"Shiro! Hey Shiro!" said Aero as quietly as he could.
"SHH!" hissed Shiro in response, "They'll hear us!"
Aero screwed up his face and nodded to his side. Shiro glanced over at where Aero was indicating to see Nara clung to Aero's right leg. The small rabbit was shaking violently and was practically curled into a ball around the fox's leg. Shiro pulled an annoyed face for a moment and then knelt down next to Nara.
"Nara? Nara you ok?" asked Shiro in a whisper.
Nara just shook her head quickly, her eyes shut tight as she still clung to Aero's leg.
"Nara it's ok to be scared you know." continued Shiro, "I'm scared."
Nara slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Shiro.
"You are?" she asked slowly.
"I might not show it Nara but I don't think I've been this scared in my entire life." replied Shiro.
"But….but you're never scared Shiro. You're always so strong."
"I'm strong so that you'll be strong Nara. You gotta be strong for me Nara."
"But I'm scared Shiro…what if we get caught?"
Shiro looked up at Aero and the fox gave him a small shrug. They both knew it was a possibility but neither had really admitted to themselves it would happen. Nara on the other hand seemed to be dwelling in it. Shiro slowly looked back at Nara to find her gripping Aero's leg even tighter and looking around wearily.
"Nara think what'll happen if we don't do this. Think of what'll happen to Tails, you don't want anything bad to happen to him do you." said Shiro.
"No." replied Nara slowly.
"Then we have to do this. Tails won't be able to escape on his own, we have to help him. Besides it's your turn to use the sparker."
Nara looked up slowly, her scared expression changing slightly to excitement.
"It is?" she asked slowly, "I thought it was your turn."
Shiro looked up at Aero and twitched his eyebrow at the fox. Aero rose his own eyebrows as if questioning what Shiro had done and then nodded, a look of realisation crossing his face.
"Nah, Shiro and myself headed out a few days back to try and get some food." said Aero, "We ran into a bit of trouble and he used his turn then."
"You went out without me?" asked Nara.
"We weren't long and you were asleep anyway." replied Shiro, "Besides that's history, what matters is that it's your turn."
Shiro slowly reached into his jacket and drew out a long metal object. It looked like a metal magic wand, being about thirty centimetres in length with one end of it thicker than the rest. At the opposite end was a small handle with a battery stuck to it and a trigger. Shiro slowly held it out to Nara, who equally slowly reached out and took it. Shiro then dug into his pocket and drew out a second object, this one a small metal dart, and handed that to Nara too. Nara slowly removed both of her arms from Aero's leg and took both objects, standing still for a moment before putting them in separate pockets in her trousers.
"There!" said Shiro, "Now I need you to be sharp and strong for my Nara. You've got an important part to play tonight, you think you can do it?"
Nara looked unsure for a moment but then gave a small nod.
"I'll try Shiro." She replied.
"That's good, now let's get moving, we're wasting time."
"Ok."
Nara slowly started to walk again, heading up the sewer channel as she did. Shiro slowly got to his feet and fell into step alongside Aero who gave him a small nudge in the ribs as he did.
"Nice move man." he whispered.
"Thanks for the support." replied Shiro.
"No problem, now let's find Tails and get out of here, this place gives me the creeps."
-----------------------------------------
Tails allowed himself to be dragged along for what seemed like an eternity. Robotnik hadn't looked back at him since they had left the cell block and Tails had been using all his time looking for an exit. He was now starting to feel resided due to the fact that he couldn't see one anywhere. He let out a small sigh of defeat as they continued along.
"Feeling a little lost? Don't worry, I'm about to reunite you with an old friend." said Robotnik glancing a look over his shoulder.
Tails looked up sharply, his ears perked at the news. Reunite me with an old friend? Could it be? Presently they stopped at a large mechanical door and Robotnik placed his hand on a console to the side. The console bleeped and with a hiss the door cracked down the middle and slid apart revealing the next room, which they swiftly passed into. The room was circular in design with only one door leading into it. Around the outside wall of the room were banks and bank of computers and monitors. Each of them was bleeping away happily to themselves going about whatever jobs they had been set. High above the room rose to an impressive high tapering to a point a few hundred meters up. Air ducts and services criss-crossed the space above they're heads and under foot was a metal gantry like floor through which Tails could see that the room extended downwards for a few hundred meters also ending in a large fan. However none of this seemed to take precedence over a greater interest. The entire room was filled with a soft green coloured glow and, looking in towards the middle of the room, Tails could see what was causing it. Sat on top of a large pillar in the middle of the room, surrounded by various energy collection devices, was a large green coloured gem. Tails eyes widened at the sight of it.
"The Master Emerald!" he exclaimed.
"Yes indeed Tails, it has served me very well over the last few years." replied Robotnik with a chuckle.
Tails snapped his head over at Robotnik, casting an intense glare at the round doctor.
"What do you mean? What's this place? Where's Sonic?!" he demanded.
"You're in no position to be demanding answers!" snapped Robotnik turning away, "Although for my own pleasure I think I will answer some of them. This place is Robotnik Square, you might know it better as Station Square."
"Station…Square…"
Tails blinked and a chill ran down his spine, he knew he'd recognised the streets outside but how? He looked back at Robotnik as he continued.
"I can see you're wondering how I got such a grip on this world." he said.
"Where's Sonic?!" said Tails again quickly.
"That rodent? He's dead!" replied Robotnik coldly.
"D…dead!"
A further chill ran down Tails' spine and all the hope in the world seemed to drain from his mind. His face went nearly as white as his muzzle and a distant look fixed in his eyes.
"No…" he murmured.
"Yes, I can say that it was one of the crowning moments of my new order. Finally ridding myself of that annoying hedgehog."
Tails' head snapped up, a fiery look flaring in his eyes.
"That's not true! Sonic would never fall to you! You're a lying Egg roll and I'll never believe a word you say!"
"Think what you will fox until time changes your mind. That time won't be long though, I have a few interesting new devices I'd like to try out and you'll make a nice test subject!"
Tails' face twisted in a mix of rage, frustration and pain. Sonic couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be! Neither he, Robotnik nor the robots present detected a small movement in a vent above them.
-----------------------------------------
"Aero you sure this is the way?" asked Shiro.
"Yeah positive, don't doubt my nose man!" replied Aero.
"Ok ok, just making sure."
The three furries were now making their way along an air duct following Tails' scent. They had entered the main city building through the sewers earlier and had so far been able to remain undetected. Nara seemed to have buried her fear for now although she was still the most wary in the group. Shiro had been leading for some time but now Aero had taken point and was following the distinct smell Tails left behind him. Aero was a great tracker, able to follow even the faintest smell for miles and find his target. Shiro was always being impressed by Aero's ability but couldn't help but check from time to time, even the best made mistakes at times. Just then Nara stopped and grabbed Shiro's sleeve forcing Shiro to stop and look round at her.
"What is it Nara?" he asked.
"I hear something….voices." replied Nara.
Out of the group Nara had the best ears, followed closely by Aero. Shiro wasn't that good at hearing things, his small ears were good for day to day use but useless in every other situation. Aero suddenly cocked his head and started to listen, a strained look on his face as he did.
"I can't hear anything." he said, "You sure Nara?"
"Yes…I can hear voices ahead." replied Nara looking at Aero.
"Which direction are they coming from Nara?" asked Shiro.
Nara lifted one of her ears to get a clearer picture of the sound and then let it drop down again before answering.
"Up ahead and to the left." she said.
"Aero?" asked Shiro.
"That's where the smell is coming from." replied Aero with a nod.
"Ok then, here's the plan. If this is Tails then we have to get him out of here. Who knows who he's talking to and what condition he's in but our priority is to get him back into the sewers clear." informed Shiro.
Aero and Nara each gave a small nod.
"I don't pretend to think that this'll be easy but we have to do this. Come on let's move!"
"You got it!" replied Aero with a smile before he darted up the air duct following the smell again.
Shiro soon followed but Nara wavered for a moment before following. As she followed then she started to fiddle with the item Shiro had given her earlier in her pocket. It wasn't long before they could all clearly hear the voices coming from ahead and sure enough one of them belonged to Tails. Shiro clenched his fist in triumph, they'd found him, but at the same time his mind was racing, he recognised the other voice.
Aero suddenly stopped ahead of him nearly causing Shiro to crash into him but he managed to stop in time. Aero turned and put a finger to his lip indicating for everyone to be quiet as Nara caught up and then pointed at a vent beside him. All three of them knelt down and looked through the vent. Nara had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from squealing in alarm. They could see Tails suspended between two robots looking completely crushed and just a little way off a large round man dressed in red and black. Shiro cursed inwardly, it was Robotnik. Aero slowly turned to him and spoke so quietly Shiro nearly had to lip-read.
"Is that who I think it is?" asked the fox.
Shiro replied with a nod and Aero's eyes widened. Nara was now completely rigid where she sat, both her hands clamped to her mouth. Shiro slowly took hold of one of her arms and pulled it away from her mouth.
"Nara, it's ok. I need your help now." he said.
Shiro watched as a shiver ran over the rabbit's body before she looked at him.
"You ready?" asked Shiro.
"…y….yes." replied Nara slowly moving closer to the vest.
With shaking hands she slowly withdrew the wand and dart from her pockets and fitted the dart into the enlarged end of the wand. Edging forwards slightly more, she lightly rested the enlarged end on one of the vent panels and pushed it through. Resting her finger on the trigger she took aim at one of the robots holding Tails and pressed the trigger.
-----------------------------------------
A high pitched whine and a sudden thud sound filled the air causing Robotnik to spin round in alarm. Tails looked to his left where the noise had come from to find that the robot there was now sparking violently. He gave a sharp yelp and looked away just as the top of the robot exploded sending half of it sailing across the room. The restraints around his left arm and leg suddenly loosened and then fell away as the rest of the robot fell to the floor in a smoking heap. Everything had happened so quickly Tails didn't have time to think but one word swiftly came to mind, escape. Clenching his left fist he brought both that and his left foot round at the second robot, that was now having trouble holding the fox by itself. His fist and foot connected well and the robot gave a jerk, releasing its grip and allowing Tails to jump free. Landing on his feet near the Master Emerald a voice caught his ear.
"Tails here!"
Tails quickly looked to the side to see that a vent cover was now hanging loose and three familiar faces were poking through. Tails couldn't believe it, they'd come to rescue him! Without a moments pause he leaped into the air, spinning his tails as he did, and throwing himself into the vent nearly colliding with Aero as he did. Nara swiftly wrapped her arms around him and burst into tears.
"Tails! You're ok!" she wailed.
"Glad your safe Tails." said Aero with a nod.
"Nuts to safe guys!" cried Shiro, "We have to move now!"
"Too right Shiro." agreed Tails.
"Alright, this way!" cried Aero going into a run down the vent.
Everyone else scrambled to their feet and followed him but they didn't get far. Without warning a section of the vent shaft ahead of then exploded into a million pieces, it also happened to be the section Aero was running through and his scream was evident to the rest as the shaft exploded around him and he fell to the floor. The group skidded to a halt in front of the missing section just as another section was blown away behind them. The section they were standing in wasn't strong enough to support them on its own and with a groan it gave way, collapsing to the ground and breaking open throwing them all out across the floor. Tails glanced up to see Nara and Shiro lying next to him in a dazed state and then glanced ahead to see Aero curled up in a ball screaming in pain. It was clear even from where Tails lay that he was badly injured, pieces of the exploded vest were stuck in him in various places and blood seeped from the wounds.
A sinister chuckle filled the air causing Tails to turn around slowly. Standing in the doorway to the room was Robotnik, flanked by two large robots. Each robot looked like a giant pillar on tracks with a minigun mounted on one side and a small rocket launcher in the other side. Tails gulped inwardly, now they were in trouble.
"How predictable, you're friends have come to save you. I now seem to have several test subjects for my experiments." gloated Robotnik with a smile.
Tails slowly pushed himself up onto his knees and cast another glance at Aero before looking back at Robotnik with a defiant face.
"Who says we've given up yet Eggman!" he said quickly before leaping into the air.
Almost immediately the two robots opened fire, spraying the room with gun fire as they tracked Tails. The fox leaped from one wall to another, ducking and diving as he went using his tails. If it hadn't been live rounds some might say he was enjoying himself. The room was fast being torn apart by the gunfire but Robotnik didn't seem to notice or care, he just stood screaming at the robots to fire more. Shiro and Nara meanwhile crawled over to Aero and started to see if they could do anything for the injured fox. Although his wounds were bad, Aero was still conscious and spitting obscenities through his clenched teeth. Shiro was on the edge of panic and Nara had already crossed panic and entered blind fear.
Presently one of the robots ran out of gunfire and, as Tails landed next to the Master Emerald pillar, it fired a rocket. Tails jumped to avoid it but the explosions shook the room violently and destroyed part of the central pillar causing the Master Emerald to fall from its position and land with a crash on the floor. Because of its momentum the Emerald rolled a bit coming to rest next to Aero and the others. Seeing this Tails jumped from his current position on the wall and landed in front of the Emerald. Robotnik quickly shouted and waved his hands causing the robots to stop firing.
"Stop! You'll hit the Emerald!" he screamed.
Tails couldn't help but smirk as he watched Robotnik's actions.
"Well well well! Something wrong?" he asked as cockily as he could.
Robotnik looked back at Tails for a moment before he spoke.
"A minor set back fox, but I still have the upper hand." he said.
"Oh yeah?" replied Tails, "How'd you figure that?"
"My robots can simply wait you out, I'm sure you won't last long without food and water."
Tails blinked and then gulped slightly, he hadn't thought of that. His reaction earned him a laugh from Robotnik.
"You see Tails, this is my world now and I always have the upper hand."
Tails wasn't listening to Robotnik anymore, he was now thinking desperately on how to get everyone out of this situation. It was then that an odd feeling ran through his mind, a sudden and puzzling feeling. He slowly turned to look at the others and the Emerald lying behind him.
"Guys…..touch the Emerald." he said.
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Shiro looking up sharply.
"I don't know, just touch it ok, all of you."
Shiro gave him an odd look and then nodded slowly as he reached out and touched it. Nara nervously followed suit and Aero finally, after a little struggle, reached out and touched it also. Tails made sure everyone was touching it before he looked back at Robotnik. The round man still stood watching them but he seemed to be paying less and less attention to them as his robots were also watching them.
"Yo Egghead! It's been nice visiting but I'm afraid we have to leave now." he said.
Robotnik looked towards the fox and paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Oh yes! And what makes you think you're going anywhere?" replied Robotnik with a laugh.
"This!"
With that Tails stepped back and planted one of his hands firmly on the Emerald behind him. For a moment nothing happened but then the Emerald began to glow brighter and continued to get brighter with every second that past. As the glow increased so did the heat from the Emerald, it wasn't a vast heat or anything that would burn a person but it felt like it to Tails. He had to force himself to keep his injured hand on the Emeralds surface. Even if Robotnik had had time to react it would have meant nothing as all he did was stare at the scene as finally, in a large white flash, the Emerald and the four furries touching it vanished from view.
-----------------------------------------
Tails had to blink several times and rub his eyes with the back of his hands in order to get his eyes to focus again, the white flash had been quite intense. As his vision cleared he began to make out things around him. He was in a square concrete room with pipes crossing the ceiling. Off to one side sat a cabinet and some water butts and to another sat a rolled up pile of bedding. Tails blinked quickly as he recognised the room.
"My word!" came Shiro's voice from behind him, "We're back in the Den. How'd we end up back here?"
Tails slowly turned around to see the Master Emerald and his three new companions lying on the floor behind him. Nara was looking round in short sharp movements trying to figure out what had just happened, Aero was looking around too but was concentrating on the pain in his body more than what had just happened and Shiro was looking at Tails with a perplexed look. Tails stuttered slightly and looked at the Emerald which was now loosing its glow.
"I don't now Shiro….I just got this really odd feeling and…"
"Never mind! We have to see to Aero first then we can think about what just happened."
"You're right Shiro, what can I do?"
"Get some damn medical supplies and bring them over here!"
Shiro had once again taken over his position of leader and Tails had to admit he was startled at how commanding he sounded. Tails quickly scrambled to one side heading towards the medical cabinet he had seen earlier. Upon reaching it he flung open a draw and started to go through it, there wasn't much left in the draw, a small nearly empty tub of that antiseptic cream, a few tattered bandages, certainly nothing that would really help Aero in his current state but none the less he picked up what he could and carried them over to where the others were. Dumping the stuff down he spoke.
"I don't know how much help this stuff will do."
"I doesn't matter, we have to try at least." replied Shiro as he started to pull a fragment of metal plating from Aero's leg.
The fox, who before had been holding in his pain, now screamed like the world was on fire. Tears welled up in his eyes as Shiro continued his work and ran down his muzzle, pooling on the ground next to him. Nara was sitting to one side sobbing quietly to herself now too.
"I feel responsible." said Tails to no-one in particular.
"It's not your fault Tails." replied Shiro finally pulling a two inch piece of metal from Aero's leg, "Now give me a hand here would you."
Tails nodded slowly and started to assist Aero but he couldn't stop himself speaking as he did.
"But if I hadn't left and got myself caught you wouldn't have had to rescue me and this would never have happened." he said.
"Tails stop kicking yourself! We can talk about it later but right now we have to help Aero ok."
Tails took a sharp breath and fell silent, going back to his job of helping Shiro. During this short exchange both of them had failed to notice what Nara had. The small rabbit was no longer sobbing but was now whimpering in fright and edging closer to Shiro.
"Shiro? Shiro?" she whispered quietly.
Shiro didn't even seem to notice her.
"Shiro?!"
Again Shiro took no notice.
"SHIRO!" wailed Nara.
This time Shiro turned, a slightly angry look on his face.
"Nara please don't disturb…." started Shiro before stopping in mid sentence, "….holy sweet mother of god! What is that?!"
Tails quickly looked round also to see what Shiro had exclaimed at and his jaw almost dropped to the floor. The Master Emerald was now glowing brightly giving of pulses of light as it did but this, however, wasn't the most interesting thing. In front of the Emerald two ghostly figures could be seem and at the centre of each one hung a small orb of light. The two light balls pulsed slowly before each giving a gentle flash of light before fading away. Where the two light balls had been now stood two furries.
One of them was a peach coloured echidna. Her quills hung at different lengths, the forward two hanging at about shoulder length, the next two reaching her waist and the last two behind her stretching far below her waist and crossing over at the tips. A thick gold was wrapped around her head just under her quills and had a small blue stone embedded in it. A similar thick gold necklace hung around her neck, also studded with a blue stone, partially covering the white top she wore. Around her waist was a long and fairly tight skirt that reached her ankles and was decorated with a green, white and light and dark violet pattern. Her feet were wrapped up in a variety of white tapes around which sat a pair of white sandals. Around each of her upper arms was a white band or material with a single white strand hanging from each, a pair of white gloves covered her hands and around her wrists were a set of light blue bangles. Lastly around each of her front quills was a thick gold metal band from which hung a chain suspending an upside down V shaped tag.
Beside the echidna stood a midnight black hedgehog. His quills stuck up and outwards away from his head with a red strip running down the top of each of his quills, the end of each of them tipped in a pearly white. A patch of white fur was clearly visible on his upper chest and lines of red colour ran down each of his arms and legs. A pair of red, white and black shoes sat on his feet which matched the gloves on his hands and lastly a tattered dark grey cape was wrapped around his shoulders.
Tails stood dumbfounded staring at the new arrivals, he recognised them both even thought it didn't sound possible.
"...Shadow and….Tikal…." he spoke softly.
The echidna looked over at him and spoke gently.
"Hello Tails, it's been a long time."
"Tails what's going on?" questioned Shiro quickly staring at Tikal and Shadow, "Who are these two?"
Tails for a moment didn't Shiro's question but finally snapped back to reality and turned to look at him.
"It's ok Shiro, they're friends." he said before turning back to Tikal, "Old friends."
Tikal gave a small nod and then looked at Shiro.
"You have nothing to fear from me, I'm not here to hurt anyone." she said.
It was then that Tikal noticed Nara who was hiding behind Shiro and peeking out from behind his back. Tikal herself knelt down and looked at Nara with a slightly cocked head.
"It's ok, come here." she said softly.
Nara slowly looked out at Tikal and her expression turned slowly from fright to curiosity. She slowly slipped out from behind Shiro and took a few steps towards Tikal but still kept out of arms reach.
"What's your name?" asked Tikal.
"Nara." replied the rabbit looking at the necklace around Tikal's neck, "That's a pretty necklace."
"You want to try it on?"
"Could I?"
Tikal just gave a small smile and reached behind her, unclasped the necklace and held it out in her hands towards Nara. Nara slowly reached forwards only to have Shiro pull on her shirt. Nara looked back to see the racoon shaking his head at her and Nara cast her glance back and forth between Shiro and Tikal for a moment before deciding on her actions. She looked back at Tikal and slowly took the necklace from her hands before placing it around her neck and smiling.
"Thank you." she said quietly blushing a little.
"It looks good on you." replied Tikal, "You can keep it for a while if you like."
"Thank you."
Tikal just smiled and stood up, looking around the rest of the room before she spotted Aero curled up on the floor staring at her with wide eyes. Tikal gasped quickly and raised a hand to her lips before taking a step towards Aero. Shiro quickly made a move and got in between her and Aero giving Tikal a suspicious look as he did. Tikal stopped and looked at Shiro, understanding his actions clearly.
"I can help him." she said.
"How?" asked Shiro.
"Just trust me please."
"Shiro let her past." said Tails stepping up beside Shiro, "Tikal isn't an enemy."
"Easy for you to say that." replied Shiro looking at him, "She did just appear out of nowhere."
"I know Tikal Shiro, she wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone. Come on, we can't do anything for him ourselves."
Shiro gave a small sigh and then slowly nodded before stepping aside but not before giving Tikal another suspicious look. Tikal blinked slowly and then stepped past Shiro and Tails, kneeling down next to Aero. As she did the fox shuffled back slightly away from her, nervous as to what exactly she was going to do.
"Hush now." cooed Tikal as she extended both of her hands over Aero.
She let her fingers droop and then slowly closed her eyes. Spreading her fingers she slowly lowered her hands until the tips of her fingers touched Aero's arm. The fox gave a sudden yelp, forcing Tails to grab Shiro before he dived at Tikal, and then went quiet. Tikal's hands started to glow lightly as did all of Aero's body, a few small balls of light rising from the pair. This continued for a few moments before everyone gasped sharply. All over Aero's body the chunks of metal embedded in his skin started to disintegrate and disappear. As they did the wounds caused by them started to close up, neatly reforming back to normal and looking as if nothing had happened. Aero gave a low moan and closed his eyes lightly looking like he was actually enjoying what was happening to him. After a moment longer Tikal raised her hands and opened her eyes, looking ahead of her for a moment before falling to the side only just managing to catch herself as she did. Nara quickly jumped forwards towards Tikal and knelt down next to her catching hold of her arm as she did.
"Are you ok?" she asked nervously.
"Ah, yes, thank you dear. I'm just a little fatigued." replied Tikal lowering her head and giving a short sigh.
Nara looked at Aero to find that Shiro was already beside the fox helping him into a sitting position.
"You alright Aero?" asked Shiro.
Aero gave his head a shake and yawned before answering.
"I feel weird if that's what you mean." replied Aero.
The fox ran a hand along the side of his body, feeling the now healed skin with his paw.
"Heh, they're gone." he said to himself but still audible to everyone else, "She healed all my wounds, that's….amazing."
Aero looked over at where Tikal was and saw the condition she was in. Before he could ask though Nara answered his question.
"She's just tired." stated Nara.
Aero gave a nod and yawned again.
"That makes two of us." he said.
Tails now crossed over top where Tikal was and knelt down by her as Tikal rested her back against a small raised platform in the middle of the room. For a moment he just looked at her as she took a few deep breathes.
"Tikal….what was that? I've never seen you do that before." he said.
"I've been investigating my powers during my time in the Emerald Tails, I've learned a few things." replied Tikal.
Tails gave a small nod and then moved onto more pressing matters.
"Tikal how come you're here? Last time I saw you, you were sailing into the sky with Chaos."
"We returned to the Master Emerald Tails. Myself and Chaos spent many long eons together teaching each other things and talking. Time doesn't pass the same in the Emerald you see, it can be as fast or as slow as you want it to be. A year can last minutes or millennia and a single moment can last for an eternity."
Tails didn't really know what to say, the working's of the Master Emerald were a mystery to every furry alive on the planet. He sat looking at Tikal for a moment before asking his next question.
"So where is Chaos now?"
"He's still inside the Emerald, after so long of having a spirit inside it the Master has become use to it and now needs a spirit within it at all times. Besides Chaos is tired of fighting, he no longer yearns to destroy, only to protect."
"I see…" replied Tails now casting his glance over towards the black hedgehog.
He was leaning on the Master Emerald, most of his body turned away from the others, with his arms crossed and a thoughtful expression on his face.
"What is Shadow doing here? He died! He died saving the world during the ARK incident." said Tails slowly.
"I saved him." replied Tikal.
"Huh?"
"When Shadow fell from ARK the energy of the Chaos Emeralds was still with him. I reached out with the power of the Master Emerald and clung onto the energy of the Chaos Emeralds. Like I did with Chaos and myself all those years ago, I drew him inside the Emerald with us. He was disorientated when he arrived and didn't trust us at all but gradually over time he has come to accept us. I hope."
Tikal slowly looked over at Shadow just as the hedgehog glanced in her direction also. The pair looked at each other for a moment before Shadow looked away again and resumed his thoughtful look. Tikal turned back also and gave a small sigh, smiling as she did. Tails meanwhile was now looking at the white tips on Shadow's quills.
"How did he get those? They almost look the same colour that his whole body was when he went super." he asked.
"Hmm? Oh the white tips you mean, well you're right in saying the colour is the same as his super form. When I drew him into the Emerald the Chaos energy in his body had not fully dispersed and the Master Emerald's ability is to stop Chaos energy. Therefore the left over energy in his body stopped and stuck with him, turning the tips of his quills white."
"I could sit here and ask questions like this all day Tikal, this is amazing stuff, but…" Tails gave a sigh and looked around, "…just what is going on here? What happened to me when I touched the Master Emerald? What has happened to this place? Was what Robotnik said true?"
Tikal's expression slowly faded to one of sadness and she looked away and down. Her arms fell limply to her side and she pressed her eyes together forcing a few tears to run down her muzzle.
"I'm sorry Tails, it's all my fault." she said quietly.
"Huh? Tikal what do you mean?" asked Tails taking hold of one of Tikal's hands lightly.
"It's my failure, my fault this world is like it is today."
"How?"
"Do you remember all those years ago when Robotnik captured the Emerald and you and Sonic went to recover it?"
"All those years ago? Tikal that only just happened!"
"No Tails it didn't, that happened eight of your years ago, I'll try to explain. When you came to Robotnik's base he started to draw energy out of the Master to power his machines, this caused the Master's powers to go crazy and out of control. I couldn't stop what was happening and instead my own powers started to react with the Master's. When you touched the Emerald my powers found an outlet and activated themselves."
"What happened?"
"You remember during the time when Chaos was released from the Emerald, I was able to transport you and your friends back in time for short periods. Well a similar thing happened when you touched the Emerald last time only you were catapulted forwards in time and I could do nothing to stop it or bring you back, you were lost."
Tails blinked in amazement, it all seemed to be made up yet at the same time it all fitted together. It was then that a question he had been asking since his arrival came to him again.
"Then what happened to Sonic?" he asked.
"I can't say." replied Tikal closing her eyes tightly, "But I can let you see, I can let you all see what happened on that day."
Tikal looked back at Tails and held out both of her hands to Tails to which Tails held out his own hands allowing Tikal to see his burns for the first time.
"Let me heal those first." she said softly closing her eyes and placing her hands on Tails.
Tails was expecting the contact with his burns to hurt yet it didn't, if anything it felt good. Tails watched as small light orbs began to rise from his hands for a few moments before Tikal removed her hands. As she did the tattered bandages around his hands fell away revealing his hands fully. His burns were completely healed and his hands looked like nothing had even happened. He looked up at Tikal as she glanced over at the other three who had been watching and listening the whole time with interest.
"Come closer." she beckoned to them.
Nara slowly started to make her way over and sat down next to Tikal closely followed by Aero and a rather reluctant Shiro. Tikal sat back and held out her hands, one pointing at Tails and Nara and the other at Shiro and Aero.
"Touch my hands." she instructed.
Tails was the first to move, placing his palm in Tikal's shortly before Nara's hand landed on top of his. Aero was next, touching Tikal's other hand and finally Shiro. With everyone touching her hands Tikal closed her eyes and relaxed completely. White energy orbs started to rise from her palms and slowly a white light filled the entire room, blotting out everyone's vision. When it cleared all any of them could see was a green tinted background. They could look through three hundred and sixty degrees completely unrestricted. Tails found himself looking out at the green tinted background and recognised the place he was in. The background was that of the room in Eggman's base.
"I'm inside the Emerald." he said to himself
"No don't come any closer!" cried a familiar voice.
"Tikal? Tikal is that you?"
Tails spun his vision around trying to find the voice and froze. Standing there in front of him was himself looking identical to how he looked now. The fox was shielding his eyes from something and Tails remembered what was going on. This was just after Sonic had told him to get the Master Emerald and it had started sparking. He continued to watch as he saw himself reaching out for the Emerald.
"No don't come any closer!" repeated the voice in a panicked tone.
"Tikal is that you? Where are you?!" cried Tails.
He received no answer though and the voice of Tikal continued to cry out.
"No get away! Don't touch it! Please don't touch it! NO!"
At that point Tails hands made contact with the Emerald and he watched as he saw himself screaming in pain. He could see the energy eating into his own hands from inside the Emerald and he had to look away and close his eyes. When he looked back he could no longer see himself standing there, he was gone. It was then that a second voice filled the air, a voce even more familiar than Tikal's.
"TAILS!"
"Sonic?!"
Tails glanced over towards the voice to see Sonic imbedded in a wall looking straight at the Emerald. It was then that bright light to his side caught his eye and looking he saw it belonged to the robot's laser gun which was now charging heavily. Panic set in and Tails looked back towards his friend in the wall.
"Sonic! Sonic look out! Sonic!"
Sonic didn't move an inch nor did he seem to notice the robot to his side, he just stared at the spot where he had seem himself standing not a moment before. Tails continued to scream warning but none of them made it to Sonic. Tails finally looked back at the robot just in time to see it fire making Tails look away and down. He closed his eyes tightly but still the sound of the explosion filled his ears. When he looked back again an entire section of wall was missing and there was no sign of Sonic.
"Sonic?" asked Tails quietly, "Sonic? No, please no."
He swallowed heavily and looked down, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes as he did.
"It's not true! It can't be….Sonic. NOOOOOOOOO!"
This last cry brought him back to reality and he found himself pulling away from Tikal and falling over backwards. He landed with a thud on the ground a few feet away and immediately curled up, hugging his knees to his chest as he did. He continued to grit his teeth and attempted to hold back his tears but they were now flowing freely down his cheek. Nara was already in tears, the event being too much for her, and Shiro and Aero were just in shock. Tikal sat with her head bowed not saying a word and Shadow was still unmoved from his earlier position although he did give a glance in the groups direction.
"It's not true! Tikal tell me it's not true!" choked Tails through his gritted teeth.
"I'm sorry Tails." replied Tikal looking up at him, "I'm so sorry! I…"
Tikal fell silent and started to weep slightly herself, not bothering to wipe her tears as they fell onto her top leaving small stains where they fell. Nobody said a word after this, everyone was lost in their own thoughts or could think of nothing to say. This silence was suddenly broken though as the entire room began to shake. Shadow looked up sharply at the ceiling.
"Something's coming." he said quickly.
"It must be Robotnik." put in Shiro quickly looking up, "He must have detected the energy of that green thing or something."
"I've done it again…" murmured Tikal to herself.
Just then Tikal felt a hand on her arm and felt herself being pulled to her feet. She looked up to see Tails standing next to her, his face stained with tears but a determined look in his eyes.
"Come on Tikal! We have to get everyone out of here." he said quickly.
Tikal looked at him for a moment as the room continued to shake and then nodded slowly.
"Yes! Yes we do!" she agreed.
"Shiro is there another way out of here?" asked Tails spinning to the racoon.
"Yes follow me." replied Shiro spinning and heading for the flap of material covering the entrance to the next room. As he crossed the room pieces of concrete and a few pipes started to fall from the ceiling and crash to the floor around them.
"He must be drilling through to us." cried Aero as he scooped up Nara and ran after Shiro.
Tikal quickly followed the pair but then stopped and ran to the Master Emerald trying desperately to pick it up. Her attempts were unsuccessful and Tails quickly grabbed her arm.
"Come on Tikal, we have to go now!" he said.
"But we can't leave without the Master Emerald! What about Chaos?" replied Tikal still pulling at the Emerald.
Tails looked at the others now clustered in the doorway and then at the Emerald and made his decision. He quickly flung his arms around the Emerald and started to heave at it also but even the pair of them couldn't move it very quickly.
"Tikal we can't do this, we have to go!" insisted Tails.
"No! We can't leave it!" replied Tikal.
Tails was at a loss for what to do until suddenly the Emerald seemed lighter. Searching for the reason he looked to the side to see Shadow now helping in the task of lifting the large Emerald. Tails gave him a nod and a smile to which Shadow smiled slightly himself and then started to move forwards. Tikal and Tails were quick on their feet and together the three of them went into a run as they crossed the room with the Emerald. Pipes and rock were now falling all around them, some narrowly missing them as they ran across it. As they made it to the doorway Shiro headed off again, darting into the back of the room followed by Aero who was still carrying Nara. The three carrying the Emerald followed as quickly as they could, squeezing through a small gap Shiro had just passed through. They came to an abrupt stop at the other side of the gap and stared. In front of them was a small platform in front of which ran a fast moving water channel. The channel was at a slight angle and left the small room by means of a dark tunnel.
"Here!" cried Shiro, "Everyone jump in."
"What is this Shiro?" asked Tails.
"It's the main water dumping tunnel for the city, it extends for a good mile and spills out into the sea near some jungle I think." replied Shiro, "Now come on! Everyone into the water channel before we get an armada of robots bearing down on us!"
"You got it Shiro, hold your breath Nara!" cried Aero as he took a running jump into the channel.
The water was moving so quickly that he was washed out of sight within a few seconds.
"Let's go Tikal!" said Tails quickly stepping forwards.
"Ok." replied the echidna.
Together they pushed the Master Emerald into the stream of water and watched as it disappeared out of sight.
"Cya on the other side Tails." said Shiro.
"You too Shiro." replied Tails before he clasped a hand around Tikal's wrist and pulled her into the water stream with him.
Shiro watched then disappear and then looked at Shadow. He didn't know what to think of the black hedgehog yet but he wasn't going to let his feeling get in the way right now.
"Come on lets go." he said quickly.
"You go, I'll follow." replied Shadow looking back at the crack they had come through.
Shiro hesitated for a moment and then, feeling the room give another shake, jumped into the water. Shadow stood for a moment longer beside the channel before giving a glare at the crack and jumping backwards into the water channel, vanishing into the blackness a second later. As they all slid down the water channel they heard the sounds of the crashing getting quieter and quieter, all the time the rush of water getting louder and louder and the blackness still surrounded them.
-----------------------------------------
Tails coughed slightly, bringing up a mouthful of water as he did, and slowly raised his head. He shook his head slightly, throwing his wet bangs out of his eyes, and then looked around. He was lying on what appeared to be a small sandy cove. Behind him the sea lapped against the shore and in front of, nestled between two cliffs that rose on either side, was a dense dark jungle. He coughed again, bringing up yet more water, and continued to look around him. To his right he caught sight of Aero, with Nara sat next to him, they both appeared to be ok although Aero was lying on his side breathing heavily. Tails slowly started to push himself up onto his knees, giving a moan as his head started to spin slightly, and took a further look around the cove. From his new position he caught sight of Shadow, the black hedgehog now on his feet and looking around also, and Shiro leaning against a large rock. Tails suddenly became worried, someone was missing.
"Hey! Anyone seem Tikal?" he said as he finally pulled himself to his feet.
Shiro raised his head and shook it slowly.
"Not since you two jumped into the pipe." he replied.
Tails looked both ways down the cove and then back at Shiro.
"I'm going to look for her."
"Tails wait! I'll come with you." said Shiro quickly standing up.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I might not know her but she's our own kind and if we can't look after our own we have problems."
"True, thanks Shiro."
"No problem, hey Nara!"
"Yes Shiro?" replied the small rabbit looking up.
"Is Aero awake yet?" asked Shiro.
"Yes but he's still a little dazed, why?"
"Just asking, Tails and I are going to look for Tikal, keep an eye on things here would you."
Nara just nodded at Shiro and started fiddling with the large gold necklace Tikal had given her earlier that was still around her neck. Shiro turned back to Tails and the pair started to move off across the cove.
"What happened to Aero?" asked Tails.
"He must knock his head on someone on the way down the pipe, he's just a little stunned." replied Shiro.
"Guy never seems to catch a break does he."
"Yeah Aero can be a little accident prone at times but let's get looking for Tikal shall we."
"You're right, you go left and I'll go right. Then we'll meet back at the others and check the other side of the cove."
"You got it Tails."
The pair split up, Shiro heading off to the left and the remotest part of the cove and Tails heading out towards the shore and a patch of large rocks. Tails had to admit to himself that he was slightly worried about Tikal. The reason he had been holding onto her when they had jumped into the channel was so that he was sure she didn't get lost and yet here he was searching for her. He wondered why he was searching for her in the first place, it had after all been her powers that had warped him to the future and had resulted in Sonic being killed but he also knew it hadn't been her fault. It had been Robotnik draining the Emeralds powers that had caused her powers to go crazy, he was to blame, not Tikal.
He continued his search for a few minutes longer when he suddenly got an idea, spinning his tails he took off, gaining an aerial view of the area he was searching for and it instantly proved its worth. To one side of the rock formation in a section he had yet to search he spied a bright green glow. Diving from the sky, and giving a shout to Shiro as he went, he landed next to the glow and slipped down a rock so he was next to it. In front of him lay the Master Emerald and next to it, with her arms wrapped securely around the Emerald, lay Tikal. She was breathing lightly but her eyes were closed making Tails hurry to her side. He knelt down next to her and lightly shook her with one of his hands.
"Tikal, hey Tikal are you alright?" he asked.
"No mother let me sleep some more." murmured Tikal happily.
"Tikal?"
Tails gave Tikal another small shake and finally the echidna woke. Her eyes fluttered and eventually opened focussing on Tails' face as they did.
"Tails?" she asked.
"Yeah it's me Tikal, you ok?" replied Tails.
"I…I think so."
Tikal slowly removed her arms from the Emerald and sat up. Her clothes were covered in sand and various pieces of seaweed clung to her body, which she started to shake off before looking back at Tails.
"Is everyone else ok?" she asked.
"Yup never better." chirped Shiro's voice as he appeared from behind a rock, "I see you found her Tails."
"Yeah I did." replied Tails looking back at Tikal and extending his hand, "Come on lets get you back to the group."
Tikal gave a nod and accepted Tails hand.
"You take her back Tails, I'll wait here with this thing until you get back. I doubt I'll be able to pick it up myself." said Shiro.
"Ok Shiro, I'll be back shortly then."
Tails kept a hold of Tikal's hand and together the pair started to cross the rocks back towards the beach. Tails was glad everyone was ok, at least that was something to be thankful for.
"Thank you for coming to look for me Tails…" said Tikal shyly.
"No problem Tikal, I'm just glad everyone is safe." replied Tails.
"When I felt you loose your grip on my hand in the water pipe I…I thought for one moment that you might not come to find me."
"Why would you think that?"
"It's my fault Tails, everything around us is my fault. None of this would have happened if I had controlled my powers."
Tikal looked down at the ground and didn't make another sound apart from a short sigh. Tails couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"Tikal it's not all your fault, it's Robotnik! It's his fault." he said.
"Maybe Tails but I still feel responsible. If it wasn't for me then Sonic and everyone else who helped me in stopping Chaos would be alive now. I'm sorry Tails."
Tails felt the pain of loss swell inside him as Tikal spoke, what Tikal said was true but as much as he tried to be angry at her he couldn't be. He looked ahead to see that they were nearing the rest of the group and decided to say one last thing before they reached them.
"I'm alive Tikal and I'm glad you're ok."
"Thank you Tails." replied Tikal in a murmur.
-----------------------------------------
It wasn't more than an hour later that the group of six were moving slowly into the jungle. Tails was in the lead, using his tails to create energy blades to cut through the dense vegetation like a machete. Next came Tikal and Nara, Nara had since given Tikal her necklace back and the pair had walked the entire distance so far without saying a word to anyone. Next came Shiro and Aero carrying the Emerald between them. They both looked tired but neither was complaining. Finally Shadow brought up the rear casting suspicious glances in all directions as he walked.
Out of the whole group Tails was the most worn out. He generally didn't use his tail blade attack more than once or twice at a time but now he was using it continually. Eventually he got to a point where he had to stop and rest and slumped to the ground against a tree. The entire group came to a stop next to him and Shiro and Aero quickly dropped the Emerald giving a small pant each as they did.
"Phew! Break time!" said Shiro quickly.
"About time." added Aero slumping to the ground also.
"Are we lost?" asked Nara innocently.
"No we're not lost Nara." replied Tails, "I just need a break that's all."
Nara's question did however spark a thought in Tails' mind. Where exactly were they heading? He hadn't recognised the cove they had been washed up in and the jungle they were in looked unfamiliar to boot. He needed to see exactly where they were and his earlier idea came back to him. He slowly pulled himself to his feet and looked up.
"Breaks not over already is it?" asked Shiro.
"No I'm just going to take a quick aerial view of our position." replied Tails.
"You sure you're up for that Tails? You look worn out." stated Aero.
"I'll be fine."
Tails took a few steps away from the group and spun his tails, pulling him up into the air. He had to go slow, pushing his way though the dense vegetation until he was above the canopy. Once there he climbed to a few hundred meters and looked around. To his left was the sea, separated from the jungle by a tall cliff, behind him was the shrouded form of Robotnik Square which even in the daylight looked like a dark place. In front and to his right the jungle expanded onwards for just about as far as he could see but ahead of him something caught his eye. A line running through the jungle not so far ahead, is weaved and snaked its way through the thick jungle as if someone had taken an ice cream scoop and carved a channel in the jungle. Tails grinned slightly and then dropped back down to the canopy, passing through the foliage before landing next to everyone again.
"Any luck?" asked Aero.
"Lots, it seems there's some sort of track ahead of us, if we make for it the journey might be easier." replied Tails.
"You sure Tails? It could be something used by Robotnik." warned Shiro.
"Maybe but it looks pretty over grown to me, least we can do is check it out."
"I guess so, we moving now?"
"Yeah, we best make as much progress as we can while its still light."
Shiro nodded and got up forcing a groan from Aero. Before long the group was on the move again, Tails carving through the jungle with new found vigour. It was still slow work and it took an hour or so to cover the short distance to the track but Tails couldn't believe it when they arrived. Bursting through the last part of jungle Tails found himself looking at a slight raised embankment, on top of which ran a single set of metal rails.
"Well I'll be!" he exclaimed.
"What is it Tails?" asked Tikal following behind him.
"It's a railway! An over grown one but a railway none the less!"
"Well that'll make the journey easier." said Tikal.
"Better! I can't believe I didn't think of this before!"
"What?"
"This is the old railway out of Station Square, anyone know where that railway ended up?"
The rest of the group had appeared now but none had an answer for him.
"The Mystic Ruins!" exclaimed Tails happily, "Why didn't I think of it before?"
"Think of what Tails?" asked Shiro.
"I have, well use to have a workshop in the Mystic Ruins, if we can reach it we can shelter there."
"Well in that case lets get moving!"
"AAAAAH! Shiro can you take a break for once." moaned Aero.
"Ah can it you." replied Shiro.
Once again the group moved off, now making quicker progress as they walked along the old railway. The jungle had grown over the railway at a few points but Tails was able to clear them easily now that he wasn't using his tail attack continually. The sun had already passed overhead and was now starting to sink down behind the western horizon but this only drove the group on at a faster pace. Finally the railway passed into a short tunnel which the group passed into, using the glow of the Master Emerald to light their path. Eventually a light became apparent at the end of the tunnel and the group soon found themselves walking out onto a large viaduct. Tails stopped and put his hands on his hips for a moment before spinning towards the group in triumph.
"Yes I knew it!" he cried.
Around them was a circular formation of cliffs open to the sea on one side that was completely isolated from the jungle behind them. In towards the cliffs was a large over grown pool of water and to the other side, next to the sea, was a large raised section of flat land. To one side of this flat section was a small house, neatly hidden by ivy and other such plants, with a long strip of land that extended out to sea.
"There is it!" exclaimed Tails pointing at the house.
"Well I never, nice going Tails." congratulated Aero slapping his fellow vulpine on the back.
"How do we get down?" asked Nara slowly.
Tails stopped immediately and looked towards the far end of the viaduct. The large raised wooden station that once served the railway was now a crumbled pile of rotting wood and no other way down from the viaduct was evident. Tails chuckled slightly.
"Simple Nara, I'll air lift you all down." replied Tails.
"I'll pass." said Shadow walking past Tails.
The hedgehog stopped just past Tails on a clear spot on the viaduct and without warning took a flying leap off the tracks at full speed. His momentum was enough to carry him clear over the floor below and landed him neatly on the raised section of land next to Tails' workshop. Shiro, Aero and Nara just stared in amazement.
"He didn't just do that did he?" asked Shiro.
"Um yeah he did." replied Tails awkwardly.
"Amazing." chirped Nara.
"Well you'll enjoy this even more."
Tails quickly spun his tails lifting himself off the ground and extended his hands towards Nara. The rabbit looked at him nervously for a moment and then took hold of his hands. Tails spun his tails faster and pulled upwards lifting them both off the ground. As he did Nara gave a yelp and covered her eyes with her ears causing Tails to give a short chuckle. Tails lifted the small rabbit over to where Shadow had landed and let go of her hands. Even with her feet firmly on the ground Nara still had her eyes covered.
"It's ok Nara, you're on the ground again." said Tails.
"You sure?" asked Nara.
"Yes."
Nara slowly peeked out from behind her ears and looked up at the rest of the group still on the bridge.
"That was cool." exclaimed Nara suddenly.
"Glad you liked it, I'll be right back."
Tails turned round and took off again, flying back up to the viaduct and landing next to Tikal, Shiro and Aero.
"Ok who's next?" he asked.
Aero quickly stepped forwards, grinning as he did, and soon found himself being flown over to the platform. Shiro was next in line and then Tails lifted the Master Emerald over to the platform. Finally he transported Tikal over to the others and sat down for a moment to recover. Finally when he and everyone else was ready, Tails led the ground towards the house, up a flight of stair and up to the front door.
"Brace yourself guys, if this place is in the same state as what I left it in eight years ago it might be a little messy." warned Tails.
With that he pushed open the door and stepped inside. What greeted their vision first of all was a red and white coloured biplane, the Tornado. Tails smiled and stepped over to her, running his bare hand along the dusty fuselage.
"How you doing old girl? Thought I'd left you?" he asked.
"Wow Tails, did you make that?" asked Shiro.
"No this was my friend Sonic's plane. I don't know what happened to mine, last time I saw her I had landed outside Robotnik's base eight years ago. Who knows where she is but the Cyclone should be here. Yeah, she was on the lower level, come on I'll take you all down there." replied Tails.
Nobody argued as Tails filed them past the Tornado and into a small lift that took them down to a lower level. It was here that they found the Cyclone, currently in its plane form, sitting in a large open workshop. Parts of the plane lay scattered around all over forcing Tails to smile awkwardly.
"Oh yeah I was fixing her when I got the call from Sonic." he said looking at the array of pieces littering the floor.
Everything was covered in dust and dirt but amazingly the room still didn't look that messy. Shiro and Aero finally set the Master Emerald down in a corner of the room and turned back to the group.
"So what now?" asked Shiro.
"Well for a start I'm going to fix up the Cyclone, can't have her lying in pieces any longer." said Tails picking up a few small pieces of machinery.
"Tails are you thinking of doing what I think you're thinking of doing?" asked Shiro.
"If I followed that correctly, yes I am."
"You're not serious!" said Aero, "You're thinking of going up against Robotnik again aren't you."
"I'm deadly serious."
"But why?" asked Shiro, "You must know you can't do anything to him now."
"Maybe but I'm not giving up. Sonic would never have given up if he was in my position and I'm not either. I don't care if it takes the rest of my life to stop Robotnik, I'm going to try."
"I'll help Tails, well as much as I can help." said Tikal quietly, "I feel I must do something to correct the past."
"You're both insane." said Shiro quickly goggling at the pair.
Nara was looking between the two pairs and then walked over to stand beside Tikal.
"I'm going to help too" she said.
"Nara!" cried Shiro in disbelief.
"Hey lighten up Shiro, they do have a point you know." said Aero, "You really think hiding from Robotnik forever is a good life?"
"I know that Aero but…going up against him is like suicide!" protested Shiro.
"What's the matter Shiro? Loosing your edge?" taunted Aero.
Everyone could physically see Shiro's reaction to this comment as he glared at Aero. Finally the racoon groaned a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.
"Fine if you're all going to throw in the towel I might as well join you." he said flatly.
"That's the spirit Shiro!" grinned Aero before giving a nod in Tails' direction.
"Heh, thanks you guys, it means a lot to me." said Tails.
It was then that Tails noticed Shadow standing some way off staring into space. Tails pulled a thoughtful face and looked at the black hedgehog for a moment.
"Hey Shadow, you joining us?" he asked.
The black hedgehog turned and walked towards him but didn't make eye contact. As Shadow passed by Tails he stopped and looked at the fox out of the corner of his eye.
"I have my own reasons but yes I will join you for now." he said.
Shadow slowly looked back in the direction he was going and walked off again leaving everyone to stare at his quills as he walked away.
"That Shadow guy is a funny chap." said Shiro quietly.
"You don't know the half of it." added Tails.
The next few minutes were quiet and then finally the group dispersed, heading off into different areas of the workshop to look around. Tails headed back up to the Tornado's hanger and headed outside, sitting down on the step outside the door. Night was now creeping in, the last few rays of sunlight shining over the horizon turning the sea a brilliant orange colour. Tails let out a short sigh and looked up at the sky. The first star was visible now, glinting brightly all on its own. As Tails continued to watch a few more stars started to appear around the first, all glinting to themselves.
"Even when you look alone you're not." commented Tails, "Sonic I'm sorry I messed up. You were always like a brother to me and I'll never forget you. I'll bring down Robotnik, just watch me! This is my pledge to you my good friend. Watch me! I'll become strong just like you were! Watch me!"