the care that had been put into it. It made him feel warm.

He bit his lip against it, seeing the hedgehog conjuring a guilty looking face, quills being the most relaxed he had ever seen, the ex-prisoner suddenly realizing what his panicked state had done to their predicament. Though, the pick pocketer didn't blame him.

"It's okay Sonic," he began, swallowing something in his throat. "You weren't thinking rationally, nobody does in that kind of situation. If it had been a thunderstorm, I wouldn't have been acting normal either. It's just small cuts, it's nothing," he assured, not making a big deal out of it.

They were out of the water now; Sonic had managed to get them back on dry land. Wherever this was. It didn't take long for the hedgehog to look back at him, still looking a bit guilty, emerald, green eyes darting around his face. Then a smile broke through to his lips, sitting back on the balls of his heels, before chuckling low in his throat.

"You know? That's the most I've ever heard ya talk," he explained, the grin widening on his lips.

Tails at first didn't know what he meant, then remembered the practical ramble he had done in the boat, feeling the embarrassment suddenly come forth. He didn't ramble for the simple reason that talking too much on the street gave you consequences. But now, he had rambled to Sonic back at the river in the pine forest, about his theories regarding the Chaos Emeralds, and now he had rambled about fears and him being afraid of thunderstorms. Though, Sonic didn't laugh at his embarrassment, instead looked even more relieved than before.

"Thanks kiddo," he smiled, a rather truthful and warm smile. The pick pocketer took another second to read his face, a part of him believing that the hedgehog did find it amusing, but all he found was pure thanks and relief. It made the young fox smile back.

"You're welcome," Tails said truthfully, being relieved that he had helped Sonic in some way. The hedgehog's smile lasted for a while longer before he got to his feet, reaching his hand down to the pick pocketer.

"C'mon, let's take a look around," he suggested, the fox looking at the hand before looking up at the hedgehog again, still seeing the wide grin. The fox could do nothing but echo the expression, as he took the hand in his own, getting helped to his feet.

He was glad to be out of the water, that he couldn't deny, and a part of him had already determined that this area looked to be completely new compared to the other places he had visited. He was a bit anxious, that was a truth he couldn't cover with a lie, and what exactly had just happened was still lingering in his mind. The robot fish and why someone was after Sonic.

He supposed his questions might be answered as they continued their journey, planning on asking the hedgehog the moment they figured out where they were.

One thing was for certain however – this looked to be very different from anything he had ever seen before.

Author's note:

Hopefully this won't be too long, but I can't promise anything :P - so, today marks the 1 year anniversary of this long fic, and to be completely honest, when I first uploaded this I had no plan for how everything was going to go down, and even less believe that it would get this far. But, now this is chapter 24 and it's still going strong. But that's not because of me.

About 180,000 words later and you're still here - even if you don't leave a review you're reading these words right now because you were interested in this fic. As of right now this has 6,390 views, a number that makes me dizzy even thinking about it. Thanks for reading this, thanks for being here in this story and for being a part of it.

I want to make a special thank you to 1TGN who took their time to read every single chapter and leave a review on every single chapter. Thank you so much for your interest and your words, I appreciate that you went out of your way to do that, and give this story a chance. Thank you so much! :)

Another thank you goes to 000Marie 198 who's making some incredible and admirable theories on this story and leaves phenomenal reviews as well! I appreciate your words and your enthusiasm :D

Lastly I just wanna say that there has been some time between each chapter and that's mostly due to other projects and real life coming first, but this story is still on-going and I can't imagine this going on a hiatus any time soon. Chapters will come as they get written but I appreciate everyone's support and review even in those silent times.

So yeah, enough of my rambles, TL;DR : thanks for giving this story a chance and making this author a really happy human being. Thank you :)