Disclaimer- I don't own Sonic and co. for good reason… No one would be safe, even little pet Chaos…

Chapter 26- pHonE caLLs

VC sighed as he dropped his communicator in his lap, leaning his head back into the couch cushions and rubbing the heels of his palms into his closed eyes. The green crocodile ran his hands down his face until they were laying limp on either side of him. He let out another puff of air before glancing down at the cyan Chaos emerald the nice Sonic had left which was laying in his lap as well.

The croc stared down at the item before picking it up and examining its brilliance, twisting and turning it in his hands. When his life had been normal and the only thing the large reptile had to worry about was paying his bills on time, he had never dreamed of holding one of nature's rarities in his own grasp. But then again…he had never thought that he would end up in the same room with the Master Emerald itself and a robot who may or may not end up shooting at him point-blank.

VC shifted his yellow gaze from the shining gem to the more powerful jewel sitting in the middle of the floor, covering everything in the room in its green light. Then he snapped his lemon orbs over to focus on the red and black mech sitting on the opposite side of the couch, his artificial optics trained on nothing but the large glowing relic.

Just to think, he was in this situation – this dangerous and life-threatening situation – because of one single phone call.

However, at the same time, without that call, he wouldn't be here at all.

A frown grew on VC's snout, thinking about the Mobian who had contacted him that day. Rogue. Who knew what kind of hell that chameleon was putting him and Silver through. Yes, he was concerned about this world's Cream being there as well; however, Espio had an actual reason to target the bat and hedgehog. VC didn't know if the chameleon was heartless enough to torture an innocent child – he wouldn't be surprised if he was – but Espio had a vendetta against their entire group. The croc was seriously worried about in what condition the devil would return their friends in.

VC groaned explosively, slumping into the sofa. "This whole thing just sucks…"

His body unconsciously tensed when a mechanical head turned in his direction. "DO YOU REQUIRE COMFORT?"

The croc squished himself into the arm of the couch and shook his head vehemently. Those massive metallic claws would snap his spine if the robot provided comfort. "Oh no big guy. You are staying over there. I'm fine man. Promise."

"IF YOU INSIST." Omega's opticals were still on the reptile, who was feeling uncomfortable under the mech's gaze. "USUALLY SITUATIONS LIKE THESE REQUIRE EXTERNAL COMFORT. IN THE WORLD THAT YOU CAME FROM, WAS THAT NONEXISTENT?"

"Uh…no…" VC relaxed his wary muscles a little bit. Don't get him wrong, he was more than ready to run for his life at the drop of a dime, but the robot had plenty of chances to kill him, and he was clearly still alive. Maybe he shouldn't treat the other like the brainless murderer his subordinate counterpart was. He wasn't treating this world's Espio like that…

The croc cleared his throat. "Comfort was uh…still a thing. What I meant was I don't really need it." Especially from you.

"I UNDERSTAND." Omega looked out of the nearest window, seeing the trees in the background. "DO YOU NEED A DISTRACTION THEN? SOMETHING SIMILAR TO A FIREWORK DISPLAY?"

VC rose a dubious brow. "You have fireworks?"

"I HAVE A FLAMETHROWER."

The croc blinked, wondering why the hell was this robot Shadow's teammate. "Yeah, no. Again, I'm fine. Just…go back to protecting the Master Emerald, okay?"

"PROTECTING? I AM JUST SITTING HERE. NO EFFORT REQUIRED. ARE YOU POSITIVE THAT YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE-"

"COMPLETELY positive!"

Before Omega could make another attempt that VC would surely shut down, the duo were quieted when there was the sound of a door opening behind them. The croc's breath hitched when he realized that there was actually another person in the home with them. He had – regrettably – forgotten all about her.

The two occupants of the living room glanced back to see a sluggish Vanilla walking down the short hallway towards them. It looked like she had just woken up from a nap. VC wondered if she had been asleep ever since she had left the group before people began their searches.

At the slightly surprised expression when seeing the near empty house, the croc believed that she had been. "Oh…" She breathed out, scanning the room before zeroing in on Omega and then VC. "Sorry if I interrupted anything sweetie."

"You weren't interrupting anything." He gave Omega a pointed look and then gazed back at her with a slightly uncomfortable smile. He knew that the atmosphere was going to be a little – a lotta – bit awkward now. VC didn't know her nearly enough to sooth her. Hell, he doubted he could if they've been friends all his life. "Um, in case you're wonderin', the others went out to search for Chaos emeralds. Me and Omega stayed behind to guard the big one here," he said, gesturing to the ME.

Vanilla's expression warmed somewhat, and VC noticed that the mother was more put together than she had been earlier. She needed that nap. The rabbit adjusted something in her arms, and the croc just now saw the bundled up blanket in her hold. Something was definitely wrapped in it.

"I'm sure that they are having fun," she muttered cordially, but there was still a glint of sadness in her cocoa irises.

VC floundered for a response so no weird silences could settle. When he remembered a piece of information that the rabbit hadn't heard yet, he gave her a more genuine smile. "Yeah, they're gatherin' them for tomorrow. Nobody told you yet, but we're getting Cream back!"

Vanilla's expression was unreadable for a quick second, but then nothing but pure glee and relief flooded into her face. "Cream…She's…?"

The crocodile nodded and wasn't ready for the hug he received when she travelled to his side of the couch. VC chuckled awkwardly, a bit uncomfortable at the moment, but he let it happen. He wasn't going to bring down her high like that.

The mother pulled back and stood up straight again, wiping the tears welling up in her eyes with her unoccupied hand. Then, she had a guilty expression on her face as if she regretted what she had just done. At least a little bit. "Oh my gosh…I'm so sorry! I don't think you're the Vector from here…and I just invaded-"

VC waved her off. "It's okay ma'am! Really."

"SO YOU WOULD RECEIVE COMFORT FROM HER AND NOT ME?" Omega asked, looking in their direction.

A tick formed on the croc's forehead. "This is different, and I'm sure you KNOW that!"

"IF YOU SAY SO."

Vanilla smiled at their interactions before glancing over by the door, a thoughtful expression on her face. VC sent her an inquisitive look, and she answered, "I'm about to go visit my home so I can…bury…" She choked on her words, staring down at the bundle in her arms. It took a second, but it finally clicked for VC. Cheese was in there. Oh man…

The green reptile stood up after moving the Chaos emerald to the side, biting his lip in hesitation. He couldn't exactly let her go alone, no matter how uncomfortable things might get. And he couldn't exactly tell her to wait for the others to come to bury her loved pet. "I'll…walk you there!" He tucked the communicator into the cuff of his glove. "Can't have you goin' alone."

If she was surprised at his offer, she didn't show it. "Honey, you don't have-"

"I want to," he cut her off, already moving towards the front door. VC glanced back to see her following him. "How far is your house from here?"

"About a twenty minute walk," Vanilla answered softly before following up with a, "Thank you so much for going with me."

"It's no problem!" Besides the awkwardness, but that isn't a big thing. VC focused on Omega. "Protect those emeralds while were gone, 'kay? And no flamethrowers."

"THAT IS NOT VERY STIMULATING. I CANNOT SEE HOW THE ECHIDNA DOES THIS. I TAKE BACK MY WORDS FROM EARLIER HELPING HIM WITH THIS TASK."

VC took that as an 'Okay'.

Most of the walk was quiet. The crocodile let the rabbit lead the way to her home, admiring the scenery in silence. Even though the mother had been happy that her child was coming back, she had a dark aura surrounding her again as she hug the Chao close to her, murmuring incoherent nothings. Occasionally, the reptile would see a single tear drip from the mammal's cheek.

VC couldn't bring himself to start a conversation, so they had kept any thoughts to themselves until Vanilla had regathered herself and said, "It's not far now." The croc hummed to tell her that he had heard. The motherly figure turned and gave him a small smile, a shaky one, but she was trying. "So sweetie, you've met your other self right?" The reptile nodded. "How do you like him so far?"

VC scratched his head, glad that she was the one to instigate. "Well, he's a pretty cool dude. Loud though." There's no way that I'm as loud as him. "It's kinda weird seein' myself run a whole agency y'know? And there's the thing too about taking care of a little kid."

Vanilla giggled. "He is a hard worker, but it's good that he's not running it alone."

"Yeah, Espio's a decent guy too." VC crossed his arms and huffed. "Way better than ours." He then realized that he might've said the wrong thing when there was a beat of silence. Vanilla was looking down at her pet again. The croc reached out but didn't touch her. "Hey…sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"It's alright honey…" The rabbit sighed before looking at VC again, a glint in her eyes that almost made him stumble in his step. "I'm not the one for violence, but do whatever you can to stop that evil Espio. The world…isn't safe with him around…"

VC blinked before nodding, expression determined. That chameleon had done nothing but lie and cause pain wherever he went. "He'll get what's comin' to him. Karma's a b – mean woman."

Vanilla caught the croc's slip up and chuckled, that glint now gone from her gaze. She faced back forward and pointed over to the house coming up. "That's it. There's a shovel in the back that we…" She took a deep breath. "…can use."

The green reptile took his cue to jog ahead to the back of the dainty little house. Back there, he saw a small garden with different flowers and vegetables. Yellow orbs drifted toward the home's back door to see a shovel leaning against the wall of the building along with a smaller one that Cream would have been able to lift easily. There was even a blue toy shovel laying in the grass by them…

The croc held in a sigh as he grabbed the biggest tool and waited for Vanilla to catch up. When she did, the mother scanned the yard until subdued chocolates settled on the area behind the garden. She pointed to a square of grass a couple meters away from the flowers. "He always loved helping with the garden…"

VC gave her a sympathetic look before going over to the spot she gestured to and began to dig a space large and deep enough for a Chao to fit. It didn't take long. The reptile didn't say anything when he gave the mother her space, backing up as Vanilla let out a choked sob and laid the uncovered Cheese into the ground.

Tears fell as the rabbit cried into her hands. VC couldn't do anything but watch until she nodded in his general direction, taking a couple of steps away from the hole. With a heavy heart, he filled the space back up and smoothed it out, blinking away the moistness in his own eyes at the sounds of sadness beside him.

When Vanilla plucked a yellow flower and tucked it into the loose dirt, he placed a light and supportive hand on her shoulder. "We can stay as long as you like," he suggested softly. When the rabbit's tears were his only answer, he gazed down at the grave.

Rest in peace, little guy.

The sun had just slipped under the horizon when Tails landed the Tornado in front of his home, the moon shining down on the trio of Mobians as they hopped out of the plane. Knuckles felt the Master Emerald inside as he approached the door, TT and Tails at his heels. Getting rid of any paranoia that his gem might have been swiped, the echidna made a fist and knocked on the door, his other hand holding the foreign red Chaos emerald.

After a second, VC opened the wood and stepped aside so they could come in. "Welcome back."

Tails entered after Knuckles, looking around and only seeing Vanilla and Omega sharing a couch. He pursed his lips. "You weren't kidding when you said that no one else is here…"

"Nope." The croc shut the door after TT and plopped down in the comfortable chair in the corner. "No one's been in here 'cept me, Vanilla, and the bot."

Knuckles rose a brow at the drowsy reptile – who probably had just woken up – and then at the worse-for-wear mother. Maybe he was wrong, but was the croc…relieved that they had shown up? The atmosphere in here would have been awkward; Vector would've been quick to fix that (due to the reptile having a crush Knuckles wasn't sure he was supposed to know about). This croc though… The echidna might have just found a difference between the green Mobians.

TT gave the rabbit a long look, being harshly reminded of her twin's death. He shook those gruesome images out of his head as he played with his namesakes. "I-I hope Amy's okay…b-both of them…"

Vanilla smiled genially at the shy kit, seeing him as a more fragile and dependent Tails. She was confident that he would grow stronger with time. "I'm sure that they're fine honey." The rabbit patted the spot between her and the bulky Omega. "Want to sit?"

TT shrunk down and instinctively grabbed his double's arm at the sight of the formidable mech. He had seen the bot before the groups had separated, but he still wanted nothing to do with the machine.

Omega saw this, stating, "DO NOT WORRY. I WILL NOT HARM YOU LITTLE ONE."

Tails, feeling his doppelganger's trembling grip, rubbed the back of his neck and grinned, consoling the mother and robot. "Sorry uh…it's going to take a while for him to warm up to Omega, considering that evil Espio has one working for him and all…"

Vanilla nodded in understanding while Omega replied, "I WISH TO MEET THIS OTHER OMEGA SO I CAN DESTROY HIM LIKE THE INFERIOR COPY HE IS."

Tails sweat dropped. "You're starting to sound like Metal…"

"Metal?" VC asked from his chair. "Are you talkin' about that blue robot from before? Because I can totally see that happening."

While the conversation went on in the background, Knuckles focused on the Master Emerald as he cautiously crept closer to it, waiting for the red gem in his gloved hand to affect the larger jewel in some way. When he was standing right in front of his charge, he glanced between the two gems, waiting and waiting, but nothing happened. Observant violets then zeroed on the cyan Chaos emerald resting on the arm of VC's chair. Nothing was happening with it either.

Hm… Knuckles hummed to himself, examining the red jewel. Maybe nothing was happening because the Master didn't care about the gem anymore (which Knuckles opposed. It didn't shut down all of the emeralds earlier for no reason) or maybe because the ME didn't know that this individual one was different. It came from a parallel timeline, so there was nothing strange about it. That got Knuckles thinking however. What's going to happen when the other red Chaos emerald shows up?

"I HAVE DONE A GREAT JOB IN GUARDING THE MASTER EMERALD FOR YOU."

The guardian's train of thought was disrupted when he realized that Omega's words were aimed at him. His stare was a borderline glare. "Yeah you have. Again, I thank you for it."

"I RETRACT MY STATEMENT ABOUT HELPING YOU WITH THIS JOB HOWEVER."

Believe it or not, but that was on the list for the best news he had heard all day. Knuckles scoffed. "I'm glad. It is my emerald."

"So Knuckles…" The echidna focused on the Mobian who had cut his previous discussion short. Tails was coming over with an uneasy TT on his arm. The independent cub studied the Master Emerald and the red jewel in the guardian's hand. "This Chaos emerald doesn't really affect anything?"

"Right now it doesn't," Knuckles muttered, "It might be a different story when the other red one comes into play though."

Tails furrowed his brow in thought before holding out his hand. "Can I see the emerald? I wanna run some tests on it in the garage."

The echidna hesitated, but handed the item over in the end. "Don't mess anything up, Tails." Which also could mean: Don't blow anything up, Tails.

The kit just waved him off. "I'll be extra careful!" He then turned to VC who was sinking into the cozy seat. "Hey VC! Can I have that emerald too to compare?"

"Sure kid." The croc sleepily shrugged, tossing over the light blue gem.

Tails caught it and nudged his twin. "Want to go into the garage with me?" When TT very quickly answered an affirmative, the two foxes left the room in a flurry of tails.

When he was left standing in the middle of the floor, Knuckles inwardly cursed incompetent Mobians who couldn't keep their communicators on. He didn't favor staying in the same room as a snoring croc (he better not be picking up Knuckles' double's traits), a vaguely familiar robot, and a subtly grieving mother.

To put it simply, Knuckles wasn't the first person to go to if you wanted a pick-me-up.

"I'm going to sit on the roof for a bit," he told the two awake occupants, heading back to the front door. He was used to seeing the night sky anyway, and with the Master Emerald nearby, he could be as relaxed as he could in this situation while they waited for the others to arrive.

Vanilla simply smiled at him, standing up and moving toward the kitchen. He swore he heard her mutter something about boys and dirty houses. Omega raised one of his metal hands. "DO NOT FALL OFF OF THE ROOF. IT WOULD BE THE MOST EMBARRASSING WAY TO DIE."

"I'll try not to," Knuckles countered before leaving the house. True to his word, the echidna jumped up on the roof, leaning forwards with his elbows on his knees. He let out a heavy sigh. If no one showed up in half an hour, he was going to lose it. The Chaotix and the Amys should've definitely been here by now. The echidna glanced down at the parked plane. When the time was up, he'd get Tails to use the emeralds to track down where that group was.

The guardian looked up at the stars, his mind a whirlwind that couldn't be calmed.

He couldn't tell exactly how long it had been – maybe ten or fifteen minutes or so – when he saw the incoming headlights of a vehicle. It's about time, he thought as he jumped down and landed in the grass. He crossed his arms, looking into the lights, and waited for the others to get out of the jeep so he could find out exactly why they haven't been responding.

When the beams shut off, Knuckles figured out the reason pretty quickly.

His eyes had adjusted to the darkness when the lights went off, and they were immediately glued to Espio's wrapped and bandaged form in the passenger seat. The bruises splattered across his scaled frame were new.

The echidna ran over to the jeep, concern instantly overshadowing the anger. "What happened?!"

Vector, who had gotten out of the front seat by then, made a fist and punched his other hand. "I'll TELL you what HAPPENED!" Espio had gotten out of the vehicle with Charmy's help, and the duo were standing by the croc as he told the tale. The purple reptile looked like he had been through hell and back. A growl ripped through Vector's throat. "That OTHER rotten Espio attacked him!"

"Yeah!" Charmy echoed, hovering in the air.

"More than attack," Espio corrected, amber orbs jaded yet sharp. "He tried to kill me."

Amy appeared from behind Vector with Rosy at her heels. CB was nestled in the latter's arms, slowly waking up. Amy gestured to her twin and the bees. "And he knocked us out to get to him!"

Knuckles stood still, processing those words in his brain. When they took hold, the echidna could see red. "He what?" That damned chameleon was going to be missing a lot of teeth when Knuckles was done with him. The guardian then blinked, going over Espio's words again. "He tried to kill you? So you obviously fought back." The chameleon before him nodded. "And he is…"

"Severely wounded," Espio answered with a small frown. "I convinced him to retreat before he killed…"

You? Himself? Knuckles questioned in his mind even though he had a feeling that both of those endings could fit. The echidna's gaze roamed over his friend's body, seeing how much the other was fixed up. "He did a number on you huh…"

"He is an Espio too." Vector huffed as he examined the reptile's injuries as well. "Unfortunately."

"Yeah." Knuckles breathed out, clenching his fists. He was going to use that other chameleon's face as a punching bag. "When we catch him, he's going to regret messing with all of us!" He then let out a puff of air, calming himself down as much as he could with rage still flowing in his veins. The guardian changed topics. "You guys got the emerald, right?"

"Sure do," Rosy responded as a groggy CB waved it around in his grip. The pinkette looked a bit contrite. "Sorry if you or anyone else tried to contact us. That killer had smashed our communicator…"

Of course he did. Knuckles mentally growled. "Just to add insult to injury." He focused on the Chaotix only. "So are you all staying?"

"Of course!" Vector replied, almost hurt that the echidna had even asked. "We're here to join in on the anti-evil Espio party! And plus, Ms. Vanilla is in there right?" The croc gestured to the home before making his way towards it. "She's hurting! How can I leave her alone knowing that she's like that?"

The reptile was inside before Knuckles could answer.

"Speaking of people in there… Is Sonic back yet?" Amy asked him.

"No," Knuckles grunted out, somehow already knowing that that question would come out of the pinkette's mouth. "That hedgehog hadn't even responded to his communicator." Which could be a very bad sign, now that he thought about it. However, Sonic could take care of himself easy enough…

Worry etched into Amy's features, and Rosy put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Amy! Sonic's had dozens of adventures. He always came back."

Amy's expression relaxed and turned into a warmer one. She nodded. "You're right! My Sonic always comes back! I shouldn't doubt him!"

Rosy chuckled before turning to Knuckles. "TT's in there right?"

Knuckles gestured to a specific part of the house. "Yeah, he's in the garage with Tails." She smiled at him in thanks before grabbing Amy's hand and dragging her inside of the home with CB still in her arms and Charmy buzzing behind them mumbling about revenge and sweets.

The echidna watched them go before glancing over at the only one left. Espio was gazing at the door as well, but Knuckles knew that the chameleon's thoughts were far far away from the house in front of them. "Are you going in?"

Amber orbs trained on him. "Not yet. I want some time to myself, and going in there would deny me that. No offense to anyone inside."

Knuckles understood him completely, however… "Tell me what happened first. I need to know the details."

There was no answer for a moment before the chameleon conceded. As Espio retold the tale, Knuckles was getting angry all over again. The trash had threatened to kill Vector, had almost gouged Espio's eye out, and he was still out there! Knuckles was in no way mad at his reptilian friend, but damnit…they didn't have any clues to where the murderer could be hiding.

The guardian gritted his teeth together. "We are so going to get him."

Espio agreed wholeheartedly. "We are."

Knuckles took the communicator out of his cuff and bobbed his head at the other. "I'll leave you by yourself now." The echidna marched back to the side of his house and hopped up on the roof once more. He watched as Espio moved to the opposite side, carefully squatted down, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes. Knuckles pressed the button on the side of the device, wanting to share this information with the hedgehog he knew that hated the corrupted chameleon the most.

If Shadow would freaking answer, that is.

The Ultimate Lifeform was positioned a fair distance from the GUN base – a good five blocks – as he waited for Rouge to return from replacing the stolen military jet. He had been standing at this street corner for a while, long enough for Red to lean on a wall and nod off. Granted, the time frame of this echidna falling asleep wasn't the best way to measure time.

Speaking of echidnas…

Shadow glanced down at the communicator hidden in the cuff of his glove. He had debated radioing back in to see what the hell Knuckles had to share, but given how stubborn the guardian was, Shadow doubted he'd get his answers unless he showed up at that doorstep.

The hedgehog's mind drifted off of that and onto the subject of who all was waiting. Knuckles had obviously returned, the location of the Fakers was up in the air, and the pinkettes' group had the easiest emerald to get. They had to be back. And if it was true that the Chaotix were coming as well…

Shadow was definitely going to have to resist the powerful urge to smash that purple chameleon's face into the nearest brick wall.

"I hope that I didn't keep you two waiting for too long."

Ruby orbs snapped over to an approaching Rouge, the bat giving him a single wave. Shadow just faced her. "I'm assuming that you weren't as lucky when returning as you were when stealing it."

She gave him a sly grin. "Well, thieves aren't exactly well-known for only borrowing things." Rouge put a hand on her hip. "The Commander gave me a harsh reprimand and more paperwork to do that won't get done before sending me on my way."

"…That's it?" Red's tired voice cut in, the echidna himself being roused by the bat's entrance. He yawned and stretched, popping his back before pushing away from the wall he had been leaning on. "You weren't kidding about them not firing you."

"I wasn't kidding about my precious talents," Rouge replied smugly with a wink.

Red just sighed.

Shadow began to pull on one of the two emeralds hidden in his quills. "Now that's done, let's go see what the guardian wants to say. Chaos Control."

In a bright flash of light, the trio disappeared from the streets of Station Square and reappeared in that same ball of energy in the hedgehog's/fox's front yard. They barely had a second to regather themselves before a loud voice rung out:

"It's about time you came back!"

Shadow looked over to see Knuckles stomping his way toward the small group, a frown prominent on his muzzle. "You know that we went to go find the furthest Chaos emeralds," the Ultimate Lifeform uttered somewhat slowly because clearly Knuckles had forgotten about that bit of information.

"He knows." Rouge smirked. "He's still mad about the communicator situation and he wants to find something to yell about."

The guardian stopped in front of her and pointed a finger at the bat. "Hush it, bat-girl! You're probably the reason for anybody not replying!"

Rouge held up her hands innocently. "Don't be so quick in pointing fingers hon, especially since I'm the only one who isn't at fault."

Sharp violets glanced between Shadow and Red, lingering on the latter. "Why am I not surprised," he grunted out. Red was gazing up at the stars, not caring about the echidna currently berating him. "But anyway, you all are here now, so let's move on."

"Ooo… You're all serious now Knuckie," Rouge teased, "It's a nice change sugar."

A tick mark formed on the guardian's forehead, but he didn't comment on that statement. "Moving on." He focused on Shadow, and said hedgehog knew that something was up by the look in his eyes. Those irises were blazing with hate that wasn't aimed towards him. "There was a run-in with your chameleon today."

Shadow didn't bother correcting the other on the 'your' part. His body was growing tense. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that the evil Espio had tried to kill ours."

"…You're not joking…" Red lowly commented.

Knuckles scowled at him. "Why would you think that I was?"

Shadow wasn't hearing them. He was too busy trying to keep his complete and utter fury under control. He felt Rouge's hand on her shoulder, but he didn't react to the touch. He was imagining wrapping his hands around that chameleon's neck and twisting. From the tone of the echidna's words, Shadow found it safe to assume that the Chaotix Espio hadn't exactly won that fight.

The Ultimate Lifeform furrowed his brow, rage marginally suppressed by confusion.

Why didn't he win? The corrupted chameleon had a broken arm.

"Where is he?" Shadow demanded.

"Back with Eggman no doubt," Knuckles glowered, "That little-"

"Not him." Shadow corrected, making the echidna blink. "Where's the detective Espio?"

"Oh." The guardian bobbed his head in the direction of the home, and the trio shifted their gazes to the meditating purple chameleon. With the bandages and bruises all over the reptile's body, it was safe to say that the echidna wasn't lying.

The urge to attack was strong as Shadow made his way over to the ninja, stopping right in front of the sitting Mobian. The Ultimate Lifeform crossed his arms and looked down at the wrapped up detective.

"Why in the hell did you lose?"

Amber eyes opened, and Shadow's frown unconsciously deepened at the familiar sight. Espio's answer was straight forward. "I didn't lose. It was more like a tie. We both ended up nearly in the same condition."

"Why?" Shadow repeated again, the beginnings of a growl rumbling in his throat. That chameleon's voice just grated on his nerves, and it wasn't even this Espio's fault. "He had a broken arm damnit! How could you not-"

"Broken arm?" Espio cocked his head up at him, befuddled. "He didn't have a broken arm. If he had, then he would be in jail rotting right now, and I wouldn't have been hurt how I was."

Shadow didn't know what to make of his information. "But earlier… There is no way he could have healed that quickly." He reverted to his thoughts. How the hell? The chameleon had a broken arm! If it wasn't when Espio fought him…then how in the hell did he heal in that little time frame? The only possible explanation is Chaos healing, but that little shit doesn't…

Shadow's eyes widened before narrowing dangerously. But what if he does…

Penumbra was still missing, true, but that didn't mean that he was lost.

"Penny for your thoughts, hon?" Rouge asked from behind him, her and the echidnas had been listening into the duo's conversation (and secretly waiting to jump in if Shadow had a random bout of violence). "Have any idea how the other Espio fixed his arm up?"

The striped hedgehog's fists were clenched. "He might have Penumbra."

Red summed up everyone's thoughts. "Damn."

"And if he had voluntarily healed up that trash…" Knuckles shook his head, extremely bothered. "This is bad."

"Penumbra is the other version of you, correct?" Espio asked, holding up a hand for Knuckles to grab. The echidna did so, helping the ninja off the ground. When Shadow nodded at his question, he continued, "Then should he know not to-"

"He's extremely malleable," Shadow grunted, hating this turn of events. "Who knows what that chameleon had planted inside of his head."

Rouge pursed her lips. "Do you think that he will make an appearance tomorrow?"

"I don't know," the hedgehog growled. "There's a reason that Eggman and Espio kept him a secret. Metal Sonic didn't tell Faker and me about him."

"We still don't know for sure though," Red brought up, scratching his cheek. "There could have been another way that Espio fixed himself."

"Not in a way that made his arm completely usable." Shadow glanced at a silently listening Espio (he had thought about healing the chameleon, but the ninja wasn't exactly asking to be). "Are you sure-"

He cut himself off when Knuckles suddenly whipped his head toward the house. His body was stock-still. "There's something wrong with the Master Emerald."

Concern filled Rouge's features. "Wait, what do you mean?"

Shadow was about to ask as well, but then he felt more empty than he did just a second ago. Breath hitching, the hedgehog pulled out the red and purple emeralds from his quills. They were powered down. Surprised rubies then focused on Red who was pulling the yellow gem out of his dreads, that jewel dull and lifeless as well.

"Here we go again…" Red sighed out.

"Damnit!" Knuckles cursed before running into the home, Shadow right behind him.

Inside, the ME was shining and perfect like it usually was, but there were a multitude of eyes on it when the group burst in.

"What happened?" Knuckles barked.

Amy, who was sitting in between Vanilla and Omega on the couch, pointed at the massive jewel. "It shut down or something for a second! Then it came back on!"

"Just like on Angel Island…" the echidna muttered, jogging toward his charge to make sure it was completely alright.

"Is something wrong with it?" The mother rabbit questioned, her chocolate orbs shifting from an injured Espio (they had wavered a bit before solidifying. Shadow couldn't blame her) to Knuckles.

"Hopefully not!" Rouge flew over and worriedly stroked the gem, Knuckles too busy to swat her away.

"I DO NOT THINK STROKING IT ROUGE WILL FIX THE PROBLEM." Rouge ignored Omega's statement.

"The Chaos emeralds are black again!" CB commented from the floor, waving the dark blue one in the air.

Charmy grabbed it and examined it. "This is so weird!"

VC slumped in his chair. "Great! This is just wonderful! Can nothing go right?"

"With the Chaos emeralds involved," Vector started, leaning against said chair with his arms crossed, "you NEVER know what might happen."

Right after his words were uttered, the garage door burst open with Tails entering the living room with a panicked expression on his face. He was holding onto the dull cyan and foreign red emerald. "It wasn't my fault, I swear! I didn't do anything!"

"It's true!" Rosy backed up him up as she closed the door behind her and TT. "He wasn't doing anything!"

Shadow saw the duplicate ruby emerald in the fox's hand before glancing down at his own. "We know you didn't," he placated the cub. Shadow stared at the ME. "The Master Emerald hates the two red emerald together."

"W-What do we d-do now?" TT inquired, looking at Shadow and avoiding the purple chameleon beside the Ultimate Lifeform. The timid fox stepped closer to his sister just in case. Espio saw this and went to go stand in the nearest corner, knowing that his presence would be troubling for some and wanting to be less of a threat to them.

Knuckles looked like he disliked what he was about to say next. "I have to force it to turn them back on…again." The room instantly went quiet when the guardian held up his gloved hands and closed his eyes. His lips moved as he began to mutter something inaudibly. As time went on however, he began to get more frustrated. It was taking longer than it did the first time he spoke to the emerald.

Shadow was aware of this as well. Scarlets cut over to Red who was patiently staring at the powerful jewel. He eventually caught the echidna's eye and gestured to the ME when he did so. Red was about to object, but the heated glare sent made him change his mind.

Red approached the Master Emerald and held his hands out as well. He was extremely rusty, but maybe he could still do something. He closed his eyes and started muttering as well.

Knuckles heard this and was tempted to chew the other out for butting in on his job, but he needed to focus.

The additional help seemed to do the trick, because the Chaos emeralds flickered back on a moment after Red offered his assistance.

Tails let out a relived sigh, examining the two shining gems in his hands. "That almost was-" his voice then went up an octave when their brilliance dulled, half powered. "-bad?"

Rouge gasped, whirling on her red furred companion. "Knuckles?"

Said echidna was already on it, holding his hands out one more time. However, when he made contact with the emerald, the ME wasn't budging. This was different from before. Earlier, progress was extremely slow until Red jumped in. It had been just resisting. Now however…it was a brick wall, refusing to budge.

The echidna's arms fell to his sides. "I can't do anything…" he reluctantly said.

Shadow's pulse was erratic as he inspected the red gem in his hand, knowing that it and its twin were the troublemakers here. This situation could be worse; the emeralds could have been completely shut down. However…having them at only half power was worrying as well. Could he still use them without any ill effects?

He decided to try it out. "Chaos Control."

He found out his answer when he was suddenly upside down against the opposite wall, his neck supporting his weight.

No, no he couldn't.

Sonic smiled as he zipped back and forth to avoid the numerous trees he was traveling through, almost back home. It'll only take a minute if he continued at the speed he was going, and he had to if he didn't want his irate double catching him.

The hero laughed, enjoying this game of keep-away with his twin. It was fun especially because it seemed like they had the same top speed. He was always just out of the reach of Boom, and it was hilarious to hear how frustrated he would get. It was like taunting a constantly grumpy Shadow.

The blue speedster glanced over to Mephiles in his shadow and gave the darker 'hog a thumbs up, snickering when the other rolled his eyes at him. The striped hedgie seemed to be enjoying this as well, which was good.

Sonic peered over his shoulder to stick out his tongue at his steaming doppelganger who was not a yard behind him. It had been this close ever since Grand Metropolis. Sonic had spent a long while in there going through any and every alley he could to shake off Boom, but he soon realized that it was a rush knowing that one mistake could end their little game.

The hero turned back forward just in time to duck under a low hanging branch, the glowing white Chaos emerald held tight to his body. His chuckles that echoed in the darkness immediately stopped when the gem stopped acting like a natural flashlight.

"What the…?" Sonic murmured, holding the dim jewel to his face. He could only do so for a millisecond before he was harshly tackled from behind, sending both him and this twin tumbling to the ground.

After a couple of bumpy rolls, Boom ended up on top of him, panting heavily. "Fucking finally!" He ripped the emerald out of a shocked Sonic's hands and held it up in victory. "Suck it, jackass! I finally caught…" He finally noticed that the gem wasn't shining like it was supposed to. Boom blinked. "The fuck?"

Sonic pushed his twin off of him to sit up. The hero reached into his quills to pull out the green emerald hiding in there. It was in the same condition as the white one. Mephiles fully materialized himself in a squatting position, nervously studying the jewel. When he gave Sonic a questioning look, the speedster shrugged. "I have no idea why this is happening again…"

"Again?" Boom glared at his nearly black emerald before sending the heat Sonic's way. "This shit has happened before?"

"Yeah." Sonic rubbed his neck as he stood back up. He dusted some dirt off of his body. "It was before you woke up. We used the Master Emerald to fix them… Why the heck did they drain again?"

Boom snarled, jabbing a finger in Sonic's chest, green orbs glinting. "I swear if any of your damned friends caused this!"

Sonic pushed him away. "Hey, it doesn't have to be anyone's fault, alright?" He tapped his chin, tossing the dull green item up and down. "The big rock shut them all down in the first place, so it must've did it again. It's at my house right now where the others are probably waiting."

Boom huffed, the gentle wind ruffing his cobalt quills. "So it could be their fault."

"I didn't say that! I should buy you a trampoline pal, since you like jumpin' to conclusions so much." Sonic didn't pay attention to the responding snarl. He looked over at Mephiles and gestured to his shadow. "Better jump in Mephy because I'm ready to…" The hero trailed of when the green emerald flickered back on only to shine with less luminescence than before. "Okay, now I'm really confused…"

"They aren't fully powered…" Boom muttered before stomping the ground. "Just what the hell is going on over there?!"

Sonic put one foot forward. "There's only one way to find out!" When Mephy attached himself to his shade, the hero shot forward and it wasn't long before two blue streaks ran side by side to their destination.

When the calmer speedster knocked on the front door, he was surprised by two things: to hear laughter when the wood cracked open, and to see a banged up Espio standing in the doorframe.

Sonic's guard was up for a nanosecond until he noticed that the reptile had two eyes. He whistled lowly. However, before he could ask anything, there was a snarl from behind him. Sonic, along with Mephiles, stepped in front of Boom to prevent him from lunging. "Whoa! Calm down other me! This is this world's Espio! The good one!" The flame was still there in those emerald eyes, but Boom decreased the pressure, gaze never leaving Espio. Sonic relaxed his own muscles. "Jeez…Sorry about that Es, just ignore my pal here. So what happened?"

Espio gave the hostile hedgehog a once over before answering Sonic's question, amber orbs swiveling to the hero, passing by a fretting Mephiles. "Espio tried to kill me at the lake the emerald was in. It ended up in a tie," he muttered the last part.

"Chaos…" Sonic breathed out. Mephy let silently gasped, and Boom narrowed his eyes. The hero then gave the chameleon a small smile. "Glad that you taught him a good thing or two." Sonic tilted his head a bit, thinking about the evil Espio's appearance on Angel Island. "But wait…wasn't his arm…?"

Espio sighed. "Shadow said that the other me may have Penumbra."

"Well that's fucking fantastic." Boom snapped out while glaring at the chameleon like he was the one who was to blame. "The next thing you all will be tellin' me is that the shitstain had jacked the damned president."

"I wouldn't be surprised…" Mephiles signed at him, and Espio rose an interested brow.

"Welp, I'll just add that to the long list of 'Things to worry about'." Sonic put a hand on his hip, holding the emerald with his other. "Right under the messed up emeralds. Let's go see what that's all about."

Espio backed up to let the trio in. Boom didn't let up on his glare when he passed the chameleon. "I'm watching you," he threatened.

"There's nothing to watch," Espio retorted smoothly.

Boom just bared his teeth before focusing on the commotion in front of him. The room was packed with Mobians who were grinning, chuckling, or full out laughing at Shadow standing to the side, said hedgehog glaring at everyone. Boom then froze when he saw the rabbit sitting on the couch, tired-looking but smiling anyway. He couldn't explain the emotions running through him. He was mad at her familiar form, guilty because he didn't save the one with her face, and…empathetic...for her because her child was missing.

He made himself ignore her so he could keep his emotions in check.

"Hey I wanna know the joke! I missed it!" Sonic said, gaining the attention of the room.

Shadow glared at Sonic. "It was nothing, Faker."

"Mephy!" CB called, zooming over to the shadow 'hog. "You guys are back!" He plopped down on the quilled one's head.

"Yeah…" Rosy eyed Boom as she positioned herself slightly in front of TT. Beside her, Tails' namesakes were twitching somewhat nervously. Sharp jades narrowed at the extra speedster. "All of you are back."

Boom wasn't in the mood for any of it. "Listen up bitch. Shut the eff up before I come over there and-"

"Excuse me, young man." Boom blinked when Vanilla unexpectedly stood up and looked at him. All of the laughter had stopped. The rabbit had a stern expression on her face that made the hedgehog a bit uncomfortable. She put her hands on her hips, and Boom couldn't help but feel like child. "That type of language should not be used to ridicule your friends."

"But she's not my-"

"Or any young ladies," she continued, pointing at the ground. "Now, I want you to sit down and think about what you've said." Blue ears folded back, but Boom didn't move…for a moment. When it didn't seem like the mother would back down, the hedgehog scowled before sitting on the floor, glaring at Vanilla's feet. The rabbit smiled. "There you go, sweetie." She returned to her spot on the sofa.

Vector could barely hold in his mirth. "He just got schooled," he said lowly so only his twin could hear.

VC grinned. "Definitely."

"So uh…" Sonic began, pausing to swallow the laughs threatening to spill out of his mouth. "Let's start on the topic of emeralds." He gestured to the darkened green one in his hand. "What happened to them?"

"The Master Emerald really doesn't like the eighth red emerald," Knuckles answered, taking his eyes off the sulking speedster on the floor. "So to control the extra energy, the ME only let the emeralds contain half of their power. It's not letting me fix it neither."

Sonic tapped his foot in thought. "So will the plan still work with these? Can we go Super with them?"

"I'm thinking yes. I can still Chaos Control." Shadow sent daggers over to Rouge when she giggled. "But we'll have to be careful."

"We can try it out right now…"

"I wouldn't do that Sonic!" Tails stopped his big brother, raising a hand. "They'd go flying when you're done, and my tracker wouldn't work the best because of the new energy output!"

Sonic frowned. "You gotta point there…"

There was a pregnant pause until Red yawned. "So what do we do now?"

"We have all of the emeralds, so all we can do now is wait for tomorrow," Shadow suggested.

There was a growl from the floor. "That's it? We call it a fu-" Boom didn't even see Vanilla's look; he felt it. "-freakin' night? Leave the stupid emeralds the way they are?!"

"Are you going to do something about them then?" Knuckles countered, and for once, Boom didn't have a comeback. "I thought so."

There was another beat of silence before Vanilla got up and smoothed out the ruffles in her dress. "I believe it's time for me to say goodnight." She smiled gratefully over to Sonic and then Tails. "Thank you for letting me stay here. It…really helped. I'm well enough to return home…" She turned toward the door. "I am truly grateful, you kind souls."

Amy shot up from her spot and bounded over to the rabbit's side. "I can't let you walk alone!" She beamed at the mother, grabbing her hand. "And plus, staying in an empty house like that will only make you worry more. Can I spend the night?"

Vanilla nodded, and it was clear that she was relieved. "Of course you can sweetie."

"And I can't let you two ladies roam the night unprotected!" Vector added, approaching the two females. "I will accompany you two and guard the home until the morning! Just in case of any sneak attacks…"

The rabbit laughed while Amy rolled her eyes. "You can come too, honey," the former said.

Vector nodded. "Alright!" He followed the mother and pinkette until he was the last one out. The croc glanced over to Espio leaning against the wall. "I'll let you hold down the fort for tonight, Es!"

"It's not really different from any other nights…" Espio mumbled under his breath when the green reptile disappeared. The chameleon then pushed off the dry-wall. "I think we should follow their lead. Charmy, it's time to go."

"Aw, but I'm not tired yet!" The bee opposed. At the flat stare he received, Charmy changed tactics. "Can my twin spend the night? Canhecanhecanhe?"

Espio let out a puff of air. "…If he wants."

"Yeah!" Charmy held out a hand for CB to clap; he did, them both giggling.

VC stood up out of his chair, stretching. "You don't mind if I come, do you?"

The chameleon shook his head. "Not at all. You just realize that there will be two Charmy's in the same house."

The croc chuckled. "Duly noted."

"Can we come too?" Rosy asked, fingers intertwined with TT's. She glanced down at her brother for permission, and the fox nodded after some hesitation. "I gotta show my little sib here that you're not a bad guy, the complete opposite!"

"Yay! The more the merrier!" Charmy cheered. "Sleepover time!"

As long as Espio got his rest, he didn't care how many people came over. He walked out of the door, followed by the bees, VC, TT, and Rose, the pinkette waving at the ones left before she too exited.

Knuckles watched them leave before looking over the ME. "I'm going back to Angel Island and am taking the Master Emerald with me. It's where it belongs." The guardian gestured to the only kit left in the room. "Come on Tails, take me up there."

"Omega's going with you."

The echidna's temper spiked at Shadow's words. Knuckles whirled on him. "He is not going up there with me! It's my island. No one else's!"

The Ultimate Lifeform crossed his arms. "I'm not sending him up there to take it over. He's going so Espio can't use the same trick on you again." Shadow glanced over at Red. "He's going too for extra power."

Red rose a brow at him. "And when did I agree to that? I don't want to-" At the hedgehog's piercing look, the tired echidna just groaned in defeat. "Alright…"

But Knuckles wasn't giving in that easily. "I can take care of the emerald by myself! I've done it for years!" He turned to a blue hedgehog. "Sonic! Back me up here!"

The cobalt hero shrugged and gave him a sheepish smile. "Shads is right Knux." At the flash of hurt on the guardian's face, Sonic quickly explained. "Just think about it! If the evil Espio decides to show up there, it's good to have some back up! That's all!"

"No one's doubting you Knuckie." Rouge consoled, "We just don't want that precious gem gone sooner than we expect it to be."

Knuckles muttered angrily to himself, reverting to his grump mode. He picked up the Master Emerald and headed toward the front door, going to place the gem in the backseat of the plane.

"This is going to be rough…" Red sighed as he followed his twin, waving a lazy hand over his shoulder after handing Sonic the yellow emerald. "See you tomorrow."

Scarlets trained on Omega when the mammal disappeared. "You don't mind going, do you?"

"NO. I AM POSITIVE THAT I WILL BE KEPT ENTERTAINED BY THE TWO ECHIDNAS BICKERING." The floor marginally shook with each step Omega took.

However, before he could leave, Shadow called out to him. "Take a Chaos emerald. Secure it inside you. We're not keeping all of the emeralds in the same place."

"THAT IS A SMART IDEA." The robot grabbed the indigo gem laying on the floor and placed it into his internal storage space. "I AM THE BEST PROTECTION FOR THIS JEWEL. SO DO NOT WORRY."

As he went, Tails turned to Sonic and gave him a thumbs up. "I'll be back in a bit!" His namesakes revved up, and he was out of the home, almost beating Omega to the door.

"And then there were five…" Rouge observed, counting the ones left. She fluttered her wings, taking flight. "Well, I'm not offering any space for any of you, but…" The bat leaned and swiped the purple gem from Shadow's hands. "I have plenty of room for this sick child."

Shadow wasn't going to fight it, knowing that getting a jewel from her hands was near impossible. "Take care of it, Rouge."

She winked. "You know I will, sugar. Later boys!" And then she was gone as well.

Sonic scanned the stragglers. He knew that Shadow would go back to his own place to rest up for tomorrow, but Mephy he knew didn't have anywhere to stay, especially since he didn't volunteer to go with Espio. Green orbs then gazed over at Boom, who had moved to lean against a wall as soon as Vanilla left (he really should've been recording the mom's and his twin's little interaction).

"It's an open house guys," Sonic offered, twirling the green emerald around on his finger. He grinned. "We've got plenty of space here. The couch I hear is really comfortable."

Mephy's expression brightened, but Boom scoffed. "Tch. As if. I've spent too much of today with you as is, no need to add night too." He tucked the white emerald in his quills before zipping over to the red Chaos emerald Tails had left on the couch. "It doesn't matter if there's eight of them, or if they're messed up, this shit's still mine."

A gust of wind signified his departure. Shadow felt that it was no use chasing the speedster down.

"Jeez he's such a pain sometimes…" Sonic commented with the shake of a head. Mephiles nodded, and Shadow couldn't refute that claim. The hero juggled the yellow and green emeralds in his grip. "What a day, huh?"

You can say that again. Mephiles inwardly thought, going over to sit on the sofa he was claiming for the night. He took hold of the cyan jewel there, twisting it in his hands.

"And I get the feeling that tomorrow is going to be even worse." Shadow grunted. He had no idea how the trade-off was going to go, and that put him on edge.

"How could it be worse?" Sonic asked genuinely, halting his circus act. "We're getting our friends back! At the hefty price of one Master Emerald, but we're gonna get the rock back too! Y'know, if the Chaos emeralds don't act all wonky."

The Ultimate Lifeform stared at the hero for a swift moment – he had forgotten how…positive his rival was – before uttering, "I'm going now." He approached Mephiles and held up an empty palm. Mephy understood, placing the cyan emerald in his hold. Shadow held his gaze before snorting. "I never thought I would see the day that you'd stay over at Faker's."

He has to be talking about the other me, Mephiles deduced.

Shadow raised his voice so that Sonic could hear as well. "Night, Faker."

Sonic saluted him off. "Goodnight Shads! Sweet dreams!"

Shadow disregarded the words as he attempted to Chaos Control again.

Let's just say, Sonic quickly figured out what that joke was from earlier.

"So how are you liking the park, Charmy?" A white hedgehog asked, crunching on the cone of his half-eaten ice cream.

A young bee was sitting at the other side of the table the duo had decided to occupy, gleefully eating some cotton candy. "It's so fun!" he answered with a bright smile, "Thanks Silver!"

Said white furred Mobian laughed. "I told you that I'd take you at the end of the week." He gestured around them to all of the rides, food stands, and games positioned everywhere. "And here we are!"

The two friends watched as other companions and families enjoyed themselves as they walked around the large amusement park, having the time of their lives. Silver finished his chilly dessert the same time Charmy ate the last of his fluffy candy, throwing the stick in the nearest trashcan.

They both stood up from their table and searched the surrounding area. "What are we gonna do next?" Silver curiously looked over at the young insect.

Charmy hovered in the air and immediately answered, "Let's go on more rides!"

Silver chuckled. "Didn't we get on every rollercoaster already?"

The bee vehemently shook his head. "I don't think so…" He rose up higher in the air and pointed to something in the distance. "Look! Look! No we didn't! There's a whoooole bunch of rides over there that we haven't ridden yet!"

The psychic put a hand over his eyes to shade them as he followed Charmy's finger. "Seriously? Cool! I thought we would have to go home!" Silver nudged the kid. "Well then, let's g-" He was cut off by a familiar chime coming from his quills.

Charmy lowered himself and peered at the other's head. "Hey, I think that's your phone."

"Yeah, I hear it." Silver carefully reached into his white quills and pulled out his ringing device. "Huh…I wonder who it is…" He answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey…"

Even though it was hard to hear the voice over the consistent noises of the park, Silver immediately recognized it. "Oh! Hey Amy! How's it going?" It was great hearing from her again; it's been a long time since he last talked to her.

"I'm fine. I know that we haven't talked in a while, but I need to cut to the chase. I need your help."

Charmy inquisitively glanced at Silver, and the hedgehog mouthed, "My friend Amy. Remember when I talked about her?" The bee furrowed his brow in thought before nodding. Silver returned his attention to the phone. "For what?" He snickered. "Do you want me to come down there and tell you which dress you look better in? Because I'd rather not." The insect chuckled, and Silver smiled at his little joke.

A loud group of people then decided to walk by. "I…wish…that simple. I…you…to help…"

The psychic tried to block out the noise, but it was for naught. "Wait a minute, I can't hear you. Let me go somewhere quiet." He scanned the area until he located the restroom. That's the perfect place as any, he mused before running over there.

"Where are you going?" Charmy called from behind him.

"To the bathroom!" he shouted back, "Just don't get on any rides without me!"

Silver entered the empty bathroom, and as soon as the door closed, the booming voices almost became nonexistent. "That's better." The hedgehog went over to a mirror and fixed a quill that was out of place. "Can you repeat what you said, Amy?"

There was silence on the other line.

The ghost of a frown grew on Silver's muzzle. "Amy? You there?" When there was no response, the psychic took the phone off his ear and looked at the screen only to find that Amy had hung up on him. "Okay…" Silver ignored his rapidly beating heart as he dialed her back. There was nothing wrong with her. She had ended the call on accident. Nothing was happening to her. When he was about to put the phone back up to his ear, it died.

Silver stared at his device before he clenched it in slight anger. Now he wouldn't know what Amy wanted until-

The hedgehog loudly gasped when the lights went out, blanketing him in complete darkness. Silver's breath hitched as he waited to his eyes to readjust, but they never did. "Ch-Charmy? Is this some kind of prank? It's not funny!" he shouted into the void.

It was deathly silent. There wasn't even an echo.

Before he full-out panicked, Silver put his hands together and attempted to make a light. That would push all of his anxiety and fears away. The darkness wouldn't touch him anymore.

When his powers didn't work, the psychic went into a terrified frenzy. He dropped his phone and went over where the door of the restroom was supposed to be only to meet empty space. His panting was loud and harsh, fueled by the unknown that had wrapped around him.

Quick footsteps soon accompanied his heavy breaths, Silver running in a single direction, wanting to come across a wall, a door, something. His heartbeats were as piercing as his steps. Every single pound was audible to his ears.

Silver ran until he couldn't anymore. Tears welled up in his eyes when he collapsed on the ground, trying to catch his forever lost breath. No one could help him. He was alone.

That was until the whispers started.

"…trapped…"

"Who's there?" Silver yelled, propping himself up on his trembling arms, damp yellow orbs snapped from left to right. "Answer me!"

"…helpless…"

Silver yelped when the disembodied voice breathed in his left ear, scrambling up on his exhausted legs and backing away from wherever he thought it came from. "Sh-Show yourself o-or leave me alone!" Please…please leave me alone.

"…worthless…"

The hedgehog covered his ears when the voice targeted his right appendage, trembles racking his whole frame "G-Go away!"

"…i just want to help…"

Silver cried out when the words echoed around in his mind. Unescapable. He began to run again, hoping to leave the voice behind. He was stumbling over his own feet, tears mixing in with the sweat as they dipped down his face.

"…so let me kill you…"

"S-Stay away!" The hedgehog yelled at the top of his burning lungs, running blindly in the desolate darkness, feeling like he wasn't going anywhere at all. This world was dark and empty and made for no other reason but to torture him.

Silver grunted when he crashed into something, falling backwards when the object he had ran into didn't give. The psychic hissed in pain until his golden orbs drifted up to see what was in front of him. He whimpered at the sight of a floating smile that was lined in razor sharp teeth meant for nothing but tearing.

The psychic backed up clumsily using his hands and feet when the twisted smile floated closer. He didn't get far before something invisible painfully grabbed his chest hair, yanking him back up to his feet. The grip didn't loosen, and Silver was too horrified by the teeth a couple of inches away from his face to try to fight the hold.

Silver then attempted to shrink into himself when bright red eyes blinked open, shining in the shadows. He could help but to stare in terror as the darkness itself melted into those floating orbs, swirling around and diming them until they were the color of cold thick blood without the light of life to make it warm.

They were predatory…hungry…and they were looking right at him.

"…told you to stop moving…"

Unexpectedly, the voice came from behind him. Silver shouted in surprise when the back of his knees were kicked in, and he was sent violently to the floor, landing hard. His chest hair had been freed, but his arms were now wrenched around his back and held there. Silver struggled, but the grip was impossibly tight, and every movement sent shocks of pain throughout his system.

"…you can fight all you want…"

Those stained teeth parted to allow a long rough tongue to run over them, a strand of drool stringing to the ground.

"…but this is the end…"

The hedgehog couldn't say anything, dread drying his mouth. He couldn't talk around the cotton. The only answer he could get out was labored wheezing, the result of him hyperventilating.

"…AtTacK…"

Silver screamed when an invisible clawed hand plunged into his chest and wrapped its cold fingers around the pulsing organ there…squeezing…squeezing…and squeezing…

Until it exploded.

Silver's throat was raw when he woke up, only to be surrounded by more unyielding darkness. His body was tense and shaking as he waited for the pain he knew was going to come. It didn't matter if it was in the form of another nightmare, or from a living, breathing source. The hedgehog himself didn't know what was next. He didn't even know if he was truly awake.

Silver couldn't decide what was worse: his nightmares or this hellish reality.

It was a difficult choice to make...considering it was hard to tell the difference anymore.

How'd you guys like that little throwback? Y'know…before it went bad…

Next chapter…time to trade!