A/N: Now we move back into the action. I rewrote these next few chapters like five times. FIVE. At LEAST. Like, I don't care anymore. They're good enough, I guess. Ugh. Sooo done. They're probably so sloppy, I hate everything. I could never be an actual writer omg.
Chapter 12: City Escape
Sonic scowled at the sight before him. He never hated green, in fact, he thought it was a great color. It was the color of his eyes, the color of Cosmo's hair, the color of trees and nature. For that reason, he was quite annoyed as he pulled thin silvery strips off the beautiful evergreen in his dorm's living room.
"Amy, stop! You're putting on way too much tinsel!" It couldn't even be called a tree anymore as it had become nothing more than a twinkling eyesore.
The pink haired hybrid turned her head and gave him a look. "It's fiiiine."
"I can't even see the decorations! Or lights!"
"Alright, alright," she huffed. "I'll help take some off."
"It's still November, why are we putting Christmas stuff up?" Knuckles scowled as he was given the duty of putting ornaments on the higher part of the tree since he was the tallest.
"Oh, hush you! December is in like two days!" Amy threw some of the tinsel in her hands at the redhead.
"Hey! Stop it!"
Sonic laughed, watching them out of the corner of his eyes as he fixed some of the lights on the tree. He was actually pretty excited, he never celebrated Christmas like this before. He had a home, friends, his family. He couldn't be happier.
"It was really nice of those people to give us all this stuff for free!" Cream smiled as she got off the couch and walked over to him to inspect the tree, momentarily taking a break from the Christmas special she had been watching with Cheese, Tails, and Cosmo. "Do you think Santa will visit us even though we're at school?"
"Of course, Cream! He always does!" He made sure to give her a wide smile. No matter how poor they were, he always made an effort to get the kids something for Christmas and say it was from old Saint Nick.
The echidna hybrid glanced at the analog clock on the wall. "We should get going. Dinner starts in a bit."
The blue Mobian chuckled as he tossed all the extra tinsel in his hands into a plastic bag. "Yeah, we can finish fixing this nightmare later." He smirked at the preteen beside him.
"H-Hey!"
oOo
The gang were at their cafeteria table with the same crowd. As usual, multiple conversations were going on at once. The younger girls and Charmy were babbling about Christmas, Sonic was talking to Silver and Blaze about some interesting memes he saw online and found amusing. Knuckles and the Chaotix were discussing the most recent cases the detective agency had been involved in, with Rouge listening and giving pieces of advice here and there as she shopped for new jewelry on the tablet she brought with her. The only ones who weren't really involved were Tails, who was busy sketching designs in his notebook, Espio, who despite being an introvert still participated every once in awhile, and Shadow.
"Hey, we should go to the city soon." Amy suggested aloud, gaining everyone's attention. "I'm sure it'll look lovely when it's decorated, and it'd also be a chance to do some Christmas shopping."
Blaze nodded. "Sounds good to me. I'd love to accompany you."
"Yeah, how about the weekend after next?" The blue teen added. "The decorations should be up by then, right?"
"Yeah, I mean, it'll be a couple weeks before Christmas by then so I wouldn't expect them to wait any longer." Silver agreed.
The blue Mobian brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. "Man, I hope we get a new adventure soon. I dunno how many more assignments I can take!"
Vector let out a heavy sigh. "I have to agree. I failed that pop quiz in math the other day. When did all the teachers decide to drop all this work on us at once?"
"Right?!" Sonic sat up straight. "We're also having a unit test coming up and our teacher gave a ton of review work. Remember how earlier in the year we had so much freetime? Like, dude, I'm seriously hating this."
"You know, you probably wouldn't hate it the so much if you didn't procrastinate," Tails chuckled. "You have a habit of forgetting to do your math homework until it's 10 at night."
"Because it's stupid." The blue teenager groaned. "What's the point of doing work at home when I just did it for six hours at school? Pointless!"
"Ha, you're complaining."
"Can it, Knuckles. You just spend all your time guarding that rock. That's not even work, you just sit there doing nothing."
The redhead scowled. "Wouldn't want another crazy scientist to come back and break it, right?"
"But we fixed that. Chaos is happy now, it won't happen again."
"Hey!" Rouge gestured towards her tablet. "I just checked the news and it seems like someone found the green Chaos Emerald." She sighed. "But it's being put in a museum, and has been claimed as government property."
"What?" Knuckles frowned. "You can't own a Chaos Emerald!"
"Exactly!" She exclaimed. "I would've done that by now if it were possible!"
Sonic noticed the way Shadow's brow raised with interest. He tilted his head and observed the darker Mobian. They've been on a some dates since Halloween, like to the park and some dinners, but he couldn't help but notice how...distant the other has been since that night they talked. Before the Mobian would relax and be cocky with the blue hybrid, but now he spoke rarely and thought his words carefully through. It just wasn't natural, and that made him nervous. He wasn't sure how to confront Shadow on this, so he hadn't brought it up to him yet.
He just hoped that the other was alright.
oOo
A few weeks later, the gang, with the exception of the Chaotix and Knuckles (the latter deciding to protect his stupid gem again), had all gone to Station Square as planned.
"Ooo, look at that tree!" Amy squealed as she saw the giant Christmas tree in the center of the city, beautifully decorated with large ornaments and hundreds of thousands of colorful lights.
"Amy, the buttons on your jacket aren't matched up," Cream pointed towards the pink Mobian's jacket. Despite them living in a tropical area and it being summer, it had been pouring a lot for the past few days. Sonic made sure all the kids dressed prepared before leaving the house to avoid getting sick, using donated clothing from families that still felt thankful towards him for saving the world. They didn't have to do that as being a hero was his duty, so he made sure to visit many of them to express his thanks.
"Oh, thanks for catching that, Cream!"
The blue teen had been contently walking beside Shadow behind everyone else. He smiled at his crush and went to reach for the other's hand, but was rejected as the darker Mobian instead glared at him as he stuffed his hand into his jacket's pocket. His expression became a mixture of hurt and confusion as he wondered why the other was being so cold to him. He brushed off the pain he felt as he took a step away from the other to give him his space. Maybe he was just in a bad mood…
"We should go to the mall," Amy smiled. "I'm sure we can all get some ideas on what we want for Christmas and what we can give."
"Sonic!" Tails turned and grabbed his empty hand, resulting in the blue hybrid to smile. "Do you think we could take the girls to see Santa? I think they'd like that very much!"
Cosmo and Cream looked at him with surprise. Santa was here? Amy chuckled; she was too old to believe in mall Santas, but the reaction from her sisters amused her.
"Sure, when we see him in the mall, you can tell him what you want."
The two girls cheered happily and began chatting about all toys they wanted, with Sonic occasionally listening in for ideas on what to get them.
Shadow looked at him. "I'm going to go check something out."
"Do you want us to come with you or-"
"-No," he scowled. "I'm going alone." He stopped walking with the others and turned away. Everyone turned to Rouge for an explanation.
The bat hybrid shrugged. "I really don't know what's up with him." She walked beside the blue Mobian and took Shadow's place before leaning close to his ear. "But I can find out if you're curious." She whispered in a low tone so no one else could hear.
He shook his head. "No, that wouldn't be right. He might just want some alone time, and that's fine."
Rouge gave him a doubtful look. "Well, I want to figure this out. This was my original mission, after all." She smiled apologetically. "If I do anything...odd, please accept my apology in advance. I'm going to get down to the bottom of this one way or another."
"That's fine, I wouldn't think any less of you." He smiled and the bat nodded.
"I'll be going too," She announced to the others as she waved goodbye. "I'll see you all later, okay?"
Everyone nodded and waved back while they watched her leave.
oOo
With shopping bags from various stores beside them, Sonic and Amy stood next to each other as they leaned against the fence of the seasonal attraction, watching Blaze accompany their younger sisters on their first meeting with Santa. Tails had left to go to a nearby bookstore while the albino Mobian decided to join him. That left the two hedgehog hybrids some quality time alone.
"Are you and Shadow doing alright?"
Sonic jumped in surprise at the sudden question, unsure of what brought up this topic. "What?"
Amy shrugged, her arms propped on the fence while she rested her head on them. "I don't know, it just seems to me that recently you both have been looking really awkward when you stand next to each other. Did something happen?"
The blue Mobian sighed. "Okay, so it's not just me noticing it. Yeah, he's been acting so weird lately. I have no clue why, but I don't think I did anything wrong." He frowned.
"You probably didn't. I mean, he's still standing next to you."
"True."
"Well, since you don't know, I guess it's just something personal."
"Yeah, I was wondering if it was that."
Silence passed between them as they both watched Cream get on Santa's lap. The blue hybrid turned to face her.
"You know, you've been awfully calm about this whole 'me and Shadow' thing. Did your love for me finally end?"
She giggled, lifting her head as she faced him. "No! Love is being happy for the person you care about most- which is you! But," she paused. "All I can say is, as long as I stay your number one girl, I'm fine. Like, if you had fallen for a girl, I can assure you, I would've freaked out."
"So if I told you I also had a crush on Sally, you'd be mad at me?"
The pink hybrid tensed before narrowing her eyes. "You're joking...right?" She said sternly.
"Of course!" Sonic laughed. "Just teasing. She's smart and pretty, but I already have Shadow. You'll always be my number one girl, okay?"
Jade eyes brightened as a wide smile appeared on his younger sister's face. "Always!"
She hugged him and he returned her embrace.
"Sometimes I think about the day we met, and I'm just very grateful for what happened." She said softly as she snuggled into his chest. "After I was abandoned, I had nobody. But then you saved me, and suddenly all my pain and sadness just slipped away." She looked up into emerald eyes. "You mean the world to me."
"Amy," the blue teen brushed back her pink hair with an uneasy expression. "What's up with this?"
"It means a lot to me to be your number one girl." She admitted as she backed up slightly. "I'm really glad you're my older brother. Because of you, I was able to have this chance to be happy. To have a family. Love."
The older Mobian felt a genuine smile stretch across his face. "I'm glad I met you too. I don't think I could talk to anyone else like I can with you. You're also strong and kind; you have the making of a leader in you."
Amy beamed with a gleam confidence in her eyes.
oOo
"Tails?" Silver asked as he watched the blond gaze at a selection of books on outer space.
"Yes?" The fox hybrid answered as he pulled out a book about the moon and skimmed through its pages.
"Well, okay, this question might sound weird to you, but, uh…" He scratched his cheek and blushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed. The younger Mobian raised an amused brow and smirked as he put the book back on the shelf.
"Go ahead, it's fine."
"Is Sonic- Is he, you know," the hedgehog hybrid sucked in a breath and watched the blond gesture for him to continue. "Is something going on between him and Shadow?"
"Oh," Tails blinked. Of course he knew. He understood why the blue hybrid hadn't brought it up to their friends; it wasn't official so he didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Sonic just wouldn't say anything about his relationship, nor would he deny it. He'd hold hands with the other if he felt like it or not have any physical contact at all. It was a very fluid relationship, and it fit him perfectly.
"Well," the kit began. "They aren't a couple, but they've been on a few dates together. They haven't really done anything but hold hands." He shrugged. "Like, I guess there is something going on, but it's nothing serious."
Silver's lips formed a thin line before he released a sigh. "Alright, I suppose."
The young boy tilted his head. "Why'd you want to know?"
A blush appeared on the other's tan skin as he was taken aback by the question. "I-I just don't trust Shadow."
The blond couldn't help but nod. "Yeah, he is pretty mysterious."
oOo
"My, my, is this what you've been doing since you left us?" Rouge smirked at the darker Mobian before glancing at the red flashing lights and overwhelmed policemen. The darkness of the alley's shadows concealed them both from the crime scene.
Her roommate glared at her. "It's none of your business."
"Oh, really?" She smirked. "But I want in."
"What?"
"You heard me. Whatever you're planning, I want in."
"I don't trust you."
"After all this time we've been together? How cruel."
He grunted indifferently.
"Listen, I know you don't trust me, but you do know me. I'll do anything to help collect those." She pointed at the crystallized object in his hand. "In fact," She pulled out a blue gem from a satchel across her waist. "I've already got a head start."
He seemed to contemplate the idea. "Very well. I'll bring you to the the Doctor and he will make the decision."
She grinned. Perfect.
oOo
"Sonic the Hedgehog, you are under arrest!"
"What? For what!" The blue teen yelled at the accusing Overlander officer with a confused expression on his face.
"For stealing government property."
"I didn't steal anything!"
"Hey, what's going on?" Amy frowned. The gang had walked out of the mall only to be greeted by a blockade of military vehicles and police tape. "We just paid for all our stuff, I have the receipts!"
"We've been told you stole from the museum."
"No way! Sonic's been with us in this mall the entire time!" Silver scowled at the officer.
"That's disputable. With his speed, he could've rushed to the museum and back."
"But I didn't! I don't even know what you're accusing me of stealing!"
"Listen, we're just here doing orders. The higher ups saw you on camera and now there's a warrant for your arrest."
"Saw me on camera?" The blue teen was bewildered. "You know what, I'll just go. Whatever. I wanna talk to these higher ups." He looked at Silver and Blaze. "Make sure the kids get to the house safely, I'll try being there as soon as possible."
With that said, he felt a strong hand belonging to a GUN soldier clamp onto his shoulder and aggressively steer him towards a helicopter.
oOo
"Sonic? Are you there?"
"Yes, Knuckles, it's me." The echidna hybrid heard a loud groan from the other end of the receiver. "Hey, I'm allowed one phone call. Let me talk...Sorry about that, Knux. I'm kind of in the middle of something."
"Yeah, well, get out of that something. Something big just happened."
"...Oh?"
"Yeah, Eggman came by and tried to steal the Master Emerald. It's alright though, I broke it into pieces before he could take it. Good thing I can repair it, right? Unfortunately, the pieces scattered so now I have to find them all. But, hey, at least I was able to focus enough Chaos Energy to keep the island floating- that should last a few days. Anyways, yeah, he's up to something again and it can't be good."
There was a long pause. "...Well, that certainly changes things."
"Well, you should figure out what's going on. In the meantime, I need to get some treasure hunting done."
"Alright, I'm on it."
They both hung up.
oOo
"Report cargo status of captured hedgehog Mobian aboard, over."
Sonic smirked and stared at the GUN soldiers with mischievous eyes and a toothy grin.
"That's a 10-4. Cargo secured on board and…"
The blue Mobian pushed himself off his seat and kneed a nearby soldier in the gut. The others stood up to attack him.
"What?!"
"Didn't copy that, over."
"The hedgehog cargo is gone, he's taken out everybody aboard and-"
"What's wrong? Come in, over!"
He recklessly opened the plug door.
"What in the world?!"
He jumped out of the helicopter and grabbed onto the wing. Wind was blowing his hair in every direction as he held on for his life. He managed to swing himself up so that his feet were planted on something firm. He saw a piece of metal sticking out awkwardly.
"Freeze! What do you think you're doing!? Get that hedgehog!"
He smirked and pulled on the piece of metal, surprised by how easily it detached. What a cheap product. He supposed his expectations had just been too high.
"Talk about low budget flights, no food or movies...I'm outta here!" He placed the metal beneath his feet, and gave a mock salute towards the soldiers staring at him in shock. "I like running better!" He pushed himself off, ignoring the horrified looks of GUN soldiers watching a teen fall from an exceptionally high altitude. As he descended upside down, the idea of spinning to make the spoiler act like a propeller came to mind. He squatted so that he could reach the metal and use all of his force to rotate it. He enjoyed the adrenaline rush as he saw the road get closer, before he flipped himself right side up and braced for impact.
oOo
Shadow crossed his arms as he watched the Doctor and Rouge converse. His eyes narrowed as he watched Eggman trust her with ease. How foolish of him.
"Ah, Rouge! I always knew you were my most promising student! Why else would I have let Shadow stay with you? Because of you, now I am one step closer to world domination!" He grinned at the blue emerald in his hands.
She giggled. "Oh, no need for flattery. I'm just the best at what I do."
He rolled his crimson eyes and focused them onto the green emerald in his hand. He didn't like this one, he decided. It reminded him too much of a certain somebody's eyes. He wasn't allowed to think about that, it would be selfish for him to do so. His purpose was to fulfill her dying wish, he wasn't meant to have his own feelings. They'd just get in the way of it all. He needed to get rid of these distractions.
His eyes fixed themselves on the Overlander in the room. "I'll be heading out, Doctor."
"What?" The Doctor huffed. "With the Chaos Emerald?"
Shadow nodded. "I'll be holding on to this one for a while." He caught a glimpse of the sly smirk on Rouge's face.
"Don't get too caught up in the moment." She teased while her eyes squinted knowingly.
He scowled at her. 'She planned this from the beginning.'
"I won't." He answered with a glare. He raised the green emerald as the words spilled from his lips. "Chaos-"
After watching the other Mobian leave as she had become accustomed to since they met, the she turned to the Doctor with an innocent smile. "May I explore your base?"
Eggman held his head high. "Yes, but I expect you to come when I order you to."
She grinned, watching as he sauntered out of the room.
oOo
"I never thought I would sink this low..." The blue-haired teenage detainee frowned as he navigated himself through the sewers. It smelled terrible and was dark, but it was the only place he could get a temporary refuge. "Since when did Overlanders become so technologically advanced?" He rolled his eyes, recalling all the GUN robots he had to fight through and that giant truck with the chainsaws he had to outrun. He actually stopped to think about it. Right, GUN was interested in Eggman's robots after the Chaos Crisis that they took their scraps in for research and reverse engineering. That was only a little over a month ago though, so he supposed the Overlanders were making good use of their time.
He scoffed. "Yeah, right. They can't even find out who the real criminal is."
City lights seeping through a small hole revealed a manhole above him. He contemplated the idea of going out in the open; he was so sick and tired of the sewers that he was willing to risk getting caught. He ran, kicked it, sending it flying. He immediately hopped through the hole and took in a breath of fresh air while appreciating the night sky.
"Freedom's never smelled so sweet!"
He heard something drop onto the ground behind him and felt the vibration travel up his legs. He turned around to see a large robot looming over him. F-6t Bigfoot.
"Ugh, this sucks."
He attacked by avoiding its turrets and spin dashing into it. After a couple of good hits, it collapsed to the ground and exploded. He grinned over how easy it was to beat. A piece of cake. He scanned his surroundings, making sure there were no others before looking back at the robot.
He jumped at the surprise. "Huh?"
Shadow was standing over the dismantled robot with a green gem in his hand. "Hello, Sonic." He said cooly with an impassive expression.
"Ah, Shadow!" The blue teen smiled with relief as he jogged towards the other. "Boy, am I glad to see you! You wouldn't believe what I got sucked into today!"
"I wanted to talk-"
"Wait, is that a Chaos Emerald?" He furrowed his brows as his eyes flickered between the gem and his crush. "The green one? That's the one Rouge told us about a few weeks ago...she said it belonged to the government... Why do you have it?"
The darker Mobian blinked before raising the gem. "It all starts with this...a jewel containing the ultimate power."
Sonic sent him a look. "Shadow, you have to return that. You can't just steal stuff like that, it's wrong. Besides, the military has mistaken me for you and that's not cool."
"If you're expecting me to clear your name, then you're deeply mistaken."
The blue teen was startled. "Dude, what do you mean?" His eyes widened in realization. "Are you...are you trying to impersonate me? Why?" The hurt in his expression was evident as he looked to the other Mobian for an answer.
Crimson eyes averted away from the blue Mobian and instead fixed onto the emerald. "I have a duty I must attend to."
"Shadow, please, I can help you. Just explain to me what's going on. Why are you making me a bad guy?"
The darker Mobian found himself staring into distressed emerald irises. "I..." He hesitated before frowning. "If you know what's good for you, take your family and leave the city. Go as far away as possible. I refuse to be held responsible for you if you decide to stay."
He gawked at him. "L-leave? Shadow, what are you talking about? What's going on? Please, just-"
"Chaos Control!" He vanished before the teenager's eyes.
"Wait! Don't leave me!" He spun around, his eyes darting everywhere until they found Shadow standing on top of a building as he tossed the emerald repeatedly in one hand. "How did you-"
"I'm the world's Ultimate Lifeform. For your sake, I hope we never meet again. Farewell, Sonic!" Once again, he disappeared into thin air.
"Wait, I want an explanation!" The blue teen groaned when he realized the other was really gone this time. What the hell was going on? Why was his crush being so difficult?
He was suddenly blinded by headlights.
"Halt! Stand where you are!"
Of course, this again.
oOo
Rouge smiled triumphantly as she walked around the pyramid. She found the room she had been searching for and quickly sneaked in. She took a moment to admire her reflection in a large monitor before getting down to business.
"Well, well, well. What's this thing here?"
She began pressing buttons on a holographic keyboard to activate the screen, mentally praising herself for getting this far. The Doctor trusted her! Now she was able to access top secret information. Her mission was on a role.
"It's a...space transporter?" Her brow raised. "With a destination set for…the ARK? Wasn't that space colony shut down like fifty years ago?" She frowned as she rubbed her cheek in deep contemplation. "Dammit, I know Shadow somehow has ties to the ARK, but he was sealed within Prison Island. What exactly is the Doctor looking for up there?"
"Rouge! Get on the ARK this instant! We have something we need to show you!"
Rouge brought her transmitter close to her face. "Alright, Doctor. I'll be up as soon as I can." She sighed, realizing that she would've found out about the transporter even without her prying. Whatever. Life wasn't fun when the person you were spying on told you everything anyways. Her talents were being wasted. She stood on the teleporter with her hands on her hips and disappeared.
She took her time getting to the room.
"Yes, Doctor?"
She took in the giant machine before her and widened her eyes.
"What you see here is the glorious achievement of what the world's leading scientist, Gerald Robotnik, has created." Shadow gestured towards the machine. "The ARK was the first space colony created by mankind, but not many know that it contains a top secret research facility, where weapons of mass destruction were being created...this being one of them, a weapon with the power to destroy an entire planet. Codenamed: The Eclipse Cannon." Rouge blinked in surprise, not only because of the information being shared with her, but also because that was the most she ever heard her roommate say all at once. At any other time, she would've welcomed it. As the topic was the destruction of Mobius, it was rather...unsettling.
"A weapon powerful enough to destroy an entire planet? Was this truly my grandfather's legacy?" Eggman stroked his mustache as he handed Shadow the blue Chaos Emerald.
"It's been deactivated for some time now." The hedgehog Mobian continued as he inserted the gem into the weapon. "To reactivate it, it requires large amounts of energy."
"That would explain why we need the Chaos Emeralds."
He nodded in response. "Exactly. When you collect the emeralds, you will be given the ultimate power of mass destruction to use as you please."
"With this power, the world will be mine!" He grinned at the hybrid. "I like the way you think." He began laughing maniacally while Rouge rolled her eyes at the crazy old man beside her. She locked eyes with Shadow before glancing at the machine.
'Seems like things just got really complicated.'
A/N: Look at Shadow not being able to be a complete jerk to Sonic and feeling guilty enough to warn him. As much as he wants to take it back, the bond has already formed. Dammit, Rouge! Why did she convince him to hang out with the bubbling hero?!
But, we the shippers owe it all to her ;)
Had she not told him to get close to him, they definitely would've remained friendly rivals, but the relationship probably would've stayed that way despite Sonic's crush. At the point Sonic asked him to go on a date, it's very likely he would've rejected it if not for his conversation with her. Because the two hedgehog hybrids spent so much time together, intimately held hands, and got used to each other's presence, Shadow was able to get in touch with the inner feelings he suppressed long ago. As a result, that becomes a huge obstacle in Robotnik's plan. Thanks again, Rouge!
On a side note, there's a map that I'm using for Mobius as a reference. Station Square and the ruins are located in Soumerca (South America), so they live in a tropical area. Because they're in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are reversed. Winter for them is Summer, Summer for them is always rainy and humid (As a person who lived in a tropical place, I can tell you that it's terrible. Only visit during Winter). Just felt I should explain this in case anybody got confused.
Also, after seeing the official Sonic the Hedgehog twitter, I have a headcannon of Sonic loving memes. Have you seen that account? It's honestly the best thing I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Absolutely fantastic. Just memes everywhere and it's OFFICIAL. I can't get over it. I love this fandom. Glad I spent half my life a part of it lol.
Yes, I will be following the games story-wise for a while. That's just to build up Sonic's reputation as a hero and establish relationships. It also ties in canon events with this fic, so it can be seen as an AU of sorts, like even though he's a human animal-hybrid stuck in school, he's still a hero gifted with phenomenal power...but he's also just a teenager. There will be a point where I will go a different route, and though I will be following the timeline of the games, I'll be changing the adventure a lot. Then near the end I have something that's more from the comics planned...But, we're not there yet! So, in the meantime, just enjoy this buildup for Shadonic/Sonadow. We'll get there when we get there.
See ya next time on Sonic X-er, I mean CCF. Hehe.
