She yawned after stepping out of her bathroom, taking a towel to her wet quills and furiously rubbing it across them to get the water out. She shrugged on a long t-shirt before continuing, grabbing a brush from beside the sink before she headed into her living space.

Opening the blinds in front of the nearby window, she felt the sunlight glance off her eyes for a moment before she adjusted, looking out at the bright day ahead. The cable box above the television displayed the time.

9:23 a.m.

Finished with the towel, she folded it up neatly before tossing it into her bedroom, perfectly of course. She let out a silent cheer before lying down on the sofa, content to relax for the day.

In the meantime, a certain someone was at a payphone booth, about 50 or so miles from the closest settlement, and one he knew well enough as the village of Chun-nan. Fishing in one of his pockets, he found an American quarter, knowing full well that literally every phone in the world accepted them. In some places, a quarter was something to be prized. He did prize them himself, but for an entirely different reason.

Without looking, he punched in the numbers at high speed, waiting for the delay to end before the numbers beeped in the receiver, following one another closely.

She stared at the ceiling of the apartment, only snapped out of her thoughts by the phone ringing near her head. She reached back and put it close to her ear as she answered.

"Amy Rose speaking."

"Heya, Ames."

A smile came to her lips then, and her green eyes began to sparkle.

"Hey, Sonic. Long time no hear."

"Well, you know, I've been getting around lately."

"I've heard." She kicked at the air as she spoke. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah. Running's been great."

"Told ya."

"Yeah, yeah…how are things at home?"

"Not bad at all. I told everyone that you left."

"Oh," he said, feeling a bit guilty about his sudden departure. "How'd they take it?"

"Mm…other than Vector complaining about the lack of cases they could take on with you gone, pretty well. Nobody's complaining. I think they were all wondering when you'd eventually take off, anyways."

"Really? Well, I guess that's a good thing to know. Glad I'm not missed too much around there. Speaking of that…"

"Yeah?"

"Do you miss me, Ames?"

"Nope," she said confidently. Truth be told, every time that she closed her eyes, she could feel like he was there. It was as if he had never left, which was a good thing, of course.

"Good. But just tell me if you do, okay?"

"Yup. I'll let you know," she said with a smile. "Do you miss me, Sonic?"

"Not yet. That kiss felt like five seconds ago."

"I guess I feel the same way, then."

"Naturally," he said with a cocky grin. Amy rolled her eyes playfully on the other side of the phone. "Anyways…I'll be gone a while. Trying to, you know, find myself or something. Either that, or just run 'till I can't run anymore, whichever comes first."

"You have fun, Sonic. I'll be waiting right here," she said, twirling the phone cable around her finger.

"I know. I'll be back as soon as I can, Ames."

"Don't rush," she advised. "I'm a patient girl."

"Right." Sonic stopped a moment as he felt something…something guiding him in a certain direction. The more he paid attention, the more he realized that it was a cool breeze blowing past him. The booth wasn't that solid, so that explained the wind rushing in, but it felt like he was being urged to move in that particular direction.

His mind flashed back to the lettering on the right arm of his jumpsuit. Why she had given him that name was still a mystery, but it now seemed to have something to do with this, he assumed.

And assume was the only thing he could do at this point.

"Everything okay, Sonic?"

"Nothing too serious," he answered honestly. "Just got an odd feeling…I'm gonna head to Chun-nan down the road."

"You think something's up?" Amy had come to realize that Sonic was more attuned to his surroundings than ever before, if his actions were any indication. He seemed to be able to react on a complete whim, letting himself act before the rest of him actually caught up. His instincts had grown by leaps and bounds, and while 5 years was a long time, she got the feeling that maybe there was a little something extra involved in his development.

The thing was, if he knew about it, he wasn't saying anything. Not much of anything, anyways.

"Might be. You know how I've got a nose for trouble, Ames."

She nodded silently, touching the nearby lamp with her toes in the meantime. "It's not a bad thing, though."

"You're right. It isn't…so I'm gonna see what's going down."

"Okay. Talk to you later, then?"

"Of course. Love you, Amy."

"Love you lots, Sonic." She kissed the receiver as she always did before hanging up. Sighing to herself, she moved around to lie upside down on the sofa, staring upwards again in thought.

Sonic should be fine for the next little while. But…I can't stop thinking about him. Not that I want to, she mused with a grin. Still, I think I should put some time into something else as well…mmm…

Her eyes rested on the upright piano that was on one side of the room. Beside that was her digital keyboard. A large, white case contained her cello, and next to that was a blue electric guitar that she purchased on a whim, along with an amplifier.

When was the last time I played it…right. That was when Sonic was showing me that song. 'Can't Stop, So What?', I think it was. Probably should practice…or…

An idea came to her head, and she put herself upright as she reached for the phone. She closed her eyes and imagined Sonic running through different places. That adventure all that time ago…she remembered from her hugs the lovely smells he involuntarily would bring back in his fur. China smelled like…

Yes, she could remember it clearly.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end called out.

"Tails, good morning."

"Oh, mornin' Amy. Everything's okay?" he said a bit sleepily.

"Yes, just fine. Listen, I need a favour."

"Anything," he said sincerely. There wasn't much he wouldn't do for his older sister, as he now thought of her affectionately.

"The photos from the trip with Sonic, when the world was split by Dark Gaia. They still around?"

"Yeah. Sonic took a lot of his things to a certain place, though. A studio apartment, in uptown Station Square. I have the master key for everything here at my place."

"Oh, okay. I guess we'll go together to look, then."

"Actually, Amy…he intended that place for you."

She blinked. "Me? Why? And how long…?"

"About a few weeks before he left again. He said that everything was paid for, lights, water, all of that. If you wanted to stay there for however long, it would be your choice. And you have to give your okay before anyone else could go inside. He recommended that you look over everything first."

"Everything…huh." The feeling of dread that should have come simply didn't arrive. Instead, Amy was curious at this new development. Looking at the guitar in the corner, she felt that she would need to bring it along…and that would be it for supplies, she supposed.

"Well…thank you, Tails. I guess I'll go check it out today. See you in a bit."

"Okay. Have you eaten yet, Amy?"

"Mm…" She scratched her head. "I'll have a light snack before I come over. Whip me up something?"

"You got it," he replied with a flash of Sonic confidence. She hung up and took to brushing her long quills into that familiar style everyone knew and loved, just a bit grown up. Not feeling very motivated to dress stylishly, she put on a pair of sweatpants and laced up a pair of sneakers. She picked up some sunglasses off of a nearby table and took some fruit along with yogurt from her fridge.

The guitar was secured safely on her back, and she bit into a peach as she locked her front door.

She always did this, he realized. Then again, it was his own fault for accepting her challenge so readily.

The stocky young man stalked silently through the bamboo, trying to find the one he was looking for…

"Time's up."

He rubbed his black hair in frustration as a hand was placed on his shoulder. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" the voice asked, innocently.

"That. All that hiding and being so quiet…"

He felt a hand pat his stomach and frowned. "You know that has nothing to do with it-"

It rumbled loudly, as if on cue.

"No. But that does," the girl said with a smile. "Come on, I bet Grandma's finished making more buns."

"Really? Well, let's get moving, then."

Yilin could only smile and roll her eyes at her brother as he jogged back to the village. At least their hide-and-seek challenges had gotten more fun over the years, and Chun had managed to get…well, in relatively good shape for someone who ate so many meat buns in a single sitting.

As she sprinted to catch up, she noted that they were passing the Five Dragons' Shrine as usual. She liked to visit the place alone whenever she had the time. It was mesmerizing, looking at the huge golden statue that stood there. Five dragons, four pointing in the cardinal directions while one was frozen in a fierce roar, looking towards the skies above. What she found the most interesting was the fact that each of them had different coloured eyes…

"Yilin, come on!"

She stood frozen in place, and Chun sighed as he doubled back towards her.

"Yilin…"

"Run…"

"…What'd you…"

"Run…please, run away, Chun. As fast as you can. Tell grandfather that something's happening with the shrine."

"Yilin, this isn't-"

"I said to run, you idiot!" At that moment, an arrow of black light shot towards the two. Yilin pushed Chun out of the way and dove herself, only to have the light go through her arm.

"Hey…hey! Yilin, say something!" Chun was frantic, panicking as he saw his sister's arm change colour.

She looked at her arm in amazement, watching the darkness fade and then disappear completely. There was a strange glowing from the bracelet on her wrist…the one that was from Mazuri.

She knew that she had never been to Mazuri.

But he had.

"The legends…they're…"

"Sis…what's going on?" Chun said, fear in his voice.

"Something big." As the wind blew past her, Yilin noted the glowing light start to brighten. "Something really big. Come on, we'll get some food in you and then tell grandma and grandpa about this."

"R-Right."

As the two headed home at a full tilt, Yilin had the feeling that this wasn't going to sit well at all with the villagers…despite the fact that the things he had been accused of turned out to be false. He was still the bad guy in their eyes.

Sonic the Hedgehog: former hero, ex-convict, God of Wind. One of these things is not like the others…

Yeah...

They were going to flip.

a/n: Welcome to Jailhouse Rock, Part 2: Wrath of the Five Dragons. This picks up from where we left off with Exchange Rate, and while that was an emotional journey, this'll be more of an adventure. But I won't stray from what I built on earlier, so I hope you all enjoy this. Questions and comments are welcomed – I'll build myself up from them.