AFTER THE METAREX: TAILS' AND COSMO'S STORY

Part II

Chapter Nine

"Continuing Worries"

Feb. 7:

Tails awoke slowly, groggily. Why was he so tired? It was difficult to think at first. His teeth were as fuzzy as his mind. Still forgetting to brush them, he guessed. Then it came to him. He had been up well past midnight, celebrating because of…Cosmo! Cosmo had come back!

"Idiot!" he growled at himself, not believing he could have forgotten about her return for even an instant. It was then that a horrible thought forced itself into his mind.

What if-what if I was just dreaming? What if Cosmo's still…

He had to find out! He jumped out of bed. As he did, his foot tangled up in his blanket and he fell to the floor.

"Ow! What the heck?"

He got up, shaking the snake-like tendril of the blanket from his ankle. He hurried out of his bedroom and across his living room to the front door. He opened it, and was hit in the face by a cold, moaning wind and flying snowflakes. Snow had apparently been falling all night. He discovered this when he stepped onto his front porch in his bare feet. Ahhh! Cold! Cold! He quickly stepped back inside and pushed the door shut. He'd need to get a coat before going out into that. But now that he was fully awake, he knew he hadn't been dreaming last night. Either Cosmo had really come back, or he had completely lost his mind the day before. He picked up the phone to call Amy, then stopped. It was awfully early. If he disturbed the pink hedgehog's "beauty" sleep…well, he'd found out the hard way how she responded to something like that.

As he crossed his living room, he heard a bang, and the wind howled into his house once more. He hurried back to the front door. He hadn't closed it all the way, and the wind had blown it open again. He slammed it shut, making sure it wouldn't fly open a second time. What a cold, clammy, ugly day! He wouldn't go out into it if weren't for Cosmo.

Tails threw on the least embarrassing outfit his mother had gotten him, a red shirt with a little shield of some school he'd never heard of on one side and a pair of navy blue slacks, put on his shoes and gloves, then grabbed his coat and scarf. As he started for the front door again, his stomach let out a growl.

"Quiet, you!" he muttered. He didn't have time to eat now. Didn't want to take the time. If Cosmo had been at Cream's house, Vanilla would have made him breakfast. Amy was somewhat more iffy. Sometimes she daydreamed about Sonic for days and didn't have anything to eat in her house. And she wasn't that good a cook anyway. He threw open the front door and stepped out into the wind and snow. He pulled the door shut, then started to step off his front porch. Crash! The wind blew his door open, causing it to strike the wall inside. "What is this?" he cried, wrestling with the door to get it closed and make certain it stayed that way this time. "Nature's trying to keep me away from Cosmo? Well, it's not going to happen!"

Tails jumped off his porch, spinning his tails in anticipation of flight. Instead, he crashed into the snow, hurting his right knee in the process as it banged into a patch of ice.

"Ow! Hey, what the?" He spun his tails and tried to take off again. He gave a leap, spun around in a complete circle three times, then fell back into the snow.

"What's going on here?" he wondered. He hadn't had trouble flying since he was four! Even his own body was trying to keep him from her! Well, he'd worry about it later. He started running towards Amy's house, ignoring the slight ache in his knee. If he had stayed a few moments longer, he would have heard his phone, which he had forgotten and left on his coffee table, start to ring.

...

"No answer," Rosemary Prower said, hanging up. "You don't suppose something's happened to poor Miles, do you, dear?"

"Don't worry," Amadeus Prower assured his wife. "Miles can take care of himself." The fox made a face. "Although if that Sonic has gotten him into trouble again, he'll regret it!"

"We really should try to find Miles friends closer to his own age," Rosemary said, crossing the motel room they were staying in and starting to pack. "For all we know, that boy might be dragging our son out to a bar or something!"

Amadeus reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a watch. He clicked it open. "The train should be leaving in an hour," he said. "Unless of course that maniac decides to send one of his robots to tear up the tracks again!" It had happened twice in the last year.

"We should have made arrangements for Miles to pick us up," Rosemary said, packing her unmentionables into her suitcase. "He loves flying around in that plane of his so much, I'm sure he'd enjoy showing off for us." She looked over at the special phone he'd given them. Her husband had placed it on a table. She picked it up and placed it in the suitcase. Can't be forgetting something my little man gave me.

Amadeus clicked his watch shut and returned it to his pocket. The chain was frayed near the pocket, and would need to be repaired soon. "I'm not sure flying around like that is good for a boy his age. When I was his age, I was flying model planes, not the real thing!"

"But it makes him happy," his wife insisted, sitting on her suitcase to get it closed. "The poor dear hasn't had very much to be happy about in his life."

"I know," Amadeus said, starting to pack his own bag. "But that will change as soon as we get back home. I promise you that, dear."

Rosemary sighed. "Yes, but…but what about…"

Her husband crossed the room, put his arms around her. "It's okay. We'll deal with that problem too."

Rosemary shook her head, clenching her fists. "It's not fair!" she sobbed. "This family's gone through so much already, and now…"

"Shhh…" Amadeus said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "We got through Miles' depression, we'll overcome this newest obstacle as well." He bent over and kissed her.

"Remember the train, dear," Rosemary said, pulling away.

"Well, we can always call Miles if we miss it," her husband pointed out as he wrapped his arms around her.

"That's true," she said with a giggle. "Forget I said anything."

...

Amy Rose yawned and stretched as she awoke. She started to daydream about her future life with Sonic, when she suddenly realized she was lying on the floor of her living room in a sleeping bag. Oh, right. Sleepover. She rubbed something out of her eyes and looked around the room. Her eyes fell on green hair and flower buds that she had never expected to see again. Cosmo was still asleep on her couch, her two toed feet sticking out from her blanket. Amy smiled. It was so good to have that little alien nutcase back.

Anita was still asleep in her own bag, but Cream, who had dozed off in Amy's reclining chair, was gone, although, of course, she'd taken the pillow and blanket away. No doubt already returned them to Amy's closet after carefully folding the blanket. Amy sniffed the air. No odor of food, so she probably wasn't in the kitchen. Maybe she was doing some cleaning. The bunny was going to make somebody a great wife someday.

Amy sat up and stared at Cosmo. It was kind of weird, actually, having her back. Amy had mourned her, but had come to accept the fact that she wouldn't see her again. The plant girl hanging around them once more was going to take some getting used to.

Amy laid back down and shut her eyes, intending to start her daydreaming at last. Then she heard soft footsteps creep by her. She opened one eye to see Cream tiptoeing past her sleeping bag.

"Sorry, Amy!" Cream hissed, noticing her friend was awake. "I didn't want to disturb you. I'm going to start making breakfast now."

"That's okay, Cream, I was already awake," Amy said. "Good morning!" She wasn't so quiet. Anita rolled over and sank into her bag, pulling it closed over her head. "Whoops," Amy hissed. She looked over at the plant girl. As near as she could tell, Cosmo hadn't budged.

It was cold in the living room. Amy unzipped her sleeping bag, wrapped it around herself, and walked over to Cosmo. She seemed okay. Probably just still really tired. Amy yawned again as she pulled the blanket down over those weird feet. .

"Don't trip on your sleeping bag," Cream admonished her softly. Amy had done that once, landing on her couch pretty hard and banging her elbow.

"Don't worry, I won't," Amy assured the bunny. She laughed. "You're sure getting bossy!"

Cream flushed. "I am? Sorry about that, Amy. I didn't mean to be, did I, Cheese?"

Cheese nodded, thought about it a moment, then shook his head.

Amy and Cream started to giggle, then quickly covered their mouths. Anita had just rolled over again. Amy would have annoyed the sleepyhead until she got up, but that would have disturbed Cosmo, who still hadn't budged. Maybe she should wake Cosmo, though. Just to be sure the Seedrian was okay. Who knew what the effects of coming back from the dead had had on her body? Or her mind?

Tails had not had a good time running through the snow. He slipped more than a couple of times, once skidding completely around a full three hundred and sixty degrees before falling face first into a pile of snow. He sat up, brushing snow off of his face and whiskers. He didn't know why he suddenly couldn't fly, but he determined to figure it out soon. He couldn't go on like this. He didn't want to injure himself, or embarrass himself in front of Cosmo. The thought of seeing her again urged him to forget his current trouble and keep going.

At last he found himself at the pink hedgehog's home. He leaped over her fence, so eager to be with Cosmo again that he forgot for a moment his earlier problem. He spun his tails to fly onto Amy's porch and suddenly found himself spinning around in circles again.

"Whoawhoawhoa! Hey! What is your problem?" He struggled to pull out of the spin and found himself crashing into a bush. Snow rained down onto him. A large clump went down the back of his neck.

"Ouch! Doggone it! What's going on ? Ahh, that's cold!" He climbed out of the bush, dug the snow out of the back of his shirt, and looked his tails over carefully. Nothing seemed out of order. He reached back and examined his spine. He waved his tails about, front, left side, right side, back, crisscross. They seemed fine. He shook his head, confused and a bit disgusted in himself. Whatever the problem was, it was delaying him from seeing Cosmo. He raced across Amy's yard and up her front steps, sliding a bit. He grabbed the doorknob to regain his balance. He started to ring her doorbell, then remembered she'd said it wasn't working right and he was supposed to come by and fix it. He'd been here yesterday to see Cosmo and hadn't even thought to look at the doorbell. Knowing Amy, she'd expect him to take care of it now that he was here again. More time spent away from Cosmo. He sighed and knocked.

There was no reply. Was it too early for anyone to be up yet? Tails looked at his communicator, which included phone and watch attachments. Or at least, he would have, if he'd thought to bring it. Definitely becoming absentminded. He looked up at the sky, hoping to estimate the time by the position of the sun. This would have been a lot easier if the sun had actually been visible. What a lousy beginning for Cosmo's first full day back!

...

Colin sighed as he reached Thorndyke Industries. Same old grind. Who knew when the dimensional portal would be up and running? Since this Master Emerald thingy was destroyed, an entirely new way of crossing over would have to be developed. Sure, they had the ship the younger Thorndyke had come back to Earth in, but it was no longer functioning. Oh, it could travel through space all right, but the special engine Colin's uncle had placed in it seemed to have been shut off. At least, testing proved that part of it simply wasn't working, and couldn't be made to work. Chris hadn't wanted it taken apart for extensive study because he was hoping it would start functioning properly again sooner or later. Yeah, right. Like Uncle Julian would really want a brat he'd gone through so much trouble getting rid of to come back again!

Of course, according to that sissy, Colin's uncle had stated the space/time continuum would shift just as Thorndyke used the machine. Supposedly, Chris had only had three minutes to use it. A likely enough story. It was simply too convenient. Time would run out for the brat to leave Sonic's world just as he was told it was running out? No, more likely, Uncle Julian had wanted to get rid of him. Not that Colin could blame him of course. All the time, that kid was blathering about that blasted blue hedgehog. Sonic, Sonic, Sonic! He had a great girl like Helen, but did he talk about her that way? Nooo!

"Hey, shorty, what's up?" one of the other workers said as Colin clocked in.

"It sure ain't him!" another rejoined. The two of them clinked their coffee mugs together and laughed.

"Sure, go ahead," Colin muttered as he put away his lunch, hoping it wouldn't get partly eaten again. "Laugh it up! A future king can afford to ignore such childish behavior from riff-raff!"

He sat down in a chair and put his head down. It would be so easy to get his revenge on those swine. But security cameras were everywhere. Thorndyke Industries had always had lots of security, and it had been beefed up seven years ago when the aliens had arrived. Colin smirked at the naivety of that boy. Actually thinking he could hide Sonic and his silly friends from the government. He had no doubt GUN had been aware of their presence in the Thorndyke mansion probably by the time Sonic had been fished out of their pool. Chris loved to tell the story of how he'd dived in and saved Sonic. Right. A being of godlike power had to be saved by a snotty nosed whiny punk who liked to cry because his mommy and daddy were too busy to pander to his every need.

Colin thought of his own family, once important and quite well to do. After his cousin's death and his grandfather's subsequent breakdown, his family had suddenly found themselves treated like Doctor Frankenstein after the Monster ran amok through Switzerland. Somehow, it had been leaked to reporters that Gerald was making monsters in that blasted ARK of his. They also found themselves with incredible amounts of bills to pay. It appeared that old Gerald had dipped heavily into the family fortunes to help subsidize a few of his pet projects. As if those extensive government grants hadn't been enough! Colin had never known the old man, who had died years before he'd been born, but he sounded egocentric, overbearing, boorish, and obsessive. Not to mention nuts.

Colin got up and started towards the lab to begin the daily grind. Because of Gerald, he'd discovered his inheritance consisted of less than he made in six months at this place. Just enough to buy a good tv set. And even that had had to be replaced after a few years, leaving Colin with nothing but his grandfather's eclectic collection of books. He'd sell them, but he had had all experienced trouble getting anywhere near what something was worth hocking them. People tended to look at him and think "pigeon." Besides, he sort of liked the idea of having old, rare items in his possession. Sort of like one of those dispossessed nobles that had lost everything except the old family castle.

"Good morning, Colin," Chuck Thorndyke said, nodding to him. The old man was once again going over the blueprints of his grandson's earlier machine. The one that had sent him to Sonic's world but played havoc with his age. Too bad he hadn't stayed twelve. Maybe Colin could have invented something to make Helen walk and she would have been so grateful she'd've given him a chance. But he couldn't compete with an adult Chris. Not even one that carried on incessantly about Technicolor toons!

"Good morning, Professor Thorndyke, sir," Colin said, giving the geezer a phony smile. Clearly senile, but since his son owned the place, the old goat could decide to invent polka-dotted windshields, and he'd be given the funds to do so. This world was so unfair! But then, wasn't that why he was planning to get away from it for good?

"Shall we start work?" Chuck asked, turning back to the blueprints.

"Oh, indeed we shall, sir," Colin said, toadishly. "Indeed we shall."

Yes, you old fossil! Give me what I need to leave you and your blasted stuck up family and become a god in another world!

"What was that, Colin?" the old man asked, looking up. Colin sputtered. Had he said that out loud?

"Just thinking how if we could actually manage to travel to other dimensions, sir, we'd be practically like the gods of Mount Olympus!"

Chuck laughed. "Well, I hardly think we'd qualify for godhood by accomplishing that, Colin. But your sense of humor is always good for a laugh."

"Oh, thank you, sir!" Colin said, mentally imagining tossing the geezer down a flight of stairs. Always good for a laugh was he? The daffy old creep would be laughing out of the other side of his face soon enough!

...

Amy had been about to wake Cosmo just to make sure she wasn't sick or dead again or something when she heard a knock on the door. She yawned and walked through the living room. She could let the plant girl sleep a little longer. Maybe Cosmo just needed a few extra zee's to build her strength up. As she passed Anita, however, she gave her a little nudge with her toe. Sonic's sister was as healthy as a horse, just a bit lazy. Her she didn't mind waking up.

"Get lost," Anita said, burrowing deeper into her sleeping bag. "People are trying to sleep here!"

The knock came again. "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Amy said, walking up to the door. "Keep your shirt on! Do you have any idea how early it is?" She opened the door to find Tails about to knock on her head. "Ahem!" she said.

Tails pulled his fist back quickly. "S-sorry!" He said. "I need to see Cosmo right away!"

Amy pointed over her shoulder. "She's in her sleeping bag by the coffee table, still asleep."

"She's still asleep?" Tails repeated. "Is she all right? Did something happen after I left her?"

"She fell asleep suddenly while we were talking," Amy said. "Cream's already in the kitchen getting breakfast started. Anita just told me to shut up so she could sleep, but Cosmo hasn't moved. I was just wondering if I should wake her or not." She grinned. "But I'm sure Sleeping Beauty would much rather be awakened by a kiss from her handsome prince!"

Tails blushed. How long was Amy going to kid them about liking each other? Then he started wondering if maybe something really was wrong with Cosmo. He pushed past Amy and hurried towards the sleeping plant girl, stepping around Anita's rolled up form. From the impression on her bag, she looked like she was trying to do a spin-dash in her sleep.

He dropped to his knees beside Cosmo. So beautiful in slumber. Just as Amy had said, she was like a princess in a fairy tale. Well, he naturally wasn't going to try to awaken her with a kiss. That would be embarrassing for both of them. Especially since he could practically feel Amy's eyes burning into his back.

"Cosmo?" he said softly. "Cosmo…you okay there?"

There was no response. He nervously placed his hand in front of her mouth to make sure she was breathing. Whew! That was a relief!

"Cosmo?" he said again, a little louder. "Can you hear me?"

"I hear you!" Anita said, suddenly sitting up and hitting Tails with her pillow. "Go away! Don't wake people up in the middle of the night!"

"It's not the middle of the night!" Tails started to argue. "It's past seven!"

"There's a seven in the morning now?" Anita said, digging deeper into her bag. "Great! Go celebrate it with a morning person!"

Tails started to respond when he heard Cosmo say, "Please, whatever you're fighting about, don't."

He turned back to the plant girl. "Cosmo! So you are okay! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

Cosmo rubbed her eyes. "Why wouldn't I be okay?" she asked, yawning. She sat up slowly, looking groggy. Her hair was standing straight up.

"Sorry," Tails said, starting to walk away. "I'll let you get some more sleep…"

Cosmo yawned again, louder this time. "No, that's all right," she insisted. "I don't know why I'm so tired." She looked around the room. "I really am here, aren't I?

"I'm really glad you are," Tails told her. His heart was hurting, but not in the way it had been all those last months. It was more like at the party, when he'd started to tell her she was beautiful, stopped, and let her think he meant the stars. "Thank you for being here…"

Cosmo smiled. "Thank you for wanting me back." And then suddenly her arms were around him, and he realized his were around her, and before either of them knew it they were kissing again.

Cosmo suddenly pulled away in embarrassment, her face flushing. "Sorry," she said.

"No, please don't be sorry for that," Tails said, suddenly realizing his normally brilliant mind had just gone blank. What should he say next?

Amy saved him the trouble of thinking of something. "Would you two lovebirds like me to leave?"

"Yes, leave," Anita said from her bag. "All of you. Disappear until a decent hour of the day."

Amy pretended to stumble over Anita. The other hedgehog sat up and glared at her. Amy smiled back sweetly. "Whoops! Clumsy me!"

"Oh, is everyone awake now?" Cream asked, coming from the kitchen. "I'm just starting breakfast, so I'm afraid it'll be awhile."

"Good," Anita said, getting up. "I'll go sleep in Amy's room until then." She stormed off. A few seconds later they heard a door slam.

"Don't forget," Amy called cheerily, "big shopping trip today after breakfast! We want Cosmo to look nice for her boyfriend!"

"Please stop that, Amy," Cosmo said. She sighed and looked down at her feet.

"What's the matter, Cosmo?" Tails asked, feeling her forehead. "Aren't you feeling well?"

"Just a little worried," Cosmo said. She bit her lip, then said, "Amy? Cream? Could you put off breakfast and shopping for awhile? There's something I need to do first."

"Wh-what is it?" Tails asked, trying to read her expression. He felt cold inside. What was wrong? What had happened since he'd seen her last night?

Cosmo placed her hand on her forehead over her right eye. "I need to know for sure if that transmitter is still in my brain," she said at last. "Please, Tails. I have to know! Can we go to the Blue Typhoon and find out for certain? Right now?"

Tails nodded. He didn't want to have to do this, but he needed to be positive as well. He held out his hand. She placed her hand in his and looked up at him.

"Whatever we find out," he said softly, "I promise you, it'll be all right."

Cosmo forced herself to smile. "I know," she said. "When you say it, I can believe it."

...

Pink Andromeda woke with a cry of horror. No! Not again! She sobbed as she climbed out of bed. What was wrong with her? She quickly wadded up her blanket and sheets, ripping them from her bed. Papa will be unhappy with me! I have to stop this! I have to!

"How did you sleep, Princess?" a drone asked, coming into her bedroom. Its reply was having the sheets and blanket thrown over its head.

"Take these and wash them!" Andromeda demanded. "And then remake my bed and delete the knowledge of doing these things from your memory banks! Do you hear me?"

"Affirmative, Princess," the drone said, leaving the room.

Andromeda sighed as she walked to her bathroom. She suddenly thought of her nightgown. Blast it! She should have told the drone to wash it as well! Why was it so hard for her to remember things? Like her past. She couldn't remember more than a few months back. She knew King Red Pine was her father, knew that her mother was a beautiful teal-haired Seedrian woman named Galaxina who had been killed by her younger sister, Cosmo. But she only knew these things because her father and Willow had told her about them. Why couldn't she remember being younger? What was wrong with her? Her father had told her it didn't matter, while Willow had always grown quiet and quickly distracted her with something. Why was she so easily distracted? Like she couldn't pay attention to any one thing for very long.

She tossed her nightgown onto the floor and turned on the shower. Ow! Hot! Hot! Darn it! Why were even the simplest things so difficult for her? Like she'd never done them before?

"Hey!" she screamed. "Somebody get in here and fix my shower!"

Another drone, or possibly the same one, they all looked alike to her, hurried to her side. "It's too cold!" she complained as the robot turned on the cold water. The drone turned on the hot water. "Now it's too hot! Fix it, stupid!"

"A thousand pardons, Princess!" the drone said, struggling to get the water temperature just right. When it succeeded, Andromeda stepped into the shower.

"Go wash my nightgown!" she ordered. The drone hurried to obey. It was only several minutes later that she realized she'd forgotten something else.

"Argh! Somebody get in here and scrub my back!" What was wrong with her brain today? She smacked her forehead. "Stop being stupid, stupid!"

...

"Okay," Tails said, stepping in front of the control panel. He clenched his fists. "Ready, Cosmo?"

"R-ready, Tails," Cosmo said, taking a deep breath. She watched the scanner move across the ceiling towards her head. She bit her lower lip and shut her eyes. This machine had scared her before when Tails had used it on her. She'd hoped she'd never have to see it again. She prayed this would be the last time.

Tails pushed some buttons, read the figures on a screen, then pushed a few more buttons. The scanner was now moving over Cosmo's head, taking three dimensional images. Please, please don't let that awful thing still be there!

Cosmo forced herself to think of something pleasant. The party on the Blue Typhoon. Her and Tails watching the moon rise on planet Marmoline. Her reunion with Tails. But in the back of her mind, she kept hearing, "Well done, my white seed!" Kept seeing the look on Tails' face when he told her he didn't think he could do anything about the device. Heard Dark Oak whispering inside of her head. If that awful device was still there, if Red Pine could use it to spy on Tails and the others the way Dark Oak had, then she'd have to be sure she was no where near any of her friends when they discussed anything important. She wouldn't try to run. Not this time. She'd learned better. Tails would go after her, and Red Pine might attack and hurt him while he was following her. She wouldn't, couldn't, allow that to happen!

Tails waited for his machine to complete its analysis. The waiting. That was the hardest part. Always had been. For him, at any rate. It seemed like most of his life had been either waiting for something, or hurrying to catch up. Waiting for Sonic and the older Freedom Fighters to come back from their missions in the old days before Princess Sally would let him join them. Waiting for Sonic to show up whenever he would pull one of his disappearing acts. Waiting for word on what had happened to his parents. Waiting for his brother to come back and see him again. And, of course, waiting for a tiny seed to grow into the girl he loved more than life itself. Well, he'd waited nine months to get her back. He could wait a couple of hours to make sure she was okay, and, if not, decide what to do about it.

Surgery was not an option. Never had been. He wasn't qualified to do it. Actually, Eggman was probably the only one that could perform something so sensitive, and there was no way he was letting that monster get his hands on her! He'd seen enough anime on Earth to know what a mad scientist could do if he had a chance to experiment on a helpless victim. Robotization, taking the device out but leaving something less noticeable in her head for his own use later…Tails cringed as his imagination started to go wild on him. He shook those thoughts away. Not as long as he was alive! He looked up as his machine made a whirring sound, telling him it was making final analysis. He hurried to see what it would say, feeling something akin to an icy cold hand clutching his heart as he did.

He heard a soft whimper from the next room. He spoke into a loud speaker. "It's okay, Cosmo. Calm down. I'm starting to get results back. Please, just give me a few more minutes."

Cosmo didn't reply. He hoped she was okay. She'd pretended to be calm, but he knew she had to be as scared as he was, maybe more so. He pressed a few switches, and went to ultimate magnification. If there was still a signal emanating from her brain, he'd see it in a minute.

Tails wiped at his forehead. Perspiration had just gotten into his eyes. He needed them clear to check the results. Please! Please don't let me find anything!

...

The old hedgehog leaned against a tree and looked at Merlin. "Well, Merl ol' girl, how are tricks?" he asked in that way he had that always made Merlin feel like a child instead of a scholar and wizard.

"I don't have time for this now, Chuck," Merlin said, turning away from him. "And stop calling me that. We're not kids anymore. We're old men."

"We're as old as we feel," Chuck said, offering him a chili dog. "And right now, I'd say you're quite a bit older than I am."

"Enough with your chili dogs!" Merlin said, waving his hand to dismiss his old friend. "I didn't ask for your help, and I don't need it!"

Chuck shrugged and ate the chili dog himself. "Okay, little buddy. Your loss. Oh, by the way, Merlin?"

Merlin sighed. "Yes, Chuck? What is it?"

"Time to wake up."

Merlin opened his eyes. Where was he? This wasn't his room. Blast it! Still in Happy Acres! And…someone was in his room!

He started to leap to his feet, then realized the figure in the corner was small and had an unusual but by now very recognizable silhouette.

"How long have you been standing there, staring at me?" he demanded.

Heather shrugged. "Beats me," she said, holding all four wrists under her nose. "No watch. Time doesn't have much meaning here, you know."

Merlin rubbed his wrinkled forehead in annoyance. "Okay, next question," he said, "why are you standing there, staring at me?"

Heather shrugged again. "Just bored, I guess. Can you do some magic tricks?"

Merlin glared at her. "I'm not a stage magician performing tricks for your amusement!"

"Can you teach me how to do magic?" she asked, her voice suddenly serious.

Merlin cocked his head to one side. "Are you joshing me?"

Heather gave him an odd look. "Am I what?"

Merlin sighed as he got out of the uncomfortable bed. "Never mind," he said. He was surprised to feel hands on his arms. "What are you doing?" he demanded, looking over his shoulder at her.

"Just helping you up, Grandpa," the hedgehog said. She looked at her hands and dropped them to her sides. "You're disgusted that something like me just touched you, aren't you?"

"Are you serious? Why would I find you disgusting?" Merlin asked, starting to make the bed. But he realized he was now alone. He shook his head. "What a strange girl. Can't understand her one bit." Hopefully he'd be out of this place very soon now. When was that Dr. Gantan supposed to come in? Not until that evening, if his memory served him correctly. He tucked in the edges of the blanket then sat down to consider his next move.

...

Tails watched the digital image of Cosmo's head. Watched that spot just over her right eye. Where the signals had come from before. Watched. And watched. And watched…

Nothing. No signal. He checked the other side of her brain. He had to be certain. Cosmo would continue to worry if he couldn't tell her with one hundred percent certainly that her scans were all clear. He turned on the microphone again. "Just a few more minutes, Cosmo. Please. I'll be back there in just a little bit."

There was no response. Tails hoped she was all right. He squinted, rubbed at his eyes, then squinted again. He didn't want to find anything, but he had to make every effort to locate the slightest signal. But his equipment was picking up nothing but normal brain activity. Actually, it was picking up…

Cosmo must not have been as worried as he'd thought. She'd fallen asleep on the table. Or maybe there really was something wrong with her! He decided to check her other vital statistics. He'd been so concerned about her brain, he hadn't looked at anything else. As he looked over her blood pressure and other vitals, his relief turned to concern. Good grief! No wonder she'd dozed off! Her system was run down. She was close to being dehydrated, malnourished, and exhausted. Well, of course! A long, lingering illness would have serious effects on someone's body. What Cosmo had gone through, actually being dead and then coming back to life, had placed a huge strain on her. Poor thing. She must have followed him here on sheer will power. Had she felt sick on the way but not said anything, afraid of worrying him? Forget Amy's shopping trip! Cosmo was going right back to bed as soon as she left here.

Tails made a final check. Still no signal. Whatever device Dark Oak had placed in her brain, it was gone now. Tails began shutting off his equipment. Once everything was shut down, he crossed the control room and opened the door to the examination room. He walked over to Cosmo, reached out to gently nudge her awake, then stopped. She looked so peaceful like this. He brushed her hair out of her eyes, then gently lifted her in his arms. He carried her to the door leading to the corridor and pushed the button causing it to slide open with his tail. He carried Cosmo down the hall and stopped in front of her room. He froze here.

Tails hadn't been in this room since he'd realized he could barely detect Cosmo's scent in there any more. He couldn't take her in there. It would be covered with dust. Should have left her in sickbay. Just thought it would be nice to have her back in her old room. He remembered the times during their war in space he'd seen his friends in sickbay. It was a disturbing mental picture, which was why he hadn't wanted to leave her there. Made it seem like there was something seriously wrong with her. But the sickbay really would be the best place for her. If her condition got worse, he could give her oxygen or a stimulant or whatever she needed.

Tails was taking her back to sickbay when Amy entered the hallway. Her eyebrows nearly met in the middle of her forehead, and her eyes made him think of laser beams shooting out of them. Oh please, not another one of your tantrums, Amy! Not now!

"What the heck is taking so long?" the pink hedgehog demanded. "We've been waiting almost two hours! And…what's wrong with Cosmo?"
"Please lower your voice," Tails begged, opening the door to the sickbay and taking Cosmo inside. Blast it! The beds were covered with dust. He walked over to the closest. "Amy, could you please take the sheet off this bed so that I can lay Cosmo down here?"

Amy whipped the sheet off, sending dust flying about them. "Whoops," she said, backing away and covering her mouth and nose with her free hand. "My bad."

Tails quickly spun around so that the dust would hit him from behind rather than shower over Cosmo. "Come on, Amy! Cosmo needs rest and you're trying to give her asthma or something!"

"That could happen to anybody," Amy said. She tried to look around Tails as Cosmo. "What happened?" She demanded. "Cosmo was fine when we came here!"

Tails looked over his shoulder, watching the dust particles float to the floor. Once the air was reasonably clear he laid Cosmo gently down upon the bed. He motioned for Amy to step outside of the room. He pressed a button, turning on the air purifier. Cosmo couldn't go breathing the stuffy air in this room. He'd take her to his house and set her down in his bed as soon as he finished talking to Amy.

Amy followed Tails outside, looking back at the sleeping plant girl. "What's wrong with her?" she asked softly. "Did you keep her waiting so long she got all shook up and fainted? Did she get dizzy and collapse on the floor? Did she say anything? Is she going to be okay?"

Tails held his hand up, hoping he didn't get it smashed with a well aimed hammer. "She fell asleep waiting for the scanner to finish examining her," he explained in a quiet voice. "Please, Amy, Cosmo needs rest and quiet. She's not well!"

"She's sick?" Amy demanded, looking back towards Cosmo through the specially treated glass walls. They were bulletproof and laser resistant, although automatic fire or a powerful enough energy burst would shatter them. "She seemed okay to me. Tired, sure, but that's to be expected, right? I mean, it is kind of like she just woke up from a coma or came out of a body cast or something, isn't it?"

Tails winced at the mental images Amy's comments brought up. "She's exhausted, malnourished, and dehydrated," Tails explained. "She needs intensive care and…"

"Wait a minute," Amy interrupted. Tails started to protest, but she placed her hand over his mouth. He backed away, coughing. "Sorry," she said, looking for something she could use to get the dust off of her hands.

Tails rubbed his mouth off on his sleeve. It was a bad habit, and he ordinarily wouldn't do it, but he was worried about Cosmo and annoyed with Amy Rose, and didn't really care about manners at the moment.

"What is your problem, Amy?" he demanded, coughing again.

"Is Cosmo seriously exhausted," Amy asked. "Or seriously malnourished? Or seriously dehydrated? Or just kind of run down like people get who haven't had enough sleep and haven't had any breakfast this morning?"

Tails opened his mouth to give her a retort. To tell her that Cosmo needed immediate care. But actually, the readings hadn't been too serious. Had he overreacted? No. No, he just wanted to be sure Cosmo was all right, that was all.

"She's very fragile right now," he argued. "She needs rest and intensive care and…"

"She needs her boyfriend to stop making mountains out of molehills," Amy told him, reaching her hand out again. Tails backed away. Amy stepped forward. "Tails," she said angrily. Then her face softened. "Tails," she said again, quieter. "Cosmo isn't made of glass. What happened to her was horrible, but she's back now. She's alive. Remember that."

Tails suddenly felt weak. He leaned against the wall to hold himself up. "I know that," he said. "But…"

"Ep ep ep ep ep," Amy muttered, dismissing his words with a wave of her still dusty hand. "Cosmo's tired, so we can delay the shopping trip for awhile. She's hungry and thirsty, so we'll just have Cream run home and bring her something. Something filling and nutritious. Maybe a bowl of vegetable soup or something. But if you keep treating her like that, never letting her do anything for herself, worrying every time she gets a little tired or unhappy, you're going to make an invalid out of her. Not only that, but if you start telling her she needs rest and can't do anything strenuous, you're going to have her worrying that there's something seriously wrong with her. Keep telling her she's sick, and she'll start feeling sick. You don't want to do that to her, do you?"

Tails opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again.

"N-no," he finally admitted. He placed his hand over his eyes. Was she right? Was he starting to act irrational again? Like he had last year? No! No, Cosmo's alive. Cosmo's here with me. There's no reason for me to lose it again like before.

Tails hung his head. "I…I just want her to be okay…" he said softly. "I want…I want to know I'm taking good care of her. I need to know that…"

Amy patted him on the back. "Of course you do," she said. She ruffled his hair. "You're a great boyfriend, Miles Prower. Wish your best friend was as attentive. But not as attentive as you're trying to be here. Just treat Cosmo like you did before…before what happened. If she suddenly says she's not feeling well, or wants to rest more often than normal, that's different. But Cosmo needs to be reassured that she's okay, not made to worry about herself."

Tails face palmed. "You're right, Amy," he said. "I just…I just couldn't take it if something happened to her again…"

"You have to stop thinking like that," Amy pointed out, placing her hands behind the back of her head. "I know it's difficult. Every time Sonic gets hurt, I hover around him like a mother hen, worried he's going to fall down or injure himself worse if he tries going back into battle." She took a deep breath and let it out noisily. "That's one of the things that annoys him, you know."

Tails nodded, hoping Amy wouldn't take his agreement that she sometimes annoyed Sonic as an insult. Amy had had anger problems as long as he knew her, but it seemed like they were gradually getting worse. But she and Sonic seemed closer than ever before. Maybe Sonic could help her deal with it. He knew he sure didn't want to. He had his own concerns. His own worries.

And all of them revolved around the figure sleeping in the next room.

...

Red Pine glared at his secretary. "Does Andromeda suspect anything or not?" he demanded.

"At this time, she is highly confused, my king," Willow said. "Perhaps we might suggest that she suffered a head trauma that affected her memory…"

Red Pine swiveled his chair, dismissing her. "Yes, that should work," he said, nodding. "Very well then. See to it."

Willow decided to make an attempt to appeal to him. "Sir?" she said cautiously. "Perhaps young Andromeda would believe it more easily coming from her father? She loves you so, and she sees so little of you…"

"See to it!" Red Pine repeated, his tone making it clear the conversation was over and any attempt to open it up again would be punished.

Willow sighed and walked away. It was hopeless. Well, nothing to do then but for her to do her best to raise the poor thing, even if Andromeda didn't respect her. She would begin as soon as the child returned from her voyage into space. Such a big, important assignment the master had given such a tiny, innocent little girl. Well, there was nothing she could do except be supportive of her young charge. And if the master's plan worked, then…well, that would be a problem, wouldn't it? Because the master didn't seem to realize the hardship he would be opening up for himself if he actually accomplished his seemingly impossible dream.

...

Tails was just about to go back to check on Cosmo when the door suddenly opened and Cosmo, looking frightened, came through. Tails hurried to her.

"What's the matter?" he asked, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Something wrong?"

Cosmo stared into his eyes. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, sounding worried. "You look so worried, Tails! Is it…it's still there?" She placed her hand on her forehead.

Tails cursed himself mentally for upsetting her like that. "No! No, it's gone!" he assured her.

"It is?" Cosmo asked. She let out a huge sigh. "That's a relief!"

"Why did you look worried just now?" he asked her.

"Because you looked worried just now," she explained, absent-mindedly rubbing the first toe of her right foot against her left instep. "I thought you'd found that awful device was still inside of my brain, and you were trying to decide how to break the bad news to me."

Amy Rose looked away, but not until Tails noticed the satisfied look on her face. It practically screamed, "Told you so!" He decided to ignore her. But ignore Amy Rose was never easy.

"So how are you feeling, Cosmo?" the pink hedgehog asked.

"Well, the floor's very cold," Cosmo said. "I think I really do need some shoes."

"Tired?" Amy asked, leaning forward and staring at the plant girl.

"A little, I guess," Cosmo said, pulling her head back uncomfortably. "Uh…may I help you, Amy?"

"Aren't you guys finished yet?" Anita called, stepping into the room. "Cream agreed to keep your breakfast warm for you guys, but it's been a couple of hours now, and she's driving me nuts talking about flowers and chao!" She looked around. "Whoa! Mad scientist laboratory!"

Tails colored. "It is not!" he said, clenching his fists. "It's a hospital."

"Oh?" Anita said, grinning evilly. "So you and Cosmo have been playing doctor?"

"Huh? Sh-shut up!" Tails said, his face turning a deeper shade of red.

"I don't know anything about being a doctor," Cosmo said, missing Anita's joke. "I mean, I've applied a few bandages to people now and then, and taken their temperature for Tails when he was busy with other things, but that hardly qualifies me as a nurse, let alone a doctor."

Amy giggled. "It's really great to hear you try to explain simple things in great detail again, Cosmo," she said.

Cosmo nodded. "Thank you, Amy. I do my best."

Amy shook her head. "You're welcome…I guess," she said. "Now let's get out of this museum and eat breakfast!"

"Museum?" Tails said, looking around.

"Feels like a museum," Anita said. "You just need to hang some pictures on the walls. Put up a few statues…"

"That reminds me," Amy said, turning back to Tails. "You told Cosmo about her statue yet?"

Cosmo blinked. "A statue? For me?"

"A statue of you," Amy corrected. "With a big plaque talking about the hero that saved the entire galaxy. Hey, we'll have to show it to you!" She turned to Tails. "You seriously didn't mention it to her?"

Tails colored. "I've had other things on my mind, Amy!" he pointed out.

Cosmo blushed. "A statue of me?" she said. "Calling me a hero?" She shook her head. "You really shouldn't have done that, Tails. I wasn't trying to be heroic. I just…"

"You just were," Amy finished for her, grabbing the plant girl's hand. "Now let's eat breakfast and get to the mall! We have a lot of shopping to do today! I'll call Knuckles and tell him to be sure to get over to the mall while we're eating."

"But, Amy!" Tails started. "Cosmo…"

"Needs some new clothes, unless you want her to keep walking around barefoot in hand-me-downs!" Amy said, giving him a look that said not another word. Tails sighed. What was the use? Arguing with Amy Rose was a waste of time and effort. As the pink hedgehog dragged the somewhat confused looking Seedrian away, Tails sighed and followed. Whistling, Anita brought up the rear.

...

Bokkun woke with a cry. He'd been dreaming that someone was yelling at him. Not Eggman, this person was tall and thin. Decoe? Didn't seem like him. Bokkun got out of bed, actually a box placed under the stairs to Eggman's laboratory, and went to get breakfast. He heard a buzzing sound. The doctor's electric razor. Funny how he'd shave his face every day, but use all kinds of tonics to make that crazy mustache of his grow bigger and bushier. Oh well, maybe in a past life he was a walrus or something. Hahahahaha!

"Ow! Blast it!" he heard the fat man yell. "Feels like this worthless razor is trying to rip my face off!"

Well, that would probably be an improvement. Best not to tell him that, of course. Bokkun flew up to the cabinets over the refrigerator and got out a box of cereal. As he was pouring it into a bowl, Eggman came in, two bandages on his chin. Bokkun hid behind the cereal box so the doctor wouldn't see his grin.

"You look terrible, Doctor!" Decoe said, pulling out a chair for Eggman. Unfortunately, it was the chair Bokkun was just sitting down on. The messenger robot ended up on the floor.

"Hey, watch it!" Bokkun yelled.

"Why are you always underfoot, Bokkun?" Decoe demanded as Bocoe shooed Bokkun out of the way. The doctor sat down in the chair, which sagged under his massive girth, and glared at the bowl of cereal.

"What's this?" he demanded. "Cereal? You nitwits make me a decent breakfast! Ham and sausage and bacon and pancakes!"

Bocoe and Decoe attempted to give the doctor looks of concern. Since they were robots this was not easy to do.

"But Doctor Eggman," Decoe said, "you've been putting on weight again!"

"Yes, your bathroom scale made a most unpleasant sound the last time you stepped on it," Bocoe agreed.

"Stifle it!" Eggman yelled, pounding the table. The bottle of mustard fell over and the salt and pepper shakers shook violently. "Make me my breakfast NOW!"

"Right away, Sir!" Decoe said, turning on the stove. "Bocoe! Get the eggs! And be careful not to break any this time!"

"That wasn't me," Bocoe insisted, getting the eggs from the fridge. "That was Bokkun."

"Hey, that could happen to anybody!" Bokkun said defensively. "I…"

"Shut up, all of you!" Eggman said, scratching his chin. "That razor I got myself for my birthday is no good! I need a new one!" He twirled his mustache a little.

"Well, the animals did rebuild that shopping mall we trashed last year," Bokkun said, sneaking away with his cereal. "Maybe they sell razors there."

Eggman considered this. A grin broke out across his face. It was not a pleasant one. "Good idea," he said. "I'll kill two birds with one stone."

"We're going to kill birds?" Decoe asked.

"What have birds ever done to you?" Bocoe asked.

Eggman spun around and glared at them. "You morons! I mean, we're going to pick up some presents for ourselves today at that mall right after breakfast!"

"Oh, goody," Bocoe said. "I like presents."

"What sort of presents are we going to get, Doctor?" Decoe added.

"Why, anything we want, of course!" Eggman said. "Maybe some ski equipment, and a boat for the summer, and scuba gear, and a new couch and love seat and coffee table…"

"All that's gonna be really expensive," Bokkun said, eating his cereal from his home under the stairs.

"I don't recall saying anything about buying any of that stuff," Eggman pointed out. "We'll steal them, then destroy the mall. Ho ho ho!" He glared at Bocoe and Decoe. "After breakfast, that is! What's taking so long! I'm hungry!"

"Yes, Sir!" Decoe and Bocoe both cried, saluting. They hurried to get the doctor's breakfast ready.

...

I'd like to apologize to everyone that's been waiting for this story to be updated since March. I'll do my very best to update in the future far more often. Thank you so much for your patience.