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Every night since Robotnik's invasion had been cold.

It didn't matter to Sonia, though. Every night of her life had been cold.

But either way, the balcony was nice. The fresh air burned her lungs and made her head ring. And the sting of cold metal on the railings was merciless.

Yes, it hurt.

But that was fine.

So, she went there every night, taking in the perpetual smell of smog, and trying to find stars that had long since disappeared from the light pollution Robotnik brought in. And tonight was no different.

Well, besides thinking about something very strange that had happened that morning.she'd been getting ready when something slipped under her bedroom door.

Curiously, she'd picked it up. A piece of parchment embedded with the familiar penmanship of her fiancé. A letter from Bartleby Montclair.

It read-

'My dearest Sonia,

Today an odd fellow came asking for you. I was hesitant, so he let me send along a message.

He said, 'Something incredibly strange will happen tonight, but you must trust what he shows you.'

He obviously must've been drunk or such, but I thought it was important to tell you. My apologies for not being able to tell you in person. Mother has requested my presence.'

Sonia had thought about that letter all day. She mulled over every word, even after she had hidden the letter in her vanity.

She had a sinking realization in her stomach that a part of her life was coming to an end. But she always... knew it would happen.

Sonia had an incredible memory. Not exactly photographic, but damn-near close. She remembered things that many would've forgotten in time.

And it was her few memories as a baby that kept appearing as she thought of the letter. The faint face of a purple-haired woman and two little babies that disappeared until she was handed off to her adoptive mother, Lady Windermere.

Something incredibly strange was going to happen. And she just trusted that Gaia would tell her when it was time.

And that small, rebellious side of her - the side that shaved off the hair on the sides of her head and bit her tongue when the aristocrats expected her to laugh at their cruel jokes - hoped it had something to do with their recent tyrant. Oh, how she wished she could topple Ivo Robotnik and rip that stupid smile off his face. That would be a sight to behold.

Unable to focus, she skipped out on dinner. She wasn't hungry, imagination running wild in an unbearable way. She had expected the balcony and its cold air to freeze the thoughts out of her head.

Bit it hadn't worked. So, she sat there silently and fiddled with one of her quills until it twisted too much and fell off.

Sonia looked down at it, laying uselessly on the smooth marble. Needing to do something with her hands, she started pulling on the silver bands around her wrists. Inhibitor rings.

They felt itchy, like always. She was dying to rip them off, but she refused to.

That was when, as she stared quietly at the rings around her wrists, she heard something land on the balcony besides her. Her ears perked up first, then her head as she spun around.

Standing before her was a... child?

Sonia stared in utter confusion, slowly backing into the railing as the kid stared back.

"How did you...?" She faintly gestured to the railing and the ground below them. In response, the kid - a fox - flicked his tail...s.

Tails. He had two tails.

"I'm Miles Prower." The fox said awkwardly. "But everyone calls me Tails." Well, that was fair. "I know this is all... very weird, but I need you to listen."

"I'll say this is weird, showing up out of nowhere on a stranger's balcony- have your parents taught you anything about stranger danger?" She tried to play off her confusion. "Why are you here?" She demanded, furrowing her brow.

Tails started to look very nervous, ears flattening to his head. "It's complicated, but there's a reason." He promised, namesakes swishing in front of himself protectively.

Sonia nodded and crossed her arms, prompting him to continue. Tails took in a deep breath and started. "You're one of Queen Aleena's three kids and you're part of a prophecy that means you have to reunite with your brother, find your mother, and take Robotnik down. And I know that unbelievable and really weird, but I know your pendant matches Sonic's and Manic's and I need you to believe me."

He finished with a quick breath, having taken a large amount of energy, bravery, air, or whatever to say all of that.

And as utterly ludicrous as it would sound to someone without Sonia's memories, she believed him. She recognized those names, as her eyes darted down to her pendant. She had it for as long as she could remember. She always knew it was important.

"Alright." She nodded. "What do you need me to do?" She asked.

Tails blinked in shock, staring at her with shiny blue eyes. "Wait, really?" He smiled.

"I have no reason not to, and your story check out as far as my memory goes." Sonia affirmed.

"Well then," Tails got closer to the railing. "Meeting me at the ground. And pack up, you'll have to stay with us for a...while. And you can't tell anyone." With that, Tails climbed onto the rail.

Before Sonia could ask what in Gaia's name he was doing, the fox's tails started to spin, lifting him off the ground. Wordlessly, he flew down, off of the railing and to the ground.

Sonia stared for a moment more as his words sunk in. She knew this life was coming to an end, but it felt... cruel to not even get to say goodbye.

Once she forced her feet to move, she ran back inside.

Was she really doing this? Running off to who-know-where with blind trust?

She grabbed a bag and stuffed some clothes into it,

Yes, yes she was.

She grabbed some other things are shoved them into the bag. Her gaze fell onto her engagement ring, her heart sinking.

Slowly, she got down, and reached under her bed and pulled out a small box. It was full of things only for her eyes.

Poems Bartleby had written to her, contraband magazines and newspapers that her mother would certainly burn to keep the aristocracy quiet. Happy. And the burner phones that she'd only bought in case of an emergency.

Sonia gritted the letter Bartleby had slipped her that day and wrote on the back of it:

'Dear,

My most heartfelt apologies for this transgression. I have to leave. Please trust me, don't give anyone else the phone.'

She wrapped one of the burner phones in the letter and placed it into the box. She briefly considered leaving the ring, but that would probably say the engagement was off.

And despite this sudden leave, she didn't want that.

The hedgehog shut the box and left it at the foot of her bed. It was unassuming to most, but only he would know she wanted him to look inside.

She grabbed all of her money and packed it, zipping up the bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Back on the balcony, she tossed the bag over the railing and climbed to the other side,

"You can do this..." She whispered into the unresponsive air.

For once, that fog in her head that kept her quiet and compliant for so long cleared. For once, she felt she was thinking right.

"You can take a little fall." She assured herself, sliding down lower and shifting until her legs were hanging off the edge and she was clinging to the ledge.

A little fall.

She let go.

With a faint thud, she landed on the flowerbed belong to balcony on her shoulder.

Sonia let out a small groan as she sat up, rubbing her shoulder. It stung but it was relatively dull. Her pink hair was mussed, petals and dirt now caught in it.

She forced herself to her feet and searched in the darkness for her bag. Once she had a hold on it, she stepped out of the flowerbed.

"Miles?" She whisper-yelled, slinging the bag over her shoulder and trudging closer to the walls.

"Over here." A small voice whispered, to which Sonia looked over and saw Tails. "Come on," he nodded to the side and took off running.

Sonia rushed after him, the heels of her boots clicked on the stone. The sound then disappeared as they got to the edge fence of the West Corner. She felt uneasy, never having been this far from home.

Tails went closer to the fence. "Aren't those electric?" She hissed. Tails took out a strange tablet-like device.

"Yes," he nodded. He did something on the tablet and the faint, perpetual hum of electricity stopped. "Not anymore." Tails smiled, quite pleased with himself.

With speed, Tails scaled the fence and dropped himself on the other side. Hesitantly, Sonia followed in suite, climbing on the fence and getting onto the other side with no shocks.

When she let go, Tails took out the tablet again and did whatever he was doing. Then, the electricity returned.

"Are you a... hacker or something?" Sonia inquired.

"Something like that." Tails nodded. "Come on, let's keep going." He kept walking through the forests, stopping over rocks and tree roots.

Sonia watched him for a moment, then down to the dirt. She let out a sigh and started to follow him.

The two seemed to walk on forever, the clouds of night churning in the sky. She felt exhausted, and the humidity was probably making her look horrible. She definitely wanted to take a shower.

Then it started to rain- lightly, but noticeably.

That wasn't what she meant.

With a groan, she retreated onto a large rock, watching the dirt turn into mud. Tails looked over, unamused by the scene.

"Really?" He raised a brow. It would've been comical in a less serious context of what they were dealing with.

Sonia instinctively flexed her fingers, tapping them against her palm in a nervous fidget. "I don't like mud." She said. "It's unpleasant."

Tails crossed his arms. "We're in the woods. Mud kinds comes with it."

She made a grimace and walked carefully along the rocks and roots. Tails just went through the mud, looking unbothered.

The cabin they approached looked cozy and somewhat rugged. The lights were on and a candle was burning on the top.

"That's where we're staying." Tails pointed to it. "We've got electricity, but the water has to be brought to the filter when it empties." He explained.

Sonia blinked- it didn't seem necessarily pleasant. But she didn't say anything about it to him. They went inside and Sonia saw a green-haired hedgehog asleep on the cushions, which muffled his snoring.

Another hedgehog, a blue-haired boy that was shorted then her, bolted over in a flash of blue light. He scooped Tails into his arms and hugged onto him.

"I'm alright, I'm alright!" Tails laughed, smiling at him.

He hugged the fox tighter. "I can't help it, I was so worried about you!" Tails hugged him back and the older finally set him down. He looked over to Sonia and waved.

"Uhm... Hey." He nodded at her, "I'm Sonic, and you're Sonia."

Sonia nodded faintly. "Right. He," she pointed to Tails. "He told me everything."

Sonic was quiet for a moment.

"We should probably talk more about this in the morning." He decided. "Amy and I set up a second bed in the guest bedroom..." His gaze went over to Manic, "I guess the room will be all yours tonight."

With that, the tense hedgehog scooped up Tails again. Tails let out a faint purr, seeming tired as he rested his head on Sonic's shoulder.

"Goodnight." He whispered.

"Goodnight." Tails echoed. Sonic then went into one of the rooms with the little fox.