The Hell We Live In

Twelve

__After a few hours Tails was feeling much better. This was when he decided it was time to head over to headquarters. He was a little doubtful that Scourge and Fiona would accompany him, but because of the collars they didn't have a choice. So they had to follow him anyway whether they really wanted to go or not. Despite it being against everyone's interest, they were walking there.
__"You have a plane," Fiona had said. "Why aren't we flying?"
__Tails was holding T-Pup in his arms. The little robot dog for some reason decided to act lazy today. "You know how expensive gas is these days? A plane uses up more fuel than an eighteen wheeler, and I don't want to have to keep using the plane if I don't really need to. Plus, it's not that far. You guys need some excercise anyway."
__Fiona huffed. "Rude."
__"I mean that it's in your best interest after sitting around in prison for ten years," Tails clarified. "It'll help with The Devil, too."
__"Point Tails."
__"I'm always right."
__They were walking through town now. This was the part Tails dreaded the most. People were giving them all kinds of different looks that annoyed the shit out of him. He knew they were mainly looking at Scourge. He saw that some parents they passed by were pulling their children in close. He could understand their uncertainty and fear, but this was still excessive.
__"Nosy bunch," he heard Fiona remark.
__They were close to leaving the town when T-Pup suddenly hopped out of Tails's arms. The robot dog was growling at something. Tails looked ahead and flattened his ears. Ahead were the bandicoot twins. "Shit!" He grabbed his robot dog and started retreating to a secluded area close by. Scourge and Fiona did not hesitate to follow him. They hid behind a wall at the closest shop.
__"What?" Fiona whispered.
__Tails peaked around the corner. When T-Pup continued to growl he covered its mouth to shut it up. "Fucking twins."
__Fiona carefully looked past Tails and saw the two sisters. "Of course they have to have such pretty faces," she remarked in disgust.
__Scourge was also trying to get a look. "You scared of 'em now?"
__Tails suppressed the urge to growl at him. "I'm not trying to deal with them. The restraining order is there for a reason."
__"And you only put it on one of them?" Scourge asked while sounding rhetorical.
__"Only one has the hots for me," Tails hissed. "But the other is putting herself on the same level now."
__They all suddenly quiet down when the sisters' voices were clear.
__"I don't want to hear it from you," Perci had told Staci. "You're the one that already has a stable relationship. You don't get this."
__"Sure I do!" Staci assured her sister. "You just need to keep trying."
__Perci glared at Staci. "Have you forgotten that legally I'm not allowed near him?"
__Staci groaned as she shook her head. "He's being overly dramatic. I thought he was supposed to be smart. You're not doing any harm. You were just being... friendly. You were just trying to give him some support that no one else is giving him."
__Tails found himself quietly growling as he felt his fur start to stand up on end. This was a lie. Sure it might be true on their end, but that was not the case on his end. He said his piece about not wanting to be in a relationship with Perci, yet she would not leave him alone. It just got to the point of harrassment, and up until the restraining order, and he was glad it only happened once, sexual harassment when she grabbed his tail that day. This was not offering support. This was just plain wrong.
__"Look," Staci continued. "Don't worry about a thing. It'll work out."
__"How the hell do you figure that?" Perci snapped.
__Staci looked away from her sister. "Don't worry about it."
__Suddenly they both stopped. Tails felt his stomach sinking. A female yellow fox with long hair and wearing a red dress was calmly walking up to the bandicoot twins. The sisters were not happy.
__"The hell do you want?" Perci asked the vixen sternly.
__Despite the hostility, the yellow vixen remained calm and collected. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."
__"That's a breach of our privacy, Zooey," Perci growled.
__Zooey was unphased. "Be that as it may, I just must share my opinion." Suddenly she looked very angry. "Leave. Him. Alone. You think nobody knows what's going on? You need to stop."
__"Well, nobody asked for your opinion," Staci remarked harshly.
__"You still plan on bothering him," Zooey infered. "You do know what's happening right now, don't you? All of the Freedom Fighters need to focus on capturing this monster, and you two are making things harder than it needs to be."
__Staci brought her angry face close to Zooey's "The hell do you care? You two broke up."
__Zooey backed away, but she still didn't look intimidated in the slightest. "Doesn't mean I stopped caring. Fate may have made me the damsel in distress, but you'll be dealing with me if you keep bugging him."
__Tails couldn't bear to hear or see any more. He pulled away and decided to take a detour to headquarters. He held T-Pup tightly as he quickened his pace.
__"Hey!" Fiona was trying to catch up. "Who was she?"
__Tails slowed down and put T-Pup on the ground to walk. "Zooey. She's my ex."
__"Really?" Fiona didn't sound like she believed that.
__"How much drama you got, kid?" Scourge asked sarcastically.
__Tails didn't reply. He just kept walking.