STRANDED [ON HOLD]

Sanity Depleting

There has to be an easier way to find Tails and Sticks, right? Shadow, Rouge and Knuckles have been walking, or flying, for the past three hours. They're getting tired and more and more angry as the day goes by. They want to take a nap, but decide not to. How have they passed the time, you may ask. Well... let's see.

"79 BOTTLES OF WATER-THAT-WE-REALLY-NEED-RIGHT-NOW 79 BOTTLES OF WATER, TAKE ONE DOWN, PASS IT AROUND-" Knuckles and Rouge scream-sing.

"Shut the FUCK UP!" Shadow gripes and they laugh.

"I'm surprised you let us go on that long." Rouge wipes a tear from her eye from laughing.

"I bet I can make Shadow more annoyed than you." Knuckles declares a challenge with Rouge.

"You're on. Shadow, I know how you fall asleep every night, what song you sing in the shower before tucking yourself into bed and-" Rouge starts before she gets cut off.

"Rouge wins." He crosses his arms and closes his eyes.

"Told you."

"You think this berry is poisonous?" Knuckles lifts a magenta berry off a random bush with a number of large thorns to make the normal man question his actions before sticking his whole hand into it just to touch a small, definitely lethal berry.

"No. Not at all, enjoy." Shadow smirks and Knuckles grabs the berry.

"Don't." Rouge smacks his hand to make him drop the berry.

"Aww..." Knuckles grumbles.

Tails attempts to fly with the two large fox tails he has, and he fails, falling into the mud. Sticks facepalms and grabs the bucket of water she created and splashes him with it.

"I wonder if a hit to the head will make me remember my entire past." Tails ponders and Sticks raises an eyebrow and shrugs before hoisting up a log on her shoulder like a lumberjack and spins around to hit him in the side of his head, with style. Tails falls to the ground with birds flying around his head, but the birds turn into tools from his toolbox and Sticks claps with joy.

"And, I think that worked!" She holds out her hand to him, and he holds his head and, to her surprise, passes out. "I think I hit him a little too hard..."

Amy leaps over a log in front of her, and Sonic spin dashes through it, for style points, obviously. They run through this part of the cave, until they come face to face with a water patch, and by water patch, this is basically the size of a small lake across. Sonic's breath hitches and Amy sighs as she stares at the water in front of her. A pretty sight, actually, except the water is a bland, cloudy brown, probably from all of the mud being kicked up from any creature that lives down there. Sonic questions the horrors that could be living UNDER the ocean or that little lake. It's a part of his fear. Not as much with the swimming, no, you never know what's under your feet if it's as foggy as that water. Amy dives into the water and Sonic throws his arm out to grab her back, but she hits the water with a small splash and comes back up within seconds.

"It's more clear under here than up above. I can see all the way to that wall over there, I think that's the exit, let's go." Amy nods and Sonic shivers before possibly even getting into the water. She notices his hesitation and her eyes light up. "Sonic! Grab the small blue bag in your knapsack!" She beams and Sonic cocks his head to the side before setting down his bag and bending down, rustling through it. He pulls out the bag and opens it, revealing a covered button.

"Really, a button?" He groans. While treading water, Amy motions him to press it. He presses the button and a lifejacket pops out. It's one of the most useful things he's ever seen, as someone who refuses to swim. "WHATTTTTT?!!! THIS IS SO COOL!!!" He fangirls and she laughs.

"I had Tails make it for you. I stuck it in your bag as a surprise, plus I knew if I handed that to you in front of Knuckles or Vector, they would have a ball picking at you for it." She scoffs at that idea and he hops in the water and floats. He kicks his way to the other side and she follows him. They hop out of the water and Sonic shakes himself off like a dog, getting Amy wet with it in the process. He smiles awkwardly and they find themselves at a fork in the road.

"We should go right." Amy says and Sonic looks down the path then the other way.

"I think we should go the other way." He disagrees with her judgment. She narrows her eyes.

"I think right is the best way to go."

"Well, I think that left is the best way."

"Right."

"Left"

"Right."

"Left."

"Right."

"Left."

Knuckles destroys another zombie in his path and another five of them pile on top of him. He takes a deep breath and throws the flesh eaters off and groans. Shadow shoots three of them in midair and Rouge grabs a large stick and spins around, clotheslining three of them and Knuckles jumps in and takes them down. Another four come after Knuckles, who gets enraged.

"I am getting b-b-b-b-BODIED!!" He yells out and Shadow shoots two of them and Rouge spin-kicks the others out of the way. "Thanks." Knuckles dusts off his shoulders and looks at all of the dismembered body parts on the ground.

"I sure hope we find Tails and Sticks soon." Rouge thinks aloud and Shadow nods. He fills the ammo on his gun and sticks it back in its place.

"Yeah, hopefully they're not dead." Morbidly said, Shadow gets death glares from Rouge and Knuckles.

"They're plenty capable, Shadow." Knuckles defends his teammates.

"Yeah, but they don't have Sonic and Amy, or even you, to back them up. Tails is a glorified burnt-out gifted kid and Sticks literally eats through my trash."

"She considers it her energy source."

"My point exactly."

"I really think we should go right, Sonic." Amy pleads and Sonic's ego stands strong.

"I really think we should go left, Ames." He starts walking to the left part of the crossroads.

"If you're wrong, it gives me ample opportunity and reason to hit you upside the head, just so you know." She wipes off the dirt on the bandages from her injury earlier.

"Fair enough." He agrees without thinking and she nods.