World Restored in Imbalanced Chaos

by Noonui

[AU] The young two tailed fox was used to the rough life between alleys. The street was his home, his reputation growing as he was the one who could read faces. But when an imprisoned blue hedgehog suddenly tells him the world is in danger, his life falls apart. Powerful energies are at play as enemies track their every move through a journey of secrets and self-discovery.

37. The Desert

Auhtor's note: All remaining chapters of this story are/will be edited by CloudyCrayon from Tumblr - how many chapters are left? I'm not sure but we're getting toward the end of this. Who would've thunk? - and once again thank you for your patience, it's much appreciated

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No matter how much you prepare, you don't know the danger ahead

Glistening beams of light streamed through the canopies and illuminated the path ahead quicker than sprinkled stars in the dark night could keep up. Streaming past his subconscious, the concept of time disappeared like grains in sand. Between the adrenaline filled rushes between allies, whipping his head toward the sky to check for time; he hadn't spent a day not knowing when the sun began to sink beneath the horizon.

Surprise had spilled every time either one of them had noted when it was due to set up camp and make a fire. The crackles and sizzles of burning wood were like an unsynchronized dance, popping and hopping from one place to another. And as the flames would cast their shadows against the grain in the woods around them, laughter had more often than not ensued. The tales of odd stories and unfavorable situations told by none other than the ex-prisoner he had supposed to let go weeks ago had invited him into a new kind of calm. He hadn't believed the difference between safety of four walls, a bed, and food for more than a day and safety in company. Both had been unlikely in this reality, yet he'd experienced both.

One more talkative than the other, they'd wandered through the damp, gray clouds crawling along the ground amongst prickly branches. He'd invited the conversations, wonderings and worries like an old friend after they'd discovered their collective loneliness in the woods. As if their mission of saving the world had faded out with smiles and laughter, carelessness had been the only adjective describing his own state of mind.

Both hedgehogs had changed. Subtle enough that he knew they hadn't seen it yet. Their quills were constantly deflated, their steps sloppier and heavier against the ground as well as how their voices became louder rather than quieter. All sense of cautiousness had been thrown to the wind. He'd only heard animals and their quiet breathing during the night. The rustling of bushes and swaying canopies weren't due to lurking eyes and eager minds. They'd been alone ever since they'd left the heath three days ago.

He'd retorted to old instincts and had his ears swirl back and forth, listening whenever he'd closed his eyes and tried locating something which hadn't been there. The invisible steps in the fog he'd heard the last time they'd gone through here were absent. Even then his shoulders had been relaxed and his focus had remained on the two people he hadn't imagined walking next to for so long.

The third was fluttering around their heads, switching position and echoing his own language to them, as if he was trying to speak to them but failed. More often than not Chao had taken residence on top of his head only to somehow fall asleep minutes later. As if he was a stuffed toy. Whenever it had happened, he'd unceremoniously deposited the Chao into Sonic's or Silver's hands without magically waking the chao. He'd been secretly monitoring or checking whether the color from his cheeks were fading or if his energy was depleting faster for each day. Yet the chao had kept his upbeat and optimistic output on their travel, seemingly flying faster and faster every day. Whatever he'd done had saved him.

The pickpocket sidestepped a large fern, following in the gray hedgehog's steps. A rare moment of quiet reigned over them, despite the azure hedgehog loudly whistling a melody the fox didn't recognize. A part of him had considered asking him where he knew the songs from but another part of him figured it was part of the hedgehog's travels.

He'd heard people singing and partially dancing around the inns at night, stumbling over their feet and howling into the sky but he'd hardly understood over half of the lyrics. The only songs he knew were nursery rhymes from kids playing without their parents in the markets. And some of those seemed too morbid for their own age. Yet he had a feeling they had no idea what the words meant.

Tails shook his head as he thought it over, suddenly realizing he was unaware of what songs or cultural happenings existed between folk, poor and rich. The only thing he'd known was the safe walls of the Chaotix and his own risky hideouts. Those had consisted of planning, teachings, and thinking. Now that he'd visited Kroxburg he wondered what existed there. What people did. What people sang.

The pickpocket looked up as the questions piled into his mind. He knew people were selfish and the rich didn't care for those underneath themselves. But he'd never considered what their lives consisted of.

"Isn't this clearing up?" He was pushed out of his thoughts from Silver's remark.

He frowned as he looked around. He could see a couple of trees ahead of Sonic before they were swallowed by the light gray mist.

"I think you're right!" Sonic exclaimed as he laced his hands behind his head, "we might actually have found the way out."

Tails flicked his ear against the casual statement. No fear or worries intertwined between his words. Nothing which indicated he was even a teaspoon afraid of what dangers laid past the forest. It made the fox bite his lip.

"Do we know where we'll end up?"

"Nope!" Sonic exclaimed as he looked over his shoulder, "but we'll figure it out, like we've done all this time."

The hedgehog winked at him then. The fox had come to understand it was a form of confidence, quietly telling the fox that he had everything under control.

He remembered what the hedgehog had told him the last evening they'd spent at the heath. How he'd suggested that they find somewhere for Tails to be safe instead of following the ex-prisoner into what most likely was the most dangerous thing he was ever going to do.

He'd only denied because he was curious. And because he didn't want to be alone again.

"How did you guys enter this forest?" Silver asked.

"From an awful town called Plumouth, but I'm pretty sure we're headed away from there," Sonic assured.

The fox's frown showcased his doubt, as even he had a difficult time navigating the forest. Despite the hedgehog being more experienced to this environment than himself he'd come to learn how easy it was to get lost. Tails blinked when a thought entered his mind.

"Plumouth? I don't think I've been there," Silver asked the other hedgehog.

"Don't get your hopes up. Some people are nice but most of them don't like strangers."

The fox tuned out the conversation as he caught sight of Chao. He'd found some sort of berry from somewhere and was chewing on it, mindlessly floating around Sonic's head, as if he was attempting to count his quills.

When Tails had gotten lost in the fog, and he'd felt an energy spurt in his chest then the one emerging had been the blue creature following them around. As if he'd been able to feel him. The pickpocket's ears flicked from the thought as he in some way had been able to sense Chao's chaos energy from the beginning. But not until he'd been in an unfavorable situation.

"Why? What happened?" He tuned back in when Silver asked something.

Sonic looked over his shoulder at the gray hedgehog. When his eyes found the fox instead. Small wrinkles appeared around his eyes; one brow quirked, only visible to those who looked for it. Tails considered his options before he sighed out his worries.

"Let's just say that they don't like people being too different," the pickpocket answered. Silver looked over his shoulder; the small frown suggested he hadn't expected the fox to respond.

"They found out you could use chaos?"

"No," he shook his head as his behind appendages whipped, "I was too different. Because of the extra tail."

The fur stood on edge along his arms. A small vibrating stone in his stomach regretted admitting it out loud. The topic manifested itself like a molded piece of bread, invasive and foul if exposed to other elements. But as he looked at Silver's expression to read his thoughts, only a deep frown of confusion showed.

"I thought all foxes had two tails?" He spoke.

Tails blinked as he immediately sought the lie. The wrinkles around his eyes and nose were once of bewilderment, his calm exterior and relaxed quills didn't indicate someone who was trying to hide something. He'd never believed the idiom 'ignorance is bliss' until now. And it made him smile.

"They don't. But I do."

"Actually, have you met other foxes before?" Sonic asked curiously. The pickpocket shook his head.

"No, but everyone told me it isn't normal. Hedgehogs don't have two tails either do they?" He asked.

He could see the way the hedgehog let his words swim around in his mind for another round or two before he shrugged, accepting the answer. Tails looked back at Silver then.

Yet the confusion had disappeared, and he could see the way he was trying to eye his tails. Age old instinct yearned to pull them around his stomach. He fought the urge and instead tried to read the hedgehog's face. Not much showed until he shook his head.

"Why would they think that's weird? You can fly," he regarded innocently, as if a kid was wondering why people who needed to shower brought out umbrellas when it rained.

Tails felt as the stone stopped vibrating, as his heart warmed instead.

He looked at Sonic when he was looking at him. The large smile on his lips reached his eyes, filled with 'I told you so'. It made the pickpocket smile.

"Thank you," he said.

The confused frown on Silver was still plastered to his brow, and he opened his mouth to say something when Sonic interrupted him. Tails didn't hear what he said as he instead watched as Chao flew toward him. A wide grin was spread across his cheeks as he let out a series of 'chao' before landing on top of his head again. He snuggled into his scalp. This time around the fox merely petted his head. A silent form of acceptance.

"Besides I don't think- hey look!" Tails looked up fast enough for the chao to fall.

He couldn't see past Silver who leaned forward to gauge what the other hedgehog had seen. The fox stepped to the side, squinting his eyes to try and look through the fog as the betrayed chao chirped somewhere behind him. It wasn't until he could see the light which reflected off what they were about to enter he realized the tree line stopped.

"Is that a desert?"

"What?!" Silver sounded ludicrous after Sonic's statement.

The fox frowned and watched as Chao flew after the gray hedgehog who pushed past the azure hedgehog, jogging. Sonic looked over his shoulder at the fox, allowing blue eyes to fully take in the landscape.

A golden hue reflected off the hills, as if piles of coins had been left abandoned. Seemingly millions and millions of mobiums lit up the path ahead. It wasn't until he blinked again, he noticed the shadows and waves, as if the ocean had frozen solid and turned into a dull yellow. Walking closer, he now saw the endless hills, making sharp silhouettes in the sand. As if time stood still.

"No, no, not again!" The pickpocket flicked his ears against Silver's cries.

He stood at the edge of the forest, the fog licked around his ankles yet didn't venture into the sandy landscape, as if touching it burned it away. Large, gloved fingers were intertwined between his quills, gripping his skull hard enough as if he wanted to pull off his own head.

"Whadday mean?" Sonic asked

"I walked through here already!" Silver twisted around; his eyes had gotten wide.

The pickpocket only glanced at them, briefly saw disbelief in his wide eyes, a twitch of fear along his lips, before he looked back at the landscape. He'd only read about this in books. Land that only consisted of sand, far into the horizon, as if it never stopped. It had sounded like a fairytale as he wondered where all the sand came from. As if the ocean itself had abandoned it and was residing somewhere else.

Tails stopped in front of Silver as Sonic joined his other side. The latter rested his hands on his hips with a shrug.

"So? Then you know this place already!"

"Have you looked around?!" Silver threw out his hands at the desert behind him, "everything looks the same! We'll get lost!"

The pickpocket flicked his tails before looking at Sonic. His brow was quirked high into his forehead, as if overexaggerating his thoughts. He clicked his tongue before gesturing a hand at the gray hedgehog.

"Then it's a good thing there's two people here who can fly."

"No, you don't understand! There's sand everywhere!" Tails bit back his tongue as Sonic snorted.

"Pretty good observation," the azure hedgehog deadpanned, before he looked at the fox, "whadday think?"

Tails was still reading the other hedgehog's expression, as if he was mentally wondering how insane the two people he'd been walking with the entire time was. He could see the panic etched deep within his eyes, the slight twitch of the lip reaching his eyes spoke of fear.

"What happened out there?" He asked. Silver looked over his shoulder, as if he expected the sand to jump out and scare him at any moment.

"I told you already, I collapsed! I was dehydrated and my head was dizzy and odd, and I didn't make it! I had to be rescued by your friends!" Silver explained when Sonic's eyes widened.

"Oh, right you said you met Mighty and Ray in that city out there! What was its name?"

"Shita, I think."

"Right! I say we look for that city and see if we can't find those two. Maybe they have some clues about Shadow and his thugs," Sonic suggested with a smirk. As if it was that simple.

Tails didn't have the time to open his mouth and protest his logic when Silver came ahead of him. Shaking his head with his hands dancing.

"No, no, we can't go through here! We don't have enough water and I have no idea where the city is," the silver hedgehog protested.

Tails could see the genuine anxiousness of them possibly waddling through there. He bit his lip as he got the impression it had been a matter of life or death.

"Where else do you wanna go?" Sonic asked as he threw out his arms, "the alternative is that we wander through this forest again for another three days before we either stumble back into Plumouth or the ocean and both options are far from Croford."

The pickpocket observed as the hedgehog's brow furrowed in a manner that spoke of frustration. The fox was aware he'd been cramped in there, unable to run far ahead without either losing himself or them in the fog. He was shaking to get out into some open space.

Tails looked ahead again. The sand dunes were tall and far, only a few clouds decorated the sky and therefore he guessed it could get quite warm. He could still see the stress filling into the gray hedgehog's face, yet the fox pointed at the sky.

"If we fly then we'll get far fast," he suggested, "you could use the white emerald and ride on the wind like you did back at the mountains."

"Oh yeah!" Sonic enthusiastically remembered, his eyes widening with excitement.

"I already did that! It's not gonna work," Silver protested again. He looked over his shoulder, as Tails saw his slightly shaking hands.

"Listen we're all three going out there," Sonic tried to reassure, "we got each other this time. If something happens, we're here to help. You're not alone this time."

Silver looked at the hedgehog. Tails saw his hesitation, his amber eyes round wide with fear. He turned to look at Sonic. He'd seen that confident and reassuring smile before. It wasn't one who wanted to convince the other for the sake of convenience. Rather he was reassuring him they would be fine.

Tails was unsure whether the silver hedgehog saw the same thing he did but after another moment he swallowed something in his throat before nodding hesitantly. Chao flew past the azure hedgehog's head and instead enthusiastically said 'chao' in front of Silver, as if wanting to reassure him too.

If it worked it would remain the gray hedgehog's secret as the pickpocket instead observed as Sonic pulled out the white emerald from his quills. A zing of energy played along his fingertips; his fur stood slightly on edge as he could feel the power within. Sonic looked at the crystal exterior, as if making a silent deal with it.

Then he sighed and closed his eyes. The fox's heart pumped an extra beat as his chest warmed. His hands shook when the emerald began to glow. Tails stared at the light, a pulsating and wild energy within, responding and cooperating with the hedgehog's demand.

Then, a gust of wind played around his tails and feet, and he looked down to see what happened.

He didn't have time to look for long when Sonic howled in adrenaline. Suddenly he ran, jumped, and glided. Up and up, feet fastened on seemingly nothing as he flew into the air fast.

"Sonic wait!" Tails yelled as he spun his behind appendages around.

He sped up quickly, lifting himself into the air and flew after the hedgehog. A quick look over his shoulder revealed the other hedgehog to follow as well, a turquoise aura surrounded his body, while the chao had attached itself to his head quills.

The fox looked ahead again, speeding up and catching up to the Chaos Wielder when he slowed down. He flicked his ears against the laughter, the pure euphoria thrown into the wind without a care in the world.

He flew next to the hedgehog, felt the wind pulling at his fur and ears as the hedgehog was gliding on seemingly nothing, yet the emerald was glowing in his hand.

"This is awesome!" Sonic laughed as he somersaulted in the air, his eyes glinting.

Tails couldn't hide his own laughter as Silver joined his other side. Briefly looking down he watched as the sand dunes disappeared under them quickly, the faded yellow sand becoming a blur. He noticed the heat, the way it crawled underneath his skin despite the wind pulling at his face. He looked ahead.

"Nothing to see yet!" Sonic said what he hadn't. Only sand seemed to reign the landscape ahead.

"I told you! We're going to be traveling for quite some time," Silver yelled above the wind.

"Good to hear!" Sonic howled when he sped up again.

Tails smiled when Chao squealed on top of Silver's head, holding on tight but nevertheless seemed joyfull. The fox watched as the azure blur somersaulted and glided from side to side, like a little kid.

"This is not gonna be good," he heard Silver mumble next to him.

A quick glance told him the anxiety was back, as if he considered twisting around and heading back to the forest. The pickpocket looked ahead again as he observed Sonic's carefree spirit, playing around and squealing in delight.

"Like Sonic said," the pickpocket said out loud, "we're in this together."

He didn't look at Silver yet the silence spoke louder than any words could've. Tails believed those words himself, even if the landscape looked cunning and unforgivable. No shadows, water or civilizations seemed visible for miles and miles ahead of them. The vast landscape of pure sand acted like waves in the ocean, both choking what remained and hid what was underneath.

The pickpocket wiped sweat from his brow and let Sonic's words repeat in his mind. They would be fine.

He watched the hedgehog's acrobatics, moving swiftly and playing around with practically himself. Sonic jumped, let himself fall two feet before he reached his arm back into the air, the emerald's glow briefly increased, before he was gliding again.

Tails could feel his body itching to try it too. He glanced at Silver self-consciously before hiking his legs up. When he saw movement.

Blinking, in case he'd been seeing things, he stared out at the vast golden landscape. As if a cloud of dust had come from nowhere, the landscape ahead of them was disturbed.

"What's that?" Silver asked behind him.

He could tell Sonic had seen it too as the latter slowed down, his head turned. Tails slowed down as the cloud of dust filtered into the landscape. Before appearing to their left. The fox felt his heart pounding in his chest as it was slowly approaching.

"Is that a dust devil?" Sonic's voice sounded foreign as a little thought in the back of his mind reminded him of reading that word before.

Different sizes of small sand tornadoes moving through deserted landscapes. Yet the dust cloud was disappearing again.

His ears flicked. The rumble underneath them deepened. Akin to a yell escaped his throat when the ground broke under them with a 'pow'.

Dust whirled up; his eyes stung. Wind picked him up and he twisted his tails to roll with it. A large mass tumbled into him instead.

Wind and sand whirled around as he was falling, hands frantically waving to grab something. 'Thump' and he was rolling, his back pounding.

He didn't stop until a sand dune became his break. Splayed on the ground, he blinked rapidly, coughing sand and spit, trying to wipe at his eyes with his arm.

"You guys, okay?" A hand was on his shoulder, presumably belonging to Sonic. He was coughing, and the echo behind Tails suggested the other hedgehog.

"I think I am," Silver answered, despite sounding as if he'd eaten a handful of sand.

The fox rolled over to his stomach, blinking as water ran down his cheeks. Frantic echoes of 'chao', 'chao' were rapid-firing questions none of them could understand.

"Tails? You good?" The blurry landscape turned clearer. His eyes were pounding lightly as he looked at Sonic.

Concern was etched into his face around his eyes yet the straight line on his lip revealed a familiar concentration. When more wrinkles appeared around his brow Tails realized he hadn't answered his question.

"I'm good," he replied as he leaned on his elbow and moved to stand. The gloved hand removed from his shoulder as Sonic instead moved to help Silver up.

"What happened?" The latter asked.

"Not sure but if I hadn't pushed us out of there, we would've broken something," the former responded.

Tails looked over his shoulder to make sure the two of them were standing before looking at where they'd just been. A cloud of dust was slowly falling back to the sandy ground, as if nothing had happened. Chao appeared in front of him, his head cocked to the side and opened his mouth to say 'chao'.

Tails' ears flicked. He instinctively looked at the ground.

The gurgling, rumpling sound of collapsing sand was fast approaching.

"We need to move!" He'd barely managed to spit out his entire sentence before he grabbed Chao who choked a 'chao' against his chest and turned to run.

Only two fast steps made it into the sand before the same gloved hand wound around his wrist. With a yelp, a barrel of wind pushed against his body, his ears popping. He closed his eyes, his feet not touching the ground as the 'woosh' of wind filled his mind.

Next, his arm was yanked, his body would've tumbled if a strong arm hadn't kept him standing.

Silver's heavy breathing came from next to him and as he turned his head Sonic had practically teleported the three of them.

Then the ground exploded.

Tails jumped in fright and a yip of a 'chao' as he twisted toward where they'd been standing. His heart plumed to his feet.

Surrounded by a fine cloud of dust, he watched a singular glowing red eye pierce into him. The head was big, the metallic oval shape glinted from the sun's rays. It was attached to a gigantic and long metal tube made of silver rings, not unlike a slinky toy he'd seen being sold on markets. Taller than Croford Castle itself.

As if its head had suddenly become too heavy it fell slowly back into the ground. Sand ran inward, like quicksand collecting, and the hole disappeared. Only a cloud of dust remained.

"Holy hell!"

"Silver!" Sonic seemed more concerned about the spat curse word than what they'd just seen.

The pickpocket's hands began to shake. Silver was still sputtering. Chao said 'chao'.

"What is that?!"

"Some kind of giant robot snake," Sonic was unbelievably calm. Tails' neck cracked as he looked at him.

"Have you seen that before?"

"Nope. But it reminds me of that robot we fought back in the forest."

"What robot?! You've fought something like that!"

"Well not exactly, that but it was-" Sonic cut himself off when the ground rumbled again.

Tails only felt as his wrist was grabbed again, his ears popped, a choked back yelp lacked behind his body as wind pushed against him. When it stopped only his tails made him stand.

"What're you doing?! We need to go!" Silver wasn't finished being trapped in a pocket of wind.

The pickpocket rubbed his ear before twisting around.

Sand exploded into the air like fireworks as the giant snake once again shot up to seemingly take one big bite of the three of them. Its glowing optic caught them as it snuck back down.

"We can't run from that. What if it attacks other people?"

"How're you gonna defeat that?!" Silver was throwing out his hands and as Tails looked at him his pupils had shrunk, and his eyes were the widest he'd ever seen them.

"Dunno yet," he could hear the concentration coating Sonic's word as the fox perked his ears.

Another rumble echoed from under their feet. He opted to jump into the air and fly as he twisted around and followed the blue running veil and the high-pitched yelp.

He breathed heavily as he landed and let go of Chao when he protested. He turned around to watch the same performance. When sand whirled around its head, and it attempted to locate them Tails watched Sonic spin.

Silver sputtered from the sand spraying around him before the curled blue ball shot forward. The pickpocket watched with wide eyes as the giant robot snake's eye focused on Sonic. The hedgehog slammed into the ring which connected the neck to the rest of its body.

A robotic gurgle escaped from its gaping maw. The ground under Tails' soles shook and he gave in to the urge of backing away when more sand exploded.

Behind it, a giant slither of a tail emerged from underground, wiping into the air as if attempting to swat away a fly.

"That's just a worm!" The pickpocket had hardly registered as Sonic had reappeared next to him.

About 85 feet long when looking at it from the tip of its sharp tail to the oval shaped head. The robot quickly slithered back underground, sand collecting from where it had just been.

"That didn't work!" Silver unnecessarily frantically pointed out. Tails' mind was running wild, not unlike a rolodex flipping through possibilities and solutions. When one idea clicked.

"Use the emerald!"

"Which one?"

"The light blue one! Spray it with water or something!" Tails flew again when the ground rumbled, Chao following close to his ears.

He followed the sprinting hedgehog with his flailing gray cargo as the ground exploded behind them again.

His stomach was sinking further into himself as they stopped again and stared at Sonic. He'd pulled out the light blue emerald as a familiar tingle spread to the fox's fingers.

"Here goes nothing!" The hedgehog's quills bristled as Tails watched the emerald glow.

Warmth spread to the pickpockets' hands as his heart was beating in his chest. He watched Sonic's concentrated face. And saw the wrinkles too.

The hedgehog looked at the glowing emerald in his hand. He shook it.

"C'mon!"

"What's going on?"

"It's not working," Sonic pumped his arm, yet the glow coming from the crystal shell remained unaffected.

"Not working?! Whadday mean not working!" Silver asked frantically, clear panic filled into his words.

Tails heard the ground rumble before it shook. He shot down and grabbed Sonic's free hand before he could run. With a pained grunt he lifted the heavy hedgehog into the air.

In his peripheral vision an aura of turquoise had surrounded the now levitating Silver and Chao had moved next to him. Tails shot forward, the latter behind him.

His ears laid flat on his skull when sand exploded from behind, dust slowly falling down on them like rain. He put down Sonic again, breathing heavily.

"Sonic, talk!"

"It's not – there's no water!" the hedgehog threw out his arms, "there's no water to control! We're in a desert!"

"Damnit, I didn't think of that!"

"Language!" Tails ignored him as he watched sand move seemingly by itself, following the slithering robot as it disappeared under ground again.

It was invisible under large dunes and only gave them seconds to warn them of its attack.

"We need to get it above ground, otherwise we won't be able to attack it," Tails pointed out as he flew away again at the next rumble.

Chao snuggled himself between Silver's head quills while he'd opted to fly with the fox as Sonic sprinted away; another dust cloud licking their heels.

"How do we do that?" The azure hedgehog asked, wide eyes staring where the snake had come from.

"I don't know! Grab its attention or something! I think it wants you!" Tails could feel his heart beating faster and faster in his chest as his eyes frantically moved to catch where it was going to appear next.

They kept separately running and flying when the ground rumbled again. Tails looked over his shoulder and saw the snake once again, biting at the air as dust whirled around it.

As he looked down Sonic had stopped and looked toward the robot. A large unfitting-for-the-situation smirk came to his lips.

"Hey wooormyy~ looking for this hot butt?! Then come and get it!"

Tails felt his stomach tighten itself into a knot. He looked over his shoulder.

The red optic was staring at Sonic as if it had just discovered him. Then it either closed or turned off when the robot snake roared. A deep and rumbling thing echoing between his ear canals.

Next, it jumped. Tails yelped and got out of the way with Silver in his heels when sand rained down on them. Wind echoed in his ears and the tight rumbling sound of a large robot slithering against sand came from behind.

"That worked!" Sonic was yelling from somewhere.

Tails was coughing as he escaped the sandy weather phenomenon, looking over his shoulder to make sure Silver was following. The latter was rubbing sand out of his eyes with Chao protesting 'chao' which opted for the pickpocket to look for Sonic.

His jaw dropped.

The hedgehog was running in curved zigzag patterns, and the slithering robot was following with impressive speed. Tails couldn't hold back a soft 'wow' before he flew after him.

Silver had been sputtering a protest he ignored as he flew a couple of feet in front of Sonic, away from the snake. Looking back the robot was opening and closing its mouth, as if expecting the hedgehog to trip and fall inside. They had to work quickly before the scenario became reality.

"What now?!" Sonic yelled above the moving sand and dust whirling around them. Tails noticed the hedgehog was looking at him again.

"Another emerald?" He asked.

"Okay, what do we have?"

"Water didn't work, I'm not sure that wind will work either," Tails enumerated, "then we got electricity."

"Nope! That takes too much concentration. And it's not like we have much of that right now!" Sonic turned sharply which made the robot follow, "how about fire?!"

"Unless you can get it hot enough to melt metal, I'm not sure that's gonna work either," Tails cast a hopeful look toward Silver.

The gray hedgehog was mostly following Sonic's game of tag, his eyes wide with disbelief, before he caught Tails' expression. He must've followed in the conversation regardless as he shook his head in response.

"And controlling light won't help much either! Hey, watch it wormy, I'm getting sand in my eyes!" Sonic turned again before Tails watched him running backwards, "fine, guess we're doing this the hard way!"

"Sonic wait!" The pickpocket's call was too late as the hedgehog spun into a ball again.

Only minimal seconds were used to build up energy before he shot around the snake. The large robot head followed with a gurgling rumble as Sonic bounced on the ground and shot toward its body again.

Tails covered his ears with his hands from the piercing, screeching noise of sharp quills scratching the robotic surface. It didn't stop until Sonic was forced to move, jumping and rolling out of the way when the robot's tail had swiped at him.

The pickpocket swooped down, wind and sand around him, and grabbed the hedgehog before the tail came again. He panted as he flew, both hands interlocked with Sonic's and as he looked over his shoulder, he realized to his horror that the robot was following him too. Large red optics stared them down as it slithered faster toward them. Sonic made an odd noise.

"So ixnay on water, fire and electricity. Silver, can you do wind?" The gray hedgehog was following further up, looking as if he'd rather had flown away. Yet he concentrated back on Sonic before he slowly shook his head.

"We should be able to make some sort of tornado or something, but all of that sand is gonna come crashing down on us. I can't guarantee we'd all be safe from it."

"And the armors' too thick to penetrate through." Tails concluded afterwards, "maybe we should just flee?"

"No! The next people who walk through here are not gonna be able to defeat that thing!"

"No people are gonna walk through here but us!" Silver frustratedly pointed out from above, "and now I know it's not just because of dehydration!"

Tails' ran his tongue around his mouth from the word alone. They were panting and sweating. He concluded that the fight couldn't continue for much longer. Sonic wiggled in his hands.

"Put me down again! I'm gonna try one more time."

"You sure?"

"Yes! There's gotta be a weak spot somewhere!" Sonic was looking over his shoulder at the robot snake, as sand and wind were trying to trap him into its gaping maw. Tails bit his lip but lowered a little.

"Alright," he said with hesitation as he let go.

Sonic did the same, curling into his spin before he hit the ground and shot forward. He uncurled and ran like before, looking over his shoulder to seemingly look for something.

Tails tried to do the same, yet the silver robot shell was shining on every part of its body, as if impenetrable on all sides. He watched as Sonic ran backwards again, seemingly trying to find something they'd missed.

The pickpocket looked over his shoulder, but Silver still looked shocked. When he looked back Sonic was making an unrecognizable face before he yelped. Tails gasped when he tumbled and was surrounded by sand.

"Sonic!" He reached his hand toward where the robot snake dived.

He sputtered and a gloved hand dragged him away with a 'chao!' as sand sprayed up. Rubbing his eyes and wiping away water he turned and looked at Silver who was wiping sand away from his cheeks too.

His gloved hand was fastened around the fox's arm as Tails looked down to try and catch sight of the prisoner. A cloud of sand remained. His heart beat faster in his chest as he wiggled out of Silver's grasp and flew forward.

His ears flicked from the rumble. Looking down he saw the same cloud of sand, the oval shaped robotic head emerging like a hopping dolphin.

And the shrill sound of a 'wuuhuu!' following it.

Tails blinked. He watched Sonic sitting on the back of its head, swinging his arm around with a vast grin on his face.

Then the snake dove back into the sand. The pickpocket had no idea how stupid he actually was.

"Silver, do something!"

"What?!" the chaos wielder looked at him as if he'd asked him to take off his arm and throw it.

Tails sputtered unintelligible. He looked when the robot came again, a howl of pure joy filled with laughter echoing in the wind, before it disappeared down under.

"I don't know! Use any emerald, just try and stop it!" His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he followed the sound of the rumble.

Panting heavily with his back and tails aching to stop, he frantically tried to look for the next cloud of sand. It appeared not too far from them. The laughter made him only relax a little as he watched Sonic still sitting on it.

Then, warmth came to his chest. His fingers tingled but he didn't get a chance to look over his shoulder when Silver shouted: "Sonic, jump!"

It was impressive that the azure hedgehog could hear him as Tails watched him stand and hop from its head. The fox gasped when his chest was hit with a surge of energy. Pure power ravaged around them, zooming through his veins as it traveled.

His eyes widened as he looked at the robot snake slithering toward Sonic. When the ground rumbled again. Tails was unsure of what he saw.

Suddenly a cylinder, long green mass shot out of the ground, underneath the robot. A rumbling screech came from its throat as it tumbled to the side and rolled. The fox watched as the green mass suddenly grew spikes and small flowers. His eyes widened.

"Is that a cactus?!" Sonic had realized it before him.

Tails looked at Silver. A green emerald shone in his hand, the other reached toward where the sudden plant had grown from seemingly nowhere. His eyes were practically glowing. Chao was clapping his rounded hands in celebration.

He'd forgotten about the last green emerald they'd found the first evening they'd reached the burned down village. When the pickpocket looked back, he saw a large indent in the metal underbelly of the robot.

Realization hit him like a brick as it rolled over onto its stomach before slithering forward with a screech.

"It's the underbelly! The metal is softer! Sonic, you need to hit its stomach!" Tails was shouting in hopes of the azure hedgehog hearing him as he began running again, the snake hot on his heels.

"How am I gonna do that?!"

"Leave it to me," Tails looked at Silver again. His eyes were thick with concentration, the beforehand panic and frantic movements had evaporated in the sun.

His fingers were grabbing the emerald tighter, the other hand following the robot's movements. He flinched.

Tails felt the same spurt of energy in his chest. He panted heavily as he watched it grow.

A large cylindrical cactus appeared from under the robot's head. It rolled and a blue veil watched its movement. The pickpocket heard Silver groan.

Looking at him the chaos wielder had placed his hand on his head, his eyes squeezed closed.

"You good?"

"For now," he said, as he opened his eyes again.

Calculations ran through the fox's mind as conjuring cacti from the ground itself would take large amounts of energy. The screeching sound of metal made Tails look back.

The robot roared and rumbled as sharp spikes dug into its underbelly. It slithered and moved, and Sonic was forced to jump away.

The same song and dance repeated itself as Sonic ran and the robot followed. Tails glanced over his shoulder.

"How many more you got in you?"

"One."

"Sonic! Last one! This is it!" He cupped his hands around his mouth, hoping the azure hedgehog heard it.

He received no response, yet the look Sonic sent over his shoulder at the robot was a determination of something. The pickpocket felt his back ache again as he panted quickly. He heard Silver take a deep breath.

An energy spike, through his chest. He looked at the robot. A large mass of cacti shot up from the ground and threw the robot into the air. Past the sand and wind, he swore he heard electricity spark.

His wide eyes watched as the large snake 'thumped' and screeched as it landed on its side. Then he saw Sonic running. Faster, curled into a ball. He shot forward.

The pickpocket watched him slice through. The robot screeched. He spun along its belly, exposing its robotic insides to the world. Tails' ears glued to his skull from its scream, rough and high pitched. Then he saw its optics dim. And turn off.

Silver grunted behind him. He looked and flew toward him as the turquoise aura was fading. He grabbed his arms and began to lower to the ground with him. The emerald in his hand was dull. Behind him, he could hear Sonic howling in celebration.

"We did it!" Yelled across the sand dunes as Tails guided Silver to the ground. The fox sat on his knees immediately upon landing, as the silver hedgehog laid on his back, panting heavily with closed eyes. Chao began flying, making some sort of celebratory dance in the air, echoes of joy filled 'chao' following his movements.

Tails tried to gather air into his lungs, not realizing how much his hands were shaking before they were practically vibrating with the sand he was sitting on. His tails were pounding in pain with his back aching.

"You guys okay?" The pickpocket felt sand spray on him when Sonic had sped to their side.

Looking at him concern was back into his features yet had a hard time coating the utter joy etched around his cheeks and lips. Light wrinkles and wide celebratory eyes.

"Just need a minute," Silver breathed from the ground.

Looking the azure hedgehog up and down no immediate injuries seemed visible. Only sand coated in oil stuck to his quills and parts of his muzzle. Tails looked over his shoulder toward the robot. A couple of feet away from them, electricity sparked into the air as black oil bled out in the sand.

"I didn't know it could do that," the pickpocket watched as Sonic stepped forward and grabbed the green emerald from Silver's outstretched hand.

His eyes were wide as he studied the crystal shell. He looked at Silver again, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"That was so cool! Did you know it could do that!?"

"No," the hedgehog licked his lips, "Tails just told me to do something. And I did."

Sonic looked at the fox. A large wide smile filled with euphoria coated his face.

"Nice one!" He praised before he threw out his arms, euphoria spraying out of his eyes, "but did you see me?! I rode on its head! It was wild like a horse, it was amazing!"

"And stupid," the pickpocket spat. Sonic looked at him and the fox blinked sand out of his eyes, "you could've been killed! What were you thinking?!"

"Relax kiddo, it worked out fine, right?" the azure hedgehog was shrugging. Like an idiot.

Tails had a few more chosen words in mind yet had to let them go and concentrate on breathing instead. His back was shaking now, and his mouth was as dry as the sand between his fingers.

"It was lucky," Silver pointed out as he was catching his breath again. Sonic laughed again.

"Then luck is on our side!" He proudly rested his hands behind his head with a smirk.

Tails rolled his eyes into the sky. If the hedgehog saw it would be his secret. He instead looked over his shoulder again at the robot.

Still on the ground as if it had been there for years. Yet it had been slithering under the sand, seemingly waiting for only them.

As if it had known where they were going.

---

The pickpocket couldn't shake the uneasiness suddenly gurgling in his stomach.

Fighting through the ache was a challenge he hadn't faced before. Despite the hot wind knocking at his face, it couldn't dispel the sweat going down his brow, practically dropping like rain. His body was vibrating with exhaustion and warmth, as if his own pelt was heating up like an oven, faster and faster.

Their water bottles had been drunk with a practically panicked Silver exclaiming now they were going to die and Sonic laughing in his face and telling him to chill and keep going. But as Tails looked up at the azure hedgehog leading with the white emerald in hand, gliding on wind as they traversed the landscape, he could tell the heat was getting to him too.

The excited and playful demeanor had quelled to mere slow rocks from side to side and a single somersault every now and then. Looking over his shoulder to check on them was a habit the pickpocket was used to as he found himself making sure Silver remained in the air too.

His brow was deeply furrowed in concentration, as if he was attempting to demand every ounce of sweat to suck itself back into his body. His quills were hanging lower and lower by the hour. Chao had situated himself between his quills, snuggled between them enough to be covered by the wind and was sleeping the heat away.

Considering the movement of the sun had shifted, they'd spent at least five hours searching for the supposed futuristic city in the middle of nowhere.

He'd only heard about it around the streets of Croford, amongst gossip and white noise particularly in the richer part of town. People spoke of transportation faster than horses, controlled by gears and oil and not animals. High rise buildings as white as the stars themselves as well as thriving markets with people of all sizes and races.

Tails frowned from the thought, considering he knew every city on the planet held the same rules: Some people were at the top enjoying themselves, others in the middle getting by, while the rest were scraping the surface for crumbs. Kroxburg and Plumouth had held the same formula which meant believing Shita was nothing, but sanctuary was pure fantasy.

"We're going in circles!" Tails was shaken out of his thoughts by Silver's pure panic spitting out of his mouth.

The pickpocket watched as Sonic turned around, gliding backwards with a reassuring smile on his lips.

"How do you know that?"

"Because we've been looking for hours!"

"Maybe this is just a giant desert?" Sonic shrugged nonchalantly.

Tails scanned his face as the smile was genuine but the wrinkles on his brow spoke of nervousness. Miniscule and blind to the naked eye, but the fox could see it when he chose to wear his emotions on his sleeve. Despite the observation, he knew mentioning it to Silver would only worsen their situation.

"I don't know! I passed out half-way, remember?" The gray hedgehog said with a quirked brow. The pickpocket ignored him and instead turned to look at Sonic.

"Did your uncle ever talk about this place?" Getting his mind somewhere else while utilizing it as distraction from his shaking body was the purpose of his question.

If the azure hedgehog had seen it or not, he didn't have time to read it as a nostalgic smile covered every other emotion hidden behind it.

"Actually, no he didn't. But this looks like a giant ocean, doesn't it? It reminds me of pirate stories he would tell me when I was little. They were people living on large ships and conquered land to search for gold! They took down any other ship that stood in their way!" Sonic threw out his arms, his mouth agape in joy.

Tails could see the shine in his eyes, the glint and the sense of comfort he found in his uncle. It couldn't hide the pickpocket's own smile.

"I've never heard a story like that before."

"I thought you read books?"

"Well, yeah, I do, but they're mostly technological or geological based. That's the kind of books people at least left on the streets."

"Have you never heard a fairy tale before?"

"I have when I was younger," the pickpocket scratched the back of his head, "when I was on the streets, before the Chaotix found me, I would sit and hide behind barrels and boxes to listen when adults told small kids stories about other worlds and alien magic."

The occasions had been rare and had more often than not come from curiosity rather than needs. He remembered the stories vividly, how parents or teachers had told stories about magical beings moving mountains, carving oceans and healing caverns before settling down to teach other people about it. They were stories with premises filled with lectures about how small kids should behave and figurative language explaining how the world works through the eyes of others.

"Who're the Chaotix?" Silver broke his thoughts.

The pickpocket looked over his shoulder as he was unsure on what kind of explanation he should give. He hummed thoughtfully.

"A group of people who took me in," he explained, "it was a short while, but they taught me everything I know."

"About stealing?" Tails sighed exasperated.

"It's not stealing, but yes. It's how they knew to survive." When he looked back Silver had opened his mouth for another question.

Then his amber eyes fell on something past the fox's shoulders, and he turned to look. He barely saw Sonic shaking his head vigorously with his hands on his hips, his brow furrowed. When he looked at Tails it all disappeared in an understanding smile. The pickpocket was unsure on whether to be grateful when he slowly shook his head instead.

"Anyway," he mumbled, "no, I've never read any fairy tales before, but I've heard some."

"If you'd told me that robot snake was a fairy tale then I would've believed you." Accepting the change of topic, Silver butted in with a new suggestion. "You said you've fought a robot like that before?" Sonic scratched the back of his head.

"Well not exactly like that," he began, "it was a tall robot with arms attached by metal balls, so it swung it around like rope. We had a hard time defeating it, but I actually used the wind to whirl it into the air. When it fell back down it exploded into pieces."

If Sonic had told Silver the fight had happened a month ago, Tails would've believed him. Considering what'd happened in the short amount of time he'd known Sonic, fighting a giant robot with slinky arms had been the least surprising part of everything.

"Where do they come from?" Silver asked.

"I'm not exactly sure," the azure hedgehog answered, "but where I grew up, smaller robots would sometimes roam around in the forests, and I'd take them down no problem. I've basically known them my entire life, but I've never seen anything like the one in the forest and this snake thing. The fish robot we met in the ocean and the small robots I fought back at the heath I've seen before."

Tails remembered being told the same thing days ago. The mere thought of having the potential clunking of caterpillar feet and clanking opening and closing pincers chasing you wherever you went outside seemed less desirable than thieves and robbers searching for your bed at night. Yet Sonic spoke of them as if it rained on occasion.

"But good thinking using the green emerald! I had no idea it could do that!"

"Me neither," Silver admitted immediately, "but everything else didn't seem like it was an option."

The pickpocket wanted to add a thought when only air escaped his lips instead. Another drop of salty sweat made way down his brow and his lungs were heaving for air that wasn't there.

He looked at Sonic again, watched his uncharacteristically calm movements, before he considered suggesting a break.

"What's that?" The azure hedgehog interrupted him. Tails squinted his eyes at what Sonic was pointing at.

"It's not real. You're just thirsty," Silver immediately shot down.

Yet the pickpocket was seeing something too. He flew next to the hedgehog and watched a light blue hue in the horizon. A clean curved line from the sky to the ground.

"I'm seeing it too," Tails panted.

He flicked his ears when Silver suddenly zoomed next to him. Their advances decreased as they passed another slope of sand. And the fox felt his jaw hit the ground.

Reflecting off the sun, as if a giant mirror had been placed in the middle of the desert, a dome of sparkling light blue sparks glistened in the horizon. He blinked just to make sure he wasn't crazy.

"That's it!" Silver's enthusiasm was palpable in his voice alone. Next to him, Sonic turned his head.

"That's Shita?"

"Yes! Chaos, I can't believe we actually found it!"

A series of 'chao' echoed the pure euphoria stumbling to get out of Chao's mouth. Tails was still staring at the dome structure as it became more and more clear as they neared its glistening structure.

Another squint made him realize it looked like the water's surface, large circles stretching and shaking hands with their neighbor, light blue and turquoise intertwined with one another.

"Great! How do we get in?" Sonic asked but Tails was still looking.

Past the hue, through the mirror surface, a wall of light-colored sandstone was hiding the city behind. Built like the walls surrounding Croford, it followed the curvature of the dome structure, yet he could tell the latter had been the last to come. The wall was taller than any castle wall he could imagine, shooting several hundred feet into the air, breaking any chance of even catching a glimpse of any civilizations behind it.

Even taller guard towers occupied corners of the structure, sandstone silos with rounded roofs, as if whitewashed yet sand was covering the sides, permanently glued on by wind. Tails suddenly felt his heart sink into his stomach. Silver cleared his throat.

"Uhm, I'm not sure how we get in," Tails could hear him scratch his chin, "last time I passed out but Mighty and Ray said they brought me in with a Glider."

"What's that?"

"It's a form of electrical transportation. But I don't know how they got in or out."

Tails realized they were still nearing the city. The dome was clear as day reflecting off the sun's rays and the wall towered menacingly above them, as if ready to fall and squash them any second.

"Wait, let's stop here," he paused before the others could comment.

Then, his lungs turned into bricks, and he hastily stopped flying.

Landing on the soft sand with his knees and fingers shaking between grains of sand. As he blinked the ground was moving, his head was pounding.

"Dude, you, okay?!" Next to him he felt as the chaos energy from the gem disappeared, and a pair of dark blue knees joined next to him.

A careful hand rested on his shoulder before it suddenly pulled back. "Kiddo you're sweating like crazy."

"No, no! We need to get in there quickly! He's gonna dehydrate!" Silver sounded panicked already as he landed next to them, as if expecting the fox to keel over any moment.

Tails' tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth, drier than the sand under him, his body and hands shaking. The pounding echoed between his head, and he realized his eyes were burning. When he blinked again Chao was fluttering in front of him, an uncharacteristic, worried expression coating every inch of his face.

The pickpocket hadn't taken into account the thicker coat he wore compared to the two hedgehogs next to him. When he looked at Sonic, concentration bore around his eyes as a plan had formed in his mind.

"C'mon," Sonic moved his hand to his wrist and the pickpocket knew what he was about to do.

"Wait!" He yelled louder than necessary.

Yet it made the azure hedgehog stop as Tails pulled back his hand and sat on the balls of his heels. The movement alone made the outline of Sonic's head blur a little.

"We can't just go in there," he breathed heavily. Sonic's immediate furrow was disagreement.

"Why?"

"Sonic, think about it! We don't know their laws! Remember we're not wanted everywhere," he licked his lips to no avail, "and we don't know if chao are illegal. He could be taken away the moment we walk in there."

Chao leaned his head to one side as if asking a question. The pickpocket focused on looking at Sonic instead and hoped he didn't notice his slight sway of his head. If the hedgehog did, he didn't react to it as he instead looked at Silver.

"Are they?"

"I don't know! But we need to get in there right now!" Curiously, Tails looked at the gray hedgehog.

He was staring at the dome structure ahead of them, far enough away that no one would notice them, but close enough for them to form a plan. Deep crevices were made in his brow, wrinkles around his lips and nose. Outright worry wasn't plastered across his face like it could do on Sonic yet even the small amount of concern there came as an immediate surprise.

"So, what do you suggest?" Sonic asked. Tails looked at him again and noticed a different crevice. A slightly quirked brow, a concentrated look staring directly back at his own eyes. He already knew what the fox was going to suggest and was ready to deny it. Yet the pickpocket shook his head.

"That we sneak in there," Sonic couldn't hide the 'oh' flashing from his face as he looked at the dome structure again. "Besides, if they do body searches then they're going to find the emeralds. We already know that a lot of people want them too."

Next to him, Silver threw out his arms.

"Hello! How're we gonna sneak in there!"

"If you think instead of whining then that would be great!"

"Alright, easy guys." Sonic formed a 'time-out' with the palms of his hands, "we'll think of something, alright? I agree with you bud, we better go 'stealth mode' in case they're as stingy as the guards in Croford."

Tails watched for another moment how Sonic tried to form another plan before he had to concentrate on breathing again.

His backside was aching, and his tails were daring him to even move one of them. His shaking hands wouldn't stop their dance and a part of him was wondering if he could stand when he stood. Chao still fluttered in front of him, as if considering if he could help in any way.

"What do you know about that dome thing?" Sonic asked Silver. The latter cleared his throat.

"They call it 'The Barrier' and it regulates temperature and shelters the city from the sun so it's cooler inside and you won't get a heatstroke. I think Mighty also told me that it somehow keeps count of people who come and go through it."

"Really? How's it doing that?"

"I don't know," Silver answered Sonic's curious question. Tails frowned from the other detail he mentioned.

"Does that mean whenever we step through it that it's going to register us there? And might alert people?"

"I don't know about the last part, but I think it'll detect us, yes." Silver more or less guessed. The pickpocket groaned as the situation was growing less in their favor.

"Let's not overthink it," Sonic suddenly stood, "let's follow those sand dunes to the edge of it and take it from there."

"You're just gonna run up to it?!"

"It's not gonna hurt us, right?" Sonic countered Silver's question with his own question. The latter opened his mouth to respond but no words came out. After another second he said 'uhm' but Sonic impatiently shook his feet free from sand.

"Only one way to find out!" He reached a hand down for the fox to take. Tails looked at it for another second dumbfounded, as if it was transparent, before he licked his dry lips again and took it. When he stood the world turned upside down and he stumbled a step.

"Easy," twin hands kept him standing on his feet as well as his swaying tails. Another moment passed before his knees stopped shaking, "can you do this?"

"I'm fine," the pickpocket spat as he looked at Sonic. The quirked brow begged to differ, yet Tails ignored it by stepping to the side and freeing himself from the hedgehog's supporting grasp. He was surprised he stood by himself as he watched Sonic turn around and gauge their way.

He motioned for them to follow as he jogged toward the light blue barrier. Tails shot Silver a glance, noticed the utter regret plastered across his face, before the gray hedgehog followed. Chao hovered around the fox's head and looked at him, said a small 'chao' as if asking if he could follow. The pickpocket ignored him before he fast walked after them.

Sweat was running down his head and arms and as he glanced at the bandages around his stomach, he realized the edges were wet too and called for new ones. Tails decided to lay the worry aside for now as he tried to keep up. His head felt two tons heavier, as if his neck was going to snap under the heavier weight, and if he moved his head too fast then he would see double. He licked the insides of his dry mouth as they neared the dome.

His ears flicked. As he looked up again, he realized the water façade of the barrier was a lie. The unmistakable crackling of electricity danced across the surface, springing and jumping as if chasing one another. Not unlike old appliances he'd seen left on the side of the roads with wires springing and crackling in water puddles. Old experience had taught him to never touch charged water. He bit his lip and tried to ignore the lump in his stomach as Chao flew ahead of him and encouraged him to walk faster.

Tails jogged instead as he carefully ducked behind sand dunes. Sneaking a peak above them revealed blurred guards behind the dome.

Clattered in sand colored armor, a helmet covering their entire faces as if shielding themselves from sandstorms. Spears were held in one hand, taller than them; the tips glinted in the sun at the right ankle. He remembered the guards of Croford wielding the same weapon when he was younger yet couldn't pinpoint the exact moment they switched to swords.

"Tails," his name was whispered in a hiss.

He looked ahead and watched Sonic and Silver crouched next to one another behind a large sand dune, one gloved hand waving him over. The pickpocket took a moment to breathe deeply again before Chao fluttered after him as he jogged over to them. As he crouched next to him, he resisted the urge to pull his ears to his skull.

The crackling and buzzing of electricity boomed in his head, shook hands with what was already pounding and transformed into a headache. He tried to ignore it as he watched the barrier up and down, a few feet in front of the dune they were hiding behind.

A couple of feet more behind it was the tall sandstone walls, covering the city behind it. Up close the clanking of guards marching back and forth interrupted the sizzling of electricity in front of them. Chao settled back into Silver's head quills, looking at the dome with wide eyes.

"Alright," Sonic suddenly said, "what now?" Tails looked at him as the former looked at Silver.

"Don't look at me! I don't know how to get through!" He gestured toward the light blue barrier, as if it was the first time he saw it.

The pickpocket sighed heavily before he scanned it again. The one thought which came to mind he didn't want to say out loud. Yet any other option seemed risky or wouldn't work. Tails fisted one of his hands before he looked at Sonic.

"Maybe we can short circuit it," he suggested. The azure hedgehog blinked at him.

"How?"

"The dark blue emerald," Tails waved a placating hand toward his quills.

Sonic did as told and rummaged in his quills for a moment before he pulled out the mentioned emerald. Another zing of familiar energy zoomed through his fingertips yet foreboding snuck its way inside, like a looming animal.

"That did electricity, right?" Silver asked, "maybe Tails is right. We can try it against the dome."

Sonic looked at the surface of the emerald as multiple thoughts passed through his mind. He looked up at the pickpocket.

Days ago, Tails had admitted to him his great fear of lightning and thunderstorms amongst a demonstration of the exact emerald. The event was replaying in the hedgehog's mind like a TV-program. The crevices in his brow, the slight twitch of the lip and the calculating eyes.

The pickpocket nodded subtly at him, a silent approval. He would have to be fine. The azure hedgehog then turned to Silver.

"You do it," he didn't give the chaos wielder a choice when he threw it at him. Silver fumbled and dropped it between his feet with a 'boonk'.

"Why me?! Haven't you tried it before?"

"Not much. Besides you can control them better than me," Sonic shrugged, as if it was common knowledge.

The gray hedgehog's mouth was still left agape in surprise and Tails could see more arguments were piling up in his mind. He didn't get to voice them out loud when Sonic stepped toward the pickpocket.

"We'll stand back a bit," he decided, as he looked at Tails, a silent question to follow.

The pickpocket heard Silver sputter another protest but he ignored him as he looked at Chao again. He waved him toward them and the turquoise blob obediently followed with a 'chao'. Tails stepped back with Sonic next to him and allowed the chao to settle on top of his head between his ears. His warm presence made the headache just a bit more bearable. Silver was still sputtering.

"Hey, c'mon! We don't even know what's going to happen!"

"Right! That's why you're going to find out for us. You can do it!" Sonic encouraged with a thumb's up.

Tails knew what he was doing. He looked over his shoulder at the ex-prisoner yet the warm familiar smile he'd seen before in moments of uncertainty, in late nights filled with nightmares, was the only thing present. A part of him considered not to take it. He could take care of himself.

Then he watched as Silver picked up the dark blue emerald with a sigh and hesitantly moved closer to the barrier and the same lump from before grew. Chao said 'chao' above him, as if sensing his uneasiness. One gloved hand settled on his shoulder comfortingly. When he looked at Sonic again, he winked at him. A face speaking more words than his lips ever could. A silent promise of protection.

Tails didn't react and instead looked toward Silver again as he concentrated on the heavy, grounding hand on his shoulder. He resisted the urge to grip it.

The Chaos Wielder stepped up close to the barrier, slightly ducked to avoid any guards seeing him. The pickpocket was unsure whether the electricity would spark him alive, yet nothing happened yet.

Silver looked up and down at the smooth surface of the barrier before he looked at the emerald in his hand. Tails saw him sigh from where he stood and swore his quills rose a little bit toward the electrified dome.

A zap of energy coursed through his fingers, and he felt his heart beating a little faster as the emerald glowed in the hedgehog's hand. Silver opened his eyes and looked at his other hand. Then he looked up and reached his hand toward the dome. Sparks flew, snapped, and seemingly jumped at Silver.

The hedgehog caught it. Tails recoiled without being able to stop it. The hand on his shoulder moved to his back, a steady support against his already shaking body.

Electrical sparks hopped in his hand, like falling water in a full bucket, before he stretched his fingers. A long whip stretched next to him; amber eyes were following its length as the emerald glowed in strength.

Tails swallowed something in his throat as he watched Silver lift the whip. With one foot stepped back the Chaos Wielder cracked the whip at the dome.

An ear-piercing 'boom' made a yip escape his lips; his eyes shut. Ears plastered to his skull as an arm tightened around him and his head was shoved into warm fur. His own fur prickled from the electrical charges in the air, the buzzing he heard through his skull.

Silver shouted something. Tails twisted his head and looked. His jaw hit sand. Pieces of the dome were missing.

Hexagonal shapes were absent in the exact spot where the electrical whip had hit, from the ground and two feet up. Silver was staring at it wide eyed.

Then the pickpocket noticed as they began to blink back into existence.

"Gotta move!" Sonic's hands moved too fast.

One around his wrist and the wind was back. His shoulder cracked and another yip followed his involuntary movements. In the same second, he stopped.

His body smashed against something hard, and he breathed to make sure his lungs were where they should be. A violent shiver shook him from toes to shoulders from the sudden drop of temperature.

With shaking hands, he looked up and back and noticed as the hole in the barrier was gone. Another blink and he saw Silver shaking his head on the other side of Sonic, Chao fluttering before settling down on Silver's head with a confused 'chao'.

A shadow overcast them, as Tails looked up at the tall guard tower, they were standing next to. His ears flicked. He swallowed his gasp when clanking armor came to their left. Twisting his head he couldn't see them yet but the mumbling was getting louder.

"We can't stay here," he whispered harshly.

"I know," Sonic breathed, "but I can't believe that worked!"

"Can we talk about that later?" The pickpocket corrected. When he looked at Silver, surprise was all that remained and a lingering confusion slowly disappeared.

Tails ignored his pounding head as his tails thrashed.

"We need a distraction. Something big,"

"Oh! I'll move the shadows!" Tails looked at Sonic with a quirked brow. Yet the azure hedgehog was already scrambling to find something within his quills.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I'm sure! Just watch!" Sonic pulled out the yellow emerald like a kid who'd found candy.

"Sonic I'm not sure-"

"Chill Silver I got it."

Tails looked behind him and noticed the long shadow overcasting the sand, past the dome. The rest of the wall seemingly made a black city in the sand, pointy roofs and smooth walls stretched and cast far. When the pickpocket looked back at Sonic energy was already swirling in his chest again.

The yellow emerald was glowing between the hedgehog's fingers as he'd closed his eyes to concentrate. When he opened them again, he could swear his eyes were glimmering a little too. Sonic had a wide smirk dance on his lips as he stretched his hand toward the large shadows in front of them.

He flicked his wrist. Tails watched them vigilantly. He thought he missed something.

Then he realized nothing had happened.

He looked at Sonic again, saw frustration clearly showing in his features as he flicked his wrist again. Nothing. As if he was imitating a lit lantern.

"C'mon," Sonic mumbled as he tried again. No response. Chao cocked his head to the side and said 'chao'.

"Sonic," Silver said hesitantly next to him, "I don't think it's gonna work."

"Alright you do it," as if someone had turned off a light switch, the glow disappeared in the emerald the moment he thrusted it into Silver's chest.

"It's not gonna work," the chaos wielder hissed, "they're too big. Besides you're not moving shadows you're moving light. You were trying to move the entire sun." Tails felt his heart pounding when the clunk clunk clunking neared.

Sonic was blinking dumbfoundedly.

"Can I do that?"

"Sonic, later! Do something else!" The pickpocket hissed.

Another look to his left revealed no guards yet. Their quiet conversation was getting louder.

"I'll do it," he looked at Silver when he responded. Quickly he saved the yellow emerald in his quills and after a second pulled out the green one again.

"Good idea! Make some cacti grow!" Sonic enthusiastically encouraged.

The gray Chaos Wielder sighed again before he closed his eyes. Energy swirled within the crystal walls as it began to glow an ethereal green.

Tails' fur stood on edge when the steps became clear. Elongated shadows with bulky shoulders and chunky legs neared to his left. He stepped into Sonic.

Then the ground rumbled. His ears flicked, he looked toward the edge of the barrier.

Sand spurted up; large green cylindrical masses popped out from the ground faster than the naked eye could see. Multiple, clumping together as they grew taller. About half the height of the wall before they grew spikes and singular white flowers.

Tails heard gasps from around him and twisted his head. The two guards he'd been hearing showed, spears in hand, faces covered by sand colored helmets, walking toward the sudden cacti.

Looking the other way revealed more guards, concentrated on the sudden plantation spurting out from the ground.

"Let's go," Tails was pulled back to the situation from Sonic's urgent whisper.

Silver was shaking his head as he shimmied along the wall, the azure hedgehog following before Tails echoed their steps. He couldn't deny his shaking hands as he watched guards walk toward the cacti forest, talking amongst themselves, hoping to Chaos nobody was going to turn around and look.

When he looked back Chao had locked eyes with him, before he disappeared behind Silver's fan quills, as if wanting to hide. Tails wished he could do the same.

"There's the entrance," Sonic was smart enough to keep whispering.

The pickpocket dared to lean forward and sure enough saw large open wooden gates, withered and scratched by sand. The entrance was open, intricate symbols were carved into the stone at the sides and top, symbols he didn't care for now.

"No guards," Silver reported before he shimmied faster.

Tails saw Sonic's eyes glance at him quickly before he looked away, as if checking if he was still with them. The pickpocket looked toward the guards, noticed their more relaxed and casual stances and concluded the magical cactus was soon to become irrelevant.

He swallowed something in his throat. Turning his head, Silver stood next to the first corner of the archway and dared a look inside.

"It's clear," he sputtered before he jogged with a startled 'chao' following.

The ex-prisoner echoed his steps before the pickpocket whipped around the corner. Jogging through and past a hallway lodged between a second set of wooden gates, a sudden path emerged straight into the city ahead of them.

Silver had stopped, currently leaning against a house with heavy breaths escaping his chest. The pickpocket was looking at the azure hedgehog as he exhaled.

"We made it," Sonic half-laughed as he wiped sweat from his brow. Tails ignored him as he looked ahead.

Sandstone houses towered above him, three or four floors high. Clothesline hung from one window to the other and intricate cut archways framed the buildings into desirable housing. Sandstone buildings with flat roofs, wooden decks, taller towers with narrow glass-less windows and people.

His heart skipped a beat as he watched different Mobian species walking to and from, wearing robes to shirts and pants. Some houses had colorful banners, clear indications of sellers wanting buyers. He could already hear the quiet mumbling.

"Shita, huh?" Tails looked at Sonic as he spoke like a tourist.

His hands were resting on his hips, his body straightened, and quills relaxed, as if he was ready to greet the first person he met.

The pickpocket sighed to himself before taking another glance at the entrance of the supposed futuristic city.

What he saw made him stiffen.

"Hide!" The pickpocket grabbed Sonic's arm and pulled.

'Whouw' was all that came from Sonic as Tails dragged him behind the house Silver had been up against, hidden in the shadows.

"Kiddo, what're you doing?" Sonic demanded answers. Tails nodded at the neighbor's wall. The azure hedgehog followed his gaze. "Oh."

The gray hedgehog appeared from the corner, staring at them as if they'd become ghosts.

"What're you hiding for?" Silver asked confused, his arms to the side as he stepped toward them.

Chao said another 'chao' as he tried to see what Sonic saw.

The pickpocket bit his lip as he clearly saw the parchment attached to the side of the building. The azure hedgehog's crudely drawn face with large letters stating the names Croford and wanted. Next to it was an equally old parchment of his own muzzle and a price tag.

Silver turned around. Tails could see the visible surprise pass his body as he whipped around back toward them.

"You're wanted?!"

"Hey! He's wanted too!"

"Sonic quiet!" Tails hissed.

When he looked back at Silver, he could see he was trying to put the puzzle pieces into place himself before he had to shake his head.

"I knew Tails was a criminal but you too!"

"I'm actually innocent," Sonic tried to convince, "and I had to break into the castle. To get this."

The azure hedgehog pulled out the white emerald in his hand. It might as well have been a month ago that Tails had met him for the first time and Sonic had introduced him to the second emerald he'd ever seen before.

The pickpocket could tell by the wrinkles around Silver's eyes and lips that he remained unconvinced. He shook his head again.

"This can't be real."

"Silver listen, I'll tell you everything, okay? But right now, you need to help us not get caught."

"And how am I supposed to do that?!" The gray hedgehog asked after Sonic's plea.

The latter opened his mouth to say something, but the words never came. Tails sighed to himself again to calm his nerves before he looked at Chao still trying to hide on top of Silver's head. Concealing himself from the world.

The pickpocket looked at the flying creature again before he motioned for the chao to come to him.

"Go and buy some cloaks for us," Tails said as Chao flew toward him.

The fox picked him up before he looked at Silver, making sure he'd understood the message. A dumb look was still plastered across his face when Sonic ruffled in his quills again.

"Good idea. Here, buy one for each of us," he deposited a handful of coins into Silver's hand.

The latter looked at it as if he'd given him a clump of mud. Then he looked up again.

The pickpocket could see the surprise, the utter questions piling up in his mind. He opened his mouth to say something Tails didn't have the patience to hear.

"Listen, trust us," Silver looked at him. The crevice in his brow was skeptical, "if you want us to still finish this puzzle and figure out everything about your memories then you need to help us now. Or Sonic and I will be thrown in jail, and you'll never know."

The ultimatum made Silver's expression change in the same moment. He blinked thoughtfully before he stared back at the coins in his hand.

A sigh of resignation passed his lips then before he seemingly gave in to being guilty of helping fugitives.

"Fine. But you owe me an explanation," he threatened, "what color?"

"Doesn't matter. Just a size large and small," Tails instructed. Silver looked at him again, as if he attempted to read his mind, before he turned on his heel.

"Wait here," he said before he walked into the city. The fox heard his steps become fainter. A sigh then left his chest, and the headache suddenly increased.

"Kiddo you're shaking," The concern etched in Sonic's words would've been annoying any other day, "you okay about all this?" He looked at the ex-prisoner.

A calm smile had occupied itself on his lips, his eyes concentrated on him. He was grounded, confident, and certain that the plan he'd just come up with was going to work. Tails decided to nod.

"Yes. I'm just a bit dizzy."

"'Must be because you were out in the sun too long. We'll see about buying some water asap too," Sonic promised, a determination coating every word. Tails found comfort in that alone.

When Chao sneaked a 'chao' into the conversation he petted his head calmly with his other hand. He sneaked a look around the corner of the house.

Silver wasn't in sight, but people were. Merchants and buyers, dogs and birds walking with kids in their hands, making conversation he couldn't hear. Another city, more norms and rules he couldn't obey.

The threat of someone recognizing them was even higher. Yet it made him feel calmer. He knew these rules, he knew what to do.

"Do you think we'll find Shadow or any of his bandits here?" Sonic asked which made the pickpocket look at him. Tails shook his head.

"It's hard to tell. This city is hidden well from outside travelers. Like I said in Plumouth the black market has many connections to a lot of cities and communities. But if they're here I don't know yet," he admitted.

From where they stood no pickpockets or thieves were getting ready to snatch or take something. As expected, they mostly roamed around the larger squares with vendors and more merchants. These small businesses weren't worth taking from.

"Then we better keep a lookout," Sonic sighed, "you ready for all of this?"

When Tails looked back, a serious expression had crossed the azure hedgehog's face. One that asked him if he regretted his request of being somewhere else. The pickpocket nodded.

"Yes. Are you?" Sonic smirked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," the grin was encouraging.

Chao jumped from his head and pumped his rounded fist into the air with a 'chao'. Tails was smiling too when he heard footsteps nearing.

He stepped back when Silver reappeared, a colored cloak in each hand.

"This is all I could get," he breathed, as if he'd hurried.

He reached a dark green cloak toward Sonic before a dark red one was handed to the pickpocket. Tails grabbed the fabric and swung it around his shoulders.

The familiar sensation of false protection coated his back as he suddenly felt oddly at home. The cloak reached past his ankles and as he lifted the hood it covered his ears too. The pickpocket swung and curled one tail around his stomach, the other freely waving behind him.

He looked at Chao and motioned for him to get under the hood. The turquoise blob did as instructed and nuzzled himself between the fox's ears, away from any curious eyes.

He looked at Sonic as he was busy clicking the first button into place. Luckily the hood was large enough to fit up and around his quills. When their eyes met, he watched the hedgehog look at him up and down.

A memory resurfaced and a smirk came on his lips. Tails didn't have to ask. He knew what he was thinking.

"You guys ready?" Silver asked. The pickpocket saw Sonic nod next to him before he nodded at Silver.

"Let's go," Tails said, and walked.

The new cloak wafted around his feet robotically, not used and worn like his own which he'd found on the streets of Croford. The invisible cape which had given him comfort and anonymity in the eyes of hunting and judging faces.

With his head pounding he walked behind Silver with Sonic stepping in his heels. He looked up, saw the dome high above them coloring the sky, before he looked past the gray hedgehog's shoulders. They were nearing people.

Tails let a bolstering sigh escape past his lips. He walked back into new territory, coated in rules he understood.

He was once again a part of something he'd tried to escape for so long.