A/N: Sorry about the long wait. I just finished my end of year exams and am done for the year, hooray! This means that chapters will continue to come out more frequently, but problably not weekly as that time schedule was killing me and I value quality much more than quantity, as you probably all agree. I'm going on a week holiday though so wont even be able to start working on chapter 8 until the 20th at the earliest. Either way, I hope the wait was worth it. This chapter is the longest one yet so yay! Please enjoy :)

Chapter 7

Friend of Foe

The waters were still, neither a breeze nor small wave the protruded out of the water to break the calming zaffre surface of the ocean. The sun shined down on the sea, mixing with the aqua hues in the tropical waters. Small schools of fish swam up to the surface, barely breaking free to lapse in the warming currents. Everything was quiet, still, until suddenly three high pitched shrieks broke the serenity of the scenery.

From the sky, above, four distinct shadows fell. Firstly, a long, thick shattered piece of wood with a small vine attached plummeted downwards, striking the water and plunging deep underneath the newly formed waves in its wake. Small splinters mixed in the air with water droplets and showered the ocean. The log was next followed by three bodies. Tails, Knuckles and Tikal all plummeted out of the sky, limbs flailing around as they desperately, and fruitlessly, tried to battle against the overwhelming might of gravity. Alas, it was no use as one by one they took the plunge into the water, their breathless lungs filling up quickly with water.

After a few moments, three small heads breached the surface, bobbing up and down in the water.

"Tikal, Tails, are you guys alright?" Knuckles coughed, spirting water out of his mouth like a hose.

"I'm good, I think I hurt my leg," Tails complained, feeling a stabbing pain coming from his leg. However, he didn't dare try to feel it or stop kicking for fear of drowning.

"You aren't bleeding, are you?" Tikal asked, fear evident in her voice. "I don't want to attract sharks."

"I'd much rather face a hoard of sharks than that… thing… again," Knuckles replied, heart still pumping from the frightening encounter they had just experienced with the gigantic sea serpent. "What even was that thing?"

"I think we have more pressing issues to deal with," Tails remarked worriedly as he noticed the piece of wood slowly float up to the surface. He swam over to the buoyant object and threw his arms over it, enjoying the break that his tired limbs were receiving. Tikal and Knuckles swam over to join him.

"This isn't big enough for us to climb on," Tikal said.

"At least it isn't sinking with our weight," Knuckles noted. "We can at least use it to rest."

"So you just want us to drift out in the middle of the ocean forever?"

"I don't think we will," Tails spoke up. Tikal and Knuckles looked at him, confused. Tails simply raised a hand, pointing to the faintest glint of land out on the horizon.

"Is that land?"

"Yes, and I think it must be high tide because we are drifting towards it," he remarked.

"So what, we just wait and let the ocean decide where it is going to spit us out?"

"Better than drowning…" Tails trailed off, the thought of a watery grave instantly made an image of the sapphire hedgehog flash into his body. Suddenly, he felt a hand placed gently on his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sure they are both fine," Knuckles whispered, trying to cheer up the fox.

"But they are both still with that beast."

"Blaze and Sonic are tough. They'll be alright. We've been thought worse," Knuckles assured the fox. After the momentary conversation, silence again descended on the three teenagers as they rested on the log, awaiting the inevitability of drifting slowly towards the land and towards the mercy of what, or who, they wash up on shore to meet.

…

"Tails… Tails no. No… Tails!" Sonic screamed as he suddenly sat up with a jolt. He felt an immense pain shoot up his spine and smash into his head. Sonic groaned, clutching his head and wincing his eyes to deal with the pounding pain. His muscled ached, pulsating with each breath. He could feel the blood pumping through his arms. He shook his limbs, trying to dispel the feeling of pins and needles. He tried to stand, taking a few wobbly steps to steady his shaking knees. He could feel the cold, cemented, damp floor beneath him.

"Where am I?" He asked groggily, finally taking a moment to look at his surroundings. He gasped, finally adjusting to his surroundings. He could see that he was in a small, square room with three walls and an opening with vertical bars lining the gap, confining Sonic inside.

"You're finally awake," he heard a shaky, slightly scared voice speak up. Sonic turned, noticing the outline of a familiar feline sitting on a bench, her back slouched against the banal back wall. Sonic breathed a sigh of relief, completely forgetting about Blaze until she spoke up.

"Oh thank Chaos you're safe," Sonic sighed before he felt another intense jolt of pain in his forehead.

"You okay?" Blaze asked with concern as Sonic stumbled, falling to his knees.

"Yeah, yeah I'm good," he breathed as the pain subsided slightly. "Felt like I've been hit by a bus," he said, rubbing his muscles.

"Well, I mean, a giant sea monster is probably worse," he chuckled half-heartedly before ending with a sigh, not able to keep up the cheery façade in a place so devoid of hope and light.

"Where are we?"

"No idea, I only just woke up too. I thought you were dead, you scared me half to death," Blaze mentioned, her gaze still downtrodden. Her mannerisms, tone and body language all screamed of somebody who had already given up hope. Sonic noted this, remembering their encounter with the beast.

"Hey, hey come on," Sonic soothed, taking a seat on the bench next to her and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They are going to be alright."

"How do you know? How do you know they aren't dead?" Blaze shook, tears escaping her eyes as her tough composure completely subsided.

"I can just feel it. I know Tails isn't dead, I know it in my gut. And I know that Knuckles isn't gone either," Sonic smiled. Blaze tried to return it, curving her lips slightly before she clenched her eyes tight and buried her face into Sonic's chest. He placed his arms around her back, squeezing her for comfort.

"I hope so," she sighed.

"You're awake? I thought that maybe you had both died," a snide, snarky voice called from behind the two. Sonic and Blaze instantly broke the embrace and looked over to see a teal squid twirling a set of keys around her finger. She smirked, her indigo eyes alight with pride as she looked at the two. "Thought Levi might have finished you off before I got to you."

"Levi?" Sonic asked, bewildered.

"You saved us?" Blaze queried, focused on the more important piece of information in the squid's sentence.

"Well, somebody had to. I was out on a raid, looking for advancing ships when I saw you guys on a raft. I knew it was only a matter of time for Levi to find you so I saved you Mobian Scum," she finished, spitting on the ground as if she wasn't proud of her decision.

"Why did you save us?" Blaze asked, trying to piece together the situation.

"I had to," she snarled reluctantly.

"But why?"

"Information."

"But we don't know anything."

"Don't worry, we have ways of making you talk. Vaposians have special ways," she grinned. Blaze and Sonic both froze, glancing at each other.

"Wait…" Blaze began.

"…We're in… Vapos?" Sonic finished, his mouth hanging agape. Abyss nodded before she turned her head to shout at somebody who was calling her in the distance. Abyss strode off, returning a few moments later with her new instructions.

"Boss wants to see you, so follow me," she instructed the two teenagers as she slid her key into the pad lock that was secured on the bars, opening the gated door. Sonic and Blaze shot each other hesitant glances but begrudgingly followed Abyss after she called them to follow for a second time.

"Where are we going?" Sonic asked after following the squid through the twists and turns of the dingy dungeon.

"I told you, to see the boss. He wants to have a… private, chat with you," she grinned as she led them up the stairs and opened the old, moldy wooden door and the light of Vapos shone down on them.

Sonic gasped, taking in his surroundings as he continued to follow in step with Abyss. The town looked the same as Mobius, with small, suburban houses and businesses that lined the streets, trees growing in the gardens and creatures out and about. Except, instead of cars driving on roads, there were boats sailing down the canals that crisscrossed throughout the town that was located on the shoreline of the continent. Sonic's gaze followed the watery lanes as they all funneled to one big river that discharged out into the ocean.

"This way," Abyss growled as she hopped into the water and began treading water, urging them to follow.

"Aren't there any pathways we can walk on?" Blaze asked, still not thrilled by being back in water so soon. Abyss groaned.

"Fine, I'll get a bloody boat," she sighed as she hailed over a small, motor boat. Sonic and Blaze stepped on, teetering as the boat rocked from side to side before sitting down. Abyss jumped in, eyes trained on them "No funny moves," she warned as she instructed the driver to take them to the main palace.

A few minutes later, the boat pulled up on a small jetty that lead into a large, domed area. The two followed Abyss as she led them through the heavily guarded entrance and up the large staircase of the building. A large fountain was situated in the middle, spurting out a constant flow of water, taking up most of the space in the main foyer. The dome above them, which seemed clear from the outside, actually had a secondary layer of glass on the inside in which a steady stream of water continuously flowed through.

The two continued to marvel at the architecture of the surroundings as they continued to march behind the squid who finally stopped outside a large, marble doorway.

"In you go," she commanded.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Blaze asked.

"What part of private meeting didn't you get?" She snorted at them, standing guard at the door. "Now hurry along, he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Blaze and Sonic gulped down their fear, steeling their nerves as, together, they simultaneously pushed on the doors and entered the throne room. The room was a large, spherical room with a watery moat around the circumference acting as a perimeter. Two large, stone pillars stood on either side at opposite points, holding up a circular, stone waterway that let water flow around, dropping off in two waterfalls to continuously fill and cycle through the moat. Sonic and Blaze crossed the tiny, wooden bridge that crossed the gap and stepped onto the supported, glass circular platform in the middle of the room. Apart from a stone slab in the middle of the circle, there was no furniture of note except a large, lapis throne that towered above the two at the other end of the room.

"Come closer," a voice commanded.

The two cautiously approached the throne on the other end of the room, tiptoeing lightly, scared that a heavy foot could crack the fragile glass underneath them. Eventually, the two found themselves standing in front of a large, snarling shark who sat in front of them, growling slightly.

"Now," Razor, the leader of Vapos, began. "You have ten seconds to tell me why you are here and what are Big's plans before I kill you Mobian scum," he snarled, showing his many rows of sharp, serrated teeth as he pulled out a gun and trained it right at the two frightened teenagers.

…

Tails groaned, rubbing his eyes as he craned up his neck. The sudden shift in light levels aroused him from his slumber and he opened his eyes. He noticed that the top half of his body was still clinging to the piece of sturdy debris, arms draped over it so that his fingers were submerged on the other side, along with his feet. He looked over to his two companions where were still fast asleep next to him when he noticed something. It was dark, but not because it was night, but because something above them was blocking out the sunlight.

Tails looked around, marveling at the new, foreign surroundings that he found himself in. He had never seen anything like it before and couldn't imagine it in his wildest dreams. It was so much different to the Mobian shoreline of the beach that he had been living for the past couple of months. It was so beautiful, so majestic, so… alive.

They were slowly being dragged along through a small river that streamed through a luscious mangrove. The sky above was completely blocked out by the marvelous vermilion foliage of thousands of trees. Their long, thin roots crisscrossing over the ground, tangled up together in a wiry frame and submerged themselves deep within the murky waters. Tails could hear the chirps of birds, singing of insects and constant paddling of something nearby.

Suddenly, he noticed something. He was being dragged. They were no longer drifting at the mercy of the current, but two creatures had the loose vines in each hand, steadily paddling along the river.

"Knuckles, Tikal…" Tails whispered, tapping the on the shoulder. They both stirred, yawning as they woke up but Tails quickly shushed them. "Be quiet and keep your head's down." He was staring at the two, his head positioned back down on the wood, as was the echidna's. Just as they spoke, one of the two creatures turned its head to glance at the three, noticing that they were all still asleep and decided to go back to paddling.

"Where are we?" Knuckles whispered, darting his eyes side to side to take in as much of the surrounding mangroves as he could.

"And what are those things? They look like plants," Tikal added.

"I think we are about to find out," Tails mentioned as he looked ahead. The river began to branch out, slowly turning into a small, circular grove. The trees grew all around, letting little light in. The twilight area was dim, with small lights coming from the flying fireflies that buzzed around the entrance and the few rays of the sun that broke through the foliage and trunks from the sides.

"You three can stand up now and stop pretending," an elder, somewhat motherly voice pierced the eerie silence. Tails, Knuckles and Tikal all sat up, taking in a better look of their surroundings. In the middle of the grove, on a platform on dense roots sat a large, open, wooden house. The only entrance or exit from this place that they could find, apart from the river leading out to the ocean, was a small gap in the trees to the east.

The three stepped out of the water and onto the roots, shaking slightly as they walked over to the wide opening of the house.

"They are expecting you inside," a small, thin, pink creature said. She almost looked like a fairy, with short wings and long legs. Tails swallowed his fear, taking the initiative and entering the house. Inside was much like the outside, with plants growing all over the place. The pink creature led them into a small room with a large, white flower that served as a make-shift table. Three figures stood around the table.

Right in the middle stood a taller creature. She had long, flowing light blue hair the fell down to her waist. A small, white tulip sat on her head with green vines growing down the side, tangled into her hair. She garnered white robes that draped over her body and flared out near her knees like a budding flower. The bottom of the robes was dipped a floral green.

Standing on either side of her were two similar plant-like creatures, each a bit smaller than her. One had shorter, dark-blue hair that fell to her shoulders and a fringe that barely covered her sparkling indigo eyes. She too had a white flower over her head but no vines protruded from it. She had a short, white dress with dark blue sleeves that matched her hair and the bottom of her dress that flared out after the waist had been dipped in blue too. A beautiful emerald was stuck onto her chest. The other girl looked more unique compared to the others. She had no flower adorned to the crest of her head. Instead, she has short, green hair that was tied up in two buns that extended out into red rose petals like a budding flower. Her hair fell between her azure eyes, obscuring none of her beautiful face. Her dress was identical to the other short female, but was green instead of blue. She had a pristine ruby fastened to her chest.

"Is that all my queen?" The pink fairy asked.

"Yes, thank you Lumina, that will be all," the taller centered creature addressed the fairy. Lumina nodded before closing the door, trapping Tails, Knuckles and Tikal inside.

"Umm… He-" Tails began, addressing the three creatures that stood in front of him when Knuckles suddenly intervened.

"What's the big idea abducting us?" He growled defensively, standing in front of Tikal to protect her from these potentially vicious creatures.

"That's no way to talk to the queen," the smaller blue girl yelled back, malice in her voice.

"Now, now Galaxia. That is no way to address our guests," the queen responded calmly. "Don't mind her, she is a bit hot-headed," the taller female chuckled, earning a scowl from Galaxia.

"Wh-who are you?" Tikal questioned, intrigued by these three figures standing before them.

"Oh, excuse me. Where are my manors? My name is Earthia, queen of the Zuncons and these are my daughters, Galaxia and Cosmo," she replied, pointing to the two princesses.

"H-Hello," Cosmo said in a conserved and defensive tone.

"Yeah, whatever," Galaxia snorted.

"Nice to meet you," Tails bowed respectfully, not wanting to make these people mad. "It's an honor to meet… meet…" he trailed off. "Wait… did you say Zuncon?"

"Why yes, this is Zuncon," she smiled at the three.

"What? How did we get here? We wanted to go to Mobius!"

"Of course you three are Mobians. That explains the lack of manors, disgusting," Galaxia snorted, crossing her arms and turning her nose up at the red echidna who mirrored her response.

"My patrol spotted you three passed out on that log. We feared the worst, assuming that you might have been another poor soul to fall victim to that horrendous beast that the Vapians let loose in these waters one hundred years ago, so we brought you back here," Earthia shook her head, shuddering at just the thought of the leviathan.

"Well… thank you, I guess," Tikal thanked the queen.

"So, tell me, what circumstances led you to be in the situation you were in?" Earthia asked.

"Well, it's a long story," Knuckles mentioned.

"I love stories," Cosmo chimed in, earning another scowl from her sister in the process.

"We have time. Please, enlighten us," Earthia gave them the floor, letting them regale her with their tale.

"Well," Tails began. "It all started a year ago when I first told the truth to my long time best friend, Sonic…" Slowly, Tails began from the beginning, explaining his story. He mentioned the confession, the service by Big, Christmas, Amy and Blaze finding out, the strange machine that made them all sing, the dance and vacation and, of course, the party where their secret was ousted. He then mentioned travelling to Aves to meet Wave, Jet and Storm and how Big slaughtered them and made Sonic try to kill him. He finished with how they had lived on the deserted island and, after meeting up with Tikal again, decided to come back to put an end to Vector, Sonic's father, before another great war has begun.

"Huh, a likely story," Galaxia flared her nostrils in defiance after Tails had concluded.

"But Galaxia, don't you remember that day when we all burst into song randomly?" Cosmo added. "What he says makes sense."

"But still. I guess it makes sense that those scums would lose their mind over something so trivial as a boy loving a boy," Galaxia scoffed again.

"Well, if it is any consolation, we accept all here. We are a peaceful race," Cosmo chimed in but was immediately silence by a glare from Galaxia.

"Fine sis, let's put it to a vote. You say we should trust them and I say we shouldn't. What do you say mother?" Galaxia and Cosmo both turned to their mother.

"Girls, enough… I, actually believe these strangers," she mentioned with little trepidation. Cosmo turned to her sister, poking out her tongue.

"You can't be serious," Galaxia's mouth fell agape, stunned by her mother's trust of these people who they were supposed to be at war with. "I am aware of Mobius suddenly breaking the peace treaty and declaring war on not only Aves, but the rest of the continent too but was unsure why the sudden change. We expected the first declaration of war to be against us by Vapos after Razor's continuous decline of friendship after our past."

"What happened?" Tikal said, intrigued as curiosity glinted in her eyes.

"None of your business," Galaxia retorted rudely.

"Anyway… thank you for believing us. So, would you mind us joining you and we can go fight to take back Mobius and hopefully find our friends, Sonic and Blaze?" Tails asked.

"I'm sorry, but if what you said is true and they were left at the mercy of the Leviathan, they are already dead," Earthia said solemnly. Knuckles gasped, the colour draining from his face.

"No, that's simply not true," Tails said defiantly. "If he was dead I would know it. I would feel it in my heart, in my soul and that simply isn't the case. He is alive."

"Hope can be a great thing, but it can also destroy us," Earthia said.

"I think he is still alive too," Cosmo smiled at the fox, who couldn't help but blush slightly at her endearing smile.

"Fine, we'll all start acting like idiots then," Galaxia groaned, annoyed at the display she was seeing. "And stay away from Cosmo fox boy," she warned.

"Galaxia, please, I don't think we have anything to worry about," Earthia winked at Tails who replied with a sheepish smile. But I apologize but will not be sparing any troops to help you."

"But why?" Knuckles asked.

"We were peaceful before the hundred-year war and were forced to fight and split because of that cat and I refuse to make that same mistake twice. We will be staying neutral this time. That is final."

"But-"

"That. Is. Final," Eartha's tone suddenly changed to a domineering one, frightening Tails and Knuckles slightly. "Now," she suddenly perked back up. "Galaxia and Cosmo will show you to your rooms. You can stay with us until you decide what you want to do for the future."

"I'll show them mother," Cosmo blushed, grabbing Tails by the arm and leading the three away, leaving a brooding Galaxia behind.

"Cosmo, darling, I think they might need to be in separate rooms. I don't think we should let these two boys share a room together," she winked, chuckling to herself.

"What? No, but I'm not-" Knuckles protested.

"Come on, let's get you in a separate room," Tikal giggled as she pushed his back, getting them to catch up to Cosmo and Tails who had already gone ahead, leaving Earthia and Galaxia in the main room. "We wouldn't want any funny business between you and Tails during our stay," she laughed even louder when she saw the red embarrassment evident on Knuckles face.

"But… I'm not-" he repeated again, flabbergasted and too embarrassed to defend himself when he was suddenly cut off by a kiss on the cheek. He froze, looking over to see a beaming echidna next to him, a crimson colour staining her cheeks.

"I know, I'm just teasing, now come on," she urged, grabbing his hand and running along to meet with Cosmo who was waiting at the end of a hallway. Knuckles rushed along behind her, his mouth still open as he touched his cheek with his hand, looking at the echidna who he used to love, her hand enclosed in hers like it used to always be…

…

"Why should I believe that story?" Razor asked, baring his teeth and snarling at the cowering cat and hedgehog, gun still trained on them.

"Why would I make up a story like that? Why would I admit to being gay if it wasn't true?" Sonic growled back, sick of having weapons trained on him despite the subtle warnings from the scared feline beside him.

"Sonic I don't think you should antagonize him. He might-" she whispered but he shushed her, storming up to the frowning shark.

"No, I'm done being silenced by adults. You think you can all control us. You think you all know what's best. Well news flash, you don't! Now I don't give two shits if you believe me or not, but if you aren't going to help then let us go so I can kill my father myself," Sonic yelled, his eyes burning with rage as his chest rose and fell. He was completely worked up. Razor narrowed his eyes, his gaze burning into Sonic as Blaze clenched her eyes shut, waiting for the ear-splitting ring of the gun. But none came. Suddenly, without warning, Razor just burst into a fit of laughter.

"Har, har, har. That a boy," he grinned, lowering his weapon and placing an arm on Sonic's shoulder. "I knew you had some fire in you boy. Don't worry, I believe you, just wanted to see if you really meant what you said about taking down yer father. Any enemy of Mobius is a friend of mine."

"Wait, you really mean?" Blaze asked in bewilderment.

"Certainly, I'll help you take down Mobius and kill yer dad, Sonic. On one condition…" Razor ended.

"Sure, anything. Having all of Vapos on our side is exactly what we need. With you, and Wave and her army we can't lose!" he cheered.

"We've been at odds with the Zuncons for a hundred years and we need to end this now. We'll help you invade Mobius, if you help me take over Zuncon and kill Earthia!"

A/N: Well, there you have it. Tails, Sonic and the rest of the gang have finally reached main land Mobius, but at two complete opposite ends! Earthia wants peace, trying to convince Tails and Knuckles that Sonic and Tails are dead but they don't believe her. Atleast she is peacful and hospitale... right? And waht about that kiss with Tikal? What was that all about? Meanwhile, Razor seems to be the complete opposite of Earthia, but are they both being true? What lies beneath the surface and what truly happened during the war that made Vapos hate Zuncon so much? All these answers and more comming soon. Also, the one year anniversary of Sontails: Dreams Come True is coming up later this month! I'm excited and you should be too! Maybe I'll do something grand for it, I don't know yet. Anyway, if you enjoyed this please, please leave a review. They all mean the world to me and take almost no time out of your day. It means a lot and really helps my motivation so if you read this chapter, and all the others and are liking this story let me know your thoughts, even just as a guest :) Also work for the musical 2 is coming along nicely. 4 songs have already been written, tested and finished.

Question of the day: What do you think of the four new characters. Razor, Cosmo, Galaxia and Earthia (All real Sonic characters, this story has no OC's so look them up if you don't know them!) Which is your favourite and least favourite and why?

Next time on Sontails: War of Faith - Chapter 8 Separation Anxiety