Trinity: (wailing) I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be so late! Forgive me!

Tails: Um...are you going to be okay?

Trinity: My fans! My poor, poor fans! My...(sniffle) fans. I'm so late...so very, very late... lament with me!

Shadow: ...Boo hoo?

Trinity: LAMENT I SAY! You should be crying over the death of Tails anyways.

Shadow: (Shrug) You aren't gonna kill him. He's important.

Trinity: ...damn you.

I don't own Sega in all it's awsomeness! LAMENT!


Chapter 9 – Flora City

"TAILS!"

Shadow's exclamation went unheard by the angry mob. He watched, stunned, as Tails dropped into the mob yards away and out of his sight. Furious, the black hedgehog plowed through the sea of bodies, not caring who he stepped on. He found a small circle of men kicking and pounding on the kit. Blood speckled the men's fist and boots, and pooled slowly out onto the ground.

The ensuing roar issuing from Shadow's lips could have stopped time itself. The sound had startled everyone, even himself, and the crowd froze. All eyes were on him as the hedgehog stalked forward. All heard the low growl and all felt his black fury. Not even the group huddled around the kit could move when Shadow stood before them. Shadow grabbed one of them impatiently, a gerbil, and tossed him aside as if he was a wad of paper, the man screaming until he hit the ground with a thud. The rest of them came to their senses and scurried off, ducking back into the crowd.

Shadow's growl deepened. Tails was an absolute mess, lying unconscious on his side, the feathered end of an arrow in the air. Luckily, the arrow landed more into his shoulder than his chest, but the arrow head was buried completely in his flesh and he was bleeding profusely. Blood slid down his cheek from his mouth and various cuts. Lifting the hoodie, he could see bruises beginning to form all over his body from the beating he took.

His breath was shallow, but he was breathing. Shadow knelt down next to the kit, his hands hovering over him. He didn't want to move him, afraid he might hurt him if he did. When Shadow laid a hand on the kit's side, he jerked away and whimpered. Shadow pulled his fingers back and saw the bruise on his side, only one of his ribs weren't sitting quiet right. Shadow gritted his teeth and picked the kit up, careful not to jolt his injured shoulder or rib.

"Where's the oasis?" Shadow asked quietly. He was answered with a small tug on his pants.

The little mouse girl that Tails had frightened away was at Shadow's elbow. She turned and led Shadow through the throng of people. The crowd, still dazed, parted for them without a word. Somewhere behind him, the sounds of a woman wailing and shouting could be heard, but Shadow wasn't listening to her. All he wanted to do, all he could think about, was helping his little friend.

The mouse girl lead Shadow into what had to be the only intact building in the area. It was pentagon shaped building with only one floor with several nicks and gashes in the walls. Besides the grimy sunroof, the building had no windows, and instead had double doors on all five walls, which were all open at the time. Inside, the walls were covered in buckets of different sizes. Steps were carved into the ground to a raised mound that held a small pond of precious water with a covered well in the center.

Shadow laid Tails on one of the steps, using the boy's pack as a pillow, and grabbed a small bucket to scoop up some of the water. Taking off his own pack, Shadow pulled out a Medi-Kit. Gently, Shadow slid off the kit's hoodie and cleaned the blood off his bruised flesh, wrapped his wounded ribs. Because of the design of the arrow head, removing the arrow would be painful. Moving the arrow would ultimately cause more damage, and Shadow was left with finding the least painful way to remove it. But before Shadow could make a decision, Tails began to stir.

"Hey, kid. Don't move too much."

Tails stopped moving and laid still. He looked up at Shadow through one hazy eye. The dark hedgehog swam before the disorientated kit and he felt a sudden wave of sickness. He noticed a dull pain piercing the side of his chest each time he inhaled. Then, turning his head to the right, he saw the feathered arrow protruding from his shoulder.

"Ow," Tails said, looking at the arrow. Shadow chuckled.

"Oh, so you're just fine, right?" Shadow said.

"Nng. I guess," Tails frowned at the feathered tip of the arrow. "Are you gonna take this arrow out?"

"I'll have to. It's going to hurt."

Shadow decided to do this the quick way. Shadow sat Tails up a bit more, arranging it so nothing was behind his injured shoulder. Taking a firm hold on the shaft of the arrow, Shadow gritted his teeth and jammed the arrow out through the back of the kit's shoulder. Tails, who was zoning out, was jolted back into consciousness, letting out a shrill scream. He quickly bit down on his lip to shut himself up, squeezing his eyes shut. Tears still escaped from the corner of his eyes.

Shadow cut the shaft and slid the piece of wood out of Tails' shoulder, the arrow head falling to the ground. He quickly dressed the wound, blood staining the bandage in an instant. Tails didn't even notice his fangs cut into his lip and add to the amount of blood streaking down his fur. Ignoring Shadow's protests, the kit sat up, rubbing his tears off his checks. He glanced over his wounds, but was quickly distracted from the self-examination.

"Is this the oasis?" Tails asked curiously, peering into the crystal blue water.

"Yeah. The water's perfectly clean, too."

"It better be. If it's not, you've poisoned me," Tails said giving Shadow a side glance. The dark hedgehog sniggered. "Don't laugh! I could be…who are you?"

Shadow looked at the kit in alarm. Following his eyes, he noticed Tails was looking at someone over his shoulder. The little grey mouse girl was still standing in the doorway. She jumped when Tails spoke to her, wringing her filthy dress in her hands and avoiding eye contact. Tails and Shadow exchanged glances before watching the small girl take a few timid steps forward.

"Um…my name is…Annabel."

"Hello!" Tails said cheerfully, scrambling to his feet, "My name is Tails. And this grumpy looking guy is Shadow."

"I am not grumping looking," Shadow said, frowning at Tails. "I just don't smile a lot."

Tails and Annabel giggled at the look on his face. Then, the two of them stopped all at once, starting up casual conversation. Tails asked a million questions about life in the broken city and Annabel answered him cheerfully. Shadow was surprised how easily Tails forgot his pain in his curiosity. The kit was standing on his own two feet, talking a mile a minute, despite a cracked rib and wounded shoulder.

People were starting to crowd the doorways of the building. Shadow tensed instinctively, but they only peaked in from around the door frame. Shadow ignored them until one particular weasel dared to enter the shady building. The patches of light that managed to enter past the grimy window panes above made him seem even bonier than before. His yellow eyes glared at Shadow in suspicion.

"What do you want?" the weasel snapped, interrupting the happy chatter of the two children.

"Well, we simply wanted water before," Shadow said in his calmest voice. "But since my friend is injured," -the weasel flinched- "we'll need some lodging for a short while."

"He seems alright to me. Looks like his injuries don't bother him," The weasel snapped, glaring at the kit out of the corner of his eye. Tails lip twitch as he contemplated sticking his tongue out at the man.

"Yeah, he does seem fine. Kids these days," Shadow said off-handedly, glancing at the kit as well. "But I'd rather not take any risks. He shouldn't even be standing right now."

"Well, you can take the water. But we don't have any place for people like-"

"Of course we have a place for you!" interrupted a woman's voice. The weasel flinched.

A rather angry looking squirrel strolled in and planted herself firmly between Shadow and the weasel. She was brown, tawny, and rather fat, with a frying pan in her hand. She wore a filthy, gray apron over a not-so-filthy but extremely faded pink dress and stood with her fists on her large hips. Shadow recognized her as one of the women who ushered the children inside at the first sign of trouble.

"We have plenty of room for you and your friend to stay in," The woman said over her shoulder, glaring at the weasel. "You can stay as long as you like. Isn't that right Harold?"

"But Anna! These people are bandits! Why should we give board to them?" Harold the Weasel squealed back, his tone changed drastically from when he spoke to Shadow.

"Bandits? Ha! Boy!" Anna turned to Tails and he jumped. "Are you a bandit?"

"No ma'am," Tails said nervously.

"Is your friend here a bandit?"

"No ma'am!"

"Are you sure?" Anna said, pointing the pan at him. "Are you really sure you aren't a criminal of any kind?"

"Quiet positive!" Tails said, his voice running up. "I'm a good boy!"

"Good!" Anna turned back to Harold, "See? They aren't bandits."

"But Anna-"

"Be quiet Harold! You're in enough trouble as it is, so don't go digging your self a hole to lie down in! You show these two a good place to stay for the night! I have dinner to prepare."

And with that, the real "man" in charged stalked away to leave one nervous weasel, two shocked children, and a whole crowd of sweat-dropping people. Shadow watched Anna walk away with growing respect for the woman while Tails struggled to get over his sudden nervousness. Annabel tugged on his finger to get his attention.

"That was mama," Annabel whispered to him.

"That's you mom?" Tails asked, astonished.

"No, not really, But she takes care of all of us. Even the big people."

"So she's the leader around here?"

"Yeah. She calls Mr. Harold a "big baby." Says his just playing chief."

"I heard that," Harold said, scowling. Annabel giggled. "Hurry up. I'll take you to your new room."

Harold slinked out of the building and up the street. After Anna left, everyone else dispersed and went there separate ways. Children ran up the streets toward Tails, crowding around him. His injuries and talk of him being a bandit made him an instant celebrity among the kids. Shadow had to pick him up and carry him after Harold, who was slinking away quickly.

Harold led them to a building that was just as dirty and broken as the others, this one blasted down to only one story. The plaster was coming off the walls and holes dotted the ceiling in some of the rooms. There were six rooms with a ceiling, each with two beds in them, as well as an entry room converted into a sitting/dinning room. The beds were old and creaky, but a welcome change from the ground the two had been sleeping on before. In the entry room were two couches and a few chairs that were loosing stuffing around a wooden, square table.

"Here," Harold said, thrusting a dusty lantern into Shadow's hands. "It's the only light in the whole house, so you'll have to carry it around if you leave your room at night. Annabel will come and get you when dinners ready."

And with that, the grumpy weasel slinked out of the house and out of sight. Shadow and Tails was left standing in the entry room, watching the disgruntled man walk away. Shadow went to the table and pulled a match out of his pack. He struck it on the table, lit the lantern and walked down the hall into the first roofed room.

"Bed. Now," Shadow said, hanging the lantern on a metal hook in the wall.

"Why? I feel fine." Tails whined. He was itching to go out with to play with the kids who idolized him.

"Don't push yourself. Get in bed now," Shadow snapped.

"I'm not pushing myself. I honestly don't feel a thing."

"Doesn't matter. You're only okay because you're near my Chaos Emerald."

"You have a Chaos Emerald with you?"

"Yeah. The red one. Found it before I left 4 years ago and haven't let go of it since. But that doesn't matter. You're resting."

Tails groaned but obediently climbed into bed. Shadow tucked him in nice in tight so his wouldn't move too much. But Tails wasn't done with his questioning. Once Shadow had his back turned to him, he stubbornly sat up, using his pillow to prop himself up. Shadow, glared at him from across the room, but took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"What now," Shadow growled.

"I want to ask you a few questions."

"Shoot."

"Where did you go? For four years, where were you?"

"Believe it or not, I was in the same valley as you. There's a mountain, deep within that valley, were the river starts from. It's kind of a holy place, the reason why the valley was protected and spared from the destruction of the war."

"Holy?"

"Yes. It's where the people who believed in the legend lived. The place was kind of like a natural conductor of Chaos energy. It just flowed through the place. I trained on the highest peak, where the energy was the strongest."

"Sounds mystical. But once you descended…"

"A mortal body can't hold the power of gods, so I needed another restraint on my powers. If I use too much too fast, I'd kill myself."

"I thought you were immortal?"

"I have an unnaturally long life span, but I can be killed, therefore, I'm mortal."

"Okay, so what's up with me? Why don't I feel anything?"

"You're one of the Chaos beings. You're drawing energy from my Chaos Emerald to heal yourself quickly. I suspect you'll be completely healed in two days."

"I thought 'your' emerald was the green one."

"No, that's just the emerald I had when you first met me. Apparently, the green emerald is my lucky charm, 'cause it keeps coming back to me. I just happened to have the red emerald this time."

"Should we be looking for the emeralds too?"

"We can look for them at the same time, but I think we attract the emeralds to ourselves. I happen to know the white emerald is up on the mountain, so we can go back for it later."

"How many girls do you think are going to drool over you in those pants?" Tails asked casually, hoping to catch Shadow off guard. It didn't work.

"What the-!" Shadow sputtered. "What kind of question is that? I'm not answering!"

"I'm betting about 20. Maybe even 30!" Tails said, smirking.

"You're doing this because you think I won't hit you, aren't you?"

"You wouldn't attack an injured little boy, would you?" Tails said, looking innocent.

"Oh, I'll get you. With interest," Shadow said, his eyes narrowing.


Shadow: Heh heh heh heh...

Tails: The bad man scares me! Help!

Trinity: Well, I feel so much more better now.

Shadow: Fans.

Trinity: NOOOO! I'm A teRibIle PeRsOn!

Tails: She'll shut up if you review her.