ACK! I can't believe it's been almost a year since this was last updated! I'm sorry, guys, really sorry. Things are a little more back to normal now so the next update won't be anywhere near as long :) In the meantime…

Usami: Thanks :D Yeah, when it comes to spotting Robotnik's lies, Knux is so near...and yet so far :D

Ember Rock: Heh, thanks. I do love Launch Base, although I've never worked out why. Guess some levels just grab you like that.

Asher Tye: You're right about that ;)

Chibi-Cougar: (bows) Your wish is my command; one continuation.

Taranea: Thanks :D Yeah, I'm not sure Knux is actually stupid so much as very, very naïve ;)

Dr. Sipp: Thanks. Guardian's Choice...it's not abandoned, but I don't know when it'll next be updated.

Pyro Hedgehog: Yeah, me too. That's going to be one explosive encounter between Knux and Robotnik ;)

Si Fron Dimensional Creator: :D Thanks! I try to make it real and stick to the basic level design as well :)

Rebell: Thanks :D I have a lot of fun writing Robotnik; somehow I don't see him as the immature scientist certain fandoms (coughSonicXcough) portray him as :P

Nickkp9: Yeah, the snowboard thing was just TOO much of a coincidence to let it go ;)

Nicend: Thanks :)

MoonlightWander: Thanks, and as requested, here is more :D

FlyingKunai: Well…it wasn't updated as soon as I planned, but better late than never, right? Right?

AlbinoChocobo: Blood on the wall? Oh, now that's an interesting idea. I may have to use that ;)

Cyberkidx: Heh, you're close, but the final Chaos Emerald will be…well, you'll find out ;)

Sonic stretched up, working the kinks out of his muscles, then wandered over to a large pile of sticks and leaves that was the remains of his and Tails' shelter.

Things had improved drastically since they'd left the mountains. Sonic's tunnelling had brought them out on a grassy plain that was backed by several fruit trees, giving both Sonic and Tails the first really good meal they'd had in some time. They'd continued walking towards the city Sonic had spotted (at least, he thought it was a city) at a leisurely pace quite different from the racing they'd both done before. The rest and hot sun had done Sonic's shoulder good and he was practically back to his old self now, much to Tails' delight.

In fact, if you ignored the likelihood that Robotnik or that other guy was going to show up and try to kill them again at any minute, Sonic thought that this was a pretty good place for a vacation.

They'd found a small clearing after only four days' walking, and had set up a rudimentary sort of camp there, despite neither of them having the first idea how to build a shelter. Both of them had decided that it was worth taking a few days to rest and relax (at least, Sonic had) which had led to shelter building.

How did people do it in books? Sonic scratched his head as he studied his latest failed attempt, which had just collapsed for the sixth time. Admittedly this wasn't so much because of Sonic's lack of architectural ability as the fact that Tails had tried to help and pulled out a crucial stick, but that wasn't much consolation.

"'M sorry," Tails said for the fourth time since it had happened. "I didn't know that stick was important, Sonic, honest."

Sonic, who hadn't realised the stick was important either until the shelter had collapsed on his head, grinned.

"Wasn't your fault, squirt." Abandoning construction for the time being, Sonic lay down and stretched out leisurely, basking in the warm sun as Tails snuggled up next to him, one arm flung across his idol's torso.

"Sonic?" Tails mumbled drowsily into the hedgehog's warm fur.

"Hmm?" Barely awake himself, Sonic reached down to run a hand over the fur on Tails' head.

"When we get to the sea, c'n I swim in it?"

"Sure."

Tails' namesakes thumped once or twice on the ground, then he added, "An' are you gonna go in it this time, Sonic?"

The hedgehog chuckled. "Tell you what, squirt. If you can find me another of those water shields, then maybe – maybe – I'll think about it."

"You will?" Tails' eyes opened as wide as they'd go and he stared at Sonic, hardly daring to believe his luck.

"Sure," Sonic said again, while making a mental note to search the area and hide any water shield well before Tails got there.

It was another week before they decided it was time to move on, and to Sonic's surprise, neither Robotnik nor their mystery attacker had showed up during that time.

The hedgehog perked up at that thought. Maybe the stranger had finally realised Robotnik had been lying to him. There had been one or two occasions when Sonic had felt he was being watched, similar to the feelings he'd experienced back in the mountains, but something said that although the watcher was still hostile, there was a certain amount of curiosity as well.

Sonic had tried calling out once or twice, but there had been no response and the hedgehog had eventually given it up as a bad job.

Apart from this, however, the journey proceeded fairly smoothly, although the closer Sonic and Tails got to the city, the more the hedgehog came to realise that it wasn't a city so much as a huge construction site.

But for what? Sonic wondered. Robotnik could build machines if he was stranded on a desert island. Huge construction sites really weren't his style.

Unless he's building something really big this time...

Right on cue, Tails pointed. "Sonic, look at that!"

The hedgehog looked obligingly and froze as he caught sight of the huge metallic sphere that was half submersed in the ocean.

"Is that the moon, Sonic?" Tails said, peering up at Sonic anxiously. "Did ol' Robotnik shoot down one of the moons? 'Cause Mobius won't be the same with on'y one."

"That's no moon, Tails," Sonic said, still staring at the monstrosity up ahead. "It's a space shuttle."

Tails frowned critically. "Nuh uh; it's too big to be a space shuttle."

"It's called the Death Egg." Just looking at it made Sonic's body tingle. The Death Egg had almost lived up to its name as far as he was concerned. The hedgehog had nightmares about his final battle on board there, and he still wasn't entirely sure how he'd survived in the end.

A little searching on his part coupled with a lot of flying on Tails' finally managed to get them onto the construction site, which put Sonic very much in mind of Robotnik's Wing Fortress.

In spite of himself, the hedgehog felt a certain optimism partly caused by his recovery and partly by the thought that this might give him the chance to stop Robotnik once and for all. At the very least, if he could take out the Death Egg, it would help.

Sonic was so busy making plans for the machine's destruction and wondering if he could get Tails to help take it to pieces that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and the first indication he had that they might have been detected was when an alarm blared out.

Sonic leapt back instinctively and curled over as something red and fast hurtled towards him out of the sky. He felt something shatter against his quills and straightened up again as metal debris rained down around him.

That's something new. Robotnik had never built alarm systems before...which was a little odd, now that the hedgehog thought about it. After all, the doctor must know that people would want to stop him.

Almost immediately the thought came back: who? Mobians might despise Robotnik, they may hate him and his plans for world domination etcetera etcetera, but so far the only ones who had actually done anything definite to try and stop him had been Sonic himself and more recently Tails. It wasn't as if Mobius even had an army or anything more dangerous than Zonal security.

Sonic jumped to the next platform, catching hold of the ledge and swinging himself up to the top and from there into a large passage, barely listening to Tails' incensed diatribe re mean red flying bot things that tried to whump you just when you weren't looking, and how ol' Robotnik was gonna pay as soon as Tails caught up with him and how that was probably why they hadn't seen him, 'cause he was too busy hiding from them, and how—

At which point Tails fell silent, not because he'd run out of things to say but because Sonic had just wrapped a hand over his mouth, having long since discovered that this was the most effective – and indeed only – way to shut the little fox up.

A few yards ahead, an orbinaut hovered in midair, staring at them, or at least in their general direction. Not for the first time, Sonic wondered how a robot perceived the world.

Unlike all the other orbinauts Sonic had encountered, this one didn't fling its rotating spheres at them. Instead, it just hung there motionless.

Maybe it was offline. Carefully, ready to dodge at the first hint of danger, Sonic approached. Were they intelligent enough to set a trap? Was it going to attack as soon as he got close enough?

He soon got his answer as the thing buzzed into life and moved towards them. Unlike any other orbinaut Sonic had encountered before, this one didn't fling missiles at them but instead kept them close, spinning around its body so fast that the hedgehog couldn't judge the best time to attack.

Carefully, Sonic took a step or two back. To his surprise, the orbinaut also retreated a foot.

So...what? It's like a guard?

A few more experiments soon answered that question; the orbinaut mirrored Sonic's moves exactly, effectively blocking the way ahead. To make matters worse, the ceiling was too low to jump over the bot and Tails' flying was blocked even more easily than Sonic's attempts.

So now what? Sonic wondered as he fell back for the fourth time. The bot was so well-protected that a direct attack was suicidal, even for him, and although they could probably find another way around, who knew how much time they'd waste?

Tails glanced up at Sonic, worried.

"Sonic? How come we're not going anywhere?"

"Because in case you haven't noticed, squirt, there's a robot in the way!"

"But you c'n whump it, right Sonic?" When Sonic didn't answer immediately, Tails' frown deepened. He was sure that the hedgehog was just playing with the robot, but they didn't have time for playing 'cause they had to go and whump ol' Robotnik before he did something really bad. Tails was quite proud of how grown-up this thought sounded.

Well, if Sonic wouldn't hurry up and whump the robot, Tails would just have to whump it for him!

The first indication Sonic had of the little fox's plan was when something small, fluffy and very determined tackled him around the waist, sending him sprawling seconds before something else exploded above his head. The balls from the orbinaut crashed down around the pair with enough force to embed themselves in the metal.

Getting to his feet, Tails fixed Sonic with a determined look.

"Okay. Now if we're done playing, Sonic, can we go and whump ol' Robotnik?"

"What was that?"

Tails scratched his head as he answered, "Well, I didn't wanna wait forever, Sonic, an' you were taking way too long playing with that robot so I went back to that 'larm thing an' got one of the plane bots to chase me an' kinda ducked out the way an' I guess it couldn't stop in time 'cause it blew up that spinny bot."

"Orbinaut," Sonic corrected automatically.

"Spinny bot," Tails agreed. "'Cause it moved towards the plane an' one of the balls hit the plane an' the plane went poom and that made the spinny bot go poom so we can go now Sonic c'mon!"

Sonic was still none the wiser, but Tails was right about one thing; the way ahead was clear.

It didn't remain clear for long, however, as the first thing Sonic and Tails saw when they emerged into the open air was another robot perched on top of a metal scaffolding. This one looked like a frog, or maybe a deformed turtle head. Compared to Robotnik's normal design, though, Sonic thought it was actually quite cute.

There was, however, nothing cute about the huge metal weights it was pounding into the ground ahead. Curious, Sonic picked up a scrap of metal about half an inch thick and tossed it under one of the weights in question.

The weight didn't so much as quiver as it crashed down. Timing it carefully, Sonic darted his hand in before the bot could crush it and withdrew the same chunk of metal, now hammered to paper thinness.

Oh man.

Well, at least this one wasn't invulnerable. Sonic waited a few seconds to be sure that the robot wasn't about to lash out at him (although he was pretty sure he could avoid it if it did) and then leapt into the air, curling over to spindash the bot neatly in half.

"Hey Sonic!"

Sonic glanced up in the direction of the little fox's voice; undeterred by any frog robot, Tails had simply flown over the top and continued exploring.

"Tails?" Sonic broke into a jog, scanning the base for any signs of the little fox.

"Over here!"

The hedgehog ducked into another...well, he supposed you could call it a building, although it was more accurate to say it wasn't anything else. High ceilings, no furniture...did anyone actually live here, or was it a ruin like that garden place? He couldn't think of any reason why Robotnik would construct empty buildings.

Unless he's planning to fill them with something later on...

"Sonic!" The voice was coming from inside a giant bowl on a pole, and Sonic skidded to a stop as he stared at it.

What on Mobius...?

Tails' head poked over the edge. "C'mon Sonic! You gotta see this!"

Curious now, Sonic vaulted into the bowl, which didn't even vibrate as his weight hit it. There was nothing inside except a large red button on the far side.

"I didn't wanna press it 'til you got here, Sonic," Tails informed him solemnly, "'cause I dunno what it does."

The thought occurred to Sonic that this had never stopped Tails before, but he didn't say anything besides, "Let's find out."

"Yeah!" Tails put both hands on the edge of the bowl and pulled himself up enough to peer over, just in case whatever happened was going to take place outside.

Reaching out with a suitable air of suspense (right down to the dramatic posing with his finger at the ready for a good ten seconds) Sonic pushed the button.

Instantly the bowl started to rotate around the pole, rising up as it did so with a rattling clank of machinery. The sound increased as they rose higher, and Sonic was about to ask Tails to airlift him the rest of the way before the bowl shook to pieces around them when it juddered to a stop.

"I'm surprised you're still alive."

Glancing up at the now familiar stranger, Sonic had the presence of mind to grab Tails and clamp a hand over his mouth this time.

"Hi. Can we talk?"

"We got nothing to say to each other." The creature stared at Sonic, eyes narrowed. "Robotnik was right about you after all. He told me you'd come here for your Death Egg."

Sonic struggled to stand and keep Tails quiet at the same time. This could well be the only chance he got to explain things without the little fox messing it up.

"Do I look like the kinda guy who builds huge mechanical balls to fly around in?"

"I've seen the mechanical hedgehog you built. You construct things in your own image, just like that giant ball."

Sonic gaped at the stranger, then pointed past him at the part of the Death Egg that was visible above the water.

"How in the hell does that look anything like me?"

"It could pass for a curled hedgehog, in the right light."

"It has a giant moustache!"

The creature shrugged. "I never said you weren't imaginative."

"Yeah?" Sonic glared at him. "Then imagine this! You been hanging around with Robotnik, a scientific genius with a huge moustache. There's a giant floating scientific-y genius-y ball thing out there with a huge moustache. Coincidence? I don't think so!"

"And there's the remains of a particularly sophisticated hedgehog robot inside that ball," the stranger retorted. "Why would Robotnik build a machine that looked like his worst enemy?"

"Why would I build one that looked like mine?" Sonic countered. "Robotnik's playing you for a sucker!"

If the stranger was convinced by Sonic's words, he hid it extremely well.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm telling the truth!" Abandoning Tails, Sonic surged to his feet, causing the lift to wobble alarmingly, and only realised his mistake when the stranger took half a step back, braced for combat. Clinging onto the side for balance, Sonic racked his brains frantically for a convincing argument before saying, "We haven't attacked you, so why're you so determined to pick a fight with us? What'd we do?"

"You came to the island," the other said, in tones which made it clear that this crime was on a par with eating live babies.

"So did Robuttnik. How come you're picking on us and not him? 'Cause if you think the doc's gonna leave this island—"

"That's my problem."

Sonic racked his brains frantically. There had to be something he could say to persuade their antagonist...

"Look, Robuttnik's one hell of a good liar. Believe me. I know him, I know the kind of things he does. I can help you deal with him—"

He'd miscalculated. He realised that even before the stranger's eyes blazed at him.

"I do not need anyone's help, outsider, least of all yours!"

As Sonic watched, the creature reached into his spines and pulled out a black spherical object that the hedgehog recognised instantly as the classic bomb that featured on so many of the cartoons that Tails was always watching. He hadn't realised they existed in real life as well.

The stranger hurled it into the building, then turned and raced out of range, jumping off the edge and gliding out of sight.

"Tails, go!" Sonic hurled himself out of the bowl and leapt for the ledge on the other side. The masonry crumbled under his foot and he fell forward, scrabbling for a handhold. Swooping down, Tails grabbed the hedgehog's wrist and pulled as hard as he could, dragging the hedgehog up until Sonic was able to grab a protruding chunk of marble and haul himself to safety. Pausing on all fours, he glanced over his shoulder to see the bomb still tumbling end over end towards the bottom of the building. To Sonic's tortured mind, it seemed to be falling in slow motion.

He didn't hear it hit the ground, but he saw the fireball mushrooming towards them.

"C'mon!" Grabbing Tails, he raced forward, throwing himself after the stranger and not worrying about what was underneath them. Blazing heat flickered around his back and tail and Sonic dived further down. One hand shot up to grab the remains of a railing and swung him and Tails under the ledge and behind a solid-looking pillar a split second before the explosion hit.

The noise was loud, abrupt and – to someone who was used to long, drawn-out explosions on TV – surprisingly short. It was as though he and Tails had been standing next to a giant firework, an impression that was heightened by the rocks and burning debris that rained down around them.

When five minutes had gone by without anything else happening, Sonic risked poking his head out around the pillar.

"Wow."

The building was gone, replaced by nothing but empty space. Despite being small, the bomb had been powerful enough to blast a chunk of the island away.

Tails clambered onto Sonic's shoulders to peer around him, eyes huge.

"Why'd he try an' blow us up, Sonic?"

"I dunno, squirt." Sonic reached up absentmindedly to scratch Tails behind the ears.

"Mebbe he jus' wants to throw us off his island."

"If he doesn't chill out, he's not going to have much of an island left to throw us off." Sonic felt around for a handhold, then started climbing up the rock.

"Um. Sonic?"

The hedgehog glanced at the little fox. "Yeah?"

Tails was wearing an expression that made him look like he'd taken too much soda into his mouth, cheeks puffed out and both hands clamped over his mouth.

"What?" Sonic knew Tails well enough to know the signs by now. "What's so funny?"

The little fox burst out laughing, laughed so hard he could barely stand upright and for so long that Sonic seriously began to wonder if Tails had been pushed over the edge. Eventually the words 'Your butt' became intelligible through the shrieking giggles.

"My what?" Sonic twisted around in an attempt to see his rear end and saw it had been singed so badly by the explosion that it was now completely bald, then narrowed his eyes. "Oh, it is on!"

It took some time for him to climb back up, mainly because Tails was still inclined to collapse in giggles whenever he caught sight of Sonic's tail, and kept sneaking back around to see if it was still as pink and bare as he thought.

Eventually Sonic resorted to picking Tails up, turning him around and carrying him forward as they headed up a nearby ramp. The hedgehog had no idea where they were going; he just hoped they'd find something sooner or later, some way of getting their bearings.

Man, this is worse than Labyrinth Zone, Sonic thought as he trudged up another ramp. Running wasn't an option; he might miss something important and besides, the last time he'd carried Tails faster than a hundred miles an hour the little fox had been violently sick.

At least going further up gave them a goal. Sonic wasn't entirely sure what they'd do when they got to the top. Go back down again, he supposed. They still hadn't found that last Chaos Emerald, after all.

Then they walked into the final building and all thoughts of Chaos Emeralds promptly left Sonic's mind.

It was larger than the others had been and also unlike the others, there was something there. Three somethings to be exact; two complicated looking wall panels and one hole in the wall that Sonic tried but couldn't see into. There was also a very familiar figure in a very familiar vehicle.

"Ah, Sonic. Still alive, I see." Robotnik let his gaze travel over the hedgehog's singed fur and didn't bother hiding a broad grin as he saw Sonic's bald tail.

"Don't you dare say a word, doc," Sonic instructed him flatly, although he was privately relieved to see the doctor again, knowing that Robotnik's presence would at least distract Tails.

"I wouldn't dream of it." The doctor was all innocence as the metal arm underneath his Egg-O-Matic lifted the final panel and slotted it into place, then he smirked down at the hedgehog. "Well, Sonic, I hate to leave you behind, but—"

"Doc, if you don't zip it right now, I'm gonna blow that Egg-O-Matic of yours outta the sky!" Sonic said stridently.

Robotnik chuckled. "Oh, so you've managed to find a stick of dynamite on your travels, have you?" He shook his head, clicking his tongue. "Such violent impulses. If you ever find yourself on my fortress, Sonic, you must stop by the medical wing. I have several highly qualified therapist droids that can help you, shall we say, get to the bottom of your rage?"

"Okay, that does it!" Sonic couldn't get angry at Tails for laughing, but Robotnik was a different matter entirely. Dumping Tails on the ground, he raced forward and leapt towards the Egg-O-Matic.

"Dear, dear." Sonic's assault had missed by at least three feet; Robotnik had learned his lesson about being within jumping range of the hedgehog a long time ago and was now grinning evilly. "You seem to be unusually hostile today, Sonic. If you want something to take that temper of yours out on, I'll be more than happy to oblige."

Pulling out a button with what Sonic considered an unnecessary flourish, the doctor pushed it. There was a grinding sound as the panel Robotnik had just fitted slid up to reveal the hole behind it, causing Sonic to wonder why the doctor had bothered putting the panel in place to begin with. It was too dark to see what was behind it, but Sonic heard the soft whine of machinery start up.

"Do give my regards to all those on the other side, Sonic, won't you?" Robotnik said pleasantly as he accelerated out of sight.

Inside the hole, a single red light flickered on.

Sonic stared at it, feeling a quiver of apprehension.

"That can't be good."

Metal gleamed as the machine slid out of its niche. It was smaller than Sonic had been expecting, being the same size and shape as a curled up hedgehog. In the centre, a single red orb flashed and pulsated.

It hovered in midair just above him, and Sonic wondered irrelevantly just how Robotnik's creations – including the Egg-O-Matic – managed to stay airborne.

After all, it's not like they have thrusters or anything.

The machine swooped towards him and Sonic leapt out the way, attention focused on the sphere.

Something rammed him full on from the left, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying into the far wall with enough force to dislodge brick dust from the ceiling.

Sonic forced himself to his feet. Blood was seeping out of several shallow gashes down his left side and across his chest where the machine had hit him. Pain exploded in his right ankle when he tried to put his full weight on it and the leg buckled, spilling him onto his side just as something whooshed over him so close that the hedgehog felt the fur on his back ripple.

What WAS that? Sonic risked poking his head up and caught sight of a large spiked ball retracting into a large panel on the back of the machine.

"Sonic!" Tails had fortunately had the presence of mind to fly out of harm's way and was now hovering anxiously just below ceiling level.

"I'm okay, squirt." The hedgehog got to his feet, trying not to limp too heavily. The ankle wasn't sprained, just badly twisted; give it a few minutes and it would probably be alright again.

Focusing on the bot, which had now slotted itself back into the niche, Sonic waited to see what would happen next.

The red orb glowed more brightly as the machine emerged for the second time. This time two spiked balls on the ends of chains at least fifteen feet long dropped out of the back and began spinning furiously. Occasionally one of them shot out in an attempt to crush the hedgehog, attempts Sonic managed to escape each time. The only problem was that dodging the robot left the hedgehog no chance to try and figure out a counter-attack.

Was it his imagination, or was it faster than before? Sonic barely dodged another blow from one of the machine's flailing arms, only to run straight into the second one which passed by so close it grazed his arm. Something inside told him that Robotnik wasn't playing around anymore; he wanted the hedgehog dead as soon as possible.

Which means he must be afraid that I'll...what?

Destroy the Death Egg? Somehow expose his lies for what they were? Sonic felt his heart lift even as he dodged another blow. If Robotnik really was worried about him doing that, then he and Tails still had a chance.

Was the robot slowing down again? Sonic wasn't sure, but he thought it might be. The spinning arms were just a fraction less blurred, the blows a little less rapid-fire.

Something occurred to the hedgehog as the machine retreated to its niche for the second time and he looked up at Tails. The little fox had been trying to pile in and help Sonic, only to be continuously driven back and now he hovered above the fight, darting about anxiously and trying to spot an opportunity to attack.

"Tails! Next time that thing comes out, get into the hole! Find out what's there!"

Tails started to answer but at that point the machine started up again and his voice was lost in the thrum of engines and so he raised both hands in a thumbs-up sign and zipped in behind the robot.

One of the metal balls smashed through the wall and promptly got stuck. Taking advantage of the machine's temporary immobility as it tried to pull itself free, Sonic cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled over the crunching of gears, "Anything?"

Tails swooped down, nodding. "Yup! There's loadsa lights an' switches there, an' a real big plug socket thing!"

Which meant the machine was using it to recharge, Sonic thought. A grin appeared on his face and he pulled out a blue-handled screwdriver from his quills and tossed it up to the little fox.

"Think you can figure out how it's put together?"

Tails' face lit up. Although the screwdriver was technically his, Sonic insisted on looking after it in case Tails lost it. This was a lie that Sonic had cooked up to spare the little fox's feelings; the truth was that Tails simply couldn't be trusted with the screwdriver around anything mechanical, as the hedgehog had found out to his cost in a hotel in Metropolis Zone. Most people refused to believe that Tails could put the objects back together and just insisted that Sonic pay for whatever the little fox had dismantled.

It took less than ten seconds for Tails to fly in and systematically destroy the mechanisms inside the niche, coupled with various small pieces of metal and circuitry flying out of the hole as the little fox threw unwanted components over his shoulder.

Leaving Tails to it for the time being, Sonic raced over to where the machine was still trying to pull itself free and leapt into the air, spindashing through the chain that was now stretched taut and slicing through it. The resulting physical laws sent the robot flying through the air and into the far wall, where its remaining arm flailed about uselessly for a few minutes before it righted itself and retreated to the niche.

This time, it was definitely slower when it came out. Sonic dodged the initial blow with mocking ease, then didn't even bother taking off the second arm before ramming into the central part of the machine with all the force he could muster. The robot crashed down to earth, Sonic not far behind. Pushing himself to his feet, Sonic swayed slightly as the adrenaline from the fight wore off, leaving him with nothing more than minor blood loss and the sudden reminder that he hadn't eaten since yesterday.

As they walked outside, Tails caught sight of the Egg Prison up ahead and scampered forward with an excited Yip! to bounce on the top and free the occupants.

"More ferals?" Sonic stepped back absently to let them pass. In spite of his comment, he hadn't really expected much else at this point.

"Mebbe nobody else lives here," Tails suggested as one of the ferals hopped over his foot.

"That guy who keeps trying to kill us lives here," Sonic said rather shortly. Unfairness was one of the few things that really made him angry, and this stranger's refusal to let them explain matters fell broadly into that category.

"Mebbe he came to visit on'y he got stuck. Mebbe ol' Robotnik promised to take him back down if he helped him."

That was a good point, and one that Sonic hadn't considered before. Although...

"I don't think he got stuck, squirt, I think whoever was with him probably dumped him here!" This was delivered in a rising voice in the somewhat vain hopes that the stranger would somehow overhear him.

Tails' small snout crinkled in thought before he finally said, "Mebbe it was a hedgehog that dumped him an' that's why he hates you, 'cause you're a hedgehog."

Great, Sonic. Psychology lessons from a five year old. And you thought things couldn't get any stranger.

Grinning at Tails, Sonic reached down to ruffle the fur on his head.

"You may have something there, lil bro. C'mon. Whaddaya say we go find something to eat?"

Tails' ears pricked up so fast they almost left his head. "Yeah! What're we gonna eat, Sonic?"

That was a very good question, Sonic thought. He hadn't got that far; he was just aware of a yawning vacuum where his stomach should be.

Catching sight of the ocean, he grinned. He wanted to clean his injuries and there was no reason why they couldn't kill two birds with one stone.

"Do you like fish, squirt?"

Tails' eyes lit up. "Boy, do I ever! How're we gonna catch 'em, Sonic?"

That was another very good question. Sonic had no idea what the answer might be, but he thought it would probably sort itself out. How hard could it be to catch a few fish, anyway?

(looks around at people groaning over Sonic's moon comment) Oh c'mon; if Sega are allowed to shamelessly rip off Star Wars with the whole Death Egg thing then I don't see why I can't :P Anyway, that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it and if you read, please review!