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Zero awoke to the sunrise and immediately began plotting for his escape. He had 
taken a free copy of a map of the area from the store where he had bought the 
fishing line the night prior. There was unclaimed wilderness just outside the 
stronghold walls; he could sneak out and be free. He plotted a course: starting 
from the marked trail he now knew was his outing to the stronghold proper, he 
would go down to the edge of the forest, sneak around the forest by the 
treeline (giving him cover if he needed to avoid detection), and just make a 
break for it once he saw the open gate. It seemed almost foolproof, as he 
pondered it over freshly caught fish and freshly picked berries.

He sighed: while his heart wasn't exactly raring to leave the place, his head 
knew that he'd be caught if he stayed. His soul and conscience sat there, 
watching his mind and heart bicker until he came up with a compromise: he would 
stay one more night. He would stay until the next day and then leave as one of 
the "badnik attacks" occurred. He didn't know how common they were, but judging 
by the tone the shopkeeper used, they seemed pretty common. It seemed so 
simple: as the badniks entered, he would exit, and they would be none the 
wiser. His heart complained, but his head reminded it that he was leaving this 
wilderness for yet another wilderness, and his heart quieted.

He began working on a sack to keep his things in; weaving it from pine needles 
and straw, it was ready to go. However, when he attempted to pack even his 
tools, the sack fell apart. He frowned; he didn't want to steal more rings, not 
to mention the fact that a wallet sitting on the ground was a deus ex machina 
moment to the nth degree that would probably not happen again. Regardless, it 
seemed like he would have to purchase a backpack since his sack was very 
clearly not structurally sound. If only he had some fabric to use for the sack, 
it'd stay together and hold well enough to get him far into the unclaimed 
woods. He sighed, since even buying a sample of fabric would cost more rings 
than he had (he didn't know how much fabric cost, but he knew it was more than 
nothing).

He ate a few more meals, and night fell.

---

Sonic was on his daily run. Tails had been glad to find his wallet lying next 
to his head when he woke up, even if Sonic used it as an opportunity to chide 
the young fox about being mindful of where your rings were at any given moment.

The rest of the morning had been well, with the Resistance planning a 
counter-attack on Eggman as payback for the almost constant barrage of badnik 
attacks. Fortunately for Sonic, he was eventually excused (even if he had to 
lie about why), and so he ran his normal route.

Eventually, he had ran the trail to its conclusion (and had even stopped to 
smell the flowers and enjoy the beauty of nature) before he ran back to the 
entrance of the new path. He didn't know how far it went, but he figured if he 
got started now, he'd be able to get to the end and back before-



Shoot. He decided to put it out of mind for now, even though his curiosity 
would not be sated for much longer. In the here and now, his friends needed him 
to help them defeat the newest wave of badniks.

---

Zero put on his sunglasses disguise and *"wandered"* into the shop. The 
shopkeeper immediately recognized him as the late-night shopper from the last 
night.

"Ah, friend, you're back! Is there anything I can help you with?"

Zero pondered for a second before disguising his voice. "Yes, actually. I was 
wondering how much it would cost to buy a backpack? I have some... tools I need 
to carry with me."

The shopkeeper's grin widened. "Tell you what, you're in luck! Somebody came in 
with their old backpack recently and bought a new one. When they left with 
their new backpack, they left the old one behind. You can have it, friend, and 
I won't even charge you for it."

Zero was confused at first but decided to take the compliment and the backpack. 
"Thank you, sir." He took the backpack, slinging it over his right shoulder. He 
could tell it was big enough to hold his tools, and it was lightweight enough 
to where it wouldn't impede stealth. "This will do nicely."

As Zero left, the shopkeeper waved at the back of his head. "Have a nice day, 
friend! See you tomorrow!"

Zero smiled to himself, knowing he'd be out of the stronghold by this time 
tomorrow. "You too. See you later."

He went back to his tent, packed his tools and fishing rod, and fell asleep by 
the fire. Tomorrow was the rapture day.

---

The fight against the new batch of badniks took most of the day, and it was 
nightfall by the time Sonic was back in Resistance HQ. He kicked off his shoes, 
right near his bed, and he plotted. He came up with a plan of his own (much 
like Zero's plan, although Sonic didn't know of Zero or his plan at the time): 
he would wake up very early (long before he normally did), run his route, and 
then try to take the new route through to its end and see what would happen. 
Hopefully, he'd be early enough to be down the path and back before a badnik 
attack.

He set his alarm for 5:30 in the morning and laid down. Between his thoughts 
and his curiosity, he fell asleep pretty soon, dreaming of the infinite 
possibilities of what could happen.

---

Chapter End Notes

> Title drop! Also, in case it wasn't clear, the horizontal rules are perspective 
> switches. I figured I'd bring this up in these end-chapter notes because 
> otherwise, the number of horizontal rules in the next chapter would drive you 
> insane.
>
> So, the third day is the last one for this split-perspective day-by-day format. 
> Maybe if Sonic and Zero split up again post-meeting, it'll come back, but until 
> that happens, this format will be gone after the next chapter.