A/N: Hello friends! I wasn't expecting to continue this story after chapter 7 of Left Way, Right Way… but here we are!

I do have some news, so strap onto your seats.

I reread all of LWRW, and I noticed that chapter 7 would be a great opening to a sequel, rather than an ending. I wrote chapter 7 to be a definitive end to LWRW and wasn't expecting to continue the story at all. That caused an issue for me trying to write this story.

Chapter 7 has a few… inconsistencies with what I have planned. Mainly, that Tails has a history with Knuckles and Shadow, as Tails has interacted with them in previous game titles. In chapter 7, this was the first time Tails had met them.

So, as sorry as I am to say this, I hereby retcon chapter 7 to be non-canonical to the story... But do not fear! I am not scrapping the entirety of the chapter- merely rewriting it! Now with more details! All of your favorite moments from chapter 7 remain, but now with no paradoxes for the rest of the story.

I'm really sorry if you liked chapter 7 as is. I loved it as well- it was a new writing style for me!- but it was a pain to try and write around. That's honestly why this sequel came out a month later than planned. I tried to write around it, and it truly didn't work. The main plot of chapter 7 will (most likely) be in chapter 2.

In the spirit of internet archives, it will remain up on LWRW as a tribute to 18 year old me who wrote it, and so I don't lose any of your lovely comments!

I sincerely hope you enjoy!

Chapter title from "Anybody Have A Map?" from Dear Evan Hansen.

Tails lost track of the seconds that went by, as Sonic held him tightly while he ran. It had been long enough for his tears to have all but run dry. He was self aware enough to notice how Sonic was taking a long-winded route to wherever their destination was. Meaning: he doesn't want anyone following him. Meaning: they were heading somewhere important.

And if Sonic's word meant anything, and it meant everything, he was taking him to the Resistance base.

"Almost there, lil' buddy. Just hang on," Sonic murmured into the tufts of fur atop the kit's head, snuggled underneath the hedgehog's chin. Tails hummed in acknowledgment. Thankfully, Sonic let Tails be inside his own head for the duration of their run, but his voice was a welcome refuge.

Tails' nose scrunched at the smell. They had just entered The City. Even working with machinery his whole life, he wouldnever get used to how stark the contrast is between this and the fields just surrounding his childhood home.

He remembered the city being bustling with life, humans and mobians alike talking and enjoying food from curbside stores. Now, the streets were empty, littered with knocked over trash bins. The main populace must've evacuated, he thought to himself, when the Doctor and himself started the invasion. Or, at least this section of The City.

Tails was quickly brought out of his thoughts by Sonic coming to a halt. Tails ejected himself from Sonic's hold, which Sonic barely fought against. "What's wrong?"

Sonic let out a chuckle, but it came out more like a gasp. He went on one knee, an arm cradling his midsection. "Nothing," he said. Tails tried to kneel down and assess any damage, but Sonic batted away the kid's attempts to look at his ribs. "Just catching my breath."

Tails sat down on his heels, his eyes conflicted. Sonic winced with every breath. Now that he reminisced, Sonic had been slowing down considerably leading up to their stop, and any injury to the ribs was not to be trifled with. Their biggest priority should be getting Sonic back to the Resistance.

"You know you don't have to carry me." Tails met his eyes. Sonic sighed dismissively, but Tails continued, "I can keep up."

Sonic said nothing and wobbled his way back to his feet, before offering his arms to Tails. After a moment of hesitation, Tails stepped forward and was lifted into Sonic's arms.

"Oh, and one more thing," Sonic adds. He sounded so tired. "We're almost at the HQ. They'd have my head if they knew I brought you without blindfolding you first." Tails tensed at that, but Sonic smiled disarmingly. "But, you're in luck, I'm all out of blindfolds. Guess closing your eyes will have to do."

Tails gave him an incredulous look, before closing his eyes and burrowing his head into the teen's shoulder. After a moment of swaying on his feet, they blasted off in a blue haze.

Tails could only go off of context clues. Sonic's shoes running on the pavement, the constant turns, and the inevitable slowing down once they reached their destination. He gently deposited Tails onto the concrete, helping him stand.

Sonic kept a hand on his elbow. He always kept him close whenever they were around each other. Meaning: he was afraid that he'd run away.

Not unfounded.

"Keep 'em closed," Sonic said, with humor. Like he was about to show him a gift.

Sonic let go of Tails with one hand and a few beeps followed. A keypad. A mechanic whirring greeted his ears. A metal door, most likely attached to a chain. It reminded him of home.

The moment the door began to lift from the floor, Tails could hear faint conversations coming from inside. He took a step back, but the safetyrail of Sonic's grip on his elbow kept him from going far.

Sonic quickly ducked down and walked them down a ramp. "Welcome to the HQ."

Tails took this as his cue. He blinked his eyes open to see a long, dark hallway leading to a lit room- where the conversations, while unintelligible, were significantly louder.

They began to walk forward, before Sonic wobbled some more. Tails quickly slid underneath Sonic's arm to support him. The fear he felt must've shown on his face, because Sonic's pupils dilated. Sonic gave him a reassuring smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hey, don't worry." Sonic started to walk some more; his steps were stiff. "They'll fix me up in no time."

Sonic looked calm and collected, but being so close to him meant that Tails could feel the hedgehog's heartbeat through his arm.

And his heart was pounding.

They reached the threshold of where the hallway met the main room. He could make out the figures who were talking more clearly, and they were familiar faces he was not looking forward to being reunited with.

He quickly scanned the room. A main monitor, spanning almost the whole wall, stood in front of the two figures. A table in the center, with computers, communicator devices, and various tools scattered about.

If he was going to go into this with nothing but faith in Sonic the Hedgehog, he was at least going to use his brains at every turn.

Tails sucked in a breath through his teeth, Sonic gave him a squeeze on the shoulder, and they stepped into the room.

The moment they walked in, rebels positioned on both sides of the doorway separated them, blasters in hand, and shoved them into the walls on their side.

"You honestly think we couldn't hear intruders-"

Knuckles stopped as he turned. By his side, Amy was frozen stiff.

"Sonic?" She questioned, stepping forward carefully.

Sonic smiled. "In the flesh."

Amy let out something between a sigh and a sob, and rushed forward to embrace him. While he tensed at the affection, he held her back.

"It's nice to see you, too, Ames."

The rebel soldiers and Knuckles were not so easily distracted. Knuckles motioned to the soldier with Sonic to stand to the side, who humbly obliged. He reached down to the main table, grabbed a communicator device, and quietly spoke into the receiver.

Tails' heart was bound to cave in by the end of today.

He had never felt this type of dread before. The kind that crawls up your throat and shakes your whole body, and you have no control. Now marked the second time in 24 hours.

"Sonic."

Amy and Sonic separated as Knuckles stepped forward. Sonic and Knuckles exchanged a few moments of eye contact, both daring the other to look away first.

"It's," Knuckles started. He hesitantly lifted his arm, then clapped the side of Sonic's shoulder. "It's nice to see you again."

His voice had a different quality to it, and his breaths were deep. Tails never got close enough with him to know what the body language meant, but Sonic seemed to know immediately and softened his gaze.

"It's nice to see you, too."

After a moment, Knuckles turned his gaze onto the fox kit, and any sentimentality in the air died.

"We don't see you for two days, and you bring back a gift."

"Hey!" Sonic stepped in front of the echidna. He walked with a limp, which caused the echidna to glance down at his weak leg. Knuckles looked back at the fox, and somehow his gaze was darker than it was before. "We're all friends here, aren't we?"

"Maybe once upon a time, but not after all he's done." Knuckles turned to Sonic. "Is he the reason why you're hurt?"

"Yes! I mean, no! Um- uh, okay, we're off to a bad start," Sonic stammered, with Knuckles becoming less amused the more he talked. Sonic turned back to the sentimental route. "He was betrayed. By Eggman. It's a long story, but if you'll just give the kid a chance-"

"A chance?" Knuckles raised his voice. He took a breath and continued in a calm, deep tone. "Just because you can give a thousand chances to the kid doesn't mean I have to."

"He helped me escape. He left everything behind just so he could help me."

"How do we know that that's even true, Sonic?" Knuckles grabbed him, taking him further away from the wall. "Delusions, hallucinations- any of this ringing a bell?"

"It's not that," he said, but his legs started to stumble underneath him. Knuckles' face softened, and he motioned for other members to take the hedgehog under the arms.

"Take him to the infirmary."

"What?" Sonic struggled, but his drowsiness made it weak. He turned his head back to the room. "What about the kid-?"

Tails was already gone.

Before he could fight anymore, he was quickly led into a room on the immediate left of the hallway- a precaution if any soldiers came back critically injured, so there would be no wait time to get medical supplies. A small cot sat against the wall; the sight of it made Sonic's eyes droop.

He plopped down onto the bed with the help of the rebels, who promptly left once Sonic began to go under from exhaustion.

"Promise me," Sonic said. "You aren't gonna hurt 'im."

Knuckles said nothing, and waited until Sonic was asleep until he left the room.

A/N: This was kinda nerve wracking to write, haha. I haven't written long, cohesive chapters for anything in some time, so I'm hoping to push myself while writing this! Let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see from me, or if there's anything I can improve on.

I'm thinking I'll be publishing weekly updates, starting next Monday.

As for Tails' past with Knuckles and Shadow, I'm planning on writing either oneshots or short chapter fics following Assistant Tails' part in Sonic 3 & Knuckles (which I am currently writing!), in Sonic Heroes, and in Sonic Adventure 2. Toxikku made some posts on her blog about what she thinks Tails might have done during those games, so I'm following her headcanons loosely.

I hope you enjoyed! See you next week 3