AFTER THE METAREX

Chapter Twelve

"The Calm Before the Storm?"

"Tails?" Cosmo said softly. The fox hadn't moved for several minutes. "Tails…are you all right?"

"Huh?" Tails said. He shook his head. "Of…of course I am! I…" He placed a hand over his eyes. "I'm sure we have nothing to worry about."

"Tails…" Cosmo said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Maybe I should just…I mean…I don't want to get you into trouble…"

"Don't worry, Cosmo, everything's going to be fine," Tails assured her, patting her hand and giving her a thumbs up. He tried to smile. The result was he looked like he had gas.

Amy and Cream looked at each other. They'd seen that smile before, all too many times, on the fox over the last several months. Cream started to say something but Amy shook her head.

"Why don't you show Tails what you got today, Cosmo?" Amy suggested.

"What?" Cosmo asked. "Oh, Amy, Tails doesn't care about something like that now." She gave Amy an angry look, started to say something, then shook her head. No, it wasn't Amy's fault that the plant girl hadn't been with Tails all day that day. She obviously had wanted to spend some time with Cosmo too. But no one would object to Amy visiting Cosmo. Her time with Tails might be running out yet again. "I'm sorry, Amy."

"Huh?" the pink hedgehog said. "You didn't do anything."

"You're right, I'm sorry," Cosmo said again.

"Don't apologize so much," Amy demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "It's cute at first but it starts getting annoying after awhile."

"Amy, this really isn't the time to get mad at Cosmo," Cream said softly.

"I….I should go home and…and get everything ready for when they show up," Tails said, looking dazed. "They'll want me home when they get there anyway." He started towards the front door.

"I'm going with you," Cosmo said. "If I'm going to meet them I should get it over with."

"I'll go too," Amy said, suddenly hefting her hammer. "Just in case they don't want to listen to reason…"

"Amy, no!" Cosmo said, stepping in front of the hedgehog and holding up her hands as if to block the hammer. "That's not the way to make peace with someone! We're dealing with Tails' mom and dad, not my…" She stopped, turned away. She suddenly realized she had clenched her fists and quickly unclenched them. "I'm sure there's some way I can get them to accept me. If I have to, I suppose I could beg…"

"No way!" Tails cried, causing Cosmo to jump and everyone else to stare at him. "Sorry," he said, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I don't want you begging. You don't deserve to have to do something like that. You're a great hero. And a princess."

"A princess of what?" Cosmo asked sadly, looking at the floor. "Princess of dead trees and rocks and mud puddles…"

"Please don't talk like that, Cosmo," Tails said. She had spoken in the same tone of voice when she'd insisted in the Snake Metarex caverns that she didn't deserve to touch a chaos emerald. He took her hands in his. "You're a very special person. And not just to me. We got through the Metarex. You got through your…leaving me…and now we'll get through this too."

Cosmo nodded then looked up into his eyes. "It's weird," she said. "Nothing should scare me after what I've been through, but the thought of meeting your parents makes my legs feel like rubber. Actually, even if I wasn't worried they might not like me, I think I'd be nervous."

"That's normal behavior," Amy pointed out. "You wouldn't know that since you've never been in love before."

"Yeah, you should have seen Amy when she first met Mom and Dad," Anita said. Amy waved to her to stop. The other hedgehog smiled and waved back. "She was so nervous, she called Mom 'Mr. Parlouzer' and Dad 'Mrs. Parlouzer.' Then she said she was so happy to finally meet 'family's Sonic' instead of 'Sonic's family…' Yeah, I see you, Amy. Hi there to you too! And then she said she was…mrphglx!" Amy had placed her hand over her mouth.

"Anita is such a kidder," Amy said, looking daggers at the younger erinaceinae. "Anyway, I'm sure Cosmo can win them over with time if she's polite and graceful and doesn't mind them pushing her around a little bit." Tails started to object but she waved him off. "Sometimes we have to make compromises," she pointed out. "I would like to jump on Sonic and hug him and kiss him every time I see him, for instance, but I've learned that if I do that he's just going to run away."

Anita dropped to her knees, freeing herself of Amy's hand. "I've watched Big Brother run from you a lot. It's kind of funny, really."

"No it's not!" Amy said, clenching her fists. "Why do you lie?"

"I think we've all seen Mister Sonic do that," Cream said. "But it doesn't happen that much any more," she added quickly as Amy turned to her. Cream grabbed Cheese and held him in front of her protectively. Amy had never hit her, but it never hurt to be careful.

Cosmo had started running her hand nervously through her hair. The result was that it now stood out in every direction like a lawn that badly needed to be mowed.

"Um…maybe I should get a brush and a comb for you, Cosmo…" Cream said.

Cosmo blinked. "What was that, Cream?"

"I'll be right back," the bunny called from around the corner of the room.

Cosmo stared after her a moment, then turned to Tails. "You know your parents better than anyone else, Tails," she said. "And you're certainly the smartest person around. So what do you suggest I do? How do I meet them? Do I smile? Look expressionless? Do I make eye contact or look down at my feet? Should I try to be witty or serious or…oh, who am I kidding? If I try to make a joke they'll probably think I'm weird." She turned to Amy and Anita. "Do I seem weird to either of you? What do I do with my hands when I meet them? Should I keep them behind my back, or would that look like I was hiding something?"

"First, take a deep breath," Amy said, leading Cosmo to the couch and making her sit down. She noticed Cream returning with a brush, comb, and small mirror. "Then, I want you to take a look at yourself."

Cosmo's eyes grew wide. "What? Why? What's wrong with the way I look?" she asked, starting to stand up. "Do I have food in my teeth?" Amy pushed her back down, then took the mirror from Cream and held it out to her.

Cosmo's eyes grew even wider. "Oh no!" she said, looking at her hair. She tried to push it down, but it popped back up again.

"It's okay, Cosmo," Tails assured her, crossing the room until he was standing behind the couch. "I have trouble with my hair too."

"But you're not trying to impress your folks," Amy pointed out. "You know, I really think you should have a makeover before you meet Tails' parents, Cosmo."

"But I like her fine the way she is!" Tails argued.

"We should take her to Bunny, she can give Cosmo a great new 'do," Amy said, her eyes already far away looking at things that only she could see. "Maybe a perm, and a manicure, and…"

"A perm?" Cosmo asked, really looking confused now. "I remember you saying you were thinking of getting one once on the Blue Typhoon, but I didn't want to seem ignorant, so I didn't ask you what it meant."

"It means they do something to your hair to make it really curly," Anita said, wrapping a lock of the plant girl's hair around her finger then releasing it. It immediately snapped back straight again. "I don't know if Cosmo's hair would respond well to one, Amy. It's too straight. It would be easier to try combing it, maybe over one eye…"

"Maybe we should put it up," Cream suggested, brushing Cosmo's hair. "Like Cinderella when she went to the ball."

"I said I like her fine the way she is!" Tails repeated.

"Oh, what do you know?" Amy demanded, glaring at him. "You're a man!"

"But I think Tails is right," Cosmo said, trying to get away from the three girls. Cosmo didn't like being the center of attention and being fussed over like this was making her uncomfortable. "And I really think we should be leaving for his house already. Tails wouldn't want them to get there first."

"Hopefully we have a few hours before they arrive," Tails said. "But I should clean up the house before they show up."

"And I'll be happy to help you," Cosmo offered.

"Me too!" Cream said. "My mom always feels happier when everything in her house is neat and tidy."

Tails and Amy looked at each other. Vanilla's house wasn't always neat and tidy?

"I think I'll just be moving along," Knuckles said from the doorway. "Next time you can get True Blue to be your pack mule. So long."

"Hmm…sounds good to me…" Amy said, smiling at Sonic. "What do you think, my darling Sonic?"

"I…whoa, look at the time…" Sonic said, backing away. "I really think I should be going…"

Amy stamped her foot. "Sonic! I thought we were over that kind of thing!" Her face twisted like she was going to cry.

"Sorry," Sonic said, no longer backing up but looking ready to make a run for it if he need to, "but I thought we were over you acting like that."

"Like what?" Cream asked, looking confused.

"Like she's going to catch him and lock him up in a cage?" Anita suggested with a grin.

"You're all so mean to me," Amy said, pouting.

Sonic sighed. Obviously old habits were dying hard for both of them. Besides, Sally was still on his mind a lot these days. "I really should be going," he insisted. "And I don't think you guys should stay with Tails and Cosmo much longer. They need at least a little time alone."

"What about you and me?" Amy asked. "You are taking me to the masquerade on Valentine's day, right?"

"We'll see," Sonic said. "See you guys around." And then, like the wind, he was gone.

"He's taking you where on what day?" Cosmo asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Amy said dismissively. "You've already got somebody to take you."

"I really have to get moving, everybody," Tails said.

"Yes, let's go now," Cosmo agreed, holding her hand out. Tails took it and they walked outside together.

"Honestly," Amy said to Anita, who was starting to follow them. "If your brother was half as romantic as Tails he'd be normal!"

"Normal is boring," Anita said with a smirk. "I'd much rather be unique."

"Where did you see her last?" Merlin demanded. "Take me there."

The nurse led him across the facilities, muttering repeatedly that it wasn't her fault and she shouldn't be blamed for a patient being lost.

"Yes, yes, that's all very well and all but it doesn't help find her, does it?" Merlin asked as they entered the garden area. It was a cold day in winter, and no one else was outdoors. He looked around. There was no sign of the girl. There were a couple of bushes in one corner, not thick enough in winter to hide anyone. No, she couldn't be here. She had to still be inside. Where hadn't he looked? He decided to try the dining area and kitchen. Miles had enjoyed playing hide and go seek in the kitchen cupboards once, long long ago, before their lives had been torn upside-down by that mad human. It was worth a try.

"Why isn't the rest of the staff looking for her?" he suddenly demanded of the nurse.

"Do you have to talk so loud?" she asked, looking around nervously.

Merlin stopped and stared in disbelief at her. "Do I…what?"

"I could get in a lot of trouble here," she said, looking at the wall. "I haven't been here long, and losing a patient like this…"

Merlin left her without a word. Of all the insufferable…! Well, he'd see to it that someone in authority knew that a nurse was more concerned about her position than the people in her care. Blast it! Sometimes he forgot just how old he was. All those years he'd hiked all over the planet, exploring lost cities and uncharted wilderness. Now what would once be a leisurely little stroll while he was bored was putting him out of breath.

He pushed open the door to the kitchen. There was no one inside. Did the cook just wait until the last minute to run inside and open some cans? Despite his age, Merlin still retained a keen memory. He'd have a lot of complaints to file about this place.

The kitchen didn't seem all that clean. He noted a grease stain on the stove. That shouldn't have been allowed to harden. He started to look for a rag to clean it up, then stopped himself. He wasn't part of the staff. Why do their work for them?

He looked over the cupboards, then spoke in a loud, firm voice, "If you're in here, you may as well come out now. I assure you I can be extremely thorough when searching an area. Nothing escapes me."

No response. Merlin shut his eyes. Opening all of those cabinets would be tiresome. Fortunately, he knew a quicker way. He concentrated on what he wanted done, allowing the energy to slowly build. Then he opened his eyes and struck his cane on the floor. He muttered a phrase in an ancient language. With a series of crashes, every cupboard and drawer flew open, as well as the oven, refrigerator, and freezer doors, as well as the door he'd just passed through and the door to the pantry.

There she was! He could just make out her shoe amongst the cans of food. He walked over and tapped her foot with his cane. "Are you coming out, or shall I drag you out?"

Heather backed out of the cupboard, knocking several cans out as she did.

"What exactly did you think that was going to solve?" he demanded, dropping to his knees to put the cans back. There was a twinge in his back, but he ignored it.

"I don't know," she said dully, helping him to his feet. "I guess I just…I don't know…"

"We're not going to have a repeat of this, are we, young lady?" Merlin asked in a no-nonsense tone.

"Why should I bother?" she asked, face palming. "You're the only one that bothered to look for me, aren't you?"

"I was the first informed," he said. "Your nurse was extremely agitated."

"She's just scared for her job," Heather said, folding one pair of arms in front of her while placing the other two hands on her hips. "There's only one nurse here that's nice, and she's pretty much given up on me."

"And why do you suppose that might be, hmm?" Merlin asked. She turned away. He placed his hand under her chin and turned her head towards him. "Do be kind enough to look at me while I am speaking to you," he added.

Suddenly there was a loud crash. Merlin turned towards the sound. Someone could be heard yelling. That blasted rude orderly. And another voice. One he didn't know. "What in the world is that all about?"

Heather ran to the door and pushed it open. "The orderlies have some big guy they're dragging down the hall in a straitjacket. Oo, hear that? He just said he'd kill them."

Merlin pulled her back, allowing the door to swing shut. "I wasn't aware that violent cases were kept with the more peaceful patients."

"You don't pay that much attention, Gramps," Heather said. "They have stairs at the end of the hall past the rec room that lead down to the padded rooms. I spent some time there when I first came here because I kept biting people."

"But they shouldn't bring patients like that through here where sensitive people are," Merlin insisted. "It must be horrifying for them to see something like that."

"They're supposed to take them in through the back," Heather said with a shrug. "But that means going out of their way. You know Harry…"

"Yes, I know him all too well," Merlin said through gritted teeth. The bulldog was a bully and a coward. He'd met so many like him over the years. They loafed through life thinking they could always con what they needed from someone. Lonely women. Anyone smaller or weaker than they were. Probably got his job here by smiling to the head of administrations and, as Chuck would say, "giving him a nice big snow job."

Suddenly there was another crash and more yelling. Then the door to the kitchen flew open. The inmate, a rhino about a foot taller than Merlin, burst in. He looked around, like he was trying to find a way out, then noticed Heather. His eyes grew wide.

"Freak!" he yelled. "Monster! You're ugly! Ugly!" He started towards her, curling his thick fingers as if he intended to strangle her.

Merlin stepped in front of the girl, who had frozen at his comments. "Now see here, my good man," he said, keeping his voice calm and level, "there's no reason for that sort of talk. Why don't you just calm down and we can talk?"

The rhino glared at Merlin. The old fox raised his cane, wishing it was his old one. He could have put this giant down without any effort. Where were those blasted orderlies? Heads would roll. As the taller Mobian swung at him, Merlin dodged, falling back against the sink. Hopefully one of those heads wouldn't be his! He began to mutter under his breath as he was grabbed by the collar.

"Smash you good, old man!" the rhino yelled. Merlin struck him with his cane, sending an electrical current through it and into his attacker. The giant staggered, dropped the fox, but didn't go down. Despite the danger, Merlin could see the fellow wasn't in his right mind and hadn't wanted to injure him too badly. This proved to be a mistake as the ungulate knocked the cane from his hand and grabbed him in a bear hug.

Merlin shut his eyes and struggled to cast another spell. Unfortunately, the air was quickly forced out of his lungs, making it difficult for him to concentrate. He realized his back, in poor shape at best, would snap soon, probably paralyzing him for the rest of his life. If he survived…

Bwong! Merlin didn't know what that sound was, but the pressure being applied to his spine was suddenly weakened. He kicked the rhino's stomach and managed to free himself. Opening his eyes, he saw Heather holding a pot in her hand and the rhino clutching his head, then lowering it with a roar. He was clearly about to charge her. Merlin coughed and tried again to summon the power to stop him. Heather threw herself onto the stove then climbed onto the counter in front of the toaster. As he started towards her Merlin tossed something like looked like a glowing acorn. Electric current could be seen coursing through him as the "acorn" struck him and exploded. He fell to the floor just inches from the terrified girl, shaking violently. At that moment the kitchen door flew open and the orderlies poured into the room. One had a cut on his forehead. Harry stunned the patient with some sort of baton, ignoring Merlin's insistence that it was now unnecessary. "Stay out of this, you daffy old creep!" They dragged the rhino away, Harry seeming very proud of himself. Fine. Let him think he saved the day. It just wasn't worth the effort to argue with the likes of him. At least not while Merlin was still stuck in this place as a patient.

There was a clanging sound as Heather dropped the frying pan on the floor. Then she jumped down from the counter, threw her arms around Merlin, and started wailing.

"It's all right," he assured her, patting her on the head. "Please, not so tight. My back is killing me."

"Thank you…" Heather whispered, loosening her grip. "Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you…"

Merlin helped Heather back to the rec room just as the kitchen staff, looking stunned, came in and ordered them out. The girl collapsed onto the sofa. "I thought…I thought I'd passed the point when anything could scare me…" she said softly, looking at Merlin, who had sank down into an easy chair. "I thought nothing could make me cry again. You're disappointed in me, aren't you? Your nephew, Miles, he wouldn't be crying right now, would he?"

"Miles has gone through things even more terrible than you have, I fear," Merlin said softly. "I spent much of my life trying to make this a better world. But I never dealt with things like this before. If someone was insane my friends and I would put them away and go off celebrating, believing we'd saved the day and all was right with the world. I'm sorry. I never realized…"

"Welcome to the real world," Heather said dully. "But don't worry. I'm sure you'll be out of here soon. Then you won't have to worry about the likes of me anymore." He tried to assure her that he'd do the best he could to help her, but she just rolled over on the couch and refused to talk to him any further.

Merlin sighed, leaned back in the chair, shut his eyes. He soon fell asleep.

Tails and Cosmo had walked to Tails' house together. Amy, Cream, and Anita had followed them, but kept their distance to give them some time alone together.

Tails looked over at Cosmo as they walked. She looked tired. Maybe it was because of the crazy day they'd just had. Maybe it was worry. But Tails couldn't help but remember he'd found the plant girl somewhat run down that morning.

"Cosmo?" Tails said softly so that the others couldn't hear him. "Are you okay?"

"A little nervous," she admitted, rubbing her forehead. "Well, maybe a bit more than a little." She walked on in silence for a couple of minutes, then said, "Tails? If your parents don't like me…what should we do?"

"I'm sure they will," Tails assured her.

Cosmo shook her head. "Tails," she said seriously, "we promised we'd always be honest with each other. If you were sure they'd like me you wouldn't be looking as unhappy and as frightened as I feel."

Tails took a deep breath, letting it out loudly. "You're right," he admitted. "They don't make friends easily. And…"

"And what?" Cosmo asked, noticing the sudden worried look on his face. "What else should I know about them, Tails?"

"They've…had trouble with…aliens…before…" Tails admitted, hanging his head. "Female aliens."

Cosmo cringed. Then her eyes narrowed. "Tell me everything," she said seriously. "I need to know exactly what I'm up against."

Tails squeezed her hand gently. "Okay," he said softly. "I'll tell it to you exactly as they told it to me."

He sighed. "They…they were on this ship, just females…"

Cosmo moaned. "You're…joking…" she looked at his face. "You're not joking. I didn't think you were. What did these just female aliens do?"

"Well, Mom and Dad were captured by Eggman when I was four. He was going to roboticize them…a process that would have turned them into robots…" he explained when Cosmo looked confused. She winced. Because of the Metarex Cosmo hated robots and cyborgs and anything similar. "Dad transformed and Mom was starting to change when they were picked up by an alien ship." Tails made a face. "Yeah, it sounds horrible to me too. Anyway, the aliens had a device to reverse roboticization, but were forbidden to use it. This one alien had picked up what Mom and Dad were going through and decided to save them. She took them to her home planet where the high council decided she was a traitor for using the device and locked them all up. Apparently they'd once used it on a race of robot like beings and it killed them. They'd developed mechanical characteristics to protect themselves from germs in their atmosphere and the change to flesh and blood had left them helpless."

"Oh no!" Cosmo cried. "How horrible…remain a machine forever or die…" She covered her face with her hands. "No wonder Lucas went mad!"

Tails patted her on the back. "It's okay," he assured her. "Anyway, because a traitor had brought Mom and Dad to their planet, no one wanted to return them. So they were stuck there until Sonic and I ended up in a ship Eggman had made, hoping to send us out into space and never have to deal with us again. I managed to take control of it, and by luck we approached their planet. The council wasn't happy to see us and demanded we leave at once."

"Why didn't we run across them while we were fighting the Metarex?" Cosmo asked.

"We passed their planet at one point," Tails said. "It looked dead so I'm pretty sure they'd lost their planet egg. There were no Metarex around, though, so I decided they'd already left and there wasn't anything we could do for them if we couldn't get it back, so I just had the Blue Typhoon keep going. I…I didn't really want to help them anyway, after all the trouble they'd caused us."

"We both have a lot of anger to deal with," Cosmo said softly.

"Yeah," Tails admitted. "Anyway, Mom and Dad were furious about being trapped on their planet all those years and separated from their family."

"Especially their poor little boy who must have thought he'd never see them again," Cosmo said sadly, giving Tails a hug. "I'm so happy you got reunited with your family, Tails. Even if they decide they don't like me. Well, I can only be who and what I am. There's no point in pretending I'm a Mobian. I don't look enough like one."

"I wouldn't want you to try," Tails said, hugging her back.

"Um, Tails?" Amy said.

Tails sighed. So much for having a little time alone with Cosmo. Without looking at Amy he asked, "What is it?"

"You just passed your house," the pink hedgehog said, giggling.

Red Pine…forestation was a failure. A serious error in judgment. The war has ended.

Red Pine leaped from his throne and looked about him. "Who's there?" he demanded. "Show yourself!" He reached slowly for his sword, a thin rapier roughly four feet in length, although capable of being expanded to double that at the push of a button. "You have made a serious error in judgment in coming here! I suggest you come out of hiding. Perhaps I will make your death relatively painless."

Don't waste your effort, Pine…you would find killing me quite impossible…

That voice! It couldn't be! "Commander?" Had he somehow survived? Faked his own death, like Pine had? Had he known Marcus was alive and remained in hiding all this time waiting to see how his last general would react when he thought he was alone? "I…am delighted to learn that you have survived…sir…"

Are you, Pine? Are you really? It matters not…since I haven't…

"What?" Red Pine said. "I do not understand your joke, commander."

I fear the joke was on us. In attempting to gain revenge for injustices dealt against us, we lost sight of our true goals. Destroying our ancient enemy ceased to be enough for us. We had to destroy anyone we encountered, even those that might once have joined us. In the end, all we gained was oblivion…

Red Pine had listened to Dark Oak's words many times in the past. This did not sound like the obsessed dictator who would destroy anyone that disagreed with him. Oak would never admit he was wrong. Someone imitating his voice then? Attempting to trick Pine, cause him to make a fatal error, now, when his plans were so close to fruition? No! He'd humor this imposter until he could find him, then deal effectively with the fraud.

"A few setbacks are no cause to give up," Pine said, looking about him. There was clearly no one here, so there had to be a mechanical device hidden somewhere that the faker was speaking through. Where was it?

Looking for a transmitter, Pine? You won't find one. I have no need for such devices.

"Indeed?" Red Pine said, checking under the nearby table. "That wasn't what you said when you planted one in your daughter's head."

Another thing I curse myself for each day. She was already suffering so much, and I cruelly added to her pain simply because I saw her mother in her and still wished to punish her for turning against me. But what choice did she have? She saw what we had failed to see. What you still fail to see, Marcus.

The voice sounded tired. Sad. And had called him Marcus. No, it wasn't at all like the supreme Metarex Commander Dark Oak. But it did sound like him. The Lucas he had known long ago, on their long dead world. A world Red Pine intended to bring to full life once again.

"You would justify the nuclear strike she ordered against us?" Marcus demanded, examining his throne. "The destruction of your final one hundred and eighty soldiers? When we finally had the power to defend ourselves against the cursed animals that had destroyed our forests and fields and streams, killed our women and children…"

And yet that is precisely what we, ourselves, did, kill our women and children.

"They were traitors!" Red Pine insisted, checking his sofa now. "They refused to serve us! Anyone not with us is against us!"

And what did we gain for that horrendous action? Pale Bay Leaf, Black Narcissus, and Yellow Zelkova are dead. And you should have perished as well, Pine. He saved you, didn't he?

"And if he did, Commander?" Red Pine demanded. While he wasn't quite ready to say anything, Marcus had known there was something very strange about that experimental black hole opening up while he was too close to escape its gravitational pull. And he had so looked forward to his upcoming battle with the Warrior of the Light. What had happened, and why? Perhaps at last he would find out.

Do you still trust him?

"I have always been completely loyal to you, my…liege…" Yes, there was something very odd about Dark Oak. If he didn't know better, he'd think he was speaking with a ghost…

Have you? Why was I not informed that I had a grandchild?

Red Pine shrugged. "There was no reason to mention it until a child was actually born," he said, still looking for a bug. His voice didn't seem to be coming from inside the room or through a speaker. More like inside of his own head. Had Oak somehow planted one on him in the same mysterious way that he had planted one on his own daughter? No. If that were true, he would know everything. All of Pine's plans and schemes…

Are you saying Andromeda was not born until after your apparent demise?

"Does that astound you, Commander?" Pine asked.

Whatever response he may have received never came. His visitor suddenly cried out in pain.

"Commander?" he inquired. "Is something amiss?"

We shall speak another time, Pine…

Once he was certain the speaker was gone, Red Pine began to search the room furiously, tossing everything around onto the floor. Nothing. No communication device. He placed his hand on his head, over his right eye. No…no, it couldn't be…And yet…and yet…

He knew. Dark Oak had known that Red Pine had played the good soldier, appeared to be the most loyal, while planning to take over. Yet Oak had made no threat just now, no effort to punish him. What was his game? He had much to think about. Oak knew Pink Andromeda existed, but not that her seed had been pollinated and planted only after the death of Galaxina.

Or did he know, and just wanted Pine to admit it? Was it possible he knew everything?

He started to call Willow over a loudspeaker, order her to hurry the plan along. But Oak might be listening to everything he was doing, watching his every move. He'd tell her in person. Dark Oak might still be seeing and hearing it all, but there was little he could do if his old commander was reading his mind. He hurried off to search for the Metarex secretary.

"I think I'll make some tea," Cream said once they were inside of Tails' house. It was obvious both Tails and Cosmo would need some. She looked through Tails' kitchen. Tsk. He still hadn't gone to the market. That would be bad when his parents showed up. They'd think he was starving himself. Leftover popcorn and cheese puffs and soda from their party yesterday was not what parents liked seeing their children eating. Fortunately, there was a little place not far away that was hidden from mechanical eyes. At least it hadn't been attacked yet. She stepped back into the living room and quickly explained the situation. Tails face palmed.

"I can't believe I forgot to get food today!" he said.

"It's okay, Tails," Cosmo assured him. "This has been a very hectic day for everyone. You can't expect to remember everything while we're being attacked." She got down on her knees and placed the bags containing the items she'd gotten under Tails' coffee table. Suddenly the things that had looked so pretty in the stores didn't seem to matter much to her. She placed her hand over her mouth to cover a yawn. She didn't want him worrying about her again. "Where do we go to get food?"

"You don't," Cream said. "At least not today. You need to spend as much time as you can with Tails." She looked at Amy and Anita. "And I'm sure the rest of us can take care of it, right, girls?"

"Sure," Amy said. "We won't be long." She looked over at Tails and grinned. "Now don't do anything I wouldn't do…"

Tails colored. He somehow doubted there was very much Amy wouldn't do. Not that he was exactly sure what that might be.

Cosmo had sat down on his couch. She looked at him but didn't say anything. Was she waiting for him to speak first? Tails struggled to think of something clever, or at least not banal to say. He didn't know how long they'd have together.

"So, besides Eggman's attack, how did you like today?" he asked her, sitting down on the other end of the couch.

"It was very nice being with Amy and Cream again without having to worry about when the next battle was coming," she said. "Oh, and you of course." She took one of the pillows on the couch and laid her head against it. "Your pillows feel very nice," she said, then quickly sat up. After such a long and crazy day, she was glad to be sitting down and would have liked to shut her eyes for just little while. But that would worry him and she didn't want that happening again. "Everything in your home seems very nice," She added. She started to say that she'd really enjoy every minute she spent in his house, but then remembered that she had no guarantee she'd be welcome here after today.

"Uh, thanks," Tails said. "You can take one with you if you like."

Cosmo blinked. One what? Oh, right. The pillow. "No, I think it should stay with the couch and the other two pillows," she said softly. Oh dear, that sounded dumb, didn't it?

"Huh?" Tails said. "Oh, okay. So…I was wondering how I should tell them about you."

"Well," Cosmo said, "After thinking about it, I'm afraid it would probably be a mistake for me see them right away. They'll probably be tired after their long trip and will want some time to relax before meeting a stranger."

"You're right," Tails agreed, surprised he hadn't thought of that himself. His mother would hit him with a barrage of questions about how he was and his father would probably want to complain about the waiters and busboys and everyone else that had annoyed him. And then there was his sister. His mother hadn't mentioned bringing her with them. Whatever had happened, they'd want to keep it private. In the family. While he already considered Cosmo part of his family, it would take a lot of work to get them to see things his way. "I'll talk to them about you once they've settled in a little, and ask them if they'd like to meet you. Most likely Mom will want to see you first."

"Tell me what they're like, Tails," Cosmo asked, sitting up both because she was interested and because if she allowed herself to sink into his couch much longer she might fall asleep.

"Well, Mom is very concerned about how other people see her and the rest of the family," Tails admitted.

"Then she won't be happy her son is seeing someone that doesn't fit in with regular people," Cosmo said softly. She rubbed her right shoulder. Amy had been tugging her around all day by that arm.

"It's okay though," Tails assured her. "She's bound to be impressed that your mother was someone important among your people."

"That's my mother, not me," Cosmo said. "I never thought of myself as being special." She laced her fingers together as she often did when she was thinking or listening to someone. "Everyone on the ship had assignments to carry out, and I completed mine to the best of my abilities. What about your father?"

Tails sighed. "Well, he'll probably want to tell you one of his old war stories."

Cosmo made a face. "Oh dear," she said. "Just the sort of thing I really don't like hearing. But I'll do my best to look interested." She sighed. "Why does he like to talk about the battles he was in? I'd like to forget my own war experiences."

Tails nodded. "So would I," he agreed. "but Dad seems to like reminiscing about his triumphs. I guess they make him feel important."

Cosmo shook her head. "I will never understand that mentality!" she said. "I'm sorry, Tails. I know he's your father, but…I hate war. And violence."

"I don't like it either," Tails assured her, reaching across the couch to pat her on the shoulder. "It's okay, Cosmo. I understand." She looked at his hand on her shoulder, then looked into his eyes and smiled at him. He smiled back. Tails reached out to touch her hair. It was so soft and she smelled so nice and…

"Woo! Did we just walk in on something?" They both jumped at the sound of Amy's voice. Tails threw himself against the other side of the couch. Darn that Amy!

"Don't get up, we can put everything away," Cream said as Cosmo started to get up to help them.

"Yeah," Amy said, going into the kitchen. "Continue smooching!"

"Amy!" Cream hissed, shaking her head as she followed the pink hedgehog. Anita brought up the rear. In no time, the three girls had put everything away, then returned to the living room.

"We decided you should come back with us and spend the night at Cream's house," Amy said. "Tails' parents won't be in a good mood when they first get in."

"Tails and I were just discussing the same thing," Cosmo said. "But I'd like to spend a little more time here with Tails before I go."

"Oo, kissie kissie," Amy said, puckering up her lips.

"Stop that!" Tails cried.

"Have you decided what you're going to say when you do meet them, Cosmo?" Cream asked.

Cosmo shook her head. "I've been thinking about it a lot," she admitted, "but I just get myself more confused."

"That's why you have friends," Anita said, "to brainstorm ideas with."

"Yeah," Amy said. "Don't worry, we'll help you figure out exactly what to say to melt Tails' parents' cold, cold hearts, and win your one true love."

Tails rolled his eyes. There she went again. And they didn't have time to hear one of Amy's romantic fantasies.

"I'm afraid I don't know much about love," Cream admitted. "So Cheese and I will tidy things up a bit around here while the rest of you talk. Come on, Cheese."

Cosmo looked after the bunny girl, a pained expression on her face. She hoped Cream found someone very nice that would make her feel very special. As special as Tails made her feel.

Eddie walked through the woods, Merlin's staff in his hand. It was weird. Just a piece of wood, but it somehow felt warm, like it had been left out in the sun all day and absorbed a lot of heat. Only problem was there wasn't much of a sun that day, and it was quite cold. But then Eddie was used to the cold and the rain and the snow. Had been ever since he'd lost his home in one of Eggman's attacks long ago. Sure, that blue hedgehog Sonic had stopped the robot before anyone had gotten killed that day, but it hadn't help Eddie, or the other suddenly homeless Mobians, find food, warmth, or shelter. No, the Blue Blur wouldn't find many fans amongst the people Eddie associated with. And the king hadn't exactly rushed to his dispossessed subjects' aid either.

Eddie finally felt a bit of warmth up ahead as he approached a bridge that was no longer being used to transport anything. The part overhead was badly pitted and would be a hazard to anyone driving. Not that he or the people he knew had any reason to be driving. Or any vehicles to drive for that matter. A few extra support beams set up by a couple of folks with some engineering knowledge, and the underside made a fair home for the homeless. Several Mobians stood around a large metal container that had a fire burning in it. A female hedgehog was stirring a pot held by a spit over a smaller burning container. Eddie set the cane and a bag containing the other items he had chosen to scavenge against a beam and walked to the container, pulling off his torn gloves and holding his hands over the fire to get warm. A shiver went down his spine and he shook a little.

"Cold one today, ain't it, Eddie?" a beaver asked. "Be glad when this blasted winter is over."

"I hear you, Tom," Eddie said. "How are the wife and kids?"

"Elsie still has that cough," Tom said sadly. "If it doesn't get any better soon, I'm going to have to take her to town. I don't know how I'm going to pay for a doctor, but I got to do something."

"Give me a bit to get warmed up, and I'll see if I can get her some medicine," Eddie offered. "There's an institute not far from here."

"Regular over the counter stuff isn't doing her much good," Tom said, tossing a few twigs onto the fire. "She needs some prescription stuff."

"No problem," Eddie insisted. He'd taken stuff from that clinic before. Not very well run, and the only worker there he wasn't sure he could handle was a big stupid bulldog. "I can be back by nightfall."

"I don't know what we'd do without you, Eddie," the female groundhog said, tasting her stew. "Mm…needs another carrot and maybe some broccoli." She walked gingerly towards a pile of bags, all of her life possessions, and started looking through them. "Now let's see…I know I had some somewhere…"

Eddie sighed. The trip to Happy Acres was longer than he liked to travel in this cold and wind, but at least his new walking stick should help his trek across the snow. Well, maybe he'd have a bit of that stew before he left. Warm himself on the inside as well as the outside.

"Are you all right, Tails?" Cosmo asked him, noticing that he was rubbing his head. Amy and Anita had made a number of suggestions, everything from Cosmo dressing like a school marm to agreeing with anything his parents said no matter how stupid it sounded to just crying a lot when she saw them. None were very helpful and Cosmo had just nodded and said things like "I'll think about it, thank you," and "I'll take that under careful consideration."

"Just a bit of a headache," Tails assured her. "I'll be okay."

"Your head is spinning, isn't it?" she asked him, gently moving his hand aside so that she could rub his forehead. "I know how you feel. I felt like that when I found myself in Heaven…"

"Whoa, time out!" Amy said, making a "T" with her hands. "First off, do not mention you went to Heaven to Tails' parents. That's a big no-no, Cos."

"Sorry," Cosmo said, shaking her head. "I just keep finding myself mentioning it without thinking about it. I suppose because it was so nice there."

"They already know she was dead," Anita pointed out, trying on a new pair of gloves she'd just bought. "No matter how he says, 'Oh, Mom, Dad, guess what! Remember that girl, Cosmo, I told you about who died last year? Well, she's alive again!' they're still going to get freaked out about it!"

Amy placed her elbow on her knee and her rested her chin in her hand. "You're right," she admitted. "Okay, we need to come up with something there that doesn't sound too weird…"

"I'll just tell them…" Tails blinked. So much for his three hundred IQ. His brain felt like it was full of soggy oatmeal.

"Didn't you put up security cameras in your greenhouse?" Anita asked. "Do you have a tape of her coming back from that plant?"

Tails facepalmed. "Of course!" he said. "It never even occurred to me. I'd view it speeded up once in awhile, slowing the film to normal only if I noticed something out of the ordinary, then erase the film, but I haven't looked at it for a couple of days." Actually, he had kept quite a few days of tape in the beginning. But since nothing ever happened he had finally convinced himself it was a waste of tape that could be reused, and not good to keep countless hours of a flower not doing anything. At least not on the surface. He still found it hard to believe what had been going on inside of that flower. Cosmo was so different from Mobian girls. What other differences were there? And did he really want to find out?

"If you haven't touched it then Cosmo's return should be on the tape," Cream said, having returned from tidying up Tails' house. Tails made a mental note to do something nice for her. She wasn't saying anything but she was probably hurting right now.

"Oh dear," Cosmo said, coloring.

"What's the matter?" Amy asked. "You didn't find the tape and press the wrong button, making it fly out of the camera and expose it to sunlight or something, did you?"

"What? Oh no, no!" Cosmo said shaking her head. "It's just…when I freed myself of my flower, I fell out onto the mud beneath me, and laid there for awhile crying. Because I broke my navel cord to get free, and it really hurt." She smiled sadly. "Silly of me, wasn't it? After all I'd been through, sobbing because I hurt my belly button." She leaned her head on her hand. "Forget I mentioned it, okay?" Now that she thought about it, she must have looked really stupid.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you then!" Tails said, shuddering at the thought of her laying there crying while he prepared for a party.

"Oh no, no, don't feel bad about that," Cosmo said quickly. "I needed to compose myself and try to look halfway presentable before you saw me. I really don't think showing them that tape would be a good idea."

"You're probably right," Tails agreed. Seeing her climb out of a flower would probably just freak them out. He wasn't sure how that made him feel either.

Amy nodded. "You probably had bed hair and your eyes were probably half shut like this, and you were yawning like this" she said, half closing her eyes and yawning. "Like you just woke up in the morning and hadn't had your first cup of coffee yet."

"Um…I don't drink coffee…" Cosmo said, "but…well…I'm sure I looked a fright…"

"I wouldn't have cared if you looked a fright," Tails promised her. He sputtered. "I mean…you couldn't possibly have looked that bad! I mean…"

"I know," she said, running her fingers through the locks of hair that insisted on standing up on his head. "But the first time you saw me again, I wanted you to see me happy and reasonably neat, not looking like I'd just fallen into a lake or gotten out of Amy's plane after she'd done some stunt flying or something. Uh…sorry, Amy…"

"That's okay," Amy said. "You always did have a problem with motion sickness, didn't you? That when your eyes started spinning around and around when we were following Sonic and Knuckles just before that black hole showed up. And then there was that one planet where you climbed out of my plane, staggered over to a large bush, and started barfing."

Cosmo colored again. "I really wish you hadn't reminded me of that, Amy…"

"Hey," Tails said, putting his arm around her. "It's okay. You weren't used to something like that. I got sick too the first time I was in the old Tornado. And Amy was trying to keep up with Sonic those times, and you know how he likes to move."

"Of course I was," Amy said, blowing on her fist and rubbing it against the front of her dress. "There's nothing a woman in love won't do to help out her man."

"No, there isn't," Cosmo agreed, laying her head against Tails' shoulder.

Colin walked slowly through Thorndyke Industries. This wouldn't be easy without that brat's okay, but Chris Thorndyke had made it quite clear that he wasn't going to allow that space capsule to be carefully examined. Sentiment wouldn't get either of them through the dimensional gateway from Earth to this Mobius, only cold, hard facts.

It still didn't make sense to Colin why the brat wanted to go back there. Colin had a lousy job and no real prospects for the future, unless he was so foolish as to try something stupid like robbing a bank. Which was almost certain to backfire very badly on him. He was short, bald, and, he had to admit, not exactly movie star material. But Chris Thorndyke was rich, young, tall, with a full head of hair and a beautiful blonde girlfriend. What the devil did someone like him want to leave Earth for?

Colin stopped as he approached the room, known to only a few top employees, containing the capsule. It wouldn't be easy to get in there. Only the kid and the old man knew the code. But Colin had always loved puzzles. When other children on his block had gone trick-or-treating as Batman he had dressed up as the Riddler. Frank Gorshin of course.

Finally reaching the sealed room where his uncle's capsule was kept in storage, Colin looked at the computerized lock. Attempting to pick the lock would be extremely difficult. Too large a possibility that it would set off alarms all over the building. The best way to open the door was to use the password. The problem there, of course, was figuring out what it was. Even as obsessed as he appeared to be with that hedgehog, Thorndyke wouldn't be dumb enough to use "SONIC" as the password. Still, he tried it anyway. After all, hadn't Grandpa Gerald used Maria's name?

The door rejected the password. Okay, so the twerp wasn't a total moron. He tried Helen. Again no dice. Maybe Grandpa Gerald's Ultimate Life Form? Thorndyke had gone on and on about him as well. No! What else to try? Maybe that weird talking plant thingy he said croaked saving them from the alien cyborgs. Still no luck!

Most likely it was a word or two that would trigger a fond memory of the past when the blue alien was on Earth. Blast it! That meant talking to him again, possibly at some length. Getting him to ramble on and on about "the good old days with Sonic and his friends that I miss so much!" Yeesh! You sent him back to get him to shut up, didn't you, Uncle? Yes, I don't blame you.

Colin sighed as he worked on erasing the recent activity on the door. Maybe he couldn't get it to open without the password, but he could at least get it to "forget" someone had tried to get in. He turned and looked up at the security camera. It was staring right at him. No point in dealing with it, he needed to get to security and delete it showing him at the door before someone saw the tape. Hopefully whoever was on guard duty was asleep at the switch and hadn't been paying attention. If it was Doug, no problem. If it was Herb…well, he could be bribed. Fred…he'd be a problem. But a smart man digging deep enough could probably find something to blackmail most folks.

"Guys," Tails said slowly as he realized everyone was watching him and Cosmo together. "Do you think you can kind of leave us alone now?" He cringed as he realized that was very close to what he'd said just before he had…No! No, he wasn't going to allow himself to dwell on that anymore! Even if they were separated by his parents, Cosmo wasn't dead. She was alive and well and he'd spend every minute he could making her happy, even if he could only see her clandestinely. He didn't like the idea of hiding something that big from his parents, but if they forced him to, he would.

"It's gonna be okay," Amy assured him, giving the fox a hug. "Remember, you've both gotten through worse than this. And you two are not alone. If worse comes to worse, we can run interference for you two so you can see each other."

"I seriously hope that won't be necessary, Amy," Cosmo said, sinking down into Tails' couch after giving each of the girls a hug and promising to join them soon. She pulled off her shoes and started to put her feet up on the sofa, then stopped. If she suddenly laid down he really would be worried. She placed her hand over her mouth to cover a yawn. She felt guilty, yawning and wanting to sleep when she should be concerned about whether she was about to lose Tails again, but his couch was so comfortable. She shut her eyes and laid her head against the arm of the sofa.

"Cosmo?" Tails' voice came from what seemed like far away. "Are you okay?" He sounded so concerned. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was standing at the side of the couch, looking down at her.

"I'm all right," she assured him, sitting up. "Just a little tired, that's all."

Tails felt a lump in his throat. He knew it! All of this was too much for her so soon! His first thought was to pick her up and carry her back to the sick bay on the Blue Typhoon. But that would just scare her. And probably make her think he'd lost it. "Why don't you lie down and rest awhile?" he suggested.

Cosmo started to get up. "I don't want to be a burden…" she began. She facepalmed. "I'm still doing it, aren't I?" she asked. "Sorry." She shook her head. "Now I'm apologizing again. Sorry. I mean…"

"It's okay," Tails assured her. "Go ahead and lie down. I'll get you a pillow. Please, Cosmo," he added when he saw that she seemed uncertain. "You've been though a lot your first day home."

Cosmo started to say something, but Tails had already hurried out of the room. "Home." This world wasn't Cosmo's home. Her home was a ship long destroyed. But maybe it could become her home. Maybe, one day, this house could…

Cosmo covered another yawn then stretched out on the couch. She had to admit, it did feel good to lie down. She hoped she got over feeling run down soon. She didn't like feeling useless.

"Lift your head a little," she heard. She opened her eyes and sat up so that Tails could lay the pillow where she had been resting her head. She yawned again then lowered her head to the pillow.

"Thank you, Tails," she said, smiling up at him. "You're so good to me. I promise, as soon as I'm up to it, I'll do my best to return the favor."

"Just knowing you're here and well and happy is all I need," Tails assured her, covering her with a pink blanket. He'd given up trying to convince his mother that boys didn't use pink, but on Cosmo it looked very cute.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Cosmo said, shutting her eyes. "My capsule landed in the absolutely best possible place. Right where my handsome prince could find me."

Tails felt his face grow warm. "I'd hardly call myself that," he said modestly. "But I'm glad I was out there that night. I saw an angel fall from Heaven."

Cosmo smiled. "I'm no angel," she said without opening her eyes. "In fact, I chose not to be one. I'm just a girl who wants a normal, ordinary life. Is that too much to ask for?"

"No," Tails said softly. He had sat down on the floor in front of the couch. "That's not too much to ask for at all. And I'll do my best to give you what you want, Cosmo."

Cosmo suddenly opened her eyes. "Tails?" she said, looking afraid. "What if-what if your parents come home and find me here? Maybe I should go to Cream's mother's house. I don't want to get you in trouble."

"Shh," Tails hissed, stroking her hair. "It's okay, Cosmo. Get some rest. I'll wake you if they show up while you're here. Just stay with me a little longer, okay?"

Cosmo shut her eyes again. "Okay," she agreed. "I'm sorry, Tails. Maybe…maybe we shouldn't have told anyone about me until after we got your mother's call. I wanted…I wanted us to have at least one special day together, just the two of us."

"Yeah, me too," Tails said, nodding even though he knew she couldn't see it with her eyes closed. "That Amy…and then Eggman…!"

"Please don't be angry with Amy," Cosmo begged, patting the hand he was still stroking her hair with. "She meant well. Eggman…he's always been a problem, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has," Tails said, his voice suddenly growing cold. Hard. "He's hurt so many people so many times. He joined up with the Metarex. He made a…" He stopped.

"You're thinking of the robot he made that looked like me," Cosmo said, squeezing his hand gently. "Don't let what he did in the past affect your future, Tails. Our future. I was so angry and bitter on your ship I couldn't fully enjoy the good times we had together. That party the Chaotix nearly ruined, trying to set us up." She laughed. "I can't believe now that I had absolutely no idea what they were doing. Why Knuckles was acting so strangely. I assumed he knew I was unhappy and tried to make me laugh. It seemed very weird, but I laughed because I wanted him to feel he'd done a good job of cheering me up. All that crazy stuff that happened back then…we had fun, huh?"

"Yeah, we sure did," Tails said, trying not to remember the last time she'd said that. "But the best is yet to come. I swear it."

"So much would happen all at once sometimes," Cosmo said, yawning again. "Sometimes my head was going around and around from how much would take place in one day. I'd just started getting used to all of you, how different you were from my people, and then Chris showed up, and he was even less like us. And then later Doctor Eggman. And other peoples from all over the galaxy. The Marmolimians…and the people on Zecco, and…so many…many more…I…"

Tails realized she'd fallen asleep. Poor thing. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, careful not to wake her. It wasn't fair! She'd gone through so much since the Metarex had attacked her ship. And who knew what had happened to her during those months she was…they were separated. And she'd just finally come back. Just started to put her life back together. They were just starting to talk about a future he'd long feared was never to be. And then Eggman showed up, making things difficult for her on her first full day back with him! Tails took a deep breath then pushed away the anger he felt. There'd be time enough to think about Eggman and what he'd done. What should be done with the doctor. Right now it was far more important to think about Cosmo. He continued to run his fingers through her hair for awhile. She'd insisted she wasn't an angel, but she sure did look like one. My angel…I got you back. This should be a time of celebration, not worry. Mom and Dad have to understand what you mean to me! I…I have to show them I'm over all the moping around and crying and everything I've put them through. I have to cheer up and greet them with a smile. Make them know how happy I am now that you're with me again. They're bound to see your presence is a good influence on me, right?

Tails finally got up and walked across the living room. There was one thing he needed to do that he knew they'd approve of completely. He stopped in front of the door to Cosmo's shrine and took a deep breath. She's here, he reminded himself. You don't need this anymore. You have her.

Tails opened the door and looked around. Yes, everyone was right. This was unhealthy. He turned and hurried to his workshop. He had some boxes in there. He could put everything away in them. He worked fast, not wanting to give the memories time to hit him in the face again, then moved the boxes to his workshop. He'd worry about what to do with everything later. He went back to the room. Bit back tears. It looked so empty, so bare without her mementoes. No! No, he was not going to cry. He'd paint the walls and ceiling, put in carpeting, change it completely so it no longer resembled the room he'd spent so many hours sobbing on the floor in.

It took him awhile to compose himself. Once he did he soon found himself yawning. All that walking and carrying and waiting at the mall, plus being trampled on, and that odd pain in his back that was now just a dull ache, and the battle with Eggman, and now taking down everything he'd depended on for such a long, long time, had gotten to him. Well, he was sure he had time for a nap before his parents showed up. He kissed Cosmo's cheek, then laid down on the rug in front of the couch and shut his eyes. He was soon fast asleep.

Bokkun crept towards Eggman's headquarters. He realized his knees were shaking. "Hey! Knock it off, you guys!" he hissed. "I'm nervous enough already!" He realized he was already being monitored, and put his hand over his mouth to stop talking. Although he couldn't see the cameras, he had no doubt they were there. After all, hadn't he been the one that had set them up? Back when the Doctor still trusted him? Not anymore, though. Too many things had happened that he wouldn't be able to justify if the fat guy demanded answers. Too late, he realized he should have gone back and stolen something. Returning empty handed was just going to make him look all the more suspicious.

Just don't volunteer anything, he told himself. Play dumb. Yeah, that's the ticket! I pigged out at the food court and tossed the food I didn't want at the windows. His stomach growled. Shut up, you! You can't be hungry! You'll ruin my alibi!

His password still worked. Either that meant Eggman wasn't on to him, or the boss wanted to confront him. Darn it! Cosmo would have hidden like he'd asked if it hadn't been for that dumb fox! She may be kind of whiny and boring, but she'd acted like she was actually listening to him.

Okay…now how do I explain to tubby why Cosmo came back? He took a deep breath and knocked on the door to the Doctor's main lab. It slid open without a sound. He swallowed hard as he stepped inside. The door slid shut behind him. Whatever happened now, there was no where for him to run, no place for him to hide.

"Well, well, Bokkun," the Doctor said from his chair without turning around. "Back are we? And how was your day?"

"Uh…great, Boss," Bokkun said nervously. Eggman was being much too nice. He liked the old guy better when he ranted and raved and jumped up and down in a fury. Happy Eggman was too unpredictable. "I was gonna steal some stuff from the mall, but everything looked kind of cheap. So I tossed an ice cream maker on the floor of this one store and you should have seen the mess that made! Then I tossed some spaghetti and meat balls around the food court, and then I got a football from the toy store and I broke a window with it, and then…"

"Yes, yes, that's all very interesting, Bokkun," Eggman said, just as the messenger robot was really getting into his spiel. He still hadn't turned around. This was definitely bad. "You of course noticed the most interesting thing that happened at the mall, didn't you?"

"Uh…most interesting thing?" Bokkun repeated. Play dumb, dummy! "You mean when that big knucklehead Knuckles kept getting frozen? Yeah, that was a riot, Boss!"

"It was humorous," Eggman agreed, lacing his fingers together in front of him. "But not what I was talking about. Didn't you notice something…strange, Bokkun?"

"Uh…Tails didn't do much flying today?" Bokkun asked, his mind racing wildly. There was no longer any doubt about it. Eggman was toying with him. Making him squirm like a fish on the end of a line before he reeled him in and gutted him. Bokkun cringed. He never should have watched that nature show…

"Did you ever notice that our enemies are quite a…colorful bunch?" Eggman asked. "I don't mean personality wise, I mean literally. That blasted hedgehog is blue, his crazed fan girl is pink, the echidna is red, the twerp is yellow, and the rabbit and that new troublemaker, Sonic's sister, are orange."

"Yeah," Bokkun said. "They kind of look like a rainbow when they stand together, don't they, Boss?" Where was this odd train of thought going? Since when was the Boss interested in color coordination?

"You know what's usually missing from their little group?" Eggman demanded, leaning back in his chair.

What was miss…that was it. "Uh…purple?" Bokkun asked nervously, knowing that wasn't what the fat man was talking about.

"Purple and what else, Bokkun?" Eggman demanded, finally turning around. He did not look happy.

"Uh…silver?" Bokkun asked. "Gold? Copper? Burnt sienna?"

"Green, Bokkun," Eggman said in a much too quiet voice. "They usually don't have a green member of their group. But they did today. Isn't that fascinating?"

"Uh…yeah, that was weird, wasn't it?" Bokkun said, sweating like crazy now. "Boy, you could have knocked me over with a feather when that green alien plant thingy suddenly showed up, Boss!"

"Oh, I can think of quite a few things I'd rather try knocking you over with, Bokkun," Eggman said, leaning forward. "Where do you think she came from?"

"Uh…stork brought her?" Bokkun asked.

Eggman ran his hand over his bald scalp. Where had that luxurious head of flaming red hair gone over the years? "You really are an imbecile, aren't you?" he demanded. "Do you remember what I told you to do a few months ago?"

Bokkun blinked. "Uh…I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast this morning, Boss," he said, only slightly exaggerating.

"I told you to get me something very important," Eggman said, his voice soft and quiet. Bokkun struggled not to shake with terror. He really missed having the guy angry and ranting at him. He tended to make mistakes and sometimes forget what he was talking about when he threw a fit. But this…the Doctor didn't behave like this too often, but when he did, it was always very, very bad.

"Uh…I've fetched you a lot of things over the years, boss…" Bokkun pointed out, trying to stall as long as possible. What was Eggman going to do to him?

"Ah, but this was an extremely special item," Eggman pointed out, standing up and starting to pace the floor. "Something in a small pot. Coming back to you now?"

"Uh…your favorite dish?" Bokkun said lamely, his brain refusing to provide him with anything clever to say when he needed it the most.

The Doctor moved with a speed that belied his girth, grabbing the little messenger robot by one horn and lifting him up to eye level. "A plant, Bokkun! Containing a fantastically important seed I wanted to examine. Cosmo's seed. Which supposedly was destroyed when Shadow wrecked my last headquarters."

"Uh…uh…I guess…Tails must have thought we'd try something like that, and put a fake plant out for me to find?" Bokkun said, shaking like gelatine in a hurricane. Yeah, that sounded good. "He sure put one over on me, didn't he, Boss? Too bad you didn't go yourself! You would have seen right through that ruse, wouldn't you? Ha ha ha!"

Eggman seemed to consider this a moment, then dropped Bokkun unto the floor. He turned away, lacing his fingers together, except for his index fingers, which he tapped together as he spoke. "That fox has always been trouble…shutting off force fields, defusing bombs, figuring out passwords…Yes, I should have known better than to expect a moron like you to match wits with him..."

It hurt Bokkun's pride to be insulted that way. Sure, maybe he wasn't a super genius, but didn't he deserve better treatment than this after all the times he'd served his master faithfully? But if Eggman thinking he was stupid got him out of this mess, he'd bite his tongue and say nothing. Right now he needed a distraction. Bocoe or Decoe to come in and trip over the furniture. Sonic to pay Eggman a surprise visit. Something!

At that moment the alarms went off. Eggman rushed to his control panel and pressed several buttons.

"Someone has broken through the perimeters of my base!" the big man yelled, turning a couple of dials to get his cameras to pick up exactly what it was. One stopped on E-123, codenamed Omega, just as the machine suddenly fell to the floor with a mighty crash.

That'll do! Bokkun thought, sighing with relief.

Tails vaguely heard a faint knocking sound. Without opening his eyes, he rolled over, trying to ignore it and go back to sleep. Didn't whoever it was know that night time wasn't for making noise? Night time was for sleep. Then he heard his father call, "Miles, are you awake? Your mother can't find her key! Let us in!"

Tails bounded awake. Oh no! They were here, and…he looked over at the still figure snuggled up on his couch.

…and so was Cosmo…

To be continued…

I know, I'm horribly late with this chapter, and much of it is about other characters besides Tails and Cosmo. I hope to both update much more often and devote more of each chapter to the stars. Wish me luck.