Charmy stayed close to Espio as he walked out of his room. He stared at the hedgehog that turned to face him and he didn't look happy at all. Silver walked towards the two in the hallway.
"Charmy." His voice was unnaturally stern. A tone of voice that Charmy had never heard from him.
"I-I'm so sorry, Silver," he squeaked. "I didn't mean for that much to come off. It was supposed to be a small prank-"
Silver scoffed.
He knew he was just a kid and that kids do dumb things but his fur was going to take a couple months to grow back out. "Just- don't prank me anymore." He sounded more exasperated than mad but he gave Espio a look of annoyance before taking a step towards his chair.
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What, was he upset at him too? It was understandable, Espio felt. He did just receive a terrible haircut against his will as he slept. He would have some anguish to spare, but Espio was not about to take part of the blame for it. Damn, he could've prevented this if he'd went with his gut and searched. How was he supposed to know this would occur, though? Now a small part of him felt like he needed to make up for it.
Espio's thought train was suddenly interrupted by a loud yawn from below. He covered his mouth quickly. "Sorry," Tails murmured as he sat in the luggage bag and poofed his tails out. "Good morning."
"Morning," Espio responded. It wasn't good for them.
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Silver heard Tails but looked out the nearby window. Charmy was obviously the only one responsible for what happened, but he felt disappointment upon seeing Espio. Did he seriously not hear or see anything happen? Maybe he was just frustrated about being the outsider. He had done a good job of not letting Espio's teammate's comments affect him, but this was different. Prank or not.
Silver fidgeted with the fringe of his scarf and quietly sighed. He tried to push past his thoughts on the situation and attempted to focus on the case instead.
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Tails looked around the room, just barely picking up on the tension in the air. The bright red against his light fur suddenly caught his attention. "Hey, that's a really nice scarf!"
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Silver shot a quick glance over to Tails. "Thanks. Charmy thought I should wear it more often." Charmy's antennae lowered. He walked over to Tails and looked at the floor. "I- pranked Silver this morning. That's why it's so-" He hesitated. "Awkward."
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"Oh, uh. Did he glue the scarf to you, or...?" From personal experience, he knew glue was a bitch to get off.
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Charmy gave him an unsure expression. "I cut off some of his fur." Silver shook his head. "Be lucky he didn't go for your tails, too." He jabbed.
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Was it really that bad? Tails instinctively grabbed his tails, not wanting to ask. It's a shame he didn't have some instant hair growth serum.
A creak could be heard from another room. Espio braced himself for the impending yelling. Vector casually left his room and stopped at the scene in front of him. "Good. Everyone's up." Damn, did he sleep in again?
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Silver was going to avoid the conversation with the crocodile as though more ridicule from him would set him off. Charmy flew over to Vector's desk and sat on the edge like he did last night when telling them what he had heard. "First order of business. Breakfast!"
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Tails suppressed the urge to get excited. He couldn't head outside without fear of being captured. He sighed, "Yippee. Are you guys going out?"
Espio shrugged. "We have waffles and syrup. We don't need to head out this morning."
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Silver didn't move but he watched as Charmy flew over to the small kitchenette. He opened the fridge door and pulled out a box of Weggo waffles with 6 packs inside. "There's enough for all of us." The bee started to grab plates from the cabinet above.
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Espio connected the toaster and popped in two of the waffles. He made sure the little lever mechanic was down since he always had the bad tendency of not pushing it.
In the meantime, he snuck a few glances at Tails. It was peculiar, how such a young fox held so much intelligence that even the mafia wanted one of his creations. "Tails." The fox looked at the chameleon. "Yeah?"
"Could you show me how your device works, in case we may need to use it?" "Oh, sure!" He stood up from the bag. Vector retrieved the device from where he hid it. "Maybe you can help Vector forget about his debt." Charmy giggled mockingly. "Ahhh shutup."
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Silver silently watched as he sat up in his chair with curiosity. He had the device used on him but he obviously couldn't recall what for. The only thing he could remember was a slight buzzing feeling in the back of his head. He didn't feel like being a participant this time so he stayed quiet.
Charmy eyed the device and looked back to Tails. "So this thing can erase any memory? Or just bad ones?" He tilted his head.
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"Any memory, but the intention is to get rid of bad ones that really affect people negatively. Do you have anything you'd want to forget?" The three looked between each other. "Does it hurt?" "No."
Vector slammed his hands on his table. "There's a show I want to watch all over again. Best thing I've ever seen." "That works." Tails activated the device. Espio watched intently.
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Silver got out of his chair and stepped closer so he could watch the process. The device beeped a couple of times and he could tell Vector was waiting on some kind of reaction. Charmy broke the silence after a brief moment. "Did it work?" He flew into Vector's room and grabbed a box set that had, 'Better Call Paul,' on the front in bold red letters. He waved it in front of the crocodile.
"What's this about?"
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"What? I don't know, Charmy. Stop waving that thing in my face; I'm trying to get some memories erased."
"It's done!"
"Really? Wow. That was fast! I don't even remember what I wanted to forget." Vector sat back down at his desk. The waffles popped out of the toaster. Espio swiftly relocated them to one of the plates, put in the next pair in and pushed the mini lever down. "Who wants the first plate?"
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Charmy set the box set down on his desk and flew over to Espio. He grabbed the plate and the syrup bottle that was sitting next to it. He rummaged through the drawer and pulled out a fork. Everyone thought Charmy would be the first until he flew to Silver with the waffle.
Silver blinked and took it hesitantly. "Thanks." He gave him a forgiving smile, Charmy just nodded in understanding.
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I wanted it. Tails stared at the plate Silver held with starvation in his vivid, blue eyes. He couldn't react quickly enough-the bee had taken ownership of the plate faster than he could blink. He understood, though. This was Charmy's mistake; he had to make it up somehow.
"Does anyone else want a memory erased?" Charmy and Espio shook their heads. "Well, now you all know how it works." He sat on his chair, holding onto the device and resting it on his lap.
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Silver sat in a chair in front of Vector's desk as he balanced the plate in his hand. He popped open the syrup bottle with his thumb and poured the rich, brown liquid over his waffles, unaware of Tails watching.
Charmy returned to his usual seat and looked over to Tails. "So, the memories disappear forever?" A part of him was scared of what the device could do. The young bee leaned forward and swayed his feet back and forth in front of him.
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"Yes. Unless I make another device that can bring them back somehow. But while that doesn't exist, they're gone forever." His eyes discreetly followed the thick trail of liquid pool onto the waffles, filling every hole as it traveled across slowly. He stomach grumbled lowly.
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The toaster punctuated Tails' last word and Charmy went and did the same routine as before but he carried the waffles and syrup bottle to Tails. Clients first, Charmy thought. He watched Espio put in the next pair of frozen waffles in the toaster and he felt his stomach rumble.
Silver took a moment to stop eating so he could ask a question. "Was I the first to try the device?" He stabbed a piece of waffle. "Or did you already know it worked at the convention?"
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He systematically filled each hollow square with syrup. "We talked about this." Tails shifted his eyes between Silver and the waffles. "I told you it was just a prototype and I didn't have time to finish. You came with me to my workshop, I finished it, and you volunteered to be the first. That's how we found out it worked." He cut off a piece of his waffle.
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"Oh." Was all he could say as he felt embarrassment flush his face. He looked back down at his waffles and ate the rest of the cut up pieces. Charmy raised a brow and looked at the toaster. "Pleaseee hurry up." He whined.
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The first bite was marvelous. He hadn't eaten a frozen breakfast item in such a long time, and there was something so homey about it.
"Do you have any plans for your next invention?" Espio asked, then noticed he hadn't pushed down the lever thing. "I have some ideas, but I'm not going to be able to make anything for a while." He looked at the contraption on his lap.
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Charmy facepalmed at the appliance. "I think Tails could build us a better toaster by the time we get done." He groaned. Silver simpered and ate his last piece.
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"Maybe." He smiled meekly, getting started on his second waffle. "That toaster's about as old as Charmy. Anything would be better at this point." Espio stifled a laugh. It was true.
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The toaster popped up startling Charmy in the process. "I'm so hungry, I need waffles noow." He grabbed a plate and flung the waffles on to it. He flew over to Tails to take the syrup from him. Silver walked over to the small sink next to Espio and washed off his plate and utensils.
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Espio prepared the next pair of waffles, making sure the process was done right this time. How a ninja could fail the simple procedure of commencing waffle heating was beyond himself.
This next plate is mine, he thought, eyeing Vector undetected. He seemed to be fighting with his eyes to keep them at least half open. Maybe he could sacrifice himself just this once.
"Please don't use up all the syrup, Charmy. It's the only bottle we have left." He already knew Charmy had a pool of syrup on his plate. Vector didn't care much for it, but Espio would be damned if he were stuck eating flavourless, dry waffles.
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"I'm not!" Charmy raised the bottle up defensively. He was done with it any way so he set it down on the counter next to Espio. The young bee started to eat his waffles happily. "So, you two will be following the messenger from the hotel parking lot?" He looked to Silver who glanced at Espio.
"This messenger is supposedly going to lead us to Canstella." Silver put away his clean plate. "The case is about Victor not the Mafia boss." Silver sat in his chair and looked over to Tails.
Tails got mixed up in something big, but he wasn't sure if he knew about the original case. Finding Victor would equal a large paycheck for the Chaotix. Finding Canstella would hopefully result in the Mafia forgetting about Tails' device. Silver was torn on which to start first and he could feel an argument coming soon.
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"This messenger could give us insight on Jon's location. He was supposed to bring in Victor, from what I remember. Even though he isn't part of the Mafia, or so they say, he may still be informed on her father's whereabouts."
"Tails, if you want Espio's help on your case, I'm going to have to work out a price with you." Vector crossed his arms. "Especially when concerning the Mafia. Very risky."
"I get it." Tails huffed, "I wish I could join you guys. I could wear a disguise too, but there's no way I could hide these." He pointed at the two fluffy tails at his sides.
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Silver couldn't help but look at his fluffy tails. He could see the dilemma. "Yeah, my quills can be hard to hide, too." Honestly, it was a miracle that the guard at the Casino let him through, but he was thankful anyways.
"Seems like that's the best course to take." Silver agreed. "Jon might be willing to help if he's turned his back on the Mafia, but who knows for sure."
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"It would give us a huge advantage. He'd know where Victor and Canstella are."
"It's high risk, high reward. I say you go for it."
"Oh, I know! Tails, you could wear a big poofy dress to cover those us, or maybe a coat!" Charmy suggested.
"Uh, no, I'm okay." A dress? He knew it could make for a decent disguise, but he'd rather preserve his personal dignity.
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Silver snickered but quickly tried to hide it by turning his face away from Tails. "Hopefully." He wasn't sure about the Canstella part but he would be valuable nonetheless. The toaster ejected the waffles with a stronger push that caused one waffle to land next to Espio's elbow on the counter.
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Espio wasted no time sliding his waffles onto his plate and finally putting in Vector's. He drizzled the syrup on and stabbed one of the waffles and took a bite off the edge. And I thought I was hungry, Tails thought as he watched Espio attack the sweet saucer.
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Silver was no stranger to watching him eat but this particular sight was more desperate than he'd ever seen Espio. He looked away in fear of being caught staring. "So, Charmy said that they may get to you with your friends. What are you going to tell them and who can you trust to keep it a secret from Sonic?"
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"Not Amy," Tails spat out. Was that too aggressive? She could probably keep a secret, but a secret that would get her major brownie points with Sonic? Get outtaaaa here. "Knuckles, probably." It was a hard thought; most-all of his friends overlapped as Sonic's. It was hard to think someone who wouldn't tell Sonic.
Was that it? Tails was stumped by his short friend list. "I, I don't think they'd target Cream and her mother. She's just a little girl, and we're not even that close."
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Silver didn't know who Cream was but he agreed with him on not telling Amy. He liked Amy but he knew that her unwavering loyalty for Sonic would not make her a good choice. If I had to choose between the world and Sonic, I would choose Sonic. Her exact words when he found him.
"You don't think Knuckles would say anything to him?" He didn't know much about the echidna honestly.
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"He's asked me to keep secrets from Sonic." He stood up to put his plate in the sink. "I've never told him anything. He'd respect this."
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Silver tilted his head curiously, "You keep secrets from Sonic?" It was slightly unexpected but not anything worth making a fuss over. Looking back, he never really kept anything from Blaze but circumstances were always a factor. He may have told her everything but he wasn't sure about the other way around. He fidgeted with his scarf while thinking about it.
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"It's not like he doesn't hide things from me." He started washing his plate. "Sometimes it's necessary. I don't want to keep avoiding him...I just don't want him to get involved. That's it."
The waffles popped up and Espio gracefully served Vector. "We'll make sure he doesn't find out."
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Silver noticed that Espio had finished his waffles and that meant they may head out soon. He looked back over to Tails. "I understand." He twirled his finger around the fringe. "Well, are there any details on the messenger, Charmy?"
"Silas said he was going to send 'her' to deliver the message. So, it's a girl." Charmy finished his last bite. "Forgot to mention that last night, sorry." He gave a sheepish grin.
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A girl. Okay. Espio shooed Tails aside so he could wash both their plates. Vector bit off half of the undampened waffle. "Hey, heat up the last two. You think two waffles is going to fill me?"
"Fine..."
"I got this." Tails put in the two waffles and set the toaster lever down. He could reconfigure it to make the process much faster. He'd tinker with it soon.
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Charmy looked over to the side with an uncomfortable expression.
Silver watched with a grimace. He stood up and twisted his body with small stretch, he was ready to start the day now. "I'll be outside." He walked over to the door and waited for Espio on the steps.