"How are you holding up, Tails?" Zik asked. Tails looked over to her, as they and an asleep Zoga sat in a circle around Zeena, who was out cold. They had to make sure no Badniks got into Zoga's old studio they were staying at. They had set up a wall of plastic crates to make it so no robots could just waltz in.
"Good, I've been good," Tails yawned. "I just… haven't slept in a while."
"Well get used to it," Zik giggled. "As my student, you won't have much time to sleep."
"Believe me, I've been used to it for a while," Tails groaned. "I can't ever rest for long. Not when Sonic's running around, getting himself… and me… into trouble." Tails smiled.
"Yeah, I know how that can be. You two are pretty close, aren't you?" Zik sighed, sliding down the chilly wall and proceeding to stare at the ceiling. "You could have gone with Sonic and Zomom to take down the tower. Why didn't you?"
"I'd just be a bother," Tails chuckled. "It's funny. Sonic used to make me play wingman when we were kids, but nowadays he likes to fly solo when it comes to these things."
"But don't you fly him places all the time? I didn't think he could do that on his own," Zik mumbled, cocking her head and looking at Tails weirdly. Tails shot a confused glance her way in kind. "Wouldn't you be a 'tailman', anyways?"
"That's… not what I meant," Tails replied.
"I see, I see. That's 'slang' isn't it?" Zik asked. Tails didn't respond. "You look sad. What's wrong?" Zik stared at Tails, intently.
"It's nothing. I'm fine," Tails muttered, forcing a slight smile. "It's just… so much has changed over the past year or so. It used to be Sonic and I against GUN and the Iron Dominion, then it was Sonic and I against the world. But then, we met new people. He met new people. Amy, Knuckles… Zomom, Zoga. Now it feels like I'm just… hovering around, y'know?"
"What do you mean?" Zik asked, saddened. "Without you, he wouldn't have even made all these new friends. I at least know that you helped us just as much as he did. Isn't that a good thing?"
"I suppose so," Tails sighed. "But… that just kind of makes it feel like—"
Suddenly, the door swung open. Tails and Zik got ready to fend off an attack, until through the diamond-shaped holes in the crates, they saw that it was just Sonic and Zomom walking into the studio from the snow.
"Hey, everyone!" Sonic exclaimed, raising his hand high in the air. Zomom waved a little. "Tower's down, so it's time to get a move on. We still can't forget about shutting down the Dark Battery."
"We're probably gonna have to swing back around for the Windy Hill and Tropical Coast towers after this is all over," Zik stated, closing her eyes. She didn't sound too pleased about this. "It's the only way to truly cleanse our home of Robotnik's influence."
"I've been thinking about that…" Sonic replied. "Since the blast that shattered Erius was shot out of this planet, is it even safe for you all to stay here? The Lost Hex will probably become a target." Zik seemed offended. But she turned away before anyone could see.
"... We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Zik hissed. Suddenly, Zeena started to move. She got up, and held her head. Zoga did this too.
"Zeena!" The three other Hexis cried. They all rushed in and hugged her.
"Whoa! Hey, guys!" Zeena exclaimed. "What happened? Is this… Zoga's old studio?"
"Yep!" Zoga exclaimed. "I'm the one that saved you, when you really think about it. By having this here."
"Uh, yeah, I guess so! Thanks!" Zeena beamed. Tails walked over and placed a pair of his headphones on her head. She looked up in wonder, with a long gasp. "I've never had a headset before! This will make streaming so much easier!" She then looked at Sonic, weirdly. "Speaking of which… hey, Sonic. Will you take your mask off for me real quick?"
"What?!" Sonic exclaimed, as if that was something completely inappropriate of her to ask. "I mean… uhh… no. It's one of the only things I'm wearing, so that would be weird."
"Oh, oh of course," Zeena replied, seeing her mistake. "Sorry!"
"L-let's get moving!" Sonic laughed nervously. "Where to next?"
"Silent Forest," Zik stated. "At this rate, Zavok will get to Lava Mountain before us. I… don't want to fight her, if that can be avoided. So let's go." Zik walked out the door. Sonic and the others followed.
On the way, Zeena had the idea to hitch a ride on top of a Yeti so she wouldn't have to trek through the remainder of Frozen Factory on foot. The other Hexis quickly joined. Though Sonic and Tails could run faster through the wasted wonderland, they too hopped onto the Yeti to enjoy the little sparks of beauty still present in the Zone. The gentle giant, which was before wandering aimlessly through the coal mines and factories that used to be its home, was happy to help these six adventurers through the mountains.
They explored through old settlements from before the takeover, taking old and torn wool coats knitted decades ago so they could survive the increasingly cold temperatures. They even lit a fire in one cabin's fireplace and sat by it so they wouldn't completely freeze. Zik told tales of ancient Zeti heroes until the fire died. Everyone took some amount of entertainment from these ancient stories, especially Zik herself.
When they found a frozen lake, they realized just how thirsty they were. Sonic spun in circles around a patch of the lake, and the Yeti lifted the cutout piece of ice. Never before had water tasted so good to anyone there.
The ruins of towns began to give way to trees and stone monuments. The icy lakes were taken over by puddles of mud, and snow began to melt into slush. Day turned to night, and eventually, they had to say their goodbyes to their not-so-abominable snow-man. It was bittersweet, but the Yeti had places to go. Tails watched as their friend departed back to Frozen Factory. He would never see him again.
Tails turned around as the others kept moving forward. He was at the back of the group. Sonic was leading the crusade as usual. He sighed, and looked to the ground. Huddling his arms together in the chilly forest, Tails walked along slowly, all while millions of thoughts raced through his mind. He tried to avoid the worrisome ones, but they kept popping up. Tails usually knew exactly how to talk to Sonic about his worries, but it seemed… different now. Because Tails had never felt so selfish about his worries.
"It's a good thing he has new friends… And it's a good thing I helped him get them! They're my friends too, and they make us both happy, so I shouldn't feel bad!" Tails thought to himself, smiling. He marched along determinedly, stiltedly, a smile plastered on his face. Until it fell. "So why do I feel bad? I know Sonic wouldn't leave me, but…" Tails sighed. He punched the palm of his other hand in a vertical motion. "No more. No, we're not thinking like this today. Gotta get ahold of myself. How do I talk to him about this?"
Tails cycled through options in his head. He could go strong. "You think they're your friends? I'M your best friend, Sonic!" Tails thought. No, way too strong. "You care about Zomom more. Do you know how much that bites?" No, no. Is "bite" even used like that? Tails shook his head free of all these thoughts.
"Whatever! I'll just talk to him!" Tails exclaimed. He bumped against someone, and stumbled back. The small poke from this person's quills snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Tails?" Sonic asked, turning around. Tails was always a little bit short compared to Sonic, but… it now felt like Sonic towered over him. "What's the matter?"
"Oh… hey, Sonic," Tails laughed nervously. "I was just… thinking."
"No, you were yelling," Sonic replied, looking at Tails confusedly. This merely worried expression hit just as hard as one of Zik's pineapples. "Is everything alright?" Tails' mouth dried up when he tried to explain himself. He looked around. They were completely alone in the forest. "The others went off to get firewood. You've been acting odd all day, so what's the matter?" Tails inhaled sharply through his nose. He knew despite how scared he was of explaining this to Sonic, that he could trust his best friend.
"I just feel like… we're drifting apart, y'know?" Tails asked, smiling. He meant for it to soften the blow of the statement, but his reluctant eyes and soft smile only made the sentence hit Sonic like a truck.
"What? What do you mean?!" Sonic shouted, distraught. He covered his mouth when he realized he had said that loud enough to scare away the owls.
"It used to just be us. Us against the world, y'know?" Tails mumbled, his entire body fidgeting. "But… lately, I've been worried that all of our new friends are making you forget about me."
Sonic was visibly shocked. He didn't know what to say. "I guess I really figured it out when you flew off with Zomom to take out the tower alone," Tails muttered, dropping the smile. "But I've felt it for a long time. Ever since we escaped, I've had a feeling we'd be separated someday. Somehow."
"You're not making any sense," Sonic replied, angered. He tensed up. Tails jumped forward, and hugged Sonic tight. Sonic could feel how much Tails was shaking.
"Don't you have that feeling too sometimes?" Tails asked. "That it's just a matter of time before life will tear us apart from each other? I'm so scared. I'm always so scared, Sonic. That's why I'm sick, and it's why I always locked the door in Giganima and Kerosen. I was terrified that Robotnik, or another bad person, would take you away from me. But I don't think it's gonna be that anymore. I think a good person will take you away from me. A really good person. Someone better than I could ever be."
Sonic didn't know how to respond. He was at a complete loss for words. He couldn't figure out whether to be angry or sad. "It's okay, Sonic. This is my fault, not yours. I kind of brought this upon myself for getting too attached," Tails sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic saw something strange. There was a flock of owls illuminated by the moonlight headed straight for them. He stared towards the owls, because it looked like there was someone on top of the biggest one. "Sonic, are you even listening?" Tails asked, feeling like his words were falling on deaf ears.
"Yeah, it's just… do you feel like those owls are headed towards us?" Sonic asked.
"What?" Tails asked. Suddenly, the owls dove right for them. Sonic felt time slow to a crawl as the largest owl snatched Tails. He caught a glimpse of the aforementioned unknown figure on top of the owl. Zor the Hexi. "Aaaaah!" Tails screamed, struggling to break out of the owls' talons that held his entire body. The owl flew in place above Sonic. Zor wasn't even looking at him. She seemed more focused on the night sky. She let the wind carry away a flower she was holding.
"Hey!" Sonic barked. Alerted by the loud sound, Zor looked down upon Sonic.
"Great. Social interaction," Zor growled to herself, looking away dismissively. "You know what? Fine. Aha, Sonic. I have your friend. Stop me, if you feel like it. There, is that what you want?" She asked, in a monotone voice.
"No, I want you to put him down!" Sonic shouted. Tails couldn't talk with how much the owl was squeezing him.
"Wow, and my parents called me ungrateful," Zor sighed, pinching the apex of her nose. "I put all that effort into an improvised villain speech and you just want me to give up? I was actually already considering that, but… it's just kinda rude of you. Whatever. See you later, LOSER." Zor flew off atop the owl, Tails still in the owl's clutches. Sonic immediately gave chase, until Zor had the bright idea to just fly up. Sonic tried to Homing Attack the owl, but fell short. He hit the ground.
"No!" Sonic shouted, watching hopelessly as the owl flew into the clouds with his best friend. If he could, he would just soar right up after him. But he wasn't the one who could fly. Tails was.
And he was gone.