Destruction of the Innocent  

Chapter 7:

      "It talks," Tails continued.  Rotor and Sonic had decided to wait
  until morning to solve the problem.  How idiotic, Tails thought.  Sonic
  had decided that it was probably nothing... that Sally was probably just
  getting rid of the ring.  But Sonic and Rotor hadn't heard the voice.
  They had been interrogating him for less than fifteen minutes now.  But it
  still had seemed like an eternity to Tails.  He slumped down in the stiff
  wooden chair in which he sat.  "And it'll probably tell her where to find
  the emeralds," he continued on.  Though Tails' expression was still empty
  and cold, there was a tiny twinge of sadness in his voice.

      "You don't seem very concerned," said Rotor.

      "I AM concerned!" he responded.  "But YOU TWO won't shut up and
  move!!!  We have to save Sally from herself!"

      Tails jumped out of his chair, but Sonic pushed him back down.  "How
  do we know this is real?" he asked Rotor.  "I don't know why we should
  believe all of the stuff Tails is feeding us about the emeralds.  I mean,
  no offense Tails, but what do you know about the chaos emeralds anyway?"

      Memories flashed through Tails' mind.  Of Athair.  Of the Ancient
  Walkers.  Even though his memories of what the old echnida made run
  through his head were sketchy... they were enough as far as Tails was
  concerned.  He looked up at Sonic, a tiny smile appearing on his face.
  "More than you might think," he said in a mocking tone.

      Sonic still looked skeptical.  "Okay, assuming that this is for
  real... we can still stop her from getting all of them.  We know where
  ONE chaos emerald is."

      "Right!" shouted Rotor.  "The Floating Island!"

      "Alright!" Tails shouted.  "What are we waiting for?  She could be
  there already!"

      "But how will we get there?" Sonic said, worried.  "Sal took the
  plane... I didn't even know she knew how to fly!"

      "I can airlift one person there, but that's all," Tails said.  "So I
  guess just Sonic and I will have to go."  Sadness overcame Tails'
  expression.  "But how can we stop her if she's already been there?  Or
  if it's her last stop?  She'll be too powerful with six chaos emeralds."

      Sonic was concerned now too.  "We'll just have to.  Somehow.  For Sal.
   Tails... you don't have to stay once we get there.  This is extremely
  dangerous... we're talking about some majorly nasty stuff.  NOT cool."

      Tails looked at him.  "No" he said, loudly, showing strength and
  courage through his voice.  "I'm going."

      Sonic shook his head and said, "I really don't think you should,
  little guy."

      That was it.  Tails was fed up.  For years he'd been looked down to,
  treated like a child.  And with one simple phrase, Sonic had pushed him
  over the edge.  He stood up in his chair and pulled Sonic's face close to
  his with both of his hands.  "Call me 'little' ever again," he said
  angrily, "and I will personally take your sneakers and shove them down
  your throat."

      Sonic was taken aback.  His eyes widened.  He looked at Tails, not
  believing what he had just heard.  Rotor just laughed.  Sonic looked over
  at him, lost, wondering how to respond to Tails' sudden unexpected show of
  force.  And Rotor just laughed harder.

      "It's time to go," Tails said.

      "They grow up too fast, huh, Sonic?" Rotor laughed.  Sonic still
  stared.

      Hundreds of miles away, in an icy cavern, two hands - Sally's hands -
  held up a blue chaos emerald.  She placed it into the ring.  And the ring
  then had only one space left open... for one final emerald.