NOTE: This episode takes place after the episode which was formerly labelled "S2 Preview Episode: Green Light Riders," which has now been moved to its correct chronological position. Consider giving that episode another look if you want to be caught up for this one!

? ? ?

Sonic and Tails walk over a long mechanical platform beneath the wide open air, looking around at the fleet of Eggman ships that sit stationary overhead. Gesturing around, Sonic comments, "This place is huge…"

As they walk ever closer to the large generator machine that sparks with a dark energy, Tails agrees, "Yeah…Eggman could be anywhere."

They come to a stop as Sonic gets a look at the machine, using his eyes to follow the long chain of golden energy that connects it to the central space station of Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park. A strange humming noise sounds out. Keeping his attention on the Tropical Resort above, Sonic offhandedly comments, "Tails, is that you humming?"

Tails' only response is a sudden gasp. Even Dr. Eggman's long, deep, almost demonic laughter doesn't seem to attract Sonic's attention.

Tails watches in shock as Eggman slams down on the controls of his Egg Mobile, sending dark energy coursing down into the weapon attached to its bottom.

"Sonic, look out!" Acting in a split second, Tails dives into Sonic, shoving him out of the way of the dark energy beam that the weapon fires. Landing in a crouch, Sonic skids across the ground. But Tails is struck by the weapon.

Sonic looks up in horror to see Tails writhing in pain, screaming, suspended in the air by the force of the weapon. "Tails!"

Tails' screams suddenly stop as his body drops limply onto the floor.

Filled with a sudden rage, Sonic runs straight for Eggman. But Tails suddenly stands up in his way, arms outstretched, forcing him to skid to a stop. "Tails?" Sonic looks into Tails' eyes with confusion, waving as if trying to get his attention. "Buddy?"

Eggman's laugh is even longer and more distorted than before. "He's my buddy, now."

"What've you done with him!?"

"Me? I did nothing at all." Eggman's face twists into a distorted smile. "You did this, Sonic."

"This isn't right…"

Sonic attempts to run past Tails to get to Eggman, but his every move is instantly matched, keeping Tails in his way.

"You're going to have to go through your best friend," Eggman laughs.

Tails' voice echoes, "It'll be fine… The energy will run out… I'll be fine…"

Sonic growls to Eggman, "Enjoy it while you can."

"Oh, I will. In fact, the only way to make this better would be to have you two fight."

As if by Eggman's command, Tails raises up a clawed hand. But it isn't a hand. It's a weapon. Tails' entire body has become covered in mechanical parts, stiffening his every movement. The voice behind him, not Eggman, but Zavok, commands, "Destroy Sonic."

"Never," Tails tries to scream, though his mouth never moves. "Never!" Weapon still raised, he takes one step after another towards Sonic.

Sonic pleads, "Come on, Tails! Snap out of it, dude! You don't wanna do this…"

Zavok's voice repeats, "Destroy Sonic." Mechanically distorted, he echoes yet again, "Destroy Sonic." The phrase is repeated yet again, but this time, it most certainly does not belong to Zavok. "Destroy Sonic." Now, it is Metal Sonic who gives the order.

Sonic looks down as if in shame. "Tails…I'm sorry." He rushes in at full speed, delivering a hard punch straight to Tails' stomach.

Tails bolts upright in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. He looks around the darkened interior of his tent, slowly regaining his grasp on reality.

—–—

Sonic lies asleep on the cot in his own tent. A gentle knock comes at the tent's front post. He stirs slightly, grunting, "Hmm?"

Tails cautiously pushes the tent flap aside, peeking inside. "It's…me."

Sonic, eyes still closed, takes a long breath in. "Nightmare?"

Tails bites his lip for a moment. But then he starts to nod. "Mm hm."

Sonic begins to adjust his position on the cot, moving closer to the tent wall. He pats a hand on the newly-freed space on the other side, indicating for Tails to come over.

Tails steps slowly through the dark tent, silently taking a seat on the corner of the cot.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Tails slowly shakes his head. "Mm mm."

"You sure?"

Tails goes a moment without responding. "…Sonic…would you ever hurt me?

Sonic finally opens his eyes, staring at Tails' back for long enough to judge whether or not it was a serious question. "What kind of question is that? Of course not."

"But…but what if…what if we were…forced…?"

"Forced to fight each other? By who?"

"Doesn't matter who."

"Well…I…guess that depends. Would you want me to?"

"…I…I don't know…"

Sonic lets out a long sigh. "Tails…if someone forced you to fight me…I would do whatever it takes to get you back. I would look for any other way first, but…if I had to fight you to make it happen…I would. I hope that helps."

Tails doesn't answer. He just goes on staring at the ground.

"G'night, little bro."

Tails quietly answers, "G'night…" He remains right where he is, sitting silently until the sound of Sonic's soft snoring returns.

Sonic the Hedgehog: The Chaos Project

Season 2, Episode 3

Miles to Go

Written by ChaosProjectAuthor

Daily Log, December 31st, 0 A.E. Sonic the Hedgehog reporting.

It's been all hands on deck trying to find Metal Sonic since he got out last week. Almost everyone's out looking for him somewhere. But there's still no trace of could he be? What could he be doing…?

I have a hunch. I just really hope it isn't true.

And then…I'd be worried about leaving right now. Something's not right with Tails. I wish I knew what the problem was, but…I don't think he even knows. So I don't know what I can do.

–—

Emerald Canyon – The Rebellion Base

Sonic watches the screen of his TAL computer, waiting for the displayed map of the world to change in some way. After a few moments, a loud buzzing sound announces the result displayed on the screen in large red font. 'No Solution Found'.

Through the communicator in Sonic's ear, Knuckles' voice questions, "Any luck?"

Sonic shakes his head. "Nothing. Even if we assume he never went to Metropolis, not just that nobody saw him, that still doesn't narrow things down much. We can't know where he is without knowing what he wants.

"Oh, well. Maybe we'll have better luck looking in Genocide City."

"I doubt it. If Metal Sonic went back to Eggman, he sure doesn't want us to know about it."

"Well do you have any better ideas?"

"I don't know, I have a hunch, maybe? I'm thinking I'll take Amy and check it out for myself. But…"

"But what?"

"Tails had another nightmare last night. I'm worried about him."

"Oh, come on, Sonic, you can leave him alone for a few days. He's not exactly eight years old anymore, and even then he had a pretty good idea of how to take care of himself."

"I know, it's just…I don't understand why this is happening all of a sudden. Ever since Metal Sonic showed up, this has been almost constant. He didn't seem all that freaked out or anything when they were face-to-face, but then these dreams…"

"Dreams are rarely that simple. It's not that he's afraid of Metal Sonic, it's just that Metal Sonic showing up triggered some sort of subconscious connection to something that is bothering him. Most of these dreams are about you, aren't they?"

"Yeah."

"So maybe he's just worried about how all of this is affecting you. You have been a little…"

"A little what?"

"A little…obsessive. About finding Metal Sonic."

"Is that a problem?"

"No, it's not a problem, but Tails sees that it's stressing you out, and that's stressing him out. If you ask me, the best thing you can do for him right now is to show him that you aren't worried about this, that you think it'll blow over just like everything else. In fact, I think you should send him on a mission."

"On his own?"

"No, not on his own, have him bring Charmy or something. Just a simple task, something he can take charge of, that shows him that you're still thinking about the rest of this war, and not just finding Metal Sonic. It'll be a good confidence booster for him, too, getting something done on his own."

"Just the kids on their own? What if they get hurt?"

"Listen to yourself, Sonic. You're talking like a parent when you need to be talking like a leader. If you're that worried about something going wrong, just have them bring one of the new med kits. Tails needs to take charge of something without you at some point. Let it be now, when it'll do him the most good."

"Yeah…I guess you're right."

"Well, I think we need to get going over here. Good luck with your hunch."

"Yeah. Good luck with Genocide City."

There's a click as the communication is ended. Sonic leans back in his seat, seeming to be deep in thought.

—–—

Amy sits on a rock across from Rouge inside of one of the many canyon caves. "So, how are you feeling?"

Rouge rubs a hand over the area on her stomach near her side, where she was wounded, stretching the surrounding muscles a bit. "All healed up as far as I can tell. There's barely even a scar left."

"Any side-effects?"

"Not unless extreme boredom counts as a side-effect."

"Well, Tails still wants you on light duty for a few more days, just to be safe."

Rouge gives a shrug. "At least that means he cares."

"That's…part of why I wanted to talk to you. When I asked how you were feeling…"

"You meant emotionally?"

Amy nods.

"Honestly, I'm fine. You really don't have to worry about me. The only thing I'm upset about right now is that the lot of you let me sleep through the big race last week."

"Rouge…you've been through some very traumatic experiences these last few months. Even before you came so close to dying, you spent day after day in the company of people who would've killed you if they knew what you were doing, while all of your closest friends branded you as a traitor. You were tortured. And someone you care about gave his life to get you free. No one can go through all that and feel nothing."

Rouge doesn't say anything for a moment.

"It's okay. You can talk to me. Sonic made it official, you know. I am a counselor now. You're required to bring your problems to me."

"Oh, I was just thinking about how off the mark you are with Sylvester. He was a total jerk who made one kind decision in his entire life."

"That doesn't mean you didn't care about him."

Rouges doesn't respond to this.

"You know, Sonic and I were talking, and…I think we should add him to the memorial. Dedicate it to everyone who's lost in this war. Sonic said it was a good idea."

Rouge starts to snicker a bit. "Sly? On a memorial of war heroes?" She lets out a long sigh. "He'd get a kick out of that. But…I think he would refuse. He knew what he was. He was proud of it. He wouldn't want anyone thinking any differently."

"That's your decision to make. But I think it would be a good thing for you as much as it would be for him."

"Okay, seriously, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine? Look, I appreciate that you're worried about me, but I'm perfectly capable of getting through all this on my own. And if I ever suddenly realize that I've been lying to myself and I'm actually an emotional wreck on the inside, I'll be sure to come to you about it first. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like you're still not telling the full truth. What about Shadow?"

Rouge pauses for a moment. "What…what about him?"

"I was there, remember? I saw what happened. Your best friend almost killed you. Have you even talked to him about that?"

"When would I have talked to him? He's been avoiding me. Hardly said five words to me since then."

"It's worse than that. Even the sound of your name has been enough to set him off lately. He needs to talk, and he's even less open about it than you are, if that's possible."

"Well, he's out looking for Metal Sonic now. Not much I can do about it."

"I know. I'm just saying that, when you get the chance, you two need to talk. For both of your sakes. Even if neither of you wants to talk about it, you have to. Can you promise me that you will?"

"Yeah, I don't see why not. I mean, assuming he cooperates."

A squeaky voice yawns nearby, "Cha…?"

Rouge smiles. "Well, look who's awake."

The baby Chao, Chadis, crawls out into the light, stopping questioningly by Rouge's feet. She reaches a hand down to stroke its head.

Amy questions, "So how's our little friend been doing?"

"She's really coming out of her shell. Finally realizing that she has nothing but friends here."

As if to prove it, Chadis turns around and crawls up to Amy with a similar questioning look. Amy laughs as she leans down to pet the Chao.

Before anything else can be said, Sonic's voice questions from the cave's entrance, "Hey, Amy, can we talk?"

As Amy gets up, she looks back to Rouge. "Just think about what I said, alright? It's okay…to be not okay."

Rouge shrugs. "If you say so."

As Amy meets Sonic outside, she asks, "What's going on?"

Sonic begins to walk, waving her along with him. "You and I are going out."

Amy stops. "Wait, what?"

"On a mission," Sonic specifies. "Potential lead on Metal Sonic."

After taking a moment to catch up, Amy responds, "Oh. But…still just the two of us? You're not bringing Tails or anything?"

"Tails doesn't know the area like you do. Besides, I already sent him and Charmy out on another mission."

"Just Tails and Charmy? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm still asking myself that. Knuckles certainly thought so."

"Okay, so…just us, then. That sounds…"

"Please don't say 'romantic'."

"I wasn't gonna say that." She glances away, muttering, "I was just…thinking it…"

They stop as Sonic reaches the entrance to his own tent. "We'll be gone for a day or two, so take whatever supplies you think we'll need. We should leave as soon as we can." He disappears into the tent.

Amy, still in a state of surprise, answers after a moment, "Uhh…okay."

—–—

"Oh, boy, my first real mission, this is so exciting!" Charmy cheers as he buzzes around Tails, who carries a pack full of supplies on his back, as they trek slowly through the Aquatic Ruins. "I mean, seriously, Vector and Espio go on standard recon missions every single month, can you believe they've never let me go with them before!? It's like they think I'm a kid or something! And, you know, I would've at least been part of the fight on Angel Island if I hadn't been knocked unconscious fighting a giant water monster!"

Tails lifts up a finger to interrupt. "You–"

"It's not like I haven't done a lot of dangerous stuff with them before! I'm the best tracker on the team, you know! I've tracked all sorts of stuff! Not to mention that I'm the world's fastest bug! What, you don't believe me? Seriously, you should've seen me this one time, I was all like, fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh! I could've even kept up with Sonic! So why don't they think I'm good enough for recon missions!? They've just had me sitting around and doing nothing all year!"

"Don't you–"

"I mean, yeah, I've been on supply runs before, but those're boooooooring! It's like shopping! Shopping is the most boring thing there is! All you do is read a list and carry around a bunch of heavy stuff! And if you try to get something that isn't on the list, everybody yells at you! Like, seriously, Vector, I can't be the only one who sees something called a 'dragon fruit' and wants to know what it tastes like! Have you ever had a dragon fruit before? It's a little sour, but once you—"

"Charmy, we've been walking for an hour now and I haven't even told you what we're doing yet!"

"Oh. So…what're we doin'?

"We're scouting out a spot for a new base."

"New base!? But what's wrong with our old one!?"

"You mentioned it yourself. Eggman sent Discord to our base to destroy us. We already knew that he knew where our base was, but before that happened, we were in a kind of stalemate, since moving would've put us in a more vulnerable position, and Eggman wouldn't want to risk forcing us to move somewhere he couldn't find us. But now that Eggman's made his move, there's nothing stopping him from making more. So we're better off finding a new place to stay hidden. This place we're checking out first is in the Hilltop Zone. It's surrounded by natural barriers, so no one's going to accidentally stumble into it, and there's only one path to get in, so it'll be a lot easier to monitor and defend. Our job is just to check the place out, you know, get the lay of the land, make sure that it's accessible for us, has enough room to fit everyone, make sure there are enough natural resources around, that sort of thing. Think you can handle that, Charmy?" He doesn't get any response. "Charmy? Were you listening?"

Charmy looks back from whichever direction in space he was staring off into. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I was listening. I was just thinking about how this reminds me of this one time, when Vector and I accidentally burned down the office, so Espio made us…"

Tails lets out an audible groan, rubbing a hand over his face as Charmy's story continues.

—–—

Wandering past rocky cliffside terrain, Sonic keeps a hand up to his chin, carefully taking in his surroundings. "Hmm…we should be getting pretty close by now."

Looking at him skeptically as she steps carefully up the footholds behind him, Amy questions, "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. This is exactly how I got there the first time."

"You mean, by wandering aimlessly until you find something that looks interesting?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Does that include the part where you fell into the river?"

Sonic involuntarily shakes off some of the water still remaining on his fur. "As a matter of fact, it does." He takes a slight step back, before making a high Spin Jump up to a higher cliff. Straightening up at the top, he smirks at the view he gets of the other side. "And there it is." He turns around, offering down a hand to help Amy up. "Care to see for yourself?"

Amy takes his hand, and climbs up alongside him. "Oh, wow…"

"Welcome back to Never Lake." Sonic gestures out over the sparkling blue body of water beneath them, and at the lush green planetoid floating high above.

"The Little Planet… This was your lead on Metal Sonic?"

"It was…more of a guess than anything."

"But…if he'd been up there…we'd be able to tell, right?"

Sonic takes another long look up at the vibrant greenery on the surface of the Little Planet. "Yeah. We'd be able to tell."

"So what do we do now?"

"…He may not be up there now…but that doesn't mean he won't try. The Little Planet only appears during the last month of each year, so it'll be gone in a day or so. Until then…we should set up camp down here. Just…to keep an eye on things. Just in case he shows up."

"What makes you think he will?"

"…I don't know. I hope he doesn't. But…it would make sense, wouldn't it?"

"I…guess so? But…what would he want?"

"What does he always want? Power, control…"

"Is that what he always wants?"

"I don't know, what're you getting at?"

"I don't know either. There's just…something about all this that's…giving me a bad feeling. Like…there's something we're missing. Something we don't know."

"Yeah? You and everyone else. Now let's make camp."

—–—

Beneath the light of the moon, near the base of a tall mountain, Tails lies on a mat spread over the ground, next to a dying campfire, as Charmy continues to babble into his ear. "So that's when Espio said, 'Charmy, this is why you don't play with thermite.' But I wasn't playing! It's like he didn't even care that I totally solved the mystery by burning away the—"

"Charmy! Could you just stop talking!? Please!?"

Charmy freezes in place. "Yeah, I…I guess so… It's just that I'm really excited because—"

"I already know why you're excited! You haven't stopped talking about it since the second we left!"

Charmy's gaze moves downward. "If I was bugging you, you coulda just said so…"

"I tried! More than once! You barely even let me get a word in! And when I did, you would forget about it ten seconds later!"

"But I thought you said—"

"Yes, I've told you before that your talking is helpful…when I'm trying to stay awake to work on a project. This is different. We have a long climb ahead of us tomorrow, and I'd really like to get a few hours of sleep before then. So please, just let me sleep!"

"Oh… Okay…" Charmy somberly flies over to lie down on his own mat, turning away from Tails.

"Charmy, I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have–"

"It's fine. I just thought you actually liked hanging out with me is all."

"I…" Tails trails off. "Sonic asked me to do this for him. And that makes it really important to me–"

"You know, I should probably get some sleep, too." Charmy never looks back at Tails.

Tails stares up at the moon, with a perturbed look on his face."Yeah…"

—–—

Sonic and Amy each lie down on a mat in a similar-looking camp, staring up at the night-lit Little Planet. Amy voices quietly, "It really is beautiful…"

Sonic appears to be looking through the floating planetoid as much as he is looking at it. "Yeah… I guess it is…"

"We first met up there. You remember, don't you?"

"Amy, please don't make this weird."

"Who says it has to be weird? Can't two friends reminisce about how they met? Meeting you changed my life. And it happened right up there."

"Well, at least one of us can look back on that fondly."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What, you think rescuing you from certain death is my idea of a good time?"

"Well…from the right perspective…"

"Don't make this weird. What I'm trying to say is that…it was all…a bit of a wake-up call. It was up there that I realized that…choosing to be the hero…was about more than just stopping one bad guy from doing some bad things. It meant…having the responsibility of a world on my shoulders. Innocent lives…"

"Like mine."

"Like everyone's. Up there…it was all spelled out so clearly. 'This is what happens if you fail. This is the bad future. Now go fix it.' You were…just a little extra motivation to get it done. I didn't know who you were or what you were doing there. But I knew I couldn't fail."

"I always thought I made it pretty obvious why I was up there. I wanted to meet you."

"Well why would you go and do a stupid thing like that?"

"Because it was my destiny, of course."

Sonic raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Destiny?"

"It was in the cards."

"What are you even talking about right now?"

"I'll show you in the morning."

"…Uhh…okay?" With that said, Sonic turns his gaze back skyward. But after just a few moments, he voices, "Could you quit staring at me like that?"

"I wasn't staring."

"Well then…stop…thinking about me."

"Oh, so now my inner thoughts are bothering you?"

"No… Yes… I don't know! Why does this have to be so awkward?"

"We both know exactly why it's awkward. You know exactly what I want to say, and I know exactly what you want to say, and neither of us likes what the other wants to say, but neither of us needs to say it anymore. So unless you suddenly decide to confess your love for me—"

"Not gonna happen."

"…or I suddenly decide to give up on you—also not going to happen—it's going to stay awkward."

Sonic lets out a brief sigh. "And that's all there is to it, huh?"

"You know that I'll be your friend for as long as you want it to be that way. But…when you're ready…"

"Don't make this weird."

Amy lets out a sigh of her own. "Of course…"

—–—

In the light of the day, Tails and Charmy silently hike up the rocky mountain. The long trail behind them suggests that they've made considerable progress. Tails cautions, "Just watch your step. This is a dormant volcano, but there's still hot magma inside."

Charmy, flying a few feet in front, comments, "You're the only one stepping here. You know, I–…" He cuts himself off from whatever he was about to say.

"I…guess you're right." They continue on in silence.

"Hey, have you–…" Charmy once again cuts himself off. After only a moment, he starts again, "Remember when–…"

"Charmy, it's okay. You can talk now. I don't mind, really."

"No, no, it's fine. It wasn't important, anyway…"

"Oh… Okay." The awkward silence resumes. "Charmy…I know I already said it, but…I really am sorry for what I said last night. I really did mean it when I told you how helpful you were with all that medical stuff. You came up with ideas that…I never would've thought of. I…we…saved lives, that…without you…wouldn't have made it. I really appreciate you for that."

"I volunteered for that stuff…partly just 'cause I wanted to hang out with you. I really enjoyed doing it…and I thought you did, too."

"Charmy…you know that I'm a very…work-focused person. I like having friends, but I don't want my own enjoyment to get in the way of things that need to get done. It's nothing against you, I mean it."

Charmy finally looks back with a smile. "I believe you. And I wanna get this job done, too. I wanna prove to everyone that I can handle myself without their protection."

Tails smiles back. "That's the spirit." He points up ahead. "Oh, hey, look out for that–"

"Whoa!" Charmy brings himself to a sudden stop to avoid flying straight into the nearly-vertical rock wall that the path has led them to. "Looks like a dead end. Should we find another way around?"

Tails shakes his head, pointing upwards. "No, look. The path keeps going up there."

"Huh, you're right." Charmy quickly flies up the height of the wall, settling down on the top and shouting downwards, "Hey, whaddaya waiting for!?"

Still looking up from the bottom, Tails shouts back up, "It looks a little high for me! Vertical flight isn't really my strong suit! Besides…" He grabs onto two solid holds on the side of the wall. "…this spot won't be much good to anyone if we need to ferry them up and down. I'll just make sure that it's climbable." He begins to climb upwards.

Charmy continues calling down from the top, "Are you sure about this? It looks a little dangerous… If no one else can get up here, maybe we should just turn back."

"You kidding? We haven't even gotten to the spot yet, it could be perfect! If this is the only issue, we can deal with it later, build a ladder or something. For now, we still need to check the place out."

"Tails, I know you want to get this done, but…"

"Quit worrying! I'm almost there, see? We can't turn back now after coming out all this–" As if by a freak gust of wind, Tails is suddenly knocked away from the wall, sent plummeting towards the ground.

"Tails!"

Tails quickly begins to spin his tails, but one of them collides with the wall, sending him spiraling further out of control.

—–—

"Ahh… Ahhh… Achoo!" Sonic shivers a bit following the loud sneeze.

Amy, busy shuffling a deck of cards, responds, "Gesundheit."

Sonic looks around distractedly. "Uhh…thanks."

"Everything alright there?"

"Uh, yeah, just…" Sonic continues to look around. "Just a weird feeling. Like something bad's about to happen. Just…keep an eye out. Metal Sonic could still show up at any time."

"Oh, so you trust your magic sneeze to tell you where Metal Sonic is, but not my tarot cards?"

"I don't have a 'magic sneeze,' it's just a feeling. So what's all this about, anyways?"

"You've really never had a tarot reading before?"

"Not that I can remember…"

"Well it's pretty simple. I'm going to lay out three cards from this deck. The first will represent your present, the second will be your past, and the third will be your future."

"And that actually works?"

"There are plenty of skeptics out there, but it's never steered me wrong before. This tarot deck…told me that I would have a destined encounter with my true love up there on the Little Planet."

"And you just carry it with you all the time?"

"Pretty much. Trust me, it'll work."

"If you say so…"

Amy places the deck down between them. "It starts with a question. What do you want to ask?"

"Umm…what is my future?"

"You might want to be a little less vague than that."

"Where is Metal Sonic?"

"Too specific. Find a middleground."

"Fine, fine, let me think. Umm…okay…" He takes a deep breath. "Why…why am I so freaked out about this? What makes Metal Sonic different from any other danger out there in the world? Why can't I just let this be like anything else?"

"That's…that's good. Now…" Amy slides the deck over to him. "Focus on the question…and cut the deck."

Sonic takes another deep breath as he removes a stack of cards from the top of the deck, then places the bottom half on top.

"Keep focusing," Amy assures. She removes the top three cards from the deck, and lays them out facedown. "Are you ready?"

"I guess so?"

"Alright." Amy slowly turns over the middle card. "Your first card, representing your present, is…number IV, The Emperor."

"What does that mean?"

"The Emperor is a leader, an authority figure, but—look here—this one's upside-down."

"Why does it matter that it's upside-down?"

"A tarot card represents an energy in the world around you, and an upside-down card means its inverse. That can be interpreted a few different ways, depending on how you see it. It could mean that the energy is…internalized. That you've taken the leadership role as an ingrained part of your identity, possibly too much, or too little. It could also mean that your internal desire to lead is in some way being blocked, or that it itself is causing some other blockage. Alternatively…it could mean that you're the one being controlled."

"Let's…go with that first thing."

"It's all about how you see it. Now…your second card, representing your past…is number XI, Justice. This one's about…well, justice. It could refer to a moment when you felt a responsibility for something. In a more general sense, it can mean equilibrium, the balance of one thing with another."

"Oh yeah, there's plenty of all that in my past."

"Another way to interpret Justice appearing in your past…is cause and effect. Something that happened in your past…is causing something else to happen now, or in your future."

"Don't you think this is all sounding a little…generic?"

"We're not done yet. The third card, representing your future, is…number XVI, The Tower."

"Tower? That sounds a little less obvious."

"The Tower represents…a sudden upheaval. Dramatic…even destructive change in your life."

"That's it? Any…alternate interpretations?"

"It could mean…revelation. Does that sound right to you?"

"All things considered…sounds a lot less likely."

"So now that–oh!" Taking a closer look at the third card, Amy notices that it is slightly thicker than the others.

"What is it?"

"Look." Amy begins to peel the corner of the card, revealing it to be two cards stuck together. "There's another card here. What could that mean…?"

"It probably just means you need to take better care of your cards."

"When it comes to tarot reading, nothing is an accident. This card is…" She peels it all the way back, revealing the image printed on it. "…number XV. The Devil."

"That sounds ominous…"

"The Devil represents…the evils in the world. Hopelessness. It could also mean…bondage."

"Are you saying that's in my future?"

"I'm…not sure. It could be…past, present, and future. Or it could be none of them."

"Who am I kidding? I know exactly who The Devil represents after the question I asked."

"That means it's time to put it all together. What story do these four cards tell you?"

"Seems pretty straightforward to me… Metal Sonic is…my opposite, created because of me. His creation influenced my sense of responsibility. And now that I've taken this…leadership role…it makes me feel even more responsible…for what he does. And when I find him…we'll fight. And something will change. Something will be destroyed."

Amy scoops up the cards, and shuffles them back into the deck. "If that's how you see it…that must be how it is."

"Wait." Sonic puts a hand over the deck, stopping her from putting it away. "I have one more question."

Amy gently sets the deck down. "Go ahead."

Sonic closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. "How can we stop Metal Sonic from destroying everything?" Eyes still closed, he turns over the top card.

Amy reads, "Number 0. The Fool. Either it's a helpless cause…or it would be a mistake to try."

Sonic slowly puts the card down, staring at it for a while. "Call me a skeptic…but I have to keep trying."

Amy responds with a nod. "We all do."

—–—

"…"

"Tails…"

"Tails! Wake up, Tails!"

Tails slowly opens his eyes, blocking out the harsh glare from the sun directly overhead. "Wha…where…?"

Charmy cheers, "You're awake! You're awake, you're awake, you're awake!"

"Charmy…what happened?"

"You…you fell… A-and your leg…"

Tails rubs at his eyes in confusion. "My…leg?" Slowly, he lifts up his head to look down at his body. The grimace on his face suggests that he doesn't like what he sees. "Oh…that's definitely broken…"

"Oh, what do we do!?" Charmy starts to fly back and forth in a panic. "What do we do, what do we do, what do we do, what do we do!?"

"Charmy, calm down!" Charmy freezes in place. "Everything's going to be fine, okay?"

Charmy has to steady himself with a deep breath. "O…okay…"

"Remember…remember when I taught you how to take a blood sample?"

"Yeah?"

"We're going to do it just like that, okay? Listen to me very carefully, and do exactly as I say."

"What should I do?"

Tails turns his head to the side, looking over at the pack he was wearing, which landed a few feet away. "See my bag over there? I brought a med kit, remember? Go grab it."

"Right." Charmy flies over to the pack, and pulls out a silvery white case, emblazoned with a glossy new depiction of the Rebellion's emblem, now depicting two detailed Chaos Emeralds amidst five remaining silhouettes.

"Open it up."

Charmy opens the case, revealing an impressive amount of bandages, containers, and other medical supplies efficiently crammed inside. "There's so much in here, what do I need?"

"Well…thankfully, it…it looks like there aren't any serious open wounds, so…you'll just need a…a splint, something to hold everything together."

"What does that look like?"

"See the…the little device in the top left corner, with the big red button on it?"

Charmy grabs an object that matches Tails' description from a small stack of them. "This one?"

"Yeah. Bring it over here…and set it aside."

"Okay, what now?"

"Before you can use that…you're gonna have to set the bone back in place."

"How do I do that?"

"Just…get a good grip on both sides of the break…and push them together. There'll be a bit of resistance, but…but it should fit back normally."

"Are…are you sure about this, Tails? I mean, w-what if I–"

"It's fine, Charmy. I trust you." Tails looks up at the sky. "This'll hurt a lot, so it's better that you don't tell me when. Just, whenever you're—ngh!" Tails grunts loudly through his teeth over the sound of a loud snap.

"Oh no, I broke it!"

"No, no, Charmy, it's fine." Tails looks back down at his leg, which now seems quite normal, apart from some swelling. "Look, see? Doesn't it look a lot better now?"

"Yeah, I…I guess so."

"Good. Now you need to apply the splint. Just take the device, and strap it around the break—firm, but not tight. Got it?"

"Right…" Charmy carefully folds the straps of the device around the swollen area. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. What does it do?"

Tails manages a smile. "That's because I made it, just for something like this. Go ahead and press the button."

"Okay…" Charmy presses the big red button on the front of the device, and the straps immediately begin to expand in area and thickness, swelling from the inside. "Wow, cool…"

Tails winces a bit from the increasing pressure. "That's good, shut it off now."

Charmy presses the button again, and the device stops inflating, maintaining its shape.

"It's filled with an expanding, fast-drying foam, it should be firm enough to hold everything in place. It's no substitute for a real cast, but it'll do until I can get one."

"What else can I do?"

"Uhh…I could use a big stick. Something that can support my weight."

Charmy disappears for a moment, quickly returning with an impressively large branch.

"Perfect. Give it to me." Tails take the stick, and presses it upright into the ground, using it to push himself up onto his good leg.

"Hey, w-wait, you shouldn't–"

Tails stops him with an outstretched hand as he steadies himself upright. "Look, I'm fine, see? Practically good as new." Using the stick as a crutch, he keeps the broken leg off the ground.

"Aren't you in pain?"

"Uhh…yeah, I guess it still hurts a little. There should be some painkillers in the medkit, I'll take one of those."

"One? Will that be enough?"

"Charmy, stop worrying! I'm fine, I promise!"

Charmy hesitantly flies back down to the med kit to dig for the painkiller. "Alright…well, if you really think you can move like this, then we should start heading back."

"Heading back? But we're almost to the top now!"

Charmy shuts the kit loudly. "No! No no no no no! I am not letting you finish this hike on a broken leg!"

"Charmy, just think about it. It's a much longer hike to get back down than it would be to get to the top at this point. Since I have to move either way, this'll be an extra twenty minutes out of our way, tops. Well…" He looks back up to the wall he fell from. "…that's assuming you can help me up this part."

"How can you even be thinking about that right now!? You're hurt real bad! You can't be thinking about the mission right now!"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine? Really, don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, it's just–"

"You know, I am your superior on this mission. I can order you to help me up, if I have to."

"W–… Y–…"

"Come on, Charmy." Tails gives a smirk. "Don't make me do it."

Charmy hangs his head slowly. "Okay…but I'm staying right by your side the entire time, alright? I'm not letting you fall."

"Great. Let's go."

—–—

Tails continues to walk along with a unique gait, using his crutch to push himself off the ground, and hovering with his tails for a few steps before landing on his good leg, and using the crutch to push off again. Charmy remains right by his shoulder.

Tails finishes questioning, "And you're sure you didn't see anything weird?"

"Weird how?"

"I mean, it almost felt like I was pushed. I've certainly never felt a gust of wind like that before."

"It looked like wind to me. I didn't feel it up where I was, though."

"Very strange…"

"Hey, is this it?"

They both stop. They've arrived at a thin valley between two peaks on either side of them. Beyond the valley is a wide crater-like depression in the ground, completely surrounded on all sides by similar peaks, making this the only clear entrance to the area. "Yeah, this is definitely it. There should be a system of volcanic caves that all open near the top here. We should go check out–"

Charmy shoots him an intense glare.

Tails innocently finishes, "…just one of them, not gonna spend all day here. If its size and depth are adequate for shelter, then that'll be it. It'll make this place just about perfect for a rebel base."

"Look out!" Charmy suddenly dives into Tails, tackling them both to the floor as a bolt of energy sails over their heads. Tails lets out a cry of pain. The first shot is followed by dozens of others, a continuous stream of laser fire striking against the rock they've taken cover behind. Charmy panics, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Still nursing the injured leg, Tails answers through gritted teeth, "It's fine, I'm fine." He looks out at some of the stray laser bolts that strike the ground behind them. "That looks like Eggman weaponry. What are Eggman's robots doing here?"

"Could it be a trap?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"Well what do we do!?"

"I don't know, let me think!" Tails cautiously tries to peek his head over the rock, but is forced to retreat back down before he can see anything. "We definitely won't make it out if we run for it. And there's too many to try and fight." He reaches up to tap his communicator. "Sonic, we–" He frustratedly taps it a few more times. "Busted. Must've broken in the fall."

"What other options do we have?"

Struck by an idea, Tails pulls off his pack. "Just one." He pulls out the med kit. "Closest thing we have to a white flag."

"White flag? You're gonna surrender?"

"Best case scenario, they accept our surrender, and that'll give us plenty of time to come up with a new plan. Worst case…we can hopefully confuse 'em for a few seconds, at least. If I say so, get ready to run."

"But what about you!? You can't run!"

"You're the world's fastest bug, aren't you? Worry about yourself, and I'll be fine."

Charmy doesn't seem to like the idea. But he nods. "Okay…do it."

Keeping his head down, Tails holds the case up high above the rock, waving it back and forth. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

A loud voice echoes from the crater, "Hold your fire, hold your fire!"

Tails and Charmy look to each other in surprise at the unfamiliar voice. After a moment, the siege lets up, and all goes quiet.

The same voice calls out a bit more softly, "It's okay, kid. You can come out."

Charmy looks to Tails questioningly. After a moment of hesitation, Tails responds with a gentle nod. Slowly, they both rise up out of their hiding place. Tails gasps at the sight of the figure that stands on the other side of the valley. "Is that…?"

The brown-furred animoid fox, wearing a grey outer jacket and a large communicator device near his ear, gives them a nod. He calls out loudly, "It's okay, everyone! Just a couple of kids." He starts to step closer to them, getting a closer look. "Injured kids, by the look of it."

All around, a number of the shooters rise from their own hiding places, a mixture of animoids and humans, all sharing in common a dirty, ragged appearance, and an Eggman blaster in their hands. Many of them voice cautious murmurs of confusion.

As the fox draws closer, he finally greets, "Hey, I'm…sorry about all that. I don't know what the two of you are doing here, and I wish I could help, but we have our own crisis to deal with right now."

Tails takes a step forward. "Crisis? What kind of crisis?"

"There was a rock slide, we have injured. We thought it might've been the start of some sort of attack, but–…you really shouldn't be worrying about–"

Tails holds up the med kit still in his hand. "These are medical supplies, we can help!"

"Wait, seriously?" The fox glances back behind his shoulder, as if to ask someone's advice, but there's no one there. After just a moment, he concedes, "Okay, follow me."

As they start to move, Charmy glances around nervously at the many eyes glaring at them suspiciously. "Hey, Tails…? Who are these people?"

The fox jokes as he leads them into a cave, "Oh, so you do talk?"

Tails laughs. "Yeah. Usually the trick is getting him to stop."

Charmy complains, "Hey!"

The fox continues, "Sorry for not introducing myself. James the Fox. I go by Fox, or Captain. I'm the leader of our little group here."

Tails answers, "Nice to meet you, Captain Fox. I'm Tails, this is Charmy. About your wounded…any broken limbs?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Take Charmy to them, he knows what to do. I'll see what I can do for the rest."

Captain Fox looks to Charmy. "You do?"

Suddenly driven by the question of his competency, Charmy responds confidently, "You bet I do!"

—–—

"Hey… Katie…" Much deeper in the caves, Captain Fox gently shakes the shoulder of a wolf girl with white and blue fur.

Slowly, the girl struggles to open her eyes. "Jim…? What…?" Shaking her head to regain her senses, she realizes, "The rock slide! I have to–"

Fox stops her from getting up by keeping his hand on her shoulder. "You have to stay here and get your injury treated like everyone else. Your leg's broken. Charmy here is going to help you."

Charmy waves, "Hi."

"Charmy, this is Katherine. She's our doctor, so she can walk you through anything you're not sure about."

Katherine lays back, closing her eyes. "Couldn't do even that much yourself, Jimmy?"

Ignoring the question, Fox continues, "The next one over is Harry, he has a broken arm." He points to an unconscious rabbit a short distance away. "Looks like he's still out cold, worry about him next. I'm gonna go check in on Tails, just…yell if you need anything." With that said, he quickly walks out.

"Poor guy," Katherine comments. "He can plan a battle just fine, but he has no idea how to handle a medical situation." She looks back to Charmy. "So, Charmy, have you ever done anything like this before?"

Charmy nods as he flies down to get a closer look at the injury. "Yeah, I have."

"So the first thing you have to do is–"

Charmy interrupts, "This looks like the same kind of break treated before. I'll have to set the bone back in place, then apply a temporary splint to keep it from moving until you can get a cast."

"That's…that's all correct."

"But I'm gonna give you something for the pain, first. It's not much, but it's all we have." He holds out a small pill to her, which she takes.

"You know…you look awfully young to be a doctor."

Charmy chuckles, scratching at the back of his head. "Oh, I'm not a doctor. This is just something my friend Tails taught me how to do. He's, like, the smartest guy ever. Like, this one time, he programmed a supercomputer using nothing but toothpicks and laundry detergent, I mean, can you imagine!? He— Oh, I-I'm talking too much, aren't I?"

Katherine smiles at him. "Not at all. It's good for a doctor to talk to his patient. Helps them feel more comfortable. Why don't you keep talking while you work? Give me something to think about while you set the bone."

"What…what should I talk about?"

"It sounds like you have plenty to say. Tell me about yourself, maybe."

"Oh, okay. Well…I'm a detective. I have been since I was little. But…the Chaotix haven't been doing very much detective work since the war started." Charmy snaps the bone into place, but keeps right on talking. "Vector and Espio still go out on recon missions, but they always leave me behind for, like, kitchen duty, or harvesting from the garden or something. If I'm lucky, they make me go shopping. And I hate shopping!"

Katherine giggles a bit. "So why'd you want to be a detective?"

Charmy thinks for a moment as he readies the splint device. "I…I don't know. I guess I just…wanted to help people. People who might not have anyone else to help them."

"Well, it looks like you have a knack for this kind of work, too. If your friends really insist on keeping you out of danger…you could still do a lot of good as a doctor."

"You…you're a doctor, aren't you?"

"Well, not really. I left medical school to come out here."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Same reason as you. I wanted to help people who needed me. Although…maybe it was just a little bit more personal than that."

"What do you mean?"

"James and I went to school together. But when I went on to medical school, and he went off to the Navy, I didn't expect I'd ever see him again. So you can imagine my surprise when I got home one night to find him bleeding out all over my couch."

"Really!? What happened?"

"While I was patching him up, he told me everything. Said he was the leader of a rebellion, fighting back against the Eggman Empire, almost killed in his last battle. I almost didn't believe him. But he took me here, introduced me to everyone…and I never went back. Most of them were in rough shape, and I knew I needed to help. But…most of all, I guess I just couldn't stand the thought of him getting hurt out here without anyone to help him."

Charmy presses the button on the splint device for the second time, stopping its inflation. "That's it. That's all I can do."

Katherine smiles again. "Thanks, Doctor Charmy. You should go help Harry. I'm right here if you want to talk, but I think you got it."

Charmy nods. "Right."

—–—

Tails wraps a white bandage around the arm of a lion. Behind him, Captain Fox questions, "Is, uhh…everything alright? Need any help with that?"

Tails shakes his head. "I've checked everyone out, there aren't any critical injuries."

Fox breathes a loud sigh of relief.

"You said you're a captain, right? Ex-GUN?"

"No, no. Spagonian Navy."

"And you didn't get any basic medical training there?"

"Technically, a little. But I'm…a bit squeamish."

"Nothing wrong with that." He ties off the bandage he's been working on, and says to his patient, "This next one is going to need a couple of stitches. Is that alright, Leonard?" The lion gives him a weak nod, and Tails begins readying a needle. Continuing the prior conversation, Tails comments, "I didn't realize there were any independent Navies left. I thought that GUN was covering everything."

"Well, it was really more ceremonial than anything. Only went in because it was something of a family tradition. Wasn't exactly a military force. But Eggman shut it down anyways."

"So then you're all…refugees?"

"Refugees? I like to think we act a bit more actively than that. We're the Rebellion."

An involuntary laugh escapes from Tails.

"What's so funny?"

Tails responds by pointing down at the image on the front of the med kit on the ground.

"What…what's that thing supposed to be?"

"Did you…not stop firing because you saw it?"

"I stopped firing because I heard a kid asking for help. What is it?"

"It's…our logo. We're the Rebellion."

"You two kids?"

"No, not us two kids! We're part of Sonic's Rebellion!" He continues muttering to himself, "Apparently, I need to talk to Knuckles about our marketing…"

Fox puts a hand up to his chin. "Sonic the Hedgehog… I thought you looked familiar. You're the boy who saved Station Square, from the news a few years ago, aren't you? Miles Prower, right?"

Tails looks up in surprise. He answers almost instinctively, "Just call me Tails. Wait…you've heard of me?"

"Oh yeah, read the whole article. Very inspiring story. Disarming a missile ready to blow, standing up to Eggman all on your own like that. I certainly wouldn't have had the guts at that age. I guess in a way…you inspired me form this Rebellion. If that kid can fight Eggman, why can't I?"

"They used my real name in the article?"

"You haven't read it? It sings your praises for two whole pages. If it were me I'd keep a framed copy."

"I guess I never thought about it much…" Tails turns back to his work silently.

"So…Sonic's Rebellion, eh? We figured we weren't the only ones fighting back, but the way Eggman covers things up, it can be pretty hard to tell."

"You figured better than us, then. We thought we were alone."

"The only ones in the world fighting back against the terrible things Eggman's done? I sure hope the public has a little more common sense than that."

"Common sense says not to fight. We're the crazy ones here."

"Yeah, maybe we are a little crazy. But it seems a lot less crazy knowing that we aren't alone. So…how many do you have?"

"There's thirteen of us. Seventeen if you count the two Chao, the Wisp, and the frog."

"That's it? We have thirty-one. You know, I don't know what kind of place your team is operating out of, but…we have plenty of extra space around here. Do you think we should…join up?"

"I…don't really have the authority to make a decision like that. It's sort of what we came here to do, though. We thought the place was empty, we wanted to scout it out as a potential new base."

"Well, I'd call that mission success, then. All of you are welcome to stay here."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea…"

"Not a good idea? To increase our numbers and work together against a common enemy? Last I checked, that's how wars are fought."

"I know, I know. I'll take the idea back, and I'm sure we'll have a good long talk about it. But…we've been trying to keep our group small and mobile. We don't want to put anyone else in danger."

"We're already in danger, kid. That's what we signed up for. Just make sure you pass that part along, too."

Tails goes silent.

"You have that look on your face again."

"What look?"

"The look you had when you first saw me. The same look you seem to get every time…" He thinks back for a moment. "…every time I suggest you might be wrong about something. Every time I tell you what to do. What's that all about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was surprised when I saw you because I thought those were robots shooting at us."

"It's obviously more than that. In fact, I think I had the same look when I saw you. Familiarity. But that's because I recognized you from the article."

Tails thinks for a moment. "I guess you do…kinda remind me of someone I knew."

"Really? Anyone I might know?"

Instead of answering, Tails grabs his crutch from the floor, and uses it to push himself up. "Any other injuries I should know about?"

"Uhh…no, looks like you got all of them. You two really saved our necks here, if you hadn't shown up when you did–"

Tails interrupts, "If that's everyone, then Charmy and I should really get going now. We're already running behind, Sonic will be worried…" He trails off into muttering as he walks away with his awkward new gait.

Fox scratches at the back of his head. "Was it something I said?"

—–—

In the bright blue sky above Never Lake, the floating Little Planet begins to shimmer and tremble. A shower of sparks rain down over Sonic and Amy as they watch the boundary between planet and sky become harder and harder to discern. In one final burst of color, the lush green Little Planet vanishes.

Sonic nods slowly. "That's it. Safe for another year."

"Where do you think it goes?"

"Time works differently up there. I think it's less a question of where and more a question of when. It goes straight to next year, probably. Or…heh…maybe last year for all we know. Either way, I wouldn't want to be up there when it happens."

"Isn't that what happened to Metal Sonic?"

"I don't know. Never asked the guy."

Amy looks over to Sonic, who still stares up at the spot in the sky where the Little Planet used to be. "Sonic…I feel like there's something you're not telling me."

Sonic looks back down at her with confusion. "Whaddaya mean by that?"

"You're holding something back. About Metal Sonic, about your fortune, about you."

"Holding back? I think I've been pretty open about how this whole thing is freaking me out a bit."

"What you haven't been open about is why."

"Why? Metal Sonic is a killer! A monster! And we don't know where he is! What other reason do I need!?"

"Eggman's no better. But you were never this obsessive about stopping him. Why is this so much different?"

"Because…" Sonic breathes in sharply as he struggles for the words. "Because…"

"Do you feel…responsible for him? Because he's a copy of you?"

Sonic takes another long breath. "I wish it were that simple."

"Sonic…you know you can tell me anything." She gently takes his hand. "It…it isn't healthy to keep your feelings locked up like this."

Sonic pulls his hand away. "I can't. Okay? I just can't."

"I hate to bring this up, but…last time you tried to keep a big secret like this…it didn't go so well."

"It isn't about anyone else this time. Just me. And I'm keeping it that way. So quit asking."

"Sonic…"

Sonic looks down for a while. "Uhh…"

"What is it?"

He looks back up with a contorted face. "Ahh… Ahhh… Achoo!"

Amy sarcastically remarks, "Another bad feeling?"

Wiping off the bottom of his nose, Sonic answers, "More like the same one." He takes a nervous look around. "But Metal Sonic isn't coming here, is he?"

"He wouldn't have a reason to anymore."

"I can think of one reason."

"And what would that be?"

"The same reason I dragged you out here in the first place." He stops himself for a moment. But with a final sigh, he continues, "I care about you, Amy. Metal Sonic knows that. And I know that he would use it against me. That's why I–…" He trails off, but begins again, "He was going to try something today. I felt so certain of that. I didn't have any real reason to think it would be here, but…wherever it was, I wanted to make sure that…that I was here with you. To protect you. Just another bad guess…"

"Sonic…" She puts a hand on his shoulder. "We're all going to face this. Together. Not just you, and not just me. We're all going to protect each other. That's how we're going to beat Metal Sonic. That's how we're going to win this war."

Sonic finally looks up, towards the spot in the sky where the Little Planet used to be. "You've really changed a lot since we first met up there."

"Maybe I have. Or maybe you just weren't watching closely enough."

After a moment, Sonic looks back to her with a smile. "Let's go home."

—–—

Tails appears to have regained his energy as he waves farewell to Captain Fox. "We'll be in touch. Try not to shoot us next time."

Fox laughs. "You two sure you don't want any food for the road? We just raided a shipment headed for an Eggman restaurant a couple days ago. A sushi place, I think."

Tails is forced to suppress an involuntary wretch. "Thanks, but…I've had enough Bucket O' Sushi for one lifetime. We'll manage with the supplies we brought."

Charmy complains, "But I want sushi!"

"Trust me, you don't."

As they turn and start to walk off, Fox calls after them, "And don't forget, the ladder is hidden between the two tall rocks!"

"Ladder won't be much good to me now, but I'll remember for next time!"

"And seriously, thanks for everything!"

Tails and Charmy round the corner, and the other rebel base disappears from sight. Tails looks over to Charmy. "You know, it was kinda nice talking to someone who doesn't live with us for once."

Charmy agrees, "Yeah, for real." He goes silent for a while as he seems to consider something.

"Something on your mind?"

"Tails…how does someone become a doctor?"

"A doctor? Well, normally it takes more than ten years of study and training to get licensed, and that's only after you finish all of your general schooling. Are you…thinking about being a doctor?"

"I wanna help people. People who may not have anyone else to help them."

"Well, I don't think a wanted rebel would have a very easy time getting a medical license. But that doesn't mean you can't get the same training. I'm not exactly a doctor myself, but I can teach you everything I know. I can oversee your training, if you really want to go through with this."

"Yeah!" Charmy flies excitedly in a loop as he cheers, "I'm gonna be a doctor!"

Tails chuckles at Charmy's contagious excitement. "I know I certainly won't mind having a permanent assistant around camp. All the medical work I've been doing myself has just been taking time away from–" Tails stops as he realizes that he can no longer hear the sound of Charmy's buzzing. "Charmy?" He glances back in confusion.

Metal Sonic stares back at him.

With a metallic hand gripped around his mouth, Charmy lets out a muffled scream. "HmmMmmph!"

Without a word, Metal Sonic rockets across the ground, grabbing Tails by the throat, and slamming into the cliff wall. In an instant, everything goes black.

To be continued…