It had been an hour and a half since Tails tried using the Pteropodidae's emissions to help the Oak Clan Seedrians. It took fifteen minutes after that for the transports to arrive from Newfound Sanctuary. Tails had spent the rest of the time since in the hospital waiting for news on the one person that was harmed by the emissions: Cosmo.

Tails didn't know the Seedrian girl very well, but she had risked her own wellbeing to help her people. She had escaped Eggman's prison camp, crossed miles of hostile terrain, and made herself a target as she returned to the camp to open her peoples' cells. And the thing that hurt her was Tails own invention. The famous Fox was having a difficult time not blaming himself.

"What kind of 'hero' kills the people he's supposed to be saving!?" This other Seedrian woman demanded. She was not helping Tails mood.

The hospital and medical facilities in the bunkers of Newfound Sanctuary were full of Seedrians being treated for various maladies; malnutrition, dehydration, cuts, bruises, energy burns, and several other things that Tails didn't want to think about. So, the hospital staff were too busy to remove this Seedrian or get her to silence herself. As upset as he was with himself, and annoyed with the woman as he was, Tails wasn't going to attack someone just for yelling at him, not when he felt like he deserved it.

The woman appeared to be a little older than Cosmo, being taller and having opened flowers on the side of her head. Tails wasn't paying enough attention to her to take note of her appearance. While Tails knew it was wrong to think like this, he was hoping that she would try attacking him so he could 'defend himself.' There was no one with the time to make her go away and Tails knew trying to argue with the woman would make things worse. So, he sat in silence and waited.

"Bellflower!" A familiar voice called out from the far end of the hall.

Both Tails and the Seedrian woman turned at the sound of Terraminae's voice. By her tone and expression, she was upset. However, her gaze was firmly locked on this Bellflower. Tails couldn't help but feel better at Terraminae's appearance. Her skin was less wrinkled, and her clothes were either patched up or replaced entirely. She looked much healthier and was moving at a pace she probably couldn't before.

"Bellflower, this is completely uncalled for," Terraminae stated, "He helped the whole Clan, and he is clearly cross with himself. Must you torment him like this?"

"How can you stand up for this freak, Elder," Bellflower asked, "He-" She didn't get to finish her sentence.

It had been a long time since someone had called Tails a 'freak' to his face, not since he helped Sonic stop Eggman for the first time. And while the fans who tried using Tails to get closer to Sonic were annoying, they were a far cry better than people giving him looks or calling him names. However, between feeling like the scum of Mobius and being harassed by Bellflower for over an hour, being called 'freak' was the last straw. Tails soundlessly stood up from his seat, grabbed Bellflower's shoulder, spun her around to face her, and punched her square in the face, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Don't, ever, call me that again," Tails ordered. If Seedrians had noses, Bellflower's would be broken.

Terraminae sidestepped as Bellflower got up and left, "I do not normally condone violence, but I could hear her from the stairway. I am sorry you had to put up with her."

"Don't be," Tails said, raising his hands, "I shouldn't have punched her. I already hurt someone today."

"Mr. Prower," Terraminae said as she gently put a hand on Tails' shoulder, "Your healing cloud did more for my people than what a week of pure water and sunlight would have. There was no reason to believe that Cosmo would be so adversely affected by it. Even if there was, her peers encouraged her to take it. I am her mother and I do not blame you for what happened. So please, do not blame yourself."

"I will do my best," Tails promised, "If someone was willing to come here and yell at me like that, she must be pretty popular."

Terraminae nodded as she and Tails sat down, "Both myself and my Other are Elders of the Oak Clan, and her older siblings are capable and well-liked. But it does have its drawbacks."

"I take it people expected a lot more of her than they had any right to," Tails surmised.

"Indeed," Terraminae confirmed, "Her father and I are so proud of her, meeting and exceeding those expectations. Though I do wish she allowed herself to enjoy her childhood more."

Tails ears twitched at that, "Is Cosmo an adult?"

"She is nineteen years old," Terraminae replied, "She is simply overdue for a growth spurt and…" Her voice trailed off, "There is something else, but it's something she should share."

"I understand," Tails replied.

Tails and Terraminae waited patiently in silence, something Tails was grateful for. Now that he wasn't being accosted by a walking siren, Tails could hear himself think. If these 'Elders' are the leaders of the Seedrian Clans, then Cosmo's mom must have been tending to groups of other Seedrians. That must be difficult, but she barely looks concerned. I wonder if that's because I'm not familiar enough with Seedrian body language to see the signs… Having to put responsibility before family; I wonder if that's why my parents gave me up Tails' tails moved at the melancholy thought, Yeah right.

Before Tails could continue this train of thought his friends and psychologist discouraged him from taking, the door to the nearby examination room opened. Revealing not only someone in a doctor's coat, but Cosmo as well.

"She's perfectly fine," The Mobian Badger reported, "As best as we can tell, it was more or less a bad trip from that gas cloud you all mentioned."

Tails breathed a sigh of relief. Terraminae was not so reserved, almost leaping from her seat to embrace Cosmo. The older Seedrian didn't speak until after a few moments of quiet sobbing, "How are you feeling, my Rosebud?"

"Much better," Cosmo replied, "If that's what an 'out-of-body experience' is like, I think I can live without another."

Cosmo realized Tails was present as her mother released her, "Oh! Miles. Please don't blame yourself for what happened."

"I already gave him that lecture," Terraminae said with a smirk. Her face fell back into a neutral expression, "It is fortunate for me that you are both here. I need to ask that you two attend the next Summit."

Tails didn't know what a 'Summit' was, but it must have been serious by Cosmo's shocked expression, "Both of us?" Cosmo asked, "Will the other Elders allow that?"

"We haven't much choice," Terraminae replied, "Mr. Prower, this Summit is about Eggman and his attack on the Oak Clan. On behalf of the Oak Clan, I ask that you attend to give advice and any information you have on the matter."

"S-sure, I can do that," Tails replied. This wasn't the first time he had been asked about how defend against Eggman, but this was the first time he wouldn't have Sonic with him for it. He had expected to be asked to get the Oak Clan in contact with Sonic, not to give his own advice.

I guess this is what I get for going out on my own to help people Tails thought jokingly. Tails got up and followed the Seedrians out of the hospital. Newfound Sanctuary was large enough that the city stretched past the sand and onto the grassy soil. As such, the Seedrians all camped on the outskirts. It took several minutes of walking, but Tails was surprised by the Seedrian constructs. Tails knew they needed to have some way of quickly making shelter, as this one 'Clan' was too large to rely on caves or other natural shelter. However, Tails was not expecting the massive grass huts he was seeing. They were not made with bricks of hardened mud and grass, but appeared to be gigantic blades of grass woven together and layered into each other.

"That's incredible," Tails commented, "I can't imagine making so many structures so quickly. The only way Eggman and the Federation match that speed is with prefabricated buildings."

"All Seedrians have some control over plant life and can encourage it's growth," Cosmo explained, "However, multiple Seedrians working in tandem greatly hasten the process."

"You fauna have a saying 'many hands make light work,'" Terraminae said, "Us Seedrians use our whole bodies for our Chlorokinesis. It takes much less time than your construction methods and doesn't harm the planet, but we must be careful not to drain ourselves too much when using our gift."

The way Terraminae said that made Tails think a Seedrian could kill themselves by accident with this power, though Tails had enough tact not to ask. What he did ask after was Seedrian culture and history. Cosmo was more than happy to answer Tails' seemingly endless stream of questions, but there were a few Terraminae had to answer. Tails was horrified to learn that the Seedrians didn't bother with books until the invention of the Steam Engine and relied entirely on oral tradition before then. It took a long time for the Seedrian people to hone their Chlorokinesis well enough to maintain books while they wandered the world. There was also a now unpracticed philosophy that such attention to detail on the past forced present generations to focus too much on ancient grudges and rivalries that no longer mattered. Tails had started asking about their Plant Weaving when they arrived where the Summit was to take place.

Tails couldn't be sure how the Seedrians could tell the different buildings apart. Even this meeting hall where all of the leaders of the Oak Clan would gather was no different in size or shape. Maybe they have a standardized city plan they use for all of their temporary settlements? Terraminae slid back the heavy leaves that functioned as a door and current and gestured for Tails and Cosmo to enter. The building turned out to be a massive dome with nothing but seating cushions within. There was a clear path to the center where the Elders were all seating, but there were several other cushions placed symmetrically around the room. The building wasn't large enough for the whole Oak Clan to attend, so Tails had to assume the extra seats were for deputies or specialists.

The building was already filled, with there only being enough empty seats in sight for the three of them. Tails took the cushion that was dead center of the room, while Terraminae took an open seat in the circle of cushions around Tails' cushion. Cosmo paused as she realized the only seat she could take was in the circle of cushions directly behind the Elders.

Cosmo looked to the Elders with a shocked expression, "Am I really allowed to sit there?"

"Cosmo, you escaped Eggman's prison on your own and didn't just send help back, but returned to free us all," One of the Elders stated, "You have more than earned Confidant Status within the Oak Clan, and it would be to our shame not to offer it to you."

Tails did not know the significance of being a 'Confidant,' but it was clearly a high echelon within Seedrian society. Cosmo was clearly overwhelmed and embarrassed as she made her way over to her cushion. Tails gave her an encouraging smile when she sat down and was facing him again You go girl.

One of the Elders cleared his throat before speaking, "Before we begin: Miles 'Tails' Prower, you have shown the Oak Clan kindness and charity we have never before seen from intelligent fauna. Even other Seedrian Clans have not acted so selflessly towards us in generations. We all thank you and, as a token of our appreciation and gratitude, grant you and your machina partner honorary membership to the Oak Clan."

That surprised Tails and his white muzzle almost made his blush more apparent, "Oh. Uh, w-wow. Thank you."

In a moment of clarity, Tails realized that they were giving Nicole this honor, but she wasn't here, "Was my partner not invited to this Summit?"

"She was," Elder Chrysanthemum answered, "However, there was a miscommunication, and she was not told the significance of our Summits and was not told she was being awarded anything. She politely declined and said she had something 'more pressing' to attend to."

I'd bet my favorite tail she's doing preliminary scans and analyses of the Mecha wrecks Tails thought. Of course, the Seedrians do nothing to hide their mistrust of machines. Perhaps she simply didn't feel comfortable attending? Nicole was super reliable, but Tails often found himself with an unsatisfying amount of machine work to do because of it.

As if summoned telepathically, Tails heard Nicole's hover jets behind him. Tails barely turned his head ninety-degrees before Nicole rocketed past him and dug her claws into one of the Elders. Nicole effortlessly ripped the Elder's head from his shoulders in a single motion. Instead of chloroplast, or whatever the Seedrians had instead of blood, there torn wires and bits of damaged metal coming from the neck and stump of the Elder. Nicole removed the fake flesh from the Elder's skull and removed a computer chip, that Tails recognized as a miniature hard drive, from the side of the skull. A tray for inserting such components then extended from the back of Nicole's neck, where she then placed the hard drive and closed the tray.

Good thing I didn't make that bet aloud Tails thought blithely as the aforementioned tail wagged once.

"What the hell is going on!?" An older Seedrian female sitting next to Cosmo demanded, voicing the thoughts going through everyone's mind.

"My Background Processes have been decompiling, organizing, and scanning data taken from Eggman's prison since we severed it from the Eggnet," Nicole explained, though Tails knew he was the only other person in the room who knew what any of that meant, "I discovered that Eggman had replaced members of the Oak Clan when he relocated some of your people. These 'Replica Units' were placed within your community to ensure you couldn't attempt another prison riot."

Nicole turned on the hologram projector in her left eye and projected profiles of Seedrians into the air above Tails, "The six Seedrians who refused once-overs from Newfound Sanctuary medical personal were all replaced with Replicas."

Nicole turned off her projector and moved to stand next to Tails, "I have also determined where the missing portion of the Oak Clan has been taken: a facility within Rail Canyon."

"That's not even in the same hemisphere," Tails stated, "Any idea how they got over there so quickly or without getting spotted?"

"None," Nicole said, "Nearly thirty percent of the local servers were wiped by the time they were secured. However, there is still twelve-point-five terabytes of data that needs to be decrypted."

"Beg pardon," Cosmo called out, "When was there a prison riot in the first place?"

"When we realized you had escaped," A male Elder answered, "We knew it was a matter of time before Eggman realized one of us was gone, so we organized a riot to cover you."

"Eggman had his prison secured enough that he was able to put it down without lethal force, only to realize you were gone when he had done a headcount," Nicole elaborated.

Cosmo looked with guilt clear on her face. Tails knew this feeling well, Blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault. Sonic and the others still have to get after me for that. Can I call out to her without embarrassing her further or making a scene?

"Eggman wasn't just targeting the Oak Clan," Nicole continued, "The files that had top priority for deletion all relate to something the Eggnet refers to as 'Project Prism,' and he appears to be hunting the Seedrian race as a whole over it."

The gathered Seedrians all immediately started talking among themselves in whispers or brief exclamations. Fortunately, Tails had happened to give Nicole's eyes telescopic properties and firmware to read lips, "I take it this 'Conversion Prism' is significant to your culture."

That silenced the crowd. Cosmo, perhaps emboldened by her new position and slight familiarity with Tails and Nicole, answered, "The Conversion Prism is an artifact in Seedrian legend that can allegedly turn energy into matter or vice-versa."

"The Conversion Prism is pure myth," One of the Elders stated, "Perhaps Project Prism refers to how we live off of sunlight?"

"Objects of unquantifiable power are the only things Eggman loves as much as himself," Tails retorted, "Despite his intellect, Eggman isn't a very creative person. I'll eat my shoes if this isn't why he's after you."

"Then he's wasting his time and resources," Terraminae stated, "We don't have the resources or prerogative to keep detailed accounts of folklore. The exact details of things like the Conversion Prism have either been lost to time or misremembered beyond recognition."

"We're talking about a man who destroyed half of the moon and cracked our planet open in pursuit of power," Tails said, "If tales of this Prism are common among all of your people, then it wouldn't be close to being the largest goose chase he's gone on."

"And, unfortunately, he has always proven these 'legends' to be more fact than myth," Nicole finished. She then turned to Tails, "We should leave immediately."

Tails nodded, "I wouldn't worry about future Eggman attacks for a while. Now that I'm on his trail, I'm effectively a lightning rod for his forces. We know where the rest of your people are being held and, when we prove we're able to ruin his designs on your people, he won't bother you until we're dead."

"Please, wait one moment," Cosmo called out as Tails got up from his cushion, "I would like to go with you."

Tails nearly got sensory overload as the Seedrians in attendance yelled and shouted over each other, all either rejecting Cosmo's request or begging her not to go. She really is well liked Tails thought as he covered his ears. He jumped in surprise when someone screamed 'silence' over the crowd. It was a male Elder with lavender skin and dark purple clothes. He had a single large thorn protruding from his head, with a small stump sticking out of the other side of his head. Despite his banshee-like screech, his face was expressionless.

He turned in his cushion to face Cosmo, "Cosmo, why, in all of creation, do you want to risk life and limb again. There really is no need for you to push yourself so, especially when so many of us here could use your help."

"It was my escape that moved you to riot and put so many of our people in danger," Cosmo argued, "My only brother and one of our Elders was among the taken. One of us has to go; I proved myself ready and able when I got away from Eggman, I am currently healthier than the rest of our people, I am willing to make use of machina, and I am partially responsible for this happening to us. So why, father, should I not go, when even the War Leaves were helpless against Eggman?"

Cosmo's question was followed by total silence. It was clear that no one wanted to let Cosmo leave, but even Tails, with his incalculable IQ, couldn't think of an argument. Of course, he wasn't going to try, "I have no objections," Tails stated.

The Elder, that was apparently Cosmo's father, snapped his head to face Tails, "My Rosebud is barely an adult and you barely know her, would you truly trust her with your life?"

"I was eight-years old and had only known Sonic for three days when we stopped Eggman at Westside Island," Tails replied, "I have no right to stop someone else who is totally capable of fighting Eggman. Besides, can you honestly say your people would trust us without one of you there to vouch for us? Who better than the child of two Elders and sister of one of the victims?"

Cosmo's father's face didn't move, but his eyes were nearly blazing. After a moment, he broke eye contact in defeat. There was no good reason why Cosmo shouldn't go and several why she should. Tails didn't like letting her blame herself, but Cosmo had proven herself and was more accepting of him, Nicole, and the equipment they needed to fight Eggman. He could always cheer her up later.

"Before we leave, I'll give you our contact information and some communicators," Tails assured, "You can be in contact with Cosmo as often as you want."

"You want us to use machina?" Another Elder asked incredulously.

"You can either deign to take my charity, or you can leave Cosmo completely separated from everything she's ever known for however long it takes for us to save people you couldn't protect," Tails sneered.

Most of the Seedrians were appalled that someone would talk to an Elder like that, Terraminae was barely holding back laughter. Cosmo's father was stone-faced, but Tails couldn't imagine he was happy about a colleague getting backtalked like that. I think I've spent too much time with Sonic, oh well. This is just another reason to save people.

"We can leave tomorrow morning, that should give the three of us more than enough time to get ready," Tails stated.

"Also, in case I'm wrong, narrow your settlement and stretch it all around Newfound Sanctuary," Tails added, "That should give your people enough time to retreat into the city and either take defensive positions or get to safety."

"We will take your advice into consideration," Cosmo's father said plainly.

"By your leave, there are things I need to attend to," Tails said, "If there's nothing else you'd like my opinion on, I would see to them."

The Elders looked too each other and had a brief discussion, "Not at this time," Terraminae said, "Thank you for your time and advice," Tails nodded and left without another word.

AUTHOR'S NOTES-

Not really any action in this chapter, but it was still intense. This did give us a look at Seedrian society. What Tails had no way of knowing, was that the Seedrians always built their temporary shelters the same way. Members of each Clan know where everything is while leaving attackers with nothing more than blind guesses; you'd be just as likely to kick in the door to a guard barracks as you are to find a medical tent or storerooms. The importance of being a Confidant and that of the War Leaves will be explained way later in depth, but you can probably make a good guess as to what they are by context.

If you have any critiques on my writing, questions about something I failed to clarify, or simply theories on how the story unfolds, please leave a Review.