Sonic finished putting Tails to bed, promising himself he'd stay with Tails the rest of the night after Shadow left just to make sure the fox actually slept. The last thing he wanted was for Tails to freak out again.

Or to attack him again.

If Tails really hasn't been sleeping since Esplouge died, Sonic thought as he headed down the stairs, then he's going on a few solid months of sleep deprivation. That would drive anyone insane.

.. Then again, how much of what he says can I really trust anymore?

Sonic felt guilty for leaving Tails alone after Esplouge had died, for assuming that Tails had just needed some space. He should have known that something was wrong. There had been signs that he could no longer deny, signs that things weren't quite right with the fox, but Sonic had overwritten all of those signs as Tails going through a sort of mourning period.

And now, Sonic realized, he was completely disgusted with himself for it. He was disgusted with himself for letting his friend go through this hell all by himself. He knew there was something more he could have done, some magical thing that he could have done to prevent all of this insanity, and what had he done? He had left Tails all alone, forced him to suffer alone, to go completely insane and feel that no one was there to help him.

Sonic walked into the kitchen and saw that Shadow was still there, now holding the glass that Tails had tried to kill him with earlier.

Sonic suddenly had a horrible mental image of Shadow trying to kill him with the glass, as if Tails' insanity were an infection and Shadow was just another victim of that infection.

I'm going to kill you,Sonic heard in his mind, in both Esplouge's voice as well as Shadow's. It occurred to him for the first time just how similar their voices sounded. I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to enjoy every. Last. Second.

Sonic felt his body tence up, his imagination playing tricks on his mind, telling him that Shadow was going to hurt him even though rational thought told him otherwise. Shadow was there to help him figure out what was wrong with Tails, Shadow would never...

Shadow would never hurt me, Sonic thought. We may hate each other, but I don't think he'd ever try to kill me.

... At least, I hope not.

"I've always wondered why he used glass," Shadow mused, bringing Sonic's mind back to reality. "Do you think he ever told Tails?"

"... I have no idea," Sonic answered flatly, feeling mentally and emotionally drained. "Look, I'm tired and a little freaked out right now, so if we can just get to the point..."

Shadow regarded Sonic, seeming a little surprised that the usually energetic hedgehog was suddenly so drained and serious. He set the glass down on the counter before speaking.

"I'm still not sure which one of them killed Amy," Shadow said. "I'd like to think it was Esplouge, but..."

"If we could just get to what you do know," Sonic prompted. "Other deaths were mentioned, let's talk about that."

Shadow paused for a moment before speaking.

"Tails did kill some people the night Esplouge died," Shadow explained slowly. "I'm not sure how many. I just walked up on him and... Well, he wasn't happy, to say the least."

"What. Happened?" Sonic asked angrily, surprising Shadow again.

"... Tails claimed to be Esplouge, for one thing," Shadow explained. "He did the same thing to you, right?"

Sonic nodded.

"I asked him what the hell he was doing," Shadow continued. "I... Try to imagine it, Sonic. Try to imagine him looking so much like that monster. I thought he was Esplouge at first. I seriously thought it was him until he looked at me. It was dark out, but his fur is so much lighter than Esplouge's was... Well, the parts of his fur that didn't have blood on it, anyway..."

"How'd he react?" Sonic asked, trying to keep Shadow on track.

"He tried to kill me," Shadow answered flatly. "With glass, like Esplouge used to do."

"And then what?" Sonic asked.

"I got the hell out of there," Shadow said. "I didn't want to hurt him. I know how much that would have pissed you off. So I ran the moment I saw an opening after trying to talk some sense into him. You should have been there, Sonic. He was acting so much like Esplouge... And considering the way he acted when he saw me, I'd assume he must have known how much Esplouge hated me..."

"What makes you say that?" Sonic asked, cutting Shadow off.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shadow asked. "Tails was acting like him, even claiming to be him, but... Well, Tails wouldn't be able to act exactlylike Esplouge had. He'd only be able to recreate what he knew of Esplouge. But the way he attacked me... Tails only saw Esplouge and I fight once, and even then, it was very brief. There's no way Tails would have known how to act then unless Esplouge had mentioned it at some point."

"You do realize how insane this sounds, don't you?" Sonic asked flatly. "So, what, since Tails sometimes claims to be Esplouge, that automatically means he has a split personality or something? Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?"

"I didn't say that," Shadow said. "I'm just telling you what I know of the situation. You've been around him more than I have these past few months. I assume you know more about what's going on with him than I do."

Sonic's eyes wandered toward the ground guiltily.

"I've actually only been here for a couple of days," Sonic admitted. "Tails seemed like he needed some space after Esplouge died, and... Well, I was practically celebrating that little bastard's death, so naturally, I assumed Tails wouldn't want to be around me. If I had known about what was going on with him..."

"I guess you had no way of knowing," Shadow said. "If I had known you weren't going to be around him, I would have told you about it sooner. But other than claiming to be Esplouge, how has Tails been acting since you've been here?"

"He... I dunno. He seems to be in another place sometimes," Sonic said. "Like he's not all here mentally. Heh, you used to get like that sometimes, didn't you?"

Sonic offered a weak smile, trying to appear his usual silly self. He knew that Shadow saw right through it, but it made him feel a little better anyway.

"We really didn't know anything about Esplouge, did we?" Shadow asked, looking away from Sonic and back to the glass lying harmlessly on the counter as he spoke.

Sonic gave the dark hedgehog a quizzical look.

"Where did that come from?"

"Every time Tails talks about him... It's like he brings up something completely new every time," Shadow said. "We really don't know anything about him."

"... Again, where is this coming from, exactly?" Sonic asked.

"Think about it. All we ever really knew about Esplouge was that he was insane and homicidal. But Tails knew him a lot better than that."

"Well, yeah," Sonic said. "Tails spent a lot more time around him than we did, and I'm pretty sure he only slept when Esplouge was out killing more people."

"And why would you assume that?" Shadow asked.

"'Cause Tails said that Esplouge had... problems... sleeping..."

As Sonic spoke, he felt Shadow's point sink in. He realized that to everyone save for Tails, Esplouge was somewhat of a mystery, an enigma; which meant that if Tails thought he was Esplouge, his actions would be almost entirely unpredictable.

"And we know that Esplouge tortured him, so Tails was likely only able to sleep when Esplouge was away at that time," Shadow finished. "And none of us knew that Esplouge was an experiment until he told Tails about it. I had my suspicions and all, but I never had any proof..."

"... We really don't know anything about him," Sonic said. "Esplouge, I mean."

Sonic and Shadow remained in an awkward silence for a moment before Sonic spoke up again.

"So, what should we do about this mess?" Sonic asked. "Tails probably won't listen to us if we just up and tell him he's crazy."

And I'm not willing to accept that quite yet, Sonic thought bitterly. There's gotta be some other explanation...

"So what should we do?" Sonic finished.

"... I don't know," Shadow admitted.

He's not really Esplouge, so Sonic would never let me kill him, Shadow thought, eyeing the glass on the counter, wanting nothing more than to pick it up and slash Esp- Tails' throat and see the end of the insanity. Still... That would be the easiest solution to this little problem...

"If anything, we should observe him for a while to see just how dangerous he is," Shadow continued, forcing his eyes back to Sonic. "If he has any triggers that cause him to act... the way he's been acting. The more we understand the situation, the better our chances to fix it."

"... Yeah, I guess," Sonic agreed. "So, are you gonna stay here with us or what?"

"Hunh?"

"Well, you said that we should observe him," Sonic pointed out. "That includes you, too, buddy. So, are you gonna stay here with us or just drop in from time to time?"

Shadow appeared uncomfortable.

If I stay here with them, Shadow thought, then there'll be nothing to stop me from simply picking up that glass after Sonic falls asleep and...

"I... I'd rather not stay here with him, to be honest," Shadow said awkwardly. "I'll always be a phone call away if you need me, though."

There was a pause, and Shadow added a bit cynically;

"And don't call me unless you have an actual reason to."

"Ha ha, you know I'd never abuse the privilege of having your cell number," Sonic teased. "But seriously, this isn't the best time for jokes. Maybe after we get all of this resolved."

I'll have to remember to change my cell number,Shadow thought, observing Sonic's cheeky grin with disgust. That is, of course, if he isn't driven insane by the end of this.

Shadow shuddered at the thought. He wasn't sure why, but something about the thought just felt so...

He couldn't find the right word for it. But something inside Shadow right then told him to stay with Sonic and Tails, that something terrible was going to happen, but he ignored the feeling. After all, he felt no obligation to protect either of them, and he wanted to stay as far away from Tails as possible.

"Well," Shadow said, pushing down the feeling of unease, "I'll be off then."

"See ya," Sonic said, watching Shadow leave. He had honestly wanted Shadow to stay with them, feeling that outnumbering Tails would have been helpful in case of another attack, but he wasn't about to drop to his knees and beg Shadow to stay. He still had his dignity.

Sonic waited in the kitchen for a moment before going upstairs to check on Tails, hoping that the fox was at least asleep. He opened Tails' door a crack and peered in. At the very least, it looked like Tails was asleep, but after all that had been going on, Sonic wasn't so sure if Tails was really sleeping.

What am I thinking? Tails was probably exaggerating, there's no way he'd be able to even fake sanity if he hasn't been sleeping for so long...

Nevertheless, Sonic crept quietly into the room, trying to catch a sign of Tails being awake. He sure looked like he was asleep.

"Tails?" Sonic whispered, not wanting to wake the fox up if he was actually asleep. "You awake?"

Tails didn't respond.

Sonic accepted this as proof that the fox was asleep, so he quietly crept out of the room, closing the door gently behind him. His mind cried out for him to stay with Tails, to make sure he slept, but his body was crying out for sleep, so he quickly made his way to the guest room, prepared for a nice, long rest. He was sure Tails would be okay until the morning hit.


Tails rolled over when he heard the door close and stared into the darkness, just as he had been doing since Sonic had made him go to bed. Of course, he hadn't slept the whole time, not even a wink. He had just stared into the darkness, as if waiting.

What he was waiting for, however, even he didn't know. All he knew was that he felt an urge, one he had felt numerous times since Esplouge had died, although it was something he still didn't understand.

He wanted to see red. Lots and lots of red.

The smell of blood really is quite intoxicating,he heard Esplouge say in his mind. Tails sat up and saw Esplouge sitting at the foot of his bed, smirking to himself. Don't you want to smell it again?

"But it's wrong..." Tails said. "Isn't it? Killing people is wrong."

We don't have to kill anyone, then,he heard Esplouge say. We can just cut them over and over... Over and over...

"But hurting people is..."

Tails felt Esplouge pin him down, just as he always had when he was still alive.

But, of course, Esplouge was still alive. In Tails' mind, Esplouge was still alive. How else could Tails still talk to him?

Tails stared into Esplouge's eyes, scared by how dull they appeared.

You're going to have to get used to this, Tails heard Esplouge say. All of this. I will never leave you alone, for as long as you live.

"But... I don't want you to leave," Tails said. "I don't want you to d-die."

Esplouge smiled darkly.

Well, that's good. Because when you die, the very last thing you see will be my face staring back at you. And then after you die, we will be together forever and ever. For all eternity, it will be just me and you.

"Because we're friends, right?" Tails asked timidly. "You're staying with me because we're friends?"

Of course. We're best friends.

Tails sat back up, watching what he believed was Esplouge walk towards the door.

Are you coming?

"What do you mean?" Tails asked. "Sonic said that, maybe, I should be getting some sleep. I mean, we haven't slept in days, and didn't that give you problems before...?"

We're going to play a game before going to sleep.

Tails appeared unsure.

Come on. Just one short, teeny-tiny little game, and then you can go to sleep for as long as you want. I promise.

Tails decided that that sounded good enough, so he hopped out of bed and followed Esplouge down the stairs.