A/N: I'm a terrible tease. You'll find out soon just what the hell happened in the previous chapter before it got cut off in a very silly way. Since I have no life to spend on more important things, maybe this is what'll do for the rest of my life; screw around with people. Whoever is still here for whatever reason, you have my sympathies for reading this in the first place. While this chapter is mostly about Tails and other characters, do try and stick around. I think the end of this chapter just might be worth it.


Chapter 9 - Supporting Me

Back at the familiar mainlands, just like the radio report this morning predicted, the city of iron was still drowning in a very unreasonable heat. Even Tails, who finally managed to enter the jurisdiction of the United Federation, could feel the significant difference between the temperature here and the much colder breeze back at the mysterious island. The two tailed pilot flew back to the Mystic Ruins, still feeling a sense of anxiousness in his chest for abandoning his hedgehog companions in the middle of the unknown and unpredictable seas. However, he had no other idea that could help them at that desperate point. If he had accidentally crashed his plane during the storm that enveloped the island, that wouldn't do him nor the trapped mammals any good.

Somebody needed to go and search for help, although he was wondering if anyone else knew where to find them ever again if he didn't decide to go back. However, it left a bitter taste in his mouth merely thinking about it. For now, only Tails and the President must have known where they were at this exact moment. When the biplane landed at his workshop, Tails felt relieved that he was back at the place he knew like the insides of the Tornado.

He wasn't about to waste anymore time than it was necessary. Turning off the propeller and jumping down to the solid ground he hadn't seen for a few hours straight, the pilot scratched his head and thought thoroughly about what was the next best thing to do. Eventually he realized he couldn't come up with any sort of wise solution and shrugged at himself, ''I can't just stand around and do nothing. I need to find somebody quickly.''

Running down the stone stairs, he prepared to launch himself into the air with his twin tails and flied off toward the train station, tiring himself just before he reached the base. He continued up the wooden staircase with a quick sprint as fast as he could. Once the blue eyed genius finally reached the top, he stumbled slightly when he accidentally ran into a pair of giant pink... I mean, Tails bumped right into the person he might have or haven't been looking for this entire time, but that was about to reveal itself properly in the incoming conversation.

Scratching his worried head, Tails backed up a bit in slight awkwardness, ''Oops, excuse me,'' he apologized quickly with a blush over his muzzle and ran around the woman, not recognizing her until she happened to address him with a noticeable sultry disposition.

''What's the rush, fox boy?'' skidding against the hard wood flooring, the yellow fox twirled around with widened eyes as he did not expect the batgirl to be here at this time, especially not this early in the afternoon. Then again, he wasn't sure what at all was happening all this time back at home while they were off on a mission far away.

''Rouge?'' he asked with clear disbelief, only to quickly recognize the red mammal beside her with excitement, ''Knuckles! You're both here! I'm so glad!''

''Hmm?'' the guardian of the Master Emerald grunted out confusingly and tilted his head at the anxious fox, ''What is it, Tails? You look worn out.''

With an embarrassing chuckle, the pilot rubbed his forehead as he began explaining, ''Well, I just flew all the way back from…'' he pointed toward his workshop with his finger and ended his sentence right there with a questionable blink. In that moment, the ever present turmoil returned back to him as if to haunt him over the fact that he just left the dangerous island with no proper warning and abandoned the two multicolored hedgehogs to fend for themselves with no support whatsoever.

He gripped his head as a guilty conscience started overcoming his mind, ''And I… oh, no…''

Squinting over to the female bat with a shrug, the echidna was quick to start a conversation with a new set of questions to move the dialogue further, seeing how the pilot seemed to be losing his words at this time. He spread out his hands in question, ''Did something happen? For that matter, where's Sonic?''

''We got to the island…'' Tails nervously downed his head to stare into the ground and refused to look at the two. He flattened his ears against his head as he could only think about the worst case scenario that was bound to happen to them. Nodding slightly, the yellow furred fox had a feeling he just made a grievous mistake, continuing with a vague sniffing noise that managed to intensify as he talked, ''I didn't want to. I only left to refuel the Tornado. And now both Sonic and Shadow are…'' he found it hard to continue any further with that heavy dark cloud hovering over him the entire time.

''Shadow?'' Rouge was surprised to hear about her G.U.N. colleague and propped her hand against her chin in interest, ''What does he have to do with this?''

Crossing his hands on his back, Tails answered honestly and for once, precisely and to the point, ''Sonic… asked him to come along with us instead of Knuckles.''

''What?'' much to the displeasure of everyone's good hearing, the red echidna shouted out in sheer doubtfulness. He could barely believe the blue hedgehog's decision to replace him with his own darker counterpart of all possible existing choices. Breathing loudly and deeply, he pointed his fists at Tails with an infuriated expression on his face that seemed to entertain the giggling female beside him, ''Does he think he can replace me with that angsty furball?''

Developing an awkward expression on his face, the two tailed fox started stumbling over his next sentence, trying to imply what both he and the emerald eyed hero seemed to believe about the red guardian and the female thief. Twiddling his fingers around, Tails asked with a puzzled tone, ''But I thought you didn't want… you two were… uhh… together?''

The look on Knuckles' face was obviously not one of an amused persona, ''Are you serious, Tails?'' that implication apparently wasn't the case after all and the pilot slightly backed away from the raging echidna, almost tripping in the process, ''I only went with her because I lost a bet!''

Tails asked again with a confused look in his eyes, ''But why didn't you-

''Tell Sonic?'' Knuckles already knew the conclusion of that question and finished it in his tone of voice which was usually louder than the yellow furred fox predicted it would be. However, the pilot's shrugging disposition only managed to make him even more annoyed than he already was in this situation. The child prodigy already suspected what his answer was going to be in the next few seconds. He was actually quite right when he pumped his fists into the air dramatically for no reason than to drive the point home, ''And have him gloat all over it! Not a chance, I'd rather die than ever admit it to him!''

Lastly, Knuckles pointed at the white female, ''I don't even like her in that way!''

Running one of her hands through a patch of short white hair, Rouge grunted out as if she was insulted by that remark. She strayed off the dialogue the two mammals were having and interfered with a scoff, ''Liar, you enjoy my company,'' she replied with a pouting expression and leaned towards him with a wink, ''Besides, you still owe me that Chaos Emerald.''

''Shut up, bat!'' he wasn't all too happy to hear about it and shouted at her, ''You're not getting anything from me!''

Once again, the yellow furred pilot stepped in to play the peacemaker, ''Please, calm down.''

Uttering a loud guttural sound, Knuckles turned his back on the two quite childishly, folding his hands as he stared off into the bluish sky. He was getting sick of people treating him like a naive idiot who could be manipulated for anything possible. While it was true in some cases, although quite regrettably, the red echidna merely believed he had far worse luck than he believed at first. However, the guardian of the Master Emerald wasn't a moron. He knew far more than anyone gave him credit for, he had an idea what to expect from various situations and he remembered that his position was also a very important one.

After he literally abandoned the team just to prove that other different bet he had with Rouge, he didn't have any regrets doing so, hoping that Sonic would realize just how much their trinity of heroes was important to him. He liked to imagine the blue hedgehog would come crawling back to him on his knees and beg him to return to the team. That is, until he realized that the Fastest Thing Alive had no qualms replacing him with someone else. And with Shadow the Hedgehog no less, yet another guy Sonic just barely got along with which was surprisingly and suspiciously accurate for a third member of Team Sonic. Clearly, the two never have and never will think on the same level.

''Oh, ignore him,'' the white furred female suggested with a wink and brought her eyes toward the younger fox, ''Now, why don't you tell us the whole story?''

''There's no time but…'' Tails realized they have strayed off topic way too much and he quickly needed to explain the situation to someone. Sniffing lightly and staring upwards toward the thieving batgirl with widened eyes he almost looked worthy of pity, ''Long story short; I left them on the island for the night and I said I would come back in the morning to pick them up. But then a storm came out of nowhere and I couldn't get anywhere near. Now they're stranded there all by themselves… I couldn't do anything other than leave and find some help. I'm worried, Rouge! What if something happens to them?''

Rouge wasn't the type to comfort somebody in these kinds of situations, even if it was the yellow furred genius. But she knew the two rivaling hedgehogs well enough to contemplate the idea that they were fine after all, ''I think you're underestimating them. They might be a pair of jerks, but I wouldn't expect them in any serious danger,'' the bat flapped her leathery wings as she folded her arms around her chest with a cheeky smile, ''I'm sure they're alright.''

Nodding his head, the pilot felt slightly awkward for doubting their abilities, ''I guess.''

''I hope they are…'' the red echidna voiced his opinion on the subject and turned around aggressively, ''Because I'll be the one to show them a world of pain when they come back!''

Sighing heavily, the female was slowly getting annoyed by the attitude she's been putting up with for some time now. She waggled her finger at him in a very teasing yet berating manner and spoke out, ''Give me a break, Knuckles. What are you going to do against them?''

''You see these fists?'' he lifted them right in front of her face, ''They're not here just for show, bat!''

Much to his surprise and eventual irritation, the batgirl shrugged him off like a joke and started giggling loudly as if the last sentence from his mouth sounded like the most ridiculous idea the G.U.N. agent has ever heard in her life. She flung at his forehand with her fingers and developed a grin on her muzzle, ''But that's all you are. All talk and no show.''

''What? You… what!'' while her snorts were getting louder with every action he preceded with, the pissy echidna was unsuccessfully deciding between flailing his arms around wildly like a child or talk in broken sentence to somehow counter the cheeky woman in front of him. The most they could decipher from his blabbering was something about the power formation, Rouge's annoying attitude and how much time he'd spent punching boulders, tearing down trees and sending the blue hedgehog so high into the air with one punch he was merely a twinkle in the sky after a few seconds, until he was found a couple of miles away with his head stuck in the ground.

It didn't occur to Tails until this very moment, but the red echidna and the bat in front of him clearly had nothing going on at this point, as much as Rouge herself was usually teased by those who believed she had a crush on him. To break them up a little faster, the yellow furred pilot addressed her, ''Rouge, can you do me a favor?''

Contorting her bright lips and deviating away from Knuckles, she seemed puzzled by his request, ''Me? What do you need, fox boy?''

With a vague but sweet smile on his muzzle, he spoke out bluntly to waste no more time then they had already, along with the biggest hopeful blue eyes she had ever seen on the two tailed fox until this point, ''Do you think you could arrange a meeting with Mr. President? It's very important.''

''You mean right now?'' still surprised at the sudden request, the thieving agent didn't see the point in it the first time around when she thought back on the missing hedgehogs. She asked further to learn more, ''How will that help them get off the island?''

He nodded, ''I need to know what we're dealing with before we do anything and we'll need the President's help for it. I'll tell you all about it once we're there.''

Squinting over to the guardian and back to the pilot, Rouge exhaled heavily. She wasn't completely sure what Tails was up to, but the yellow furred fox was a lot smarter than his childlike appearance let on. He pretty much rivaled the old Doctor himself after all. Whatever it had to do with the enigmatic island he mentioned earlier and the hedgehogs' safety, he must've had an idea in his head and decided to go along with it.

The bat nodded as she pushed herself from the ground and into the air, ''If you say so. Follow me.''

XXX

''Come in.''

The President invited Tails and Knuckles inside, along with the floating batgirl sitting in midair right beside the human's chair with her arms and legs crossed around her lithe body. They walked through the gigantic doors into the Presidential office, a very tidy and uniform place where touching something would disrupt both the peacefulness and neatness of the room, even if to a small effect. Unlike most of the city in this moment, the room was significantly colder with a lighter breeze running through it, almost a relief due to the heat generated outside.

The only thing that appeared messy was the President's desk, with papers and documents lying in no particular order all over the place with differently colored pencils resting upon them. While it was difficult to make out any contents successfully with the desk in this confusing condition, the only thing that managed to stick out amongst all the junk was a photograph of Sonic and Shadow, a very rare occasion of them caught on camera together. Even single photos weren't much of a deal for that matter, since most pictures depicted only a brightly colored supersonic blur, passing by like a ghost of some sorts.

Looking up from the scribbled notes, the human stared right into the yellow furred fox with his hands clasped together, ''Miss Rouge tells me it's important.''

The pilot decided to speak out immediately, ''It really is, Mr. President. I promise not to take anymore of your time than we need.''

''Go on,'' the President leaned back in his chair and carefully listened to the two tailed mammal.

Pilling up a greater breath in his lungs than he ever required for anything else other than diving underwater, Tails went straight to the point, ''I want to know about the mission you offered to Sonic yesterday.''

Tilting his head to the side, the President seemed confused by those words, ''Why do you need to know it from me? I was sure he would tell everything to all of you.''

Gaining nothing but clear silence and blank looks from all anthropomorphic animals in his office, the human started rubbing his chin in a very thoughtful manner along with the winged G.U.N. agent beside him who considered doing the same. The pilot could say nothing more but down his head for a moment and sigh out completely, with Knuckles being the one who finally who broke the quiet yet tense air around them, ''Typical for him.''

''Strange…'' the President wondered aloud and stood up from his chair. He walked over to the cupboard behind him, pulling out a very thin folder he had on the subject of the mysterious land he managed to gain from only a few reliable sources. Offering it to the two tailed fox, he sat down again with his hands supporting his chin, ''As you can see here, the island was found completely by accident two days ago in the early morning. I've been conversing with G.U.N. and my acquaintances wherever or not it's worth investigating it. Since I knew sessions were going to take longer than it was necessary, I asked Sonic for help to see if the island is any threat to us before we make a fuss out of it. However, I've been recently informed by the intelligence that it has disappeared from the face of the earth.''

Tails was shocked to learn of it and yelped out with a gasp, almost dropping the files out of his hands, ''What?''

Thinking for a short moment, the batgirl turned to the yellow pilot as she remembered something he had said before, ''Maybe that storm you mentioned has something to do with it?''

''It was as if it was rotating around the island. Maybe it's preventing us from seeing it,'' the two tailed pilot explained it, but almost as if he didn't believe his own words either, ''But I've never seen anything like that before.''

Rouge wondered with a grunt, ''Hmm… how mysterious.''

The fox stood firmly with worried eyes as he recalled the bad weather back at the unknown land. As far he could speculate, the storm looked as if it was generated right out of nowhere and its only location was that particular island. Tails couldn't be sure what the cause for it was or why it was there in the first place. Maybe the island itself was having weird effects on the climate or it was just another terrible mood swing the ocean had to offer due to its unpredictability, although weather manipulation machines weren't unheard of in this time or age. Even Eggman at some point must've thought about creating one for his world domination projects. How he would actually do that, nobody knew, but considering he came from the Robotnik lineage, the mad Doctor was capable of many things just as horrible as the previous one.

Scanning over the rest of the papers, Tails quickly asked the human, ''Mr. President, how much do you know about the island?''

Shrugging lightly, he answered with a disappointed yet confident tone, ''Almost nothing. This file is all we have. We couldn't find anything in the database, the old archives… even the libraries and professional geographers could tell us nothing. The only thing we managed to scrape for was its name… Christmas Island.''

Tails blinked, ''Christmas Island?''

''Never heard of it,'' claimed Rouge.

''Me either,'' so did Knuckles.

''You can count me in as well,'' said the President as the last member of the mind boggled trinity, ''It's especially weird now…'' he leaned forward to stare at his messy desk and thought back on his short meeting with Sonic late at night that still managed to bother him, but particularly in this conversation as he learned quickly, ''Sonic didn't seem even remotely interested in the mission until I mentioned the name.''

The yellow furred fox suddenly confirmed it much to everyone's surprise, ''I've heard the name before.''

At the initial puzzling expression, the human, the bat and the echidna turned their heads toward the younger mammal to learn something new, ''Really? Where?''

''It was completely by accident but…'' it's been a while since the blue hedgehog actually referred to it by name but having managed to hear it from someone else's lips this time around, it all came back to the fox's memory in an instant moment. He explained further the same way he remembered it, ''Sonic let it slip once… but only once. When I asked him about it, he avoided the question like there was something bad about it. But I eventually figured it out by myself.''

The human asked with sheer interest, ''What does it mean then?''

''It's Sonic's… home island.''

Snorting slightly, the red echidna commented on the fact most people didn't even think about these days. Nobody present here or for that matter, nobody in the entire world seemed to know anything about the Blue Blur's background. Surprisingly, nobody questioned it enough to make a big deal out of it, ''He was actually born somewhere? I thought he just blinked into existence.''

''That's interesting,'' the winged female giggled lightly as she thought about it, ''Even Sonic the Hedgehog gets homesick, huh?''

''Are you sure that's the reason?'' the President asked the pilot again to be sure.

''I'm positive,'' Tails replied with a nod and stared into his busy hands, right back at the rare photos of Christmas Island and those little facts that only pointed out its location but nothing about its actual history. Finally he understood why Sonic wanted to get to the island as soon as possible, even going so far to spend a night there to get a better look at it. At this time, the yellow furred fox was also wondering what Shadow was going to think of it once he finds out about it. He could only hope the black hedgehog wasn't going to get angry at the Blue Blur or anyone else for that matter.

However, his attitude made no sense to him even now. The Fastest Thing Alive lived for the present. He didn't even remotely seem like the person to ever set his foot into the past, less likely his own. That is, if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

Nobody knew where he came from, how he came to be or why he was whatever he represented.

Sonic was just… there and they all accepted it as such.

The President wasn't sure what to think of it, ''Why didn't he tell anyone? The subject appears personal but still…''

Tails shrugged alongside a deep sigh, ''I don't know but he must have a reason for it.''

''Not a good one, that's for sure,'' Knuckles gritted his teeth and folded his arms tightly around him before turning away from everyone in a rude fashion.

Noticing that the two tailed fox won't be able to defend the blue hedgehog's decisions for too long, he did have another idea up his sleeve to change everything for the better. He wanted to understand his older buddy and find out the forgotten history behind the elusive Christmas Island. However, Tails wanted his permission first, ''Mr. President, can I have a look through the archives? I want to learn more about it.''

''I don't see how it will do you any good,'' he replied with doubtful eyes, ''We couldn't find anything about it in the first place.''

However, the pilot wasn't about to give up on the search and kept insisting, approaching the desk with a nod and handing over the useless folder right back to him, ''There has to be something we've missed. Give me a chance, Mr. President.''

''I highly doubt there's anything out there that hasn't been already found. But if you believe you can find something we couldn't…'' the human President started searching through his messy desk, with a few of the flimsier papers and scribbled documents falling to the floor in quick succession as he reached for an old fashioned looking phone with a rotary dial. When he was done dialing the correct number, he turned to the intelligent fox with a nod, ''I'll inform the G.U.N. Commander to allow you the entry to the archives. Miss Rouge, would you be so kind and escort Mr. Prower to the G.U.N. headquarters?''

Landing elegantly on the floor and bowing like a lady before the leader of the entire United Federation, the cheeky batgirl was glad to do so, ''Certainly, Mr. President,'' and motioned for the yellow furred mammal to come along with a teasing click of her tongue, ''Let's go, fox boy.''

The red echidna quickly inserted himself back into the picture, ''I'm going too.''

''No echidnas allowed in the base, sugar,'' she blinked provokingly, only to generate a haste and angry disposition on Knuckles' face which at this point wasn't all too surprising.

''Don't joke in times like this, bat!''

Tails felt like facepalming himself, ''Knuckles…''

Grunting out a high pitched noise, the female pouted at the serious mammal in clear bitterness, ''I'm sorry for you not being able to take a joke.''

''Whatever, bat,'' he answered with a mumbled and irritated voice.

Exhaling out significantly, the yellow furred pilot didn't know what to expect from these two anymore. However, he was happy that the fox wasn't alone in this troubled situation, just like he was glad he asked Shadow to go along with Sonic. At this point, Tails believed he would probably die of worry if the blue hedgehog was there all on his own. As soon Rouge whistled for him from the corridor outside the President's room, he turned back to the annoyed violet eyed guardian, ''Come on, Knuckles. Let's go!''

XXX

''Shi-

As it turned out, the clicking noise was actually the robot's self-destruct mechanism and the two didn't realize it quickly enough until the sound completely disappeared after that last particular click. It resulted in a massive explosion with the two hedgehogs involved in all too close for their comfort, with shrapnel and pieces of metal flying through the air like weightless beings. The incoming shock waves engulfed the two mammals from all possible sides, sending both of them backwards through the air and right down the deep pit stationed in the room, the ever so loving chasm that Sonic himself just had to give it an obscure nickname as if it was a sort of pet.

Shadow proved himself to be completely powerless while up in the air due to the shock treatment of the explosion that managed to surprise both of them in this place. But as he was falling down the pit, the black hedgehog managed to flip himself over and tightly grabbed a malfunctioned pipe conspicuously standing out from one of the walls on his way down, one of the few things he saw that seemed to have a sturdy composition to it. As he propped his feet against the wall and somehow tried to lift himself through the falling shrapnel and the cough worthy smoke, the black mammal happened to notice that the blue hedgehog just passed right next to him with a corner of his eye. With no hesitance, he grabbed the blue one's outstretched hand out of reflex and kept him from falling further down the drain. In this very moment, the crimson eyed agent was now holding onto the pipe with one hand and Sonic with the other, each pulling him into different directions.

''Dammit...'' he swore harshly. The Ultimate Lifeform kept himself close to the wall to avoid falling metal which turned out to be a much difficult task than it appeared at first, having strained his limbs too much at this point. Eventually, various flying rubble and debris stopped raining down the chasm, but the two multicolored mammals still suffered from extreme ringing and confusion in their heads. The air smelled of burning metal, much to the displeasure of their sensitive noses that picked up on it and blurred out everything else. The black hedgehog slightly shook his head to compose himself, but at least he had his hearing back, whether that was a good thing or not.

Whistling in relief, Sonic commented on the situation with amazement, ''That was close!''

The other rebutted with an enraged voice, ''It was close enough!''

Looking downwards with a slight shiver, the blue hedgehog could see nothing more but a white mist covering what it appeared to be the bottom of the pit. Even from this height he couldn't see anything nor figure out just how deep it actually was. Bottomless pits were his everyday enemy he had to deal with constantly, but this wasn't the most conformable position to think about such things at this point. The only thing keeping him from finding out that peculiar question was Shadow's tightened grip on his wrist, slightly surprising him that the black hedgehog did actually catch him after all, as much as it started to pain him.

Sonic turned his head back upwards to talk to his darker counterpart, ''What was that thing?''

''It doesn't matter right now. We need to get up first,'' the black one sighed heavily as he nodded his head and tried to find a way to get out of this mess.

''Okay,'' the blue mammal pouted sarcastically, ''How?''

Shadow imitated the Blue Blur's voice out of annoyance as he squinted down on him, ''Whaddaya mean, how? Climb, hedgehog,'' he replied and swiftly turned his head away from his smug expression.

As the older mammal finally realized, his suggestion wasn't a very smart one now that he thought about it. The round walls of the pit appeared to be cleaner than he believed at first. The pipe he was holding onto turned out to be one of the few things that actually stuck out through the wall and offered some support to him. Trying to think how to get out was turning out to be a harder job to pull off. Other than actually climbing out, of course. While he wasn't going to admit it, the black hedgehog felt exhausted after the battle with the giant robot coming out of nowhere, so no instant teleportation for them this time around but casual old fashioned climbing.

And dear Chaos, did he hate it doing it the normal way.

Because at this time he wasn't looking out only for himself, but he also had the blue hedgehog hanging on the edge of his fingertips. And before anyone accuses him of loathing Sonic's guts ever again, if he really did, he'd probably leave the blue hedgehog on the mercy of the pit. If it was either his promise to Tails or genuine goodness out of his heart (yes, that's right) that made him do such a thing, but it didn't matter much to Shadow at this very moment. The only thing the black one wanted was to get out of the deep chasm and talk about it later.

Searching for any sort of platform that could help them climb upwards, the Ultimate Lifeform suddenly twitched his ears towards an irritating screeching noise, only to realize the pipe he was holding on was slowly succumbing under their combined weight, ''What the…''

''Oh…'' the Blue Blur didn't like the sound of that.

The pipe buckled under the pressure and dropped slightly, swinging the hedgehogs dangerously over the pit and threatened to throw them into the unknown oblivion. Shadow tried not to panic or accidentally sever his hold on Sonic's wrist as he grunted out painfully and tried to keep himself on the level of the pipe, ''Damn!''

Staring upwards, the blue wonder started to sound worried, ''Shadow, are you okay?''

''I'm fine!'' was the black hedgehog's only answer and tried to breathe slowly with an instantly racing heart, all while clinging onto the useless thing in front of him.

''It's not gonna hold,'' the Fastest Thing Alive could feel this wasn't going to end well for any of them.

Looking downwards again, the blue hedgehog once again saw nothing more but clouds obstructing his vision of the actual ground. That is, if it even existed in the first place. A fall down there appeared to be a long and painful one. As the pipe still turned dangerously to the side, only his darker counterpart appeared to be completely distressed as a shiver covered his entire body, slowly but surely, considering he was the one put under the most stress in the situation. In contrast, Sonic was terrifyingly calm and still which usually wasn't his style nor natural for someone in his position, especially when he was hanging over a bottomless pit with his would be rival and previously his enemy preventing him from falling to his eventual death.

Someone else would probably be freaking out completely at this point in time, but the blue hedgehog hardly seemed worried about it. He was more concerned with the Ultimate Lifeform as corny as it managed to sound in his head. Shadow was slowly going anxious and the Blue Blur didn't know just how long he was going to hold on or how long until the pipe completely succumbs under the pressure. Taking in account the black hedgehog's stern and almost determinate grip both on him and the crumbling pipe, it looked liked he wasn't going to let any of them go, even when both forces pushed him upwards and downwards to a great effect.

If this went on any longer, both hedgehogs would fall down the chasm.

Nodding and closing his eyes, the Fastest Thing Alive couldn't let that happen and decided to come up with a solution on his own. He expected his darker rival to completely taken aback by anything he was about to say, but he couldn't help himself, ''Shadow… let me go.''

For a moment, the black hedgehog widened his crimson eyes in shock before he even considered looking down at his rival, ''What?''

''It's not gonna hold us both,'' the emerald eyed hero explained with a bit of an ironic grin on his muzzle, completely out of place in this situation, ''Just let me go.''

''Sonic…'' the Ultimate Lifeform didn't get the idea behind it nor did he want to understand what the blue wonder was up to this time around. The various problems he had to deal with just kept pilling up with every incoming second. They were stranded in the middle of nowhere, they didn't know where the two tailed pilot was, they fought a gigantic machine that came out from the wall which then randomly exploded in their faces and now they were hanging for their dear lives over a deep chasm with the black hedgehog being the only one responsible for their safety or able to do anything at all.

And now his lively blue counterpart was having suicidal tendencies.

The day couldn't get any better than this.

Gritting his teeth tightly together, the black mammal suddenly became enraged at Sonic's ridiculous suggestion. If the blue hedgehog believed Shadow couldn't handle this situation without the other butting in, he was thoroughly mistaken, ''You are the biggest idiot I have ever seen in my life!''

''Hey, if you're worried or anything…'' the Fastest Thing Alive chuckled out much to his surprise and offered him a wink, ''I am Sonic the Hedgehog after all, right?''

''I'm not.''

Shadow tried to convince himself and the emerald eyed hero that he was perfectly alright even with the painful strain put on his arms that felt like it was about to tear his body cleanly apart, all very much to the blue hedgehog's utter disgruntlement. The black hedgehog decided he wasn't going to listen to him nor was he going to suffer the consequences that came along with it, ''But I'm not going to be the one to blame if you die! Think for a second before you say anything, hedgehog! I'm sick of being pulled into this mess because of your stupid decisions!''

But even after that, the blue hedgehog wasn't going to change his own or his counterpart's mind. The pipe screeched again under the black one's grip, echoing throughout the entire room as if announcing the incoming fall the two hedgehogs were about to become very much acquainted with. Twitching his eyes slightly, the older hedgehog shook all over as if a lightning just struck through his entire body, once he realized the younger one just gently gripped his wrist with his free hand by some chance, ''Shadow?''

Hearing a completely calm and soft voice from Sonic sent electric shivers down his spines, ''Don't you even think about it…'' he didn't want to look at him at all nor did he want to know what the blue mammal was about to say to him.

Enough was enough for him.

''Sorry.''

It took him a minute to register that the blue hedgehog was actually apologizing to him for some strange reason. It took him even longer to realize what he really meant by that.

What the emerald eyed hero did next was unlike anything the Ultimate Lifeform had ever seen before. It all happened so fast and yet so slow he could've prevented it immediately with no consequences at all, but he didn't… he couldn't.

Right out of nowhere, the Fastest Thing Alive suddenly tightened his grip on the agent's hand and purposely twisted Shadow's wrist with his free hand much to the black hedgehog's surprise who finally gave in to the pain and accidentally opened his palm, dropping Sonic out of his hold immediately. As much as the other panicked and tried to grab the falling mammal, he was already out of his reach. Shadow could only stare in sheer shock along with his outstretched arm as the blue hedgehog disappeared in the depths of the chasm.

And even with that small corner of his eye, he could see the younger one's final expression he gave out to him.

It wasn't one of regret, fear nor resentment… it was a genuine smile. Something Shadow only saw once in his entire life and in this kind of situation.

He still didn't understand.

''Sonic…''


A/N: Well… I wasn't expecting that. R&R.