I only own my OC's and the plot of said story. So enjoy this chapter….and don't fall for the spell of the My Little Pony craze.

The AutoKnights VI.V: The Months in Between

Chapter 28: Sides Are Taken

Okay. So we all know what just happened. Takamon, Sonic, and Sam all got in a race, Sam nearly killed Takamon, Blaze got scared, and then she did something that Takamon thought was completely insane. Blaze asked him to give up his ring and stop being an AutoKnight. And that led to actually one of, if not, THE most serious fight Takamon and Blaze have ever been in. And it had already been going on for four days. And their friends were able to easily notice the symptoms of this fight.

They hardly said a word to each other. And they barely looked at each other in the eye. And much to everyone's surprise, the third night of the fight, they yelled at each other. They…really turned their voices up all the way and angrily yelled at one another. It scared some of them. Especially Cream, Charmy, and Saffron. They had never heard them yell before unless they were fighting Decepticons or something. But it was different now. They were fighting each other this time around.

As much as they wanted to get involved, their friends could only sit by and take sides this time. That was pretty much all they could do here. But out of all of them, there were four people out of all of them who were concerned the most.

The first two were Patamon and Gatomon. Ever since they met Blaze which was two months ago in person, they always looked up to her and Takamon as role models for marriage and guidelines for parenthood. Well, actually they just wanted advice for how to actually GET a kid. But the sentiment was the same.

The third person was Vanilla. She had been married before to Cream's father and she knew how painful it was to lose that person who was your other half. Kind of at least. Cream's father died. He didn't walk out because of a fight. But it was still painful losing him. She didn't want Takamon and Blaze to lose each other and feel that pain. It wouldn't be fair to the baby. It wasn't her place to meddle, but she wanted to do something here.

And the fourth person was GK. Now this was kind of strange as to why GK was concerned. As long as everyone had known him, he's always been anti-marriage. Even Mina thought that. But ever since the two Digimon started fighting, he had been very depressed and quiet. Mina hardly felt anything when he kissed her. And it was strange to everyone. But GK hardly said anything. Apparently he wanted it to be clear he wanted no one to know why he was being like this. But it was obvious it had something to do with Takamon and Blaze.

But on the fifth day, that was the day Takamon and Blaze scheduled an ultrasound to take a look at their baby on screen. And they had to go together. Something they weren't all for right now. But just to make sure they didn't kill each other, Ella, Tanaka, Cream, Tails, and Cosmo went with them. And while they were gone, that was when the group, both Freedom Fighters, and Chaotix, or something else, began to converse.

"This is some deep shit we're getting into here." Vector said.

"Yeah. I seriously thought Blaze was gonna set him on fire a couple times. I mean did you hear them last night?" Amy asked referring to the very loud yelling.

"How could anyone NOT hear them?" Patamon replied. "I've never heard Takamon yell like that even before Blaze came back."

"Well…who's side are you guys on?" Knuckles asked.

That was when everyone went completely quiet. Side choosing was something they would have to avoid. But now that Knucklehead brought it up, they had to talk now.

"I don't really know, Knuckles." Mighty said. "I just wanna remain neutral here."

"Oh come on, Mighty. Get real." Julie-Su remarked. "It's only a matter of time now before those two start asking us to back their sides up. Just give us your opinion. Who do you think is right?"

Mighty didn't like being asked that question. He meant it when he said he wanted to remain neutral. But now they wanted an answer. So he had to really think here and pick a side. But who? Who does he side with on this one? And which of his friends will me mad at him for his choice?

But not knowing a lot about being married, he went with the most logical choice to him.

"I think Tak's right. He's a hero and Blaze shouldn't freak out just because there's a little danger involved."

And then came the reaction just like he expected. Some agreed. And some didn't.

"Amen, brother Mighty." Sonic said. "I agree in full."

"Well I don't." Sally remarked. "I think Blaze was right to ask him to give up his powers. Fighting those Decepticons is life threatening and that baby which will be here very soon, is gonna need a father. He can't be one if he's not alive."

Both sides had good reasons for siding with who they were with. The ones who sided with Takamon were Sonic, Amy, Mighty, Knuckles, Espio, Vector, Julie-Su, and Charmy. Ray, Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, Saffron, and Mina were with Blaze. Vanilla, GK, Patamon and Gatomon weren't siding with anyone. When asked why, they answered with this.

"We love those two both equally." Patamon said. "We can't take sides here nor do we want to."

"If we do, we'll just be risking our friendship with them." Gatomon added. "There's no way we're doing that."

"What about you, Miss Vanilla? Whose side are you on?" Espio asked.

Vanilla, like Mighty, felt uncomfortable being asked that. But she really meant her answer with her tone.

"I am not taking any part in this feud." She stated flatly. "If anything I'll just try to quell their anger and hostility towards one another. Because I've seen how badly things can get when spouses fight on a level of this intensity. I've been on both ends of that stick before."

She wasn't wrong. Even Bunnie and Antoine had to agree being the only other couple there who was actually married.

"But Blaze is right. Tak has to be a husband and a father first." Sally stated.

"Well of course YOU'RE siding with Blaze on this one." Sonic said to her. "She's doing exactly what you did the first time you and I broke up."

The Mobian chipmunk went defensive.

"This is TOTALLY different." She claimed.

"No it's not." Vector agreed with Sonic. "You broke up with Sonic because he refused to stop fighting Eggman. And Blaze is asking Tak to stop fighting the Decepticons. So it may be different people, but the argument is the EXACT same."

The silence filled the air as Sally couldn't find a rebuttal for the argument with Vector. But it was soon broken again by one of the younger ones there who heard it all.

"So…does this mean Tak and Blaze are gonna break up?" Charmy was the one who asked that.

"No!" GK nearly shouted.

The gazes of his friends locked to GK because of his sudden raise in volume. Even Mina was shocked.

"I mean…no, Charmy. Of course not. They would never do something like that. They love each other. It's just a fight is all. They've been in plenty fights before." the uneasiness in his voice was impossible to miss.

"I don't know, GK." Mina said to her boyfriend. "This fight involves a child and the safety of the husband. It's a lot more intense this time around."

"They're not gonna break up." GK said a bit sternly. "They can't break up. They just….I'm goin' flyin'. I'll catch you guys later."

GK got up on his feet and walked out with Mina on his tailfeathers trying to get him to come back. But he didn't. As soon as he got out the front door, he spread his wings and took off to the sky. And Mina came back and sat down with the group a bit disappointed. But everyone else was very concerned.

"What the heck just happened?" Knuckles asked the mongoose.

"I don't know." Mina replied. "He's been acting like that for days. Ever since they started fighting. I don't have any idea what GK's deal is."

"It must be hard for him to see his two best friends fighting." Vanilla voiced her opinion here. "Knowing you can't do anything to make the situation better is a very painful thing to endure. But….yet I feel there's something more to it with GK. But I'm not entirely sure what."

"Should I….just ask him when he comes back?" Mina asked the mother rabbit.

"No no no." Vanilla replied. "It's very clear to me that this is a private matter for him. We should just let him be. He'll tell us when he's ready to."

"So….never." Knuckles replied.

"In time." Mina corrected. "GK might be the most openly perverse guy any of us have ever met, but he's a sweet guy once you get to know him better. I'm sure he'll tell me what's wrong when he's ready to."

An hour later, the front door opened up and those who had been gone walked into the house. When everyone saw Takamon and Blaze, they felt chills go up their spines. The glares those two were giving each other were horrifying. But then they just walked away from each other. Blaze went into the kitchen, and Takamon went to the couch. Everyone else just went upstairs where they wanted to hear the news from Tails, Cosmo, and Cream.

"Well? How did it go?" Saffron asked. "Were they happy to see the baby up close?"

Tails sighed because of what he was about to say.

"They didn't even look at the screen for one measly second." The kitsune explained. "They just started yelling at each other again. They didn't see the baby."

It was almost heartbreaking when he said that. Takamon and Blaze were so angry at each other, they completely missed viewing their own child. That wasn't good.

"I've never been so scared before." Cosmo added.

"Me neither." Cream agreed. "I always thought Mister Takamon and Missus Blaze were happy together. How can they fight if they love each other?"

Amy rested her hand on her young best friend's shoulder.

"Even people who love each other can get into arguments, Cream." Amy said to her. "But that doesn't mean they don't still live each other. Say. What's that in your hand?"

Everyone then saw that Cream was holding a small plastic case the size of a CD.

"It's the ultrasound." Cream said. "Ella asked the doctor to record so they could possibly watch it when they were done fighting."

"Well, Takamon better apologize soon or they'll never stop fighting." Bunnie said.

"Apologize for what?" Vector questioned. "For being a hero? For saving everyone here? Face facts, you guys! If it weren't for Takamon showing up here in the first place, we would probably all be dead by now."

"That may be true but he's about to become a father." Saffron argued. "He can't be both at the same time."

"Who says he can't?" Sonic said to her. "Vector and Espio are practically already a father the way they treat Charmy."

And then Tails, Cosmo, and Cream backed up while the arguing continued. But then they were once again interrupted. This time by Takamon himself.

"What's going on with all you?" he saw them all bickering.

"Um…nothing." Mighty lied very badly.

Takamon sighed. It was obvious to him what was going on.

"Guys, I would very much appreciate it if you wouldn't take sides here. This is between me and Blaze alone. We don't need followers nor do we want any." Takamon explained.

"Why don't you just give up the ring like she said?" Saffron demanded. "It's that ring or her."

"Shut up, Saffron." Amy snapped. "Tak, that ring chose you for a reason. You can't just give it up."

"THIS IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!"

He yelled just like he had with Blaze before. And it really scared them all because they had never seen him like that up close and directed at them.

"Look, I just said this ten seconds ago. This is between ME….and BLAZE. I would very much appreciate it if you guys would just stay out of this and let me and her work this out."

"But vhat if you can't?" Antoine asked. "Vhat if you and 'er end up apart?"

Takamon just shook his head and finally noticed his green and orange feathered friend was missing. And he sighed knowing what had happened already.

"GK went flying didn't he?"

Mina stepped forward.

"Yeah. You wouldn't happen to know why he did that. Do you?" she asked.

"No clue. It happens every time Blaze and I fight. He just goes flying for a while. But he always comes back."

"Oh come on." Julie-Su said. "You have to at least have SOME clue."

Takamon just shook his head.

"Here's a little wisdom for all of you. It doesn't matter how long you know someone, even if you're married to them for a decade and about to have a baby together, you are never done getting to know that person. So all of you still have a lot to learn about each other. You just don't know it yet."

All of them shared glances with everyone else there. What he said was true. All of them were good friends with each other and some were even involved with others there. But there were things that were not known about all of them yet. They had secrets. Who doesn't? But they weren't going to share them right now.

But with that, Takamon turned around and went downstairs. But before he did, Tails called after him.

"Hey! Don't you want this?"

He was referring to the recording of his baby's ultrasound. He turned around to give his answer.

"Just hold onto it for me."

Then he proceeded all the way down the stairs while everyone else began to talk again.

"So…..what now?" Saffron asked.

"Now, Saffron…we just wait it out. And hope they agree to something." Espio replied.

And it was then Nicole's portable form began to beep signaling a call. Sally picked it out of the pocket of her vest and pressed a button showing the lynx's face.

"What's up, Nicole?" the princess asked.

"Rotor wishes to see all of you at Castle Mobius." Nicole told her. "Come as soon as you can."

All of them. She was referring to the Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix too. So they decided to go. But Tails, Cosmo, and Cream were asked to stay because they were needed to keep Takamon's and Blaze's anger at bay until they got back. But it was already hard enough to do that at the doctor's office. And they failed miserably. But maybe with someone like Vanilla there to help them, they could do it.

So the rest of them went through the portal to Mobius leaving Tails, Mina, Cream, Cosmo, Vanilla, Patamon, Gatomon, and their human friends with the two fighting lovers.

(Mobius)

At Castle Acorn, Rotor Walrus was down in the laboratory where the lens and the Matrix of Leadership were being held in storage. The storage level and lab was a very large room just as wide as the whole ground of the castle. But those two things weren't the only powerful objects down there in the sub-levels of the castle. There were others. And there were two in particular that he had his attention on. They were two big posts with orbs on top and stars imprinted on those orbs. The two posts were five feet apart and they were glowing. In between them was a big energy vortex of unknown energy and power. Rotor had no idea what was happening.

And then Sonic, and everyone else came in and saw it.

"Hey, Rote. Long time." Sonic greeted his old comrade.

"Same here, Sonic." Rotor acknowledged. "So here's the problem. I was down here just checking on the Matrix and that lens like I do every day. But then those star posts activate themselves and a portal just opened up. It's been open for like ten minutes."

Those posts were called Star Posts. They were used for traveling to other Zones. Or pocket dimensions of Mobius in simpler terms. But the posts haven't been used in some time. So it was strange as to why they would be activated now. And by themselves to boot.

"Maybe they're just malfunctioning." Sally thought.

But she was proven wrong when out of the portal, a blast of energy shaped like multiple round rings came out and hit them all, knocking them back and away. And when they all looked up to see what it was, they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

It was Rotor. Well….not really. It was a another version of him from another Zone. He looked almost exactly like Rotor. Except one of his eyes and both of his arms were mechanized with gadgets of unknown tech. And then more people followed him out. It was a different version of each of the Freedom Fighters. Tails, Sally, and Antoine. But no Bunnie.

This Tails was dressed in a grey and red tunic with studded wrist straps and had some grey hair on his forehead. The other Sally was sporting a bluish black suit with longer messy hair. Also, she had a whip. And the Antoine that came out of that portal was wearing a suit similar to the normal Antoine. But it was green. And he had an eyepatch over his right eye.

Then another version of Amy appeared out of the hole. This version was far younger than the Amy everyone knows. Her spines were longer and she was wearing a green dress. Like Amy, she was armed with a hammer. But this one was green and spiked on both sides.

And then came the one the others hoped to never see. The evil version of Sonic. He was green in the fur and his eyes were blue. Teeth as sharp as knives and red sunglasses on his forehead. He also had on a black jacket with flames running up the sleeves. And the green boots finished his attire. And on his torso, there were two parallel diagonal slash marks.

Sonic growled when he stood up and saw him.

"Scourge."

His name was Scourge the Hedgehog. Sonic's evil twin from another dimension.

"Hey there, slowpoke. Long time no see." Scourge's voice was very similar to Sonic's. But a slight raspy tone was able to distinguish it.

"What do you want?" Sally asked.

"There's something here giving off a high energy output. I felt it along the cosmic interstate. I want it." Scourge answered.

There was only one thing in that room giving off a high energy output.

The Matrix of Leadership. Scourge wanted it for himself. But in order to keep it safe, Sonic had to act like he had no clue what he was talking about.

"There's nothing here, Scourge. So just high-tail your ass out of here." Sonic lied.

"Oh there's something here alright." Scourge was totally unconvinced. "And I intend to get it. Even if it means pounding your ass into the ground to get through."

Sonic just sighed and got ready to make this quick by transforming. He reached to take off the glove on his right hand.

But when he felt his hand, he noticed something. The bump underneath his ring finger wasn't there. He looked down and then realized….he wasn't wearing his ring. And three seconds later, he remembered.

*FLASHBACK*

It was just yesterday. Ella had made them all a special batch of chili dogs. And they were caked with sauce. Sonic didn't want to get his gloves messy. So he took them off. But then he did the same thing with his ring. He took it off and set it down somewhere in the house.

*END FLASHBACK*

"Oh way to go you fucking idiot!" Sonic cursed himself. "Tak's never gonna let me hear the end of this one!"

"What are you waiting for, Sonic?" Knuckles whispered. "Turn into Trailbreaker and kick their asses!"

Sonic just held up his right hand and took off his glove. Not all the way, but enough to the point where everyone could clearly that he stupidly wasn't wearing his ring.

"Oh boy." Amy readied a hammer and eyed her own doppelganger. "Now we gotta do this without AutoKnights."

"You know what? It's alright." Sally remained confident. "We've beaten these guys before without AutoKnight power, and we can do it again."

BOOOOOOM!

The wall of the lab burst open behind them and then another group of thugs walked on in. A lynx with blue gloves and boots, a giant ape with a military helmet, boots, and pants, a frog wearing brown tights and a goggled helmet, a blue hawk with red gloves and boots, and finally, there was a red furred vixen with a long bushy tail. She had on long black boots, studded belts, black fingerless gloves, a black belly top, and in her fanned out red hair, she had a yellow hair bow. Scourge seemed happy to see the fox.

"Hey, Fiona. I take it you found the Destructix."

The Destructix was a group of thug-like mercenaries who work for pay. Or if their current leader, Fiona, tells them to.

"It was hardly any trouble, baby." Fiona said before sneering at the Freedom Fighters. "We know there's something powerful here. And we want it now. So just give it up, Blue."

"And to think I ever thought you were my type." Sonic said.

Sonic and Fiona had a romantic past. But it was very difficult to comprehend. Fiona got tired of the good guy act and tried being bad. And she liked it a lot. And when she met Scourge almost a year ago, that liking grew. She's been with him ever since.

"You're not getting the Matrix!" Vector shouted.

"The Matrix?" The evil version of Sally asked. "So it has a name?"

"Nice going you scale-headed dolt!"Julie-Su cursed the croc. "Why don't you tell them what it looks like?"

"That would make things go a lot easier." The evil Tails said. "Just tell us where it is before someone gets hurt."

"You mean like you, ya little cretin?" Bunnie pulled up the sleeves on her brown jacket and adjusted her cowboy hat.

"Oh how cute. They think they have a chance." The blue hawk said.

"Easy there, Predator. You'll get them soon." The giant ape said.

"Precisely Simian." Fiona said to the ape.

"SMASHIE SMASHIE! I WANT TO SMASH!" the evil version of Amy went sort of…psycho.

"Jeez, Rosie! Chill the fuck out!" Scourge shouted. "I don't know why you even came. But I guess you'll come in handy for a few kills here and there."

"Over my dead body, Scourge!" Sonic said. "Now I got this friend that would kill me if he ever heard me say this. But, come on Scourge. Let's kick it up."

To Scourge, that line was lame. But it was enough to make the fighting finally begin. As all the groups of fighters rushed for each other. But Rotor stayed behind and got Nicole and Teletraan on the line.

"Get through to Takamon. Whether he's in a fight with his wife or not, we need him."

Teletraan and Nicole both nodded and fuzzed away to do their assignment. Leaving Rotor the only one with a sight on the Matrix. He had to do his best to hide it.

But while they were brawling in Mobius, on Earth, there were other problems. Takamon and Blaze to be exact. They didn't even want to look at each other. All they did was sit on the same couch and look the exact opposite direction with their arms crossed. And Chris wanted to help them in someway possible.

"There has to be something we can do to make them stop fighting." Chris thought out loud.

"I know you want them to make up, son. We all do." Nelson said. "But we can't do anything here. This is something they have to work out themselves."

"But what if they can't?" Chris asked. "What if they end up breaking up?"

Silence was what came after that. There was a small chance that the two soon-to-be parents would indeed break up. But it was still highly unlikely. But Vanilla was still worried about someone. Not Blaze or Takamon in this case, but for GK. Mina was too. No one had a clue why he was avoiding his friend, mostly Takamon and Blaze.

The two of them kept avoiding each other all throughout the day. Probably the only time they looked the same direction is when the doorbell rang.

Takamon decided to be the one to get it. And when he opened the door,

"Can we talk?"

SLAM!

He threw the door shut as hard as he could without breaking it to bits. And that made everyone confused.

"That was quite rude, Tak." Vanilla said.

"Who was at the door?" Lindsey asked.

"The guy who tried to kill me a few days ago."

It was Sam. No one had a clue why he would ever come there after the way Takamon and Sonic told him off. But they had to find out. Chuck and Tanaka went to the door to talk to him. He was still outside.

"I think you should just leave, Sam." Chuck suggested.

"Please, Chuck. I need to talk to him." Sam begged.

"I think you have caused enough trouble." Tanaka added. "It's because of you Master Takamon nearly lost his life. And come to think of it, it ALSO because of you that he and Miss Blaze are now in a fight."

It surprised Sam to hear Takamon and Blaze were fighting. But he wasn't thinking about that.

"Look, I'm begging you here. Can I please just talk to him for one minute? Just one minute. After that, I'll leave quietly."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea. He HATES you. He's said a million times in the past three days." Then Chuck gave some examples. "I hate Sam. I frickin hate Sam. I hope Sam crashes that rocket car into a mountain and burns in a fiery crash. It can't be any more clear than that. You are the absolute last person he wants to see."

"And I don't blame him for that." Sam said. "He can hate me all he wants. But I need to say something to him."

"Oh if he's that persistent just let him in."

Takamon was the one who said that. He was right behind them and heard the whole conversation. So Chuck and Tanaka let him in. And then he and Sam took a seat back in the living room. Where Blaze still refused to even look at Takamon and glared at Sam. But when they were seated, he spoke.

"Look, about what happened that day, Tak." He started. "I don't know what got into me."

"What got into you is a hint of psycho." Takamon added.

"No. Please just listen. I guess….I just wanted to win. I was once the fastest guy on this planet until Sonic came around. And now you're here with your own speed. I guess I couldn't take the fact that I was probably gonna end up being the THIRD fastest guy in the world.

But…then I did something that was without a doubt, the stupidest thing I've ever done. I almost killed you. What kills me is that I didn't even realize what I did until you and Sonic told me. I was so overcome with greed that I just lost sight of what I was doing. I caused you, your friends, and your family so much anger and pain it's unspeakable. And for that…I apologize."

Apologize? Sam? To everyone, those two things just didn't make sense. But Sam went on.

"I'm so sorry for what I did and ALMOST did to you. I know you can never forgive me for it, and I know that. I just came here to apologize."

Takamon's angry expression softened up to the point where he didn't look mad anymore. Sam sounded very sincere here. He wasn't sure what to say. Either forgive him, or keep hating him. But it was kind of hard to hate him now after that apology was spoken.

But as he was about to respond, the TV, which was on at the time, gave a broadcast of the news.

"We interrupt this program to bring you an emergency bulletin. A runaway train has been confirmed to be nearing Station Square Central Station. This has also been confirmed to be a passenger train carrying many civilians. The driver of the train cannot identify the problem and only assumes that the train's controls have failed and gone out of control."

A runaway train. Danger it meant. Takamon and Sam both jumped up to their feet. And Sam ran out the door to his car to suit up into his S-Team uniform. But Takamon just paused and looked back at Blaze who was glaring at him again.

"Off to kill yourself I suppose?"

"Blaze…..you just don't understand."

"I understand that you would rather risk your neck rather than be with your family."

"That's not true." Takamon defended. "Blaze, I hate fighting with you. I love you more than anything in any world. Nothing will change that. But this is what I'm meant to do. I know it is."

"Well then maybe that AutoKnight ring should be the only ring you wear from now on."

Takamon couldn't believe she just said that. But did she really mean what he thought she meant? There was just no way that was possible. He wanted to blame it on pregnancy hormones, but this was the normal Blaze he was talking to. No hormones involved.

"You're not the only one who needs me, Blaze." Takamon said.

That was all he had to say. He walked outside, transformed into Blurr, and ran off to find the loco train. But Blaze had no idea what those words had in them, but they stuck to her. He was right after all. She's not the only one who needs him anymore. But she needed him the most to be there for her and this kid. The whole thought of him not being there made her want to cry her eyes out.

And she did.

She started to cry into the armrest of the couch. And that was when everyone else came into the room hearing her sobs.

"She doesn't cry fire does she?" Lindsey asked.

"Mom!" Chris shouted.

"I'm just saying. The couch just got reupholstered." Lindsey complained.

Mina just shook her head and hopped on the couch with Blaze. She started to rub her back gently as the pyrokinetic's eye liquid stained the couch.

"Blaze?" The mongoose muttered.

She didn't reply. She had no words. But as he left, Blurr left the front door wide open. And no one heard GK land in the doorway. And when he heard Blaze crying, he literally ran into the house, jumped on the couch, pushed his girlfriend out of the way, and helped Blaze sit back up.

"Everything is going to be alright, Blaze." GK was surprisingly the one comforting her. "I promise you it will."

GK was as worried about them as anyone else was. But his behavior was totally strange. Blaze didn't care enough to notice. All she did was bury her head again and start crying. This time into GK's shoulder. GK hugged his second best friend and rocked her. Something Mina found a bit odd as she hopped off the couch and re-joined the group of bystanders.

But this was just the beginning of the day. There was still a lot going on. In both Earth and Mobius. And it was gonna take a lot more than a few rings and confidence to overcome these threats.