Aw, geez. I didn't mean for all of you to wait this long for this chapter. I kinda got stuck for a while on on part... and my cousin keeps wanting me to watch some shows with him that happen nearly everyday. ^_^;

So I tried to make this one good length and started to push it to where they get back on their Emerald hunt.

Hope this one is good...

Dark was confused without a doubt for two reasons. What did Mephiles mean by that and why did it affect him at all?

Gently prodding his arm at the shoulder, he was briefly pleased to see that it wasn't flaring up in pain as easily, so that meant that it was nearly finished healing. He considered that he might also have accelerated healing like Mephiles, and perhaps because Mephiles used his powers to heal the arm slightly, that merely sped up the process.

Steering his thoughts back to what Mephiles had said, he had also been a bit surprised that Mephiles had been crying like that. He was so used to the loud wailing sobs that Mephiles often never tried to hold back, that this type was very unusual to him. Mephiles seemed like he was trying to hide it… or what he was so upset about at least.

Which brought Dark to another set of thoughts: Why did he black out like that? Why had he been bleeding from his head? Why did Mephiles quickly tell him that he healed it, and didn't bother to tell him what exactly happened? Did something happen that he was not aware of?

Something just didn't add up to him. Mephiles told him that he must have blacked out from bleeding, but he was not aware of if he had been bleeding or not.

Dark glanced at his right hand and took in all the details he might have missed that were clues on it.

There was blood on his palm from rubbing his hand to his face… but there was blood on the fingertips as well…

Strange…

Like Mephiles, Dark's claws were simply too sharp from being crystal to have much contact with his own skin, so he often made sure the tips of the fingers were kept away from it so he didn't cut himself by accident.

But, if that was his rule of thumb… then why was there blood on the claws on his right hand?

Wait…

Right hand…

Right side of face…

He didn't…

Did he?

Grabbing a few tissues, knowing the blood had yet to coagulate, he pressed the unfolded tissues to the side of his head, wanting to see the trail marks of the blood.

After a few seconds, he pulled it away and examined the trails.

Five zigzags that came together at a few points, some trails thicker than the others…

Five…

Dark shook his head and scoffed nervously.

"Noooo…" He half laughed, as if mocking the thought of it. "I couldn't have… I would have known if I did… Right?"

The last word came out a bit higher pitched than his normally deeper voice. He shook his head quickly.

"I'm getting paranoid being stuck in here…" He concluded with another shake of the head."I do hope Mephy hasn't forgotten that he still needs to find the other four Emeralds… though I can understand if that slipped his mind for a moment… what with being poisoned and all…"

He had no idea why he was talking out loud so much, and more over, why he was speaking his thoughts out loud as they came to him, not taking any time to think them through.

"I must be getting paranoid… that's all…" He told himself.

He glanced at his left arm and flexed his fingers for a moment, pleased to find that doing so did not cause as much discomfort as it had earlier. He concluded that he'd probably have full use of his arm in several hours… however long that translated in here. From what he could tell, time passed quite differently in Mephiles' mind compared to his own. While his was pretty much real time, Mephiles' seemed to vary in conversion, sometimes taking too long, and sometimes not too long at all. He figured that because Mephiles had yet to shape the set up of his mind, it was an exception to most of the rules, such as time constraint and damage read outs, as in because there was no real walls and ground, nothing could really be destroyed and cause mental and physical damage to Mephiles.

"Perhaps I should have been more in control of myself, then I might not be in this predicament…" Dark contemplated carefully, realizing once again that his rage fit he had in his mind had caused damage to himself as well.

It all seemed linked to his nasty temper.

Because he had destroyed a good majority of his visual representation of his mind, he was suffering for all sorts of brain related "malfunctions". He was blacking out, having trouble not trailing off, memory problems and apparent relapses, and a host of other things he didn't feel like mentioning.

Because of his likeliness to snap to a rage, he had nearly costed himself the only person that was actually willing to help him. But he couldn't help it… when he was worked up into a frenzy, he lost any sense of reasoning and was likely to do what comes to mind without thinking about it. It was either that or let it and his Chaos Aura come to a boil and result in him truly becoming a mindless beast even for a moment as his brain wiped clean while he became an unruly creature…

As much as the idea of that kind of power tempted him… he preferred to have complete and total control on his brain, body and powers. As long as he could be aware… he would be able to keep himself in check.

He rarely lost complete control out of the slight fear of what could happen to him. He knew that like Shadow, he produced more Chaos Energy than his body could output at rest. But unlike Shadow, he had no way to suppress it harmlessly or channel it into something beneficial to him, like the healing powers of Mephiles or the Energy Rings on Shadow's wrists and ankles. And his Chaos Aura was an uncommon but not rare type that was controlled by a type of emotion. His control was his anger.

Depending on the intensity of that emotion, the output and production would vary. It took a long time to produce most of it, but the energy that has already been stored would release quickly, and it's effects would cause Dark's fury to escalate, letting it all loose at once as his body tries to compensate for that.

That was the cause of his normal black outs that lasted up to a few minutes… not these new ones that seemed to last longer.

At these times, he was vaguely aware of what was really going on, but because they lasted so shortly, he could easily keep track and seem like it didn't happen at all.

Theses were the times his fur and quills would start to prickle and stand on end as his eyes glowed. He'd pant and snarl, bear his teeth and hiss threats.

That's just how he was… and he couldn't change it.

He was a creature of anger and darkness. He wanted to be more powerful so that he could prove he was better. He couldn't handle second place, nor having a position of weakness.

He was not weak. He would never be a weakling. He was half of a time manipulator…

A scientifically created copy of a time manipulator, that was…

But he wasn't a fake! He was a living, breathing, thinking individual that felt the need to be a step above everything… especially three particular beings. Those three above all…

Funny… the number used to be two… When did Iblis work his way into the equation?

Then his thoughts came to that.

There was something about Iblis that was making Dark's body and instincts work against his mind. He had found himself victim to all sorts of new and unnerving reactions and functions.

His heart had raced enough for Dark to be aware that it was beating that fast.

His legs had lost their ability to support his weight, making him slide to the ground as he was now forced to look up to keep eye contract with his brother.

His body had trembled, the greatest visual that told Iblis that Dark was startled, if not frightened.

His fur had become damp with sweat as if to confirm that.

His lungs had decided to work overtime, making him pant and wheeze as he tried to return it to a steady rhythm.

His muscles had twitched and spasmed, giving away his uneasiness that felt around Iblis.

His mouth had gone dry, making his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth and make words harder to form coherently.

His throat had constricted painfully, making it hard to breathe right.

Every nerve in his body had screamed at him to run and put as much distance between them as he could.

And he didn't know why. What was it about Iblis that was so bad that it was upsetting the balance of Dark's senses?

"I told myself I wasn't going to worry about that…" Dark huffed at himself, annoyed that he had let his thoughts run wild for a while. "Whatever's in the past is in the past, and it's not that important because it's happened, done and set in stone. What's important right now is focusing on the present and making sure that we keep those Emeralds from Iblis so that we don't lose in the future. We've already lost a few days time, but Brother seems to be sticking close, so I doubt he knows where to find the last four."

Dark reached his hand to the ground and picked up his notebook, then paused, contemplating as to whether or not he should open it to read it.

"There can't possibly be anything more that could be just as confusing and rattling as what I've found out in the past week alone…" He snorted and shook his head. "So apparently I'm not a demon, and I'm afraid of my brother… there's nothing that can top that right now…"

And with that, he flipped the cover back and started reading the first page, which had now arranged itself like a story of some kind in Dark's printed handwriting. The notes that usually littered the margins were not present this time, meaning that the thoughts were beginning to sort out better and make themselves more understandable.

"So Mephy's theory seems to be plausible…" He said slowly. "I just wish that I hadn't had that relapse at the time he was explaining so I could have heard the rest of it…"

Plausible. Meaning possible, but still a window for failure of the theory.

On one end of the scale, he had Mephiles' theory. On the other end… there was what he was trying to force to be true out of knowledge of possible severe consequences if he was wrong.

Though tempting that was possible for Dark to have been misunderstood this whole time, he knew that he had caused enough problems and troubles with Mephiles alone that it was going to be very tough for him to right all that. Not that he was willing to admit that he was wrong, oh no! He just didn't want to have to acknowledge his ignorance. Not that he was admitting that he was ignorant, that is… he just didn't like being wrong.

He snapped the notebook shut and tossed it aside, deciding that he had had just about enough from it for now. He was getting another headache again anyway, and he didn't need anything confusing fueling it any more than it was.

Deciding that since he had nothing else to do, and estimating that the time was about nighttime anyway, he slid down the couch into a more comfortable position, taking care not to put any weight into his hurt arm.

Not much into attempting to fall asleep again did Mephiles' voice interrupt his train of thought.

Dark? Are you still awake?

"… Unfortunately… yes…" He said levelly, a little annoyed at not being left alone for now. "What is it this time?"

Uh… Well… everyone else is asleep… and I don't really feel like falling asleep right now…

"That's a bit of a laugh, since you're the one that seems to fall asleep anywhere…"

I know… I just… don't want to right now…

"Any particular reason why?" Dark really didn't care, but he knew Mephiles would keep talking either way, so it was better to keep the conversation moving, rather than just stop at one subject.

I'm getting tired of waking up there. I haven't really fallen asleep sleep since you came back…

"I don't see the problem there… You still get rested… Right?"

Well, yeah… but I'd like to not have to have a time period to wait before I really wake up. If I fall asleep for real, then there's that chance that I won't have to think for a good solid ten hours at the most.

"And then there's that chance you have a nightmare or something like that…" Dark countered.

Not like it really matters to you…

"On the contrary… Because of my placement here… the subconscious of your mind…" Dark rolled his eyes. "I can end up getting glimpses of what goes on in that fuzzy little head of yours. And good Lord… your thoughts are so disorganized! Your dreams often make no sense!"

They're not supposed to… Mephiles sighed as if he was annoyed that he had to explain this apparently simple thing to such a brilliant mind such as Dark's. It's simply a glimpse into the current thoughts that are running through my head. If I was upset or scared before I fell asleep, then the thoughts will be related to it. Likewise, if I'm not upset or scared, I won't have any problems at all…

"That's why I never dream…" Dark said, sounding almost proud of himself.

I wouldn't be so sure…

"Why?" Dark raised an eyebrow.

Everyone does. In fact, only a small percentage is remembered.

"You have no proof if I do or not. Remember… I'm not naturally created. I'm a science project gone wrong." Something about that last part seemed a bit hissed out.

Weeeeelllll… Mephiles dragged it out as if to either pause to decide the way to word it or to think of a good reason. You definitely have REM sleep. There's that whole eyelid twitch and stuff.

"So, I might have something in common with people after all. Nice to know I'm not a misfit… That's sarcasm, by the way…"

I figured that. Your voice has that tone…

"You have learned well…" Dark teased. "Anyway, you do remember that you still need to find the next four Emeralds right? Stop wasting time and get going as soon as possible."

There's a bit of a snag. We can't go until Shadow and I are officially released.

"And what's stopping you?"

Well, because of you taking that poison from me, I recovered perhaps the quickest ever seen from such a dose. It perplexes the doctors.

"It was either that, or let you be in a coma with a high fever and all kinds of hallucinations plaguing your unconscious mind. Like I said, you're not the only one who sees what goes on in here…"

How do you know all this stuff anyway? You've hardly had time to research, and I know that I don't know it if you need to tell me…

"Mephiles… you're not the only one with a Seeing ability…" Dark said as if he thought Mephiles knew already. But it was obvious that he didn't.

Wait… so you can See things too?

"To an extent. You can view the alternate timelines and outcomes in your dreams and that yellow Emerald allows you to see elsewhere in present time. But mine is entirely different."

Such as..?

Dark heaved a sigh, as if he had explained this before, but he knew full well he hadn't.

"Every time a situation happens where there is more than one possible outcome…" He started, tugging at a quill on his head out of boredom. "It flashes through my mind each one and what could happen based on my choice if I choose to allow it run through my head. In this case, I saw several outcomes, one resulting in your death from that overdose if nothing was to be done at all, a few in which you were in a coma for various lengths of time depending on how much I removed, as well as your symptoms at various levels, and a few outcomes involving my malaise. Worst case scenario is you die, I end up dying, Iblis get the Emeralds and everyone else dies."

So you helped me because… you were thinking of everyone else..?

"I didn't want to die. How hard is that for you to understand? I can't do anything if I'm dead. Get it?"

That's what you say… but you didn't say that the only thing about the worse case scenario is that you die. You included everyone else…

"Oh, would you just shut up?" Dark snapped. "I'd like to go to sleep now; I still have a headache from that poison."

Geeze… cranky much?

"Now see… you wouldn't be saying this out loud if we were face to face…" Dark muttered, shaking his head.

Maybe not… You might try to hurt me…

"Not if you stop prying and leave me alone right now!" Dark snapped. "Go to sleep!"

And what if I end up back there?

"I don't care… it's not my problem…"

In a few minutes, Mephiles was back anyway. Dark heaved a sigh through his teeth and glared.

"I'm getting reeeeaaal tired of this…" Dark would have folded his arms if the left one wasn't still in the sling.

"How's that arm doing? It doesn't look as bad now…" Mephiles ignored the sarcasm.

"Y'know something? I really want you to answer this: Why do you care?" Dark said, frowning as he narrowed his eyes. "Why now? I'm sure if it was a month ago, you would have been laughing along with Shadow about that. And after all that negative response you've been getting from me… well, if it was the other way around, I would have just said 'Forget it'…"

"We've been through this, Dark…" Mephiles shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I told you that I don't enjoy seeing anyone get hurt, regardless of who it is. That's just not me."

"After all that I've done to you? That doesn't sound very smart to me…"

"Good people think differently. They put others first, and will try to help." Mephiles explained. "They don't always get something in return, or it might even backlash, but it's just what they do."

"So why help me?" Dark raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a good person…"

"But you're also not bad either…"

Dark was confused.

"I don't get it…" He shook his head. "I only like benefiting myself… I hardly ever help out… I've caused you more injuries in a short amount of time more than some get in a year or more… I have no real purpose, and I've focused most of it into causing harm…"

"Well, true…" Mephiles said a bit nervously, as if Dark might lash out at him for saying that. "And you have the nastiest temper I've ever seen… but do you still call yourself bad after helping me in that avalanche? Or taking that poison? Or warning me about Iblis? The weird thing is… you've helped… but you don't want to be helped."

"That's because you're trying to help me with something I don't want help with…"

"But, why? Why don't you want help with it?" Mephiles said almost desperately. "I've had my own experience with lost memories, even if it is just recently. And I can tell, I can see it, that you don't fully understand yourself…"

"I understand enough to get by…" Dark adopted his familiar growl again.

"You're like an underachiever that is capable of doing much more, but you're either afraid of failure, or of not getting the answer you want…"

Dark rounded his eyes a fraction before giving his usual glare.

"I don't even know what failure feels likes…"

"Okay, I know that's a lie…" Mephiles shook his head. "You've never beaten me… that's solid proof that you've tasted failure. You know that as well as I do…"

"How do you know that?" Dark usual facade faltered for a moment. "I never told you that…"

"Uh… oops?" Mephiles realized that and took a step back as Dark got off the couch to take a step towards him, a somewhat unreadable expression on his face.

Then he clenched his teeth and frowned again.

"What exactly are you keeping from me?" He growled. "The last time you left, you were trying to hide something, and I couldn't find what. I don't know what it meant, other than it pulled at something in my brain. And your story about the blood on the side of my face doesn't add up at all. I checked, it was from my own claws!" He raised his voice a bit.

Mephiles took another step back, shifting his eyes from side to side anxiously. He should have known that Dark was smart enough to put two and two together to make something other than four and it actually work.

"Now I demand that you tell me what exactly happened after I… 'blacked out'!" He airquoted with his right hand. "Because there's my dried blood on the side of my face and on my claws that I know I didn't put there! Start. Explaining. Now." At the last word, he bared his teeth as he clenched his right hand into a fist.

Mephiles was caught. There was no way to side track this now. He folded his ears back and held his breath for a moment.

"Well? Start talking!"

He exhaled.

"Oh… where do I begin..?" He said slowly, shaking his head as he eased a hand to his forehead. "C-can I sit down first? I'm getting tired of standing…"

He received only a sharp stare, so he took it upon himself to sit down on the couch anyway, Dark not taking his eyes off him once.

"You had something like a mental breakdown or something earlier…" He began, shifting his eyes up to stare back at Dark. "I dunno for sure, but you were acting really weird… or… weirder than normal…"

"Define…" Dark said edgily.

"Well, uh… it started out that you were getting really mad at me for suggesting that there might have been a misunderstanding…" Mephiles shook his head lightly and suddenly took an interest into staring at his feet. "Like, real mad. Your eyes shifted a bit, and you were steadily raising your voice as you went on about how there was no way to make up for all the bad you've done…"

"And just how does that have to do with the blood on the side of my face?" Dark was getting impatient.

"I'm getting to that. Then you started laughing. Not like you're usual laugh… more like a complete meltdown laugh. It was loud… and a bit scary… especially after I noticed that you had clamped your hand to your head and was digging your claws into it… like, deep…"

He paused, hoping to have to stop there. But Dark wasn't satisfied.

"Go on."

Mephiles sighed. He didn't want to have to lie again, so he just told him everything else.

"After I pulled your hand away and healed the wound, you spaced out before laughing again, this time gradually. First a snicker, then a giggle, which turned into a chuckle… and then you were cackling like a mad person, laughing a bit too hard that you had to gasp a bit. Then you screamed for no reason at all before you started shaking…"

"And then I came to?"

"No… not yet…" Mephiles shook his head. "This is the most interesting part. There was a resurface of a younger you for about five minutes."

Dark's eyes were rounded completely for a few seconds before relaxing.

"How are you so sure?"

"Well, you didn't have a name yet and said that Iblis calls you 'Little Brother'. You seemed downright afraid of him, and you didn't know me at all, so I assume that that was you when you and Iblis were still Solaris…"

"What was I like?"

"… D-different…"

"How so?"

"You… were… uh… kidlike… very startled, and you kept telling me about how Iblis was better than you because he said so and all. He had you thinking it was true…"

"That insignificant spark… No wonder his presence puts me at unease… it's already hardwired into my brain…" Dark whispered almost inaudibly as he brought his hand to his face and caught himself by the chin in thought. Mephiles strained his ears to hear him more clearly. "He knows that… and he's using that to his advantage with me… that's clever of him… Very, very clever…"

"Are you saying that he's done that purposely to make it easier to get by you?"

"I dunno… I can't be sure of that… it could just be that he sees that it's beneficial to him now as well…"

Mephiles could see that Dark was uneasy. Not so much as see, per se, but he could feel the emotion that Dark was giving off, even if Dark wasn't letting himself show it.

"… You're scared… aren't you?" Mephiles said slowly. Dark jumped a bit and looked up, letting his eyebrows knit in confusion before shaking his head roughly. "Dark, stop it. I can sense it."

"I'm not scared. I never feel fear." Dark stated for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"It was a lie then…" Mephiles shook his head and folded his arms. "And it's a lie now. It's okay if this whole problem is evoking something you're not familiar with… I won't think any less or any more of you from that."

"I don't do fear." Dark stuck his nose in the air with a "hmmph!".

"Then what was that when we saw that memory with Solaris?"

Dark's eyes shot wide open for a moment before narrowing as he turned his attention back to Mephiles.

"I told you to forget about it!" Dark hissed, puffing his quills and fur out. "Stop bringing it-AUGH!"

Dark had clamped his right hand to his head, having experienced a sudden and unexplained headache that had arisen out of the blue. Teeth set and eyes squeezed shut in an expression of utmost pain, the shadow creature eased himself to the ground before Mephiles caught him under his uninjured arm and led him back to the couch, asking him if he was alright.

"Dark?! You didn't get mad did you? Iblis might be draining from you if you did!"

"No joke! Ya think!?" Dark snapped, jerking his arm free and shoving Mephiles away forcefully. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your hands off me?!"

"Well, how do you- What other- Well if you were really hurt, what am I supposed to do then?" Mephiles sputtered as he tried to regain his balance from being pushed. After a few arm flails, he leaned forward just a bit and stopped himself from falling over. "I'm sorry, but that's the only way I know how to help…"

"Stop helping me! I told you what I needed done! I don't need anything else! You're giving me a migraine!" Dark forced an eye open to send a glare at the hedgehog, who backed away a little more. "You are forgetting how much we both hate each other! We are enemies, and nothing is going to change that when this is over! When it is, we'll go back to what we've been doing for years, and that's it!"

"Do we have to? I'm tired of it!" Mephiles half whined, telling the truth. "Every time we've fought, not one of us really wins. We both die one way or another, and I end up hurt really badly. Then after I recover, you always come back and the same old thing starts up again!"

"Not this time!"

"You still came back, and I've still been hurt!" The hedgehog shook his head. "Shadow was hurt too! I'm thankful that Rouge hasn't been pulled into it, but what's to say that she's not the next target Iblis goes for? What about Krystal and Sharpe? Kai? Rae and Jak? What about Dr. Thizon? Maybe Iblis'll go after everyone I meet!"

"It's not my fault what Brother does…"

"But he only ended up in this plane because you tried to form with him to make Solaris, but he realized he was stronger than you!" Mephiles raised his voice, pouring out everything that was on his mind that he had merely taken in as it happened and not once questioned it before. "It's because of you this is happening to all of us! It's because of you're obsession to get rid of me and Shadow that you brought this upon yourself! And now, you don't want to get rid of me or Shadow! I don't get you! I don't! I don't! I don't! I don't! I don't! I don't!"

Halfway through that, he was stomping his foot on the ground, on a borderline tantrum, not knowing what else to do.

Considering the factors of how much of this he had been taking, what's been happening, how much of nearly everything had blown up in his face, piling up with nearly every other factor that had been added… it was only a matter of time before he snapped.

Dark watched mutely as Mephiles' Chaos Aura erupted in purple flames of energy around the hedgehog as his eyes gained a purple glow to them as he continued to throw a tantrum, screaming out nearly everything that came to mind.

During this, Dark took a moment to check his arm and was pleased to find that aside from a little bit of soreness, he could use it much more freely now. That was good… he was tired of having only one hand to use.

Removing the makeshift sling, he got up from the couch calmly and walked over to where Mephiles was, caught him by both of his shoulders, spun him to where the two were face-to-face and gave him an intense stare, which made Mephiles stop venting and stare back. Not as intensely, though.

"Stop that… do you have any idea how shrill you sound when you're spouting nonsense?" Dark said lowly but clearly, making it quite evident that Mephiles' actions had tried his nerves a bit too much. "I'll give you a hint: It's downright grating on my senses… I can almost feel it vibrate the very fibers of my being. Stop it. NOW."

"I see you have full use of your arm…"

"I have enough use to do what I want to." Dark growled, letting go of Mephiles. "Now, really. I strongly advise that you and your friends get out of that hospital and get started finding the next four Emeralds."

"One problem… I don't know where they could be." Mephiles answered truthfully.

"You're clever enough to find out." Dark said flatly, folding his arms. "If the yellow Emerald led you to the aqua one… then perhaps it can aid you with the rest."

"But the last time, it was very vague. I didn't even know what that white stuff was. Which was snow, by the way, it's-"

"I know what snow is, you stupid little hedgehog!" Dark snapped, having lost his patience quite quickly, most likely because Mephiles was convinced that he was going to get a chance to educate Dark in something.

"You just called me 'clever' not even half a minute ago…"

"I'll call you what I want!" Dark barked before flinching. He paused, inhaled deeply to take a moment to cool down before continuing. "Stop wasting time and get going. I have no idea how much longer Brother is willing to wait and he may just decide to go after the rest on his own…"

"Yikes, that's a scary thought…" Mephiles shivered slightly. "Y'know… why is it that bad people seem to need only on Emerald to get what they want? Hasn't there ever been anybody that didn't get a power boost or upgrade with just one?"

"What are you asking me for? How the heck should I know?"

"I dunno… I was just wondering…" Mephiles turned his gaze to the ground. "Can you hit me in the back of the head this time? I'm getting tired of the other pressure point… and a good knock to the head works as well."

"Sure, why not?"

"One more thing… how come I haven't gotten any brain damage from all the ti-"

Dark didn't let him finish. He was a bit too eager to use his left arm.

Mephiles woke up in the hospital room again, finding it to be still dark, Rouge and Shadow still asleep as well.

The hedgehog sighed. He was hoping it was daylight so they could get started again.

Not tired enough to try to fall asleep for real again, Mephiles got off the bed to find the backpack that had the yellow Emerald in it. Once he did, he hesitated in grabbing, wary of what might happen when he did. The fact that he knew that if either Shadow or Rouge woke up to find him in a trancelike state for who knows how long would no doubt startle them.

Fingers hovering above it, he changed his mind and made a grab for a plush bean filled dog that he had nearly forgotten that he had packed. Originally, he wanted to cram his pillow into the bag, but Shadow persuaded him otherwise, claiming that the pillow would take up much needed space. Mephiles argued that it was lightweight, and he was starting to grow fond of it after Sharpe had destroyed the first one, but Shadow eventually convinced him to bring something smaller.

Taking the toy back to the bed that he had been sleeping on, he flopped back on it and began toying at the ears idly, wondering how Krystal and Sharpe were doing. He hadn't seen them in over a week, and he had never been separated from them that long anytime before. But he knew that he had made a good decision leaving them behind, knowing that Iblis might have tried to hurt them. After all, Mephiles had been attacked at least a few times in the mere timeframe of a few days.

The hedgehog rolled over on his side, continuing his thought train until it came to a stop at the station with no passengers on board. In other words… he was tired of thinking for now.

What if I just stop thinking and try to fall asleep that way? I just want to fall asleep for real right now…

It took a moment before Mephiles tried his new method, finding himself to be experiencing an unexplainable sensation of dread about something. He quickly pushed that aside, determining that it was most likely because of the situation at hand and perhaps his hedgehog instincts were a deciding factor as well.

He would have been pleased to find that his new method worked… if his brain was conscious enough to try to.

Whatever amount of time passed, and Mephiles found that the sun was shining through the shades on the window and directly into his face.

Reaching his hand towards his head while still half asleep, he swiped the pillow he was resting his head on out from underneath it and pulled it over his eyes.

Mephiles just didn't like mornings. Or rather, he didn't like how it had a tendency to blind you first thing you wake up to.

"You might as well get up, it's after ten already." He heard Shadow tell him.

His ears lifted up.

"… Eh? It is?" Mephiles pulled the pillow off and lifted his head, looking somewhat confused as much as he was half asleep.

"Give or take a half an hour…" Shadow shrugged while getting his shoes on.

Mephiles blinked and propped himself up on one arm, starting to wake up a bit more.

"Are we going to leave today, or something?" The crystal hedgehog had taken note about Shadow putting on his hoverskates. "We've been here for days…"

"That's because they haven't released the two of you…" Rouge reminded him.

"I'm well aware of that, Rouge…" Shadow nodded, tugging a glove over his hand by the cuff. "But we also need to bear in mind that of the seven Emeralds we need, we only have three. That's four others that Iblis will want to get. Where are the backpacks?"

"I pushed them under your bed, Shadow." Mephiles said, sliding off the bed. "But we still don't know where to find the next one…"

"We'll figure it out once we get out of here…"

"Oh, yes please. I really don't like it here…" The crystal hedgehog nodded. "I've ended up here twice, and Iblis attack me here, and these doctors don't seem to know what to make of me and my… oddness…" Mephiles had to pause for a moment to determine a good enough word to sum it up. "Oddness" seemed like an appropriate word. To the point, and not at all harsh. "I'd like to get out of here before someone decides that I'd make a great science project."

"What makes you think that's going to happen?" Rouge looked up while retrieving the backpacks.

"I dunno. I just know that they think I'm unusual. I mean, surviving getting frozen in snow without getting frostbitten because of my crystals…" Mephiles began listing off things. "Then there was that melting into mist to hide from Iblis. And then the fact that the only thing that was scorched was my fur. And surviving a dose of poisoning that would have lapsed me into a coma, and had the potential to kill me, moreover that I recovered in a couple of hours. And that's just what they know right now…"

"They can't keep you here…" Shadow shook his head. "They don't have the right…"

Mephiles laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry… I'm probably just worrying about nothing again…" He shook his head with a weak attempt at a smile.

But still… that little bit of dread that was in the back of his mind returned… And he still felt uneasy…

Alright... lets hope that they can get out of that hospital and continue thier quest. I hope Mephiles' unease doesn't turn out to mean anything...