𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑: 𝓘𝓼 𝓑𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓘𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮?

      The time had to come sooner or later. The two-tailed fox sat near the window, folded his elbows near the windowsill and looked towards the forest, thinking about Shadow himself and the other nagas. He waited, but for what, he himself did not yet know. — Son, go have dinner! — his mother Fiona called him. — I'm coming, mom. — Tails answers. But at first he did not come right away, but for now he was still sitting near the windowsill, looking towards the forest and thinking about the same thing. After a couple of minutes, he finally overcame his spiritual doubts, stood up and went to the kitchen. For dinner we had the most delicious, fresh and hot semolina porridge with raspberries and blueberries. The fox, of course, really loved eating this porridge, but just today for some reason he wasn’t in the mood to eat it. And no, not at all because he’s tired of her or simply because he doesn’t want her anymore. He was in such a mood that he lost his appetite. While the foster mother was finishing her porridge, it had been a long time since the adult baby had eaten a single spoon, thinking about it and looking at how the porridge from his spoon flowed back into his plate. And so every time he picks it up, he can’t put it in his mouth. Fiona noticed this and decided to break the silence. — Tails, why aren't you eating? Are you tired of porridge? — A? What? No, no, I'm eating, eating. — the fox immediately came to his senses, made an excuse and immediately his appetite returned when he began to gobble her up again. However, Fiona cannot be fooled. She saw that he was thinking about something, and now he was pretending as if nothing had happened. Apparently he is hiding something from her. — Tails, is something wrong? — It's okay, mom! What are you talking about? — Then why didn’t you eat the porridge at first, but now you suddenly started, as if you were thinking about something?” What's troubling you?... And... Why are you looking at me so strangely, as if I... I'm a stranger... To you? Apparently you can’t fool that mother. There is no point in hiding the truth from her, but it was necessary to somehow embellish it slightly so that it would not be offensive. — Mom, do you happen to remember where you got me from? — he answered her question with a question. — Uh-uh... I thought that you were already an adult and you know perfectly well that there is a man and a woman who meet, fall in love with each other, and then... — at this moment Fiona extended the middle ones on both hands and index fingers, which passed right through, touching the wrists. However, she did not have time to finish when her son interrupted her: — O! No, no, no, no, no, no! This is not necessary! I already know that. — Then why did you ask me this? — Fiona asked suspiciously. — Do you understand?... — without thinking for long, Tails came up with a slightly embellished truth under the sauce of lies, in the figurative sense of the word. — When I was in the palace of King Merlin, one night I had a strange dream. He looked so realistic, as if it was not a dream, but... A memory. — What are you talking about? — Fiona didn’t understand. — In the dream that I saw, I seemed to be a baby. There was dad... And... Another mom... That is... Not you... - Fiona listened carefully to her adopted son, but at that moment she fussed a little that he almost guessed. — And in that dream, I lived in another village. But then she was attacked by one of the nagas. He ate and killed everyone there. Even those mom and dad... Only I survived... I was thrown into the river and carried away by the current away from that village. I don’t remember what happened next... I’m just worried about what I saw in that dream. Was it really just a dream, or are these memories that I forgot about?...Mom, maybe you know the truth? Fiona became sad at this moment. Although she knew that sooner or later he would have to tell the truth about him. Getting up from her chair, she went into the closet and took out a basket, placing it on the table and showing it to Tails. — What you saw is true, your memories, Tails. One morning I found you near the river... In this very basket. You were a baby then. At first I didn’t know where you came from and thought that maybe your real ones didn’t love you and threw you away as an unnecessary thing. Perhaps because you have two tails. But is it your fault that you were born this way? Are two even better than one? — This is bullshit! Look what else I can do. - Tails got up from his chair, sat down on all fours and launched his tails like a propeller, after which he flew a little higher above the floor. — Do you see? Fiona was surprised, and Tails then went down to the floor. — How did you do it like that? — You won’t believe it, but I didn’t know that I could do that. — I was right. You are a special fox for being born with two tails. You have the ability to fly. — she was happy for her beloved, albeit adopted son. — Is this all that you hid from me or is there some other secret? — M-m-m... There is another one, but only me... I can’t say... — Why? — I swore an oath to my best friend that I would not tell anyone about him and would not reveal that we were friends. And I don’t even want to tell you, because I don’t want to scare you. The mother walked up to her son and put her hands on his shoulders. — Tails, I'm your mother. Not dear, of course, how are you now? — M-m-m... There is another one, but only me... I can’t say... — Why? — I swore an oath to my best friend that I would not tell anyone about him and would not reveal that we were friends. And I don’t even want to tell you, because I don’t want to scare you. The mother walked up to her son and put her hands on his shoulders. — Tails, I'm your mother. Not your own, of course, as you now know, but still your beloved. I will listen to everything and understand if you tell me honestly about this too. Shrugging his shoulders, thinking, Tails took a breath and decided to tell the truth: — In general... I’ve been hiding it since the day when I first went to pick mushrooms in the forest, when I was still a young man... The truth is that I... — Are you blue? — Mom asked jokingly. — What? No, where did you get that from? — the fox waved him off. — So what are you trying to tell me? Don't delay! — the fox was worried. — Briefly speaking! I met one of the nagas in the forest and became friends with him. — after what was said, the fox exhaled with relief. He immediately felt better when he spoke the truth out of himself to at least someone. Fiona's eyes widened at what she heard and couldn't believe her ears. Then she laughed out loud, deciding that her son was just joking. She laughed, wiped tears of joy from her eyes and calmed down and said: —It was a good joke, Tails. I wasn't even worried. — But... But... — the fox wanted to object, when suddenly they both heard someone knocking on the kitchen window with something metallic. This large claw on a huge black finger lightly tapped on the window so as not to leave even a crack. — Tails, are you there? — an old and familiar voice was heard. Tails was happy on the one hand that it was his friend Shadow, but on the other hand he began to panic because Shadow came at the wrong time when his mother was home. — THIS IS NAGA!!! Fiona shouted, grabbing Tails by the arm and dragging him into the storage room. — Stay here, son! The fox took Tails' blade in her hands, ran out into the street and began waving her sword, trying to drive away the naga hedgehog, which in general was not dangerous. He just crawled back a little with each swing. — GO AWAY, MONSTER!!! GET OUT!!! GET OUT!!! I WILL NOT GIVE YOU MY SON TO EAT!!! — Hush, hush, what are you doing? I'm your son's friend. I crawled not to eat it. — MOM, STOP!!! — the fox intervened in time, grabbing his mother’s hands and holding the sword on top. — TAILS, GET OUT OF THE WAY!!! HE WILL EAT US NOW!!! — MO-O-OM!!! — the son shouted at his mother as loudly as he could that the whole village had to wake up. Fiona froze in fear at what she heard, and Tails began to quietly explain: — Everything is fine, mom! Calm down! This nag is kind. He is my friend. — Your friend? — Fiona widened her eyes, realizing that he apparently wasn’t joking at all. — And he won’t eat us. Neither me nor you. You understand me? — Tails said. — I won’t eat it, I promise. You don't need to be so afraid of me. — Shadow connected to Tails. The fox, taking a breath and trying to digest everything that she had learned today, she unclenched her hands, letting go of the samurai blade, which the fox picked up in his hands and put it aside. — Mom, everything is fine! Don't be afraid!... Do you believe me now? — Now... Completely! — the fox smiles uncertainly and fearfully extends her right hand to the huge black hedgehog with red stripes. — Uh-uh... Very... ni-i-i-i-ice... tototototototototo... memememememememe-e-et... yo-o-ou... Shadow slowly leaned towards the fox, lightly took her hand with the thumb and forefinger of his left hand, and kissed her small palm with his huge lips, like a decent gentleman. — Me too, madam. My name is Shadow. For you, maybe just Shad, but what’s your name? — Fifififi... — at first she stuttered, trying to introduce herself, but having understood and finally convinced that this polite gentleman was really not dangerous, she pulled herself together and introduced herself normally. At the same time, coughing a couple of times to the side: — Fiona Fox. Maybe just Fiona... And I think you already know Tails. — Yes, speaking of my name. I also wanted to talk to you about this. — said the fox and mom looked at him again. — My name is actually Miles, as I heard in that memory. I think my real mom and dad called me that way back then... But I also like the name Tails. At least I got used to it and from now on I will only respond to it. — So Miles?... Miles!... A rare name. — Fiona thought about Tails' real name. — So ah! Mr. Shad, why did you come crawling to us so late? — Forgive me! I didn't mean to scare you like that. — Naga apologized. — It’s just that your son and I have big problems regarding the war and truce between the two races. — Truce? — It's a long story, Mom. In short, not all nagas are actually evil and gluttonous. There are good ones, and naga hunters sometimes attack and kill innocent nagas. Shadow and I are trying to sort out this mess of war to find out the reasons and try on both races. Only the two of us can't handle it. Moreover, I don’t know how exactly we can deal with this? — I already know how. I spread a rumor throughout the forest that I had found someone who would help the nagas in the fight against people and Mobians, but in reality it would be a peaceful negotiator. That is you, Tails. — Shadow explained, placing his palm. The fox stood on top of her and sat Tails naked on his right shoulder. — Wait!... — Fiona stopped them. Without thinking for long, she asked: — Will you take me with you? — Well, I don’t know, mom. It can be dangerous and scary. — said Miles. — Dangerous and scary? Ha! I laugh in the face of danger and the face of fear. Here either fear or friendship will win. But it depends only on your own choice. — Confidently, like a cool and brave superheroine, she delivered her pathetic speech. Shadow, without hesitation, allowed her to stand on his palm, and then sat her on the other free shoulder. — Hold on tight! — the naked man asked both of them and crawled towards the forest. — Wait, wait! I left the soup on the stove and didn’t turn it off. — the fox tried to stop them. — I'll turn it off. — said Tails and quickly flew home on his tails. Having found a stove on which not only the soup was being cooked, but also the kettle was already boiling, he turned it off, leaving the ready-boiled water in the kettle, as well as the soup itself on the stove. Afterwards he returned to Shadow's shoulder. — All! Let's move on! Shadow just crawled further, but Fiona stopped them again: — Wait! I forgot to go to the toilet. Shadow and Tails hit their foreheads with their palms at the same time.

After five minutes of crawling into a secret naga village, and twenty stupid requests from Fiona to stop.

      Shadow barely reached the same huge cave, where no human or Mobian had ever set foot. Crawling inside the cave, the naga lowers the fox and fox from his shoulders to the ground, placing him next to a large boulder. — Wait for me here! — he asked them and crawled further himself. Tails and Fiona were left alone for now, hidden behind a huge stone. While they were left alone, they decided to talk to each other for a while. — Tails, I believe that you are trying to make the world a better place and lead it to peace, not war. But... Don't you think that this seems more like the motivation of a naive person who is trying to make the world a better place, but in reality either will not achieve anything or will only make it worse? — No, mom, I know. I believe in it. I can. Well, at least I should try. If I can't handle this, no one else can handle it. And then people will continue to hunt and kill innocent giant snake people. — I understand everything, but why are you so sure that they are all innocent if some villages and cities perished precisely because of them? — Because I personally followed and studied them. They are not to blame for anything. It was all one single naga who organized all these attacks, eating and killings. His name is... Luz Bucket... Half snake, half scorpion... He takes revenge on people and Mobians for killing his father, although in fact he himself is to blame. — Wait, wait, I didn’t understand a little. Let's do it all over again! About Luz. — Fiona asked and Tails began to tell her more slowly and carefully about all the events that he then experienced in the forest, especially with Shadow himself. Regarding the fact that Shadow ate him a couple of times, he, of course, kept silent so as not to injure her, but mentioned that each naga has two stomachs, because one digests food, and the other serves as something like a bag or backpack. — That's it. Do you even have a plan to reconcile the three races? — Not yet, but I think I’ll think of something along the way. — What, are you imagining yourself to be a Marty Sue? — Mom joked. — Hey, I might be offended! — Tails replied indignantly. At that moment, Shadow himself had already crawled towards them. — Tails, all the nagas have been collected and are already here. They are already waiting for you. — Everything? — the fox wanted to make sure. — Everyone except Luz. Fortunately. — added the naga. — Fine. I go out. — Shadow, why did you wake us all up so late? What did you want to show us here? — one of the naga voices was heard. Tails rose on his tails and stood on the rock. All the nagas saw him and even smelled his fox-mobian scent. — MOBIAN!!! WE'VE BEEN DISCOVERED!!! SAVE YOURSELF!!! — the same naked man panicked and wanted to crawl away. — STOP-STOP!!! - the fox shouted to them. Fortunately, one of the nagas, who looked like a white mouse, recognized him. — Mom, this is the same hunter who spared me! All the nagas froze in place and looked in surprise at the mouse-snake, and then at the little fox. — LISTEN TO ME, NAGAS, DON'T FEAR ME!!! I CAME TO YOU IN PEACE, NOT TO KILL YOU!!! — How will you prove this? — the mother of that mouse nigina asked suspiciously. — Maybe you’re actually a scout and are lying to us on purpose, and somewhere outside there’s an ambush squad of thousands of Mobian and human soldiers? — MY SON IS NOT LYING TO YOU!!! — the nagas immediately heard another voice and Fiona climbed up the rock next to Tails. — ONLY I CAME WITH HIM!!! AND SHAD HIMSELF BROUGHT US TO YOU!!! — What? But why? — everyone was indignant at Shadow’s betrayal. — Please don't be angry. I wanted the best. Please, they can be trusted. They really don't lie. I have been friends with this fox for a long time and trust him. He never betrayed me, which means you don’t need to be afraid of him. He came to you to warn you that he can persuade the king, people and Mobians to stop hunting and killing you. — How can you help us with this if you are so small? — asked the white hedgehog. — My son may be small, but he is remote. So don't underestimate him! — the mother stood up for her son. — Thanks, mom. — Mother? — All the nagas asked at the same time from what they heard. — I know that you are really good and would never harm any of us. But only one of you is to blame, who attacks villages and cities every night and either eats or kills everyone alive. — What? Who the hell even thought of this? Who could possibly do such meanness? — It's me! — they heard a menacing voice from the exit of the cave. Shadow, Tails and Fiona turned around and saw a healthy scorpion naga in front of them, who was looking menacingly at Shadow, and then at Tails. — Luz Bucket! — the naginya cat narrowed her eyes. — Vile traitor! How dare you come to us again. Was it not enough for you that you were breaking all the laws of Mother Nature? — the green naga hedgehog ran into a purple scorpion. Out of anger, he grabbed him by the throat with his fist and answered in a half-whisper: — Save your throat, Scourge! You will still need it when I stick my sharp tail through your mouth, straight into the safety of your stomach, cut a hole there, and then get to your heart. — LUZ, LET HIM GO!!! — Shadow shouted. Luz drew attention to him and, nevertheless, releasing the one he had previously held, turned to him: — Shadow! What are you doing? I thought you were my friend? — Luz asked, smiling sarcastically. — Friend? True friends value the same things, never conflict and always accept their friends for who they are. I used to accept you like this and feel sorry for you, while others refused to accept you. But now I am finally convinced that you are an incorrigible monster. I don't intend to feel sorry for you anymore. If you dare to touch my friend, fox, then you, Luz, are now my enemy. — So this is how it is? — He became even more angry at the one who betrayed him. — May you all burn in Hell, traitors. You will see, you naive fools, you will follow this sausage in dough, and then people and Mobians will immediately attack you and kill all of you. Only fools will believe someone who leads them into a trap to their death. Are you naked people really stupid? Better join me! Together we will exterminate all humanity and Mobianism. Only we will remain to live on this planet and we will live peacefully, no longer afraid to go to the surface. Who's with me? — Nagas and she-nagas, don’t listen to him! — Tails tried to prove it back. — Luz himself will lead you all to death, but I, on the contrary, will lead you to peace. Perhaps not the whole world will accept you, but at least the inhabitants of the nearest villages and kingdoms will accept you, will no longer be afraid of you and will also want to be friends with you. If you go with me, and not with this traitor, who essentially doomed you to death, then I promise that none of you will suffer. — I believe him. — Rouge said. At first, all the nagas looked questioningly at her, and she crawled up next to Shadow and also proved that she was right. The nagas thought about it and decided that they would side with the fox. They crawled up next to Shadow and began to look menacingly at Luz. — Get away from here, traitor! Crawl away and never come back to us again. Otherwise you'll have to deal with all of us. — they threatened the scorpion. He was angry that they had made a mistake, but then calmed down, because he had a back-up insidious plan in his head. Smiling maliciously, he answered with a bow: — As you please!! But I promise that you will greatly regret the mistake you made. With these words, he crawled away into the depths of the forest.

At the same time

      King Merlin along with his loyal people of peasants, armed with torches and pitchforks just in case. if suddenly some beast or one of the nagas attacks them. They walked along with the king, guarded by the usual guard of knights, as well as several naga hunters. Notable among them were two new recruits, Sonic and Knuckles, with whom Tails became friends. While the soldiers and hunters were on alert, only Sonic and Knuckles were a little worried about whether Tails was right about the fact that nagas are actually good and that they cannot be killed. On the way, they came to neighboring villages to visit other residents, they also armed them and took them with them. At the same time, they also took women and children with them, in case the nagas came to the villages or cities themselves, and there was no one to protect the houses of their inhabitants. Of course, women and mothers could try to fend for themselves and protect their children in such a case, but only hunters could cope with such giants. The king, the troops, the hunters and the people are heading in the direction where Tails told them to go, a couple of days ago, gathering everyone they could and arriving there at this very time, exactly at that very time. They headed into the black forest and stopped near a hill that rose to Shadow's cave. When they got there, they waited. They waited for a long time and after about twenty minutes, Tails himself arrived there. — There you are, Sir Tails. — the king greeted him. — I did everything as you told me a couple of days ago. I gathered absolutely everyone I could. Where are your friendly nagas? — They are behind me, but for now they are hiding because they themselves are afraid of you. — I understand, but it was difficult to convince the other hunters and peoples, and they don’t trust, so just in case they will attack if someone dares to attack. Tails looked around at the crowd of people and Mobians, noticing that they also took children among them. — Let the children be the first to make contact, and the rest will remain behind for now. — Is he crazy? What if they eat our children? — asked one of the mothers, and her husband began to calm her down. — Honey, calm down. Surely this fox knows what to do. If the king believes him and does what he asks, then I believe him too. Let our son come out first. — Yes mom. Let me try. For me, at least, it will then be a great honor to die for the sake of the king, as you wanted me to become like that in the future. Without thinking for long and arguing with each other, they agreed to nominate their sons and daughters first. The hunters, except Sonic and Knuckles, took out their bows and arrows and, just in case, were ready to shoot at the nagas if they dared to attack the children and then eat them. — Shadow! — Tails called his naga first. He slowly crawled out, lying on the ground and fearfully looking at people. The king saw that naga hedgehog and was dumbfounded. Even the nations gasped when they saw such a monster, and the hunters were not even afraid of him, because they were ready to fight him in advance. Shadow took a couple of steps towards the children and stopped in place. The children looked at him in horror and fearfully approached him, fearing that he would eat them. That same young man managed to be the first to approach and lightly touched the nose of the snake-hedgehog. He closed his eyes, feeling a touch on his nose. The baby touched his nose everywhere, then his muzzle, raised his upper lip, felt a pair of toothy fangs and eyelids that covered his eyes. Nag seemed so soft, fluffy and with smooth fur to him. The boy smiled and hugged Shadow's face. The rest of the children then followed him. They touched the naga's hands, his fingers and their claws. They immediately realized that he himself was afraid of them, and feeling his soft and smooth fur with which he was covered, they lay down on him as if on a soft pillow. In surprise, the hunters lowered their bows, never firing their arrows, and Tails, waving his hand, gave a signal to the rest of the nagas to come out too. The rest of the nagas came out also slowly, but this time they stood and seemed really gigantic compared to people and Mobians. This time, even adults decided to follow the children and also dared to approach the rest of the nagas, touch them, and then hug them by the torsos and tails. They even returned their hugs, lightly patting their backs with their huge palms. Afterwards the hunters themselves did the same. They did it a little fearfully and shyly, unlike Sonic and Knuckles, who approached the same nagina Rouge. She recognized them, but was no longer afraid, allowing them to hug her. Then she herself hugged them back. — Incredible! — the king said and turned to Tails. — Well, Tails, I have to admit, we were wrong. It was in vain that we did not believe you and doubted your thinking. These giants really are just like us. — So you will cancel the hunting of nagas so that people can live in peace with the nagas? — Tails asked out of curiosity. — Of course. I'll think about your request some more. Let them live for a while longer. Let's see how they sometimes come to our villages, and only then I will decide to make a decision. At that moment, one of the messengers ran out from the other side of the forest. — Your Majesty, our kingdom was attacked by one of the nagas. He breaks our towers with a wall and tries to get into the palace, although you seem to have evacuated everyone, leaving only a small guard in case there is no attack. — Luz Bucket! — the fox said sternly to himself. — Who? - the king did not understand. — This is Luz Bucket! One of ours. He betrayed us. — Shadow explained. — What? — King Merlin still didn’t understand. — And it was he who attacked villages and cities all this time, and also ate and killed everyone. He alone did all this, while the rest of the nagas were innocent, and your hunters constantly attacked and killed only them, and they did not find Luz Bucket at all. — But why did he need to do this? — The incident was stupid and terrible. When he was little, he wanted to make friends with one king, but when they saw him with his guards, they were afraid of him, mistaking him for a monster and attacked him. His father tried to protect him by exposing himself to a fatal blow and died. Then young Luz got angry at people with Mobians and, to put it simply, he takes revenge on all of you for his father and believes that you are all selfish monsters from whom the whole world needs to be rid. — Shadow explained. — What nonsense? — Sonic thought out loud from what he heard. — Wait, what does this Luz Bucket of yours look like? — A huge half-snake, half-scorpion. Purple and with a dagger at the tip of its tail. — No, we have never met such a naked person. — the captain of the naga hunters explained. Except when he tried to attack our castle and you woke us up in time by sounding the alarm, after which he retreated. Apparently he is afraid of us and does not want to die either. — Yeah! Pathetic coward. So he did all this, framed all the innocents and in the end the innocents died, and he got away with it? — the king said to himself indignantly. — This will not go in vain for him! — So what are we waiting for? — Tails asked. — Let's go ahead and stop him and put an end to this war between our races! — YE-E-ES!!! — all the representatives of the three races and even the king himself shouted, as if the fox was taller and more important than the king himself. And everyone ran as fast as they could back to the castle.

***

      At that time, the naga scorpion himself broke through the wall and killed several soldiers. He fought some of them off by simply waving his tail. Luz headed straight for the large gate. Having broken through the door and burst into the castle, the scorpion looked around. — Yeah! — he said to himself, smiling, noticing the portrait of King Merlin on the wall. With the sharp tip of his tail, he carves out a portrait and finds a secret passage in the wall. — I knew that King Merlin was hiding that same magical and forbidden artifact in his castle. Crawling even further, one personally abandoned naga hunter immediately stood in the way. His face was hidden by a black rag and he was all in black, which is why it was not clear who it was. However, this was a human, not a Mobian. He stood in the way of a huge naga scorpion, took out two large swords that looked like huge sickles and shouted: — YO-O-OU... SHA-A-ALL NO-O-OT PA-A-A-A-ASS!!! Scorpio rolled his eyes and waved his tail. The ninja managed to jump, thereby dodging. However, at that moment the naga launched his left fist and, hitting the ninja with it, pinned him to the wall. — Don't pretend to be Gandalf! — Luz said about him and crawled further, and he fell to the floor and could barely get up, feeling pain in his ribs. At that moment, King Merlin came running along with everyone, as well as the nagas. — Oh no, we're late! Your Luz found out about my secret passage to the secret room and headed there. — Secret passage to a secret room? What are you talking about? — Tails asked. — I didn’t tell anyone about it except the most faithful and chosen guards. The most dangerous magical artifact is kept there. — What kind of magical artifact is this? — the fox asked, although he understood that they did not have time for this, but the king still explained to him on the way with excitement: — A ring for moving between alternative worlds, one of which is ours. This ring was created many years ago by an evil sorcerer who used to be the court vizier of my distant great-grandfather. We used to consider him a saint, but he turned out to be a real villain. He created this ring to call into his universe several of his doubles from other worlds opposite to ours, so that with their help he could easily capture first our world, and then the rest. Fortunately, the then king found out about his insidious crime, which he was hiding. He was arrested and then executed, and all his drawings with potions and other dangerous spells were destroyed. Everything except that very ring. There was no way to destroy it, since the sorcerer then managed to enchant it so that it could not be destroyed. Then it was decided to hide it so that no one would find out about it, steal it or use it for evil. — Luz Bucket must have somehow miraculously found out about this artifact and is heading towards it. —- Shadow wondered out loud. — Well, why did he need it? — Knuckles asked. — What’s not clear here? — Fiona answered the question with a question. — Since in this world he failed to convince the nagas and find support for himself in order to exterminate all of humanity, as well as Mobianism, then he will try to do the same in other worlds. — We won't let him do this. — Tails said. On the way they met that wounded ninja. Merlin walked up to him and knelt down. — How are you? — Forgive me, king, I couldn’t stop him. I'm already very old and not as dexterous as I used to be. — It’s okay, fighter, you did everything you could. Do not blame yourself. While the king consoled the wounded hunter, whom other hunters were trying to help, the rest, along with the nagas, fled further along the straight tunnel.

***

      Luz comes into a large room surrounded by brick walls with no corners, and finds a small gold ring with a skull and red rubies in the eye sockets in the center on a pedestal. Taking it and putting it on the claw of his right little finger, Luz extended his right finger forward. The rubies in the eye sockets of the golden shard began to shine and a huge purple portal opened in front of the naga. — I did everything I could in this universe. If I couldn’t fix anything here, I’ll try in others. Or at least I will find support from those who will believe me there, so that I can return here for one thing. Then he crawls in there. — STOP, LUZ!!! — a little fox with two tails shouted after him, running at him from behind and grabbing him by the tail. Now they both began to be pulled into the portal, and the portal itself began to slowly close after them. — TAILS, STOP!!! — Shadow shouted and jumped at the very last moment through the portal after him. Fiona also tried to jump next, but the portal closed and she only jumped into the empty one. — Oh no!

A little bit later...

      King Merlin called a plague doctor in a raven mask for his faithful ninja, and he began to examine the wounded man for bruises. Fiona at this time addressed the king. — We didn’t have time to stop him. — Tails and his faithful naga Shadow themselves managed to jump into the portal after Luz. And we were late. Merlin sighs heavily in despair. — So we will only have to wait and hope that at least they themselves will be able to stop him and return back to us in our world... In any case, it may be correct that only the three of them got there. — Why is this? — If we all fell through a portal into another world at once, then all together, in a huge heap, we would simply upset the balance of parallel worlds. Perhaps some kind of inter-world chaos would arise and then not only ours, but all worlds would perish. Therefore, Tails and Shadow will have to cope on their own to stop Luz and return to our home. — I hope they can handle it? — Sonic was worried. — And if not? I'm already afraid for them. Is there really no way we can intervene and help them? — Knuckles thought. — No. Unfortunately we do not have another ring like this. This ring is the only one that that same evil sorcerer made. After all, he made this ring only for himself, and not for others. Therefore, I created a single copy, and we ourselves destroyed all the drawings long ago. Therefore, we will not be able to create a new artifact of the same type. All we can do is wait and hope for the good... But most importantly, I will keep my promise to Tails. Starting tomorrow, I will officially declare a truce and alliance between the human, Mobian and Naga races. From now on, all three races will live in peace, harmony, harmony and without war. — Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm sure if my son were here and heard you speak, he would be proud of you. — Fiona said and was about to leave. On the way, she felt with her mother’s heart that perhaps somewhere out there, far from here, Tails also felt her and believed that he could win and return to her. — "Good luck son!"