A Shooting Star ~Kirby and Sonic crossover~

Chapter 27: Discussing the Possibilities

Tails looked down at his wrist communicator, scanning the map displayed on the screen. Looking over to make sure the cappies were following, Tails felt his heart clench with worry, feeling sick at just the thought of his brother dying.

Tails, Amy, Tiff, and Tuff were trying to find Sonic, Knuckles, and Dedede, so they could all meet up somewhere safe while Shadow, Kirby, and Meta Knight fought a new enemy by the name of 'Dark Matter'.

Since the cappies didn't have as much stamina as the mobians, they often had to take long rests, which made Tails' hide prickle with annoyance. Although he knew it wasn't their fault for being tired and he was just being harsh, he couldn't help but feel the urge to yell at them. After all, his brother was in danger! The fox had to make sure he was okay, and he found himself tapping the ground with his foot, just like what Sonic did whenever he got impatient.

"Are... we alm... almost th- the- ere?" Tuff gasped, looking as if he was on the verge of collapsing. Large beads of sweat rolled off his yellow head.

Tails felt guilty when he saw the state the cappy was in. The cappies didn't have to come along with them, and especially not with the sticks they held. Tails, being so worried about Sonic, had left his own bundle of sticks behind, leaving the blue hedgehog without any other source of heat.

It's so considerate of them. They know Sonic must be freezing, since he made contact with water not too long ago. Tails felt his eyes water, and he washed them away with a hand and a sniff. And despite of how concerned they must be for Kirby and Meta Knight, they didn't ask a single question about them. They know how worried I am about Sonic, so to their eyes, he's their first priority.

"Yes, Tuff, we're almost there," Tails said, giving the male cappy a small smile. "Just hang in there a little longer!"

Tuff gave a tired jerk of his head, being too exhausted to utter another word.

Tails felt his wrist buzz, and saw that it was the wrist communicator. On its screen, it said, 'Reached Destination. Closing Map.'. Tails stopped propelling his tails, which caused the others to come to a halt, with the two cappies watching Tails hopefully, not being able to handle the strain of running any longer.

Tails glanced upwards, then side to side. He frowned, looking back at wrist communicator. Did it get the coordinates wrong? He couldn't see Sonic, Knuckles, or Dedede in his line of vision. Not to mention there seemed to be no stable structure in sight that could protect the injured hedgehog from Dark Matter.

"Hey, Tails! Down here!" The fox heard a harsh whisper come from below him, and he looked downwards to see a large hole beneath him, with the red head of a certain echidna poking out of it.

Tails, Amy, Tiff, and Tuff all screamed in surprise and terror, not expecting for Knuckles to appear like a severed head sticking out of the ground. Knuckles, seeing that they were screaming, decided to scream along with them.

After they were done screaming, Tails put a hand over his chest, trying to stable his fluttering heart. "Kn- Knuckles! Why in Mobius did you think poking your head out of nowhere was a good idea?" Tails breathed, letting out a small laugh despite the situation. "That scared me!"

Knuckles wrinkled his snout, frowning at the yellow kitsune with an expression which only read annoyance. "Well, how else were you supposed to know that I made a burrow down here?" he pointed out with a huff. "You were all looking everywhere but downwards, so I just decided to speed up the process."

The echidna glared at Tails. "And I at least expect a 'thank you'. I had to leave my post on the Master Emerald just to help Sonic, you know."

At the mention of Sonic, Tails' eyes widened with fear. Looking at Knuckles, he asked, "Sonic! Oh, is he okay? Is he breathing? Is he alive? Is he-"