CHAPTER SEVEN – BETRAYAL

It was later now. Both Cal and Brick finally gathered into the living room, sitting on opposite sides of the room with not only Tails, but Charmy as well, as the Captain of the CDA had been informed of the incident.

"Now..." Tails began, as he tapped his finger against his elbow, his eyes closed. "...I'd like to know, Brick; what possessed you to begin attacking Cal like that?" he asked, without opening his eyes.

Brick stubbornly remained silent, looking away at the wall grudgingly.

Charmy grew a bit impatient with him. "Brick, you're going to have to tell us sooner or later. We're not going anywhere until we sort this out."

"...he kissed her," he finally admitted, though he more like spat it out in disgust.

"Really..." Tails uttered, though his eyes remained closed. A matter of jealousy... somehow, I'm not surprised. he thought, before he opened his eyes. "Is that the only reason?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

":...yeah."

"Brick," Charmy started. "We don't want drama going on just because you two are fighting over a girl. There are children here for heaven's sake; think a little bit before you act." Then Charmy turned to Cal. "As for you," he said. "You're not off the hook either. There's obviously something else going on between the two of you."

"I'm entitled to my own feelings, Captain," Cal said. "I merely told her how I felt and expressed it."

"Well, you were moving awfully fast on her!" Brick blurted.

"That's enough!" Charmy yelled over the two of them. "You two really do need to shape up, or there will be more severe consequences then the trouble you're already in. Think I can't be strict? Try me."

"For now, both of you should apologize to one another, and promise us that neither of you will cross the line." Tails said, as his expression went from neutral to stern in mere moments. "And I do mean that; if we hear of any more trouble between you two regarding Jill, as Charmy said, the consequences will be dire."

"Him first," Cal stated, looking at Brick with a glazed look. "He's the one who punched me."

"You know what?!" Brick yelled, jumping to his feet. "It's not the fact that you're after Brownie, but it's more then that. I don't like you one bit; because I have a feeling in my gut deep down that you're going to hurt her. A brainiac like you can easily manipulate anyone you want with ease without a care about their feelings, and with the fact that you're always locked up in your room is enough reason to be suspicious. I can't trust you at all!"

Charmy rose to his feet too. "Brick, you're WAY out of line!"

However, Charmy would feel his arm being tugged, as Tails pulled him back into his seat. "I don't care who apologizes first..." he said, in a strangely dark tone for him. "...but do it, and leave it at that; I'm growing impatient with both of you."

They both let out a sigh of frustration, and for awhile, it was silent again. "...Sorry," Brick finally uttered first, though he said it quite distastefully.

"Ditto," Cal replied, finding a way to avoid saying the exact word.

Sighing, Tails closed his eyes. "...Charmy, would you say that they've learned their lesson?" he asked, looking at the bee with a more neutral look.

"For now," Charmy replied. "Just no more trouble, you hear?"

"Yes sir..." both of them said simultaneously, and then Cal got up.

"I'm going to check on Whiskers," he said, walking away out of the room. "It's probably been long enough." But Brick remained where he was, glaring at Cal as he left, and then he peered down at the ground.

When Cal left, Tails let out a sigh, before looking up at Brick. "Keep your head up, Brick." he said bluntly, before he stood up as well. "I suppose Cal might need some assistance with Whisker, so if you'll excuse me..." he said, before he went out the same way Cal had.

"Brick, I trust Cal. His brilliance is the core of our recent success in the agency," Charmy said. "He might seem like the scheming type, but he really is--"

"I'm sorry Captain, but you're not going to convince me of what I should think of him," Brick said, rising to his feet as well. "I'm going to spend some time alone, thinking." And then he, too, left the room, leaving Charmy alone in the room.

To this, the bee sighed. "The love problems we had to deal with were Sonic and Amy's endless chase; nothing like this." Then he chuckled to himself. "Ah, good times."

---------

Cal and Tails entered back outside, seeing Whisker was still shut off and motionless. However, Cal knew that any moment now, the pirate would awaken. And so he did, as slowly, his eyes began glowing, and he placed a hand on his head. "...arr..." he moaned.

"Now, let's see if he remembers anything..." Tails muttered, as he kept an eye on Whisker.

At this time, something unsettling happened. Cal began to smirk that same, evil smirk he had given Brick not too long ago. "Hello Whisker," he said.

Removing the hand from his head, Whisker looked at Cal. "...good tide, Calculate." he said, as he got to his feet. "How be ye doin'?"

Blinking, Tails threw a calm glance at Cal, not showing his uneasyness.

Then Cal turned to Tails, continuing to grin that evil smirk. "Whisker, you remember your objective? Well, you now have my permission to carry it out; starting with him."

"Understood..." Whisker said, as he slowly began approaching Tails and Cal. "Commencin' objective: Termination."

Tails didn't even flinch at this reply, as he kept looking at Cal, before placing his hands behind his back. "...care to explain yourself, Calculate?" he said in the same neutral tone he had carried throughout the conversation earlier, as Whisker continued to approach them, slowly raising his fists.

"All I can say is, you should've trusted Ring-face when you had the chance," Cal said.

"Not saying anything else but that?" Tails said, before closing his eyes, just as it seemed that Whisker would bring down his fists upon the old fox. "...truly a shame, Calculate..." Then, Whisker swung...

...and missed, as Tails suddenly spun his two tails, giving him enough speed to get away from the mighty attack in time, the pirate only smashing the ground where Tails once stood. "...now you've crossed the fine line, and made me lose my patience." he said in a dark tone, before glaring at the monkey, just as he pointed his clenched fist at him. "I want to have a talk with you, young man." he spat, just as he pressed the hand, allowing a red arm cannon to envelope his hand. "Right now."

Cal gulped. He didn't expect Tails to move that fast, as he was deceptively old. But Cal didn't show his discouragement, as he drew out his white sphere. "I'm done talking," he said. "I find that it wastes valuable time." Then when his thumb pressed down on the orb, it began to blink rapidly, and then it broke apart, with the pieces plastered over Cal as a smooth white jumpsuit. Then a mask was created for him, and it finished to a point where Cal looked like a white ninja. He even held out his hands and from streams of data-like energy, two long katanas appeared in his grip.

"C'mon Whisker," he said, swinging his two katanas around for demonstration. "Let's get some chores done. Metal wants us to be thorough."

"As ye wish..." Whisker uttered, as he cracked his knuckles, glaring at Tails, who kept his eyes on Cal. "I be gonna smash th' lad's like ye wouldna-"

At that moment, however, a sphere of electricity was shot straight at the large pirate, striking him dead-on, and basically short-circuiting the robot, making him go offline in mere seconds. "I may not be in my prime..." Tails said, as he had merely moved his aim a little to strike Whisker, without breaking his calm stance. "...but it's going to take more than a fancy suit and a pair of blades to kill me, Calculate." he added, his dark tone still present, before he aimed at the ground before the monkey, just as something else was fired out of the cannon; exploding toy mice, with the intent of creating a dust cloud.

Once the dust cloud emerged, Cal kept alert throughout the dust. Part of him was wondering whether or not it was a good idea facing Tails. He kept a firm grip on the hilt of his katanas.

However, once the dust cloud dispersed, Cal would find that Tails was no longer standing where he once stood, almost as if he had vanished into thin air. At that moment, however, he'd hear a conspicuous beeping sound coming from right below him, and what sounded like an electrical surge from above him. He would soon find out first-hand where those sounds came from; the surge came from three orbs of electricity being launched right down at him, and the beeping came from three small mice having made their way below his feet.

First Cal rolled around the orbs of electricity that were launched at him. Then he hopped up into a tree to avoid the mice, all when he searched through the sky to find Tails. "Whisker, WAKE UP!" thee monkey screamed.

"Ungh... huh?" Whisker uttered, as the shock from Tails' attack had worn off. "What jus' happened?"

"Not much; I was just teaching our friend Calculate here a lesson in manners." they could hear Tails' voice say, and before anyone could make out what was going on, Tails landed on top of Whisker's head, before aiming the arm cannon at the tree, firing more exploding mice at the monkey.

Cal maneuvered around the tree quite agilely, and whenever a mouse would hit him, he'd slash it in half with a katana, causing it to explode before him, though that was better than having the explosion actually touch him.

"So, you said something about Metal Sonic, Calculate." Tails began, as he suddenly began shooting electric orbs at the tree instead of mice. "How long has it been like that? Ever since you joined the Chaotix?"

Meanwhile, Whisker looked up at Tails, who was still standing on his head, and slowly clenched his fists. C`mon, jus' stay still, ye pesky critter... he thought.

"Now Professor, do you think I would be that low?" Cal, as he started hopping through the different trees around them to avoid the orbs of electricity. "No, I joined the Chaotix an honest man. I just got into some trouble, so Metal decided to cut a deal with me."

Then Cal leaped out of the tree, and attempted to swing the katanas at Tails.

However, as he slashed, Tails began spinning his tails, taking off into the air, leaving Cal's attack to strike Whisker instead, just as Whisker attempted to strike Tails on top of his head, leading to him taking more than one blow. "Argh... ahoy, watch 'ere ye swin' them blades, Calculate! Ye nearly cut me hat open!" he called angrily at the monkey.

"And what sort of trouble was so dire that you decided to sell out your friends to a dictator like him, Calculate?" Tails asked in mid-air, though now, he didn't fire at Cal. ...I can handle Whisker by myself, but Cal's bound to overwhelm me soon. he thought, before looking back at the HQ. Maybe... no, I can't take that risk. I can't let him...

"Sorry Whisker," Cal growled, glaring at Tails. Then he answered the old fox's question, "Well, let's just say I made a nasty slip-up that I needed help cleaning up, and Metal was willing. He also found use of my intellect and trickery…"

Then he stopped a moment, noticing Tails looking back at the HQ building. "So if you'll excuse me, there is a prize Metal wishes for me to steal…like a certain girl." And with that, Cal threw down a smoke bomb, and by the time the smoke cleared, he was gone.

Tails had a clear, shocked look on his face. No... Jill! he thought, before he looked towards the HQ. I need to alert them! Then, all of a sudden, he fired an explosive mouse in the direction of the HQ, and while it wouldn't strike the building, it would alert those inside of it.

"Ahoy! Dasn't think that I be done wi' ye, ye wee-" Whisker called, as he rushed at Tails, but the fox quickly fired another electrical orb at the pirate, short-circuiting him once more.

"That takes care of that..." Tails muttered, before he began flying towards the HQ as quick as he could muster. "I can only pray that they heard the explosion..."

-----------------

"Come on, Boomer, why won't you play hide-and-seek with us?" Inside of the HQ, Jack and the kids were trying to convince Boomer to join their games, but so far, they hadn't been successful. "Be a sport, please?"

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" begged Striker.

"No thanks guys," Boomer said, clearly growing ill-tempered with all their pestering. "I don't want—!" Just then, she stopped. She heard a loud noise coming from outside, which sounded strangely like an explosion.

"Hm?" Hearing the sound, Jack looked around. "...is it fireworks?" he asked, before throwing his hands up in the air, laughing happily. "Yay! Cal and the Professor got us fireworks! We've got to go and see them!"

"That's not fireworks," Boomer said, looking dire. "That sounds more like—!"

"What in the world was that?!" asked Brick, running up.

"It came from outside," Boomer said.

Brick looked shocked. "Cal and the Professor just went out there to check on Whiskers!"

Boomer turned and headed towards her room. "I knew it," she said. "That robot's gone ballistic." It took a moment for her to enter her room, and then she popped back out…

…with an enormous Gatling gun. "Brick, stay with the kids and keep them safe!" Boomer said, running through the hall.

And before any of the kids could protest, Brick grabbed them and pulled them down the hall into another bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Coincidentally enough, Jill was in the room. "What's going on?!" she asked in alarm.

"Whiskers started attacking!" Brick said. "Boomer went out there with one of her guns to help the Professor and Cal out there!"

As Brick explained this out Jill, Jack blinked, as he tapped his fingers against his forehead. "Wait, she's going out to beat a robot... by herself... and the robot was from..." he muttered, trying to piece things together, when something dawned on him. "...Brick, we got to help her!" Jack eventually said, as he looked at Brick with a horrified expression.

"No, you guys have to stay here," Brick instructed.

"No! I wanna go out there and help them!" Ani protested. "I'm tired of you guys telling us to stay back while you go and get hurt! I'm strong enough to take them!"

Brick jerked her by the collar of her hood, and brought her close. "You might have a lot of power Ani," he said. "But you are WAY too inexperienced to fight! Do you guys remember trying to fight Metal Sonic? What if that robot is just as strong as him?! As far as I'm concerned, the only one that was able to fight Metal Sonic was Brownie!"

Ani grew angrier. "I bet that Jill couldn't pick up our entire tree house with both hands behind our back!"

"That's my point Ani," Brick said, letting her go. "Your powers are way too destructive. Shadow's may have been the same way, but he had better control of it!"

Ani had a long history of arguing with Brick, and right now, she was getting angrier. After what Metal Sonic did to Shadow, she wasn't going to let that happen to anyone else.

"But Brick..." Jack began, as he looked at the door for a moment, before looking back at the bull. "...this is just like what happened with Uncle Shadow! He fought a bad robot alone, got hurt, then we got there, and..." Then, he clenched his hand into a fist. "Whatever the case, I'm not gonna let what happened to Uncle Shadow happen to Boomer, too!" Then, before Brick could even stop him, he barged out the door, headed out after Boomer.

And that was a cue for all the other children to follow Jack in inspiration, cheering; especially Ani who let out a battle cry as she ran.

"GUYS!" Brick screamed, starting off to try and catch them. But something else stopped him before he could even get out the door, as a muffled scream from behind caught his ear. "Brownie?!"

He whirled around, only to find it was too late. Jill had fallen unconscious due to a hankie held to her mouth; damp with a drug. Cal caught her as she fell, but being a white ninja, Brick didn't know it was Cal right away, as he couldn't stop the white ninja leaping out the window with Jill in his arms.

Seeing those hand-like feet gave Cal away though, and realizing it infuriated Brick. "GET BACK HERE YOU SON OF A—!"

"I wouldn't want to finish that sentence, if I were you, Brick." an elderly voice interrupted, and right outside the window, Tails was hovering, his arm cannon aimed directly at the monkey. "Now, let her go, Calculate." he said as calmly, yet still as incredibly intimidating as one could get.

"You wouldn't shoot me with her in my arms," he said, though there was a hint of doubt about that, as the monkey continued to climb up the building, juggling Jill between his four hands and tail as he climbed.

And Brick poked his head out the window to see this. He knew he couldn't climb like Cal, so it was no use following him up that way; however, he had a feeling where the monkey was going, so he turned and left the room as quickly as he could to try and beat Cal there.

"What makes you think that I wouldn't?" Tails replied, though it was bluffing, for the most part; if he harmed Jill... no, it couldn't come to pass like that. With a sigh, he flew up after Cal, keeping his cannon aimed at him. "You're going to deliver her to Metal, I presume?" he said. "You do know what Metal intends to do with her, right?"

For a minute, Cal actually hesitated. The truth was, his feelings for Jill were real, and however irrational it is to take her to Metal, the metallix had Cal's hands tied behind his back. Cal didn't answer Tails' question, but he returned to climbing the building.

That was about the time that Boomer came out of the ground entrance, and at first glance, she noticed that Whisker wasn't active. Confused, she turned around, and then she discovered the scene on the side of the building.

"Professor?!" she blurted.

Around that time, Jack and the kids stormed right out after Boomer, and as he looked up at where Boomer looked... "Professor! Jill! Ninja!"

Ignoring this, Tails flew above Cal, glaring down at him. "Answer me! Do you even know what he's planning to do with her? Doesn't she mean more to you than that?"

Cal didn't even bother looking up at Tails. "He intends to keep her safe," he said, though whether or not he really believed it or not was unknown. Finally, he reached the edge of the helicopter pad, and for an instant, he threw Jill up in the air to flip onto his feet on the surface of the helicopter pad, and then he caught her.

"I knew I couldn't trust that damn monkey," growled Boomer, as she was not really aware of the fact that she was present before children.

"Ooooo, she said a bad word," whispered Striker to the others.

"Wh-what do you mean, Boomer?" Jack asked her, as he hadn't pieced together that the ninja was Cal yet. "Monkey... so the ninja is Cal? But why does he have Jill?"

Tails growled lightly, as he closed his eyes. "Do you really believe that, Calculate?" he said, as he flew closer, his arm cannon still aimed at the monkey. "What makes you think that he won't just kill you when you've delivered her to him?"

Cal still didn't say anything, as he began walking towards the helicopter. But then, the door burst open, with Brick barging out, and the bull stood in Cal's way of the helicopter with outstretched arms. He growled. "I thought you had real feelings for her, but I guess not! Well, I won't let you take her away!"

Cal stopped walking, glaring at Brick. "I don't let my feelings interfere with my work, unlike some people…"

"You!" Brick couldn't control himself, and he started charging forward after Cal.

Though what Tails would notice that Brick wouldn't, Cal slowly reached for the hilt of one of his katanas.

Tails' eyes widened at the sight of this, though he wasn't foolhardy enough to rush in between Brick and Cal; instead, with a heavy sigh, he aimed the arm cannon at the monkey. Forgive me, Jill... he thought, as he fired a series of electrical orbs at the monkey.

Cal foresaw this, so he ducked. The electrical orbs struck down Brick instead, stopping him in his tracks as he collapsed, and Cal stepped on his head as he ran for the helicopter.

"Screw this," Boomer said, as she tossed aside her Gatling gun. Time for that fail-safe to play into effect, she thought, as she looked over at Whisker. "Whisker, I order you to wake up, activate the override function in your body, and stop Cal!"

At that moment, Whisker suddenly sprung up, and after a short while... "Yes, ma`am! Consider 't done, ma`am!" he called, before he looked up at the helicopter, and with a single, surprisingly large bound, he leapt all the way to the roof, landing smack-dab on the helicopter, crushing it before Cal could hope to enter it. "How would ye like yer arse-kickin' today, chimp?" he said, before standing up, turning to glare at Cal.

Seeing this, Jack was awestruck. "Wow... when could he do that?"

Boomer smirked.

As for Cal, he was awestruck as well by that sudden turn of the tables, and he was lucky enough that his expression was hidden behind his mask, as he staggered away from Whisker. Then Brick gained his strength, and he reached over and grabbed Cal's tail with a painful yank. As Cal yelped, he dropped Jill, and before she could hit the ground, Tails quickly caught her in his arms, before getting a safe distance between them and Cal. Letting out a sigh of relief, Tails looked back at the scene, as Whisker slowly marched towards Cal, much in the same way he had approached Tails earlier, his arms raised over his head, ready to strike.

In a matter of quick thinking and amazing strength, Cal pulled Brick with his tail, causing him to let go as he hurled him at Whisker. Then as he took out something within his hands, he threw it down and the minute it hit the ground, it let out a blinding flash. When the flash was gone, so was he; Cal being nowhere at all in sight, and naturally, some were surprised, to say the least. "Uh? Hey, 'ere`d th' damn chimp go?" Whisker uttered, as he pried Brick off him, looking around for Cal.

Tails frowned, as he threw a glance at Jill. "...we should get inside." he said, before walking towards the doorway into the house, Jill still in his arms.

"Hey, he's gone!" Striker said, as he watched Tails, Brick and Whisker leave inside.

"Well, at least they got Jill back," Boomer said. "Let's go back inside guys." Once the duck picked back up her large Gatling gun and heaved it over her shoulder, she headed for HQ.

"How does she hold that thing up, anyway?" Jack mused, before he and the kids followed Boomer inside the building.

Striker shrugged. "Maybe she's super strong?"

"I know she gets super angry," Milo added with a slight shiver.

Once inside, they found Tails, Brick, and Whisker in the bedroom with Jill, who had been placed on the bed. "Professor! Brick!" Striker exclaimed.

"And Whisker!" Rudy said, hopping up and down wildly.

"Yeah, aye, 'tis me..." Whisker said, as he nodded lightly.

"Wh-what's wrong with Jill?" Jack asked, as he looked at her worriedly. "Is she..."

"She'll be fine." Tails said, as he looked down at her body. "She was knocked out by a dose of chlorophome, or something similar to it, so likely, she'll wake up soon..."

"But...why did Cal try to take her?!" asked Rudy. "I thought he was our friend!"

"He wouldn't say why, but..." Tails began, as he sighed, folding his arms. "...he had cut a deal with Metal Sonic some time after he joined the Chaotix, and he likely intended to use Whisker to kill us, while he took Jill to Metal."

"You mean..." Jack uttered, as he nearly collapsed from shock. "...that Cal was a bad guy? And he lied to us?"

"As shocking as that is to hear that... I can't say anything but yes." Tails replied.

"He lied to us…" Rudy said, sounding sad. Everyone else was utterly shaken by that; Boomer just grunted, looking at a wall. She didn't like Cal at all, so this wasn't really as much of a surprise to her than the rest.

"Brick, is that why you hit Cal?" Milo asked.

"I didn't like him, but I didn't know that he was working for Metal Sonic," Brick said. "I punched Cal for a different reason…" Sitting by Jill, he stared at her. "…Cal did something to Brownie," he finally said. "I'm not going to say what; because you guys are too young, but what Cal did to Brownie…it upset me when she told me. I don't know if I told you guy this, but…Brownie's very special to me. I was afraid that Cal was going to hurt her somehow, because I knew he wasn't a very nice guy, and I wanted to keep him from hurting her."

Boomer looked at Brick curiously. She could've figured Brick had feelings for Jill after observing them when they arrived, but the guy was actually confessing them in front of these kids.

"Wait…so, you like Jill?" Ani asked in astonishment. "As in…like like?" Even her eye brow rose when she asked that.

"Uh…" Brick turned red again. "…yeah, basically."

"EW! BRICK LIKES COOTIES!" Striker, Milo, Ani, and Rudy screamed all together, before they started laughing. Then the four of them started to hop around in a circle with joined hands. "Brick and Jillian, sit-in' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!!!" they sang.

Brick grew panicked as he tried to shush them down, turning an even more noticeable shade of red, "SHHHHH! Not so loud! You'll wake her up!"

Surprisingly enough, Jill didn't wake, but only turned to her side.

Tails couldn't help but chuckle, before he looked at the singing kids. "Now, now, Jill needs her rest, so you'd best not make too much noise." He said, waggling a finger at them.

Whisker, on the other hand, merely groaned. "Sheesh... had t' be some o' that mushy stuff, didna 't..." he muttered.

Though it would have been opportune for Jack to begin singing along with the others, he didn't, as he only looked at the very red Brick. ...so it's like those grown-up things Cal said I wouldn't understand yet? he thought, as he scratched his head.

Boomer tried to hold in laughter. She knew that was going to happen when he told these guys, and she could've saved Brick some of the embarrassment. "C'mon guys," she said, though now reluctantly because… "…I guess I'll play hide-and-seek with you."

"Seriously!?" exclaimed Rudy, who had been brought out of his misery. He looked up to Cal, and so he had been disheartened by the news that he was a double agent. But he still had Boomer, at least.

And before she could think twice about it, they grabbed her wrists and dragged her out the room. "Whoa!" she uttered.

This caught Jack off-guard a bit, but nonetheless, it brought him to reality. "Yay, hide-and-seek!" he laughed, as he ran after the others.

"Heh... kids these days." Tails chuckled, as he closed his eyes. "So very full of life... reminds me of back in the day..."

"Hey, I dasn't want t' brin' bad news t' th' table, but..." Whisker shot in, as he folded his arms. "...do ye guys think 't`d be safe, fer me t' stay here?"

Brick looked up at Whisker. "Well, that's pretty much your choice," he said. "After all, you've got a pirate ship to find…and we won't stop you from looking for your ship and your crew."

"Nay, nay... no point in that, really." Whisker replied, as he threw a glance at Tails. "Thanks t' th' old fox zappin' me, I caught some o' me memory aft, an'... well, I doubt that I`ll find anythin' in this time an' age. But I be wonderin' if 't be safe fer ye swabbies if I stayed."

Hearing this, Tails tilted his head. "How do you figure?"

"Well, if Metal Sonic be th' one who sent me here, I`d assume that he has technology t' track me down wi', an'..." Then, Whisker scratched the back of his head. "...well, I wouldna want t' be havin' ye guys gettin' in trouble o'er me."

Brick smirked. "Actually, Boomer found something of the sort, but she was generous enough to take it out. She wouldn't have found it if it weren't for the Professor and as far as I'm concerned, you're safe."

"...really?" Whisker uttered, as he looked at Tails in disbelief, though the fox simply nodded in response. "That's..." he said, before placing his arm against his eyes. "I canna thank ye swabbies enough!"

Brick smiled. "No need for thanks," he said. "I'm sure the others would like a pirate captain around. It'll make things up around here interesting, that's for sure."

"Maybe ye're right..." Whisker mused, before he suddenly snapped his fingers. "Ahoy, maybe I could join them kids in some hide-an'-seek? In fact, I'll do that right now!" Then, he ran out the door, actually intent on playing with the kids.

"Seems like there's some things not even time can change..." Tails chuckled, before he looked out the window, his expression darkening a bit. "I do wonder where Cal ran off to... judging from what he said, he may have been forced into working for Metal."

"Yeah, maybe," Brick said. "I wouldn't think he'd be the type to stand up for himself anyway…" Then he looked back at Jill. "What I don't get is…why he'd do this to her. Do you think Cal lied about having any feelings for Brownie?"

"...no, I don't," Tails replied somberly, as he looked back at Jill again, "which is what truly has me worried. If he was willing to hand her over to Metal, despite what he would do to her... though he tried having me killed and her kidnapped, I fear for him."

"Sounds like he's not right in the head if you ask me," grunted Brick apathetically. "Good riddance then…" Finally, Brick got up from the bed. "There's no way I'm going to let anyone hurt her; not Cal, not Metal, not anyone…" then he headed for the door.

------------

It was nighttime, high up in the atmosphere of the city heights. He sat there on top of the tallest building in the city, staring down at all the lights below, with a slight sense of remorse. But he knew it had to be done. Drawing out a communicator, he pressed down a button.

"Metal," he said. "I managed to get some DNA samples of her when she was asleep, and I sent them to you shortly after. However, it cost me my cover, and Whisker is not in your control anymore."

However, eerily enough, there was no reply.

Cal sighed. He figured as much, and even though he was afraid, he stood up from where he sat. "So I accept punishment for my mistake," he murmured to himself.

"Sorry, what was that? I didn't quite catch that." a voice from behind Cal said, and lo and behold, there stood Neo Metal Sonic, his arms held behind his back, and his gaze directed at the sky above them. "You wouldn't want to roll that last part by me once more?"

"I said, I accept punishment for my mistake," Cal spoke up, without looking back at Metal. His hands even started shaking, so he clenched them into fists to keep them still.

"You do, now?" Metal mused, as he walked next to Cal, still looking up at the sky. "Tell me, SNITCH, do you remember how you came to be in my servitude?"

"Yes," Cal replied obediently. "In order to save me from my first mistake, I agreed to work for you."

"And what was that mistake?" Metal asked, without looking at the monkey.

Cal hesitated, and then, "…my mistake was…letting someone guilty of their crime go free. A case I should have solved came undone, and all because of sympathy and feelings for the girl who should have done her time. You ensured that she received her sentence, in order to keep my mistake hidden from the Chaotix."

"Good, good..." Metal nodded, before he finally turned to face the monkey. "And seeing as you made another mistake, what do you think your punishment will be... Calculate?"

"...whatever punishment you see fit," said Cal.

"You are indeed a quick learner, Calculate." Metal chuckled, as his arm slowly turned into a blade. "And though you did give me the DNA of our dear friend Jill, you managed to not only lose control of Whisker, but you failed to kill Miles Prower, or anyone else, for that matter. Now, what do you think I'm going to do to you?"

"...I think you're just about to administer my punishment now," he uttered, shutting his eyes. Jill...I'm really sorry, he thought. You deserve much better than me...

"My dear Calculate..." Metal chuckled, as he raised the bladed arm upwards, preparing for a slash as Cal shuddered...

...but the slash never came. Neither did any damage to Cal's body, as Metal had morphed his bladed arm back into a regular one. "...you're wrong."

Cal slowly opened his eyes. He refused to look back at Metal though, even if he questioned why Metal held it back. "...I am?" he asked.

"Oh, you really do not get it, do you?" Metal chuckled, as he grabbed hold of Cal's chin, lifting it so that he was forced to look upon the Metallix. "Do you honestly think that I would kill you? Let you off the hook so easily? Calculate, you are now an enemy of the Chaotix, of Prower and his grade scholars... of her. You cannot face them without being labeled as my underling, and they will take necessary action to stop you. In short, you're stuck with me. Capuche?"

"...I understand," Cal croaked.

"Good." Metal nodded, before he let go of the monkey. "However, as I see it, you're unfit to serve me... in your current condition." he said, before turning away from Cal. "Even with your fancy ninja outfit; you failed to even scratch anyone but Whisker. Why do you suppose that is, Calculate?"

Cal didn't answer right away. He wasn't even sure how to answer that question. "Because, I..." and then he trailed off.

"It's not a matter of what you did wrong, Calculate." Metal said, as he turned to face Cal again. "Rather, it's the limitations you face with your physical body." Then, he placed a hand on Cal's shoulder. "When I am done with you, Calculate, there will be no conceivable way for you to fail me ever again."

Cal just looked at Metal now, in slight disbelief. "What are you going to do to me?"

Metal merely chuckled, as he stepped away from Cal. "Let's just say that when we're done... you'll be reborn." That would be the last thing Cal heard, as something suddenly struck the back of his head, not with enough force to be lethal, but with enough to knock him out, and Cal blacked out in an instant. Before Cal could collapse, however, a series of silvery tendrils surrounded his body, those tendrils protruding from Metal. "Now... let's get started." Then, he flew off, carrying the monkey with him.