Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was a bright summer morning in Sparkle Coast. Sunlight glittered over the ocean’s gentle waves and warmed the water lapping on the beach, where children were already out building sandcastles and chasing crabs. People squinted at the horizon from where they sat on their towels. North of the beach, the sand and palm trees gave way to concrete and white skyscrapers, which were beacons of sunlight all their own. The sun tumbled through the plant-lined roads that even now were teeming with commuters. 

Espio could have seen this lively view of the ocean and the beach and the city, but unfortunately a building was planted right in front of his south-facing window. The sun still reached him, though, from the east, casting a warm little golden glow into the Chaotix’s cramped apartment kitchen. It was all off-white with vinyl tiles on the floor, hardly any counter space, and a fridge crammed with touristy magnets and Charmy and Cream’s drawings. Inside the fridge, Espio knew it was much less crowded. 

He poured coffee into two different mugs, a small plain one and a much larger one with “World’s Best Boss” printed across in black. He poured cream into the latter. 

He shambled into the hallway, down the creaky stairs, and into the building’s ground floor: the detective agency’s front office. It was a little more open-concept than their apartment upstairs, though still small. It felt fresher, too, with the large window and clear door in front letting in some view of the outside world. The sign on the door had been turned to “OPEN,” but of course that hadn’t borne any fruit.

The main desk sat in the middle of the office, with an archaic dial phone on one side and loose papers strewn across the whole thing. Most of them were bills and receipts. A small engraved metal plaque read “VECTOR THE CROCODILE— Lead Detective,” an old Christmas gift Espio and Charmy had pooled their personal funds for (Espio paid for the bulk of it). A chair stood in front of the desk to seat any prospective clients.

Espio took it for himself and looked over at Vector, who was sitting behind the desk. He held a newspaper stiffly upright so that Espio couldn’t see his face, and he held an uncapped red pen in his right hand.

Espio set down the “World’s Best Boss” mug and nudged it across the desk. “Brought you some,” he said.

“Mhmm,” Vector said without moving the newspaper. 

Espio glanced him up and down. “You think you’ll actually find anything in there?” 

This time, Vector lowered the newspaper to peer over it, squinting down at Espio. He was wearing his reading glasses. “Sheesh. Can’t a guy read a paper in the morning?” 

“I know you’re looking for cases.” Espio swirled his mug of coffee without making eye contact. “I don’t think you’ll find anything, but I know you’re looking.” 

Vector glared at him for a second, then sighed and slumped in his chair. The top edge of the newspaper curled down enough for Espio to see Vector’s annotations of the headline article, an unassuming piece about a kitten adoption day. “I have to look,” Vector said, “If a case won’t come to us, we gotta go out there and find one ourselves, right?” 

Espio’s eyes flicked down to the kitten adoption story. “There may not be one for us to find.” 

“We haven’t had a client in weeks. I know we had it good last time Eggman screwed with things, good payout, but…those funds only last so long, y’know?” 

Espio furrowed his brow. “...Should I be worried?” 

“Huh? Oh, no, no,” Vector reached down and gave him a pat on the shoulder that pushed him forward and sloshed out some of his coffee. “I’m lead detective, I handle it.” 

Espio took a sip of coffee so that it wasn’t so close to spilling. He turned to look up at Vector. “At least let me help somehow,” he said, “I’ll go out today and find some odd work. You can stay here at the office in case someone comes in.” 

“No, no, come on,” Vector waved it away, “I’m tellin’ you, it’s on me. I’m the one who’s always doin’ stuff for free.”

“True,” Espio muttered, “But you’re still our leader, and you’re scrambling. It won’t do to have you stressed and overworked while I sit here gathering dust.” He sipped his coffee, set it on the desk, and folded his arms. “I want to do something.” 

Vector stared for a second, sighed, and raked a hand back over his head. “Look, Espio…If I give you a job to do, you can’t be weird about it, all right?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Anytime you do something, if you don’t get it perfect, you beat yourself up about it. Even if it doesn’t matter.” Vector held up the newspaper again. “So I’m saying don’t beat yourself up.” 

For a moment, Espio wanted to clench his fist on the desk, but he let the frustrated feeling pass instead. He closed his eyes. “Don’t worry about that. If you give me a task, I’ll just make sure I get it perfect.” 

“No…No, that’s not…” 

They heard a rising, buzzing sound, and then all at once Charmy came zooming down the stairs, out of the hallway, and rocketed headfirst into the wall right behind Espio. The impact produced a loud THUNK!

Vector dropped the newspaper on his desk and stood up. “Charmy, the drywall! The drywall!” he cried, pointing at the wall with both hands, “The landlord’s gonna kill us!” 

“At least put your helmet on before you cause any property damage,” Espio said. He got out of his chair and walked over to help Charmy stand up again.

Once Charmy turned around and showed his face, though, Espio found it all contorted with anger, his eyes wide with panic. He stood up and shoved Espio’s hand away. “Well, I can’t put it on! It’s gone!” 

Espio exchanged a glance with Vector, who raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean, ‘it’s gone’? Isn’t it in your room?” 

“No! I’m telling you, it’s gone!” Charmy brought his hands up to his short hair, which was bed-headed and sticking up at all angles. If Espio was being honest, though, he had never seen it neat before. “I can’t find it anywhere! How am I supposed to fly now??” 

“If it’s any consolation, you just did,” Espio muttered. He looked over at the wall, which had a little circular imprint where Charmy had hit it. He had walked that off impressively well. 

Vector eyed the wall, mopped a hand over his eyes, and let out a long sigh. “Fine. You wanna do something for me, Espio? Help Charmy find his helmet. It’s gotta be around here somewhere.” 

Not exactly what I had in mind, thought Espio, but he didn’t say it. He just closed his eyes and nodded. “Fine. You have my word.” He started toward the stairs and beckoned Charmy to follow. “Let’s go.” 

Charmy took to the air again and puttered after him. Once they were gone, Vector stared for a long time at the flaking wall. “Gonna need to figure that out,” he said to himself, “Maybe we should put a pillow there. Heck, with Charmy’s track record, maybe this whole room needs pillows.” He looked down at his desk and noticed a corner of his newspaper had been dipped in his coffee. He groaned, took it out, and downed the coffee real quick. There was a bit of a paper-y aftertaste. 

Suddenly, Vector’s cell phone started ringing. He dropped the newspaper and brushed through all the bills on his desk to finally unearth it, and when he flipped it open, the contact read “Pepper” with a picture of a red weasel doing a thumbs-up at the camera. 

“That’s weird,” he said, “Why is she calling my cell? Is she okay?” He hit Answer and held the phone to his ear. “Hello?” 

“Vec, hey, it’s me,” said Pepper’s voice. “Are you free today?”

“Uhhhh…” Vector looked at the calendar hanging on the wall beside his desk, empty but for “Charmy playdate with Cream” the coming Thursday. “Lemme just…check the schedule…” He made a tch-tch sound with the tip of his tongue, to give Pepper the illusion that he was browsing for a long time. “Mmm, yeah, I can squeeze you in. What’s up?” 

“I need your help at the pizza parlor.”

“What’s the matter?” Vector leaned forward and took on a more serious tone of voice. “Someone robbing you? Did someone steal your pizza dough??” 

“Uhh…It’s more like I need a little favor.” 

Vector relaxed. “Oh.” 

“But I’ll pay ya for it.” 

“Oh?” Cha-ching! Vector leaned back in his chair. “Well, Pepper, you know our policy. We never turn down work that pays.”

“I don’t need your other detective buddies, just you. Can you meet me there in twenty minutes?” 

“Sure thing.”

 “Great. See ya soon.” 

As soon as Pepper hung up, Vector snapped into action. He snapped the phone shut, vaulted over his chair, and ran over to the foot of the stairs to call into the apartment. “Boys! I’m headin’ out! Don’t do anything stupid!” He turned to leave, but doubled back and called again. “Espio, if you go anywhere, you better take your phone!!”

This time, he rushed out the door without another word.

🔍🔍🔍

Charmy darted back to his room, and Espio followed at a much looser pace. As soon as he walked in, he almost tripped over a plastic t-rex, but swiftly regained his balance and stood with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Now alert, he scanned the toy-littered floor. Cheap plastic dinos at the doorway, Vector’s old race cars scattered on the left, a few thrifted plush animals and one crocheted dinosaur on the bee-striped rug. “...You really need to clean your room.” 

“I know, I know, I’ll do it later!” Charmy gestured wildly at his bedside table. Next to a star and moon-patterned night light lamp was an empty space where, presumably, his helmet would have been. 

Espio carefully hopped across the toys and came to the side of Charmy’s bed. He put a hand to his chin and noted how haphazardly his covers were strewn about. His sheet and comforter had been wound up in the middle of the mattress. “Did you do this on purpose?” 

“Huh?” Charmy hovered over his bed. “Oh, no, I just toss and turn a lot. Sometimes I wake up with my feet on the pillow.” 

“Right.” Espio glanced back at the bedside table. “So, are you sure you didn’t just kick your helmet off the table in the middle of the night?” 

“I’ve done that before, though. And I can always find it after!” 

“Are you sure? Even on this messy floor?” 

“Hey!” 

“I’m just saying. It would make things easier if you picked up.” Espio got on his knees. “Look, I’ll check under the bed.” 

“You can look, but it’s not gonna be there.” 

Espio dropped on all fours to look underneath the bed, but all he could see were the silhouettes of more small toys and a baseball. No sign of the helmet. 

“See? I told you,” Charmy said from above.

Espio stood up again. He scanned the floor on the right side of the bed, but still found nothing. Every possible trajectory would have left the helmet out in the open, so why couldn’t he find it?

“You look over there again,” Espio pointed to the left side of the room, “I’m going to make sure you didn’t put it in your toy box by accident.” 

“Pfft. Okay,” Charmy didn’t seem enthused, but he still buzzed his way to the other side of the room and began to halfheartedly search. 

Espio checked inside Charmy’s toy box against the wall, but found it almost completely bare. Probably because all his stuff is on the floor. He looked in the closet, too, but no sign of the helmet there, either. 

“Did you find it?” he called as he shut the closet door. 

“No,” Charmy said like it was obvious, “You don’t believe me, but I’m telling you, I looked everywhere.” 

Espio thought to himself for a moment and let his eyes wander. They wandered across the floor, then up the wall, past Charmy’s toy box, up to the window. He paused. “...Was that open all night?” 

“Oh.” Charmy hovered back across the bed. “Yeah. It was kinda hot, and Vector would get mad if I messed with the thermostat.” 

“Well, there you go. I’m not sure how, but it must be outside somewhere.” 

Both of them moved to the window, and Espio leaned over the sill to look outside. It was warm and clear—perfect for Charmy to go racing around the skies, if he had his helmet. Below the apartment they could see their neighbor watering her plants. “Maybe we should talk to Bloom.” 

“Okay!” Charmy wasted no time. He zipped straight out of the window and down to the neighbor’s porch. 

Espio tried to grab him, but missed, and let out a long sigh while he watched him go. For a moment, he debated doing the normal thing—going downstairs to leave out the front door—but that would take too long, and Charmy Bee was best kept in his line of sight as much as possible. 

So, with a little more resolve, Espio crawled out of the window and made his way sneakily down the outer wall.

🔍🔍🔍

Vector frowned at the plush pizza hat in his hands. “...Do I have to wear this?” 

“Of course,” said Pepper the Weasel with a grin. “Here, I’ll demonstrate.” She traded Vector her baseball cap and put the pizza hat on. It was a single mushroom-and-olive slice with a hole in the middle, and her face popped out of it. She did a little pose with jazz hands. “See? It’s kinda big on me, so it should fit you just fine.” 

Vector accepted the hat with an apprehensive look. “Ya know, when you said you needed help, I thought I’d be…I dunno, fixing the roof or something.” 

“And? What’s so bad about standing outside on a hot summer day? Yelling and dancing? Workin’ up a sweat?” Vector side-eyed her. “Look, trust me, you’re doing me a real solid here. Just tell people why they should come and eat here. Oh, and hold this sign,” Pepper handed him a big cardboard arrow.

Vector quickly put on the hat and took the sign from Pepper. He held it in both hands. “I look like an idiot.” 

“Promise I’ll make it worth your while,” Pepper said. “Tell ya what. When your shift’s over, call your boys and I’ll make you guys a pizza on the house. Along with what I promised you, of course.” 

Vector brightened a little. “Ooh, yeah, they’d like that.” Now he had a reason to stand up tall and be a pizza mascot with pride. “All right, fine. Vector’s on the job, starting now.” 

🔍🔍🔍

Espio crept down to the grassy gap beside their neighbor’s house and alighted there silently. He took note of his surroundings. 

The Chaotix’s neighbor, an older woman named Bloom the Arctic Fox, owned a squat house just beside the detective agency. It was humble, just like the building beside it, but she kept it well. Her entire front porch was loaded with potted flowers, with a small garden planted in front and a bigger one in the back. 

Bloom had just emptied her watering can and was now slowly making her way down the front steps. No sign of Charmy, though. Espio told himself not to worry—he couldn’t have gone far, right? Then again, they’d thought the same about his helmet. Was there some kind of helmet-napper who could also be a bee-napper?

Bloom was just about to turn the corner. Espio snapped out of his stupor and stepped out of the shadows in time to face her. “Hello, ma’am.” 

“Oh!” Bloom jumped and clutched her watering can. Once she realized who it was, she untensed and fixed the small glasses perched on her nose. “My, Espio! You gave me a start.” 

Espio’s face flushed. “Sorry.” He pointed up toward Charmy’s room. “Charmy flew out the window, so, you know, I had to—”

Bloom chuckled. “No need to explain.” She gave him a pleasant smile. “Did you say you were looking for Charmy? He appeared just a second ago, said hello to me, and then flew around to the back garden. I’m not sure why.” 

She approached the spigot at the side of her house, and Espio rushed to it before she could touch the handle. All of the Chaotix knew to help Bloom when she needed it. “Ah, allow me.” 

“Oh, thank you, Espio.” She handed him the watering can, and he turned on the water. “How has Vector been? I saw him rush out the door a little while ago.” 

Hm. I guess he found something worth chasing after all. “He’s…been worse,” Espio said. “Work’s been slow.” 

“Ah, I’ve noticed.” Bloom nodded gravely, but then waved the matter away. “Well, no need to worry. Everyone in Sparkle Coast knows you three are the best in the business. Something will turn up sooner or later.” 

“I hope you’re right,” said Espio, “Although I also don’t want Eggman to return. The price of peace is that we don’t have as many mysteries to deal with.” 

When the watering can was almost full, they heard a buzzing approaching from behind Espio. He glanced over his shoulder to see Charmy hovering there, now with a flower pot on his head. Espio snorted and almost spilled the watering can. 

Charmy glared at him. “Don’t laugh at me! Ninjas don’t laugh!” 

Espio turned off the water and shrugged at him, a grin across his face. “Discipline doesn’t erase my sense of humor.” 

Bloom had covered her mouth with one small hand. She, too, seemed to be stifling a laugh. “Why are you wearing a flower pot on your head, Charmy?” 

“Because my helmet’s missing. And I feel weird flying around without it.” He tried to adjust the flower pot, but by the scrunched look on his face, he couldn’t seem to hit a sweet spot. “I thought I could use this, but, uh…it’s a little heavy. And it’s squishing my antenna.” 

“Of course it’s heavy, it’s a flower pot,” Espio muttered. Charmy reached over and yanked on his horn. “Ah–!” 

“Charmy, be nice,” said Bloom in a slightly harder tone. Charmy let up on Espio and bowed his head with a sorry look. “How about you two water the plants. I have just the thing for you to use while your helmet’s gone.” 

Bloom made her way back up the steps, leaving the two of them behind. Espio made his way over to the front garden, and Charmy followed.

This garden looked like it had just had some work done. Bright new flowers clustered out from the ground, all lined by fresh dirt. Espio angled the watering can over the flowers. “See any clues?” 

“I dunno,” Charmy said from behind him, “It’s kinda hard to see anything from under this pot…” 

“Well, why did you put it on in the first place?” 

“I feel better when I’ve got something on my head,” he replied. He buzzed a little closer. “Plus, don’t ya know it’s good to protect your eyes while you’re flying?? That’s what Vector said.” 

“What does he know? He can’t fly.” 

“Neither can you!” Charmy paused. “Hey, hang on a sec. What’s that in the dirt?” 

He pointed, and Espio followed his finger to a set of prints in the soft soil around the flowers. Each footprint was tri-pronged, like…

“Bird tracks!” said Charmy. 

Espio peered at them a little closer. “And they’re pointing toward the detective agency.” 

“That means a bird was moving toward us. So that could mean…” Charmy’s buzzing sound got a little more furious. “Oooohh, I knew it! I knew it was him!” 

Espio balked a little, in spite of himself. “Who?” 

“Rocket the Blue Jay! He took my helmet!” Charmy kicked his legs while he hovered in the air. Espio ducked out of the way. “He knows I need my goggles! He’s trying to make sure I can’t race him, and then no one else can beat him!” 

“What’s the matter?” Bloom reappeared in the front doorway, holding something in her hands. 

Espio set the watering can down and turned to look at her. “Charmy thinks some kid stole his helmet.” 

“But I bet he did! I even know his motive! Isn’t that important?” 

“Oh my. That sounds exciting.” Bloom made her way down the front steps and over to the boys. She held out what she’d been carrying. “Here, Charmy. It’s an old hat I crocheted a long time ago. It was meant to be a gift for my mantis friend back home, but, well…I made a mistake in the patterning and didn’t realize until I’d finished it. I just made him a new one instead. I held on to this one, though, because I figured someone else might find use for it eventually.” 

Charmy gasped and threw off the clay pot. Espio had to dive across the dirt behind him to catch it before it hit the ground. Charmy took the crocheted hat. “Yippee! I mean—Thanks, Ms. Bloom!” He wiggled into the new hat—like Bloom said, the blue and green stripes on it had accidentally been doubled up on one row. His antennae poked through two holes in the top with ease. “That’s a lot better.” 

“Oh, I’m glad you like it. You can keep it.” Bloom’s gaze flicked to Espio as he stood up again, cradling the flower pot in his arms. “Now, what’s this about someone stealing Charmy’s helmet?” 

“Well, we don’t know for sure,” said Espio, “But we found these.” He gestured toward the bird tracks. “Charmy seems to think they’re from a friend of his.” 

“He’s not my friend,” Charmy grumbled. “I mean, we hang out…but he sucks.” 

“Don’t say ‘sucks.’” 

“How come you get to say ‘sucks’ and I can’t??” 

“Hmm,” Bloom walked over and leaned down to inspect the prints. “They do look a bit small. Even for someone your age, Charmy.” She straightened out, though even at full height her stature was still a little hunched. “More than likely, it was a Flicky.” 

Espio raised one eyebrow. “A Flicky?” 

“Yes. They like to come to my bird feeder early in the morning,” Bloom pointed to a small feeder hanging from her porch. “I’m sure one was just dropping by.” 

Espio looked down at the tracks again, and crouched to examine them. He noted the freshly planted flowers around them. “Bloom,” he said, “When was this soil last disturbed?” 

“Oh, I planted those flowers yesterday afternoon. Do you remember the big storm the other night?” 

“Boy, do I,” Charmy shivered. “Our apartment’s got an awful draft.” 

“The potted plants made it through all right, but the storm did a number on my garden. I was sad to replace the flowers. These new ones look nice, though, don’t they?” 

Espio closed his eyes. “If that soil is fresh, then those tracks are less than 24 hours old. This Flicky—or any Flicky who came to Bloom’s house this morning—could very well have something to do with your helmet.” 

Charmy furrowed his brow at the tracks, then craned his neck to look back up at his open bedroom window. “But why would a Flicky wanna take my helmet? It doesn’t make any sense.” 

“Maybe not, but it’s still a lead.” Espio faced Charmy. “Let’s go to the park and see if we can find it up a tree somewhere.” He gave Bloom a brief nod. “Thank you for the advice.” 

“Anytime, dear. Give the lead detective my well-wishes, won’t you?”

Bloom picked up her watering can and made her way toward the back garden. Espio and Charmy started down the road to the park. 

🔍🔍🔍

“Come on down to Pepper’s!” Vector called, tilting the sign back and forth, “Fresh pizza! Fresh cold drinks! It’s Family Friday, bring the kids!” 

It had been a little while now, and he’d managed to push past the initial embarrassment and really lean into the role. Jumping around, spinning the sign, calling out deals…it was actually pretty fun, even though it was also super hot outside. He’d noticed he was getting some weird looks from passersby, too. What, had they never seen a pizza slice guy outside of Pepper’s before? …Actually, if he really stopped to think about it, had he ever seen a pizza slice guy?

He shook it off, flipped the sign around, and looked at a couple who were about to pass in front of him. “Come to Pepper’s, get some lunch! Big portions, small prices!” 

“Look at you go,” said Pepper’s voice as she stepped outside. She was carrying a tray with a medium-sized pie, and with her other hand she held a bottle of water. She handed it to Vector. “It’s like you were born for this.” 

“Thanks.” Vector shifted his sign to the crook of one arm, took the plastic bottle, and very carefully uncapped it before tilting his head back and downing the whole thing in one gulp. “So, is it paying off? Got a lot of new customers?” 

“Uhhh, yeah,” said Pepper without making eye contact. “Yeah, you’re doing great!”

“That’s cool.” Vector peered at her a little longer. “Uh, but like, if I’m not, you can just tell me. I’m gonna be honest, it seems like people aren’t really coming here because of me. Maybe I should—” 

“No, no!” Pepper interrupted him and held up a hand. “I need you here.” She straightened a little bit and looked around. “...How about this. If you want pointers, maybe you can project your voice a little more.” She pointed, and he followed her finger. “Shout loud enough that people can hear you across the street.” 

Vector frowned and gave her an uneasy glance. “You sure? You, uh, know how loud I can get if I really let loose.” 

“‘Course I do, big guy. Why do you think I hired you? You’ve got pipes, so use ‘em!” 

Vector paused. “...Okay.” He waited until there were no people in his direct line of fire. “Here goes.” He drew a long deep breath, then let out a yell: “PEPPER’S HAS THE PIZZA! ALL THE TOPPINGS, HOMEMADE SAUCE! BRING YOUR FAMILY! BRING YOUR—”

His voice came out as a sonic blast, and before he could even finish his phrase, all the outdoor tables and chairs had blown into the street. Cars slowed to a stop and honked at the upturned tables blocking the way. One of the chairs had even made it all the way to the other side and careened into a fire hydrant. Water spouted up, and everyone on the sidewalk stopped in a wide circle so that they wouldn’t get sprayed. 

Vector turned to Pepper with a grimace. She returned the look.

🔍🔍🔍

Sunshine Park was a short walk from the detective agency. Espio and Charmy made their way out of their small urban neighborhood, through downtown, and ended up at the grassy expanse about 15 minutes later. Lots of people seemed to be here. Kids ran around, their parents watched from benches. People sat around a big water fountain in the middle of the park, and more kids splashed through the man-made creek winding through it. Sporadic trees and tropical plants were scattered throughout the park, as well as some seemingly random, grassy loop-de-loops. This was par for the course at any location.

“Blegh! It’s sooo hot,” complained Charmy, who was making a big show of drooping all his limbs and antennae. He perked up when he saw the water features. “I’m gonna go dunk my head in the fountain!” 

“Hold on,” Espio had to grab his leg before he could zip away, “Take off your hat. It’ll get soaked.” Charmy wormed out of his crocheted hat and tossed it at Espio, who let go of his ankle and watched him make a beeline for the water. Some of the kids playing there seemed to recognize him, and laughed when he dunked himself in the fountain. 

Espio looked around at the trees. He could already see the outlines of Flickies hovering around a few of the treetops. Okay, he thought, If our hunch is correct, it must be around here somewhere. Not much further now.

Charmy came buzzing back, now sopping wet and making a face. “...I drank some of the water.” 

“Oh, gross.” Espio shielded his eyes while Charmy shook off like a dog, then handed him the hat again. “You know people throw rings in there, right?” 

“Yeah. I was just thirsty.” Charmy put his hat back on and looked around. “So, Flickies like to live in high-up places. That means we should check all the trees, right?” 

“Yes. And anywhere else we can see,” Espio replied. 

The two of them set off to check every tree for Charmy’s helmet. Many of the treetops held nothing at all, but some of them had regular bird nests, and a few of those had Flickies sitting inside. Charmy, who flew up to investigate, would always just give them a friendly little wave, and they would respond with a chirp. 

They checked not only the branching trees, but also the palm trees, the lamp post planters, and Espio even crawled on top of the loop-de-loops. No helmet anywhere. But Espio did notice how much had been disturbed in the park. Bits of trash were nestled in the grass next to the loops. Many leaves had been stripped off the trees and one was even missing a branch that lay on the ground beside it. 

“I guess the storm made a mess here,” Charmy said as they stared at the fallen branch. He looked over to the next tree, and his face fell. “...And over there, too.” 

Espio followed his gaze to the tree, the last one they hadn’t examined yet. It looked worse for wear than all the other trees—it seemed to be a little more young and frail, so the storm had hit it harder. It was bent at an odd angle, and several of its branches were dangling by a thread. 

“No sign of a Flicky,” said Espio, “But let’s take a look anyway.” 

They approached the tree. It felt quieter here—the voices of children playing in the park sounded almost muffled, and the light breeze became the loudest thing in Espio’s ears. When he looked up, he found the branches bare of any life. Just as he suspected. 

“Hey!” said Charmy, “There’s something down here!” 

Espio whirled to look at him, excited for a moment that they might have found his helmet. But all Charmy picked off the ground was a matted mass of twigs, grass and feathers, once trapped beneath a fallen branch. 

“A nest,” Espio murmured. “I guess not all Flickies were lucky enough to make it through the storm.” He closed his eyes and bowed his head. “And I didn’t find your helmet. Our lead is dead.” 

Charmy held the fallen bird’s nest with surprising care, and looked at it the way he would look at a small, fascinating bug. “Maybe we can find the Flicky this belonged to,” he said. 

“It’s been over a day. I’m sure it’s moved on.” Espio sighed. “...We should just go home. We need to take another look at the case. There must be some other angle we haven’t explored. Something else I could do.” 

Charmy paused for a beat of uncomfortable silence. “...It’s okay, Espio. It’s just a helmet.” 

“But it’s yours, and I promised Vector I would help you find it. I can’t fail you.” Espio took Charmy’s hand. “Come on. This was a waste of time.” 

Espio walked out of the park with a determined look. Charmy kept the bird’s nest in the crook of his free arm, and, though he seemed reluctant to go, he let Espio drag him along.

🔍🔍🔍

“Here ya go, bud. One lemonade.” Pepper slid the tall drink across the bar. “You’ve earned it.” 

The lunch rush had long since passed, and now Pepper and Vector could have a quiet moment inside the pizza parlor. Vector caught the drink and took a second to fiddle with the long curly straw, get it lined up with his long jaws. He sighed. “Thanks, Pepper, but I dunno if I ‘earned it.’” 

“Well, I think you’ve earned it,” Pepper said, “You’re helpin’ me out, aren’t you?” 

“Hah!” He took a big sip of lemonade. “Maybe I did, for a little while. Then I wrecked everything.” 

“Okay, true. But you helped me set it all back up again.” 

“And cleaned up the street,” Vector muttered, leaning on his elbow, “And got some names hurled at me.” 

“And apologized to the fire department,” Pepper let out a dry laugh, “Okay, so maybe it was kind of a disaster. But it was also kind of my fault.” Pepper poured herself a glass of water and lingered at the bar across from Vector for a moment. “I egged you on. I just wanted you to feel like you were helping.”

“I appreciate it, promise.” Vector sat up a little and smiled at Pepper. “I just can’t believe you forgot what I can do.” 

“It’s been a while since we all got onstage and performed together,” Pepper laughed. “You were always, uh, good at projecting.”

“‘Good’? I didn’t even need a mic!” Vector’s smile faded after a beat, and he lowered his gaze. “...I’m sorry for all the trouble, Pepper.” He sat up. “Tell ya what. My services are on the house today.” 

“Uh-uh-uh! Don’t try to pull that with me,” Pepper took a last sip of her water, then pulled back to grab the peel, picked up a pizza, and slid it into the oven standing nearby. “No freebies. My parlor, my rules.” 

Vector sputtered. “But—” 

“Look, Vec,” Pepper turned to face him and wiped away a bead of sweat, “Ya did the same thing when you were lead singer. Had a ‘no free gigs’ policy until all of a sudden it was some old grandma’s birthday, or we made some little mistake during the set, and then you’d change your tune. Besides, how often did you pay the rest of us out of pocket when the venue didn’t give us squat?” Pepper put one hand on her hip. “Now you’re lead detective, and your boys need you. Ain’t that the whole reason you’re here?” 

Vector looked pensively down at his lemonade. “...Yeah.” 

“I know you guys are pressed for cash. So don’t turn it down, man. At the end of the day, you tried your best and gave me some good company.” 

Vector thought to himself for a moment, then let out a long sigh. “...I got on Espio’s case earlier about being too hard on himself, but look at me, doin’ the same thing. I can’t feel too sorry for myself when I have people to look out for.”

“That’s the spirit.” Pepper took a stack of rings from her pocket and handed them to him. “So, here. Take it. No buts.” 

Vector accepted them and just held them in his hand for a second. Really let the weight sink in. “Thanks, Pepper.” He pocketed them and shifted forward to lean against the bar. “I’ve just got one last question for you, though.” 

“What’s up?” 

“Why did you need me to stand out there and dance on the street corner when no one’s ever done it before?” Vector sipped his lemonade. “Your pizza parlor’s the most popular one this side of Sparkle Coast. You didn’t need me, and you knew it.” 

Pepper froze in the middle of wiping a glass. “Dang! You really are a good detective.” She shrugged. “Maybe I just wanted to try something new. And…maybe I just wanted to help a friend who doesn’t like handouts.” 

“Pepper!” 

“Hey, I already paid you! No takebacks—my parlor, my rules!” 

🔍🔍🔍

Eventually Espio and Charmy fell to a regular pace walking down the sidewalk. Soon, the park was no longer visible behind them, and they were once again among the tall buildings and full streets of downtown Sparkle Coast. 

Neither of them said anything much. Charmy seemed a little glum, and kept looking down at the nest remains he still carried with him. Espio stared straight forward, still frowning. If I can’t complete such a simple task by the time Vector comes home, he thought, how can I call myself a worthy detective? How can he, in good faith, rely on me?

“Espio!” Charmy had to grab one of his back spikes so that he wouldn’t walk directly into moving traffic. They were at a street corner next to a busy intersection now. “Look both ways!” 

“...Right.” Even my focus is slipping. I need to keep it together. “I’ll hit the walk signal.” 

He moved to a post to punch the button, but as he did, his gaze wandered up to a nearby storefront. Big orange channel letters read “GROCERY,” though that wasn’t what caught Espio’s attention. He noticed something round and black in the curve of the letter “O.” There was noise coming from it, too—little peeping sounds. 

“Charmy,” he beckoned for him and pointed at the letters. “Look over there. You don’t think—”

Charmy gasped once he saw it. “That’s it! That’s my helmet!” 

He took off toward it, and Espio followed behind him by slithering up the side of the building. Charmy dove right in with open arms to take his helmet back, but stopped short once he got a better look. Espio stopped, too.

The helmet had been turned upside-down, and a Flicky was perched at the edge, a piece of paper in her beak. The inside of the helmet was sparsely lined with bits of feathers, leaves, and trash. Next to the helmet a bunch of baby Flickies were huddled inside a sorry-looking ring of scraps, casting frightened looks up at Charmy. The larger Flicky froze and stared directly at him. 

He stared down at the Flicky family for a few moments, just hovering there while Espio watched from below. “Oh,” he said in a small voice. “...I guess we were right. A Flicky did take my helmet. But…” 

“It looks like she needs it for her family,” Espio said. He clung to the wall and craned his neck to see what was going on. “She’s trying to make them a better nest.” 

Charmy looked down at the nest remains he was holding, the ones he had found in the park. “You think this was her nest, Espio? And she lost it in the storm?” 

“We can’t know for sure. But either way, it seems like she’s desperate.” 

After another beat of silence, Charmy reached up and pulled off the crocheted hat he was wearing. “Ms. Bloom did say someone else might find a use for it…” He carefully placed the remains of the nest inside the hat, patted it down so that it was snugly fit, and held it gingerly out to the Flicky mother. “I’m sorry you lost your home,” he said, almost in a whisper, “Wanna trade? This hat’s much softer than mine. I think you’ll like it.” 

At first, the Flicky leaned away, seeming to regard him with some apprehension, but once she realized what he was doing, she straightened up. She inched closer, closer, then took the hat-nest in her beak. She hopped backwards off the helmet, allowing him to take it. 

“Thank you.” He reached out slowly and took the helmet, taking care not to make any noise other than the buzz of his wings. Once it was in his hands, he turned back to smile at Espio, who nodded and returned to the ground. 

Once there, Espio held out a hand, offering to clean the helmet out for him. “So that’s that,” he said, still keeping his voice low. He wasn’t sure why—it just felt right. He turned the helmet right-side up to dump out the loose nest bits. “It looks like you and the Flicky both got what you needed.” 

Charmy wasn’t really paying attention, just kept staring up toward the channel letters. “...Do you think they’ll be okay?” 

“I do. It’s not perfect, but now those baby birds have a nicer place to grow up.” Espio reached up to tousle Charmy’s hair before handing him his helmet again. “Here you go.” 

“Yes!” Charmy snatched it up and hurried to get it on. “Now I can slam my head into the wall as much as I want!” 

“Er, I’m not sure that’s the takeaway.” Espio’s cell phone rang. He flipped it open to see a blurry picture of Vector on the screen. “Oh, I hope he’s not in trouble…” He answered. “What’s up?”

“Hey, I have a surprise for you guys,” said Vector’s voice. Always a little too loud for the phone’s mic to handle. “Meet me at Pepper’s. We’re getting pizza.” 

“Pizza??” Charmy crashed into the side of Espio’s head and leaned across him to speak into the receiver. “Hi, Vector!” 

“Hiya, Charmy.” 

“We found my helmet!” 

“You did? Boy, you’d better tell me about it!” 

Espio, after getting his bearings, gave Charmy a sharp look that said, Don’t you dare drop my phone, then handed it off. Charmy immediately started talking a hundred miles an hour. “Okay, so, Espio thought it was in my room, even though I told him it wasn’t in my room, so we started looking for it everywhere—” 

“Charmy!” Espio had to grab him by the leg before he flew into the road. “Look both ways!” 

🔍🔍🔍

“Here we go,” Pepper said, “Large pizza, half anchovies and ham, one-fourth black olives, one-fourth no cheese.” She set the pizza on the table in front of the Chaotix. “I think you guys have the most specific order of any customer I’ve ever had.” 

“Thanks, Pepper!” Charmy tried to reach for a no-cheese slice, but immediately recoiled when he touched it. “Ouch! Hot!” 

“Learn the art of patience, Charmy,” said Espio, who calmly picked up the serving utensil, freed the slice of pizza for him, and put it on his plate. 

Vector smiled at Pepper. “Hey, thanks for making good on your pizza promise. Apparently these two spent the day running around town, so—” He turned to watch as Charmy tore into his slice without waiting for it to cool and made it to the crust in seconds. “Point is, we’re all pretty hungry.” He held out his hand. “Pleasure doin’ business with you today.” 

Pepper chuckled and returned his handshake. “Haha, of course.” 

“But don’t think you’ve gotten away with this,” Vector said in a low voice, eyes narrowed and the corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. “I’ll make it all up to you sooner or later. You won’t even see it comin’.” 

Pepper let out a nervous laugh. “Wow, that’s…sweet. And ominous.” 

“He’s good at that,” Espio spoke into his drink. 

Pepper walked away to see some other guests, and the three detectives ate their pizza as the sun set outside. 

And, just across town, a Flicky and her little ones settled down for the night in their brand-new hat nest. The hat had a mistake in the pattern, but the Flicky didn’t care—she just knew that it was safe and warm.