Nine

A/N: I took a look at my profile the day I uploaded the last chapter and I was surprised to find the number of hits this story has gotten. Thanks for that. Also, I couldn't think of a good name for this chapter so I went with Nine. Let me know what you would have called it. Thanks. Rated M. Enjoy!

Tails

Tails sat back down next to Sally. Luckily, she had bought the lie. Tails let out a sigh of relief. He had always been a pretty convincing liar when he needed to be. He didn't like to; he found it an off-putting characteristic in people. It was like his father always told him: 'Trust the word of a liar as far as you could throw him.' He would always say. Tails didn't understand what he meant until he was older. His father always had little sayings that only now he began recognizing there true meaning. Tails couldn't remember much about his father or mother. He did know that he was adopted. His parents had left him with an orphanage when he was just five, unable to take care of him themselves. They had left a letter to be given to Tails only when he reached a certain age. His biological parents had told the headmistress of the orphanage their story. They were both very poor and were unable to raise a child on what little money they both had, unable to even feed themselves at times, much less a child.

They both made the decision to give Tails up in the hopes of a better life. Once he reached the appropriate age, the headmistress had told him everything about his biological parents. She was a kind woman. Never too strict with any of the children. Of course she did punish, but it wasn't harsh and the children had grown up respecting her for it. They had even given her the nickname 'Grandma'. At first, he didn't believe it. 'Who would let there only child be put into a place like this?' He thought. It wasn't the ideal place to raise children. The entire building was falling apart, cracks in the walls, holes in the ceiling, the usual stuff that happened to a building that suffered less than routine upkeep. During the winter, it was common for the roof to leak heavily in the common room, which was just a giant room filled with beds and children. When it did rain, which wasn't very often no matter the season, the water would make its way into the room, covering the floor with a layer of water. Not a problem until you had to get up to go to the bathroom.

He couldn't understand why his parents had left him in a place like this. 'How could anyone be so cruel?' He often asked himself. He had only been there a year until a couple had come looking to adopt. It was the standard routine. Everyone was marched out for inspection. Sure it was embarrassing, but worth it if you were chosen. The couple knew this wasn't a pleasurable experience for the children or themselves as well. They didn't like choosing a child in this fashion. It had been the same in the last two orphanages' they had been to. Unable to conceive children of their own, they went with the only option available to them. Both looked the children over lined up before them. This was the last orphanage around and they were both tired of looking. Of course, it didn't help that the kids they had seen before weren't the most behaved or polite. This orphanage seemed different. The kids were well behaved and clean, despite their surroundings. The headmistress was kind, not like the others they had met earlier. She wasn't forceful or deceitful. They had found a girl they both wanted in a place they had been in earlier, and when they tried to adopt her, the headmistress of that facility tried to persuade them to take another child with them.

They were both about to give up when they came upon Tails. Tails' eyes locked with the man's eyes. He didn't look away. He noticed the one's that were adopted the most were the ones that made eye contact. He also noticed that it took the right amount of confidence as well. The man got down on one knee, his hands folded on the one in front of him.

"What's your name?" The man asked. Is he talking to me? Tails thought. In the year that he had been in the orphanage, every couple that had come looking to adopt had never given him a second look, what with the two tails he had. He had even begun to experiment using them, seeing how long he could stay up in the air. At first it had only been for a few seconds. Over time, he improved his newfound ability, able to stay in the air for minutes at a time. The most being almost fifteen minutes.

Tails was caught off-guard by the man's question, but he managed not to let it show on his face. "My name's Miles." He replied, confidently. He also noticed that every one that went before him had been confident, but not too confident. They presented themselves in a way that said: 'I want to go with you, but if you don't choose me, that's OK.'

"Miles, huh? Hi Miles, my name's Steve and this is Mary." Steve said gesturing a hand towards the woman standing beside him. Mary put her hand up and gave a small wave. "Hi Miles." She said. Tails returned the gesture in kind. "Hi." He replied. Steve got up off the floor and rejoined his wife. They both turned to each other and began whispering in each other's ears, almost as if they were deciding Tails' fate, which ironically was happening. They both stopped and turned to the headmistress. "We've decided." They said in unison.

The headmistresses' eyes lit up. It was always a joyous occasion when one of the children was adopted. It meant three things. One, money for the orphanage. The state provided a large amount to an orphanage that had a couple adopt one of its children. Two, it meant the child or in the rare case, children that were adopted, were given a better life than the orphanage could provide, and three, a couple could have a child to call their own.

The headmistress motioned for the couple to follow her. "Well follow me and we'll get the paperwork started." She said. The couple followed behind her, happily anticipating time with their new son. After the three had left, Tails let out a long sigh. Finally, he was about to leave. He started to make his way over to his bed to start packing his belongings when the other children had gathered around him. There were about twenty children in the room including Tails, and most of them were older than he was, ranging anywhere from 5 to 17 years old. Once a child had hit eighteen, they were told that they could not stay there any longer since they were considered an adult.

The kids that were in the room with Tails circled around him, making escape impossible. Tails looked around nevously, trying desperately to find an escape route, but there was none to be had. "What makes you so special?" One asked. "Yeah. We're just as good, so why are you so damn special?" Another asked. Tails began to panic. This was the first time had ever saw them react in this manner whenever one of them was adopted. Sure, they were all disappointed, but they had never acted like this. A boy standing behind him started laughing. "Hey, you guys think we should do something special for Miles before he leaves forever?" He asked. Another responded. "Oh yeah."

They all rushed him at once. Tails shut his eyes and prepared for the barrage of punches that he was about to receive. But he felt none. They grabbed Tails quickly and began tossing him up into the air in a joyous celebration, happy that one of them was finally leaving. Tails realized what were happening and his fear quickly melted into joy. He had never felt as accepted has he had at that moment. Of course, it wasn't like he had no friends there. He knew everyone that was there, some more that others. The laughter in the room had not been heard for a long time, and after tossing him up and down for a few minutes they finally let him down. Tails didn't want it to end. He righted himself and looked around at the sea of faces looking back at him. The faux anger that had been on there faces had been replaced with a mixture of happiness and sadness.

"Hey Miles, you better get your stuff ready. They should be coming back soon." The oldest one said. The ring of kids that surrounded Tails had parted so he could gather his stuff. He walked over to his bed and reached under it and pulled out a box that was his 'closet'. He opened it to make sure everything was still inside it and it was. There wasn't much in it. Just a few clothes that had been given to him by Grandma and a couple of books. Tails shut the lid and looked up. One of the older boys that were there was standing in front of him on the other side of the bed. "Come with me." He said. He was unsure what the boy's motives were, but curiosity got the best of him. He followed the boy over to where his bed was. His name was Robert, but everyone called him 'Judge'. He earned the nickname since everyone came to him to solve their problems when Grandma wasn't around. They both stopped by the foot of Judge's bed. "So what's going on?" Tails asked.

Judge looked at him and smiled. "All right everyone, you know the drill. Turn around and cover your ears." He said. "What the..." Tails wondered out loud. This was something new to him. Judge got down on the floor and crawled under the bed. Tails heard something open and Judge grunting. A minute later he pulled a box out from underneath the floor. He picked it up and placed it on the bed. He opened it and Tails couldn't believe his eyes. It was filled with every kind of treat imaginable. Cookies, candy, soda. Stuff that outside the walls of the orphanage were everyday things. But in that place, it was a rare treat. Tails couldn't believe that someone had something like this underneath their bed. "Where did you get this?" He asked.

Judge looked at him. "I guess there's no harm in telling you. The five of us that are oldest, including me, sneak out at night and take this stuff. We get tired of the same crap that Grandma feeds us and we need something different. I know it's not her fault. I mean, she does her best with what she has, but we need change every now and then. Wouldn't you agree?" Judge asked. Tails thought about it and agreed with him. After all, one would go crazy doing the same thing day after day. "That's what I thought. Go get your stuff." He said. Tails turned around and walked over to his bed. He grabbed his box of belongings and walked back over to where Judge was standing. "Open it." Judge said. Tails did as he was told. Judge grabbed a handful of candy and threw it in, along with a small pack of cookies and a soda. "What're those for?" Tails asked. The only time anyone of them got anything like this, it was during their birthday. Judge looked at him and smiled. "Think of it as a going away present." Judge said. He closed the lid on the box and crawled back under the bed and placed the box back in it's hiding place. "There we go. Don't tell anyone I have that." Judge said. "Tell them what?" Tails said and smiled. Judge didn't say a word and turned his attention toward the group of kids on the other side of the room. "Okay everyone. You can turn around now." He said loud enough so they could hear.

The group turned around and faced Tails and Judge. "Damn man. Just what the hell you have over there?" One boy asked. Judge gave him a sharp look. "Just never you mind." He said. Tails and Judge headed back over to the group when Grandma and his new parents walked back into the room. Grandma smiled at him, a mix of both happiness and sadness on her face. She didn't even try to hide her feelings. "Well Tails, good news, looks like these good people want to take you with them. You'd better gather your things." She said, a tear rolling down the side of her face. "Okay." Tails said. The fox walked over to the bed he had slept in for the last year. He reached out for his box and stopped. A flood of memories washed over him. He realized that once he left, all the friends he had made would be left behind. Tails started to cry. Suddenly, instead of wanting to leave, he wanted to stay. His new parents rushed over to his side, both trying to comfort their new son. Grandma took a step towards him, but stopped herself. Even though it was her job to be there for one of her kids, Tails was no longer one of them. She fought back the tears, letting only a few squeeze out. Steve and Mary knelt beside their boy, both wrapping an arm around his head, letting him know they were there for him.

"What's wrong son?" Steve asked. 'Heh. Son. Never thought I'd ever say that.' Tails looked at his new dad, tears matting the hair around his eyes. "I don't want to leave my friends." Tails said, burying his head in Steve's shoulder. Mary smiled softly, bending down and whispering something into Steve's ear. She stood back up and Steve pulled his son gently away from himself. "That's what this is about?" He asked. "Well, I'll tell you what. What if I bring you here whenever you wanted? That way you could come with us and you wouldn't be leaving your friends. Would you like that?" Steve asked. Tails wiped the tears away from his eyes. "Really?" He asked. "Of course. You're my-our son. We'd do anything for you." Steve said.

Tails smiled. "Yeah." He said. "Ok then. Grab your stuff." Steve said. Tails grabbed the box off his bed and the three walked over to the door. Tails turned and faced the group one last time as a member of their family. "Thank you everyone." Tails said. "I'll be sure to come back as soon as I can." He said. Tails caught up with his mother and father just outside. "So can we really come back here? As much as I want?" Tails asked. Steve smiled. "Of course we can. Did you forget already?" He asked.

"No," Tails said. "I just want to make sure this isn't a dream." He said, climbing into the car and shutting the door. Steve and Mary followed suit. Steve started the engine and pulled away. 'Finally, I have parents. True parents.' Tails thought. He looked out the back window, watching the only family he knew pull away from him.

Scourge

It had been an hour since Scourge locked himself in his room. In that time, he hadn't even moved off the bed. When he ran in, he locked the door behind him, turned on the light and climbed onto the bed, pulling his legs up to his chest in the fetal position. He had never seen Sonic or anyone else with eyes like he had seen. They were filled with a rage on a level, which he had never seen or heard of before. Just the thought of it made him shiver again. Who could blame him? He almost killed his best friend after all. Who wouldn't be mad after that? Scourge took a deep breath and let it out. "I wish I had my weed with me. At least I'd have something to calm me down." He said. No matter what happened, pot had always calmed him down. It was his security blanket. "Fuck." He said, sitting up on the bed. Scourge looked around for any trace of weed; anything would do at this point. "Come on. There's gotta be something lying around here." He said, frantically searching for the smallest bits. "Dammit." He said, coming up empty. The thought of going out to get what he had left on the table in front of the couch had crossed his mind, but left as quickly as it came. 'I don't want to see or hear you until I say it's OK to come out.' The words Sonic had spoken rang in his head like a siren. Scourge buried his head in his hands, took another deep breath and let it out. "Okay. Just calm down. I'm sure he'll be over it soon." Scourge decided that since he had no weed and no plan, he might as well watch TV. "I'm so glad I had one put in here." He said to himself. He grabbed the remote and turned it on. Scourge mindlessly flipped through the channels, finding nothing. "Oh good. Stuck in here, no weed and there's crap on TV. Yup. Might as well- oh sweet! Spongebob!" He said, smiling. Scourge grabbed the pillow, put it behind him and propped himself up. He finally began to let his guard down when he heard a knock at the door. "Hey Scourge, when you get done in there, I want to talk to you." Sonic said. Scourge tensed up again. Fuck! "O-okay." He said. He didn't hear any anger in the tone of Sonic's voice or any emotion at all, and it sent a chill down Scourge's spine.

Sonic

Sonic waited after Spongebob had went off before getting Scourge, just like he planned. He walked over to the door and knocked on it. He heard the TV even at the low volume Scourge had set it at. Wow. He's actually listening for once. Let's see if I can take this a little further. "Hey Scourge, when you get done in there, I want to talk to you." Sonic took the emotion out of his voice, furthering his plan. "O-okay." He heard Scourge reply. Sonic walked away and sat back down on the couch. He heard a door open and shut behind him. "It's ok to come out?" Scourge asked, still scared that Sonic was going to flip out and try to kill him at any time. "Yeah." Sonic said, his voice emotionless. "Sit."

Scourge didn't waste any time and sat down by Sonic, scooting as far away as he could. "So, what's going on?" Scourge asked nervously. Sonic didn't even look at him. "You know, I thought you were a friend. Someone I could count on. I came to you looking for help, when I was in need. Sure you busted my balls at first, but I knew that you were just messing with me. But I guess I was wrong." Sonic said. At this point, Scourge wanted to crawl under the couch and die. He hadn't ever felt as bad as he had at that moment.

Sonic stood up and looked at Scourge. "You know, I thought about what you said. About how it was an accident. How you 'accidentally' grabbed the wrong syringe." Sonic took a step toward Scourge, his face level with his. "I have only one thing to say." Sonic said. Scourge shrank back and closed his eyes, waiting for the beating to come. "What?" Scourge asked meekly.

"You were right." Sonic said. Scourge opened his eyes, wondering for a second why he wasn't being hit. "I was right?" He asked. Sonic sat down by him. "Yeah. I only did this to scare you. At first I was pissed. But then I saw these." Sonic said, pointing to the black cases on the table.

Scourge realized what had happened and began to breathe again. "Look man, I'm sorry." Scourge said. "At the time, I just panicked, I-" Sonic stopped him. "It's OK. But let me ask you a question. Why did you grab both? Why didn't you just open them and make sure you had the right one?" Sonic asked. Scourge shifted so he could face Sonic better. "Believe it or not," He began, " From the time you passed out until the paramedics came is just a blur. I only remember that you were talking, then there were paramedics working on you." Scourge said.

Sonic did believe it. He had been through it himself. When he was trapped in Amy's house for the four days when she disappeared. It had all been a blur. He only remembered what had happened because Sally had dragged him to a psychiatrist. At first, he didn't want to go, saying he didn't need it. But after a few visits, he knew that it was good for him. And even after that, he didn't remember much about that time with Amy.

Sonic began to speak again. "OK. What about the heroin? You don't look like you use it, so why do you have it?" He asked. "I only have it so I can sell it when I need the money. I've tried getting a job, but no one will hire a guy like me. Especially around here. Most of the people here are like me. They sell to make a living. But unlike them, I don't use up what I have. Well, except the pot. But I'm the only one who gets my stuff for free. My dealers a good friend of mine. Known him for years. Plus he's got money coming out the ass. He can afford to give me what I need for free and it won't hurt him even a little."

Sonic took everything in. "OK." Sonic said. "What do you say we just forget the whole thing happened and put it past us?" Scourge smiled a little. "Yeah. Look. I'm sorry-" Sonic cut him off. "It's behind us now." Sonic said. "OK. So what now?" Scourge asked.

Sonic grabbed the pipe off the table and held it in front of Scourge. "Shall we tap another bowl?" He asked. Scourge laughed. "Well, I guess that's one way to put an end to the day." He said.

Tails

Shadow's words had been burning in Tails' mind since Shadow had shown up. It didn't make sense. Why give Sonic two weeks instead of bringing him back then? Why not take Knuckles and me with him and bring him back? It doesn't add up. The only part of it that made sense towas keeping everything from Sally. If Shadow had one of them had found him before he had shown up in Metropolis, while he was still coming down from the Phenotol, it would have been easier for him to sober up. Now it would be harder to get him to come clean. The hardest part of it all was keeping it from Sally. He wanted to tell her 'I know where Sonic is.' In fact, he wanted to yell it from the rooftops, but he wasn't sure what Shadow would do to him if he did. So he decided it would be best to keep it quiet.

"What time is- oh wow, it's already nine?" Sally said, stretching her arms as far as they would reach. Her shoulder made a popping sound, like when someone pressed the lid on a jar of jelly, only quieter. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. What about you?" She asked. Tails smiled, "I think I've got a couple more hours left in me." He said. Even if everything was normal, he couldn't go to sleep anyway. "I'll be going in a little while." Sally turned and headed toward the hallway. "Okay. Well goodnight Tails." She said. "Night Sally." Tails replied. He heard the door to Sally's room open, shut then lock. Tails sat there in the glow of the TV, not even bothering to watch it. He was too lost in thought. "Let's see." Tails whispered to himself. It was a habit he had. Talking to himself made it the thinking process easier. He thought about going to see Sonic himself but quickly dismissed it. "No. I'd just want to bring him back. No telling how Shadow would react." No matter what he came up with, nothing panned out. Tails sat for two hours, trying to come up with a solution around Shadow's plan, but couldn't think of one. "Ugh. I give up." Tails said, threw his hands up, grabbed the remote and watched TV.

Sonic

This has been one hell of a day. First, everything's going good, then, Shadow busts in and almost kills me. Then, someone tries to gives me an overdose of heroin. Then I get electrocuted. Then Spongebob. Yup. Great day. Sonic sat in his groove on the couch, pondering the day's events. By this point, he and Scourge were both wasted. They both wore the perpetual stoner look on their faces. Eyes half open, lips forming the slightest of smiles, body completely relaxed. Either barely making any movements. Laughing at nothing. Life at that point was good. "Dude, what time is it?" Sonic asked. When they were both high, time seemed to stand still. "Food time. I'm hungry as balls." Scourge replied, pulling himself off the couch and wandering into the kitchen to round something up. "Dammit Scourge, what time is it?" Sonic repeated.

"I said its food time, bitch." Scourge said. "Fuck you." Sonic replied. Scourge laughed. "Did you not ask what time it is?" Sonic laughed too. "Yeah. Guess I walked into that one." Sonic said. "Can you make me something?" Sonic asked. "I don't feel like moving right now. The couch won't let me." The couch had become a best friend. Of course, it didn't help that he had spent almost all of his time stoned. The only times that he wasn't stoned were when he first woke up, Scourge ran out of weed or when he didn't feel like it, which wasn't often, and since Scourge's dealer was a good friend, and the weed was free, there was a lot of it. Sonic heard Scourge moving around in the kitchen. "Well, were you going to make me something or not?" Sonic repeated.

"I'm sorry sir, the kitchen is closed." Scourge replied. Sonic laughed. "Well what gives you the right to be in there?" Sonic asked. "I want to talk to the manager."

"Will you be quiet? This is a library." Scourge said. Sonic laughed harder. "What the hell are you rambling on about?" Sonic asked. "I don't know. I'm stoned. Leave me alone." Scourge replied. He came back a minute later, carrying a plate of sandwiches. "Damn man. How hungry are you?" Sonic asked. Scourge had come back with about ten sandwiches. "Hey. When I get hungry, I get hungry." Scourge said. "I guess." Sonic said, grabbing one and taking a bite. Ten minutes later and they were gone. Scourge set the plate on the table and reached for his pipe. "Oops. Looks like I'm out of weed." Scourge said holding an empty bag. "Be right back." Scourge said. He got up and walked into his room. By now Sonic's high had almost worn off and he began to see the world through sober eyes again. Things that had been interesting a few hours ago seemed stupid. "Dude, you watching this?" Sonic asked. "Ow, fuck! No. Go ahead." Scourge replied.

Sonic grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels. The only sounds in the house were coming from the TV indiscriminately and from Scourge cursing when he didn't find anything. Sonic didn't find anything on TV and put it back on what they had been watching before. Scourge came back a minute later. "Well, I've got good news and bad news." He said. "And what is that?" Sonic asked. "Good news is I found my other bag. The bad news is it's empty." Scourge said, holding up an empty bag. "So what happens now?" Sonic asked. "Don't worry. I'll get some more tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed. Later." Scourge said. "See ya." Sonic replied. "Well if he's going I guess the party's over." Sonic said and lay down on the couch, alone with his thoughts.

Tails

Tails laid on the couch in Sally's house, trying to go to sleep for hours, but he had too much on his mind. All of it involving Sonic. He just couldn't stop thinking about it. Tails sat up rubbing his eyes. He looked at the clock. '1:00 a.m.' "Well that's just great." Tails said. He had never been one to stay up late. He found no purpose in doing so. He sat up and reached for the remote, but stopped. "Eh. What's the point? There's nothing on." He said. Outside it was a beautiful night. The moon was full and shining brightly, not a cloud in the sky. Tails got up and walked to the back door. He looked out the small window in the door and looked outside. The moon was bright enough that it illuminated everything enough making it possible to see. Tails thought being outside a while might do him some good. After all, the last time he had left the house was when he and Sally had gone to the mall. Even though it was only yesterday, it felt like an eternity to him. Tails didn't like to be indoors for too long. The only time it didn't bother him was when he was in the lab.

Tails tiptoed over to where his phone was and grabbed it, always making sure he had it with him no matter where he was. He quietly made his way back over to the door and as quiet as possible, he unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. It made a slight squeaking sound as it opened. Tails walked outside and shut the door behind him, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was relaxing outside. Since it was fall, it was that time of year where it wasn't warm, yet it wasn't cold. It was just right. Sally and Sonic's house sat in the middle of a field just a few miles outside of town. Close enough in case they needed something or there was an emergency, yet far enough it was out in the country, away from the hectic life of the city.

Tails walked out into the yard, choosing a spot that suited him and sat down. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. There wasn't another house around that he could see. It was all open fields. The moonlight giving the grass a bright bluish-green tint. Various animals could be heard in the distance, their calls carrying on the wind. Tails sat in Sally and Sonic's backyard, taking in the quietness of nature. And for the first time in his life, he stopped thinking about anything. His mind drifting into quiet solitude. He smiled. "So this is what it must be like to live in a perfect world." He said. It was a foreign feeling. He had never been able to shut off his brain like that. It had always been thinking, the gears always turning. He felt...normal.

Tails laid down in the yard, looking up at the sky, and drifted off to sleep.

Sally

Sally opened her eyes and looked at the clock next to the bed. '7:41' She yawned and sat up in bed, stretching her arms and legs. She swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up and put on her robe. She wasn't a morning person by any means. It usually took her a few minutes before she was herself. Her morning routine was as follows. Get up, bathroom, coffee. In that order. Food wasn't a big priority. In fact, she was never hungry. But she always made a point to eat something. After she had gone to the bathroom, she made her cup of coffee. Black, with a hint of sugar to tone the bitter taste down a little. She sat at the table, sipping her coffee. The table was facing the back door and she noticed that it was unlocked. "What the-" She wondered. "Did I...No. I know I locked it." She said. Sally looked at the front door and saw that it was locked. She got up and walked over to the door and opened it. It was a beautiful morning. Sally walked outside, the sun shining brightly. "Wow." Sally said to herself. She took a step off the small porch and saw something in the yard. "What is that?" She wondered. "Tails?" Sally walked over to where Tails was sleeping. Sally bent down on one knee. She placed a hand on Tails and gently shook him. "Tails." She said quietly. "Tails." She repeated.

"Mmmph." Tails murmured. Tails opened his eyes slightly then blinked. "Sally?" He asked. Tails sat up. "I must've fallen asleep." He said standing up. "What time is it?" He asked, bending down and grabbing his phone. "8:00. Guess I slept in." Tails said. Normally, he would have already been up and active. He was used to getting up around six or so. Eight o'clock to him was sleeping in. The only time he had went to sleep after ten was a late night for him. Sally and Tails walked back into the house. "So what made you sleep out in the yard?" She asked. "Well last night I couldn't get to sleep, so I figured the fresh air would do me some good. Turns out it worked a little too well I guess." Tails said from inside the kitchen, making breakfast. Sally wasn't comfortable letting Tails do most of the work, but he insisted.

"What was wrong?" Sally asked. Tails didn't even hesitate. "Just thinking. Couldn't turn my brain off. You know?" Tails said. "Yeah. I know what you mean."

Sonic & Scourge

Sonic woke up the next morning. "Oh God what time is it?" He asked himself. The clock said it was around ten. "Hey, I'm up early." He said, getting up. After he used the bathroom and walked around for a minute to wake himself up, he went into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took a look inside, trying to find something to drink. Of course the only thing in there was beer. He shut the fridge. "It's too early to start drinking." He said. He grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and held it under the faucet. He turned it on and the water flowed out filling the glass. He shut off the water and took a drink. And immediately spit it out. The strong taste of chlorine filled his mouth. He wasn't used to drinking city water. Every city he had been in used the same method of water purification. Gather the water, add in tons of chlorine, sanitize the water and pump it to people's homes. "Beer it is." He said, grabbing a bottle and heading back to his groove in the couch. Sonic sat down and turned the TV on. Around an hour later he heard Scourge moving around in his room. Sonic heard the door open and Scourge walkout and a few minutes later he joined him in his spot on the couch. "Morning." Scourge said. "Hey." Sonic replied. A few more minutes passed until either spoke a word. Sonic was the first. "So what's up for today." Sonic asked.

"I'm gonna head out." Scourge said. He got up and walked over to the door and opened it. "Where you going?" Sonic asked. Scourge turned around. "You forgot already? We need more weed. I'll be back in an hour." He said and left Sonic alone.

Knuckles

Knuckles walked out onto the porch of the tiny two room house he had called home his entire fifteen years of life. The mornings on the island were always something to behold. It was always pleasant, no matter what time of year it was, and this day was no exception. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Even the air seemed better here than it had anywhere else he had been. He smiled, taking in the stillness of the morning. He had been on the island since he was born, the last in a long line of echidnas entrusted with guarding the master emerald on the island. It was a constant target of Robotnik, whom had tried to steal it for his own twisted reasons. But every time he tried, Sonic and his friends had always managed to fight him off for a little while.

It was around eight in the morning. Unusual for Knuckles since he usually woke up around five to do his morning workouts, but he decided to sleep in this time. He always woke up early to work out, keeping his body in shape in case he needed to fight, and his routine had become invaluable over the years. Since Sonic had speed and Tails had ingenuity, Knuckles was the muscle of the group. He stood on the edge of the porch, stretching, getting himself ready for the daily routine. His routine consisted of 30 minutes of running for cardio and hand to hand training, which he practiced on the many trees that surrounded his house. He was just about to start for the day when the phone rang. He took his phone out and checked the caller I.D. It was Tails. "He's calling early." Knuckles said. He pushed the 'call' button. "Hello?"

"Hey Knuckles, it's Tails." Tails said. "Hey Tails, what's up?" Knuckles asked. "You busy?" Tails asked. "What happened? Is everything OK?" Knuckles asked. It always concerned him when Tails called. It wasn't like Tails to call just to talk. Tails was the kind that went to someone personally instead of calling. "Everything's fine." Tails said. "I just had a question. When Shadow talked to you the other day, what did he want?" Tails asked.

Knuckles hesitated. "Oh you know. Nothing important." Tails knew Shadow had told Knuckles the same thing he had told Tails. "Look Red, I know what Shadow told you. He told me the same thing." Tails said.

"And what's that?" Knuckles asked. "He told me that he found Sonic hiding out in Metropolis." Tails said. "So listen, I was hoping I could come over for a while and talk about what he said. You mind?" Tails asked. "Yeah. I ain't got nothing going on today." Knuckles said. "Okay. I'll see you in a little while. Bye." Tails said and hung up.

Tails

Tails hung up his end and put his phone away. He was outside away from Sally where she couldn't hear. Even though he didn't agree with Shadow, he wasn't about to mess up the plan he had laid out without exhausting every possible way around it. Tails walked back in the house. Sally was sitting in one of the recliners, watching a movie on TV. "Listen Sally. I gotta take off for a while." Tails said. Sally looked up at him. "What's wrong?" She asked. Tails walked over to the door. "Nothing. I just want to go by the lab and make sure everything's OK. Haven't been there since I came over here, you know?" Tails said. Sally smiled. "Yeah. You gonna come back?" Sally asked. Her question made Tails want to stay instead of meeting with Knuckles, but he knew that she wasn't like she was a week and a half ago. He knew that she would be fine until he got back, but he still didn't like to leave her alone by herself for very long. He knew he would have to make his visit with Knuckles as quick as possible. "It shouldn't be too long. I figure about and hour or two." Tails said. Sally turned around toward the TV. "Okay. See you when you get back." She said. "Okay." Tails replied and shut the door behind him.

Sonic

"Where the fuck is he?" Sonic wondered. It had been three hours since Scourge had left to score more weed. Sonic was getting madder with every passing hour. He had become used to having a constant supply of weed available to him. He hadn't gone this long without lighting up before. He began to think about how he could supplement his fix. First, he remembered the bag he had brought with him when he first showed up at Scourge's. He looked around for it and saw it by the door in the same spot where he had put it. Sonic got up and walked over to it and picked it up. He dumped the contents on the floor in front of him. There wasn't much. Just a few clothes he had grabbed from his and Sally's house, a small flashlight to see in the dark and an empty bottle. "Dammit." Sonic said out loud. He thought the bottle would have at least one Phenotol left.

"Oh shit. That's right." Sonic said. A day after he had gotten there, Sonic hadn't started smoking weed yet and had taken it in a last ditch effort to stave off the effects of Phenotol withdrawal. Thanks to Scourge, he had kicked his Phenotol habit, but had gained another in the process. It wasn't extreme by any means. Like a smoker, he became irritable at the slightest things, and he didn't like that.

Sonic had begun to panic slightly. What if he got picked up? Sonic thought. How the hell am I gonna get my weed! These thoughts had sent Sonic further into his paranoia. He had started to sweat, his heart racing. Calm down. Calm down. Sonic thought. He stood still and closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing. In and out, in and out. Just calm down and think this calmly.

This managed to calm the hedgehog down significantly. He stood still for several minutes until he regained his composure. "That's better." Sonic said. "Now, let's see if he's got any put away for a rainy day." Sonic said, heading in the direction of Scourge's room.

Tails

Tails aimed the Tornado at the small runway that had been made on Angel Island. He and Knuckles had made it shortly after he, Sonic and Knuckles had teamed up to fight Robotnik. They all agreed that it was a good idea to have one on the island if one of them needed to get to the island. It was only dirt, but Tails had made sure it was as flat as they could get it. Tails set the plane down and taxied to the end of the runway. He shut the engine off and climbed out of the cockpit. Tails set foot on the ground and a slight breeze had begun to blow. It was cool and refreshing, the smell of salt lingered in it. Tails took a deep breath. "Mmmm. Now, his place should be..." Tails said, trying to figure out which direction Knuckles house was. "That way." Tails said. He jumped in the air and began quickly twisting his tails around, lifting himself up off the ground and giving him a better view of the island. Tails spotted the house off in the distance and headed toward it. "Shouldn't take too long." Tails thought.

He remembered how long it had taken him to be able to stay in the air as long as he could. Putting in hours and hours of practice, the feeling of complete exhaustion day after day, until finally, he had managed to reach the hour mark. He remembered the day that happened as clearly as if it had just happened. He told Sonic that he had finally managed to fly for an hour. Sonic looked at him, smiled and gave him a pat on the back. "See? I knew you could do it. I'm proud of you." I'm proud of you. Tails heard it over and over in his mind again. He had always wanted Sonic's approval and Sonic had always given it to him. Of course, Tails didn't see it that way.

He was always unsure of himself. He thought his small size had made him weaker and less important in the eyes of others. He always strived for perfection at everything he had done. Whenever someone praised him or acknowledged him, he felt useful. But with Sonic, it was different. He saw Sonic as his 'older brother'. It was Sonic's opinion that mattered most. When Tails had failed at something, it hurt. But when he let Sonic down, it was even worse.

Tails felt himself begin to cry. Once he felt like this, he needed to find a secluded spot and let it all out. He looked around and saw a small clearing in the trees below. He descended to the ground and stopped twisting his tails, letting them fall on the ground behind him. He walked over to a tree and leaned against it, and slid down to the ground. His thoughts were squarely on Sonic and nothing else. Even before Sonic had left Sally, while he was trapped in Amy's sadistic prison, he hadn't let his emotions through. He had held them back for everyone else. He didn't want them to see how weak he was. He stepped up and became the leader in Sonic's absence. Even after Sonic had returned, he held his emotions in check. Now, every emotion he had bottled up had now come forward. Tails cried long and hard. Harder than he had before. He cried for Sonic when he was trapped with Amy. He cried for Sonic for what he was going through right now. Cried for Sally and Knuckles. But most of all, he cried for himself.

Sonic

Sonic had torn up every inch of Scourge's room looking for any sign of weed that Scourge had hidden back for an emergency. Of course, Sonic had been careful. Making sure he put back everything just as he left it. He didn't want to take the chance on Scourge finding out that he had been in his room to smoke his reserves dry. "Fuuuuck!" Sonic groaned in anger and frustration. Sonic sat on the edge of Scourge's bed, trying to ride it out. He got up to walk out when something caught his eye. It was the small black case that was on the table in front of the couch earlier. Sonic sat back down and picked it up. He held it in his hands, turning it over and over. He opened it. Inside, there were six needles, five full and one empty. "No label." Sonic said. He knew that this one was the case with the heroin. "No." Sonic said, putting the case back down on the nightstand.

Sonic stood up and walked out of Scourge's room. He wasn't about to take that option unless he absolutely had to. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer and a sandwich, thinking that having something in his stomach might take his mind off of weed for a while. The last time he could remember eating anything was last night when Scourge ran out of pot. He sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. Blue sat there, watching TV, eating his sandwich and drinking his beer. Slowly, his mind began to forget about its need for weed. He even found something good on TV. "Guess I just needed to eat something." Sonic said to himself.

Tails

Tails wiped the tears away from his face and looked at his watch. It was 5:40. He had been crying for almost twenty minutes. Tails took in a few deep breaths, trying to gather his thoughts and make it look like he hadn't been crying for thirty minutes. The fox felt better than he had in a long time. He hadn't made time to deal with what had happened for himself. He was too focused comforting everyone else, a quality that made him admirable. Tails stood up and leaped in the air, twisting his twin tails and resuming his flight to Knuckles house.

It didn't take long and he set down in front of Knuckles house a few minutes later. Tails walked up to the door and knocked. Knuckles answered. "Hey Tails." Knuckles said.

"Hey Red." Tails replied. "I don't know how the hell that name managed to stick." Knuckles said. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Yeah. Uh, the other day, when Shadow talked to me, he told me that he found Sonic in Metropolis. He tell you the same thing?" Tails asked. "Yeah, yeah. He also said that he didn't want either of us to go after him." Knuckles said. Tails sat down on one of the chairs on the porch and Knuckles did the same thing. "I don't get it. I mean, I kind of understand his reasons for him not wanting us to go there, but why does he care? You'd think he wouldn't tell anyone." Tails said. "Yeah. I've been trying to figure out if he's up to something or not. It doesn't look like it, but you never know." Knuckles leaned back in his chair. "Have you thought of a better plan?" Knuckles asked. "I know I've tried and I couldn't come up with anything."

Tails leaned foreward in his chair. "No. I've gone through every possible scenario in my head, and as much as I hate to admit it, his is the best plan. I figure, if we go over there and force Sonic to come back with us, he won't stay for long. Maybe a day or two at the most. If he's doing drugs and he's addicted to whatever it is he's taking, which if I remember it was some kind of painkiller, wasn't it." Tails asked. Knuckles nodded. "Yeah. From what's her name." Knuckles said. "If he's doing something else, he won't go through rehab to kick it unless he wants to of his own free will. We force him to do that, he'll resent us for God knows how long." Tails said. "That is a good point. So what do you think we should do?" Knuckles asked. Tails looked out at the setting sun. "I don't know. I want to go there and drag his ass back here. But, I know it would do more harm than good. You know?"

"Yeah. I know what you mean. I think the best thing we can do is let this run it's course. " Knuckles said. "Yeah. I guess your right." Tails said. The fox stood up and walked to the edge of the porch. "Heh. You know the one thing that's been bothering me the most?"

"What's that?" Knuckles asked. "Why do you think Shadow gave him two weeks?" Tails asked. "That's the one thing that doesn't make sense to me." Tails said. "Beats me. Maybe this is his way of getting his rocks off. I don't know. Your guess is as good as mine." Knuckles said.

"Yeah." Tails stared out into the distance. The sun had started to set, casting an orange glow over the island. Tails looked at his watch. "Guess I should be getting back. Thanks Red." Tails said as he walked off the porch. "No problem. You did most of the talking anyway." Knuckles said.

Sonic & Scourge

Sonic opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep. He looked around for the clock on the wall. '8:00'. "Ooooohhhh." Sonic groaned, stretching his arms and legs as far as they would go. "Jesus, he's still not back yet? He better not have gotten picked up." Sonic said. "Wait, if he would have been popped, he would have called." Sonic picked up the remote and flipped through the channels, something that had been burned into his daily routine. His day now consisted of waking up, smoke some pot, watch TV, laugh, eat, watch TV, smoke pot, laugh and sleep. A lazy man's dream.

Sonic flipped through the channels mindlessly when heard someone walk up to the door. It was Scourge. The green hedgehog waked in and tossed the bag he was carrying on the table in front of him and sat down. "Hey." He said. Sonic looked at him. "Where the fuck you been?" Sonic asked. Scourge scoffed at looked at him. "Oh sorry mom. I didn't think I had to call to make sure it was ok to stay out after curfew."

"Yeah, yeah. Cat loves food." Sonic replied. "So what happened?" Sonic asked, wondering why Scourge what Scourge had been doing for the last eight hours. "Hold on." Scourge said. He got up and walked into the kitchen. He came back a moment later with two beers. He handed one to Sonic and he sat down. "I had a hell of a day." He said opening his beer and taking a long drink. "Actually, nothing happened. I just lost track of time. Yeah. My dealer had this real good shit, you know, the stuff that makes you forget that you have feet." Scourge leaned back, sipping his beer.

Sonic looked at him, trying to figure out if Scourge was serious or not. "So, you were getting high all day? And you didn't bring any back for me?" Sonic asked. Scourge looked at him. "Calm down. Look in there." Scourge said, pointing to the bag on the table. Sonic reached out and grabbed hold of it. He reached in and pulled out three plastic gallon bags full of weed. Sonic's eyes doubled in size. "Jesus. How much is here?" Sonic asked, pulling out the bags and setting them down on the table. The smell was strong enough it was seeping through the bags. "There a pound each, I think." Scourge said. "Anyway, let me tell you what happened. First, he brought out this one type of weed called 'Frankenstein'." Scourge said. "Frankenstein? What's it like?" Sonic asked.

Scourge looked at him. "Well, when you smoke it, you walk around like this." Scourge said, holding his arms out in front of him and moving from side to side, groaning. Sonic laughed. "Holy shit." Sonic said. He glanced over at the bags on the table. "Hey, th-there isn't any of that mixed in with those, is there?" Sonic asked. He still couldn't handle the extreme types of weed. Scourge grinned. "Naw. Only one of them is the special blend. The other one is the stuff you've been smoking. I made sure of that." Scourge grabbed two of the bags and stood up. "Let me put these away and I'll tell you what happened next." Scourge said, walking back toward his room. Sonic grabbed the bag Scourge left behind. He could smell the pot through the bag even though he was holding it on his lap. "You mind if I uh...?" Sonic asked. He had waited all day for this moment. "Nah. Go ahead. Oh, and before you ask, no, it's not gonna make you see weird shit or anything. I know how you hate when that happens." Scourge said. Sonic grinned, grabbed the pipe and opened the bag. The smell of the pot hit him straight in the face. "Whew! How fresh is this?" Sonic asked. It smelled like a skunk, which, as best as Sonic could picture it, had sprayed a patch of wild mint.

"He told me that he had gotten some fresh stuff yesterday, I think. I don't know, I've been baked pretty much all day." Scourge said as he came back to where Sonic was and sat down. "So what happened next?" Sonic asked as he finished packing the bowl and lighting it up. "Oh man. After I smoked that, I lost about, uh, let's see, nine, ten, uh... about four hours." Scourge said, counting the hours on the clock above the TV. "Really?" Sonic asked, coughing a little, a tiny bit of smoke still hanging in the back of his throat. "Yeah. First, I'm taking a hit and the next thing I know, I'm back here." Scourge said, taking a hit off the pipe as well. The smoke hung in the air, almost clinging to the walls. Sonic leaned back, letting the pot engulf him in its euphoria. His body started to relax. Every inch of him began to go numb. Sonic started to panic. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Dude, my whole body's numb! Am I dying?" Sonic asked. He had never felt like this sensation before and he was worried. Scourge glanced over at him. "Don't worry. It's completely normal." Scourge said. "I thought it wasn't going to do weird shit to me!" Sonic exclaimed. Scourge looked around, his eyes barely open. "Oh shit. I guess I took the wrong bag. Well, just to give you fair warning, you're gonna start getting paranoid. You won't see shit, but uh, it's going to get weird." Scourge said.

A/N: And another chapter is in the books. I glad you guys (and girls) are enjoying this. I would have had this uploaded earlier, but other stuff got in the way. Thanks for reading.