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Chapter Twenty Two:

Oh this is my home,

These roads that we have roamed

For the first time, Jessy did something she hadn't thought of doing since leaving her little shop and home those months ago. The woman winced more than once as her pen moved across the papers on the table beside her, guilty that she hadn't wrote to her family. Not really, nothing more than some cheep post cards dropped in with a smiley face from her with a wrench and some scribbled doodles from Sonic.

Taking a few days rest and recovery at Rouge's hotel, she had the chance and means to do this. A not so small box was sitting on the table with souvenirs for the younger brothers, it had Bill's hand writing on it. As Tails played in the shallow pool with other kids his age, human and anthro, the mechanic and hedgehog were taking the chance to write out some letters.

Sonic's handwriting was surprisingly better than normal, he was making an effort for his adoptive family and clan. Though his letter was more for every in general, while Jessy had two other short letters addressed to her parents and grandfather as well.

"Sonic come play!" Tails called over, waving his arms, water flying everywhere off his soaked fur.

The hedgehog winced as he looked up at the pool, flattening his ears back before forcing them up with a conscious effort, "Nah, go have fun with your new friends Tails!" he waved the pen he was doodling with, "I need to get this done!"

"I thought your hydrophobia was getting better." Jessy looked up, speaking softly so it would carry.

Sonic folded his ears back, "It is, but... I'm not going in something like that." He pointed over his wrist at the pool with his pen. The hedgehog looked down, not wanting to keep the subject up. Jessy opened her moth, hesitated but then sat back and let the subject drop. It was somewhat impressive Sonic was dealing as well as he was being nearly beside the pool. Creeks and streams were one thing, most of those were shallow enough that Sonic was barely ankle deep. Bodies of water larger then that or a shower, or the really big storms unnerved the hedgehog greatly.

"So, that Professor Charles guy," Jessy started, looking back up after a few words, "You know that map he gave me a few nights ago when he left?"

"Yeah?" Sonic looked up again, flicking one ear at the mock screams from Tails, he was still confused at the man. More so that Charles had gripped Sonic's shoulders and said with a strange intense feeling that he was glad that Sonic was alright, safe and happy before almost seeming to vanish in the crowd in the next few minutes. The hedgehog knew that he knew the man but not from where, and by the time he remembered this the grey eyed human and his mustache was gone. Not even Rouge had known where he went, and that was something that now impressed Sonic the more he learned about the bat anthro.

"I finally figured it out." Jessy pulled out one of the papers from the box, a copy she had made of the map. It was really more than one, "Its layered, like this one here, this is this Zone." Jessy spread the map over the table and pointed, "It shows Warp Rings, it took old Bill showing me after lunch today, and the symbols are showing how that Ring links to subzones, to other Zones" she flipped the map over, "As well as to the old world."

Sonic leaned forward, his ears up and eyes bright. "He gave you a lot of folded up papers..."

"Yeah, but look." Jessy pointed at one of the stylized symbols for a Warp Ring, how it was a little bolder in color.

The hedgehog took the map, looking it over, finding where that Ring led to, and another, then he paused, "We can get to Oregon from Metropolis?" Sonic asked, surprised, they had been in bottom part of Arizona he thought before they crossed into the Zone.

"Not just there," Jessy folded up that map, putting it back in the box before grabbing one out of her jacket on the back of her chair. She partly unfolded another to point at the handmade chart, "Look."

The hedgehog took a moment, absorbing the sight of the little head drawn above the Warp Ring icon. Sonic gripped the table, his quills fanning out and off his shoulders as he realized what the thing was, what was exposed in the map of this Zone. Emerald eyes turned to focus on Tails, down to the map, and back up at Jessy. "That's it, isn't it?" He grinned wide, "Fox Valley."

"Ready to go in the morning?" Jessy asked, grinning back.

"Chaos yes!" Sonic nodded, "When should we tell Tails?" He looked back at the kit, who was trying to push his longer head fur out of his eyes.

"Room service dinner in?" Jessy offered.

Sonic nodded, "…maybe let him ware himself out some more though? So the kiddo can sleep tonight."

"Yeah. Good call."

With that plan set, the two finished their box to send home, with a few pictures added in. One showing off Sonic new ring in his right ear, to make use of the hole he said, and of close up of him, Tails and Jessy making faces at the camera. When Tails slopped over, Jessy took the boy to the shower to rise out the pool water out of his fur, taking the opportunity to get Tails scrubbed and cleaned so his fur didn't smell like chlorine and he wouldn't put up a fuss at getting a bath in the hotel room later.

Sonic came back from giving the sealed box to Bill as the older nomad was leaving that evening. It took only one look at the fox kit in the hall to have the rubber burst out laughing, doubling over and gasping for breath.

"Sonic!" Tails protested, stamping a foot and tried to cross his arms. The insides of his ears where flushed with color as he blushed, "Its not funny!" The boy cried out, regretting that he hadn't listened to Jessy when he had run around in the drying room instead of letting the woman help brush his fur. If they hadn't already been fluffed out, his namesake tails would have bushed in his indignation, but they did seem a little fraction bigger if possible.

Sonic gasped, clutching at his chest and dissolved into more laughter seeing the camera Jessy had, "Oh man- talk about a poof ball kiddo!"

"I'm not poofy!" Tails insisted, almost flouncing away from the two, twords the elevators, he could hear Jessy snickering and though she was keeping a better poker face the boy was still embarrassed.

"Sorry Tails, but you are all sorts of adorable right now." Jessy said, fallowing, letting Sonic hold onto one shoulder for support as he struggled to get it under control. The fact that most all the canines in the building had to stop and comment on how cute Tails was in his puppy fur only added to the boy's modification, and that they were honest compliments he had to say thank you like his mother thought him.

"I'm so glad I'm a short hair." Sonic muttered, still grinning as they approached their room.

"As if you don't fluff up." Jessy snorted, getting the key card out of her jacket.

"I do, but not that much!"

"It's not funny Sonic!" Tails crossed his arms again, standing beside their door in all his gold and white, uncombed fluffy glory. "It's not."

"Sorry Tails, it is." Jessy smiled, ruffling the boy's head fluff as she opened the door, letting Tails run in to go find the brushes and attempt to tame his fur down again.

Sonic flopped down on his bed, streaching out and kicking off his shoes. Getting comfortable as dinner was picked and ordered. Jessy relented and sat on the slightly larger bed that she shared with the boy, helping Tails brush his fur coat back into order, as things were settling down Sonic couldn't resist any more, "Hey Tails."

"What?" The kit asked, weary of any fluffy jokes, coming out of the happy trance of being brushed by someone he trused.

"Ready to go home tomorrow?" Sonic rolled over onto his side facing the other two, his head propped up on his left wrist, smiling again but not the teasing kind.

It took a few seconds of blinking, before Tails turned to stare up at Jessy with large sky blue eyes.

The mechanic smiled back down warmly, "Guess what we found out today."

Tails gasped, feeling tears form in his eyes without permission. The exited, laughing cries of a child were heard in the hall way for almost five minutes before settling in volume as the kit took turns hugging and burring his face in Jessy and Sonic's chests.