By the time Team Sonic rolled up to Eggman's doorstep, they discovered that said doorstep no longer existed.

"Whut the…" Knuckles approached the gnarled doorway as if in the grip of a dream.

"Did they use dynamite?" Tails marveled, eyes gigantic.

"Chaos blast would work just as well… we better get inside and find them." Sonic's mouth fell into a hard, serious line, his eyes focused as he dove in first with a mantra replaying in his head.

She better be alright…better be alright…


"… Do you know how much I spent constructing the entrance to my fortress? Did it occur to the three of you that I might have installed a doorbell to ring, which decent beings find customary to use when visiting someone else's abode? It'll take weeks to repair!"

"Days if I know you at all, Eggie. Now cough up the emerald or-"

"You have the gall to make demands at my feet, in my lair, at my mercy after the desecration of my front door? You think because I'm an evil genius that I don't deserve to be extended common courtesies such as asking before entering my premises?"

"That's exactly what I think." Rouge grinned coyly, looking at her fingers in nonchalant arrogance.

"Know what I think? You talk too much." Amy smirked, and a hammer appeared out of thin air with a pop in her right hand.

"So the pink one speaks…Amy?" Eggman sputtered, eyes nearly popping out of his head as he adjusted his glasses. "Amy Rose, is that you after all? Well what other annoying pink hammer toting imbecile do I know on this planet. Cheating on your boyfriend, are we?" Eggman leaned forward in his Egg Mobile, flashing his brilliant, maniacal smile. "My word girl. And with the anti-hog, no less. If I wanted to know how to cut to the core of that pesky blue hedgehog, I should've called you years ago." Rouge looked scared, and Shadow looked on in muted wonder at how Amy's face slowly began to morph. Her cheeks began to flush a violent crimson. Her face contorted in rage, and it was hard to believe that she was actually quite cute under that vicious mask of rage. Eggman stopped smiling, and the sublime feeling of the pause before the explosion was electrifying the air, making the hairs on his arms stand up.

"Oh dear…"


"Guys I think this is the right hallway!" Sonic's voice echoed back to the two behind him, who were now panting in agony.

"Oh that's great, because you never said that exactstatement in the past twenty two corridors we've already looked at!"

"Tails, can't you just get those tails going and carry me a bit?"

"Um, can't you glide?"

"Throwin' a party without us Eggy? I'm hurt!" Sonic cackled as he leapt into the smoking room, and he stopped abruptly in the doorway, the other two following behind him colliding with his back spines.

"OW!"

"Sunnuva-"

"Unnnggggh… Ohhhhhh…" Moaned what previously appeared to be a very dead, charred rotund man. Upon his disturbing vocalizations, it was confirmed that yet again, he had somehow managed to avoid death. He was lying prone in a mass of coiling, tattered wires that snapped loudly, and smoking debris. Sonic zipped over to him, secretly resenting the missed action. Nothing had happened for weeks, and the one thing that did, he actually showed up late for, despite being the fastest thing alive? What kind of deal was that, anyway?

"Eggman! Whoa…" He picked the poor bastard out of the rubble, and a chorus of laughter went up as they viewed his face. His moustache had been tied around the back of his head. "That a new look? It works for you. The less of your head I have to see the better."

"That girlfriend of yours has evolved into a proper savage beast and she has pilfered me blind! Just behold what she's done to my-"

"Hey you watch what you say about Amy, I still haven't got minein on you yet-"

"I see she's getting her thrills with an edgier hog now? What is it with women and mass murderers these days-"

"Where did they go? What did you doto them?" Sonic snarled, face pressed up close to Eggman's, who looked befuddled.

"What did I do to them? Have you seen this place, or are you too stupid to notice I've been ransacked?"

"But…" Tails raised a finger "she's not your girlfriend-"

"ENOUGH!" The impatient echidna yelled. "I don't care what happened here, whatever did saves us a day-a work. Now where are the emeralds Eggman?" Knuckles pushed forward and took Eggman about the tattered red coat, shaking him once sharply for emphasis. All three looked at Knuckles dully, and Tails dropped his head into one hand in frustration.

"I love the stupidity of you asking me that, despite the evidence that I have been utterly reduced once more to bare minimum."

"How many did you have?" Sonic demanded, leering down at his nemesis. Eggman flashed another of his wild grins.

"I'm sorry, did we suddenly become allies without my knowledge, or have you forgotten I detest you more than any being that has ever drawn a breath- AAOOOUUUHHHH!" Eggman screamed as Sonic stuck a finger behind his tied moustache and tugged.

"Keep it to yourself, I dare you. You'll be clean shaven in ten, nine, eight-"

"You wouldn't!- OH SWEET MARIA that hurts!-"

"Seven, six, five-"

"AGK! You are simply- AH! I can't take it I can't take it I had three, THREE you abhorrent freak of nature!"

"Love you too, sweetheart." Sonic snickered as he tossed the human egg aside, turning and beginning to walk from the room.

"We better get started on the hunt, they've almost got half!" Sonic exclaimed, adjusting the straps of his shoes quickly.

"Well there's seven. You can't split one in half-"

"Oh shut up, Tails, quit being a douche." Knuckles grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"I am not a douche, it is notmy fault I'm a genius, and I find that term hurtful-"

"Wait!" Eggman cried incredulously. "You can't just leave me here like this!"
Sonic turned back toward him, sporting his trademark side smirk.

"I'm sorry, did we suddenly become allies without my knowledge?"

"Ohhh!" Tails crowed, busting into giggles.

"SNAP!" Knuckles barked, and quick high fives were served amongst them.

"We can take out the tornado and start hunting the rest down, Sonic."

"Have fun with that." Knuckles waved, branching off toward the back exit that the previous three visitors had busted wide open. "I'm going back to Angel Island to check on the Master Emerald. I'll comb the area on the way, then scour the island."

"Alright Knux, meet you there later!" Sonic waved his companion away and turned back to Tails, then reeled in horror as he discovered the twin tailed fox was close to the enemy, inspecting an invention.

"Hey, is this an anti-matter engine? Wow, cool! That's very impressive, Eggman!"

"Would you expect any less from a mind such as this? And I have adjusted it to reach warp thirty."

"WHAT? Warp thirty? No way! But at that speed, how do you keep the brain from flattening against the back of the skull?"

"Well it's quite simple really, if you arrive at your deductions logically-"
Sonic zipped over and stole the fox away, letting him go in the doorway with a disgruntled expression.

"Yeah thanks for trying to give Tails the villainy 101 course, but we've got emeralds to find. Come on Tails, before he fashions an evil henchman outta ya. Eggman builds mechs for the purpose of listening to him ramble, we don't have to put up with this."

Tails hung his head, delivering an irresistibly guilty yet precious look.

"Sorry Sonic, I'll try to stay focused." He pouted, and the blue blur had a chuckle at him.

"It's a good thing you're not a super villain. With a disgustingly cute act that, Mobius would fall to tyranny in weeks."


"Amy, can I talk to you a minute?" Rouge swooped down and landed to question as the three of them were exploring the expansive trails, scouting the land for evidence of an emerald. Shadow was walking ahead of them, weary of straying too close to Rouge while possessing three emeralds.

"Sure, couldn't hurt if I'm not carrying those jewels." She snickered, and Rouge raised a brow with a wry grin.

"Ha, ha…" She elbowed, briefly sending the pink hedgehog from the trail. "I'm going to get serious on you. Can you handle that?"

"Well that depends. What is this about?"

"It's about you." She hesitated. "And Sonic." Amy sucked in a sharp breath and released it in a hissing, irritated spurt. "I know, I know…"

"I figured. What now."

"I just- it's strange, not hearing you talk about him, not seeing you interact with him. But he's obviously a tender spot for you, considering the hell you just laid down on Eggman. What's the deal? Are you going to stay mad at him forever?"

"I am angry, Rouge. I'm not going to lie about that." She refused to meet the bats calm gaze, flicking at stones as she walked along the gravel. "It doesn't mean I don't like him at all anymore, I just… I realized that the way I was living was not the way I imagined myself being when I got to this age."

"I hear you on that… I thought I'd be a secret agent, an actress, a model… hell a waitress by now, but I never imagined I'd be a professional thief."

"Better than being a professional boy chaser." Amy flushed, and Rouge smiled warmly. "I mean… is that all that I am? Am I nothing more? I just… having that argument with Sonic in the field, realizing how ill equipped for battle I really was, seeing how responsible he felt for my safety… I just felt so pathetic. I never wanted to feel that way again. And I thought that maybe perhaps…" She rubbed her arms, and hated how her eyes began stinging then.

"Amy…" Rouge soothed, briefly stroking her hair.

"I wanted to gain my own self respect. Alright? And tonight, I've earned that. But I kind of thought… and I mean, I don't expect it, but perhaps he would actually respect me, or at least look at me as an equal if I amounted to more than just his pink shadow."
Rouge drifted down closer, taking in Amy's distant, forlorn expression. She was silent for some time, and then she moved in close enough to quietly murmur in Amy's ear.

"I can't speak for Sonic, because you never know what hemight be thinking. Maybe he'll do a one eighty, maybe things will stay the same…"

"I don't expect anything to change." Amy said solemnly, still avoiding the bats gaze.
Another brief pause, and then Rouge's deep voice returned quieter than ever: "But there might be somebody who already sees you as an equal. Did you ever consider that?" Amy appeared briefly confused, then she seemed to start suddenly, eyes flicking up to the dark form ahead of them.
With his striking ruby gaze, shadow glanced over his shoulder at them suspiciously, all darkness and silence. When he noticed they were both looking at him, he quickly looked ahead again.
Amy's mouth fell into a small, silent O.

Rouge returned to the sky, grinning mischievously.
Well, if Shadow wasn't going to say anything, he could hardly expect her to keep her mouth shut.


Great to take a break from all this schoolwork and write again guys! Am having a blast writing this story, I already have half of the next chapter written. ;)