FantomoDrako: (blushes) heh, thanks!^^ And wow, I bet your friend must be grateful to you, I'm so glad my very own Mary Sue never ever saw the light of fanfic and stayed in that roleplay where she belongs… :P Hope you enjoy the bits of Sindbad in this chappie as well and thanks for the review! :D

Ri2: Okay, lessee…Shahra could be referring to both, though I'm not sure the Arabian Nights and this fanfic synch up in terms of chapters. ;) And there's a few people who actually ship Knuxamy, though I don't. But hey, Amy's cute and Sindbad seems to be a ladies' man… XD That question about the goons was actually a real clever idea, made me laugh.^^ Amy's trouble with her hammer will be explained…eventually. :P You have pity with the monsters? Just you wait for this chappie…XD And as for the hug…please read on! Thanks for always commenting!

Lupus Silvae: (silver wolf…?) Heheh, yeah, if I had to spend more chapters in the Floating Ruins I'd have gone insane. Glad you liked the way it was handled! Nah, no worries for Sonic, save your pity for Knux when he wakes up…XD Thanks for the nice review!

Tutis 75: (always reminds me of a pharaoh…like, Tutis the 75th for some reason…XD) Thanks for commenting, I do hope you enjoy the next chapter, though the Ifrit may yet pose a bigger problem than expected… :P

Omicron the IceQueen: Heh, thanks! :D I aim to please…glad you liked the Sindbad nonsense going on, I had been waiting for ages to write the scene, I simply love crackpairings…thanks a lot for that really nice review, I do hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

petite-dreamer: (blushes) wow, thanks. Coming from you, that really means something to me. I'm glad everyone enjoys the disturbed Knuxamy and as for Dark-and-Moody…ohohohoh, you'll just have to wait and see. XD Thanks for yet another review!

lokoforsonic9559: Ah, okay.^^ Thanks for commenting, glad you liked it!

Dunehazard: (bows) Heh, glad you agree. Sorry for the long wait, but it's finally here…

crimson-obsidian-rose: Heeeeh, happy you liked it! Knuxamy proves way too entertaining to write. XD Especially with poor Sonic having to watch…:P Oh, so Sindbad is actually closer to the original? That's cool, I didn't know that, thanks! :D Are you fluent in two languages, then? Thanks for yet another nice review!

Asher Tye: Prepare for the viewer-discretioned beatdown's repercussions…:P But meh, you're right, that bit of dialogue actually didn't make much sense. He wouldn't be able to break magic locks no matter his strength, I think…attribute it to Sonic's lack of logical thinking, maybe? (drop) Yeah, I too love bringing in a bit of instinct stuff – doesn't matter whether undead, alien, robot, monster or animal, I always love having non-human characters. ;) But I didn't have any particular Mary Sues in mind, no…it's been quite a while since I saw one, actually, because I am so picky with fanfic nowadays I hardly ever come across a story that would contain one.^^

CerberAsta: Heh thanks! Yeah, I did read through quite a bit of the Arabian Nights so far…I do like fairy tales of all kinds, they're so bizarre.^^ Thanks for your review, I hope you enjoy the next chapter as well!

Avitala: Sure he does, he's awesome! XD Thanks for commenting

star's dreams: XD That theory is great. ^^ Please have fun with the new chapter, Knux is not quite his old self yet…

A Reserved Deduction: Agh, did I get them flipped? I think it was kinda late when I typed that chapter…:P As for how far Amy can and will push this little game of hers, let's read to find out, shall we..? ;) Thanks for the review!

Yume Takato: Amy's pants coming right up! XD Thanks for commenting!

Rebell: Heh, Amy getting cleverer is certainly true…gah, I can't work with stupid or weak characters, all of them have to be somewhat cool at least. ;) (blushes) thank you ever so much for that wonderful review, too. Now, let's see the return of the Bling King…

DgShadowChocolate: Hah, glad you do! :D Thanks!

Ngandu the Croc: Heh, thanks for that wonderfully long review! I had just as much fun writing this chapter, I'm glad you liked it!^^ As for how far that contest over affection goes…well, read on to find out! ;)

LordxxAxelxxLover: A new reviewer?Glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for commenting and have fun with the new chapter!

Amyfan4ever: Hahah, thanks! Always happy to know which scenes worked best! :D Hope you like the new chapter as well, more Amyness to come…;)

Blue Mage Quartet: Hah, no worries! I take ages to get these chapters done, I fully understand there's a real life going on outside the net! :P I actually want a banana sword for myself, too…XD Blame the Doctor Who show for me using the word 'canoodling', btw. ;) And just you wait until you read what Amy actually *did* to those monsters…Thanks for both reviews!

FanFic35236: No breaks. At all. Ever. Well, except when he gets to cuddle Sonic. :P

Witch O' Miracles: O.o Wow, thanks for all those wonderful reviews! The game as such was okay, I probably would go insane if I had to play a game I hated for a fanfic…(Rayman 2: The Great Escape, anyone?) I base my characterization mostly off JudasFm's fanfics, she's got a very cool Knuckles and Sonic. I do like the constant banter…plus, I envision Knuckles more like a really cool fighter and Robotnik as an insane, yet brilliant genius and villain instead of naïve idiots…who wants to write/read that? SEGA, you're doing it wrong! My tactic for writing humour…? Read Terry Pratchett. Lots of it. XD As for Sonic/Tails – I do love their brotherly relationship and Sonic going Papa Wolf on anyone *daring* to hurt the cub…so yeah, lots more of that to come!^^ All in all, thanks again for all the comments and I do hope you enjoy the new chapter (or my other fics) just as much! ;D

janiemanie1993: Hahahah, patience, my young padawan, patience. XD The fanfic I was thinking about for O.o He's a MONSTER!-Robotnik is Secrets of the Emeralds by JudasFm. You have been warned. I did indeed read the Arabian Nights, I do love bizarre fairy tales. My first language is German. I hope you enjoy the update on both 'Life…' and this one!

Disclaimer: If I owned this game, the loading times would have taken two months for each level…

Chapter 26: Plotholes at 5000 Feet

"Mmeeeyes, mmh aaan eeeethe!" Sonic's muffled cries issued beneath the fur-pile, which probably would have meant something like ‚Guys, I can't breathe!' had the hero only had the breath to say so.

"Sonic, Sonic, I was here first! And I was so brave, facing those mean spirits!" Something pink and vaguely Amy-ish crushing his waist squealed, and if Sonic hadn't been too distracted by somebody else sitting on his chest and shaking him by the shoulders, yelling something or other about 'sneaky balls' (Sonic wasn't sure whether he had misheard that part) and generally exuberating into his face, the hedgehog might even have been able to reply to either of his excited attackers. As it was, there was also Shahra floating above his head and also talking, which wasn't exactly helpful.

"Guys! Please! Some personal space here!" The hero of Mobius finally managed, at last able to push himself up on his elbows and managing to calm all three of his friends down a little. "I know I'm awesome and all, but what's the big deal?"

"We had a competition, Sonic and-"

"-we all separated to get one tower done each and-"

"-the winner was supposed to get a hug!"

Sonic blinked a couple times, wondering whether that was still Shahra, Tails and Amy or whether they had turned into Donald Duck's three nephews by mistake. Finally a small grin crept onto his face, though, as he realized what his companions had actually wanted from him and what lengths they'd gone to to achieve it. True, it made him still a bit uncomfortable knowing how much they depended on his approval and praise, but as long as he was able to make them happy that was okay, right? And he had to admit he also felt just a little bit of pride seeing how well they had all handled the situation, their success obvious by looking at the echidna's opened cage…

"Okay, alright," he began good-naturedly as he settled into a sitting position, Tails and Amy finally sliding off him, "Just who am I supposed to give this hug to, then?"

"Me, Sonic! I flew all the way up to the tower, I must've been the first one back!" The fox piped up, tails wagging wildly in agitation.

"Like heck you were! I had to face fire-breathing demons on my way, if there's anyone who deserves that hug it's me!" Amy crossed her arms, turning her nose up. Sonic's eyes widened a little.

"Fire breathing demons?" he asked, worry riding on his words. Those guys would have almost killed Knuckles in the factory if he hadn't been there to save him…the idea of Amy having encountered those monsters alone didn't sit well with him at all and his throat constricted as he swallowed. He was about to ask the younger hedgehog whether they had hurt her, when his gaze finally took her in properly and noticed that her wardrobe was now just a tiny bit different.

"Err, Amy…what happened to your pants?" he asked, not exactly sure whether asking such a question was reason enough for a girl to slap you. The pink hedgehog was wearing a short skirt now, made from some strange grey material with black markings and a pretty green jewel apparently sewn into the side. In fact, it reminded him of-

"The monsters burned a hole in them. I made this skirt from their hide!"

Amy announced this very cheerfully and everybody backed just a little bit off as the Mobian girl twirled once for Sonic. "Isn't it pretty? I like skirts much better than pants anyway." She smiled. Sonic was very quick to nod (and also to make a mental note that worrying about Amy probably would not have been very necessary.)

"Yes, it, uh, suits you real well, Amy," he complimented while trying to pull his panicked little brother hiding behind his back to the front again.

"Oh really?! Thank you, Sonic!" Amy's jade eyes sparkled and Sonic barely bit his lip before he could ask what she had made her underpants from then. He had no desire to give her a reason to wear a blue fur stole next.

"Heh, no worries. But good on ya defeating them on your own," Sonic gave a nod to her, his tone one of genuine appreciation this time. Tails meanwhile wondered whether Shahra turning green there for a second had to mean anything. When Sonic looked at her next, she was instantly back to normal though.

"And hey, Shahra! You did one tower, too?"

"Yes, Master." She bowed, sounding pleased. "I was able to defeat some monsters as well," she announced, her tone obviously holding the hope that this would gratify Sonic like Amy's and Tails' stories had done. She wasn't disappointed.

"Way to GO, Shahra! Just wait up, when the Arabian Nights are in trouble the next time you'll be able to save them all on your own!" Sonic gave her one of his trademark thumbs-ups (and Tails wondered whether Amy turning green there for a second had to mean anything….) before then finally crossing his arms regarding all of his companions with mock seriousness.

"Okay, but who am I supposed to give this hug to, then? Hmm, that's really tough…" he mused, but couldn't keep from grinning for too long. "Aw, to hell with it. Group hug!" He laughed as he was once again glomped from all sides (even though no one wanted to come close to touching the magical arrow embedded in his chest) and the general fluffiness was only interrupted when a gruff voice cleared its throat.

"I said Ahem. Anybody listening to me? WILL YOU STOP IGNORING THE ADVENTURER OF ADVENTURES!" the freed echidna shouted at last, not in the least accustomed to anybody getting more attention than himself. He had watched the spectacle of his deranged saviors for the last minute, not sure whether he shouldn't just leave before he was infected by whatever crazy foreign spirits surely were possessing them. But then again, 1) that pink girl was cute (and he couldn't believe she was showing her legs like this – he could see her knees for god's sake!) and 2) they were on a flying fortress run by gargoyles 5 000 feet in the air and you try 'leaving' in that situation.

"Oh yeah. Knux!" Sonic blinked as he untangled himself from his friends again. "Right, we gotta fix ya. Shahra, with that ring we found you can restore his memories, right? "

"Yes, Sonic, but first we must ask him about the Ifrit, remember? We need the worldly wisdom of Sindbad the Sailor for this," Shahra repeated patiently, apparently growing accustomed to a master who could save the universe but forget what you were talking about ten minutes ago. Sonic nodded.

"Gotcha." Turning to the echidna, he added, "Okay, so about the fire genie, then. We got you out of the cage, now you have to help us out. How do we defeat him?" the blue hedgehog asked, one hand on his hip.

"The Ifrit is a strong spirit," the red-furred Sapient said slowly, before closing his eyes for a moment and running a hand under his chin in contemplation. "Let me think for a moment…"

The assembled Mobians waited as a silent minute passed, Sonic feeling the agitation of his younger friends growing in the background, almost as if emotions were getting more palpable to him the longer they were in this book. Before he could muse on this any longer, though, the echidna's eyes finally snapped open and he snipped his fingers.

"Oh, I know! Why not just try splashing some water on him?!"

"WOW!" Sonic exploded. "The wisdom of the Sindbad of the Seven Seas! The Adventurer of Adventurers!" he proclaimed dramatically, raising one hand to the sky in a heroic pose right until the echidna was straight in his face and glaring.

"Hey! I don't see you coming up with any better ideas!" The red-furred Sapient barked, causing Sonic to go immediately into offended-dignity-mode as well and pushing back with his own forehead.

"Better ideas? For Chaos' sake, you know that Big could have come up with a better idea? Or, for that matter, Froggy could have-!"

Tails and Amy couldn't help but share an all-too-familiar glance for a moment, both realizing that apparently Knuckles getting turned into Sindbad had had exactly zero effect on his relationship with the blue hedgehog.

Nodding to each other briefly, they both stepped forward in unison.

"Stop it, please!" Amy called, taking a hold of the echidna who immediately yielded under her grip, not willing to hurt a female while Tails had much the same effect on Sonic.

"Yeah, the problem is how are we going to get enough water to put out a fire genie?" the fox kit piped up, only releasing his older brother when it became apparent he wasn't going to rile up the other Sapient again.

The echidna huffed. "I was getting to that." He gently removed Amy's hands from his shoulders and then faced the questioning looks of the other three Mobians and genie. "You see, the pirates who locked me up here took the water-blue ring I use to control storms."

"A water-blue…?" Tails repeated.

"…ring." Shahra finished for him, nodding. Nobody seemed to have noticed that the hero of Mobius just now had paled considerably, privately imagining what Knuckles with the power of controlling large masses of water would mean for him personally. Shahra, who shared a mind-link with him, could vaguely make out a mental picture of a screaming blue something being carried off by a giant wave over the edge of a flying island, with a mini version of Knuckles laughing maniacally in the background, but was clueless what to make of it.

Amy frowned. "Wait what, pirates? You didn't say anything of pirates before. I mean, how on Mobius would pirates lock you up on a gargoyle fortress 5000 feet in the air?" she asked, incredulously. "This isn't Laputa, you know?"

The echidna blinked for a moment. "I…can't remember…they must have hit me on the head too hard when they finally got to me, the fiends! But rest assured, fair maiden, I defeated a hundred men before I fell and destroyed a dozen of their ships," he declared confidently, wrapping an arm around Amy's waist at the same time. "Would you care to join me at the fireside tonight, beautiful Sheherazade, and listen to my stories of daring deeds and manifold adventures?" he smiled down at a suddenly very red-faced Amy who probably was wondering right now if it had been such a great idea to tear off an extra strip from her skirt to make it even shorter earlier, "You might find one or two things about me you want to add to your collection…"

"What the-?! You're supposed to be Sindbad, not bloody Casanova!" Sonic interjected, forcing his way in between them. "You're getting your memories back right now!"

"But still…pirates?" Amy looked at Tails as the blue hedgehog was dragging a protesting echidna away, trying to smooth over her embarrassment quickly. The kit shrugged.

"Probably one of those weird story-things again. I mean, first a fire genie and now pirates. The Arabian Nights really are worlds of endless plot holes, aren't they?" he gave a small smile.

"I suppose so…" Amy replied, but was interrupted by the echidna's voice suddenly shouting.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're do-!"

Both of their heads snapped around to look at Sonic and Shahra facing the howling pillar of white wind suddenly engulfing the red-furred Sapient. The screams of anger diminished within the gales after only a couple of seconds and then Shahra threw her arms up with a cry before the tornado-like column dissolved as quickly as it had come and only left an exhausted genie girl and a slumped crimson body on the floor.

The echidna raised his head slowly. "What…where is this?" he asked, before his eyes instantly narrowing as an all-too-familiar blue face shoved itself into his view, its owner having dropped down on the floor on all fours next to him.

"Sonic?" Knuckles frowned.

"Great, you're back!" the hedgehog exclaimed, before his grin instantly turned mischievous.

"You got absorbed by a story for a day but we saved you and returned your memories. And you don't know it yet, but DUDE, have I got things to mock you with now…!"

Knuckles' heart sank so rapidly, the echidna could have sworn he heard it fall with a clank.

xxx

"Oh gods."

By now it had been ten minutes since the four adventurers had filled Knuckles in on what he had missed and the echidna still hadn't taken his hands from his face.

"Hey, cheer up!" Sonic called. "After all, it could have been worse – you could've been some show-off egomaniac in a ridiculous costume constantly hitting on Amy – no, wait…!"

Knuckles curled in on himself even more.

"Sonic, stop making fun of him!" Amy chided. "Each one of us had their memories stolen and it wasn't funny," the girl admonished, crossing her arms and giving the blue hedgehog a stern glance. She was also faintly blushing and indeed feeling a little bit guilty now for leading the echidna on when he had first set eyes on her as Sindbad - even if it had been kind of nice to finally have a guy paying attention to you…Amy blushed even deeper and quickly downcast her head. At least it meant that she felt she should come to Knuckles' aid now, even if she usually would be defending Sonic.

"I…I have to apologize." The pink hedgehog looked up, noting with surprise that Knuckles had raised his head and was glancing at her. "What I said and did to you wasn't appropriate. I'm sorry," he said stiffly, obviously having to struggle to get the words out. Amy quickly shook her head.

"No, no, it's okay. It wasn't your fault, you weren't yourself!"

"Hnh." Knuckles nodded curtly and Amy even thought there was a bit of gratefulness radiating from him. She realized that even though Sonic probably didn't notice it much, there really was something more to that honour code the echidna claimed to live by than just mere words. Knowing that Knuckles would probably wish to change the topic, she cleared her throat.

"Right. So, uh, guys, how're we gonna get down from here? We can't leave with that rocket thing again…" she trailed off, glancing questioningly at the rest of their team.

"Yeah…damn, we'd need some Extreme Gear right now," Sonic joked weakly, knowing that despite his words to Jet over a year ago, if taken literally, hedgehogs very sadly couldn't fly; while Tails, Knuckles and Shahra might have had a chance to reach the ground alive, he and Amy were stuck.

"Can't you magic something for us, Shahra?" Sonic asked, "Or Tails, can you build any plane-like thingamajig with stuff that's lying around here?"

The fox bit his lip. "No, I'm sorry, but there's just not enough stuff here, and I'd need more tools than just my screwdriver as well…"

"Yeah, I suppose…" Sonic frowned mildly, although he could have expected that answer. Turning to Shahra, he added: "And what about you? How about that magic carpet you flew me into the Arabian Nights on?" he suggested, stoically ignoring the growl from Amy that expressed what she personally thought of any carpet that had Shahra and Sonic on it together. But once again, the genie shook her head.

"My magic is running very low at the moment because I had to restore the Guardian's memories. I could manage an ordinary carpet, but a flying one is out of the question…"

"Then what are we gonna do?!" Amy wailed. "I'm hungry and we could starve before we get off this thing!"

"Which is probably what Robuttnik was hoping for in the first place when he sent us up here," Sonic muttered darkly. He had been starving in the scientist's dungeons before and it was not the sort of memories he cherished.

Suddenly, though, his face lit up. "Hey, I know! Shahra, let's have your ordinary carpet, but make it big. I have an idea of how to get down from here…"

"What? This isn't one of your insane plans of action again, is it?" Amy asked, uncharacteristically criticizing her hero, but the memory of Sonic throwing them both off an exploding rocket-platform earlier today still persisted. Sonic winked.

"No worries, this one has been tried and tested!"

Xxx

Minutes later, Amy's hands were clasped in prayer. "Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh gods. Oh…"

Admittedly, they were also clasped rather tightly around one of the edges of the carpet that the four Mobians were currently using as a communal parachute, but the whole 5000-ft-in-the-air- bit might have had something to do with the frantically muttered divine conversation.

Below them, the landscape stretched out, at first appearing curiously flat but then dissolving ever more into a 3D-map. They could see the grand buildings of the Palace and the Foundry in the distance, the green mess wedged in a giant canyon that was Dinosaur Valley, grey mountains rearing at the horizon and the endless, endless expanse of the desert where no author had imagined the landscape yet, Shahra told them.

"Relax, we're almost halfway down!" the hero of Mobius called cheerfully from where he dangled across from her, his tone not betraying the effort he had to put into holding on. A sudden gust of wind let them all yelp and nearly toppled their carpet over , but luckily some skilled flying and aerial manoeuvring from Tails and Knuckles, as well as the little bit of wind magic that Shahra still had left rapidly stabilized them again.

"Where are we even going to land?" Knuckles shouted, his dreadlocks still flaring around his face.

"Well, as Sindbad you told us that the water-blue Ring got stolen from you by pirates, so we have to make for the coast where their ships usually appear," Shahra replied, pointing toward where the oriental landscape gave way to an endless expanse of blue ocean. Sonic gave an ever so faint groan.

"Chaos, no..."

"I'll try to make the wind spirits push us into that direction!" the genie announced (in Sonic's opinion rather unhelpfully) and soon a breeze indeed began to blow them gently toward the coast where they descended after what seemed like an eternity with aching arms into the sandy dunes to cushion their fall.

Knuckles idly wondered how many times he had caught a faceful of sand on this adventure before and resisted the urge to grind his (sandy) teeth when he estimated how often it would yet be the case.

xxx

It was later that night when the five companions were busy preparing their campsite and trying to find some food, all of their stomachs growling and giving them painful cramps. They had decided to stay in the wind shelter behind the dunes for the night, since the light was fading rapidly and nobody fancied stumbling around on the beach in the dark when they didn't even know whether and where the flood might be coming in. Sonic most decidedly was against stumbling around on the beach no matter what the conditions were like, but the softly crackling flame on his chest painfully reminded him that sadly, that decision was no longer his own…

No need to spoil the evening with morbid thoughts, though. It seemed to become quite the cozy campsite by now, too. Knuckles was busy getting a fire going with drift wood they had collected at the beach which would make for wildly coloured flames once the crafty echidna had coaxed the embers into consuming the offered food. Amy had gone out again to fish for some seaweed they could roast and eat, while Tails was flying effortlessly up into the banana and palm trees to collect fruit and coconuts for dessert. Shahra had almost managed to conjure up four sleeping cots they'd be able to tie into the trees later and Sonic had been sent out to get food for tonight – they had seen feral rabbits in the grassier area of the dunes earlier and the vote on who should try to catch some had been unanimous.

The hedgehog returned soon enough, but it was Knuckles who had to kill the three mammals he'd caught; Sonic didn't trust himself to end their life with the minimal amount of suffering that he wished for them, but the self-sufficient echidna had hunted on his own island often enough to be able to kill quickly and cleanly. The older two Mobians also took care that Tails, Shahra and Amy didn't have to see their death – Sonic knew that Amy and Shahra would've been horrified and as for Tails…well, despite Mobians being intelligent, sophisticated people for the most part, Sonic knew that they'd also retained a good part of their feral instincts. The spectrum started out harmlessly with wagging tails, raised fur, or rodents like him occasionally having an uneasy feeling around their natural predators but ended with oddballs getting sick from eating raw meat because they felt compelled to revert to the 'eating style of their ancestors'. You never knew what triggered it and so Sonic didn't wish to expose Tails to anything that might stir any remnants of his vulpine hunting instincts, no matter how deep they might've been buried. The two older Mobians carefully skinned and prepared the rabbits, Knuckles helping Sonic along a little. When they finally returned with the meat of the unfortunate rodents stuck on three sticks ready to be roasted on a fire, it actually looked quite civilized.

"Hey there! No chili dogs, but this'll do, right?" Sonic asked, grinning as they put the sticks on the handles to both sides of their campfire. Tails nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! I'm starving, I can't wait!"

"Master?" Shahra asked at this point in his mind, having returned to the ring after the hedgehog got back, but now sounding worried. "Those were…bunnies, right?"

Yeah, I caught some rabbits, Sonic replied soundlessly. We all needed the food.

"But you mustn't kill bunnies around here! They are-!"

Shahra, please. Sonic cut her off. I hate killing things as much as you do and I feel bad enough about having to do this already. But tonight, and especially for Tails, fruit and seaweed alone just won't cut it.

"But-!"

Please, Shahra. Let it rest.

The genie dropped the topic unhappily, but was unable to refuse a direct order from her master. Sonic sighed and relaxed. The stars were coming out and this seemed to become a nice night after all…the soft sound of the waves lapping onto the shore could even be quite peaceful if he absolutely could ignore the mounting dread of having to go in there tomorrow.

He tried to focus on the faces of the group instead. All of them were gnawing quite happily on the roasted meat wrapped and seasoned with the dried salty algae, occasionally sipping a bit of the coconut milk, the shine of the fire playing on their faces. Sonic smiled. In fact, there was only one component missing for a true camping occasion…

"Okay, guys," he started as everybody had eaten to their stomach's content. "Who's for a proper sing-song, then?"

Knuckles' eyes widened. "By the Master Emerald, no."

xxx

"We can make it if we all stick together, we won't give up, not ever...!"

Knuckles groaned.

A few of those lyrics they had actually thought up during their journey to fight against Metal Sonic gone rogue two years ago, when he had joined Sonic and Tails in a team – although initially all he had been looking forward to was acquiring some rare treasure or other in the Casino zones. But one thing had led to another, and…

Knuckles privately thought the hedgehog had spiked their drinks on the night they wound up concocting that song.

"Knuckles is by our siiiide, makes this a safer riiiiiide…!"

By now the echidna wished he really was master of a magic ring, so he could maybe encase them in a soundproof bubble or something.

"We'll save this world and teach that Eeeggman a lesson…!"

"…no that's not right. Should be 'Erazor', right?" Amy frowned.

"The secret is sharing our- wait, you're right. But 'Erazor' is one syllable too long," Tails pointed out.

"Screw it, just take the 'E' off. It's a silly name anyway." Sonic shrugged.

"All right! –save this world and teach that 'raaaazor a lesson! To-ge-ther, we can, overcome all the odds…!" And they started right off again. By now the echidna wondered whether it would make sense to set one of his dreadlocks aflame to distract himself.

"…can't stop us 'cause together we're all strong! OH YEAH!" they chorused, high-fiving each other immediately after the song.

"What next?" Tails asked, grinning.

Please not…anything but…Knuckles mentally pleaded, but…

"Oh! I know!" Sonic piped up, and immediately suggested a new song that was greeted by much enthusiasm.

"Sonic boom, sonic boom, SONIC BOOOOOM…!"

Knuckles curled up. Anything but THAT. I hate you, fate.

"Trouble keeps you running faster – save the planet from disaster…!"

It had to be said here that their singing wasn't actually that bad. Quite the contrary, in fact – Sonic was rather musically talented, playing the guitar, break dancing and jobbing as a DJ from time to time when he wanted. He also claimed he had a long time ago been the lead vocalist of a small local band called the 'Sonic Underground' before saving the planet had become his primary occupation and he was no longer able to keep regular appointments like rehearsals. His light but strong and steady voice, backed by the higher ones of Amy, Tails and Shahra (who was learning the new strange lyrics quickly and with much enthusiasm) were in fact in a rather nice harmony.

But still. It wasn't the tunes or the singing in general or the voices of the singers-

"Toot toot Sonic warrior, deep in space and time, toot toot sonic warrior-!"

…but rather the total inanity of the lyrics that got to him.

"Doom room, cosmic zoom, heads up, Jake – it's SONIC BOOM!" the four singers enthused at this moment, only proving Knuckles' point further. Privately, Sonic thought the lyrics were just as godawful as the echidna made them out to be, but he just liked singing in general, so he didn't really mind.

"Hey, Knucklehead!" he called over once that particular song had ended, the others catching their breath for a moment. "Why don't you join us? Come on, you know it's fun!"

"That's what all people say who want to get sane persons to play singstar. No, thanks," the echidna grumbled.

"Come on, we'll even sing one of them weird songs that you always listen to!" Sonic offered, throwing himself into a rather silly-looking rapper-pose. "Here I come, rougher than the rest of them, the best of them, tougher than leather. You can call me Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don't chuckle-!"

"Finish that goddamn song, hedgehog, and I'll consider your death a mercy killing," Knuckles grated, inwardly wondering why he hadn't already levelled that human record company that had produced these unasked-for 'theme songs' for all of them in the first place. Sonic laughed.

"Okay, okay, sure, be that way. But you're missing out – and me 'n the others ain't planning on stopping any time soon, ya know?" Sonic winked and Knuckles frowned even deeper.

"Do what you want. I'll be going to sleep."

"Okay…we'll try to keep it down then, if we can," Sonic promised half-heartedly before giving the echidna a thumbs-up and zipping back to the others who were just busy teaching Shahra a new song. The genie looked happier than Sonic had ever seen her, which he considered a personal success. And while he felt just a little bit guilty for depriving Knuckles of his snoozies, this was definitely worth it.

"Okay, which one next? None of Shadow's I hope, they're all total downers…"

"Nope!" Tails smiled. "But how about 'Live and Learn'? We just finished teaching Shahra the lyrics!"

"Awesome! Let's start! And a one, and a two, and a one-two-"

About ten metres away from them, the wish for self-preservation finally won over his desire for dignity and Knuckles fell asleep right after sticking two of his dreadlocks into his own ears.

To be continued…

Heeeh, hope you liked! As for me, I have an Ipod filled with music with horrid lyrics and I love every song. ^^ My fav is probably Never Turn Back (Sonic is just jealous, not all of Shadow's songs are depressing :P) or Live and Learn, tho...XD I love the Sonic series for having songs with vocals. :) If you read, please review? :D