Chapter 8: Surprises

Tails woke up with a terrible headache, although even after slowly opening his eyes, it took him some moments to actually realize that due to the darkness. He laid there a little longer, seeing if he would drift back to sleep again, but as the pain persisted, it became clear that wouldn't happen.

With a sigh, Tails rubbed his eyes – his gloves were off, naturally – and slowly sat up, one hand clutching his bandaged forehead as it continued to throb. Fortunately, it was also the only part of him that hurt, and all things considered it was still bearable. Probably because it was a sensation that he seemed to be getting more familiar with, he mused with slight amusement, after having gotten similar head injuries a few times already since coming to Earth.

It was only when he recalled how he got this particular one did he sit still in shock. The explosion! He needed to know everything that happened after he was knocked unconscious immediately, and thought of asking people. But his first natural choice for that, Sonic, wasn't anywhere to be seen in the room, which made him frown. He didn't demand that the hedgehog be with him while he was hurt or anything, but he did find his absence odd.

Even though it was late at night, Tails hoped that there was still someone in the hospital that could help tell him everything. He turned to check the small tables to his sides, saw his gloves, and promptly pulled them on, but he realized something else before he moved on to his shoes. My WRID's missing. Did Sonic take it or something?

The possibility made Tails somewhat worried. He remembered now that he'd managed to fire a tracer onto Yeung's car back at the port, and it was possible too that Sonic had found out about it and used it to track Yeung down. But how could he be using that information now?

Uh oh. Sonic could be reckless at times, and combined with his low spirits since Mazuri, not to mention what Yeung had done, Tails feared the worst. Whatever the hedgehog was doing now could even very well be public.

The table nearby also had a remote control, likely for the TV set in the ceiling corner. His fingers reached over to it, although he hesitated to use it immediately. What if he was right?

It took a while, but eventually Tails found that fear of his big brother's actions wasn't really anywhere near as fear for him. Swallowing hard, the fox pressed down on the power button.

The first thing shown on the screen was already a news broadcast. It was in Cantonese, of course, but there were enough other details unrelated to language that froze him up again. The untranslated name 'Sonic' in the headline, for one, and the coverage of the top of a tall skyscraper. Lights, likely from a news helicopter, were shining on what was unmistakably the hedgehog, complete with some man, most likely Yeung, by the edge of the roof. Even from the distance, it was clear the man was bleeding from the head, and he had his hands raised and trembling nervously, as if fearful of Sonic, who was there staring at him, unmoving.

Tails sat there stunned, trying to imagine all sorts of scenarios that could have possibly led to this. They were scatter-shot, random, even ludicrous, but they all had one thing in common – Sonic being very, very unhappy.

Casting all concerns about his own health aside, Tails leaped off the bed and put on his socks and shoes. He had to think of his next step right now, and whatever it turned out to be, it certainly could not involve remaining in this hospital ward.

The lights from the news helicopter were distracting, so Sonic had dragged Yeung all the way to behind the large generators to get out of their sight. The police had to be on their way up already, and he wanted to buy as much time as possible for himself. On the way there, Sonic had fiddled with the WRID, wanting to turn on the Record function, but like most of the others, it didn't work. He cursed inwardly at it, but decided to move on regardless – he wasn't leaving without getting Yeung to tell him everything.

Once he felt they had enough privacy, Sonic started talking again. "Okay, let's try this again," he said, his voice more restrained in a mighty attempt to calm himself down, before looking upwards into Yeung's eyes and continued his glower from before, "where's Robotnik?"

The still hyperventilating and trembling man didn't answer right away. It wasn't everyday that he was hoisted up to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong on its exterior surface merely by the arms of an angry speedy hedgehog, and he hadn't quite shaken off the toll on his mental state. He could feel that his trousers were wet, and it wasn't because of the sweat either.

Regardless, he had heard Sonic's question. The hedgehog had already proved that he meant business, and may even have had violated his own pacifist principles in the process. Yeung had no desire to know what else Sonic was capable of and willing to do to him. And it was for this reason that he finally spoke up once it seemed like he could breathe stably again. "I...I don't know..."

It was, of course, not what Sonic wanted to hear, and in response he jumped up to Yeung's face and grabbed his collar with both hands while his feet pressed against his belly. "No, Yeung try ag-"

"I'm serious!" Yeung actually shrieked as he stumbled backwards against the wall of the generator from the weight now on him, "I've spoken to him on the phone, but never met him in person – you think he'd risk that? He's probably in Mazuri somewhere, some secret base!"

Sonic was breathing heavily himself, both out of exhaustion and trying not to blow up again. "Alright, fine, I believe you," he nevertheless replied acidly, as much as he hated to say it – it wasn't difficult to believe that Robotnik certainly wouldn't show himself that easily. "But now, you're going to have to explain yourself."

Yeung swallowed visibly. As much as Sonic was fuming now, he had to admit it was satisfying as hell seeing the previously stoic and unflappable CEO like this. "What happened today..." he began, choking, "was not intended. I only wanted to sweep this away quietly, not blow people up."

Sonic didn't know whether to react with laughter or disgust. "Oh, really? So that's why you put those bombs there?"

"The bombs were either Robotnik's or Wing Seng's idea, not mine."

"Oh yeah, then what about the Heart of Asia? That was real quiet too."

"There was no other way to get Wong Heng's information," Yeung answered promptly even as the hedgehog rolled his eyes, "we planned to frame the 16K Triad. Nobody cares if a bunch of gangsters kill each other anyway, and the police would come in and mop them up."

"To cover your ass, of course."

"Y-yes," Yeung didn't bother denying, "but it seems that Wing Seng came to inspect their cargo this morning. I wasn't able to move them elsewhere in time."

Now getting tired of holding onto the collar and, ironically, how Yeung seemed to have an answer for everything he'd done, Sonic jumped upwards to shift his weight and force the man downwards onto the floor, eliciting a cry of shock. "Look, enough with your goddamn excuses," the hedgehog spat out, "I just want to know...why, okay? Just...why. Something...something to let me understand everything you've done, like, maybe Robotnik gave you some offer you couldn't refuse like with Robert Mayes...anything." Despite his anger, his demand sounded closer to a plea as he finished speaking – like with Mayes, Sonic desperately wanted to believe that Yeung was probably doing this because he was forced to. Or perhaps because of something like what happened to Robotnik long ago, however unlikely that seemed. Anything but innate malevolence.

"Sonic..." Yeung called out with an unusual tone somewhere between nervousness and...concern? He closed his eyes, breathing slowly. "Robotnik...never made me any offer. He never asked me to work with him...someone else did."

Now that got Sonic's attention. "What?" he asked, wide-eyed and legitimately confused by the answer.

"Someone my father knew before he died. Wang Guiguo, a Communist Party chief. He...he contacted me, saying he could set me up with Robotnik through his own network, one that not even Beijing is aware of. Fenglong was failing at the time, and I was desperate for a way to uphold my father's legacy."

"A-alright..." Sonic was both curious and worried now. If Yeung was telling the truth, would it mean Robotnik actually has allies now? "What do you mean, network?"

"I...I'm not sure. But I have a feeling there are others like him across the world, possibly even working together, in secret."

"Others like him? What?…why?" Sonic had a feeling that he understood, but was having trouble believing it.

"Because they're..." Yeung stopped to cough a few times before continuing quietly, "they're afraid of you, Sonic. Afraid of what you can do."

It was now the hedgehog's turn to be speechless. His stare was still ongoing, but the fury in it had been replaced with a strange blend of uncertainty and discomfort. Above, the helicopter was coming close to shining its light again on them, but it was no longer something he paid attention to.

"Ever since you took down the President of Shamar, some people have grown...concerned," Yeung began after seeing Sonic remain silent, although he didn't sound like he took delight in it this time, "that you're out of control. That you can go into any country and do anything you like, including interfere in wars and political affairs. That the US government either can't do anything about you or even secretly backs you. Wang believes that you could one day be a threat to China, even, that you might suddenly see our system as evil and come to topple everything, like in Shamar, and that the Central Government is doing nothing to prevent this. Maybe he's paranoid, but I don't know if I can blame him."

Sonic blinked in bewilderment. "But then...what's that got to do with you?"

"Wang got me in contact with Robotnik, and we made a deal. He'd supply me with the secret to feasible fusion power, similar to what Tails has given to GUN. In return, I give him parts for weapons and armored vehicles. And finally, both of us create joint designs on certain experimental weaponry based on his knowledge."

"What kind of weaponry?" Sonic almost didn't dare to ask.

"The kind...to be used against you. Various types of lasers and energy weapons."

"My god," the hedgehog remarked as he placed his hands on his face in exasperation. "Okay...what about what happened in Mazuri a week ago?" he went on, painful memories resurfacing yet again, but he knew the question was necessary.

"I'd been using Wing Seng as the middleman to transport cargo to Mazuri and back. Worked well for several trips...but then Robotnik called me and said that he'd hacked into the Hong Kong Police Force's computers and found information about a mole among the transport team who could report it, but it didn't say who exactly. And worse, even though I never dealt directly with Wong Heng, he managed to get someone to track me down, to keep photos of me as insurance."

Yeung took in another deep breath before speaking again. "So I had to act. I was able to convince Robotnik to sacrifice one of his bases to the military, which would get your attention, and leave enough info to bring you over to the other base where Wing Seng made their exchanges. When you stormed that place, the rebels there would grow paranoid and kill them to prevent them from saying anything to you and ruin their supply line, therefore removing the mole. But there would be other information left there to lead you right here to find Wong Heng, which is when my team would strike. The rest of it, you now know."

Once again, Sonic had no idea what to say. He was frankly amazed at how the plan had actually progressed so far, and the lengths they had gone to make it happen - Robotnik sounded oddly willing to sacrifice his own bases from the looks of it. He also had the growing feeling that something else was to come next, but couldn't quite put his finger on what.

"The police are coming, you know," Yeung stated as he slowly got up from the floor, legs shaky but working, "and you still haven't gotten any evidence on me. I only told you everything because I knew your device can't record anything now, don't think I didn't notice. Not to mention, my team is probably already working to get rid of all other evidence, under the assumption that you've made me talk and incriminate them."

Sonic's stare was now pretty much blank. Oh crap. He'd already known that he wouldn't be able to nail Yeung from his confession here, but only now did he fully realize the possible consequences of his rashness earlier – aside from what he'd done to Yeung and the others in that car, of course. Meanwhile, there were more helicopter noises again, much closer this time, and this was followed by the sound of boots rapidly trampling on the ground.

"You could go now and try to stop them, of course," Yeung told him as he returned a stare of his own, now more like the unnerving one he gave back at the port, "but keep in mind, Sonic...if you do this, you will only prove Wang and others right in their eyes, and it will only strengthen their relations with Robotnik as they find more ways to deal with you."

The footsteps were now coming closer, and Sonic found himself backing away from where the cops would soon appear, towards the barrier of the roof. "I'm sure you've already made your decision, Sonic," the man went on, eyes practically boring into him once more, "but...the choice is yours."

The cops finally stormed into view around the corner, wearing armor and wielding submachine guns, as one of them got to Yeung and whisked him away. Sonic was now standing on top of the barrier, at the very edge. "Sonic the Hedgehog, get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head!" one of them ordered – in English, for once.

Sonic stood there still as he considered his conundrum. He couldn't come with them, of course, at least not yet. His work wasn't done yet, and he needed to get to it right away. But going down did not seem like it would be as easy as coming up, not that that had been easy in the first place. Dropping from a few floors was one thing, but from the top of a 484-meter tall building? The only idea he could think of right now was to perhaps outmaneuver the cops and get to the elevator...

...right before he was suddenly swept off his feet by a force that came in from his side.

Tails had no idea what was going on, or even how to find out what was going on – all he knew was that he saw his brother, while observing from the air, getting cornered by police on the roof of a building so tall that Sonic would have difficulty getting down from himself. While he was sure that Sonic would be able to deal with the police very easily if he had to, he just didn't want him to get into any deeper trouble than he undoubtedly already had.

The concussion and headache had made his movements in the air after jumping out of the hospital window less agile than he'd liked, but fortunately it was balanced by the amount of practice he'd gotten previously, so he was reasonably confident he could pull it off. It helped that all eyes were on Sonic, which meant less attention on himself, although they'd definitely know he was involved now after this.

He'd risen to the same height as the roof of the skyscraper before turning and flying away to gain run-up. Once he'd gotten enough distance he'd looped around and quickly moved his namesakes into jet formation, although unlike the previous times he'd done this, he did not go supersonic – the sonic boom would alert everyone present and shatter the building's windows, and grabbing Sonic at that speed would hurt him no matter how gently he did it.

It had been somewhat tricky, heading fast but too fast towards the roof, then slowing down just enough right before grabbing Sonic by wrapping his arms around him, and then speeding up again. The sudden weight he had to carry threatened to pull him down once the building was no longer beneath him, but with enough concentration he was able to sustain himself for a steady descent. "I'm sorry, Sonic, but just hold on!" he said hurriedly to the hedgehog, who was stunned but otherwise showed no response.

The fox flew over the rest of Kowloon, trying to locate a decently isolated area for them to rest in and get away from all of the media attention. Within seconds, the best he could find was the roof of one of the apartment blocks nearby, which he headed to immediately, hoping he had traveled far enough to get out of everyone's sight.

As they approached, Tails' head began to hurt again from his burst of activity, and his flight became wobbly. He managed to hold it together just long enough before slowing down and finally dropping out of flight mode onto the roof, getting a bumpier landing than intended as both of them tumbled along the surface.

"Ow..." Tails slowly sat back up, hand to his head again, although only briefly, before he closed his eyes and tried to focus. The concussion was problematic, but not as much as what he'd just had to dive into, literally. "Sonic?" he called out softly.

"T-tails?" The hedgehog had stumbled back onto his feet as he looked at his friend in disbelief. He had been overwhelmed by surprises in the last few minutes, but this one was something he couldn't stay silent for. "Why...how'd you come?"

"I...I woke up earlier, and I saw you weren't around, and that my WRID was missing too," the fox began saying as he glanced back at Sonic, blue eyes gleaming with concern, "then when I turned on the news...I saw you."

Oh man. Sonic had demanded explanations from Yeung earlier, but now it looked like Tails was going to want some from him too, not that he could blame the kid.

"Sonic...I'm really confused," Tails said, the hurt now seeping into his voice, "tell me what's going on. Please."

Sonic sighed greatly. A lump formed in his throat, but he knew he owed it to Tails. After making sure that there were no sign of other people or helicopters coming, Sonic told him everything, about Mrs Cheuk's death, about what he'd done since leaving the hospital, as well as everything he'd learned, in detail both painstaking and painful to himself, and seemingly for the fox too, judging from the way his face crumpled the more he heard.

"In short, I...I screwed up, bud," Sonic said softly as he shook his head. Now that the rage that had kept him up the whole day had subsided, the full weight of his actions had really sunk into him as he'd recounted them. He tore his eyes away from Tails to lower his head in shame. "I...I've failed to stick to my principles. Those two guys might be dead now...because of me."

Tails, needless to say, was at a loss on how to comment, or even think about any of this. He'd always looked up to Sonic as a paragon and big brother, and even though he knew the hedgehog could be reckless at times, his confession at having committed such violence still shocked him.

Yet, despite this, the fox found it difficult to blame Sonic. Those had been harsh, unprecedented circumstances, and it had exposed a vulnerable side of him. No matter how good he was at what he did, he was still mobian, and it would be unfair to hold him to standards higher than that. Tails could recall from a while back, while he was still healing from his injuries battling the X-1s, a newspaper op-ed arguing that his appearance in public on a wheelchair proved that people shouldn't expect him or Sonic to be invincible – if they could do that for both of them, Tails knew he could too for Sonic.

Far from deserving criticism about how he wasn't good enough – Tails knew well enough how horrible that felt, especially when it came from himself – Sonic needed support right now, more than ever. With this in mind, the kit went up to the hedgehog and simply wrapped around him in a hug. "Sonic, it's okay," Tails said quietly, actually feeling a tear coming down at how Sonic was feeling, "y-you're not a bad person. Don't think of yourself as a bad person...please. I'm still here, and I will be here for you, no matter what. And if what Yeung said about people out there plotting against you is true...I'm sticking by your side even more."

They were both silent and still for a moment, and Tails couldn't be sure what was going on in Sonic's mind now. Eventually, however, they pulled back from each other, and Tails could see that even though Sonic still seemed down and uncertain of himself, there was also a small smile there. "T...thanks, bud," he replied, choking slightly, "I'll still have to face up to it sooner or later, but...I appreciate it."

At this, Tails managed to smile back as well, even if just a little.

Then Sonic's brow angled down the center to mean business. "For now, though...whaddaya say we pay a visit to Fenglong's headquarters? And fast, too."

Author's Note: Sorry for the relatively short chapter here. Rest assured, the next one will likely be much longer...and much more epic too.