Of Sand And Of Subtlety

Puzzle Or Party

  "Knuckles?"

  The slight panic in Tails' voice caught my attention, and I looked to Shadow, who was finishing smoothing off another window.

  "Something's wrong." I jumped up from where I was tracing designs on the cellar trap-door and rushed to the shore.

  Tails was pacing back and forth, nervously looking at the horizon where I could see a small, capsized boat.

  "What happened?" Shadow asked as he arrived beside me.

  "H-he went in the water to get my boat. Something.. s-something pulled him in I think. He hasn't come back up!"

  "Does he have his Air Necklace?" I asked.

  Tails thought for a second, then shook his head. Without a moment's hesitation, Shadow dove into the water to start searching.

  "First Sonic and now Knuckles..." Tails shivered to himself.

  "Nonsense!" I snapped at him. "Sonic is just fine!"

  Shadow poked his head out above the water to get some air, then ducked back down.

  "Oh! And Knuckles is fine, too. He just..." I struggled to come up with an excuse. "He swam down the shore before coming up! That's it! He's just pranking us."

  Tails considered it, but looked back over the water and sighed, "That didn't seem like a prank, Amy."

  "Well it was, ok? They're both fine!" I stomped my foot to emphasize my point.

  Shadow teleported out of the water to stand next to us. "I didn't see him anywhere. You're sure he-"

  "Rouge?" Tails interrupted Shadow and pointed behind us.

  I turned around to find Rouge standing at the beach chairs we had set up, rubbing sunscreen all over her ears and face. She noticed us staring at her and waved, then walked over to us.

  "What happened with the agency?" Shadow questioned.

  She shrugged, "Apparently there wasn't anything to do, so I was free to come back. What happened here?" She looked back at the boys' sand castle with interest. "Care to explain this... structure?"

  "It's a sand castle, Rouge." Shadow frowned.

  Rouge looked confused. "Then where's the.. umm... those tower things normally on castles?"

  Shadow crossed his arms. "It's a modern castle. Get with the times."

  "How ab-bout a tour?" Tails suggested, his voice still shaky.

  "Prepare to see the ultimate sand castle." Shadow led the way up the beach and through the large archway, Tails and I hesitantly following.

  Rouge was instantly drawn to the 'spiral staircase'. "How can anyone use this? The steps aren't big enough for us, and even if we could, sand can't support our weight!"

  "It's not about that, Rouge." Shadow argued. "It's for aethsetics, not practicality."

  "Is that a functioning sand-television?" Tails pointed to the tv sitting on top of the fireplace.

  "Observe." Shadow picked up a remote and pressed a button which made light shine through the sand, much to Tails' horror.

  The fox walked up to the screen skeptically. "That's not logical! You can't make a working cable with just-" He stuck his finger in the side and scooped out a chunk of sand, a shocked expression on his face.